andreasolo's TravelStream™ — Recent TravelPod.com entries TravelStream™ news feed for member andreasolo on TravelPod's free travel blogs service http://www.travelpod.com/syndication/rss/andreasolo en-us Copyright ©2009 TravelPod.com Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:04:21 -0500 http://www.travelpod.com Dog Day in Delhi — Delhi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1230639000/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1230639000/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1230639000/tpod.html Tue, 30 Dec 2008 08:04:21 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Delhi, India

Back in Delhi, for the last 24 hour blitz.&nbsp; What do I need to do?&nbsp; ...Pack?&nbsp; Definitely.&nbsp; ...Sleep?&nbsp; Too freakin cold.&nbsp; ..Buy stickers?&nbsp;<i> DO I.&nbsp; ...Hang out with Kunal?&nbsp; We're going to have farewell beers in a few.Goa (more accurately, Patnem) was, of course, wonderful.&nbsp; Different in almost every way from last year, but one of the things that I suppose I sent myself here to learn (again) was to alter or change- or to have&nbsp;no- expectations, and when I finally allow myself to recalibrate- I am always pleasantly surprised by what fills the space.&nbsp; ..Lovely.I spent a lot of time with Alan and Elin, and I will miss them tremendously.&nbsp; ESL (for them, and for me if you consider ENGLISH vs. AMERICAN English, really) barriers notwithstanding- Elin and I had at least&nbsp;a few&nbsp;giggle fits that rose and fell and then rose again at the same time- those priceless ones.&nbsp; I think the last one was when we were both lying on sarongs on the beach, faces up, eyes closed, halfway dreaming, listening to the waves roll in...&nbsp; and we hear the electronic shutter of some Indian kid's camera&nbsp;phone, and before either of us opened our eyes, I said, "uh-oh."&nbsp;&nbsp; Fits of laughter.&nbsp; And then there was my "going away" dinner, or two of them really, both times Gautam refused payment- the first time, the chef (Kishor)&nbsp;and Bittu (who did the waiting, really, and whatever else) paid for, the second was on Gautam.&nbsp; I got to cook my first going away dinner myself- rather, I got to furiously try to write down the ingredients and process for it while Kishor flew through the kitchen, a&nbsp;blurry&nbsp;whirling dervish.&nbsp; The second one, Alan went in to "town' to pick up&nbsp;pina colada supplies- my favorite, which&nbsp;I've&nbsp;since learned has become others' favorites&nbsp;at Gautam's place- and&nbsp;we stirred up a big ole pot of Colada, me and Dr. Alan (now called Dr. Alan because Dr. Frank took Dr. Alan to clean up some&nbsp;kids' wounds in Palolem,&nbsp;north of Patnem... Long story.&nbsp; Fabulous people.&nbsp; And&nbsp;somehow, I got some beautiful kurtas out of the deal...)So... There's so much more to say and yet nothing at all, about Patnem.&nbsp; Different vibe entirely than the last time I was there, but there were different people entirely (except for the family, of course).&nbsp;&nbsp;I missed Ayusha's birth by about a week when I&nbsp;left last time, and now I'm missing her first birthday&nbsp;party, and I've been given plenty of shit about that.&nbsp; I would have loved to&nbsp;be there.&nbsp; She is a beautiful,&nbsp;glowing little girl who gets the undying and never ending attention of her 23 other family members there, along with a complete&nbsp;head to toe coconut oil massage, daily, every morning, by her adoring, chirpy, loving, mama Pinky and&nbsp;Pinky's auntie (the same&nbsp;ladies who managed to massage&nbsp;me- I'm sure the baby's supple joints aren't A) put to the task as much as&nbsp;mine and B) she'd be better able to handle it,&nbsp;anyway.)&nbsp; She doesn't walk yet- Pinky said that the doctor said, she'll get on it when&nbsp;she wants.&nbsp; I can imagine why she doesn't, though- she's constantly in the arms of some loving relative<i>.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;Constantly.&nbsp; This is not a baby for whom a crib or pen is necessary.&nbsp; I'm sure nobody there knows what a baby pen IS, actually.&nbsp; She is never without cooing, doting&nbsp;supervision.&nbsp; She blows kisses, she gives high 5's, and she never cries.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've never seen&nbsp;a family&nbsp;with a baby like this before.&nbsp; Then again, I've never known of a family of 24 to inhabit the same few houses, either.&nbsp; Amazing.&nbsp; Eighty-four year&nbsp;old grandpa still goes about hanging your&nbsp;hammock and brings a machete to those palm "leaves" that occasionally crash to the ground...&nbsp; The other grandpa is sort of the lookout of the restaurant.&nbsp; Neither of them have many teeth left, but they are always grinning and showing what they have left.&nbsp; Both of them were standing vigilant on Christmas Eve, though, when security was on "high alert" for terrorism (we all agreed that the maximum amount of people you'd be able to take out in Patnem with one bomb was... Three, a fact for which we were laughingly grateful.)&nbsp; Funny thing though, there <i>is a bunker sitting out on the beach- empty, nobody standing guard, but one pile of sandbags in the middle of the strip of beach.&nbsp; Not until after Christmas did you see any signs of the Indian army-&nbsp;but I'd seen some the last few days there.&nbsp; A pair of soldiers, walking up and down the beach, water bottles, a radio,&nbsp;and huge rifles in hand.&nbsp; I think that it is generally thought that New Year's might be slightly more of a targeted date than Christmas.&nbsp; Either case- Patnem is a fishing village, and those three people paying $5 a night (that's what I paid) to stay in a toiletless room with a mosquito net and a fan are probably not the intended victims.&nbsp; It sucks, all of it, but other than having bomb sniffing dogs on my trains, or being aware of armed tanks out front of the airports... I haven't felt threatened or scared at all, not since the news hit the waves the day I left.&nbsp; And, it is what it is, but I'm not doing those high-falutin' things with those high-falutin' folks that are getting national attention... So.&nbsp; Anyway.&nbsp; Terrorism... &nbsp;It sucks.&nbsp; You can quote me on that.I flew back from Patnem last night.&nbsp; Gautam went with me and Malesh to the airport, and we stopped for sugar cane juice on the way.&nbsp; I was asking what the crops were, and one is sugar cane, and Gautam was like... "You have?"&nbsp;&nbsp;No, never- so, now I have.&nbsp; They have these fabulous little gas-powered grinder stands (NOW I know what those are) roadside, where a guy runs sugar cane through these teeth, over and over, and then pours the result into a glass for you, pops a straw in, and.. yum.&nbsp; Anyway, I have a stalk of sugar cane that I'm hoping to get through customs somehow so that I can chew on it at home and think about the jungle while I rot my teeth.Delhi: &nbsp;Plane late- huge surprise.&nbsp; Kunal picked me up with a smile (and a taxi) at the airport, and a roadie, natch.&nbsp; We got in to Delhi proper&nbsp;but it was after midnight by the time we got into Paharganj, so it was bedtime, everythng closed, unlike Gautam's 4am cutoff time.&nbsp; I FROZE last night. I've become accustomed to the warm night air of south Goa, where all you need is a sleeveless dress and a silk scarf to keep warm, and a silk sheet to sleep under.&nbsp; BRR.&nbsp; Hard to fall asleep, but fnally did, woke at around 9:30, and then sat in bed daring myself to take that cold shower for another hour... Did, <i>very awake&nbsp;after that point, and then we met and trolled around town taking care of a few things. Bought another huge bag just like last year (next year... bringing the damn bag, leaving with Kunal while I skirt around,&nbsp;and not buying another one), had some food, bought some stickers, got a neat carved hanging Indian buddha... etc.&nbsp; Now- he's getting a spirit house for me (altar kind of thing) and then we'll reconvene, I'll finish packing, and we'll go out for dinner and a beer&nbsp;on our way to the airport, where I'll start my long and sad ride home.&nbsp; I go from here to Paris, spend four hours rolling my eyes and clamping my hand to my head in exasperation,&nbsp;and then get on a plane that takes me all the way to Seattle- very happy about not having to stop on the east coast on the way back.&nbsp; One long, solid&nbsp;sleep on that plane, the way I see it.&nbsp; Jason and Christine are picking me up, dropping me home, I'll shower, figure out what to wear (Sage- I am laughing about our conversation today... What AM I wearing for NYE?&nbsp; ..God.&nbsp; Right now I'm trying to figure out how&nbsp;I'll speak English in full sentences with adverbs.. let alone the outfit.)&nbsp; I did buy bindis for all of us today, though,&nbsp;and probably all of the strangers we meet as well, so that's good.&nbsp; Ornamentation:&nbsp; <i>Check.Okay.&nbsp; That's it.&nbsp; There will be lots of&nbsp;little stuff to fill in, maybe if I get a minute this weekend, after I get home, I'll&nbsp;make a "post-trip" entry or something.&nbsp; Meanwhile- I'm off to figure out where Kunal is and if my spirit house is ready.&nbsp;&nbsp;Time to take my spirit house home.&nbsp;
]]> Secret Party — Patnem Beach, GOA, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1230460080/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1230460080/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1230460080/tpod.html Sun, 28 Dec 2008 05:38:51 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Patnem Beach, GOA, India

Well, just as I thought... Getting to a computer has been challenging here on Patnem beach.&nbsp; There are two places- and maybe more- you can get to without having to obtain motorized transportation, but...&nbsp; It's hot, the sand is hot, the ocean is cool, and the beer is colder...&nbsp; My Norwegian meighbors have been a kick, really great people, and, again, the family where I'm staying is stellar.&nbsp;&nbsp;A really nice&nbsp;English guy named Steve has popped in and out of the hut area where we've been hanging out..&nbsp;and because all on-the-beach beach&nbsp;light and noise&nbsp;has been outlawed due to the high terrorist threat status in India- you can only have quiet gatherings, which is just fine- but there was a party a few nights ago that was a silent rave.&nbsp; Steve, never having heard of a silent rave, said, "Oh- there's a secret party on Palolem tonight," and we got a lot of mileage out of that one.&nbsp; That, and how everything here is "after", instead of later, which is deemed much more applicable because... After doesn't really denote <i>time, whereas "later" does, and most Indians around here tend to use "after" instead of "later"...&nbsp; so...&nbsp; It's been a good one.I don't really have much to say.&nbsp; LOTS of good food.&nbsp; Frank, the only other American on this beach, and Alan (Alan and Elin, my Norwegian neighbors) brought a flower offering for me and hung it on my door from the market in Chowdi today...Tonight's my last night here,&nbsp;and of course it made me sniffle when I got back from the beach.&nbsp; Ah well.&nbsp; Dinner last night was on the cooks where I've been staying, and Gautam is making me dinner tonight - a party - for everyone.&nbsp; (Dinner last night was free from them contingent upon me coming in to the kitchen and trying to cook it myself, which I did.&nbsp; I've tried making Aloo Gobi, Paneer Butter Masala, and garlic cheese naan.&nbsp; Before I leave tomorrow:&nbsp; Palak Paneer.)&nbsp; Kishor, the cook, is much too fast for me to try to write everything down very well, but at least I get the idea.&nbsp; Yum.On that note- just wanted to check in.&nbsp; I need to finish up some basic housekeeping stuff here on the internet, then it's time for my nap.&nbsp; Only so much one can do in a day, and believe me, here in Patnem, it's not much.Til after, then~!
