Hey folks. Nepal photos are all up now, and 95% of the india photos are up too. Enjoy the photos and LEAVE COMMENTS under any photos you particularly enjoy. I need feedback. Check out photos by going to the RTW PHOTOS link on right side of this page.
Category Archives: India
Travel in India
Nepal
Ok, I’m back and I’ve updated my photos…
Ok, where did we leave off?
The next part of my trip after Burma and a nice diving trip in Thailand was Nepal. When people ask we what my favorite place was on my trip, I tend to give different answers depending on my mood, as each place was a favorite for different reasons. But the place that I most often blurt out is Nepal. Nepal is just a fantastic place, and I had a terrific time there.
I purchased a second digital camera in Bangkok before heading off to Nepal, and it was for this reason that I reluctantly hired a porter for my trek around the Annapurna Range. This allowed me to shoot a lot of photos, as my load was lightened to carry just my camera gear, a few clothing layers and some hiking essentials. Shakti, my porter, carried my sleeping bag, a few extra clothes, my image storage hard drive and extra food along with his own things. Actually he shaved off less than half the weight I would have been carrying on my own, but it was enough to make a difference. [CHECK OUT THE NEW PHOTOS!!!]
Now, ultimately Shakti and Mala, the guide who came with us, ended up being a huge pain in the ass and stole all my money. But I don’t regret having them along on the trek. We had a great time on this trek, and whatever happened afterwards doesn’t diminish this. Had I been smarter, I would have left them in Pokhara. I wanted to leave them in Pokhara. I had decided to leave them to Pokhara…. come to think of it, I DID actually leave them in Pokhara! But they ended up at my door in Katmandu a few days later with a story of how Shakti’s mother needed an emergency operation. I did the nice thing (i.e. stupid, naive thing) and gave him 200.00 dollars. It was a mistake. I couldn’t get rid of them after that. Why? Well for one, they made promises about paying me back by getting me some nice thanka paintings. This of course never materialized. What did happen was that they ended up leeching money from me for two more weeks, always wanting me to pay for their food, their transportation, etc. I actually wasn’t too upset to do this, since in exchange I got two guides and saw more of Nepal than I possibly would have without them, but at that point, I was growing tired of them and would have preferred to have gone it alone without them. hanging out with them was preventing me from meeting new people. I just couldn’t get rid of them. When I finally did announce that I had to go on without them after a week together in Varanasi, they took the first opportunity to rob me off all my cash ($1200.00) and run off. Rotten bastards. These guys were friends, or so I thought. We had been hanging out together for nearly 2 months and although the last week was sort of tense because I knew I had to get rid of them and they knew I wanted to get rid of them, I didn’t think they would betray my trust and steal from me. Live and learn. It cost me a lot of grief and fairly ruined my time in India as I dealt with the anger of being betrayed like that. But I did realize the power of meditation and yoga and discovered “The Power of Now”. After a month of simmering anger, I managed to get back into my trip again. If these guys really are Buddhist/Hindu as they claim, then they know about karma. Unless they gave that money to a charitable organization or did something good with that money, they are going to pay for it one way or another. However, I’m more certain that the money is going to drugs and good times in India. I hope that one day I will be able to go back to Nepal and India and that, by some miracle, I will find them.
I’ve been working for over a month doing construction, and I’ve now earned 1200 dollars. That’s how much time and work it takes to make 1200 dollars. I’ve been conscious that I am working to make back what was stolen from me. $1200 a month doesn’t even cover my basic monthly expenses here in Seattle. But that amount could easily get you by for 3 months traveling in India. And so it goes. So here’s my latest rationalization: I hope I can earn back all of the money I spent on those betrayers by selling the photos they helped me to create. I hope to earn enough to fly back to India and spend a month actually enjoying myself. Karma. Check out my Nepal and India photos and let me know if you are interested in purchasing prints of any of them. Prices are going to start out cheap at $10.00 per 5×7 and $25.00 per 8×10, unmounted. 11×14 and bigger can also be made. I’ll give you a discount if you order more than 5 prints at a time.
