Yes, it's a cliche but if the shoe fits . . . My time on the road is winding down a bit faster than originally planned and my thoughts recently have been towards what happens when I get back because the big question is "What happens when I get back? I'm cutting my trek a bit short and will have to leave my other planned stops for another trip. I'm out of energy for what would follow and if I stayed the course I would be completely out of funds. As it is, I think I'll have enough to get set up someplace but finding that place is where most of my concerns are these days. It's those thoughts which keep me from thoroughly enjoying where I am. I'm not completely preoccupied with what lies ahead and have been having a good time in the moment over here. These last few days have been spent in Ho Chi Minh City formerly Saigon. The tour group has changed leaders and members much like the trip through India. Yesterday we visited the Cu Chi Tunnels. I started to venture down into the actual tunnels but suddenly had a case of claustrophobia. Later, we did a boat trip into the Mekong Delta. Supposedly some of the channels we rowed along were the same channels used in the filming of Apocalypse Now. The whole day was strange considering my only point of reference to this country is from the 60s and American movies. Televised coverage of the war and the protests. Now it's all a tourist attraction. Today put the exclamation point into that phrase after a visit to the War Remnants Museum. As part of the tour group the time to examine each of these places was limited. I haven't decide if that is good or bad.
I've been doing the local food for the most part. I did have dinner the other night in a Mexican restaurant, tho'. I think it's fair to try ethnic when you're away from the home version of ethnic. Besides, I was tired of slicing the heads off the shrimp in the seafood dishes I've been having lately!
Today we are leaving the city and going out into the countryside, my favorite part of each country so far. And the bus is getting ready to leave. See ya!
Saturday, February 28, 2009
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Angkor What?
Wow! the time in Cambodia has just zipped by. I can't believe I'm leaving today when I just feel like I'm getting my Cambodian feet under me. Yet another location to put on the MUST REVISIT List. The first few days were visits to the Angkor area and the temples there-Angkor Thom and the elephant ride, Angkor Wat at sunrise and Angkor Something where Tomb Raider was filmed. These last few days have been in the capital city Phnom Penh and some of the sites here have been a bit more sobering-The Killing Fields and The S-1 Museum (aka The Genocide Museum). But there is also the National Museum (get a guide if you can) and the Royal Palace. I managed to not go to the two big markets and that's the only way I'm going to get through the rest of my trip, I think-avoid the markets.
Some of the things not to be avoided are the places set up to provide safe haven and education for kids. We had a very cool dinner and show at a restaurant that feeds kids from an orphanage. After dinner the kids perform the same traditional Khmer dance we saw on the first night in Cambodia. I like the kids version better! The next day lunch was at a restaurant that provides training in food service to street kids. The food and service was great. Next door is a craft shop and all the stuff was made by locals and the $ goes to the orphanage, too. There are lots of opportunities to help out like that throughout this region. I don't mean to soapbox but it couldn't hurt to checkout a couple of ways to support these kind of programs. Come 'on-it's all just a click away from where you are right now. when I get home I will change this line of text to a hyperlink to one of the sites. Please check this entry later. thanks.
In less than an hour, the journey out of Cambodia begins. There be a boat awaitin' dockside for a five hour voyage down the Mekong River to the border. As quick as this entry is, that's how quick my visit to Cambodia has been. Waay to short.
Some of the things not to be avoided are the places set up to provide safe haven and education for kids. We had a very cool dinner and show at a restaurant that feeds kids from an orphanage. After dinner the kids perform the same traditional Khmer dance we saw on the first night in Cambodia. I like the kids version better! The next day lunch was at a restaurant that provides training in food service to street kids. The food and service was great. Next door is a craft shop and all the stuff was made by locals and the $ goes to the orphanage, too. There are lots of opportunities to help out like that throughout this region. I don't mean to soapbox but it couldn't hurt to checkout a couple of ways to support these kind of programs. Come 'on-it's all just a click away from where you are right now. when I get home I will change this line of text to a hyperlink to one of the sites. Please check this entry later. thanks.