]]> Mix Fruit Sexy Cream — Patnem Beach, GOA, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229868960/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229868960/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229868960/tpod.html Sun, 21 Dec 2008 12:09:20 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Patnem Beach, GOA, India

Well, here I am in south India, enjoying the VACATION part of my vacation.&nbsp; What I am not enjoying is this keyboard, however, sorry about any typos that&nbsp;I don't catch while slamming my fingers like hammers&nbsp;in to every key.&nbsp; And I am going to- yet again- attempt to upload my last Varanasi shots from this internet cafe.&nbsp; I lost patience, time, and money (OK, so like $1.45, but still...) last go 'round, so we'll see how this does.So... Leaving Varanasi was hard.&nbsp; I cried like a five year old girl <i>(again... it's getting old, as am I) just before I left- holding my cool while saying goodbye to the boys, and then losing it entirely when I got back to my room to collect my shit before meeting Marcela for the cab to the airport.&nbsp;At least I was cool in front of the kids.Babu has been calling almost daily since I left, and since I don't carry my phone around&nbsp;with me on the beach (sunnies, sunscreen, book, about&nbsp;100 rps for water and ?,&nbsp;and nothing else make the "worth carrying to the beach, leaving while swimming,&nbsp;and possibly getting stolen" list) I usually try calling him back in the evening.&nbsp; I've only&nbsp;been able to reach him back once, but that's OK.&nbsp; He's monkeying around varanasi as always, I'm sure.&nbsp; Chottu is taking photos, I hope.&nbsp; When Marcela gets back, she's got money from me&nbsp;and an eye on him to make sure he keeps taking great photos.&nbsp; OK... So... The road to Goa.Marcela and I shared our taxi that Krrish lined up for us (and joined us and our tremendous baggage for a portion of the ride) to the airport on the 17th.&nbsp; It was cheaper for me to fly back to Delhi and then get a flight the following day to Goa than to fly "directly" from Varanasi, which would have run me through Bombay, and I made enough promises to the family that I wouldn't touch Bombay... So the plan was to go to Delhi on the 17th, then I'd have an overnight layover, and scoot to Goa the next (early) afternoon.&nbsp; Marcela <i>happened to be on the same flight to Delhi out of Varanasi, as she was headed to Paris late that night and then Berlin after a&nbsp;few days&nbsp;to visit her kids for a couple of weeks before returning, so we arranged to have a taxi together and then neighboring seats on the plane.&nbsp; We had a great time, natch.&nbsp; And, Kunal had arranged to pick me up at the airport, and also had a back-pocket plan to steal Marcela away from the airport and waiting for her connection for most of the night, so we ended up taking Marcela from&nbsp;the main domestic terminal (THERE ARE TWO, a fact that seems many, many Indian taxi drivers are blissfully unaware of...) took her to Gem&nbsp;Bar in Paharganj for some excellent Tandoori (she's been living in Varanasi for the better part of 18 months, and didn't&nbsp;know Tandoori, because there really isn't any in Varanasi.&nbsp; Which.&nbsp; Is.&nbsp; Interesting.&nbsp; And.&nbsp; Ironic.&nbsp;Considering.&nbsp; The. Amount. Of. Oven.&nbsp; And. BBQ.&nbsp; Cooking.&nbsp; That. &nbsp;Goes.&nbsp; On. &nbsp;In.&nbsp; Varanasi.)Anyway... Marcela and I were picked up in a taxi&nbsp;that Kunal accompanied to the airport.&nbsp; He packed a couple of roadies for us and we made our way, the three of us stuffed in the back of the taxi with our crap, in through Delhi traffic to Paharganj's main bazaar.&nbsp; We were laughing our butts off, to the point that the taxi driver (in Hindi- I'm going to understand next year without a translator... I swear) said that if we needed to go anywhere else, please to call him because we were cracking him up.&nbsp; I have a fabulous video of Marcela- who, understandably (and understanding India) refused to be parted from her luggage for even a minute, was rickshawed off in to the night, laughing our most recent punchline in to the sky as I ran behind the cycle, dodging shit (the kind that's on the ground stinking, as well as the kind that can&nbsp;slangily&nbsp;be called&nbsp;rickshaws, animals, stands with various things for sale,&nbsp;and groups of people)&nbsp;and trying to make a video:&nbsp; <i>"Iiii LOoooOvee DELLHIII...!!"&nbsp; I will try to upload it, but I have had zero luck with the whole data transfer thing down here in Goa so far.So... Goa.&nbsp; I was going get around&nbsp; to this place, right?&nbsp; First..&nbsp; Eventually, after losing first Marcela and then my cell phone along with Kunal in to the warm and&nbsp;cacophanous Delhi night, I found them both &nbsp;(I'll be at the bar.&nbsp; There is only one on this road.&nbsp; ..They will find me).&nbsp; We had a fab tandoori dinner, as I mentioned.&nbsp; I have a VERY soft spot for tandoori gobi (Gobi = cauliflower, try 'cauliflower' in a restaurant here, though, and tell me what you wind up with) along with tandoori paneer.&nbsp; In fact, the soft spot I have for Indian food in general is getting softer.&nbsp; <i>What the hell- this is year II where I went in to this trip expecting a lucky bout with some kind of&nbsp;amoebic dysentary in order to return model-thin to the States, and no, I get screwed.&nbsp; ..Actually, I just get fat.&nbsp; Sunned, well-fed, and smiling.&nbsp; I guess I can't really complain.Yeah... So, Goa- right.We drove (the driver drove) Marcela back to the airport, with us squeezed in together again in back,&nbsp;complete with her luggage despite her certainty that it would disappear in to some hoodlum's inventory (I totally trust Kunal and know enough about the 'hood to know that anyone would have to answer to a Greater Power if anything happened to our shit&nbsp;while&nbsp;under&nbsp;his direction, but totally, completely understand that Marcela does not).&nbsp; It was another tearful goodbye, but somehow seeing her two years in a row (as well as everyone else, now, this has not been a singular experience by any means) sort of lends understanding to me that life really DOES go on, and even if I don't see her next year, or in ten years, it's still okay, you know?&nbsp; Control over the uncontrollable does not exist.&nbsp; I am a control freak, I get that, even in my sort of organized-chaos way of being...&nbsp;&nbsp;But this reassurance somewhere in my experience here, of seeing those boys again at the bakery,&nbsp; and of (I'm really quite positive) seeing that little black dog again- just a little grayer around her face;&nbsp;of seeing life go on after a year's time packs grateful reassurance in to my heart.&nbsp; Goodbye might <i>actually&nbsp;just mean that I won't see you again, not that&nbsp;anything ceases to actually&nbsp;exist.&nbsp; ..Which is obvious, unless you are really saying goodbye (forever)&nbsp;at some point to someone that you really don't want to be saying goodbye to.&nbsp; If you ever have, maybe you know what I'm talking about.&nbsp; Maybe it's only me.&nbsp; Anyway.&nbsp; Goa.So, Marcela got back on a plane, Kunal and I went back to Paharganj in Delhi, and I spent the next morning sleeping and lazing&nbsp;til I knew the errands that I had to do in Delhi had to be done in order to get to the plane on time, HA, HA.&nbsp; In other words, I should have called the airline.&nbsp; I know THAT.&nbsp; ..Damn. &nbsp;Got the stuff done, though.&nbsp; I've left two bags of silks, tea, incense, and clothes that&nbsp;are like&nbsp;<i>sooo totally&nbsp;2008 Northern India- and too heavy&nbsp;for Goa- with Kunal now.&nbsp; Also ditched the sneakers; the sweeper boy at Kunal's hotel now owns a pretty well-worn pair of gore-tex Nikes, but he's not minding the fact that they are worn at all.&nbsp; Good.&nbsp; So.&nbsp; Ran around, went to the chemist (which sounds a lot more "Dr. Robert" than it was), bought another freaking sarong to use as a towel- I swear&nbsp;have like&nbsp;50 of them now.&nbsp; I pack one for a towel, and always pick another one up because I don't want to pack more than one around, and then find one or two I think look cool, and then bring them back.