vang vieng is a backpacker town in between luang prabang and vientienne...there is no culture here, only outdoorsy stuff, and a LOT of restaurants with cushions and tvs showing friends/simpsons/family guy...there are a lot of caves nearby, some are interesting to explore...some, not so much...
one day i explored several caves with the same group i had hung out with in luang prabang...our first cave had a big buddha in it, but that was all...our second cave allowed us to do a bit of exploring...thankfully the money taker guy had given us head torches, or we would've had to come back out...(i'm not sure why we didn't think of bringing our own, it's not as if caves have natural light, hee hee)...it was slippery, but still fun...our explorations took longer than expected, so i don't think anyone did anything that afternoon...(layna spent hours in a sauna and loved it)...dinner that night was pizza...i didn't think anything of it, but it kept me in bed for over 24 hours...i couldn't walk straight, not fun at all...thankfully, it didn't affect layna nearly that badly...that's the first "wasted" day of our trip...
we had wanted to go tubing the afternoon after i explored the caves, but due to my late return, we didn't...and i spent the next day in bed, so it didn't happen then either...the third afternoon we finally went tubing...it's basically a backpacker ritual...you hire a tube (the deposit was more than the hire price!!) and they take you about 3km up river...you float down, stopping at any of the bars alongside the river on your way back...there are quite a few bars, and it seemed as though several people were intent on stopping at every one!! i put suncream on my face, but forgot my arms and legs, so i got roasted...one girl we saw along the way said she had used coconut oil, so i can only imagine her condition when she finished...we only stopped twice, and not for long, and we still took 3.5 hours!!! according to another traveler who had done this before, the river was quite low, lower than he had ever seen it...i suppose that explains the slowness...
our next city was vientienne...the capital of lao...quite possibly the only capital i've ever visited where there seemed to be no movement...there were very few people walking around...of course, that's cause it was HOT HOT HOT...apparently april is the hottest month of the year in lao...lucky us...we visited the most famous wat in the country, pha that luang...it's not all that big, but it's covered in gold...it's important enough to be on the seal of the country...on our way to the wat, we walked under a memorial arch...it memorializes the lao people who have died during war...ironically, the memorial is built with cement donated by the US...the cement was supposed to be used for building a runway in 1969...considering the US was dropping a LOT of bombs on lao at the time (in what was at the time a secret operation) i don't blame the people for using the cement for another purpose...the memorial was never finished...it's a bit like the arc de triomphe in paris, but uglier...a good spot to people watch...the other wat i visited in town had over 10,000 buddhas inside!! most of them very small, set into niches in the wall...it is the only wat in town not destroyed by invaders over the years, and needs some renovation...
while in vientienne i took a local bus about an hour out of town and visited buddha park...it's not big at all, but it's absolutely chock FULL of buddhas, and shivas, and other hindu deities...most are pretty interesting, especially the sculpture that allows you to climb up and look out over the whole park...a few monks were exploring as well, it was interesting to see where they were taking pictures...
vientienne is expensive compared to the rest of the country...i guess that's normal for a capital city, but this city didn't have anything justifying the higher costs!!! we ended up sleeping in dorm beds for the first time during our entire trip...unfortunately, mosquitos ate layna each of those nights...(but they left the rest of us in the dorm alone)...mosquitos love layna, she doesn't know why...and i'm surprised they haven't eaten me, as usually they love me...
03 April 2009
30 March 2009
lao 1
the full name of the country is the lao people's democratic republic...but it's not democratic, not at all...it's communist politically, though capitalist economically...people are now able to open businesses and make money, but they're still not allowed to talk badly about the government..
after getting ourselves stamped out of thailand, we crossed the mekong river in a small longboat..i wanted to swim, it wasn't that far...but i didn't want to soak everything i had..hee hee..after we crossed the river, we got our lao visas, passports stamped, and exchanged money..we also signed ourselves up for a slow boat ride to luang prabang..it's a two day ride (7-8 hours in the boat each day) down the river..the name is slow boat, but it didn't feel slow at all..there was a constant breeze, and it was nice to just watch the landscape go by..lao is the least developed of all the countries in this part of the world, nearly 85% of the people have rural lives, living in small villages..lao has had a very turbulent past, like the rest of the countries in this part of the world..there isn't much of a lao national identity, partly because there are people of so many different ethnicities..the most well known culture and group is the lowland lao, they compromise about 50% of the country..it's their culture that is known, if any is known at all..anywho, throughout the two days on the river, we stopped several times for locals to get on or off the boat, and also to take on supplies..the first day i mostly stared at the landscape and daydreamed..layna did the same, in another area of the boat..the second day, i ended up getting to know a group of travelers who had all joined up randomly in the past week or so..one american, one aussie/american, two brits and two germans..all great fun..the first night on the boat we all stayed in pak beng..the second day, we arrived in luang prabang, a former royal capital..a fantastic town..it's at the confluence of the mekong river and the khan river..it's a UNESCO world heritage listed town, which means there is a ban on buses and trucks in town..how awesome is that?
there are a number of wats in luang prabang, as well as a night market..though it has become more touristed over the years, you can still see local traditions that have been taking place for years..one morning layna and i got up before daybreak to watch the morning alms round of the monks..the monks from eat wat walk out in a line from their respective wats, and walk around with their alms bowls to collect alms from the locals..i'm not sure, but i think the monks are only allowed to eat what they receive each morning..the locals gather in several spots to give the alms..at first, i was surprised by how much each person seemed to have..but after seeing how many monks walked by, it made a lot more sense..a little bit is put into the alms bowl of each monk in each line..the women who give alms stay on their knees the whole time, and reach up to the alms baskets/bowls..men who give alms stand at the same height as the monks..i'm not sure how i feel about that..
the first full day i was in luang prabang i went with the group i had met to a waterfall about 35km outside of town..sam and i decided to rent a motorbike, the others all hired bicycles, and pedaled the whole way..needless to say, sam and i arrived their first, nice and relaxed..the others were all covered in sweat..hee hee..anywho, the waterfall is actually a series of waterfalls, about 7 levels in all? i don't remember for sure..several of the levels are perfect for swimming..one of them has a rope swing, and you can jump off that particular level!! it turned out that one of the germans (andre) was pretty good off a rope swing, he was pulling gainers..anywho, the others decided to hire a tuk tuk and put their bikes on top for the way back, but since sam and i had the motorbike we decided to explore the countryside a bit more..lots of fun to just follow the road and see where it went..at one point we actually came to the end of the road, just after a village..i don't think i've ever come to the end of a road before!! judging by the stares we got riding through some of the villages, i don't think they ever see many foreigners..on the way back, sam and i had a little mishap, but we are both fine..
the second day layna and i wandered around town..temples, relaxing, etc..she discovered a local sauna, and loved it..with my scratches, i didn't think a sauna would feel very good..(at that point i still couldn't make a proper fist, or use my right hand to shampoo in the shower)..we both went to the night market each night in town..tons of fantastic street stall food..it's a good thing i'm on a budget, and don't have a house or flat to decorate, because there was plenty in the night market that i really liked..