In less than an hour, the journey out of Cambodia begins. There be a boat awaitin' dockside for a five hour voyage down the Mekong River to the border. As quick as this entry is, that's how quick my visit to Cambodia has been. Waay to short.
Saturday, February 21, 2009
Bye Thai
My all too short a stay in Thailand ended with a private bus ride to the border. The border crossing was uneventful which is a very good way for border crossings to be I think. Though uneventful, it was colorful what with a hugh market place buzzing. We had to leave the bus, exit thru Thai immigrationand walk across the No Man's Land bridge to the Cambodia immigration office. There is a two sided flag in the middle of the bridge, one side displays Thailand colors and the other side Cambodia. From Bangkok, we (I'm with a new Intrepid Tour group now) went to Siem Reap via the Dancing Highway. In recent years due to highway improvement projects it's a slow dance most of the way now but gets a bit more lively the closer to the city we got. Siem Reap is a very lively place and I'm thinking the tourist trade is what livens it up. There are lots of fair complexions in the market places. I had a 70s flashback when we stopped at a small nightclub after browsing the night market. The singer was doing covers of old Eagles stuff and some other things I recognized from my days at ACC!
Today was a full day at some of the temples in the Angkor area and included an elephant ride around Angkor Thom. I thought I was templed out after my recent tour through India but the Cambodian temples live up to the standard set by the Reclining Buddha I visited in Bangkok. They are extensive and although they are ruins they are in a good state meaning they are looked after now and there's some restoration going on. Of course there are the ever present hawkers and one guy in our group is a kid magnet so that gets the rest of us off the hook. We also have a great local guide for our Angkor temple visits. She's one of the few female guides and has all the kind of guide info you'd want but doesn't sound like she's stepford guide. In fact, after today's official touring was complete, she took me back to one of the temples to do a little bit of letterboxing! Woo hoo-it was a success, too. I found a letterbox in Cambodia!
Today was a full day at some of the temples in the Angkor area and included an elephant ride around Angkor Thom. I thought I was templed out after my recent tour through India but the Cambodian temples live up to the standard set by the Reclining Buddha I visited in Bangkok. They are extensive and although they are ruins they are in a good state meaning they are looked after now and there's some restoration going on. Of course there are the ever present hawkers and one guy in our group is a kid magnet so that gets the rest of us off the hook. We also have a great local guide for our Angkor temple visits. She's one of the few female guides and has all the kind of guide info you'd want but doesn't sound like she's stepford guide. In fact, after today's official touring was complete, she took me back to one of the temples to do a little bit of letterboxing! Woo hoo-it was a success, too. I found a letterbox in Cambodia!
Wednesday, February 18, 2009
Best of Cambodia & Vietnam
I have left the comfy confines of the 4 star Rembrandt in the Sukhumvit area of Bangkok. I've only been gone a hour or so and miss it all ready. I'm now in the Chinatown section and will venture out to explore it in a bit. In the meantime, I'm getting checked in to my digs for the night and later will meet and greet the new group and group leader for my tour through Cambodia and Vietnam. In just my short visit to Bangkok, I know that I very much want to return to Thailand for two main reasons. First, to visit the beaches. Any and all other travelers I've met who have been or are going to Thailand talk about the beaches. I won't get to see them on this trip. The other reason is to compare the rest of the country to Bangkok which is clean and modern and very congested. I'd like to visit the countryside and small towns, too, but again it's not on this trip.
I did pry myself away from the Rembrandt for a little while the other day and visited the temple of the Reclining Buddha. If that temple is an example of the kind of places one can expect to visit throughout Thailand then there's another reason to visit. The temple grounds are extensive and include almost two hundred stupas, no two decorated alike and then of course there's the Reclining Buddha itself. It's massive...and my time is up.
I did pry myself away from the Rembrandt for a little while the other day and visited the temple of the Reclining Buddha. If that temple is an example of the kind of places one can expect to visit throughout Thailand then there's another reason to visit. The temple grounds are extensive and include almost two hundred stupas, no two decorated alike and then of course there's the Reclining Buddha itself. It's massive...and my time is up.