&nbsp; Another bad&nbsp;two-dollar habit.&nbsp; OK, dollar fifty habit.&nbsp; Whatever.&nbsp; So.. Wrapped up the Delhi business and then Kunal took me in a taxi to the airport.&nbsp; He wanted to take me by motorcycle, but I just wasn't feelin' the highway&nbsp;traffic, heavy backpack, eating-exhaust-and-bugs, death-defying&nbsp;kind of vibe, so taxi it was.&nbsp; A hug, the correct domestic terminal (a FIRST), and I was off to check in.&nbsp; Did so, and then found out the plane was about three hours late.&nbsp; Then, in about another hour,&nbsp;five hours late.&nbsp; Due to the Mumbai bombings, they won't let you out of the checked in area and&nbsp;back in again... So I sat in the airport for like five - six hours with NOTHING to do.&nbsp; There aren't... Restaurants, shops, bars, TVs, magazines, you know..&nbsp; Things to waste your money on in the Delhi terminal.&nbsp; There was an ice cream stand, however, and&nbsp;I had some "Delhi Delight" which was actually really good, and I&nbsp;ignored the cockroach I&nbsp;saw creeping along the storage shelf in back of the server.&nbsp;&nbsp;(I also&nbsp;shrugged one off that I saw inching it's way along the mosquito netting over my bed here, which wasn't easy to do, but.. What can you do except for say.. &nbsp;go, you, nasty laster of nuclear blasts; please, please&nbsp;go away...)The plane finally got there and was ready to be boarded, and then&nbsp;<i>was being boarded, with no passenger notification, anywhere,&nbsp;whatsoever.&nbsp;It's India. &nbsp;Glad I asked.&nbsp;&nbsp;I'd spent some time talking to an Indian&nbsp;man, a Sikh who did not&nbsp;don a turban, who was also going to Goa (he spends some X months a year there, in his 2nd/3rd home kind of thing) who&nbsp;apparently has shitloads of cash, and, I found&nbsp;out from Gautam and Malesh, lives in a notoriously mob-affilated neighborhood in north Goa.&nbsp; He's&nbsp;invited me up to his "property" for some spa days and to (I QUOTE) be "spoiled", and meet his group of friends- he extended the same invitation to a Brazilian woman we both ended up talking to, as well...&nbsp; He'll send a car and driver down here for me, blah,&nbsp;blah- but&nbsp;I'm reminded of a&nbsp;day/night that Marni, Sage and I spent in Mexico one year,&nbsp;many&nbsp;years&nbsp;ago... It was really, really fun (right, girls?),&nbsp;but I would never recommend that one did&nbsp;it without her&nbsp;two best friends at her&nbsp;side&nbsp;(<i>right, girls??!!).&nbsp; Thanks, but <i>no f*ing way. &nbsp;I've done some&nbsp;time with Mexican mobsters, and that was enough.&nbsp; So- I'll stay here.&nbsp; In south Goa, on rickety, bamboo-hut-electricity-free-no-flushing-fishing-village Patnem beach.&nbsp;&nbsp;I've finally gotten around to getting here, haven't I?It's been good.&nbsp; I got here two, or three, days ago (what day is it?) and I've spent time swimming, in the sun, walking up and down the beach, and now here in an internet cafe.&nbsp; I am going to spend some time in the family&nbsp;kitchen tomorrow and the next day- I just found out how one gets a free and excellent cooking class to learn (only) what they want to learn- become friends of everyone working&nbsp;at your Indian&nbsp;guest house for a couple of years.&nbsp; The cook there is looking forward to teaching me a few dishes.&nbsp; On my list:&nbsp; Palak Paneer, Paneer Butter Masala, some gobi dish (they don't have a tandoor oven; then again, neither do I, so what's the point of learning..) and definitely a dal and a biryani.&nbsp; This morning, I woke up with a neck that i couldn't turn, so I was "forced" to have a massage; that's the good news.&nbsp; The bad news is that it was with Pinky, who I adore (she is Gautam's sister and a sweet, sweet girl) but has not been trained, really, and due to my screwed up shoulders and my lack of being able to translate sweetly in to Hindi that I can literally become unhinged very easily, and the fact that somewhere along the line she learned that hammering in to a body was the way to relax it... It wasn't very relaxing.&nbsp; Mostly I was just cringing in fear, waiting for her to land on a spot that sprung my&nbsp;arm free from my shoulder.&nbsp; I spent the hour constantly&nbsp;trying to adjust my&nbsp;shoulder&nbsp;joints into comfortable and impenetrable positions. Maybe for people that are used to getting poked and yanked&nbsp;and don't have removable arms, it's a good&nbsp;and pleasurable&nbsp;thing.&nbsp; The head massage part&nbsp;of the massage,&nbsp;I think, got rid of a little extra hair- Christine won't have to work so hard to thin it out when I next catch her with her magic scissors, perhaps.&nbsp; It hurt like hell,&nbsp;but I did not want&nbsp;to appear ungrateful.&nbsp;&nbsp;Since when did I adopt these puritanical personality traits..?&nbsp; It was Pinky, though, after all...&nbsp; On the plus side- I got a killer coconut oil hookup.&nbsp; I get to bring a litre of it home.&nbsp; It's handmade by the family- there are coconut trees that provide shade over the entire home / guest house- and it's only going to run me 100 rps, which is about $2.&nbsp; Don't remember if I wrote it down in my last Indian blog, but there was a night, last year, when we were all sitting in the main hut... A magnificent crack came from the sky, as if God was pretty pissed,&nbsp;and we all sort of stopped talking&nbsp;(and were waiting for the other three horsemen) when Gautam shrugged, and&nbsp;looking at our ashen faces, said: "It's just a leaf,"&nbsp; ..And we all started crying&nbsp;in laughter.&nbsp; Meaning- a&nbsp;palm frond had fallen and presumably created the next Grand Canyon somewhere nearby.&nbsp; So, yeah, there are coconut trees.&nbsp; They have leaves- and those leaves are large.Let's see. I am not sunburned yet, but I do have tan lines. Woo hoo!&nbsp; I've been swimming lots.&nbsp; No shopping here.&nbsp; The first day I was here, Gautam invited me along to Chowdi (the "city" here) so that&nbsp;I could re-up my phone and basically go for a ride.&nbsp; We headed up to Agonda beach where his "cousin" is opening a guest house- Ajay- who I caught in a photo last year in a santa hat on the beach the morning after our Christmas party, if anyone recalls.&nbsp; Good to see a new area, I guess.&nbsp; I really haven't done much else since I got here except take the liberty of serving food to some tourists out of the kitchen there (they were a little confused, but assumed that I was indeed their waitress, and continued to ask for cold beers from me for the remainder of their meal), and I 'DJ'd' last night there, and... That's about it.&nbsp; There's a cool Norwegian couple that are staying in the room next to mine- they have not only a bathroom in their room, but a FRIDGE.&nbsp; Wow.&nbsp; They are here in Patnem&nbsp;til the 15th of January.&nbsp; She, as it turns out, is a freelance house manager and has tour managed in her past.&nbsp; Up til now, explaining "ticketing" to everybody- Indian or anyone whose second language is English- has been challenging.&nbsp; All the way over here, and I run in to a Norwegian woman who speaks my tongue!&nbsp; We traded some event and uppity artist management horror stories this afternoon while I was waiting for my massage.&nbsp; (The five minutes that turns in to two hours, I know it well, no complaining...&nbsp; It's India.)&nbsp; In fact- tonight, while I was trying some tandoori gobi down the beach here, some 'live music' started happening in a beachside restaurant nearby- they all are like little huts propped up, so they become stages naturally if you clear away the tables.&nbsp; It was just jambay drumming for a while, until some English guy finally came up to the mic and said, "Thank you for coming about tonight.&nbsp; Sorry we're late, but it's not our fault...&nbsp; It's India."&nbsp; ..He chuckles, and everybody understands.&nbsp; Oh- I almost forgot!&nbsp; "Mix Fruit Sexy Cream" is available on the menu where I am staying.&nbsp; That's what that's from.&nbsp; The menu.&nbsp; ..Anyone? ..Anyone?&nbsp; I had to write that shit down.&nbsp; You can't make this stuff up, I'm telling you.&nbsp; Any of it.So.. That's about it.&nbsp; I am hopeful that some pictures will upload.&nbsp; If not, I guess I'll just try again, another time.&nbsp; It's not my fault, it's India...