after getting ourselves stamped out of thailand, we crossed the mekong river in a small longboat..i wanted to swim, it wasn't that far...but i didn't want to soak everything i had..hee hee..after we crossed the river, we got our lao visas, passports stamped, and exchanged money..we also signed ourselves up for a slow boat ride to luang prabang..it's a two day ride (7-8 hours in the boat each day) down the river..the name is slow boat, but it didn't feel slow at all..there was a constant breeze, and it was nice to just watch the landscape go by..lao is the least developed of all the countries in this part of the world, nearly 85% of the people have rural lives, living in small villages..lao has had a very turbulent past, like the rest of the countries in this part of the world..there isn't much of a lao national identity, partly because there are people of so many different ethnicities..the most well known culture and group is the lowland lao, they compromise about 50% of the country..it's their culture that is known, if any is known at all..anywho, throughout the two days on the river, we stopped several times for locals to get on or off the boat, and also to take on supplies..the first day i mostly stared at the landscape and daydreamed..layna did the same, in another area of the boat..the second day, i ended up getting to know a group of travelers who had all joined up randomly in the past week or so..one american, one aussie/american, two brits and two germans..all great fun..the first night on the boat we all stayed in pak beng..the second day, we arrived in luang prabang, a former royal capital..a fantastic town..it's at the confluence of the mekong river and the khan river..it's a UNESCO world heritage listed town, which means there is a ban on buses and trucks in town..how awesome is that?
there are a number of wats in luang prabang, as well as a night market..though it has become more touristed over the years, you can still see local traditions that have been taking place for years..one morning layna and i got up before daybreak to watch the morning alms round of the monks..the monks from eat wat walk out in a line from their respective wats, and walk around with their alms bowls to collect alms from the locals..i'm not sure, but i think the monks are only allowed to eat what they receive each morning..the locals gather in several spots to give the alms..at first, i was surprised by how much each person seemed to have..but after seeing how many monks walked by, it made a lot more sense..a little bit is put into the alms bowl of each monk in each line..the women who give alms stay on their knees the whole time, and reach up to the alms baskets/bowls..men who give alms stand at the same height as the monks..i'm not sure how i feel about that..
the first full day i was in luang prabang i went with the group i had met to a waterfall about 35km outside of town..sam and i decided to rent a motorbike, the others all hired bicycles, and pedaled the whole way..needless to say, sam and i arrived their first, nice and relaxed..the others were all covered in sweat..hee hee..anywho, the waterfall is actually a series of waterfalls, about 7 levels in all? i don't remember for sure..several of the levels are perfect for swimming..one of them has a rope swing, and you can jump off that particular level!! it turned out that one of the germans (andre) was pretty good off a rope swing, he was pulling gainers..anywho, the others decided to hire a tuk tuk and put their bikes on top for the way back, but since sam and i had the motorbike we decided to explore the countryside a bit more..lots of fun to just follow the road and see where it went..at one point we actually came to the end of the road, just after a village..i don't think i've ever come to the end of a road before!! judging by the stares we got riding through some of the villages, i don't think they ever see many foreigners..on the way back, sam and i had a little mishap, but we are both fine..
the second day layna and i wandered around town..temples, relaxing, etc..she discovered a local sauna, and loved it..with my scratches, i didn't think a sauna would feel very good..(at that point i still couldn't make a proper fist, or use my right hand to shampoo in the shower)..we both went to the night market each night in town..tons of fantastic street stall food..it's a good thing i'm on a budget, and don't have a house or flat to decorate, because there was plenty in the night market that i really liked..
26 March 2009
thailand 4
layna and i met up again in chiang mai...it's basically the second city of thailand...smaller, more laid back than bangkok...still full of temples, shopping, guesthouses, and markets...chiang mai is a great town to take a cooking course, or a thai language course, or a massage course...there are tons of tour agencies, and tons of trekking options...unlike nepal, where we did all of our trekking independently, there is very little independent trekking in thailand...treks in thailand last anywhere from 1-7 days most of the time...you can go see mountains, hill tribes, waterfalls, ride elephants, etc...there are also TONS of temples in chiang mai, most of them still in active use...something like 300 temples, which is nearly as many as in bangkok...chiang mai is also fantastic for shopping...there is a night market at which you can buy nearly anything...there is also a sunday walking market, during which a few streets are blocked off to traffic, and become crowded with stalls and people...i thought the stuff available at the sunday walking market was more unique than at the night market, but still, it was all stuff i didn't need...
chiang mai was where i had to throw away one of my pairs of capris...the first item of clothing that has bit the dust...i had thread, and had already patched them once, but they were done...sad...
one of our days we went to prison!! there is a women's prison in chiang mai, and as part of the program to help the women learn something useful for when they get out, they have the chance to become massueses...the women in the program go through a 180 hr training course for thai, and foot massages...the women working in the salon are all w/in 6 months of being released...we loved the massages, and wondered how much the women received for each massage they do...
chiang mai was where i had to throw away one of my pairs of capris...the first item of clothing that has bit the dust...i had thread, and had already patched them once, but they were done...sad...
one of our days we went to prison!! there is a women's prison in chiang mai, and as part of the program to help the women learn something useful for when they get out, they have the chance to become massueses...the women in the program go through a 180 hr training course for thai, and foot massages...the women working in the salon are all w/in 6 months of being released...we loved the massages, and wondered how much the women received for each massage they do...
after chiang mai, we went to chiang rai...the guidebook says it's a more laid back version of chiang mai, which i thought was plenty laid back to start with...we stayed in a place 23km outside the town, and the best part was the truck ride to and from town each day...standing in the back of the pickup with the wind in our faces was awesome...i could live here, but it's not a great place to visit...there is one temple worth mentioning though...called wat phra kaew...yup, the same name as the temple in bangkok...legend has it that the emerald buddha (the one living in bangkok) was actually found in the chedi of this temple in chiang rai...apparently lightning struck the chedi, and it opened up to reveal the buddha...there is now a copy of the original buddha, just .1cm smaller in all dimensions...
our last chiang was chiang khong...it's the border town on the other side of the mekong river from lao...most travelers come here for a night, maaaaayyyybe two, before crossing the border...for locals, it's an important market town for hill tribes...we ended up loving our guesthouse, and wishing we had more time to spend here...the owner of the guesthouse is a woman who said she ran away from chiang khong for 19 yrs, before returning and opening the guesthouse...she worked in chiang rai first, then went to school in bangkok...it was fun to hear how she has expanded over the years, and how her dog loves farang (foreigners)...the lives of women in thailand are MUCH better than the lives of women in nepal and india...
20 March 2009
thailand 3
after ayuthaya i went to lopburi...another historical town, with more temples/ruins...not too far from ayuthaya...i was excited when the bus dropped me off in town instead of at the bus station, saving me a 2km walk in the heat...i was not excited when the first place i wanted to see had an entrance fee WAY higher than i had expected...i had expected 50 baht, but it had increased to 150 baht...sad, but i walked away...the third place i visited was the best...as a set of ruins, it's not all that exciting, you can take all the pictures you want across the street...but you pay the entrance fee in order to hang out with the monkeys...for whateva reason, a band of monkeys hangs out at these ruins all day long...they're smart, or at least they've learned certain behaviors from being around humans so much...they know how to take food out of your hands, even if you weren't planning on giving it to them...they know how to drink out of a cup...they know how to peel the lid off a jello cup and eat the jello...they know how to take the wrappers off little lollies and eat them...they know how to eat corn on the cob...i loved it when they climbed on me...that's supposed to be dangerous, but nothing happened to me, and i loved it...they're cute:)...across the train tracks from these ruins is a shrine at which an old man gave me a fortune, which just happened to be the best fortune in the bunch...yay!! the second day at this shrine i saw a novice monk be ordained...he wasn't smiling, but everyone else was...he was dressed in a fancy white uniform, and carried on the shoulders of someone...there was even a band set up in the back of a truck!! lopburi doesnt have much to see or do, so i only stayed a day and a half...i didn't see any other westerners (well, none that i could visually identify as westerners) while i was there, which was fun...the town isn't nearly as touristy as ayuthaya, and the street stalls have GREAT food...i walked around for quite a while just checking out the food options..