Monday, February 16, 2009
THIS SUCKS but Thailand doesn't
So last night I'm just hanging around at the airport in Kolkata waiting for the time when I can checkin. Around 11:30 PM, that procedure began. It was smooth process but long because there were lots of people. I made it to the ticket counter and was issued my boarding pass and I proceeded to immigration. No problems. I made it up to the gate and was looking for a seat when I heard what I thought might have been my name being called. Kinda hard to tell what with the accent and bad acoustics. I saw the guy making the announcement and approached him. I had my passport out and said "Are you talkin' to me?" OK, I didn't say that but it was my name he had called. No big deal. It just looks as though THE REST OF MY PLANE TICKET HAS BEEN VOIDED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I couldn't leave India. You know my attempts at using the phones on this trip haven't met with the greatest succes and last night was no exception. Caling US 800 numbers doesn't work and I didn't have the local number for United Airlines. I wound up trying to call my travel agent. That made the most sense because while it was 1:30 am local by this time, it was 11 am in Corvallis but apparently they take an early lunch at that place because I could only get the automated switchboard and when I tried to use their employee directory to get the desk of my travel agent, it appears she no longer works there AND the option to speak to an operator was and invalid entry. I really really hate automated phone stuff. I wound up buying a ticket to get here and although I still have not resolved anything about my ticket (which is really bad because I have to have proof of an onward ticket to enter Vietnam) for the moment I'm trying to let it go after having finally sent out distress calls to a couple of places. I want to enjoy Bangkok if I can and not spend my time stressing over this ticket. After India, Bangkok is like entering another world. One the taxi ride from the airport to my 4 star hotel (hee hee hee) there was a stretch of just two blocks where I saw two Starbucks and a Burger King! I'd been up for over 24 hours by that time and seeing that combined with this whole airline ticket fiasco, I just started giggling.
And that was my entry into Thailand.
And that was my entry into Thailand.
Sunday, February 15, 2009
My passage thru India
(Apologies to E.M.Forster) Alas, all good things come to and end. My time remaining in India is now counting in hours and those are airport hours to boot but at least they have good internet here.
So I promised to tell you about the Taj Mahal. In a common colloquialism of the area-Not Possible. Sorry, that's a place you have to see for yourself to understand the granduer. It's not just the structure. It's the location, the grounds, the fountains. . . It's the Taj!
The evening of the day of my visit was a nearly full moon. That would have been great had prior planning been done. The five days around a full moon the city of Agra goes into a lock down from sunset until 11 PM. Folks who have planned ahead can book a visit to a the Taj to see it in the moonlight or book a reservation at one of the rooftop restaurants. For that booking you get a half hour on the roof during the moon time. On our last night, we headed out of the restricted area before lockdown and were able to get seated at a rooftop restaurant and had hoped to get our moonlightshots but we were thwarted by the first cloudy night in Agra since the monsoons!
We departed Agra on the night train bound for the holy city of Varanasi which sits on the Ganga (you'd say Ganges and you'd be wrong!). Our Temple On The Ganges hotel was not exactly a temple nor on the Ganges but we could see the river from the rooftop. After an washup from the train ride we took a walk along the ghats and to the market and that evening took a boat ride down the river to see one of the holy ceremonies. Lots of offering to lots of goods, music, prayers, incense and fire. As we headed back up river we hugged the shoreline because it was easier for our two rowers and this also provided us with a close up view of the many funeral pyres burning on the nearby shore. This is what I meant by saying the Veranasis is just to die for. If you die in this holy city, your soul goes directly to Heaven and you are released from the cycle of reincarnation. Your earthly remains are burned on the pyres and your ashes thrown into the holiest river Ganga. I think you can bring deceased persons who died elsewhere to Veranasi, too but their souls will follow the reincarnation route until further notice, I guess.
The following day I saw more funeral pyres alight. It is a very busy place for this activity. There's lots more to do in Varanasi but I tried to restrain my spending except at the Bread of Life Bakery and Restaurant. They served pancakes! As a holy city Varanasi has restrictions on non-veg, alcohol and such although, the nice little Mormon Grandmother in our group manager to score a bit of hooch for the younger set (they were all of legal age!)