]]> Last Days in the place of Last Days — V aranasi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229751480/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229751480/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229751480/tpod.html Sat, 20 Dec 2008 01:04:23 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
V aranasi, India

Well, I've made it to the beach in the south.&nbsp; I thought I'd make an entry from the past- Or from the future?- to detail the last part of my Varanasi gig, but I know I won't make it to a computer for a couple of days at least, so I'll try to summarize everything from&nbsp;the present...The last couple of days in Varanasi were sweet.&nbsp; I hung out with the boys, and I got Chottu a camera.&nbsp; He was thrilled, or flummoxed, or both.&nbsp; Not sure. It was the best gift&nbsp;I've ever given anyone.&nbsp; We went back over to the other side of the river with a whole group of kids and he took a whole bunch of photos.&nbsp; Oh, the power just went out here.&nbsp; Wonder if it's going to affect the internet speed... Obviously they have a battery.. Hm..&nbsp; This entry may be very, very short if the computer battery beeping doesn't stop.&nbsp; Actually... Sorry, all, but I'm just going to upload some photos from Varanasi and get out of here.&nbsp; With no electricity other than the computer battery, this room has become intolerably hot (no fan) and I have to get out...&nbsp; Time to jump in the ocean to cool off.Love y'allA
]]> This time, I'm going to try to sit still for a few — Varanasi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229261880/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229261880/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229261880/tpod.html Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:16:03 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Varanasi, India

I have been running, yet sitting very, very still, since my arrival in Varanasi.&nbsp; Someone asked me what I've been doing here so far, earlier today.. And I couldn't come up with an answer, which means... You better write some stuff down, Andrea!&nbsp; I've totally lost what day of the week it is, and the Puja ceremonies are starting to blend together... The banana lassis all seem like I drank them the same morning; I just can't remember if I had them at the Ganpathi house or at the Alka Hotel.&nbsp; The chai is from everywhere, everywhere, all the time, and I've just had yet another big old helping of sesame candy (thanks to my accidental&nbsp;troupe).This trip to Varanasi has been greatly influenced by&nbsp;my own&nbsp;entourage of, give or take,&nbsp;five 12 to 14 year old boys... They are pure comedy.&nbsp; They are also really demanding of attention- whether or not it's from you- so it's&nbsp;kinda difficult to sit here and type away while I've got them all sort of crowding around, asking questions, yelling at each other, smacking each other on the head, throwing things around... Etc.&nbsp;OK, it looks like I've got&nbsp;Babu on&nbsp;my phone playing video games, and Krrish is back (proprietor here, and hopefully there will be photos of him coming up in this entry), so they've mellowed a bit, or scampered off.&nbsp; Again- they are clowns, and have been my personal bodyguards, acrobats, shoppers, and stand up comedians for the last five or so days, whatever it's been, but a moment to chill out here and hopefully try to get some stuff written down would be&nbsp;a very good thing!So, what have I been up to?Well, I have to admit that I got sucked in to a (likely) 2004&nbsp;episode of "Top Chef" on the only English speaking channel that I have on my TV in my room (did not have one last year, perhaps that's the reason for the 250 rp increase between this year and last).&nbsp; And, YES... I also got sucked in to an episode of that runway show.&nbsp; I can't believe I can't remember the name of it, as X and Bobby are always talking about it, but I can't.&nbsp; Reality fashion show.&nbsp; It's also probably from the first season or something.&nbsp; I guess I mention it only because the Indian advertisements between segments&nbsp;of these trashy shows have been absolutely delicious.&nbsp; One of my personal favorites: "<i>i-Pill.&nbsp; Because&nbsp;contraception is better than abortion."&nbsp; Nothing like just puttin' it out there, you know.&nbsp; Mystery SOLVED.&nbsp; I wonder what crack ad&nbsp;team in Mumbai thought long and hard in some glass walled boardroom- getting paid millions- to come up with that one.&nbsp; I love the potato chip commercials... The shampoo equals&nbsp;marriage commercials..&nbsp; The scooter equals&nbsp;marriage commercials...&nbsp; The Bollywood stars pushing lemon soda, skin lighteners, soaps, and mobile phones with huge white grins, cheesy winks, and colorful,&nbsp;choreographed, open-shirted&nbsp;dancing, wind blowing through glorious hair... There's one commercial that takes place in (obviously) some Mumbai call center where the guy in the cubicle is showing off all his brand name clothing using a rough- and difficult to listen to-&nbsp;American accent, and the girl in the cube next to him notices that his eyeglass lenses aren't a brand name... <i>Criminal.&nbsp; I'm even enjoying McDonald's commercials featuring "shake 'em" fries that are french fries you put some Indian spice in to and shake up to be all funky fresh to the tune of some Punjabi beat.PROJECT RUNWAY!!!&nbsp; That's it.&nbsp;I've been redeemed.&nbsp; Or, I've trashed my rep.&nbsp; Something like that.Okay, aside from catching some sweet&nbsp;early 2000's reality TV, I've been walking, walking, walking, mostly following my young friend Babu around.&nbsp; I went to take chai one evening after Puja with the boys- they took me, <i>natch, to the main burning ghat on the north side of the Puja ghats... In other words, we went to get a nice cup of hot tea while watching bodies being incinerated.&nbsp; Where else does one go to sit for a nice cup of tea, really?&nbsp; I was like, of course.&nbsp; We should definitely pop over to that side of town for a quick cup of tea.&nbsp; Biscuits, anyone?&nbsp; No surprise, I was the only white person over there, and probably the only one curiously- and hopefully surreptitiously-&nbsp;looking down in the dim streetlight, at the fires burning bright&nbsp;by the side of the river from&nbsp;my damp bench seat in front of the chai stand.Marcela and I spent a day shopping (Marcela who I met last year), and let's just say that we are not the best influences on each other when it comes to shopping.&nbsp; I'm cheap; I'm staying in a room here that is a little more than $11 a night (which is the most I've paid all trip, so far, by far, and that's only because I wanted to stay along the Ganges, and it's almost twice what it was last year at the same hotel).&nbsp; I've been eating meals that have run me between 70 cents and $2.50, maybe an extra dollar if I get a big Kingfisher beer (which they do not have in Varanasi, this year, probably because it's supposed to be dry, and there are a LOT of extra police around because of the bomb threats).&nbsp; I won't get a taxi from inside the station, they are always more, you can find someone outside for less-&nbsp;or take a motorickshaw instead of a car.&nbsp; I am <i>cheap.&nbsp; But walk me in to a silk scarf shop, or goddammit, a scarf / clothing / bedspread / we'll make whatever the hell you want us to shop... And all of a sudden, SOMEONE runs out of cash.&nbsp; Jesus H. Christ.&nbsp; Oh yeah, then take me from there, Marcela, thank you VERY much, and walk me in to a giant shiny bangle shop... SHINY..&nbsp; shiiinnnnyyyy... oh... sooo shiiinnnyyyy.. Marcela, look how shiny!&nbsp; Look!&nbsp; SHINY, MARCELA, <i>SHINY!!!&nbsp; Anyway, I walked out of there with a bangle briefcase.&nbsp; I didn't know they made special bangle briefcases, but they sure as shit do.&nbsp; I think it's basically&nbsp;a really hardcore papier mache briefcase, with removeable&nbsp;separaters and everything.&nbsp; Looks like a sweet 70's leather briefcase from a distance.&nbsp;And it was only 200 rps- which is&nbsp;like&nbsp;$4.&nbsp; Worth every penny.&nbsp; I now have enough bangles and scarves and handmade shit to open a shop for someone who has my taste and wears my exact size, and I'll make enough to support the trip next year.&nbsp; ...Almost.&nbsp; I learned during this last few days that "lady fingers" are french fries.&nbsp; FYI, word to the wise.&nbsp; Not some meaty finger concoction- I just didn't know.&nbsp; Sounded like some weird&nbsp;hot dog&nbsp;/ sausage thing.&nbsp; I went for it at a restaurant that I knew was all veg.&nbsp; French fries.&nbsp; Who knew- besides maybe everyone else in the world- I sure didn't.Let's see... This morning, I made up a song, and it went something like this:&nbsp; "I don't shower alone in&nbsp;the mornings, no, no, no I don't... I see you there, hiding behind the water pump... Your yellow eyes, your yellow lizard eyes, your little pink tongue.. I don't shower alone, no, no I don't."&nbsp; There are two of them living in back of the water pump I think- they are bigger and&nbsp;fatter geckos than I remember seeing either last year or in Cambodia or something.. Yellowish, or maybe they're just trying to look like marble and the yellowish color in between marble tiles.&nbsp; They have little nails, it looks like, not just spongy ends to their little hands.&nbsp; Pretty cute.&nbsp; When I come in when it's dark out, and I turn on the light, I can usually see someone bolting&nbsp;to the&nbsp;back of the water pump.&nbsp; I gave some money away to a sadhu to tell my "life story", and did it upon the recommendation of a couple of the kids I've been beating the streets with.&nbsp; Jury's out as to whether this guy is a charlatain, gangster, or good-hearted, or a bit of all three, but legend has it that he takes the money and helps orphaned kids outside of town, and I was schooled about the best way to make a donation to the kids and other helpless folks in this town- told in no uncertain terms that Baba is a caretaker of the community, and it is far better to obtain services from him and give him some cash than it is to hand money out to beggars- especially along the ghats, as there is a fair bit of hash that goes around and some family shenanigans (the old family members who are disabled go to the ghats to beg; they keep their kids from going to school or whatever to beg in the streets; the mothers with babies go out and plea for money for their kids, and I'm<i> told that when all's said and done, it's a disservice to the community and the legit folks who are trying to get by.&nbsp; Hard not to believe when you're hearing from locals and kids who have had the benefit of Babu's services.&nbsp; I don't know.&nbsp; I threw&nbsp;twenty bucks&nbsp;at it, we'll see if anything sticks.&nbsp; It was interesting, and I've been told by a few folks that I have a long life line, so I don't have anything to worry about over here.&nbsp; I've also been told that I have a stomach problem, and I feel fine, so... Since I'd rather believe that I'm going to live a long time, I'm going to just cop to having a stomach illness.&nbsp; Fine.&nbsp; My stomach hurts, and it's going to hurt for like at least fifty years.What else have I done... Krrish took Marcela and I to his house today, in an area just outside of Varanasi proper called Jaitpura.&nbsp; He has&nbsp;a BIG house, I was in awe. He's got a lot of work to do, but he's stoked about it!