This is 100% My Opinion and ONLY my Opinion.
How do you describe a place like China, it's so large, so diverse, it's a confusing bipolar mess, trapped between two very different worlds, but somehow it works. Why do I love this country? I'm not sure but god is it a great place to visit.
On one side you have the old world, homes made of stone, hand made brick, clay, people living off the land eating and selling what they have cultivated, a very simple but hard life. This occurs all over the country, passing dry hot dusty landscapes on a sleeper bus or the train to Lhasa was an eye opening experience. Land that i never would have thought farmable was covered in terraces, water buffalo still being used to plow the earth, dry brittle soil being turned up for farming, and the people live here happily.
As you get out and walk around in towns like this you can see the hardships of peoples lives that they wear on their faces. years of hard work on the field is still a reality to millions of Chinese citizens, in the rice terraces of the south, the fields scattered across most of the country, and in high altitudes of the Tibetan Plateau, the hot sun will weather anybodies skin, it will hunch your backs, wrinkle your faces, and even put a permanent limp on you, a result of many hard years, working a simple but difficult life. This is visible all over china, but still through the hardships, years of rural living, decades of historical Chinese life, through a couple of world wars (whether they knew it existed or not), through life under Mao, and up to the present, these Chinese whom (in my opinion) make up a one half of this "bipolar" culture are wonderful people. always smiling back at you as you pass them in the streets, sometimes offering you a stare of "what the hell are you doing here? HERE OF ALL PLACES" (slightly confused by Western tourism), but overall just happy that you have come to see their way of life and share in their culture. I really loved this part of China.
On the other side you have the rapidly growing economic and industrial part of the country the push for progress no matter what the cost. This is a testament of what china will be, and honestly it is kind of scary, this country is NO joke and when they put their mind and effort into doing something, it will get done. Beijing Tibet Train was finished 3 year ahead of schedule, i mean who finishes a construction project 3 years ahead of time (unheard of), the 3 gorges dame makes Lake Powell in Vegas look like a joke. All i see in china, in the big cities or urban areas is the focused on growth and progress, progress, progress, and more forward progress, it's scary because it almost seems like they are building for the sake of building, knocking older buildings down (10 year old buildings) and throwing up a new one.
This idea of progress in infrastructure i think has also flowed into a life style change of this new generation of wealthier Chinese citizens, carrying umbrellas to shield them selves from the sun, mass consuming, frivolously wasting, and unfortunately adopting all the good but also all the bad aspects of western culture. New Chinese culture is all about the flash, what you have, what you own, and how your are perceived by peers. Over all what i have experienced is always looking forward and never looking back, it's a good way to think but when you flood homes that have been around for centuries (3 gorges), you turn places like Potala Palace in Tibet into a tourist trap, you stand amongst the masses in Tienamen square, or march along the great wall, surely their must be some value on the beauty of the past. The thumping beats of night clubs, flashing lights, mega cities that seem to be popping up everywhere, the rejection of the old ways seems to be the way china is heading. It's funny though because you still have young people getting up and moving so an older person can sit down (on the bus), and there still is many of the culture and customs of what china was and kind of essentially still is, but the forward progress of where this country is heading is slowly changing its culture (my opinion). I don't want to go out and say that it is becoming more westernized because that would make any proud Chinese person shed a tear or two. I think that it's hard to ever say china will be westernized, but honestly as i see the McD's, KFC, and Starbucks, and i hear American pop music playing in Abacronbie-esk stores, i feel a bit of it's unique character slipping away.
With two ways of living and cultural life styles that are so very different, i don't know which one i like more, sure the huge cities are amazingly fun to get lost it, to eat in, to wander around in. the idea of growth and progress is a good thing, but when you see dames put up in Tibet blocking a amazingly beautiful rivers in a landscape that is so scenically stunning, i think you have gone too far. Sure i would not have been able to travel to some of the places i went in china with out this progress, but i think there needs to be a limit. The old way of living is simple, beautiful and i loved visiting old farms, rural landscapes, but with out the progress, roadways, buses, trains, i would never have gotten their or gotten out of there. also with progress comes more english language which isn't always needed but god does it make it easier.
I really loved China, i'm excited to leave and i'm happy to see something new but it will be a place worth returning to, the mix of the old way of living and the modernization is something that some how works for me, you get the best of both worlds!
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Friday, October 24, 2008
Leaving Katmandu
On my last day I woke up, packed my bags and stumbled down the stairs to leave me pack behind for the day and tour the city one last time before my 9pm flight out of the country. I had heard from some people that there was the Dashain (Nepali) Hindu festival going on and that there would be plenty to see.
The Hotel manager explains that each house hold will be sacrificing a goat (eating it as well for all you freak vegetarians out there) and Dubi Square (sp?) is where it is all going down. So I packed my camera and charged out the door to witness a goat blood bath. The road was packed as I headed out the door, people were not really working, shops were closed up, and there was defiantly an excitement lingering about. As I started getting closer and closer to the square I
could see butchers sharpening their knives, herds and herds of goats being led down the street, a peddle rickshaw passes me bye loaded with freshly butchered goat, leaving a faint trail of its load dripping behind it, it was not a good day to be a goat.
Now with a bit of a sick twisted excitement I bust into the square expecting to see a goat blood bath, I mean in my overly vivid (I guess sick imagination) I thought there would be goats strung up on posts, dudes in executioners masks hacking the heads off these poor furry bastards, pools of blood everywhere. My twisted “lord of the Flies” vision of little kids holding up goat heads was not exactly what was going on in Katmandu that day.
I did how ever witness a string of 4 goats tied to a wall, while a young kid (no older than 20), his mother, and father (the local butchers) supplied the near by families with their goat sacrifice. What caught my eye was not the pool of blood on the sidewalk, not the intestines, legs, and miscellaneous body parts on the table, not the bloody tree stump that was used as a chopping block, nor was it the woman who had an evil grin on her face as she burnt the hair of the pre-boiled goats head, that was all good with me. It was the 4 other goats tied to the wall watching their buddy get dismembered right in front of their eyes, THAT is what caught my attention on my walk home to the hostel, on my way out of Nepal, the day of the Dashain Festival.
The Hotel manager explains that each house hold will be sacrificing a goat (eating it as well for all you freak vegetarians out there) and Dubi Square (sp?) is where it is all going down. So I packed my camera and charged out the door to witness a goat blood bath. The road was packed as I headed out the door, people were not really working, shops were closed up, and there was defiantly an excitement lingering about. As I started getting closer and closer to the square I
could see butchers sharpening their knives, herds and herds of goats being led down the street, a peddle rickshaw passes me bye loaded with freshly butchered goat, leaving a faint trail of its load dripping behind it, it was not a good day to be a goat.Now with a bit of a sick twisted excitement I bust into the square expecting to see a goat blood bath, I mean in my overly vivid (I guess sick imagination) I thought there would be goats strung up on posts, dudes in executioners masks hacking the heads off these poor furry bastards, pools of blood everywhere. My twisted “lord of the Flies” vision of little kids holding up goat heads was not exactly what was going on in Katmandu that day.