after lopburi, i headed to sukhothai...my third city in a row of ruins/history...the fourth if you count the history of kanchanaburi...sukhothai was the capital of the first true thai kingdom...waaaayyyy back when...during the time sukhothai was the capital city, the nation grew quite a bit, a specific architecture style was created, and an alphabet was created...all in just 150 yrs:) ...nowadays, most visitors stay in new sukhothai, and go visit sukhothai historical park, which is about 15km out of town...again, it's a great place to rent a bicycle...the entire area is flat, and perfect for pedaling...the park is divided into 5 sections, and you have to pay an entrance fee for three of them...again, the entrance fees had increased quite a bit from what i had expected, which was hugely disappointing, but this time i didn't walk away...the temples/ruins are pretty impressive...it's a big area, and there didn't seem to be too many tourists...the ruins here are much better preserved than in ayuthaya...
another day i took a local bus 1.5 hours down the road to si sitchanalai historical park...very similar to sukhothai historical park...but even less touristed...and i got rained on...whoops...now that i've seen the ruins in different cities, i can sorta see some architectural differences...not many, but some...
after lopburi, i headed to sukhothai...my third city in a row of ruins/history...the fourth if you count the history of kanchanaburi...sukhothai was the capital of the first true thai kingdom...waaaayyyy back when...during the time sukhothai was the capital city, the nation grew quite a bit, a specific architecture style was created, and an alphabet was created...all in just 150 yrs:) ...nowadays, most visitors stay in new sukhothai, and go visit sukhothai historical park, which is about 15km out of town...again, it's a great place to rent a bicycle...the entire area is flat, and perfect for pedaling...the park is divided into 5 sections, and you have to pay an entrance fee for three of them...again, the entrance fees had increased quite a bit from what i had expected, which was hugely disappointing, but this time i didn't walk away...the temples/ruins are pretty impressive...it's a big area, and there didn't seem to be too many tourists...the ruins here are much better preserved than in ayuthaya...
another day i took a local bus 1.5 hours down the road to si sitchanalai historical park...very similar to sukhothai historical park...but even less touristed...and i got rained on...whoops...now that i've seen the ruins in different cities, i can sorta see some architectural differences...not many, but some...
14 March 2009
thailand 2
after our short beach time, we decided to head up north...as much as we love beaches, we know we'll have plenty of opportunities to see them...and really, does it matter how beautiful it is when i'm laying out, eyes closed? don't get me wrong, i love them, but i do the same thing on each one..hee hee...
we arrived in the town of kanchanaburi next...most of you probably don't know that name, or care for that matter...but you've probably heard of the movie "bridge over the river kwai"...right? i've heard of it, even though i've never seen it...apparently i should watch it...anywho, the bridge is in kanchanaburi...kanchanaburi is a town with a fair amount of WWII historical stuff to see...the bridge of course, which is where we started...just walking over it the first day...the bridge is part of 415km (i think) of track the japanese used forced labour to build during 1942-43...in normal circumstances, that length should have taken 5 yrs to build...the japanese (and their korean guards,) made their workers get it done in 16-17 months...the way they treated the prisoners/volunteers was awful...they broke the treaties which they had said they would abide by, the hague convention, i think? (it was signed and ratified back in the early 1900s i think)...(on a side note, they signed but did not ratify the geneva conventions)...they didn't feed the prisoners enough, they didn't provide proper shelter or clothes, and the work being done was definitely helping the japanese militarily...(the track was laid in order to give the japanese another supply line to help with their planned invasion of india)...at one point, they had workers working 16 hour shifts, round the clock...around 200,000 people worked on the line...90,000 "volunteers" died...these were locals, and natives of thailand, lao, cambodia, etc who had been recruited or voluntold to work for the japanese...16,000 allied POWs died...not only were they not taken care of well, but the equipment with which they built the line was practically non existent...cutting through solid rock with just hammers, drills, and some dynamite!! one of the days in kanchanaburi i took a bus out to what's known as hellfire pass...so called because of the way the fires looked at night when they were working round the clock...there is a very tasteful museum, and you can walk through hellfire pass itself...the track isn't there anymore...there isn't much in the museum in terms of items, simply because there wasn't much leftover after the war was over...the interpretive boards had a lot of information, but it wasn't overwhelming...i also road the train back to kanchanaburi, and that included riding over the famous bridge...others on the train included a group of russians, who were all busy drinking, or taking pictures...THE ENTIRE TIME!!
kanchanaburi also has a couple allied war cemetaries...they're taken care of really really well...they're quiet places, people don't talk much...one of them is slightly out of town, you have to hire a bike to get there...it's a lot smaller, but the gravestones look the same as in the cemetary in town...there was very little talking by anyone in either cemetary...no matter what side of that war you were/are on, there is a lot of emotion..
in kanchanaburi we stayed on the river...and i mean ON the river, not next to it, on the banks...our bungalow was made of bamboo, and sat out on the water...everytime a boat went by we could feel the bungalow rock in the waves...totally awesome...so quiet and peaceful...except for the karaoke boats of course...they started up each evening, just ask dusk was coming...as everyone knows, some people are good at karaoke...some are, well, not...
layna loved kanchanaburi, and wasn't interested in the next town i wanted to visit, so she decided to stay there an extra couple days, and i moved on...my next destination was ayuthaya...for whateva reason, there are several different spellings in english...i guess it depends on who is producing the postcards...(postcards in ayuthaya were expensive, for whateva reason)...ayuthaya is at the point where three rivers come together, which was supposed to create a natural barrier as well as encourage trade...at it's height, there were over a million people living in ayuthaya...ayuthaya was a capital city for over 400 years, during which time 33 kings reigned...and apparently there was a rule that you had to build several temples while you were king, because the temples (well, their ruins anywho) are EVERYWHERE in ayuthaya...EVERYWHERE...obviously, some are in better shape than others...on two days i hired a bike and spent 6 hours each day pedaling around town, investigating the ruins...ayuthaya is completely flat, so a cruiser bike is absolutely perfect...at one set of ruins two monks even asked to take a picture with me...i was thrilled, of course...i had wanted just such a picture, but since i'm female, didn't think that was okay...women aren't even supposed to directly hand something to monks...so i put my camera on the ground, and the one taking the picture picked it up...go figure, i look awful in the picture...but i didn't feel like i could turn around and say hey, can we do that again...hee hee...i was also interviewed by thai uni students (who said they were majoring in english, buuuuuuuuut i don't know about that) as to why i was in thailand, what i like about the country, where i'm going, etc...ayutthaya is quiet at night, for the most part...except for the karaoke at one of the bars not too far from my guesthouse...i was there three nights, and heard it each night, and it sounded like the same guy...so maybe that was his job? i seriously hope he had another job as well...some of his attempts weren't awful, but some....hmmm...well, i couldn't always tell what song it was he was trying to sing...