&nbsp; We got to meet his sweet-eyed wife Minu who is one month away from having their first baby.&nbsp; She is getting sick every day, poor thing, and on top of that, as I mentioned... "How nice that you had to sit in the kitchen and make us all this food," which of course she did not have to, and thankfully everyone got it, but just so sweet.&nbsp; Chuda Mutter.&nbsp; I just asked Krrish what it was that she made for us that was so fab- that was it.&nbsp; (I'm in his&nbsp;internet cafe again right now.) &nbsp;He&nbsp;claims to know the ingredients, so I'm going to have to hit him up for them later. YUM.&nbsp; We had like a three course meal in there, coffee, everything. Met his mother, who lives at the house too.&nbsp; He looks just like her.&nbsp; It was pretty neat.&nbsp; The funniest part of it was that when we got in the autorickshaw, Krrish says, "Sundays are great because there is no traffic."&nbsp; So- I took a video (he took over after a minute or so) to exemplify what "no traffic" looks like in Varanasi.&nbsp; I hope you all enjoy at least a little bit as much as we did.&nbsp; I got a little fuzzy winter outfit that has almost giraffe printing for the baby- little jacket and pants.&nbsp; I hope they like it.&nbsp; Babu helped me shop and gift wrap this morning.&nbsp; (Leader of&nbsp;the&nbsp;posse.)&nbsp; He's sitting here on the other side of me right now playing video games on the computer, now.&nbsp; My phone's about dead.What else have I done...&nbsp; Well, right now, I'm wheeling and dealing with Krrish to help get his website off the ground. I'm IMing the guy that's building the site for him to see if we can get a prototype of the Google map service that he wants to integrate into the web service.&nbsp; Pretty cool.&nbsp; I'm going to become an "investor" in his site to help get the interactive forum piece off the ground, which feels&nbsp;really good.&nbsp; Krrish has been an incredible help to me when I've been here, I am happy to help back a little, and I bet I'll A) feel better about it and B) the money will stick more than it did when I spent it yesterday to find out that I would live for a long time- with stomach problems.Got sidetracked by business there.&nbsp; What else has happened...Puja has been magical, every time.&nbsp; I got a little star-struck when I talked to Main Puja Guy, whatever his name was, I'll admit it.&nbsp; I saw him again tonight at Puja- he wasn't feeling well so stepped down to manage the crowd tonight.&nbsp; I'm going to go tomorrow morning and check out the single person ceremony at 7:30.&nbsp; Now, we're arranging a taxi to Sarnath, which is where I thought we were headed yesterday, but it's a good 35 minutes out of town, so I was wrong.&nbsp; There's a bunch of temples and Buddha's tree and so forth there, I'm told- I'll get a read about it tonight.I have booked my flight to Goa, which goes by way of another night in Delhi, so I'll be packing my bags and getting on a plane on the 17th.&nbsp; Coincidentally, Marcela gets on the same plane to Delhi on her way to Paris on the 17th as well.&nbsp; I thought I'd leave the 16th, but this french guy Gael, photographer and friend of Marcela's, comes back a day or so earlier, and we thought&nbsp;we'd have a party on the night of the 16th.&nbsp; Marcela is only leaving for a week, but I'm gone-gone, and it happens to be her birthday, as well, so... Live it up.&nbsp; Gael said something about making margaritas with Indian rum, which sounds ghastly.&nbsp; I suggested Pina Coladas, given that coconuts and pineapple are much more plentiful than tequila in these parts.&nbsp; Why that sounded&nbsp;like such a good and new idea to the gang is a mystery to me.&nbsp; Like.. Oh, wow, we don't have to make sickly margaritas, we can use what's here to make something that actually tastes good. What a notion.&nbsp;Great idea, Andrea.I'll be in Goa on the 18th. I've called Gotam again - he recognizes my voice, it's crazy, and I love it- and I'll have at least 10 days down south.&nbsp; I am unsure as to whether or not I can make it over to Hampi again this year.&nbsp;I kind of want to suss out who's there and what's going on before I make any commitments to leave for a while. It's a good day and change bus ride to get over there, no matter how you slice it- They run an overnight bus, but it's India, and it's not going to be a bus that I'll be able to sleep on- even if they call it a sleeper. Been there. You get on, get off, get on, get off, for no apparent reason, and then you finally get on again for the ride- by then it's 4am- and the horn is blaring all night- so whenever you end up arriving, which is not going to be on time, all you can do is go somewhere and sleep... I'm not much of a sleeper bus fan.&nbsp; So, who knows.&nbsp; I may just want to sit myself on that beach and swim for 10 days in a row.&nbsp; It sure wasn't torture last year.Okay, waiting for this video to upload, and I'm ready to get out of here for the night.&nbsp; Namaste, all, I'll take a look at Sarnath for everyone tomorrow&nbsp;and take some photos.&nbsp; The natives are getting restless next to me and are starting to hit each other again- Krrish is gone and so is the order.&nbsp; I'm not able to write any more with these kids pounding on each other next to me.&nbsp; So- Good night!!
]]> A day well-lived! — Varanasi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229352900/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229352900/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229352900/tpod.html Mon, 15 Dec 2008 11:12:56 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Varanasi, India

Wow, what a day.&nbsp; It isn't over yet, either, which is a little inundating!&nbsp; I feel like I've been to the moon and back, yet I'm still in the stars... How cheesy.&nbsp; What fun.The day began with meeting Babu and Chottu (formerly Babu II, now informally known as Chottu)&nbsp;outside of my hotel at 7:00 in the morning.&nbsp; It was hard getting up for another early day, but I love hanging out with these nutball boys, and knew that no matter how tired I was, I'd wake up soon.&nbsp; So- got up, took my shower with my little lizard friends, and got outside.&nbsp; I thought it might be&nbsp;interesting to watch morning Puja, but at our stop at the chai stall, Babu suggested that we grab a boat which sounded way more interesting.&nbsp; Already done it one time this round, but what the hell.&nbsp; We got a boat- friend of a friend, of course, and charted a course downstream to pass one of the burning ghats (can't get enough, I guess), and then I said, "Hey, can we go to the other side?"&nbsp; Yep.&nbsp; So we rowed to the other side of the river, where I've never been, moored the boat in the mudlands, and hopped out.&nbsp; Immediately, the boys start picking up dirt clods and hurling them at each other, running after each other, making fun of each other, making mud chapatis, and I took a bunch of pictures of them.&nbsp; It was super fun. I found a really cool shell (well, it wasn't that cool, but it was whole, and since the entire other- I guess you could say west??- side used to be under water, I figured- cool, a Ganges shell, neat.)&nbsp; Showed it to Babu and immediately it became the loudest and most obnoxious and most often heard whistle of <i>all time.&nbsp; Had to chase him down to get it away from him.&nbsp; I'm impressed by the whistle skills, must say, but not by the oh my god stop it right now before I kill you part.&nbsp; Well, I am impressed, in a way... Whatever.&nbsp; So,&nbsp;they&nbsp;ran around, I took pictures and looked at stuff stuck in the mud, checked out birds, the people who looked to be squatting on that side of the river- literally..&nbsp; The&nbsp;boys&nbsp;threw mud at each other, rubbed it in to each other's heads, pretended it was bread, pizza, a hole was dug that was some sleeping cave, etc.&nbsp; I handed my camera over to Chottu- and, as it turned out when I looked this afternoon, he took some&nbsp;of the most amazing photos I've ever seen.&nbsp; Mission:&nbsp; I'm buying him a camera before I leave.&nbsp; Turns out he can't read or write, I didn't know that til today.&nbsp; He's the quieter kid of the&nbsp; Babu and Chottu brotherhood, and has an amazing drawing and composing eye.&nbsp; I am absolutely blown away.&nbsp; I am uploading some of his photos now.&nbsp; Hopefully.&nbsp; After our stint on the "other side", we hopped in the boat, and I asked to drive.. So, I got to be oarsperson rowing up the Ganges on the way back to where we docked.&nbsp; It was a pretty good workout- it was upriver, which isn't that strong a current- but not that weak of one either, and the boats are made of heavy, waterlogged wood.&nbsp; So, as everyone who's ever rowed anything already knows, you turn right, right, right, and see no result for a good span of like... Forever, and then the boat turns heavily and unstoppingly, finally, RIGHT-&nbsp;the way you intended to turn a while back.&nbsp; I got used to it by the time we got to the other side, but I'm sure we wove our way across the river in a pretty interesting pattern.&nbsp; Who cares, I'm obviously the guest rower here.&nbsp; We had about 45 minutes to grab some breakfast before we got the taxi to Sarnath, and we had to go to three places before we found a sit-down type restaurant where Indian people could sit and eat with a foreigner.&nbsp; BOO.&nbsp; I was not a fan of it, but we finally did find a place, and we all got cornflakes with *hot* milk (new to me!&nbsp; But after seeing the milk market, I am glad for it).Made it to the taxi and took off for Sarnath... It's getting late and I think I've had my creative spurt for the evening, so when these pictures finally upload, I may call it a night and try to make up for lost time sometime tomorrow.&nbsp; Sarnath was cool.. Quiet, nice gardens, Tibetan / Buddhist temples, pretty neat.&nbsp; Riki, I found Green Tara there!&nbsp; ..And asked about her!&nbsp; Asked a Nepalese man in a Tibetan temple.&nbsp; ...Therefore, the explanation didn't come through so great, so I took some photos.&nbsp; I tried to find a pendant or something, but was told that only the very holy men have access to such jewelry, or something along those lines.&nbsp; I'm not sure.&nbsp; Sorry about that.Anyway.. Sarnath was a couple of hours.. Then I found a silk brocade shop back in Varanasi&nbsp;that was amazing... Got a couple of family heirlooms there.&nbsp; Then, we went and found a bag- since I'm flying to Delhi and spending another night there before hitting Goa, I don't have to use the post to send anything home.&nbsp; I can fly the stuff to Delhi and leave it there til I fly it home&nbsp;(thanks again, Kunal.&nbsp; I'm going to have to start paying rent for the space my crap is taking up, wherever it is.)&nbsp; We found a bag, then I went to the hotel to rest for like 40 minutes, where actually I just got a card together for Krrish and brainstormed and wrote down some ideas for his internet / travel business... Mostly marketing stuff he can do here.. And then I met the boys again.&nbsp; We went and grabbed a bite to eat and now I'm here.&nbsp; That's the day!&nbsp; Long day!&nbsp; Fun and long...&nbsp; OK, gonna check my hotmail and try not to check my work email- it totally stresses me out, seriously, but it's good to keep an eye on, I guess.&nbsp; Argh.&nbsp; Mkay, g'night everyone.&nbsp; I've lived this day, hope you get to do the same!