I did how ever witness a string of 4 goats tied to a wall, while a young kid (no older than 20), his mother, and father (the local butchers) supplied the near by families with their goat sacrifice. What caught my eye was not the pool of blood on the sidewalk, not the intestines, legs, and miscellaneous body parts on the table, not the bloody tree stump that was used as a chopping block, nor was it the woman who had an evil grin on her face as she burnt the hair of the pre-boiled goats head, that was all good with me. It was the 4 other goats tied to the wall watching their buddy get dismembered right in front of their eyes, THAT is what caught my attention on my walk home to the hostel, on my way out of Nepal, the day of the Dashain Festival.Tuesday, October 7, 2008
Nepal Recap
Nepal.... Well my biggest mistake was not planning for this part of my trip. After living in Tahoe on and off for 6 years a place like Nepal would have been a perfect place to explore, relax, and enjoy, but instead it was slightly rushed and left only partially discovered (by me that is).
The drive from Sunali to Pokhara was amazing; especially after leaving the chaos of India, if the driver was not absolutely bumping terrible trance/techno remixes I would say that the drive would have been perfect. Windy narrow roads the start out pretty low in elevation and begin the climb higher and higher in to the Himalayas. For me the Himalayas seemed so mystical, so untouched, so unreachable; but here I was cursing through the mountains on my way to a Pokhara a hikers/kayakers/ rafters dream. The villages that I drove through were phenomenal and I remember thinking what a simple life these people live, hard... definitely hard but simple and beautiful.
Pokhara was a dream, relaxing at first, but soon was filled with tourists alike, with their trekking poles, rugged look, it was basically a Patagonia magazine, or better yet a L.L. bean magazine, decked out head to toe in their hot new unused gear walking down the street, mostly middle aged people (with some money) "set out to conquer the world," or the Annapuna mountain range. Being completely unprepared for this it made me laugh because even booking my trek at the last minute, having half the equipment, and probably a fraction of the knowledge, I knew I was better off than these jokers. With that said there were plenty of crunchy people ready to take on the mountain, people who looked like they belonged there, hikers who were actually carrying their packs. It was a cool place to be for a week, Pokhara was an enjoyable city. Advice, get there before the crowds, early September.
Leaving Pokhara I was excited to see what the rest of the country looked like but my fantasy of the pristine Himalayas was just that, a fantasy. With population, poverty, and lack of education comes pollution and an abundance of trash. Nepal was NOT on the level of India but if their population was as high, it would fall to the same fait of their polluted neighbors to the south. the one thing I must credit Nepal for is that they do have garbage cans visibly, and they do know how to keep touristy areas clean, if you venture off the touristy path, watch what you step in because you never know what you may find.
Katmandu: As you creep over the hill after the LONG life threatening bus ride (which if you don't like heights, edges, or windy roads, your absolutely screwed), Katmandu comes into view, a sprawled city with its problems, mostly the same as big Indian cities, but with 1/2 the population. I was preparing for the worst but after arriving in Thamel (backpackers central) I was pleasantly surprised. There were a couple of busy tourist streets that had everything you could ask for; restaurants, bars, internet, English speakers, laundry service, culture, and more pack backers which is nice to see when in a big city. Being in Katmandu was a pleasant surprise, granted I stayed in a hotel which was pushed out side of Themal on a quiet little back street that at first I was a bit upset about, but once I realized how close I was to the heart of everything, it made my stay so much better.
Now in China and writing this blog, I can say my second biggest mistake was NOT taking advantage of having the Himalayas right there, currently struggling to get into Tibet to see the landscape, the Tibetan Plateau, the mountains, the lakes, it just doesn't seem possible. Katmandu and Nepal (although it is NOT Tibet) it still holds the largest mountain in the world and a trip to Nepal side of the Tibetan mountains would have been nice.
PHOTOS:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vaccaro.marc/MarcvaccaroNepal?feat=directlink
The drive from Sunali to Pokhara was amazing; especially after leaving the chaos of India, if the driver was not absolutely bumping terrible trance/techno remixes I would say that the drive would have been perfect. Windy narrow roads the start out pretty low in elevation and begin the climb higher and higher in to the Himalayas. For me the Himalayas seemed so mystical, so untouched, so unreachable; but here I was cursing through the mountains on my way to a Pokhara a hikers/kayakers/ rafters dream. The villages that I drove through were phenomenal and I remember thinking what a simple life these people live, hard... definitely hard but simple and beautiful.
Pokhara was a dream, relaxing at first, but soon was filled with tourists alike, with their trekking poles, rugged look, it was basically a Patagonia magazine, or better yet a L.L. bean magazine, decked out head to toe in their hot new unused gear walking down the street, mostly middle aged people (with some money) "set out to conquer the world," or the Annapuna mountain range. Being completely unprepared for this it made me laugh because even booking my trek at the last minute, having half the equipment, and probably a fraction of the knowledge, I knew I was better off than these jokers. With that said there were plenty of crunchy people ready to take on the mountain, people who looked like they belonged there, hikers who were actually carrying their packs. It was a cool place to be for a week, Pokhara was an enjoyable city. Advice, get there before the crowds, early September.
Leaving Pokhara I was excited to see what the rest of the country looked like but my fantasy of the pristine Himalayas was just that, a fantasy. With population, poverty, and lack of education comes pollution and an abundance of trash. Nepal was NOT on the level of India but if their population was as high, it would fall to the same fait of their polluted neighbors to the south. the one thing I must credit Nepal for is that they do have garbage cans visibly, and they do know how to keep touristy areas clean, if you venture off the touristy path, watch what you step in because you never know what you may find.
Katmandu: As you creep over the hill after the LONG life threatening bus ride (which if you don't like heights, edges, or windy roads, your absolutely screwed), Katmandu comes into view, a sprawled city with its problems, mostly the same as big Indian cities, but with 1/2 the population. I was preparing for the worst but after arriving in Thamel (backpackers central) I was pleasantly surprised. There were a couple of busy tourist streets that had everything you could ask for; restaurants, bars, internet, English speakers, laundry service, culture, and more pack backers which is nice to see when in a big city. Being in Katmandu was a pleasant surprise, granted I stayed in a hotel which was pushed out side of Themal on a quiet little back street that at first I was a bit upset about, but once I realized how close I was to the heart of everything, it made my stay so much better.
Now in China and writing this blog, I can say my second biggest mistake was NOT taking advantage of having the Himalayas right there, currently struggling to get into Tibet to see the landscape, the Tibetan Plateau, the mountains, the lakes, it just doesn't seem possible. Katmandu and Nepal (although it is NOT Tibet) it still holds the largest mountain in the world and a trip to Nepal side of the Tibetan mountains would have been nice.