Our last day in Varanasi, I avoided the ghats and funeral pyres and instead found a beauty shop for an overdue haircut. The good thing about a haircut is that even a bad one will grow out.
The last night train of the trip brought me to Kolkata that you'll want to call Calcutta. Whatever. Our group was greeted at the train station by the sight of a deceased man lying on the sidewalk. I've seen lots of folks lying on sidewalks throughout India. It's sometimes the most convenient place to take a nap. This man was not napping. Nuff said
From that sobering sight the only place that seemed appropriate to visit was Mother House, the home and last resting place of Mother Theresa. A walk through the comprehensive museum of her life can make anyone think about how little they have accomplished!
So, it was quite somber end to my visit to Incredible India (that's from all the tourist literature) and I think it's going to take time for me to process it all. Throughout Europe, I had some sort of based to start from to absorb all that was around me but not so India. I've got a new book and movie list to begin when I return home to help put some of this in some kind of perspective. In the meantime, I'm going to keep moving ahead because I have six more equally as alien countries and I'll be covering those six in about the same time as I did for all of India. I fly out tonight at 2 AM bound for Bangkok where I'm going to treat myself to three nights in a 4 star hotel (It'll cost about the same as a Super 8) before I begin my next Intrepid Tour. In the words of Beans, the Muleskinner "Pray fer me".
So I promised to tell you about the Taj Mahal. In a common colloquialism of the area-Not Possible. Sorry, that's a place you have to see for yourself to understand the granduer. It's not just the structure. It's the location, the grounds, the fountains. . . It's the Taj!
The evening of the day of my visit was a nearly full moon. That would have been great had prior planning been done. The five days around a full moon the city of Agra goes into a lock down from sunset until 11 PM. Folks who have planned ahead can book a visit to a the Taj to see it in the moonlight or book a reservation at one of the rooftop restaurants. For that booking you get a half hour on the roof during the moon time. On our last night, we headed out of the restricted area before lockdown and were able to get seated at a rooftop restaurant and had hoped to get our moonlightshots but we were thwarted by the first cloudy night in Agra since the monsoons!
We departed Agra on the night train bound for the holy city of Varanasi which sits on the Ganga (you'd say Ganges and you'd be wrong!). Our Temple On The Ganges hotel was not exactly a temple nor on the Ganges but we could see the river from the rooftop. After an washup from the train ride we took a walk along the ghats and to the market and that evening took a boat ride down the river to see one of the holy ceremonies. Lots of offering to lots of goods, music, prayers, incense and fire. As we headed back up river we hugged the shoreline because it was easier for our two rowers and this also provided us with a close up view of the many funeral pyres burning on the nearby shore. This is what I meant by saying the Veranasis is just to die for. If you die in this holy city, your soul goes directly to Heaven and you are released from the cycle of reincarnation. Your earthly remains are burned on the pyres and your ashes thrown into the holiest river Ganga. I think you can bring deceased persons who died elsewhere to Veranasi, too but their souls will follow the reincarnation route until further notice, I guess.
The following day I saw more funeral pyres alight. It is a very busy place for this activity. There's lots more to do in Varanasi but I tried to restrain my spending except at the Bread of Life Bakery and Restaurant. They served pancakes! As a holy city Varanasi has restrictions on non-veg, alcohol and such although, the nice little Mormon Grandmother in our group manager to score a bit of hooch for the younger set (they were all of legal age!)
Our last day in Varanasi, I avoided the ghats and funeral pyres and instead found a beauty shop for an overdue haircut. The good thing about a haircut is that even a bad one will grow out.
The last night train of the trip brought me to Kolkata that you'll want to call Calcutta. Whatever. Our group was greeted at the train station by the sight of a deceased man lying on the sidewalk. I've seen lots of folks lying on sidewalks throughout India. It's sometimes the most convenient place to take a nap. This man was not napping. Nuff said
From that sobering sight the only place that seemed appropriate to visit was Mother House, the home and last resting place of Mother Theresa. A walk through the comprehensive museum of her life can make anyone think about how little they have accomplished!