]]> Short but sweet — Varanasi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229165220/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229165220/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1229165220/tpod.html Sat, 13 Dec 2008 05:58:10 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Varanasi, India

Ok, starting a quick entry before I go tromping off with little Bapu to Sarnath with some english guy named Simon.&nbsp; Varanasi has always had an ace of magic up it's sleeve for me, and this time is no exception.&nbsp; The unexpected pops it's head out from every corner... I love it.&nbsp; I go to sleep (thus far, very early every night, tonight is different with this Sarnath adventure, maybe) thinking.. 'what would have happened if I hadn't have gone <i>there?' I've done way too much shopping with Marcela, but great shopping, and I've had my fortune read and my life story told, and I've been guided by my favorite little kid Babu all over town, culminating on my first day with a ringside seat at the large Puja along the Ganga... He beat off all the vendors and the bigger kids and made sure I was comfortable.&nbsp; The leader guy (whatever you call them...&nbsp; Monk? Although I don't think they are officially monks) came down to talk to me before the&nbsp;ceremony, and that was pretty neat, it was like chatting with the rock star before the show..&nbsp; if I wasn't so numb to that experience, that is..&nbsp;Anyway, afterwards, I went to bed and then Babu arranged a boat ride for the morning for me, him, his other little friend Babu (II) and then this older kid Rahul, who is a nice kid, but won't shut up about himself and his Brahman status..&nbsp; Anyway.&nbsp; I will get in to some details when I have time.&nbsp; Right now I'm at Krrish's 'shop' where he is trying to get me on a plane to head south.&nbsp; Sadly, my friend Marni won't be joining me on the beach in Goa, but as with last year, many friends that I haven't met yet- and some that I have- will be.Looks like I might have to head north to Delhi again before I go south.&nbsp; Well, that's not the end of the world, and I'll save that much on shipping... I bought a shitload of shawls, some bangles, and some silk scarves here.&nbsp; Marcela and I have not changed from last year to this one of being terrible influences on each other when it comes to shopping.OK,&nbsp;maybe I&nbsp;can get some photos uploaded.&nbsp; How many photos can you upload in India in 15 minutes?&nbsp; bets, anyone?
]]> What a short, strange trip it's been! — Varanasi, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228896060/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228896060/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228896060/tpod.html Wed, 10 Dec 2008 04:32:12 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Varanasi, India

Whirlwind...&nbsp; Final night and morning in Pushkar was as kicked back as the rest of it.&nbsp; I walked from my hotel in Pushkar to the bus station to catch a bus to Ajmer...&nbsp; It was the first and only time I have ever actually wanted (or didn't want) a rickshaw and one didn't come along.&nbsp; It was hot, and I did my lion's share of shopping while in Pushar (Rajasthan is well known for it's rocks and it's soft goods..&nbsp; Drool.)&nbsp; I sweated my way up the hill to the bus station.&nbsp; A whole 7 rupee ride to Ajmer.&nbsp; It's the 7 rp ride that you realize that some can't afford where I really remember the stark difference in incomes, here.&nbsp; Crazy.&nbsp; It was a good ride, though I was stuffed next to a man and his wife, as my pack wouldn't fit in the upper shelving, so I curled my knees basically in my face, and even when the bus started to empty as we hit local destinations within Ajmer, they didn't move.&nbsp; Another cultural thing!&nbsp; Whatever, no worries.&nbsp; Very friendly young guys in back of me anxious to try out their english and to give me a cell number in case I needed help with anything.&nbsp; Sweet, not neccessary, but sweet.Made it to the train station with a rickshaw this time from the bus to the train station- got there with ten minutes to spare.&nbsp; I'd had a good night's sleep the night before, unfortunately, so when the sun went down and there was nothing left to see out the window, I was still awake, wishing I could just crash til Delhi.&nbsp; No matter.&nbsp; Another first: Bomb sniffing dogs on the train.&nbsp; Hmm.&nbsp; Is this supposed to make me feel better or worse, I thought?&nbsp; I'll go with better.&nbsp; Got there, Kunal met me at the train station.&nbsp; Nobody without a ticket can come in to the station any more (without paying, which is what touts will do) as a "security" measure.&nbsp; Not so sure that 40 rp or&nbsp;so would be the deterrent if I was going to blow up a train station, but whatever.&nbsp; We walked back to Paharganj and I took a nice freezing&nbsp;cold shower and went to bed.&nbsp; The next day- wedding.&nbsp; I met and spent time with Sunil each and every time I went through Delhi last year, and of course so far this year, so I was a little caught up in this wedding vs. the one I went to last year in Amritsar, where I'd never met either party getting married.&nbsp; He wasn't very happy about it.&nbsp;&nbsp;Strange place to be, I think, in his shoes.&nbsp; He has an&nbsp;Indian girlfriend&nbsp;(as well as a foreign mistress, I guess); but he was pretty in love with&nbsp;his Indian girlfriend, from&nbsp;the sound of it.&nbsp; The wedding was&nbsp;of course arranged and&nbsp;he was getting married solely because his mom wanted him to marry.&nbsp; Hadn't met her prior to being propped up on stage with her to marry and&nbsp; intensely photographed.The whole wedding&nbsp;process was pretty similar to the Sikh wedding I'd attended, less the money involved (not because of religion, we're just talking vastly different incomes here).&nbsp; The major difference for ME, anyway, was that at this wedding- I was absolutely mobbed.&nbsp; It was actually awful.&nbsp; I sort of went in waves of dealing with it and gladhanding and whatnot and then like... Wanting to run in back of a wall somewhere and crying.&nbsp; I felt like Britney Spears or something.&nbsp; Seriously.&nbsp; MOBBED.&nbsp; There would be as much as 60 or so people crowding around me at all angles, touching me, trying to talk to me, some of them cute, some of them rude... And I felt awful, because there were more people watching me and paying attention to everything I did than were watching the wedding ceremony.&nbsp; Hated it.&nbsp; I would have left earlier&nbsp;would it not have been&nbsp;so painfully obvious that I did.&nbsp; Half of the people there would have followed me, probably.&nbsp; It was so bad and so obvious that Sunil- on his wedding night- called me an hour or so later,&nbsp;after we&nbsp;finally did race off into the night on a motorcycle behind Sunil's brother Sunny, to ask if I was OK.&nbsp; I just put a smile in my voice and was like, "Of course!&nbsp; Thank you so much, what a lovely wedding."&nbsp; It WAS really cool to see it and be part of it; the mobbing was pretty terrible and detracted from the rest of it, which sucked.&nbsp; Amusing in retrospect, I guess.&nbsp; Sort of.&nbsp; It was nice to see part of the wedding (from over everyone's heads... listening through hundreds of people trying to talk to me..) and it was interesting to get pulled on to the wedding platform a few times to be photographed... In the middle, on the side, etc., next to the bride, now the groom...&nbsp; On and on.&nbsp; The celebrity wore off in a hurry though, and I was pretty happy to get back to parts of Delhi where there were a few other foreigners to take the heat.Soo.. That was the wedding.&nbsp; I'd had a pretty sore throat that day, and decided to go ahead and succumb to being sick the next day- a cold/flu kind of thing.&nbsp; I slept for a good 30-40 hours straight, through the next morning.&nbsp; Got up slowly, and then went to a market in Delhi- more of an arts show, I guess.&nbsp; I got some cool&nbsp;framed drawings&nbsp;there and some pottery.&nbsp; It took time and energy, and I was fine with calling my last night in Delhi an early one.&nbsp; I had a flight from Delhi to Varanasi yesterday, and wanted to get up early to ship some stuff home (that's always a project that takes much more time and dedication than anyone would think. Ever.), put some stuff together that I&nbsp;wanted to leave&nbsp;with Kunal for my trip home (carry on the plane, and not around the rest of India), and knocked off some business before grabbing a confusing&nbsp;and subsequently annoying cab ride&nbsp;to the airport.&nbsp; (Thanks for hooking up the free ride, Kunal, really... But you get what you pay for.)&nbsp; Machine gunners&nbsp;in&nbsp;Hum-V type rides on the&nbsp;way in- security has definitely stepped up since the last time I was at the&nbsp;domestic terminal.&nbsp; The wrong one, as it turned out, but the domestic terminal.&nbsp; Walked to the&nbsp;correct&nbsp;terminal&nbsp;with the help and luggage&nbsp;cart&nbsp;of a kind Kingfisher employee in time to catch my plane.&nbsp; Yay.&nbsp; I thought training it would be fun, but I've done that trip before, and I got a hell of a deal on the flight.&nbsp; It was about $20 difference between riding 3AC and flying, and time is not on my side.&nbsp; Arrived in&nbsp;Varanasi...&nbsp; Guy tried to sell me an overpriced taxi... Been there, done that, buddy.&nbsp; Got the realistically priced one and got to deal with the driver picking up various friends and dropping them off again along the way.&nbsp; One guy had his face full of that Betel nut chew shit- seriously disgusting- I mean FULL of it- and he was trying to talk me in to using his guide service.&nbsp; I was trying hard not to gag while he was spitting at/talking to me.&nbsp; No, sir, I don't think I want to shake your hand.&nbsp; It was great driving in to town though, and I recognized where I was dropped off as being the closest car-accessable area to Meer Ghat, which is where I'm staying.&nbsp; Got out, hiked to the hotel.&nbsp; Sun had set, and I missed the starting of the Puja ceremony just down the river, but I got settled in my room and came on out to check out the evening happenings along the Ganges where I could see it from the hotel balcony.&nbsp; I recognized about 3 or 4 of the staff and they recognized me too, which was fun, for sure.&nbsp; I am disappointed that I'm not in my same room, but hey.&nbsp; Can't have it all.&nbsp; I ate too much and then went to bed.Today, day&nbsp;1 in Varanasi.