PHOTOS:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vaccaro.marc/MarcvaccaroNepal?feat=directlink
Sunday, October 5, 2008
Katmandu
Drive to Katmandu and my Failed attempt into Tibet
After my Hike I boarded a tourist bus that I thought would take 4 hours and be quite similar to the ride I had from Sunali to Pokhara. God was I wrong, the bus took nearly 7 hours and really exposed me to what Nepal is like. I can’t speak for the whole country because I have only seen a VERY SMALL amount of it. As I left Pokhara and began to drive into the country side I was waiting to see more green hills, rice terraces (which I saw), but mostly just more clean, quite country side. Unfortunately what I saw reminded me a bit of India, more poverty, more garbage, and a rural life style that I have now become quite accustom to when dealing with third world counties.
I guess I had higher hopes for Nepal and this vision of pristine beauty, the Himalayan mountains, the tallest peaks of the world, spilling fresh glacial water into the country side which people literally drink right off the mountain (hell I did in my hike). It’s sad to see what happens to some of the cleanest water in the world once it hits the Nepali population. I guess if it was in the US it would be twice as bad with factories dumping waste, fertilizer runoff, and everything else we have going for us. I guess I’m just a bit naïve and want to be a bit more ignorant wishing that these places were as picturesque as I dreamed about.
Katmandu is an interesting place, some travelers are completely bothered by it. I have been here for two days now and have done nothing but eat, walk the busy streets, window shop, and eat some more. For me I am quite happy with this city. Sure it is big and dirty, but as I said I’m getting over that, now it is expected to come into a city and see an abundance of stray dogs, the occasional cow wondering the streets, some chickens picking at trash on the side of the road. I mean come on… if you live in the city and you don’t have a field what are you going to feed your cows and chickens? Obviously trash!!!!
Anyways, I have only seen a small bit of Katmandu and only plan on chilling in the touristy area (Thamel), I don’t plan on seeing the big Peace Pagoda in the center of town, because, well…. After doing ABC, it’s not all that appealing to me, I would rather eat MoMos (steamed Chinese style dumplings with amazing sauces), than haggle for a cab to take me to the center of a busy busy town.
OH, side note. If you are planning on going from Katmandu into Tibet and into mainland China, DON’T. For me it made perfect scenes, it was the natural direction I was heading but the Chinese made things difficult and now $637 later on a one way flight to Kunming China I have to take an alternate rout.
After my Hike I boarded a tourist bus that I thought would take 4 hours and be quite similar to the ride I had from Sunali to Pokhara. God was I wrong, the bus took nearly 7 hours and really exposed me to what Nepal is like. I can’t speak for the whole country because I have only seen a VERY SMALL amount of it. As I left Pokhara and began to drive into the country side I was waiting to see more green hills, rice terraces (which I saw), but mostly just more clean, quite country side. Unfortunately what I saw reminded me a bit of India, more poverty, more garbage, and a rural life style that I have now become quite accustom to when dealing with third world counties.
I guess I had higher hopes for Nepal and this vision of pristine beauty, the Himalayan mountains, the tallest peaks of the world, spilling fresh glacial water into the country side which people literally drink right off the mountain (hell I did in my hike). It’s sad to see what happens to some of the cleanest water in the world once it hits the Nepali population. I guess if it was in the US it would be twice as bad with factories dumping waste, fertilizer runoff, and everything else we have going for us. I guess I’m just a bit naïve and want to be a bit more ignorant wishing that these places were as picturesque as I dreamed about.
Katmandu is an interesting place, some travelers are completely bothered by it. I have been here for two days now and have done nothing but eat, walk the busy streets, window shop, and eat some more. For me I am quite happy with this city. Sure it is big and dirty, but as I said I’m getting over that, now it is expected to come into a city and see an abundance of stray dogs, the occasional cow wondering the streets, some chickens picking at trash on the side of the road. I mean come on… if you live in the city and you don’t have a field what are you going to feed your cows and chickens? Obviously trash!!!!
Anyways, I have only seen a small bit of Katmandu and only plan on chilling in the touristy area (Thamel), I don’t plan on seeing the big Peace Pagoda in the center of town, because, well…. After doing ABC, it’s not all that appealing to me, I would rather eat MoMos (steamed Chinese style dumplings with amazing sauces), than haggle for a cab to take me to the center of a busy busy town.
OH, side note. If you are planning on going from Katmandu into Tibet and into mainland China, DON’T. For me it made perfect scenes, it was the natural direction I was heading but the Chinese made things difficult and now $637 later on a one way flight to Kunming China I have to take an alternate rout.
7 day Annapuna Base Camp Hike
7Day Annapuna Base Camp Hike
So after feeling absolutly jealousy that I didn’t do my homework and research a bit more on Nepal and the trekking, I decided to bite the bullet and do the hike. Despite the recently broken back, and terrible shape that I’m in (especially after eating like a pig in Delhi). Regardless it was one of the best things I could have done.
The trip started off with a bit of a hitch, since there is a big festival the day I was supposed to start there were NO cabs to drop me off at my starting point, so instead of walking 12-15 kilometers it turned into about 25 – 30 kilometers which with a 20+lbs backpack took me around 11 hours. Rolling into the first “tea house” (basically motel in the mountains, some nicer than others, some with hot water some not, some with squat toilets some with “western toilets”), was great when I arrived there the other guides and guests were amazed we walked the distance we did since it took most groups 2 days to reach the point we did and they took a taxi to the drop off point which we didn’t have the luxury of doing.
Oh, yeah… “we” being me and my guide/porter, since I tend to hurt myself doing stupid stuff I decided it would be wise to hire someone to hike this thing with me. He would have carried any thing I asked, but I was a bit to proud to let him do that. Not to mention you get a sense of pride and accomplishment of carrying the gear you need to the top and back. What’s the point of doing it if you can’t do it your self. The smiles and acknowledgement that I would get from locals and other guides that saw me carrying my own gear was gratifying enough. Many people hike this alone without guides and porters and carry their own stuff, but bringing a guide and carrying your own stuff is something no one else does (maybe I’m a idiot and should have let him carry it?). Regardless I would not let my self fall into the category with over weight Europeans, sweating and littering all over the track, or your typical Asian tourist who is only carrying his/her own digital point and shoot camera and an umbrella to shield them from the sun… freakin’ embarrassing. Also god knows what these people pack because the poor porters are carrying bags twice the size of them, hair dryers, a month of cloths, photo albums, who knows but some of these peoples bags were huge.
Anyways day one was a bit rough, it was a long day filled with rice terraces which I am still in awe with, and 100’s and 100’s of slate/rock steps. I don’t know what psycho decided to create this entire hike into steps and rock pathways but unless you have calves and thighs of steel, there is NO amount of stair master that can put you in training for this hike.