we arrived in the town of kanchanaburi next...most of you probably don't know that name, or care for that matter...but you've probably heard of the movie "bridge over the river kwai"...right? i've heard of it, even though i've never seen it...apparently i should watch it...anywho, the bridge is in kanchanaburi...kanchanaburi is a town with a fair amount of WWII historical stuff to see...the bridge of course, which is where we started...just walking over it the first day...the bridge is part of 415km (i think) of track the japanese used forced labour to build during 1942-43...in normal circumstances, that length should have taken 5 yrs to build...the japanese (and their korean guards,) made their workers get it done in 16-17 months...the way they treated the prisoners/volunteers was awful...they broke the treaties which they had said they would abide by, the hague convention, i think? (it was signed and ratified back in the early 1900s i think)...(on a side note, they signed but did not ratify the geneva conventions)...they didn't feed the prisoners enough, they didn't provide proper shelter or clothes, and the work being done was definitely helping the japanese militarily...(the track was laid in order to give the japanese another supply line to help with their planned invasion of india)...at one point, they had workers working 16 hour shifts, round the clock...around 200,000 people worked on the line...90,000 "volunteers" died...these were locals, and natives of thailand, lao, cambodia, etc who had been recruited or voluntold to work for the japanese...16,000 allied POWs died...not only were they not taken care of well, but the equipment with which they built the line was practically non existent...cutting through solid rock with just hammers, drills, and some dynamite!! one of the days in kanchanaburi i took a bus out to what's known as hellfire pass...so called because of the way the fires looked at night when they were working round the clock...there is a very tasteful museum, and you can walk through hellfire pass itself...the track isn't there anymore...there isn't much in the museum in terms of items, simply because there wasn't much leftover after the war was over...the interpretive boards had a lot of information, but it wasn't overwhelming...i also road the train back to kanchanaburi, and that included riding over the famous bridge...others on the train included a group of russians, who were all busy drinking, or taking pictures...THE ENTIRE TIME!!
kanchanaburi also has a couple allied war cemetaries...they're taken care of really really well...they're quiet places, people don't talk much...one of them is slightly out of town, you have to hire a bike to get there...it's a lot smaller, but the gravestones look the same as in the cemetary in town...there was very little talking by anyone in either cemetary...no matter what side of that war you were/are on, there is a lot of emotion..
in kanchanaburi we stayed on the river...and i mean ON the river, not next to it, on the banks...our bungalow was made of bamboo, and sat out on the water...everytime a boat went by we could feel the bungalow rock in the waves...totally awesome...so quiet and peaceful...except for the karaoke boats of course...they started up each evening, just ask dusk was coming...as everyone knows, some people are good at karaoke...some are, well, not...
layna loved kanchanaburi, and wasn't interested in the next town i wanted to visit, so she decided to stay there an extra couple days, and i moved on...my next destination was ayuthaya...for whateva reason, there are several different spellings in english...i guess it depends on who is producing the postcards...(postcards in ayuthaya were expensive, for whateva reason)...ayuthaya is at the point where three rivers come together, which was supposed to create a natural barrier as well as encourage trade...at it's height, there were over a million people living in ayuthaya...ayuthaya was a capital city for over 400 years, during which time 33 kings reigned...and apparently there was a rule that you had to build several temples while you were king, because the temples (well, their ruins anywho) are EVERYWHERE in ayuthaya...EVERYWHERE...obviously, some are in better shape than others...on two days i hired a bike and spent 6 hours each day pedaling around town, investigating the ruins...ayuthaya is completely flat, so a cruiser bike is absolutely perfect...at one set of ruins two monks even asked to take a picture with me...i was thrilled, of course...i had wanted just such a picture, but since i'm female, didn't think that was okay...women aren't even supposed to directly hand something to monks...so i put my camera on the ground, and the one taking the picture picked it up...go figure, i look awful in the picture...but i didn't feel like i could turn around and say hey, can we do that again...hee hee...i was also interviewed by thai uni students (who said they were majoring in english, buuuuuuuuut i don't know about that) as to why i was in thailand, what i like about the country, where i'm going, etc...ayutthaya is quiet at night, for the most part...except for the karaoke at one of the bars not too far from my guesthouse...i was there three nights, and heard it each night, and it sounded like the same guy...so maybe that was his job? i seriously hope he had another job as well...some of his attempts weren't awful, but some....hmmm...well, i couldn't always tell what song it was he was trying to sing...
06 March 2009
thailand...again
this is my third time in thailand...the first time was 5 yrs ago exactly, the second a year and a half ago...the first time i was by myself, and that 7 week trip in southeast asia trip was my first extended trip...the second time was with my rugby team...i wasn't in control of that trip, so it doesn't relate to anything i did before, or am doing now...
when we arrived in bangkok, i was surprised by how much it had changed in five years...(during the trip with the rugby team we didn't stay in the backpacker area, i didn't see it at all)...prices have doubled, and it's become a lot more western...and i think it's more crowded with travelers...though i don't really know...my first time in bangkok i remember being rather overwhelmed, and now i realize i hardly saw anything...i was so worried i'd get lost, or get sick...this time around we just walked around the first day, without any real direction, and no need to see anything...this is layna's first time in thailand, and one of the things we have done regularly when we arrive in a new city/town is to just walk...get the feel of things...at one point we stepped into a kfc in order to use the loo, (yes, it's western, but we knew it would have a loo) and i ended up talking to another foreigner while waiting...i was really excited that i figured out he was canadian without asking him first...he seemed surprised that i knew, but the "eh" was a dead giveaway...only canadians say it that way...hee hee...and he thought i was aussie...i have no idea why...i know i say some words aussies and kiwis use, but i certainly don't say them the same way!!
bangkok is the initial entry point into southeast asia for nearly everyone...so it's super easy to get started...thai food is found everywhere, but so is western food...(which i think is sad)...mcd's, starbucks, kfc and bk have all shown up in the last five years...there are travel shops all over the place, as well as stalls selling everything from batteries to clothes to every knick knack you do not need...according to the guidebook, thais call bangkok krung thep, which means city of angels...apparently, that's a shortened version of the full, official name...i don't feel like copying the full name, it's ridiculously LONG...
our second day we started by seeing wat phra keow (sp?)...better known to most as the temple of the emerald buddha...it's not actually emerald at all, it's jade...it's not all that big either...it sits pretty high up though, and each season gets new clothes from the king himself...most people seem to pay no attention to the "silence please" sign, i wish they would...this temple is probably one of the most well known sights in thailand/bangkok, everyone goes there...i've gotta admit though, it is pretty fantastic...(though the entrance price was half our daily budget!!!)...the temples are wonderfully coloured, and there are quite a few...our second temple was across the street, wat pho i think?...it's not nearly as crowded, layna and i both liked it better...that's where we got to see the largest reclining buddha in thailand...46m long, and 15m high...it's HUGE...there were a number of temples in this complex, we enjoyed wandering around...it's bigger than wat phra keow...this complex also has quite a number of buddhas, over 100 i think...our third and final full day in bangkok we went to a huge market, the weekend market...the guidebook makes it sound great, but we were rather disappointed...it's true, you can find just about anything there, but it's totally touristy...locals don't go there to find anything...we weren't in the mood to shop, but we loved the food stalls...hee hee...i'd never before seen yellow watermelon...
after bangkok we went down south, to one of the beaches...we opted for the phuket area, choosing kata/karon beach...it's not very party oriented, and is rather similar to the beach we stayed at in goa, india...again, there were upper class european tourists...before boxing day, 2004, kata/karon had more backpackers, more young people...they haven't really come back since the disaster...at least, not that i could see...nearly all the menus in town have a combination of swedish/german/russian options...it's amazing to see how DARK some people get...i know i like sun too much for my own good, but i look like a ghost compared to some of the people we saw!!! if you look the colour of an overcooked sausage, the last thing you need to be doing is laying out on a thai beach!!! yes, i laid out, yes i wore suncream, and yes i covered my face...there isn't much to write about the time we spend on beaches...i could do it for ages and ages, i never seem to get bored...but we moved on after just three full days...(one of which it rained, i only got two days of sunning myself!!)