&nbsp; I talked to Marcela this morning- she's here again this year, I'm going to see her tomorrow.&nbsp; I wandered down here to Krrish's internet shop, good to see him again too.&nbsp; Lives go on!&nbsp; It's pretty neat to be back.&nbsp; I have a few more photos to upload before I wander down to the ghats to make some more photos.&nbsp; This place is pretty amazing.&nbsp; I want to catch Puja tonight and actually get a spot in front this time, and everything takes so much longer in India...&nbsp; So I'd better head down there pretty soon.&nbsp; Waiting for these last few photos to upload before I take off.Plan:&nbsp; Not sure.&nbsp; I am tempted to stay here just two or three nights more and then hop a train to Orissa, to see some stuff I haven't seen before, or I could stay here through the 17th or so and head south.&nbsp; I know already that I want some serious beach time.&nbsp; I think I need more of a "vacation" this year than I did last year, so I want at least 10 days with my ass planted in the sand.&nbsp; I'm going to head back to Delhi either the night of the 29th or the morning of the 30th, have to leave the 31st (technically) at 1am... So I'm trying to back out my plans and figure out if it's realistic for me to get to Orissa this time around.&nbsp; I may head south and call Hampi my new adventure this year, which sounds easier and warmer and all that good stuff than spending a couple of days trying to navigate a new city or two.&nbsp; Adventure vs. ass-planting?&nbsp; Hmm.&nbsp; Right now the planting of the ass in&nbsp;some warm sand with Gotam's family in Patnem&nbsp;sounds great.&nbsp; I could change my mind if I meet another traveller today who gives me a great idea, though...I can now count to five and say thank you in Hindi. I have "beautiful" written down somewhere.&nbsp; My Hindi skills are limited, one could say.Okay, pictures, upload...Til later, friends.&nbsp; Namaste!
]]> Another Day in the Phil Zone — Pushkar, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228374600/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228374600/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228374600/tpod.html Thu, 04 Dec 2008 03:26:58 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Pushkar, India

It's been a very un/eventful couple of days in Pushkar.&nbsp; It's warm, beautiful, lots of great shopping, lots of great food, interesting conversations, hot showers (!), a couple of amazing hikes... I can see how a person could get stuck here for a while.&nbsp; But it's true- I'm a little bored.&nbsp; I ran into the same Frenchman at my favorite dining spot again today- he's been traveling for months and also leaves Pushkar tomorrow.&nbsp; We had breakfast together and talked for a couple of hours as the sun started warming... Then, of course, he went to do yoga and I went to shop.&nbsp; The silver store where I was yesterday is temporarily closed, though, so I thought I'd stop off here.&nbsp; Anyway, let's see.&nbsp; What's happened?Yesterday, I woke up early and scaled the hill to Savriti temple, which is a temple devoted to one of Brahma's wives.&nbsp; It was a heck of a climb, and there were breathtaking views on the way up (both because I was panting and because it was gorgeous)... I'm only a little sore today, which is surprising.&nbsp; Anyway, got up there, and what would you think would greet you at a hilltop temple?&nbsp; Why, trance music, of course.&nbsp; There's a kid named Ganesh who runs the joint up there, I guess, and spends his day making friends with the travellers that march up the hill. You can get a cup of hot chai and watch him feed and then chase off the monkeys when they start toppling the few wicker chairs that sit on the cliff down the side and out of sight forever.&nbsp; He's a happy kid, seems he's taken some lessons from the monkeys himself the way he bounds around the hillside.&nbsp; There was a European couple and one other woman up there when I got there, not having left as early as I intended, and we all hung out for a couple of hours, listening to the trance music, drinking tooth-shatteringly sweet masala chai, and watching Ganesh and the monkeys.&nbsp; It was the definition of chill, and agreed by all that there was no reason to hurry down.Oh, there have been a couple of things I intended to jot down, things that happened that were really funny or strange...I went to Kunal's friend's home where we had tea, of course, and some conversation entirely translated by Kunal (this was still in Delhi).&nbsp; We were chatting, and laughing some, and sitting in the one room that makes their home (I'm sitting on the end of the bed next to Kunal; a family friend is sitting up by the head of the bed; Hababi, the man of the&nbsp;house- a teacher-&nbsp;is sitting in the one chair, and his wife is standing about seven feet away from the bed at the stove, making chai).&nbsp; It was lovely, and they of course are very generous, and smiling people.. and we're joking, and I'm a smart ass... Anyway, at one point Hababi asks me (via Kunal) "What is the most beautiful thing in the US?" and me, being a joker-&nbsp;and an asshole-&nbsp;I swing two thumbs inward at myself&nbsp;with the goofiest grin and started laughing.&nbsp; It fell like an anvil for a few seconds until the joke was conveyed... Ah, well.&nbsp; I laughed about it then and I'm still giggling.&nbsp; I'm sure they are too.&nbsp; Let's see, what else has happened...&nbsp; Oh, I'm trying this time (vs. last, when I really didn't try at all, for whatever reason) to learn a tiny bit of Hindi- at least as much as I know in Thai, that's my goal.&nbsp; So I'm trying to remember "Thank you", which I now have, and it turned into me saying, for the first ten or so times.... "umm.&nbsp; ..GODDAMMIT.&nbsp; Shit!&nbsp; Shit.&nbsp; OH! <i>..Dahanya Bad."&nbsp; Which I'm not sure is a whole lot better than just sticking to "Thank you".&nbsp; There have been a few other rich ones... Oh, once, during conversation with Kunal about his friend's wedding and the situation, I say "You're kidding me!", just as a sort of manner of speech, and he stops what he's saying, looks straight at me, deadpanned, and says,&nbsp; "No. Andrea, I am not kidding you."&nbsp; Oh.. There have been a few other gems.&nbsp; Can't think of them right now, and if only I could write about them instantly when they happened...OK- back to Pushkar.&nbsp; I bought some kids some chapatis two days ago, which was a huge mistake at first (I was then hit up by every kid here.&nbsp; Word of a sucker travels fast.) but I've stuck to my guns after that; no more chapatis until I leave.&nbsp; One girl was trying to get me to buy an entire&nbsp;bag of flour.&nbsp; I'm sure there are plenty of tourists that oblige, and her family's restaurant is better off for it.&nbsp; Sucks to be so cold, but there are realities out there.&nbsp; There are ways to give- and that's not one of them.&nbsp; I've been walking all around the lake, which is lovely, and found the post office which is right next to the bus station.&nbsp; Not a huge feat, but I was pretty proud of myself.&nbsp; I like walking around and looking at stuff (seriously great shopping here, and my thought is that I can leave stuff in Delhi while i go east and south and then just bring it on the plane back with me- don't have to carry it around) but, as is usual, I walk around until I can't stand the "Madam- you come my shop?" or "Chapati hello good morning?&nbsp; Chapati hello good morning?"&nbsp; (a personal favorite, to be counted on&nbsp;at all times of day), or get deafened by a sadhu beggar shaking his metal pot loudly like - RIGHT - in my face and screaming "HELLO!"&nbsp; It really doesn't do much for me.&nbsp; So I pretty much walk around, eat, have some tea, find a place to sit for a while until I have been approached twenty or so times by people trying to separate me from my money one way or the other, then duck in to an internet shop (like now) or go back to my room and work up the strength and tolerance to do it again. &nbsp;I've got a bunch of NPR podcasts on my iPod and a little plug in speaker thing (which unfortunately doesn't actually charge, bummer) which has been a relaxing afternoon retreat.I wonder if folks will figure it out, that if you don't yell at them, they may be more apt to browse and buy than if you are yelling, nay, screaming at them.&nbsp; I have been wondering this for at least ten years.&nbsp; I wonder when I'll stop wondering.&nbsp; I also wonder about the guys that operate the parcel shops- the places where you go to pay through the nose to get someone to wrap your package for you (I have been saved from the ripoff by Kunal in Delhi, last time, wow, what a difference when you look at your weight measurement and call them to task on what they are charging you...) Anyway, sidebar.&nbsp; I wonder about those guys- you're just cruising down the street, maybe holding a bottle of water and your bag, and they yell, "Package sending? Madam! Package?!&nbsp; PACKAGE SENDING!"&nbsp; like I'm going to go, you know what, YES.&nbsp; I am going to send all this shit that I am carrying- my passport, my money, my water bottle, my Purell, and&nbsp;my camera- I am going to send this shit somewhere RIGHT NOW.&nbsp; Thank you.&nbsp; Had you not yelled out at me, repeatedly, and with force,&nbsp;I would not have realized what a pain in the ass it is to carry this stupid bag around.&nbsp; While you're at it- why don't you take my shoes and stick them in the package, too.&nbsp; I'm in Pushkar, after all, among all these dredheads, and you know- who needs <i>shoes.&nbsp; Well, I am going to go check out the silver shop, see if the guy is back (Papu).&nbsp; I have plans to have dinner with the French guy (David) at 7:00.&nbsp; Maybe I'll be up later than the 9pm that i have gone to bed since I got here!&nbsp; It's easier to be out and about with someone else after sunset- not for safety's sake, but because there's typically less people yelling at you to buy something if you are not alone, and plus there's someone else to deflect it.&nbsp; OK, then, on that note- Happy Journey!&nbsp; Back to Delhi tomorrow for the wedding... I'll write from there, and I'll take LOTS of photos.Andrea
]]> Do All Hippies Go To Heaven? — Pushkar, India http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228249020/tpod.html http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228249020/tpod.html#comments Travel Blogs http://www.travelpod.com/travel-blog-entries/andreasolo/3/1228249020/tpod.html Tue, 02 Dec 2008 06:06:00 -0500 India Redux: It's not a journey without the trip!