So after feeling absolutly jealousy that I didn’t do my homework and research a bit more on Nepal and the trekking, I decided to bite the bullet and do the hike. Despite the recently broken back, and terrible shape that I’m in (especially after eating like a pig in Delhi). Regardless it was one of the best things I could have done.
The trip started off with a bit of a hitch, since there is a big festival the day I was supposed to start there were NO cabs to drop me off at my starting point, so instead of walking 12-15 kilometers it turned into about 25 – 30 kilometers which with a 20+lbs backpack took me around 11 hours. Rolling into the first “tea house” (basically motel in the mountains, some nicer than others, some with hot water some not, some with squat toilets some with “western toilets”), was great when I arrived there the other guides and guests were amazed we walked the distance we did since it took most groups 2 days to reach the point we did and they took a taxi to the drop off point which we didn’t have the luxury of doing.
Oh, yeah… “we” being me and my guide/porter, since I tend to hurt myself doing stupid stuff I decided it would be wise to hire someone to hike this thing with me. He would have carried any thing I asked, but I was a bit to proud to let him do that. Not to mention you get a sense of pride and accomplishment of carrying the gear you need to the top and back. What’s the point of doing it if you can’t do it your self. The smiles and acknowledgement that I would get from locals and other guides that saw me carrying my own gear was gratifying enough. Many people hike this alone without guides and porters and carry their own stuff, but bringing a guide and carrying your own stuff is something no one else does (maybe I’m a idiot and should have let him carry it?). Regardless I would not let my self fall into the category with over weight Europeans, sweating and littering all over the track, or your typical Asian tourist who is only carrying his/her own digital point and shoot camera and an umbrella to shield them from the sun… freakin’ embarrassing. Also god knows what these people pack because the poor porters are carrying bags twice the size of them, hair dryers, a month of cloths, photo albums, who knows but some of these peoples bags were huge.
Anyways day one was a bit rough, it was a long day filled with rice terraces which I am still in awe with, and 100’s and 100’s of slate/rock steps. I don’t know what psycho decided to create this entire hike into steps and rock pathways but unless you have calves and thighs of steel, there is NO amount of stair master that can put you in training for this hike.
I can talk for hours about the trek, but instead I’ll just say that it was phenomenal, something I was very happy I did. What should have taken me 8 days (8 relaxing days), me and Krishna did it in 6 which was a record for him since we walked from Pokhara with out a cab (something he rarely does). The Scenery changed as the elevations climbed higher. It started off with rice terraces, progressed into the bamboo jungles with waterfalls and lush green growth everywhere, and eventually led up past where trees grown into a valley surrounded by snow covered peaks where small grasses and wildflowers were the only things that could grow.
A.B.C. (Annapuna Base Camp) was a sight to be scene, 360 degrees of snow covered peaks, I woke up at 5:30am to make the final assent to ABC before sun rise, as I got there I could see stone piles with Tibeten prayer flags flying everywhere, it was a scene out of a movie, it was beautifully surreal. I stayed at base camp for about 6 hours, took about 200 pictures, relaxed had a cup of tea, soaked in the sights and then slowly started my decent back down the mountain. It was near impossible to turn my back on such a beautiful place. Knowing that the clouds would roll in any minute and blanket the peaks made leaving a bit more do-able, but still it was hard.
Recommendations: don’t be a dumb ass and only get a 15 day visa, get the 30 day, and take your time doing the hike. Hike 4 to 6 hours a day start at 6am or 7am which most people do and quite by 1 or 2pm. The Tea houses are great, most owners are very accommodating and since I went with a guide the price per night was cheaper about $1.25 usd a night. All up I was spending about $10 a day and eating pretty hardy a night and even knocking back a couple of roxies with my guide (locally brewed millet wine), tastes like a watered down Grapa, after hiking for 8 hours it put me right to bed. If your doing the hike it should be enjoyed a bit more, I loved every minute of it but having the opportunity to space it out a bit more would have been nice. Oh and stay an extra day at the top and bring some warm cloths because at night it gets down around 20 degrees.
A.B.C. (Annapuna Base Camp) was a sight to be scene, 360 degrees of snow covered peaks, I woke up at 5:30am to make the final assent to ABC before sun rise, as I got there I could see stone piles with Tibeten prayer flags flying everywhere, it was a scene out of a movie, it was beautifully surreal. I stayed at base camp for about 6 hours, took about 200 pictures, relaxed had a cup of tea, soaked in the sights and then slowly started my decent back down the mountain. It was near impossible to turn my back on such a beautiful place. Knowing that the clouds would roll in any minute and blanket the peaks made leaving a bit more do-able, but still it was hard.
Recommendations: don’t be a dumb ass and only get a 15 day visa, get the 30 day, and take your time doing the hike. Hike 4 to 6 hours a day start at 6am or 7am which most people do and quite by 1 or 2pm. The Tea houses are great, most owners are very accommodating and since I went with a guide the price per night was cheaper about $1.25 usd a night. All up I was spending about $10 a day and eating pretty hardy a night and even knocking back a couple of roxies with my guide (locally brewed millet wine), tastes like a watered down Grapa, after hiking for 8 hours it put me right to bed. If your doing the hike it should be enjoyed a bit more, I loved every minute of it but having the opportunity to space it out a bit more would have been nice. Oh and stay an extra day at the top and bring some warm cloths because at night it gets down around 20 degrees.
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Pokhara
Pokhara,
I woke up early, Bob, Sara, and I walked into town. It was quiet, peaceful and at 7:30am there were just a few kids walking around selling freshly baked goods on the side of the road. Compared to India this was what I was looking for, not to mention I was walking lake side into a town about the size of Tahoe City (by the lake), but a legit city of Pokhara pushes back into the hills, a part of town that I never made it to, nor does any tourist.
We rented some Bikes ($1) for the whole day and started riding around town, past the touristy area and around the lake (lake no bigger than Waccabuc), again the hills around me were filled with rice terraces which amaze me. The quietness of the area was something I fell in love with, I think if I flew straight to Pokhara I would not have appreciated it as much, but since most tourists come here via Katmandu (big city) or India their appreciation for the area is MUCH MUCH greater. Cruisin’ around the lake was nice, it was warm, and the sun was finally out.
The town its self is filled with restaurants, little gift shops, very touristy, all catering to the same types of people, trekkers, rafters, kayakers, crunchy people, an outdoors persons dream. Being completely oblivious to what I was walking into, I felt a bit caught off guard because both my Israeli friends and American friends were planning a 17+ day hike to the Annapurana mt. Range, something that I quickly became very jealous of.
Pokhara was great, I climbed up to a look out point which over looked the lake (3.5 hour hike), did some more biking, and even got a cab up to another look out for the sunrise, it was an great place. Being a moron and only getting a 15 day visa I knew my time was running out and on my 4th day I went to a trekker guide shop with Bob and Sara so they could discuss their hike with someone who has done it thousands of times. At this point the wheels in my head began to spin and I really thought I should just go for it and do a small hike. I talked to a guide, and booked my 7 day Annapuna Base Camp hike which is roughly a 40 mile hike, up hills, across rivers, through valleys and up to a glacier.