when we arrived in bangkok, i was surprised by how much it had changed in five years...(during the trip with the rugby team we didn't stay in the backpacker area, i didn't see it at all)...prices have doubled, and it's become a lot more western...and i think it's more crowded with travelers...though i don't really know...my first time in bangkok i remember being rather overwhelmed, and now i realize i hardly saw anything...i was so worried i'd get lost, or get sick...this time around we just walked around the first day, without any real direction, and no need to see anything...this is layna's first time in thailand, and one of the things we have done regularly when we arrive in a new city/town is to just walk...get the feel of things...at one point we stepped into a kfc in order to use the loo, (yes, it's western, but we knew it would have a loo) and i ended up talking to another foreigner while waiting...i was really excited that i figured out he was canadian without asking him first...he seemed surprised that i knew, but the "eh" was a dead giveaway...only canadians say it that way...hee hee...and he thought i was aussie...i have no idea why...i know i say some words aussies and kiwis use, but i certainly don't say them the same way!!
bangkok is the initial entry point into southeast asia for nearly everyone...so it's super easy to get started...thai food is found everywhere, but so is western food...(which i think is sad)...mcd's, starbucks, kfc and bk have all shown up in the last five years...there are travel shops all over the place, as well as stalls selling everything from batteries to clothes to every knick knack you do not need...according to the guidebook, thais call bangkok krung thep, which means city of angels...apparently, that's a shortened version of the full, official name...i don't feel like copying the full name, it's ridiculously LONG...
our second day we started by seeing wat phra keow (sp?)...better known to most as the temple of the emerald buddha...it's not actually emerald at all, it's jade...it's not all that big either...it sits pretty high up though, and each season gets new clothes from the king himself...most people seem to pay no attention to the "silence please" sign, i wish they would...this temple is probably one of the most well known sights in thailand/bangkok, everyone goes there...i've gotta admit though, it is pretty fantastic...(though the entrance price was half our daily budget!!!)...the temples are wonderfully coloured, and there are quite a few...our second temple was across the street, wat pho i think?...it's not nearly as crowded, layna and i both liked it better...that's where we got to see the largest reclining buddha in thailand...46m long, and 15m high...it's HUGE...there were a number of temples in this complex, we enjoyed wandering around...it's bigger than wat phra keow...this complex also has quite a number of buddhas, over 100 i think...our third and final full day in bangkok we went to a huge market, the weekend market...the guidebook makes it sound great, but we were rather disappointed...it's true, you can find just about anything there, but it's totally touristy...locals don't go there to find anything...we weren't in the mood to shop, but we loved the food stalls...hee hee...i'd never before seen yellow watermelon...
after bangkok we went down south, to one of the beaches...we opted for the phuket area, choosing kata/karon beach...it's not very party oriented, and is rather similar to the beach we stayed at in goa, india...again, there were upper class european tourists...before boxing day, 2004, kata/karon had more backpackers, more young people...they haven't really come back since the disaster...at least, not that i could see...nearly all the menus in town have a combination of swedish/german/russian options...it's amazing to see how DARK some people get...i know i like sun too much for my own good, but i look like a ghost compared to some of the people we saw!!! if you look the colour of an overcooked sausage, the last thing you need to be doing is laying out on a thai beach!!! yes, i laid out, yes i wore suncream, and yes i covered my face...there isn't much to write about the time we spend on beaches...i could do it for ages and ages, i never seem to get bored...but we moved on after just three full days...(one of which it rained, i only got two days of sunning myself!!)
28 February 2009
notes on india
- india is everything, all at once
- colourful, agressive, friendly, yummy, intense, curious, overwhelming
- crazy busy, full of people
- too many hassles...too many people thinking i'll buy something if they make it cheap enough...if i don't want it, it doesn't matter how cheap it is...even if its free, i don't want it!
- honking all the time...each time we walked out on the street, i couldn't help but notice the symphony of honks...some are loud, some sound ill, some are rather just plain annoying...the there is the style of honking each driver has...timid, laying on the horn for ages, or honk honk honk honk...sometimes you can't even figure out what the honk is for!
- too many sleazy men with the wrong idea about foreign women
- i love that the women wear such bright, beautifully coloured clothes...men's clothes, by comparison, are boring
- i wish i had had interactions with more indian women...those that i did have, were amazing...
- i want to go back, and explore more of the country...there is so much i didn't get to see...
- indians focus on today, and now...not on the future...when you are poor, and will never get out of being poor, there is no point in focusing on the future, because it's going to be the same as now...you might as well enjoy now...that's one of the reasons they are so friendly and open with foreigners..
- many indians blame all the problems the country has on pakistan...
- there is a HUGE difference between the haves, and have nots...and that gap is growing wider each year
- there are huge differences in the entry prices for foreigners and locals...
- many bollywood movies have the same general plot line...that's what makes them so fun to watch...you don't have to speak the language to know exactly what is happening in the movie...and indians get so much more into the story line, and the actors/actresses
- not many postcards to be found in a country with over a billion people
- the train system is awesome
- religion plays a big part in daily life...even those who aren't religious (what few there are) still do many things the same way the religious folk do...
27 February 2009
india part 8
darjeeling is a hill station...originally created by the brits, there isn't much evidence of them anymore...some of you have probably heard the name, but in reference to tea...something like 25% of india's tea is grown in this area...darjeeling is part of west bengal, india's most populated state...it's a wierdly shaped state, and i'm surprised that it's all one state...kinda like creating one state out of washington, oregon and california...with alaska in there as well...the people at the top are nothing like the people at the bottom...darjeeling is in the himalayas, and it's totally different from the main part of the subcontinent...different clothes, languages, scenery, food, traditions, etc...the people look different too, as many weren't descended from the same ethnic groups as in the rest of india...they're much more closely related to nepalis, tibetans and burmese...it's a buddhist area...we felt completely at home, as it is quite similar to many of the areas we saw while trekking in nepal...i'm not sure why, but darjeeling wasn't at all what i expected...before arriving, i expected a smaller town, and a quiet town...it was far bigger than i had imagined, louder (though not at night, as darjeeling gets quiet not too long after the sun goes down...it's definitely NOT a party town) and had a lot more people...for travelers, it's a tea town, and an area in which to organize trekking...layna and i wanted the tea...we learned quite a bit about tea, and i learned that i have lower class taste in tea...i don't taste the difference between a good tea and a bad tea...each day we went to a tea house and tried a different tea, and i could only barely taste a difference...had i not known what i was drinking, i wouldn't have thought them that much different from lipton...(yes, i know, you tea people are shrieking that i could say such a thing)...
we didnt do a lot in darjeeling except enjoy tea...we saw another movie, called billu barber...again, despite it not being in english, it was relatively easy to understand...and of course, there was a happy ending...
after darjeeling we took the toy train to siliguri...the toy train has been designated a UNESCO world heritage sight...it was originally built between the two towns as a way to move potatoes around...it goes slowly, of course, and around rather tight corners...13 times it has a z crossing...that is, the train goes forward, stops and goes backward onto a diagonal track, then stops again, and switches again onto a new track, this one lower than the first track...it took 8 hours to go 80km...from siliguri we rode our last train in india, to kolkata...
the 2nd biggest city in india, and most often known as a poor city...mother theresa's motherhouse is there...so is a huge cathedral, st paul's...so is the victoria memorial, which is like a cross between the US capital building in washington DC, and i don't know what...you're not allowed to take pictures inside, which seems a little silly to me...i took a picture of a quote by queen victoria before finding out about the photography prohibition, and 30 minutes later as i was leaving, someone chased me down and had me delete it!!! i liked the quote, so i walked back over and wrote it down...why are pictures not allowed of inscriptions?