So, it was quite somber end to my visit to Incredible India (that's from all the tourist literature) and I think it's going to take time for me to process it all. Throughout Europe, I had some sort of based to start from to absorb all that was around me but not so India. I've got a new book and movie list to begin when I return home to help put some of this in some kind of perspective. In the meantime, I'm going to keep moving ahead because I have six more equally as alien countries and I'll be covering those six in about the same time as I did for all of India. I fly out tonight at 2 AM bound for Bangkok where I'm going to treat myself to three nights in a 4 star hotel (It'll cost about the same as a Super 8) before I begin my next Intrepid Tour. In the words of Beans, the Muleskinner "Pray fer me".
Wednesday, February 11, 2009
The Crowning Touch
When last I writ, I was in Pushkar one of the holy cities of India. It is a smallish place but more than a village. I liked the market area and of course I contributed a bit to the local economy. I really gotta stop doing that. Although I'm getting pretty good prices on things because I will barter a bit now, my pack runneth over! And I've got more than a month and six more countries to visit before I head home!
I visited the temples that I wanted to visit including Sitivri which is the temple of Buddha's first wife and is waaaaay at the top of the hill and you have to get past a bunch of monkeys who can tell if you have food in your hands so don't walk up there carrying munchies! and since I had made my contribution to the local economy at the markets me and a few other Intrepid travels decided to try out the pool at the hotel neighboring ours. It cost a few rupees but we took the plunge. I remember seeing some folks swimming in the Atlantic Ocean when I was in Biarritz or Bilbao way back in November or December. I think I had them beat temperaturely speaking with the dip in the pool! WOW.
After thawing, I decided I'd stick closer to home (the hotel du jour). The Kishna Palace has a sort of 'dinner and a show' sort of thing. That is to say they have a big screen TV that they set up in the rooftop dining room (every hotel has a rooftop dining room!) and they show movies. I finally got to see Slumdog Millionaire. And here's a bit of fun news-one of the other members of our group is the cousin of the editor of that film and that fella just won the BAFTA award for Editing so congratulations to Chris Dickens from your one of your cousin Mike's fellow travelers!
After Pushkar there was a bus to Jaipur home of the Amber Fort. Some of the forts and cities I have visited have been named based on the color of the stone the city/fort was built from. Not the case with the Amber. While there is a kind of pale yellowy tint to this fort's stones the word Amber has a Hindi pronunciation because it is the name of a god and not a reference to color. The king of this fort had two wives and each queen had her own space in the palace inside the fort. According to our guide the king flipped a coin each night to decide who to spend the night with. Other entertainment involved alcohol and elephants and surprisingly the alcohol was for the elephants. I guess they are angry drunks and like to fight.
Jaipur is also home to the largest movie house in Asia and I went to my first Bollywood movie! As far as the spoken language was concerned I only understood the few bits that were in Hinglish but the story was fairly easy to follow. Also, one member of the group is very up on the Bollywood scene and was able to provide some fun insites into the film in general pointing out the kind of things that you'll always see in them such as references to Charlie Chaplin and how often to expect a song and dance.
From Jaipur there was a one night stand in Bharatpur, home of the Keoladeo Ghana Bird Park. I've visited a more than a few bird parks and sanctuaries in the States. This one probably tops the lot of 'em. I don't know what amazed me more-the quantity of birds or the variety of species. I saw so many storks and herons gathered together that the place looked prehistoric. Hundreds of Painted Storks perched in trees looks pretty strange if you've never seen that kind of rookery before. I saw some massive pelicans and wee small owls plus several kinds of deer and a monitor lizard. Our guide went in search of a python and I've not decided yet if it was good or bad that he didn't come back with one!