So, back to Nepal. I had so many fantastic experiences in Nepal I can’t even begin to talk about them. I’ve been editing photos from my trip, but they don’t really tell the story of my experience. Trekking around the Annapurna mountains was not only one of the best times of my trip, it was one of the best times of my life. I LOVED it and would do it again in a heartbeat. Sadly, this classic trek may soon no longer exist: They are building a ROAD from Pokhara to Multinath. Some of the road is already completed. It was certainly a shock to see motorcycle taxis in Multinath. Though there were only about a dozen that I saw, soon the road will be good enough for trucks, and then I fear it will be spoiled for good. Still, It’s an amazing trek and I can’t recommend it enough. Not only is it filled with stunning mountains, rivers, gorges, forests, and villages… But also the WONDERFUL people I met along the way and, surprisingly, the delicious food. In two words, Dal Bhat. Dal Bhat is a variety of lentil beans, spices, chilies, pickled fruits, and rice. Everyone makes it a little differently, but every way I tasted was wonderful. We ate it every day, with our hands, and I NEVER got tired of it. It’s just that good. Also very good is dried yak meat sauteed in chili oil, and to drink, Raski, hot chai, or a tall glass of fresh buffalo milk with coconut cookies. mmmm. Heaven on earth. I was surprised by how good the food was, but I shouldn’t have been. Kathmandu had great food. Besides that, fresh food always tastes fantastic after you’ve been hiking all day. I trekked part of the way with Nir from Israel and Sam from Australia. They were great guys, but they went ahead after the pass and I was left with Mala and Shakti for the rest of the journey. I’ve actually written a long story of my trek, but as it’s about 20 pages long, I’m not going to post it here. If you are interesting in hearing all of the sorted details, I’d be happy to email it to you.
So enjoy the photos! I am currently about half way through editing them. Please do me a favor and leave me comments under the photos you like most, and check back in a little while: I still have to add India, Egypt, Jordan, Palastine, Cyprus and the rest!
Whining
I’ve just read through the last several blogs that I’ve posted and have noticed that I do an awful lot of complaining here. It’s not that I’m having a terrible time, it’s just that it feels good to vent on this blog. I think my horror stories are more interesting than my good time stories anyway. Everybody likes a good travel horror story, right? I mean, if I just wrote about all the good times I’m having, it would be A) boring and B) irritating. Who wants to hear just about how wonderful traveling around the world is? It’s actually pretty great, it’s true. But it’s also full of complications and bad times as well, just like life back home. It’s all in the attitude you have, whether you’re touring around Egypt or going to work at the post office every day. If you’re mind isn’t focused on the present moment, you’re missing your life. It’s easy to miss life, even when touring the world. My head has been in the past and in the future for many weeks, and I now see how I’ve rarely found the greatness and beauty of life as it was unfolding before me while I wallowed in my recent past. It’s not just me. I know It’s really a struggle for most of us to be in the moment, no matter what we do with our lives.
“Life is what happens while you’re busy making other plans.”
John Lennon
So please, if I can just give you some wisdom from my adventures: Try to be more conscious of the present moment. If you consider it for a moment, you’ll see that it’s where ALL of life really happens. We all spend way too much time planning and remembering, and not nearly enough time just living in the moment.
Ok enough metaphysical mumbo jumbo. Time to hit the beach!!!
India (reprise)
I just want everyone to know that despite my last posting, I actually thought India was a wonderful place. The people, for the most part, were really good people and I was offered genuine kindness time and time again from many people. It’s a wondrous country with really good people and it deserves many visits. My first visit, I’m afraid, was badly tainted by the theft by the Nepali assholes, so my head was in a bad place for pretty much my entire visit. India is a country you must surrender to. Fighting it, as I did, will only cause more grief. I struggled in India only because I let that theft take over my head. Near the end of my visit, I was nearly moved to tears when a poor shoeshine boy ordered me a chai tea and offered me one hundred rupees after I told him that I lost my wallet. (Yes, I lost my wallet, just 2 days before I left. I still don’t know how. I know exactly when I had it last, and that I put it in my camera bag pocket. When I got home, it was gone. It fell out of my bag somehow along the walk home. Totally bizarre. Lost 50 bucks, my atm card and my credit card. BIG pain in the ass, not to mention embarrassing. It’s embarrassing because nobody who was being as paranoid as I was about my money should ever lose their wallet.)
Anyway, this poor young man had the warmest heart, and when I told him I lost my wallet, he wanted to help me any way he could. So this guy, who only had a few hundred rupees to his name, was going to give me about a third of all his money. I let him buy me a chai. This guy was not the exception. Most Indian people are very kind, but you have to sometimes deal with the occasional jerk. You just can’t let these people give you the opinion that all Indians are cheating, lecherous assholes. I really didn’t give India much of a chance. My head was elsewhere. I knew all along that I was missing out on India because of my attitude. I really wasn’t even present. So, I must return when my head and heart are in a better place. I skipped the Taj Mahal even though I had a chance to go on my last day because I want it to be yet another good reason to return. So let me repeat: I think India is a great country and that everyone should visit it at least once in their life. It will definitely change you, whether you want it to or not. My advice for India is to be PRESENT, be AWARE, and SURRENDER to it, but be ready to fight the jerks. Sometimes it’s the only way.
Time to get out of India
Sunday 5/7/06 New Delhi.
I have just arrived after a long, hot, uncomfortable overnight bus ride from McLeod Ganj. The monk I was sitting next to refused to open the window, so I sweated and hardly slept all night.