kolkata is built on either side of a dirty river, and there is a busy, well known (to some people anywho, definitely not to me) bridge over it...the howrah bridge, i think? anywho, for yet another unknown reason (to me) photography of the bridge is strictly prohibited...but they do sell postcards of it...so of course i did my best to figure out how to get such a picture...i did, though it involved walking through slums, and dealing with the very pervalent smell of urine, and EVERY SINGLE GUY i passed calling out something along the lines of sexy mother, or worse...(for the record, the slums in mumbai weren't nearly as uncomfortable)...
layna and i had some tailoring done in kolkata, which was fun...i had one of the traditional salwar suits made...i've never had clothes made especially for me...i loved the way it turned out...it's probably a good thing we usually stick to our budget, because i was tempted to have several more made...they're colourful, and very very comfortable...
our last adventure before leaving kolkata was as a result of a mistake i made...i have no idea how i did it, but i thought our departure time was really really really early in the morning, so i thought we'd just go to the airport late evening...but i was off by ten hours...our flight left at 1145, not 0145...fortunately, we were able to stay with a local family, which was a fantastic experience...by far the best biryani i've ever eaten...they were incredibly friendly, and i had a good time getting to know them in the little time we had...
it's a good thing we stayed with the family, and didn't just spend the whole night at the airport...the international terminal of the kolkata airport is small, and has VERY few facilities...the ONLY duty free was alcohol, and a few chocolates...just one room...we were whisked to the premier check in line at our airline though, which was great...
goodbye to india...i miss it a lot...everything else will be so easy...
we didnt do a lot in darjeeling except enjoy tea...we saw another movie, called billu barber...again, despite it not being in english, it was relatively easy to understand...and of course, there was a happy ending...
after darjeeling we took the toy train to siliguri...the toy train has been designated a UNESCO world heritage sight...it was originally built between the two towns as a way to move potatoes around...it goes slowly, of course, and around rather tight corners...13 times it has a z crossing...that is, the train goes forward, stops and goes backward onto a diagonal track, then stops again, and switches again onto a new track, this one lower than the first track...it took 8 hours to go 80km...from siliguri we rode our last train in india, to kolkata...
the 2nd biggest city in india, and most often known as a poor city...mother theresa's motherhouse is there...so is a huge cathedral, st paul's...so is the victoria memorial, which is like a cross between the US capital building in washington DC, and i don't know what...you're not allowed to take pictures inside, which seems a little silly to me...i took a picture of a quote by queen victoria before finding out about the photography prohibition, and 30 minutes later as i was leaving, someone chased me down and had me delete it!!! i liked the quote, so i walked back over and wrote it down...why are pictures not allowed of inscriptions?
kolkata is built on either side of a dirty river, and there is a busy, well known (to some people anywho, definitely not to me) bridge over it...the howrah bridge, i think? anywho, for yet another unknown reason (to me) photography of the bridge is strictly prohibited...but they do sell postcards of it...so of course i did my best to figure out how to get such a picture...i did, though it involved walking through slums, and dealing with the very pervalent smell of urine, and EVERY SINGLE GUY i passed calling out something along the lines of sexy mother, or worse...(for the record, the slums in mumbai weren't nearly as uncomfortable)...
layna and i had some tailoring done in kolkata, which was fun...i had one of the traditional salwar suits made...i've never had clothes made especially for me...i loved the way it turned out...it's probably a good thing we usually stick to our budget, because i was tempted to have several more made...they're colourful, and very very comfortable...
our last adventure before leaving kolkata was as a result of a mistake i made...i have no idea how i did it, but i thought our departure time was really really really early in the morning, so i thought we'd just go to the airport late evening...but i was off by ten hours...our flight left at 1145, not 0145...fortunately, we were able to stay with a local family, which was a fantastic experience...by far the best biryani i've ever eaten...they were incredibly friendly, and i had a good time getting to know them in the little time we had...
it's a good thing we stayed with the family, and didn't just spend the whole night at the airport...the international terminal of the kolkata airport is small, and has VERY few facilities...the ONLY duty free was alcohol, and a few chocolates...just one room...we were whisked to the premier check in line at our airline though, which was great...
goodbye to india...i miss it a lot...everything else will be so easy...
16 February 2009
india part 7
agra, home to the most famous sight in india...though i am not sure i would have known the name of the city before arriving in india...the taj mahal...the most expensive sight as well...it was built by shah jahan, one of the mughal rulers...he built it for his 2nd wife mumtaz, after she died in childbirth...with her 14th child!!!!!!!!!!!!! 14 kids!!!!!!!!!!!! i can't begin to imagine that...layna did the math, and she spent just under half her life pregnant...WHOA...anywho, he obviously kinda liked her...his life ended up not being much fun though...for the last 8 years of his life, he was imprisoned in agra fort, and could only look out and see the taj mahal from 2km away...on a clear day...on a hazy day, he wasn't able to see the taj at all...the person who imprisoned him was his own son, aurangzeb...aurangzeb seized power by beseiging the fort and cutting off the water supply, then fought with his brothers for power...poor dad had 8 yrs in a mostly white marble palace inside the fort...the taj mahal is a HUGE white marble mausoleum...after shah jahan died, he was buried there as well, with a larger grave, of course...though mumtaz's grave is centered, so it's obvious it was built for her...there is a mosque on one side, made of red sandstone, that's still used a bit...it opens at sunrise, and closes at sundown...there are three gates, each with separate ticket lines for indians and foreigners...indians pay 10 rupees, foreigners pay 750...the line of foreigners is LONG...
i enjoyed wandering around the fort more than i did the taj...i was at the fort on the day the taj is closed (friday)...if you see both sights on the same day, you get a 50 rupee discount, but i decided not to do that, since i knew layna wouldn't be visiting the fort with me and i wanted to do it early in the morning...since the taj is closed on fridays, the fort isn't as busy then either, which ended up being awesome...the ticket guy at the fort gave me the discount anywho, AND i got to wander around in almost total quiet...there were very few other people in there while i was there...
i also took a day trip out to the old city of fatephur sikri...it was built as a capital city by akbar, but abandoned shortly after his death because there wasn't enough water...the ruins are still there, though it's a ghost city now...on one end is a mosque, still very much in use...another one called jama masjid...(i found out that jama means friday, which is the biggest day of the week for worshipping muslims...now i know why the biggest mosque in each city has the same name!)...the main gate into this mosque is 54m high...inside the courtyard is also a shrine to a sufi mystic...back in the day when akbar was still alive, he had 3 wives, and none of them had had kids...this mystic predicted that a son/heir would soon arrive, and when it happened, akbar built a city where this mystic lived...because of the pregnancy/family aspect of the mystic, women who want to become pregnant still come and pray at his shrine...they make wishes by tying little pieces of red string into the latticework of the shrine...the mystic is buried there, as are all of his descendents...to get to the area with the palace and gardens and such, i had to walk through a road where all the wannabe guides were hanging out...i didn't see a whole l0t of tourists, so they're all pretty desperate to find someone to hire them...they all tried to convince me that i couldn't properly appreciate the sight w/out their knowledge...i still decided against hiring one of them...all the signs inside were pretty descriptive, so i wonder what else they would've told me...