Being accident prone I decided to rent a guide/porter for $11usd a day who would carry what ever I asked him to and lead the way on the hike. I departed a day and ½ later.
Pokhara, was a great town, worth staying in, the views of the Annapurna Mt. Range in the morning (before clouds rolled in) was phenomenal, the people are friendly, and coming from India it was an awesomely relaxing time.
I woke up early, Bob, Sara, and I walked into town. It was quiet, peaceful and at 7:30am there were just a few kids walking around selling freshly baked goods on the side of the road. Compared to India this was what I was looking for, not to mention I was walking lake side into a town about the size of Tahoe City (by the lake), but a legit city of Pokhara pushes back into the hills, a part of town that I never made it to, nor does any tourist.
We rented some Bikes ($1) for the whole day and started riding around town, past the touristy area and around the lake (lake no bigger than Waccabuc), again the hills around me were filled with rice terraces which amaze me. The quietness of the area was something I fell in love with, I think if I flew straight to Pokhara I would not have appreciated it as much, but since most tourists come here via Katmandu (big city) or India their appreciation for the area is MUCH MUCH greater. Cruisin’ around the lake was nice, it was warm, and the sun was finally out.
The town its self is filled with restaurants, little gift shops, very touristy, all catering to the same types of people, trekkers, rafters, kayakers, crunchy people, an outdoors persons dream. Being completely oblivious to what I was walking into, I felt a bit caught off guard because both my Israeli friends and American friends were planning a 17+ day hike to the Annapurana mt. Range, something that I quickly became very jealous of.
Pokhara was great, I climbed up to a look out point which over looked the lake (3.5 hour hike), did some more biking, and even got a cab up to another look out for the sunrise, it was an great place. Being a moron and only getting a 15 day visa I knew my time was running out and on my 4th day I went to a trekker guide shop with Bob and Sara so they could discuss their hike with someone who has done it thousands of times. At this point the wheels in my head began to spin and I really thought I should just go for it and do a small hike. I talked to a guide, and booked my 7 day Annapuna Base Camp hike which is roughly a 40 mile hike, up hills, across rivers, through valleys and up to a glacier.
Being accident prone I decided to rent a guide/porter for $11usd a day who would carry what ever I asked him to and lead the way on the hike. I departed a day and ½ later.
Pokhara, was a great town, worth staying in, the views of the Annapurna Mt. Range in the morning (before clouds rolled in) was phenomenal, the people are friendly, and coming from India it was an awesomely relaxing time.
NEPAL (sunali to pokhara)
NEPAL,
After a long stay (19 days, which seemed a lot longer), I busted through the boarder into Nepal. My biggest mistake was being cheap and only getting a 15 day visa which you must pay in USD for ($25). The Boarder town on Sunali which is both India and Nepal, is very representative of India, cluttered, dirty, people haggling you to buy just about anything. Needless to say I was NOT interested in staying in Sunali longer than I had to. Unfortunately I just missed the bus to Pokhara so I was forced to sit around for an extra 3 hours. Instead I asked a tour company how much it would be for a private van and seeing it was only $15usd for a 6 hour van ride in comparison to a 12 hour cramped bus ride ($9usd), I managed to scrape together 2 miserable French women (who insisted on eating a full sit down meal before leaving and stopping ½ way for tea), two Israelis who were awesome, and an American couple from Alaska who I wound up rooming with in Pokhara for a couple of days.
The Van ride was phenomenal, it started off slow and we were stopped by the Maoist Rebals who insisted the driver pay them to pass, which he did. Slowly out of the dirty town and in the distance I saw blue skies and the out line of Mountains! At this point all India had done for me was give me rain and humidity, sure I got some sun here and there but for the most part it was overcast and cloudy. So blue skies was something to smile about. The drive began to climb higher and high and before I knew it the road got bumpy, narrow, and a bit dangerous, the driver was bumping some horrible tunes, but I was all smiles. A awful re-mix of “what is love” (night at the Roxbury song) came on and I started twitching my head like the SNL skit, the Americans sitting behind me laughed at it, but the sour French bags, and the Isralies had no clue what I was doing… oh well.
Anyways the drive was great, my sickness that India had given me was starting to clear and breathing in fresh air felt great. The van climbed for quite some bit, whipping past tiny villages that hung onto the cliff side, kids waving at us as we drove by, stopping for tea actually wasn’t that bad. We pulled over at a small village (no tea for me), and I just walked up and down the road, it was so peaceful with HUGE green hills towering over me and the view of layers upon layers of rice terraces was just off in the distance. As we got back in and continued the drive, more and more rice terraces littered the landscape. I really was in awe in how amazing these structures are, carved into the hill, layer after layer after layer.The drive ended at lake side in Pokhara, Bob, Sara (two Americans), and it got out and found our first cheap hotel. The Marco Pollo.
After a long stay (19 days, which seemed a lot longer), I busted through the boarder into Nepal. My biggest mistake was being cheap and only getting a 15 day visa which you must pay in USD for ($25). The Boarder town on Sunali which is both India and Nepal, is very representative of India, cluttered, dirty, people haggling you to buy just about anything. Needless to say I was NOT interested in staying in Sunali longer than I had to. Unfortunately I just missed the bus to Pokhara so I was forced to sit around for an extra 3 hours. Instead I asked a tour company how much it would be for a private van and seeing it was only $15usd for a 6 hour van ride in comparison to a 12 hour cramped bus ride ($9usd), I managed to scrape together 2 miserable French women (who insisted on eating a full sit down meal before leaving and stopping ½ way for tea), two Israelis who were awesome, and an American couple from Alaska who I wound up rooming with in Pokhara for a couple of days.
The Van ride was phenomenal, it started off slow and we were stopped by the Maoist Rebals who insisted the driver pay them to pass, which he did. Slowly out of the dirty town and in the distance I saw blue skies and the out line of Mountains! At this point all India had done for me was give me rain and humidity, sure I got some sun here and there but for the most part it was overcast and cloudy. So blue skies was something to smile about. The drive began to climb higher and high and before I knew it the road got bumpy, narrow, and a bit dangerous, the driver was bumping some horrible tunes, but I was all smiles. A awful re-mix of “what is love” (night at the Roxbury song) came on and I started twitching my head like the SNL skit, the Americans sitting behind me laughed at it, but the sour French bags, and the Isralies had no clue what I was doing… oh well.
Anyways the drive was great, my sickness that India had given me was starting to clear and breathing in fresh air felt great. The van climbed for quite some bit, whipping past tiny villages that hung onto the cliff side, kids waving at us as we drove by, stopping for tea actually wasn’t that bad. We pulled over at a small village (no tea for me), and I just walked up and down the road, it was so peaceful with HUGE green hills towering over me and the view of layers upon layers of rice terraces was just off in the distance. As we got back in and continued the drive, more and more rice terraces littered the landscape. I really was in awe in how amazing these structures are, carved into the hill, layer after layer after layer.The drive ended at lake side in Pokhara, Bob, Sara (two Americans), and it got out and found our first cheap hotel. The Marco Pollo.