From the birds it was onto the jewel in the crown of India. Agra and The Taj Mahal. We arrived in Agra early enough in the day to do a bit of touring. First I went the Red Fort and because I foolishly didn't get a guide I can't tell you much about what I saw. I have to Wiki that one when I get home. From there I vsited the Baby Taj which is a similar mausoleum but was constructed for the Grandfather of the Lady buried at the Taj. The Taj Mahal's designed is based on the Baby Taj. From the Baby Taj I traveled to a scenic viewpoint to see the real Taj Mahal at the golden hour, the time just before sunset. I was on one side of the river, the Taj was on the other and the sun was waaaaay off to the west and obscured by smoke, pollution, clouds, haze or whatever but it didn't really cast any kind of a golden glow but it was my first view of the Taj and it was still majestic. The next day was a visit to inside the real thing. I'm at a loss as to what to say to the grandeur of the Taj Mahal. And I gotta go anyway. Check back to see if I can get the words together in the right order to tell of my visit and also to learn why the city I'm in now (Veranasi) is just to die for!
I visited the temples that I wanted to visit including Sitivri which is the temple of Buddha's first wife and is waaaaay at the top of the hill and you have to get past a bunch of monkeys who can tell if you have food in your hands so don't walk up there carrying munchies! and since I had made my contribution to the local economy at the markets me and a few other Intrepid travels decided to try out the pool at the hotel neighboring ours. It cost a few rupees but we took the plunge. I remember seeing some folks swimming in the Atlantic Ocean when I was in Biarritz or Bilbao way back in November or December. I think I had them beat temperaturely speaking with the dip in the pool! WOW.
After thawing, I decided I'd stick closer to home (the hotel du jour). The Kishna Palace has a sort of 'dinner and a show' sort of thing. That is to say they have a big screen TV that they set up in the rooftop dining room (every hotel has a rooftop dining room!) and they show movies. I finally got to see Slumdog Millionaire. And here's a bit of fun news-one of the other members of our group is the cousin of the editor of that film and that fella just won the BAFTA award for Editing so congratulations to Chris Dickens from your one of your cousin Mike's fellow travelers!
After Pushkar there was a bus to Jaipur home of the Amber Fort. Some of the forts and cities I have visited have been named based on the color of the stone the city/fort was built from. Not the case with the Amber. While there is a kind of pale yellowy tint to this fort's stones the word Amber has a Hindi pronunciation because it is the name of a god and not a reference to color. The king of this fort had two wives and each queen had her own space in the palace inside the fort. According to our guide the king flipped a coin each night to decide who to spend the night with. Other entertainment involved alcohol and elephants and surprisingly the alcohol was for the elephants. I guess they are angry drunks and like to fight.
Jaipur is also home to the largest movie house in Asia and I went to my first Bollywood movie! As far as the spoken language was concerned I only understood the few bits that were in Hinglish but the story was fairly easy to follow. Also, one member of the group is very up on the Bollywood scene and was able to provide some fun insites into the film in general pointing out the kind of things that you'll always see in them such as references to Charlie Chaplin and how often to expect a song and dance.
From Jaipur there was a one night stand in Bharatpur, home of the Keoladeo Ghana Bird Park. I've visited a more than a few bird parks and sanctuaries in the States. This one probably tops the lot of 'em. I don't know what amazed me more-the quantity of birds or the variety of species. I saw so many storks and herons gathered together that the place looked prehistoric. Hundreds of Painted Storks perched in trees looks pretty strange if you've never seen that kind of rookery before. I saw some massive pelicans and wee small owls plus several kinds of deer and a monitor lizard. Our guide went in search of a python and I've not decided yet if it was good or bad that he didn't come back with one!
From the birds it was onto the jewel in the crown of India. Agra and The Taj Mahal. We arrived in Agra early enough in the day to do a bit of touring. First I went the Red Fort and because I foolishly didn't get a guide I can't tell you much about what I saw. I have to Wiki that one when I get home. From there I vsited the Baby Taj which is a similar mausoleum but was constructed for the Grandfather of the Lady buried at the Taj. The Taj Mahal's designed is based on the Baby Taj. From the Baby Taj I traveled to a scenic viewpoint to see the real Taj Mahal at the golden hour, the time just before sunset. I was on one side of the river, the Taj was on the other and the sun was waaaaay off to the west and obscured by smoke, pollution, clouds, haze or whatever but it didn't really cast any kind of a golden glow but it was my first view of the Taj and it was still majestic. The next day was a visit to inside the real thing. I'm at a loss as to what to say to the grandeur of the Taj Mahal. And I gotta go anyway. Check back to see if I can get the words together in the right order to tell of my visit and also to learn why the city I'm in now (Veranasi) is just to die for!