while in agra we also celebrated layna's birthday...this year she turned 33 on friday, the 13th of february...we didn't do much that day, in fact we spent most of the day waiting...waiting for the customs guy at the post office, waiting for the doctor (the bites on layna's feet were badly infected,) getting our hair cut, buying postcards, etc...that night we were on a train, so we couldn't even go out properly...i'm obviously not a good birthday celebrater...
after agra we went to varanasi...believed to be a holy city, along a holy river, the ganges...the city is mostly built on one side of the river, and there are ghats all the way up and down that side...a ghat is a set of steps leading to open water...(lake, river, etc)...a dhobi ghat is where laundry is done, and we saw several of those in varanasi...it's possible to walk for several kilometers along the ghats in varanasi, and by doing so, you get to see an amazing number of people doing an amazing number of things...bathing, laundry, and more...one of the ghats is the main burning ghat, where cremations are carried out...we were taken into a building that allowed us a higher view of this ghat, so we could see what was happening...first the body is carried through the streets by outcasts...then taken to the river and dunked in holy water...then the shrouded body is placed upon the pyre, and more wood piled on top of that...the guys who do this know exactly how much wood is needed to reduce the body to nothing but ash in 3 hours...the cost of the cremation is the cost of the wood...this is based on the weight and type of wood...sandalwood is the most expensive...we saw the start of 3 or 4 cremations, but didn't see what the end looks like...someone told us that the ashes are put in the river...before seeing the area, i imagined it would be rather smelly, but it wasn't at all...and the bodies are wrapped in shrouds, so you don't ever see a dead body...women (family members and friends of the deceased) aren't allowed to witness the cremations, because historically they would throw themselves on the funeral pyre...what an awful way to die...
as i've said before, layna and i like to walk, and we often walk out of the typical tourist zone in each town...this time we walked farther along the ghats than most people...at one point we heard some drumming, and saw some women dancing, so we stopped to watch...before we knew it, they had pulled us in and we were dancing with them...it was a wedding celebration!! i felt guilty, as we were getting far more attention than the bridal couple...they weren't dancing though...the sari of the bride was absolutely gorgeous...(traditional indian brides wear a red and gold sari)...anywho, the dancing was great fun, and it was one of our only interactions with indian women...we'd love to have more, but indian women don't go out and about like indian men...
walking in town we saw a couple other marriage processions during our days in varanasi...florescent lights (all connected to each other, and the generator being pushed along as well) being carried by people, guys in marching band costumes playing happy music, and women in nice clothes walking along...impressive, and fun...we saw other processions as well, but weren't able to figure out what they were...people dressed all in black, and hitting themselves (HARD) in time to the beat of a drum...a funeral procession? we saw circles formed around men and boys dancing/performing with knives and sticks on the streets too...varanasi is a city where you'll see a lot of traditions that have been a part of life for a very long time, but arent so much on display in other cities...at least, not that we've seen...
we did hire a boat a couple times, which is a typical thing to do...it's quite an experience to be rowed along the river, watching each ghat go by...they are all different, and it's a great people watching experience...our first ride was during sunset, which was great...until we were attacked by moths...not so much attacked as surrounded...yuck...they landed on us constantly, and we were very glad to get out of the boat at the end...the next morning we saw the sun rise, which was beautiful...it's the time of day when many people do their puja (ritual, giving an offering of some sort) along the ghats...and no moths to annoy us:)
i enjoyed wandering around the fort more than i did the taj...i was at the fort on the day the taj is closed (friday)...if you see both sights on the same day, you get a 50 rupee discount, but i decided not to do that, since i knew layna wouldn't be visiting the fort with me and i wanted to do it early in the morning...since the taj is closed on fridays, the fort isn't as busy then either, which ended up being awesome...the ticket guy at the fort gave me the discount anywho, AND i got to wander around in almost total quiet...there were very few other people in there while i was there...
i also took a day trip out to the old city of fatephur sikri...it was built as a capital city by akbar, but abandoned shortly after his death because there wasn't enough water...the ruins are still there, though it's a ghost city now...on one end is a mosque, still very much in use...another one called jama masjid...(i found out that jama means friday, which is the biggest day of the week for worshipping muslims...now i know why the biggest mosque in each city has the same name!)...the main gate into this mosque is 54m high...inside the courtyard is also a shrine to a sufi mystic...back in the day when akbar was still alive, he had 3 wives, and none of them had had kids...this mystic predicted that a son/heir would soon arrive, and when it happened, akbar built a city where this mystic lived...because of the pregnancy/family aspect of the mystic, women who want to become pregnant still come and pray at his shrine...they make wishes by tying little pieces of red string into the latticework of the shrine...the mystic is buried there, as are all of his descendents...to get to the area with the palace and gardens and such, i had to walk through a road where all the wannabe guides were hanging out...i didn't see a whole l0t of tourists, so they're all pretty desperate to find someone to hire them...they all tried to convince me that i couldn't properly appreciate the sight w/out their knowledge...i still decided against hiring one of them...all the signs inside were pretty descriptive, so i wonder what else they would've told me...
while in agra we also celebrated layna's birthday...this year she turned 33 on friday, the 13th of february...we didn't do much that day, in fact we spent most of the day waiting...waiting for the customs guy at the post office, waiting for the doctor (the bites on layna's feet were badly infected,) getting our hair cut, buying postcards, etc...that night we were on a train, so we couldn't even go out properly...i'm obviously not a good birthday celebrater...
after agra we went to varanasi...believed to be a holy city, along a holy river, the ganges...the city is mostly built on one side of the river, and there are ghats all the way up and down that side...a ghat is a set of steps leading to open water...(lake, river, etc)...a dhobi ghat is where laundry is done, and we saw several of those in varanasi...it's possible to walk for several kilometers along the ghats in varanasi, and by doing so, you get to see an amazing number of people doing an amazing number of things...bathing, laundry, and more...one of the ghats is the main burning ghat, where cremations are carried out...we were taken into a building that allowed us a higher view of this ghat, so we could see what was happening...first the body is carried through the streets by outcasts...then taken to the river and dunked in holy water...then the shrouded body is placed upon the pyre, and more wood piled on top of that...the guys who do this know exactly how much wood is needed to reduce the body to nothing but ash in 3 hours...the cost of the cremation is the cost of the wood...this is based on the weight and type of wood...sandalwood is the most expensive...we saw the start of 3 or 4 cremations, but didn't see what the end looks like...someone told us that the ashes are put in the river...before seeing the area, i imagined it would be rather smelly, but it wasn't at all...and the bodies are wrapped in shrouds, so you don't ever see a dead body...women (family members and friends of the deceased) aren't allowed to witness the cremations, because historically they would throw themselves on the funeral pyre...what an awful way to die...
as i've said before, layna and i like to walk, and we often walk out of the typical tourist zone in each town...this time we walked farther along the ghats than most people...at one point we heard some drumming, and saw some women dancing, so we stopped to watch...before we knew it, they had pulled us in and we were dancing with them...it was a wedding celebration!! i felt guilty, as we were getting far more attention than the bridal couple...they weren't dancing though...the sari of the bride was absolutely gorgeous...(traditional indian brides wear a red and gold sari)...anywho, the dancing was great fun, and it was one of our only interactions with indian women...we'd love to have more, but indian women don't go out and about like indian men...
walking in town we saw a couple other marriage processions during our days in varanasi...florescent lights (all connected to each other, and the generator being pushed along as well) being carried by people, guys in marching band costumes playing happy music, and women in nice clothes walking along...impressive, and fun...we saw other processions as well, but weren't able to figure out what they were...people dressed all in black, and hitting themselves (HARD) in time to the beat of a drum...a funeral procession? we saw circles formed around men and boys dancing/performing with knives and sticks on the streets too...varanasi is a city where you'll see a lot of traditions that have been a part of life for a very long time, but arent so much on display in other cities...at least, not that we've seen...