Pushkar, India

After three nights in Delhi, the last culminating with a very drunk hotelier folllowing me up the stairs to give me ice cream on my way to bed, I got on a very early train from Delhi to Ajmer.&nbsp; I didn't get much sleep my last night there, so once I got on the train and put my bag up top, I fell right asleep.&nbsp; The Shatabadi Express is a great train- fast, and they serve you breakfast and lots of tea, and water, and so that was kind of nice.&nbsp; I really wasn't awake for much of any of it though until I got to Ajmer, which was the end of the line, some 7 or so hours later.&nbsp; I got off the train and was assaulted by about 20 rickshaw drivers all at once, but I knew (having been to Ajmer, once) that the bus station, where I was headed, was about a 20 minute walk straight down one road, and I could use to stretch my legs.&nbsp; Wasn't that hot, and I wanted to check out the sights along the way.&nbsp; Stuff for sale...&nbsp; Lots of offers for rides... etc. Nobody can really understand that you're really fine walking.&nbsp; I mean, if you have money, why walk?&nbsp; That's sort of the prevailing attitude.Anyway- got to the bus station, found the Pushkar bus, bought my ticket (love these public buses- it was like twenty cents for the ticket), hopped on and waited for it to take off.&nbsp; Got treated to some lady on a bus next to the one I sat on (where I got tea) puking out the window... fun stuff.&nbsp; Finally, about 20 minutes later, the bus filled up and we took off.&nbsp; It was only about a 45 minute ride, but a twisty, hilly one, and the woman sitting next to me looked no better off for wear than the woman that I'd seen puking out of the neighboring bus&nbsp;at the station.&nbsp; I tried to get her to switch spots with me (I was at the window), but she was like, no, no... I wish I knew how to say in Hindi, please, lady, switch spots. I would SO MUCH RATHER you not puking on me as you are aiming over me for the window...&nbsp; Please.&nbsp; She made it without losing her lunch, though.&nbsp; Good thing.&nbsp; So... Made it to Pushkar.&nbsp; I knew this place is tiny, but I didn't know it per se, so I bit when&nbsp;a kid with a cart came along and offered to take my luggage to the place I'm staying. Really lovely place, by the way.&nbsp; Marble floors, big room, big bathroom, and... get this... HOT WATER.&nbsp; Maybe only for like four minutes, but wow.&nbsp; That's a first.&nbsp; It's lovely.&nbsp; There's a remarkable Hanuman altar in the courtyard, lit with lamps and candles at night.&nbsp; I dropped my stuff, took a shower to wash off&nbsp;ten or so hours&nbsp;of travel dirt, and then decided to poke around and grab a bite.I walked around a bit, and then went to a restaurant in the market that the LP recommends.&nbsp; Didn't dig it. The idea of a tofu steak sounded great- I could use a little high volume protein, I thought- but it tasted like something I would have created in a shared commune kitchen&nbsp;when I was&nbsp;around 19.&nbsp; It was tofu, sure, but then just absolutely soaked in soy sauce, with some random veggies, soaked in soy sauce.&nbsp; Soaked.&nbsp; It tasted like soy sauce cereal.&nbsp; Also, while walking around, I saw...&nbsp; Eugene.&nbsp; Christ, didn't I like move away, and then get a ticket to half way around the world, to get away from... All these fucking hippies?&nbsp; Seriously.&nbsp; What the fuck?&nbsp; Put some shoes on, for the love of... Health.&nbsp; Dreadheads talking in broken english about vibes and yoga.&nbsp; ..Really?&nbsp; Is this why I came here?&nbsp; Oh, really not working for me, not at all.&nbsp; SO not working for me.&nbsp; There's one guy that drives around town (and by town I mean like the three blocks of town that there really is) being all tan and shoeless and dark and dready and like uber-freaking-cool with his puppy in front of his big Harley-type bike with red powder on his dog's brow... You can bet that guy has luck with the <i>lay-dees.&nbsp; And, that he's an expat euro, and that he now can't leave here or he won't be cool anywhere else.&nbsp; Except, <i>definitely, Burning Man- or Eugene.&nbsp; To borrow a Sage phrase, "false recyclers" abound.&nbsp; Everywhere.&nbsp;<i> Put some shoes on.&nbsp; Really.&nbsp; They're cheap.&nbsp; Just do it.Oh, that was hard.&nbsp; I was sitting about eighteen inches from yet another dreadie.&nbsp; Hoping she wasn't taking a look.&nbsp; She just left.&nbsp; Sorry, dreadie, but there are just so fucking many of you HIPPIES here.&nbsp; I just can't handle being around that much unbridled cool.&nbsp; God.&nbsp; So over it, already.Pushkar is a pilgrimmage city; the lake in the middle of this tiny town is holy, and all that good stuff.&nbsp; One thing about Pushkar and it's holiness:&nbsp; There&nbsp;are strict vegetarian menus here and no alcohol whatsoever.&nbsp; (Strict veg = no eggs.&nbsp; Yes, there's still cheese, thank GOD.)&nbsp; I can live without an evening beer at sunset, but I'll miss it this evening as I look over the lake from some rooftop restaurant&nbsp;somewhere.&nbsp; I looked out over the lake from a rooftop for breakfast, and got in to that uber-relaxed state of mind...&nbsp; Absolutely no hurry to get anywhere today, nope, not at all.&nbsp; I ended up taking a really long time to eat breakfast, and then sort of write a little bit, have some tea, and stare out at the lake where they are pushing dirt around to make a road through the lake.&nbsp; I mean...&nbsp; There was this other woman sitting there, we were the only two people there, and I look at her and ask, "Why do you think they're filling the lake with dirt?"&nbsp; She didn't really get my sarcasm... But that's ok.&nbsp; Like, it's this really beautiful picturesque lake with lovely whitewashed temples and ghats all the way around... And now they are apparently building a criss cross road through the lake, which has started with a bulldozer, some guys&nbsp;throwing water on it to help tamp it down,&nbsp;and a whole lot of dirt.&nbsp; It's a shame.&nbsp; And really very&nbsp;odd.So.. The rest of the day has been me shopping, me eating, me shopping some more, going down to the lake for a blessing for myself and my family&nbsp;and having someone tie Pushkar string around my wrist, and then me coming here to get online and try to figure out how I'm going to get out of here.&nbsp;&nbsp;Oh! I also bought some singing bowls and ended up having lunch at the shop with the shopkeep and this kid (probiotics... You're on!) and talking about theI&nbsp;learned just now from that dreadlocked Ozzie hippie chick that 5:30 AM is a good time to go for the sunrise hilltop temple&nbsp;stroll, which I will go on tomorrow.&nbsp; My phone doesn't work here, which is odd as Airtel has a shop here where you can buy minutes (you just can't use them, I guess. Handy) so I'm trying to email Kunal to see if it's better for him (he can make the commission) if he gets my train ticket or if I should go to one of the travel agents here.&nbsp; Buses leave to Ajmer every 30 minutes or so- but I'm not taking a bus for 10 hours to Delhi.&nbsp; I like the train.I'm now going to try to upload pictures.. Wish me luck.&nbsp; Then, I think it's time to go sit on a rooftop somewhere.Here's to tolerance, especially to tolerance of so many cooler-than-thou european hippies.&nbsp; Otherwise, this place is awesome.xo, til later.Andrea
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