India Recap
India Recap,
Again this is my experience and only my experience.
India, is indescribable in words, its name alone brings so many feelings and emotions to my mind. India is an intense saturation of the senses, just hearing a towns name brings a specific sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch that will never be erased from my mind. Unlike an place I have ever been India is truly a unique place to visit.
I will say this, it is not a place for everyone, you have to be prepared for what you are about to step into (in my case, SHIT a few times), and even if you think you are ready for it, your NOT.
Mumbai, the over whelming amout of pollution and poverty, mixed with the immense population is what blew my away. This was to the extent I never thought possible, garbage everywhere, people sleeping anywhere, animals, feces, foul odors, beautiful aromas, friendly people, cold people, beggars, thieves, pollution, and over population, people and animals living in sub standard conditions. It was simply mind blowing. It was a way of life I have never seen, never experienced, never thought was possible. In a way It was quite depressing, but in order to survive mentally you have to rise above it and take the good with the bad, put them together and turn it into one big experience. To get the opportunity to look into someone else’s culture and experience their way of living is a privilege and to judge or criticize would be unfair. I’m happy to have experienced it but I’m glad it is not my life
Goa was a different experience a much greener lush landscape away from all the B.S. involved with the city life. A tourism based life with distinct seasons and off seasons (the off season being filled with rain which I was so lucky to enjoy). Even in the rain it was a pleasant place to visit and it gave me a better understanding of Indian Culture. I liked Goa, I wish I could see it in tourist season, I was happy with where I was and getting a chance to eat some food while being a bit more carefree (eating in Mumbai I was very selective) was great. On that note I did break the seat off the toilet in my hotel room at 2am on a mad dash to release some spicy Vindaloo that I sampled a few hours earlier. Goa, good food, more relaxed, and a lot cleaner than the rest of the places I visited in India.
Delhi was amazing but i attribute that to my experience and my host. Staying with a new friend Kerrun and his mother was excellent, taking me in and showing me another side of India was something I had yet to experience. As a traveler you can only scratch the surface, but having an inside point of view, a guide, a cultural mentor, a LOCAL, is an experience you can never put a price on, for me it made my time in India worth while.
I think with out my Delhi experience my view of India would not have been accurate or better yet my opinions would have been overall a LOT harsher.
Agra, Lucknow, Gorakupur, and train travel was a bit of a ZOO. I met some amazing people along the way, but the train was a disaster for me, being sick, not being able to find my seat, and walking aimlessly was not my cup of tea. The train was confusing but great, squat toilets that empty directly onto the track, an unavoidable culture of just taking your trash and throwing it out the window, a car system which still confuses the hell out of me (how you find your car is still beyond me when ½ the time they are labled and the other ½ they are not), yeah train travel was interesting.
The garbage thing got me though, I mean it’s not just on the train, it’s every where, people just throw trash where ever they want, I didn’t see one trash can until I got to Goa, it’s baffling. Kerrun explained it to me best I think. “People of India don’t know how to think ahead” he explained it to me with buildings, road ways, and major infrastructure, but you can translate it into people just throwing trash where every they like as well. It is a serious problem that no one is thinking about (at least no one I can see).
I can write for ever and I have only seen a tiny portion of a huge country. When I think of India I can still HEAR the blaring horns honking uncontrollably everywhere, I can still SMELL the foul odors of feces, animals, body odor, as well as the beautiful aromas of the food, I can still TASTE the masala which is masterfully blended into everything, I can still FEEL the humidity, heat, and perspiration, and I can still SEE the millions of people living below the poverty line in hard, very hard living conditions.
My experiences in India were limited, only seeing a small portion of a huge country. My recommendations are these:
Visit another Asian City first to warm you up to the insanity and maybe even desensitize you a bit.
Do your homework, don’t try to wing it because it is a tough place.
Travel with someone, no hostiles makes meeting people more difficult and it isn’t a bad place to have someone with you especially to experience the insanity.
PHOTOS:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vaccaro.marc/MarcvaccaroIndia?feat=directlink
Again this is my experience and only my experience.
India, is indescribable in words, its name alone brings so many feelings and emotions to my mind. India is an intense saturation of the senses, just hearing a towns name brings a specific sight, smell, taste, sound, and touch that will never be erased from my mind. Unlike an place I have ever been India is truly a unique place to visit.
I will say this, it is not a place for everyone, you have to be prepared for what you are about to step into (in my case, SHIT a few times), and even if you think you are ready for it, your NOT.
Mumbai, the over whelming amout of pollution and poverty, mixed with the immense population is what blew my away. This was to the extent I never thought possible, garbage everywhere, people sleeping anywhere, animals, feces, foul odors, beautiful aromas, friendly people, cold people, beggars, thieves, pollution, and over population, people and animals living in sub standard conditions. It was simply mind blowing. It was a way of life I have never seen, never experienced, never thought was possible. In a way It was quite depressing, but in order to survive mentally you have to rise above it and take the good with the bad, put them together and turn it into one big experience. To get the opportunity to look into someone else’s culture and experience their way of living is a privilege and to judge or criticize would be unfair. I’m happy to have experienced it but I’m glad it is not my life
Goa was a different experience a much greener lush landscape away from all the B.S. involved with the city life. A tourism based life with distinct seasons and off seasons (the off season being filled with rain which I was so lucky to enjoy). Even in the rain it was a pleasant place to visit and it gave me a better understanding of Indian Culture. I liked Goa, I wish I could see it in tourist season, I was happy with where I was and getting a chance to eat some food while being a bit more carefree (eating in Mumbai I was very selective) was great. On that note I did break the seat off the toilet in my hotel room at 2am on a mad dash to release some spicy Vindaloo that I sampled a few hours earlier. Goa, good food, more relaxed, and a lot cleaner than the rest of the places I visited in India.
Delhi was amazing but i attribute that to my experience and my host. Staying with a new friend Kerrun and his mother was excellent, taking me in and showing me another side of India was something I had yet to experience. As a traveler you can only scratch the surface, but having an inside point of view, a guide, a cultural mentor, a LOCAL, is an experience you can never put a price on, for me it made my time in India worth while.
I think with out my Delhi experience my view of India would not have been accurate or better yet my opinions would have been overall a LOT harsher.
Agra, Lucknow, Gorakupur, and train travel was a bit of a ZOO. I met some amazing people along the way, but the train was a disaster for me, being sick, not being able to find my seat, and walking aimlessly was not my cup of tea. The train was confusing but great, squat toilets that empty directly onto the track, an unavoidable culture of just taking your trash and throwing it out the window, a car system which still confuses the hell out of me (how you find your car is still beyond me when ½ the time they are labled and the other ½ they are not), yeah train travel was interesting.