I’ve had it with India. It’s really time to go. Getting on the bus in McLeod Ganj, I’m told that my ticket is wrong, I can’t have the front seat that I reserved nearly a week ago, and that I have to go sit in the back of the bus. I try to explain that I really need that front seat, that I reserved that particular seat far in advance because of my long legs and that I certainly need that seat more than anyone else on this bus. He refuses to listen to me. “Your ticket is wrong, it’s a different agency. Back of the bus!” “How can it be wrong? It’s says right hear Cityland Bus, seat 4. “ I try to remain calm about it, but he’s not hearing me. “Your ticket is wrong, you sit in back of the bus!” I angrily stomp to the back of the bus. I sit in the back seat and my worst fears are realized, it’s impossible to get my legs in front of me, even with the seat upright in front of me. I see nobody sitting in the front seat, my seat. People are staring at me, wondering what I’m going to do. “This is not acceptable.” I head towards the front again and try to talk to the ticket man again. This time, I’m angry. ”Look, I’m 6’6”, I need that see more than anyone on this bus, I reserved it far in advance! It’s not my fault that somebody screwed up and double-booked my seat!” I’m really pissed now, and now everyone on the bus now knows what’s happening. “No, those seats are booked by another agency, my friends are sitting there. You sit in the back!” His friends?! “I’m not sitting in the back!” “Then you go tomorrow!” Laughter in the bus. But I’m not laughing. “I can’t go tomorrow.” He ignores me. That’s enough for me. I go back to my seat in the back, grab my bag and announce so everyone can hear me, “Fuck this shit, I’m sitting in my reserved seat in the front! If they want me to move, they can fucking try to pry me from my goddamn seat!” An American guy on the bus cheers me on, “Now that’s the right attitude!” And it was. This is the attitude one needs in India just to be treated with respect and fairness. It requires a strength of will and of stomach that I have never really needed before, just to get treated fairly. After more cajoling and my demonstration of how it is for me to sit in a normal seat, he relents. His friends sit next to me across the isle. Everything is fine, I sit next to a monk who refuses to open his window. It’s the only window in the bus that isn’t wide open. I don’t try to argue with him, because he’s a monk. I’m sure he’s got his reasons, I just hope it’s not some kind of Buddhist self-punishment.
At our first rest stop, after standing in the crowded “cue” to order drinks, it’s my turn up, and I order a fresh lemon soda. The man comes back with a bottle of plain soda water. “20 rupees.” “No, I want a fresh lemon soda, and it’s 10 rupees.” I grab the menu and point it out. He seems confused. “ Ok, you wait. You want a glass, right? “ “Yes.” That’s what a fresh lemon soda is; It’s a bottle of soda water and a glass that has some fresh lemon juice in it. It’s not complicated. He takes several more orders before a glass is produced and the soda is poured into it. I’m not sure what he’s doing, as there is clearly no lemon in the glass. There is some discussion, and I’m again starting to lose my patience with this bullshit. He’s trying to give me a glass of plain soda water. There’s a long cue behind us now, and I’m starting to raise my voice. “You know what, forget the lemon soda, give me a Limca.” Finally I’m given the soft drink and have to explain that I already gave him 10 rupees, so I only owe him 5 more. At last it’s all sorted out. I’m now labeled the trouble-maker on the bus. Jesus, you almost have to start breaking chairs just to be treated right. I’ve got to get out of India.
The bus finally stops in Delhi. I don’t know where we are, but lots of people are climbing out. I step out of the bus, not sure if this is the final stop or not. I’m immediately surrounded by touts. “You want autorickshaw or taxi?” “I don’t know yet.” “Autorickshaw? Taxi?” “I don’t know yet.” “Rickshaw?” “I don’t know.” Jesus, It’s 6 am and I’ve hardly slept. “You need taxi?” “My friend! Taxi? “ It’s too much. I just put my finger to my lips. A tall taxi driver with a big mustache and dressed in a white gown approaches me. “Where do you want to go?” “Main bazaar” I tell him. “ Ok, I take you.” “Where are we? Is the bus going further?” “No. This is the last stop.” Just then, I hear someone inside the bus “this isn’t the last stop.” I turn and look at the man. He just smiles and shrugs his shoulders. Fucking assholes.
I climb back on the bus. I’ve really got to get out of India. I’ve had enough.
This is just how it is in this part of the world. I don’t like it, and I don’t have to like it.
Cairo, I’m sure, isn’t going to be any better.
Betrayal
I got ripped off. My Nepali “friends” took all of my cash and ran off. After a few days of frantic attempts to get the Indian Police to help, and complete confusion as to what to do and where to go, I have decided to give it up. I’ve done all I can, contacted everyone I can, and have come to realize that I’m just not going to catch these guys without help which isn’t forthcoming. So I am just trying to get over it, and hope that karma gets them eventually. I am heading to Udaipur to be alone and try to get some peace.