Thursday, February 5, 2009
Cultural relativisim
When last I writ I think I was mending my saddle sores from the camel safari. It all seems sooo long ago but it was just a few days wasn't it? The camel ride took place our of Jaisalmer. Since then I've spent a few nights in Udaipur. The claim to fame there are the abundance of miniature art schools specializing in miniature. I took a two hour art class and created my own work of art. Remember the ads with the picture of pirate or something that said "Can you draw this?" It was that kind of art school. I was gonna do a camel but everyone else was doing that so I did a horse and then bought a painting of a camel. . .and a horse. . .and an elephant, too! In the hindu culture the horse is a symbol of power, the elephant is a symbol of luck and the camel is the symbol of love ("if you can love a camel you can love anything"). Udaipur is also home to several palaces. I visited the City Palace and hired a guide. One of the things about hinduism is the number of gods they can worship-there are hundreds. The story goes that once an Indian king visited Rome and saw a special devise there. He asked the Pope what it was. He was told it was a telephone for talking to God. The king called God and spoke to him and when he was done the Pope told him it would cost 1000 Rupees. Sometime later the Pope visited the City Palace in Udaipur and saw a special devise there also. He asked what it was. He was told it too was for talking to Gods. The Pope called and talked for a bit and when he was done he was told it would cost 2 Rupees because in Udaipur, it is only a local call.
Udaipur has a couple of lakes with palaces built out in the middle but I couldn't visit because the water level is too low for boats right now. :-(
Five hours by train from Udaipur and I'm now in Pushkar, a holy city. There are about 40 temples here. Fifty-three Ghats surround the holy lake in the center. Ghats are the steps down to the water where the Brahmins go to say prayers and take cleansing holy baths. I was allowed to participate in a Punja and that got me a Punja Passport, a special thread bracelet to wear which keeps the scam artists from coercing my into attending unofficial Punjas. I guess it works because no one else has tried to cleanse me since. The bracelet doesn't stop the merhants from inviting me into their shops "Only to look, madam. Free to look" A lot of the shops have the same kind of things in all the towns and cities but each town also has shops that have items that are unique to the town. In Udaipur, it was the miniature paintings. Here in Pushkar, it seems to be the leather bags. So far I have resisted the leather bags.
Well, knock wood-all of the various maladies seem to have worn themselves out trying to get me to succumb completely. All my digestive ills have long since stopped. The cold that I finally did catch didn't develop into the dreaded cough. My camel saddle sore is healing nicely. I only have to survive another 10 days or so here in India . . .and then I get to do it all again as I venture into Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I should probably go look up 'diarrhea' in my English/Thai dictionary just to get ready!
Udaipur has a couple of lakes with palaces built out in the middle but I couldn't visit because the water level is too low for boats right now. :-(
Five hours by train from Udaipur and I'm now in Pushkar, a holy city. There are about 40 temples here. Fifty-three Ghats surround the holy lake in the center. Ghats are the steps down to the water where the Brahmins go to say prayers and take cleansing holy baths. I was allowed to participate in a Punja and that got me a Punja Passport, a special thread bracelet to wear which keeps the scam artists from coercing my into attending unofficial Punjas. I guess it works because no one else has tried to cleanse me since. The bracelet doesn't stop the merhants from inviting me into their shops "Only to look, madam. Free to look" A lot of the shops have the same kind of things in all the towns and cities but each town also has shops that have items that are unique to the town. In Udaipur, it was the miniature paintings. Here in Pushkar, it seems to be the leather bags. So far I have resisted the leather bags.
Well, knock wood-all of the various maladies seem to have worn themselves out trying to get me to succumb completely. All my digestive ills have long since stopped. The cold that I finally did catch didn't develop into the dreaded cough. My camel saddle sore is healing nicely. I only have to survive another 10 days or so here in India . . .and then I get to do it all again as I venture into Thailand, Cambodia and Vietnam. I should probably go look up 'diarrhea' in my English/Thai dictionary just to get ready!
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