The garbage thing got me though, I mean it’s not just on the train, it’s every where, people just throw trash where ever they want, I didn’t see one trash can until I got to Goa, it’s baffling. Kerrun explained it to me best I think. “People of India don’t know how to think ahead” he explained it to me with buildings, road ways, and major infrastructure, but you can translate it into people just throwing trash where every they like as well. It is a serious problem that no one is thinking about (at least no one I can see).
I can write for ever and I have only seen a tiny portion of a huge country. When I think of India I can still HEAR the blaring horns honking uncontrollably everywhere, I can still SMELL the foul odors of feces, animals, body odor, as well as the beautiful aromas of the food, I can still TASTE the masala which is masterfully blended into everything, I can still FEEL the humidity, heat, and perspiration, and I can still SEE the millions of people living below the poverty line in hard, very hard living conditions.
My experiences in India were limited, only seeing a small portion of a huge country. My recommendations are these:
Visit another Asian City first to warm you up to the insanity and maybe even desensitize you a bit.
Do your homework, don’t try to wing it because it is a tough place.
Travel with someone, no hostiles makes meeting people more difficult and it isn’t a bad place to have someone with you especially to experience the insanity.
PHOTOS:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/vaccaro.marc/MarcvaccaroIndia?feat=directlink
Agra, Lucknow, Sunali, Train Travel
Agra, Lucknow, Sunali, Train Travel.
OK, so after spending a couple of days with Kerrun which was great, organized, peaceful, and even relaxing regardless of being in a HUGE city in India, I now am faced with getting on the train and getting to the Nepal boarder. Delhi to Agra by train turned out to be a very very interesting experience.
Kerrun booked me a ticket all the way through to 2 hours from the Nepali boarder so I had my tickets purchased and all I had to do was get there… not so hard right? Well first of all there is nothing labeled at the platforms in Delhi so I have no clue what train is what, and how to figure out which actually car on the train I am supposed to be in. A ton of questions later I board a train seconds before it takes off (thank god it was the right one). From here I have a 5 hour journey to Agra (home of the Taj Mahal). Well after wondering the cars for about an hour, trying to figure out which one I belong in and where my seat is, I give up, sit beside an open train door in between cars and watch the scenery pass me by, it was actually quite nice, peaceful, and definitely and educational experience because with in the hour I sat by the open door I witnessed a couple of people come and heave garbage over my shoulders out onto the tracks, a grown woman go up to a train platform, turn around to face all the people standing on the platform and squat and take a piss, as well as meet a new Indian friend who just wanted to attempt to speak English while escorting me back to his seat so we could chat it up (he later helped me find my seat). I may be explaining this lightly but at the time, finding my seat took 2.5 hours and really was a huge pain in the ass.
Agra, I arrived at night and took a auto rickshaw to a hotel that I searched out online (again thank god for planning ahead). Got to the hotel and my rickshaw driver began to pitch me the idea of him taking me around the city the next day and dropping me off at the train station for my next departure, he had a good price so I agreed.
Taj Mahal, I woke up early to see the sun rise over the Taj and it turned out to be a flop, overcast, cloudy, but very peaceful, I saw the Fort which was nothing in comparison to the Taj, and did a bit of touring with my new rickshaw driving friend, he turned out to be pretty cool and took me to rug making factory which was surprisingly interesting, we went to a market, and he took me to a roof top restaurant to watch the sun set on the Taj, all cool things.
At this point I came down with the sweats, chills, and really didn’t feel so hot, in a panic I showed every type of pill down my throat that I had with me, and went to wait for my next HELLISH train ride to Lucknow. At this point not feeling good and having to board a train with the experience I just had getting to Agra I was scared shitless. It turned out that I found my train, car, and seat right away, definitely and act of god. Lucknow turned out to be a hell hole, a dirty little industrial city (I’m totally judging), but in it’s defense all I did was go from the train to a hotel, sleep, and back to the train. If I didn’t feel like hell I would have stayed at the tracks for 6 hours or walked around but I needed the sleep.
Gorakapur was my next stop, this train almost as confusing as my first (2 hours from the Nepal boarder), I rolled in there around 11:00pm and again would have charged for the boarder but felt obligated to sleep, so another auto rickshaw to another filthy hotel. Got some sleep and woke up early to a very very exciting day. As I headed towards the bus station on a pedal rickshaw a random charges my rickshaw screaming SUNALI, SUNALI, SUNALI which is the name of the boarder town. He pointed to a land cruiser, told me it would be 100rs ($2.25), so I hoped into a packed 12 person deep land cruiser for 1.5 hours to the boarder. The ride, if not so cramped would have been great, the views were rural, less trash and pollution, but sitting 4 people in the front seat and watching the driver change gears with the stick shift between some Hindu man’s legs was an interesting ride.
The Boarder: from the bus drop off the boarder is about 1 mile hike through utter madness, cars, busses, motorcycles are all jammed in trying to cross, it is a disaster. Pushing through the mess you have to check out of India at an UNMARKED booth where some random dude is just stamping passports, I exchanged some money, and ran like hell until I reached the boarder because after 19 days of India the MT. of Nepal were calling my name.
Nepal info to come….
OK, so after spending a couple of days with Kerrun which was great, organized, peaceful, and even relaxing regardless of being in a HUGE city in India, I now am faced with getting on the train and getting to the Nepal boarder. Delhi to Agra by train turned out to be a very very interesting experience.
Kerrun booked me a ticket all the way through to 2 hours from the Nepali boarder so I had my tickets purchased and all I had to do was get there… not so hard right? Well first of all there is nothing labeled at the platforms in Delhi so I have no clue what train is what, and how to figure out which actually car on the train I am supposed to be in. A ton of questions later I board a train seconds before it takes off (thank god it was the right one). From here I have a 5 hour journey to Agra (home of the Taj Mahal). Well after wondering the cars for about an hour, trying to figure out which one I belong in and where my seat is, I give up, sit beside an open train door in between cars and watch the scenery pass me by, it was actually quite nice, peaceful, and definitely and educational experience because with in the hour I sat by the open door I witnessed a couple of people come and heave garbage over my shoulders out onto the tracks, a grown woman go up to a train platform, turn around to face all the people standing on the platform and squat and take a piss, as well as meet a new Indian friend who just wanted to attempt to speak English while escorting me back to his seat so we could chat it up (he later helped me find my seat). I may be explaining this lightly but at the time, finding my seat took 2.5 hours and really was a huge pain in the ass.
Agra, I arrived at night and took a auto rickshaw to a hotel that I searched out online (again thank god for planning ahead). Got to the hotel and my rickshaw driver began to pitch me the idea of him taking me around the city the next day and dropping me off at the train station for my next departure, he had a good price so I agreed.