we did hire a boat a couple times, which is a typical thing to do...it's quite an experience to be rowed along the river, watching each ghat go by...they are all different, and it's a great people watching experience...our first ride was during sunset, which was great...until we were attacked by moths...not so much attacked as surrounded...yuck...they landed on us constantly, and we were very glad to get out of the boat at the end...the next morning we saw the sun rise, which was beautiful...it's the time of day when many people do their puja (ritual, giving an offering of some sort) along the ghats...and no moths to annoy us:)
09 February 2009
india part 7
after hyderabad we visited bengaluru...the name was only officially changed from bangalore in 2006, so people still use the old name quite a bit...it's more of a business destination than a tourist destination...this ended up working in our favor...since the economy is based on business and IT, that means leisure tourism isn't so important, and therefore there are no touts...AWESOME!!! it was great not to be hassled...we found the city market, and enjoyed walking around it...just like so many other markets in india, if you want it, you'll find it at the city market...toys, clothes, silverware, kitchen supplies, spices, food, chai, etc...everything...we were able to buy fresh produce at local prices, and layna even bought a spoon for a whopping 3 rupees...we were also able to take a lot of people pictures inside the market, and received the bindi mark from a guy selling all the powder used for those marks...
i like to visit gardens, and there were some mentioned in the guidebook, so one morning we set off to find those...they ended up not being all that great, but we enjoyed our walk to get there...we passed a sports arena, and in an effort to find a women's bathroom somewhere in the facilities ran into a guy who offered us chai...he just held it out on a tray, with no spoken words...when we finished he showed us where to put the rubbish, then let us go...strange, but awesome...next to the arena we saw a volleyball tournament...according to the sign, it was sponsored by an indian company, and involved teams from all over india...the first time i've seen tall indians...i didn't even know they existed!!! anywho, one of layna's sisters used to play volleyball, and my roomie as a frosh at uni was a volleyball player (we want mudge!!!!) so we were both curious to watch...we stood outside the fence, figuring only people involved in the tourney should go inside...but rather quickly we were motioned in, to seats at one end of one of the courts...then we were left alone to watch and enjoy...AWESOME!!!
i loved bengaluru...a friendly city without any of the hassle we've experienced in other cities...talking to locals was a joy...
our last day there, we reconnected with ben, though only for four hours...he had gotten distracted in hyderabad...hee hee...we were moving on, but agreed to meet up again later...
after bengaluru we headed for a destination that hadn't been on our originally itinerary...goa...the beaches of goa are known worldwide...well, some people think so...goa is a very small indian state, and not like any of the others...it's one of the richest states...(tourists, farming, and fishing are the major sources of income)...we spent 5 days relaxing on a beach...we picked a VERY QUIET beach...ours was populated mostly by older, mostly upper class europeans...there was no night life at all, and very few other backpackers...unfortunately, layna was rather sick for a couple days, so she didn't enjoy it as much as i did...(you all know how i love to soak up sun)...i did wear suncream though, and even covered my face...i guess i've picked up a few habits over the years...lol...on the train to goa layna was bit by mosquitoes again, this time around her feet and ankles...they didn't bite me at all...strange...her bites ended up getting infected, causing her feet to swell a bit, and cause quite a bit of pain...(they looked gross too!)...one day layna rented a bike and went riding down the beach...she stopped for lunch at a random restaurant a ways up, on a totally different beach...she ended up talking to the owner for quite a while, and he wouldn't let her pay for her meal at the end, telling her she could pay when she returned for dinner later that night...so for dinner we walked back to that restaurant...a measly hour and a half walk at a pretty quick pace...(it did feel pretty good though even though it's such a cliche...a long walk on a beach)...dinner was absolutely fantastic, and again the owner sat down with us...not surprisingly, there is a lot of seafood in goa...YUM...and i had the best mango juice i've ever had...in the end, he wouldn't let us pay for our meal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i still feel guilty for that...it was fantastic, and he was a great guy...layna repaid him our last afternoon in goa by calling him up and inviting him down for lunch...he's entirely self made, and helps other people in the community...very very cool...we both want to go back to goa...(yet another idea of what to do after we finish the major portion of this trip...not that either of us knows when or where that will be)...
goa is a part of the country that was formerly ruled by the portuguese...so it seemed that most locals have "Christian" names...they are also Catholic...
i like to visit gardens, and there were some mentioned in the guidebook, so one morning we set off to find those...they ended up not being all that great, but we enjoyed our walk to get there...we passed a sports arena, and in an effort to find a women's bathroom somewhere in the facilities ran into a guy who offered us chai...he just held it out on a tray, with no spoken words...when we finished he showed us where to put the rubbish, then let us go...strange, but awesome...next to the arena we saw a volleyball tournament...according to the sign, it was sponsored by an indian company, and involved teams from all over india...the first time i've seen tall indians...i didn't even know they existed!!! anywho, one of layna's sisters used to play volleyball, and my roomie as a frosh at uni was a volleyball player (we want mudge!!!!) so we were both curious to watch...we stood outside the fence, figuring only people involved in the tourney should go inside...but rather quickly we were motioned in, to seats at one end of one of the courts...then we were left alone to watch and enjoy...AWESOME!!!
i loved bengaluru...a friendly city without any of the hassle we've experienced in other cities...talking to locals was a joy...
our last day there, we reconnected with ben, though only for four hours...he had gotten distracted in hyderabad...hee hee...we were moving on, but agreed to meet up again later...
after bengaluru we headed for a destination that hadn't been on our originally itinerary...goa...the beaches of goa are known worldwide...well, some people think so...goa is a very small indian state, and not like any of the others...it's one of the richest states...(tourists, farming, and fishing are the major sources of income)...we spent 5 days relaxing on a beach...we picked a VERY QUIET beach...ours was populated mostly by older, mostly upper class europeans...there was no night life at all, and very few other backpackers...unfortunately, layna was rather sick for a couple days, so she didn't enjoy it as much as i did...(you all know how i love to soak up sun)...i did wear suncream though, and even covered my face...i guess i've picked up a few habits over the years...lol...on the train to goa layna was bit by mosquitoes again, this time around her feet and ankles...they didn't bite me at all...strange...her bites ended up getting infected, causing her feet to swell a bit, and cause quite a bit of pain...(they looked gross too!)...one day layna rented a bike and went riding down the beach...she stopped for lunch at a random restaurant a ways up, on a totally different beach...she ended up talking to the owner for quite a while, and he wouldn't let her pay for her meal at the end, telling her she could pay when she returned for dinner later that night...so for dinner we walked back to that restaurant...a measly hour and a half walk at a pretty quick pace...(it did feel pretty good though even though it's such a cliche...a long walk on a beach)...dinner was absolutely fantastic, and again the owner sat down with us...not surprisingly, there is a lot of seafood in goa...YUM...and i had the best mango juice i've ever had...in the end, he wouldn't let us pay for our meal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! i still feel guilty for that...it was fantastic, and he was a great guy...layna repaid him our last afternoon in goa by calling him up and inviting him down for lunch...he's entirely self made, and helps other people in the community...very very cool...we both want to go back to goa...(yet another idea of what to do after we finish the major portion of this trip...not that either of us knows when or where that will be)...
goa is a part of the country that was formerly ruled by the portuguese...so it seemed that most locals have "Christian" names...they are also Catholic...
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