Taj Mahal, I woke up early to see the sun rise over the Taj and it turned out to be a flop, overcast, cloudy, but very peaceful, I saw the Fort which was nothing in comparison to the Taj, and did a bit of touring with my new rickshaw driving friend, he turned out to be pretty cool and took me to rug making factory which was surprisingly interesting, we went to a market, and he took me to a roof top restaurant to watch the sun set on the Taj, all cool things.
At this point I came down with the sweats, chills, and really didn’t feel so hot, in a panic I showed every type of pill down my throat that I had with me, and went to wait for my next HELLISH train ride to Lucknow. At this point not feeling good and having to board a train with the experience I just had getting to Agra I was scared shitless. It turned out that I found my train, car, and seat right away, definitely and act of god. Lucknow turned out to be a hell hole, a dirty little industrial city (I’m totally judging), but in it’s defense all I did was go from the train to a hotel, sleep, and back to the train. If I didn’t feel like hell I would have stayed at the tracks for 6 hours or walked around but I needed the sleep.
Gorakapur was my next stop, this train almost as confusing as my first (2 hours from the Nepal boarder), I rolled in there around 11:00pm and again would have charged for the boarder but felt obligated to sleep, so another auto rickshaw to another filthy hotel. Got some sleep and woke up early to a very very exciting day. As I headed towards the bus station on a pedal rickshaw a random charges my rickshaw screaming SUNALI, SUNALI, SUNALI which is the name of the boarder town. He pointed to a land cruiser, told me it would be 100rs ($2.25), so I hoped into a packed 12 person deep land cruiser for 1.5 hours to the boarder. The ride, if not so cramped would have been great, the views were rural, less trash and pollution, but sitting 4 people in the front seat and watching the driver change gears with the stick shift between some Hindu man’s legs was an interesting ride.
The Boarder: from the bus drop off the boarder is about 1 mile hike through utter madness, cars, busses, motorcycles are all jammed in trying to cross, it is a disaster. Pushing through the mess you have to check out of India at an UNMARKED booth where some random dude is just stamping passports, I exchanged some money, and ran like hell until I reached the boarder because after 19 days of India the MT. of Nepal were calling my name.
Nepal info to come….
Delhi
Delhi,
Now before I begin to talk about Delhi or the rest of India I have to add that this is MY experience and ONLY my experience. What i have learned especially with what i took out Delhi is that it’s your personal experiences that really shape how you feel about a place. For me, getting a chance to see Delhi more like a local than a tourist, while having some inside information, really added to the experience.
I arrived in Delhi and picked up a prepaid cab to my new friend Kerrun’s apartment. At this point I had never met him but he is a friend of a friend whom I have been traveling with up to this point (Cristina). For me this was the thing I had been waiting for, a real experience in eating, seeing, and learning about Indian Cuisine. No longer than 30min. after arriving at his apartment and getting to meet back up with Cristina we hoped into a cab and headed to Old Delhi, the one place I was really looking forward to. I really was excited to see windy narrow streets mobbed with people, and filled with interesting smells and tastes (no sarcasm at all, the packed streets of Old Delhi was on the top of my list of places to see).
On arrival we hopped into a pedal rickshaw (thanks to Kerrun speaking Hindi) and down the narrow passageways we went. Past street vendors frying up all kinds of foods, bags filled with spices of all kinds, people selling any and everything you can imagine, people sleeping in the streets, pissing in the streets, living in the streets, Old Delhi is a sight to see. For me it was a pretty awesome day, but as I said it’s the personal experiences that make an overall difference in how you feel about a place.
Kerrun took me around the city the next day and we did some local things, I saw where his mother worked, places he goes, and restaurants he eats in. It was nice to not be afraid of what I was ordering, not just because of not knowing what it was but also because in India I was always on guard of weather or not it was safe for me to eat. Getting a chance to branch out with someone to guide me on eating and ordering was amazing.
Over all it was the good feeling of having someone with me who was easy to get along with and so willing to help me accomplish what I wanted to learn. Kerrun brought me into a 3 star hotel and actually hooked me up with one of the Chefs whom I got to shoot the shit with, discuss Indian basics, and get a lot of questions answered that still boggled my mind. It was an experience that I was very grateful for.
Overall I really liked Delhi, but I can see how I may be singing a different tune if I hadn’t had such a good guide and accommodating host. I can see how many tourists fall into the trap of being turned off by the city, in comparison to Mumbai, Delhi is a much cleaner city (but that is in comparison to the filthiest place I have ever been), there is a bit more organization to it, but over all it is a big Indian city, dirty, populated and unless prepared, very easy to be overwhelmed by.
Now before I begin to talk about Delhi or the rest of India I have to add that this is MY experience and ONLY my experience. What i have learned especially with what i took out Delhi is that it’s your personal experiences that really shape how you feel about a place. For me, getting a chance to see Delhi more like a local than a tourist, while having some inside information, really added to the experience.
I arrived in Delhi and picked up a prepaid cab to my new friend Kerrun’s apartment. At this point I had never met him but he is a friend of a friend whom I have been traveling with up to this point (Cristina). For me this was the thing I had been waiting for, a real experience in eating, seeing, and learning about Indian Cuisine. No longer than 30min. after arriving at his apartment and getting to meet back up with Cristina we hoped into a cab and headed to Old Delhi, the one place I was really looking forward to. I really was excited to see windy narrow streets mobbed with people, and filled with interesting smells and tastes (no sarcasm at all, the packed streets of Old Delhi was on the top of my list of places to see).
On arrival we hopped into a pedal rickshaw (thanks to Kerrun speaking Hindi) and down the narrow passageways we went. Past street vendors frying up all kinds of foods, bags filled with spices of all kinds, people selling any and everything you can imagine, people sleeping in the streets, pissing in the streets, living in the streets, Old Delhi is a sight to see. For me it was a pretty awesome day, but as I said it’s the personal experiences that make an overall difference in how you feel about a place.
Kerrun took me around the city the next day and we did some local things, I saw where his mother worked, places he goes, and restaurants he eats in. It was nice to not be afraid of what I was ordering, not just because of not knowing what it was but also because in India I was always on guard of weather or not it was safe for me to eat. Getting a chance to branch out with someone to guide me on eating and ordering was amazing.
Over all it was the good feeling of having someone with me who was easy to get along with and so willing to help me accomplish what I wanted to learn. Kerrun brought me into a 3 star hotel and actually hooked me up with one of the Chefs whom I got to shoot the shit with, discuss Indian basics, and get a lot of questions answered that still boggled my mind. It was an experience that I was very grateful for.
Overall I really liked Delhi, but I can see how I may be singing a different tune if I hadn’t had such a good guide and accommodating host. I can see how many tourists fall into the trap of being turned off by the city, in comparison to Mumbai, Delhi is a much cleaner city (but that is in comparison to the filthiest place I have ever been), there is a bit more organization to it, but over all it is a big Indian city, dirty, populated and unless prepared, very easy to be overwhelmed by.
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