A Rajasthani Thanksgiving

Hello everyone! We're on a slow connection in Jaisalmer at the moment so no pictures with this post. But we promise to load some new pix in the next few days when we get to a city with broadband! For those who sympathised with my bout of Delhi belly, many thanks! It's not cured but it's definitely manageable (I won't get into the details). Thanksgiving was a vegetarian affair for us in Pushkar. They don't even use egg there and yet we saw "eggless omelette" on many a menu! Just in case you were wondering...Kevin had falafel and I had a veggie shepherd's pie for Thanksgiving.

We have been enjoying our tour of India very much. We are travelling with Imaginative Traveller and we highly recommend them for anyone who wants lots of adventure but without lots of the hassle of finding places to stay and transport to take. Our tour consists of 14 people and our guide Bishal, who is from Darjeeling. Everyone has been really lovely and we've enjoyed spending time with them (not to mention the fact that several of us have been hit by this stomach bug and have been commiserating together--misery definitely loves company). The brilliant thing is that the tour is structured as far as we see all the crucial things together but there is also ample free time so that Kevin and I can have a wander around places as well. Our best accomodation so far has been in Chandelao where we stayed in an early 18th century mansion but generally we've been staying in 2* hotels that have cleanliness in common. Our camel safari was a great success--what I mean by success is that neither Kevin nor myself fell off...but Kevin certainly had a cantankerous camel who was determined to unseat him. Good job holding on Kevin! It's amazing how clearly the stars appear in the middle of the desert--the Rajasthani deserts are not like the sand dunes of the Sahara but consist of shrubbery and lots of rocks and dirt. My favourite town so far has been Jaisalmer, which is known as the Golden City, where we are staying now. Walking through the living fort feels ethereal and the architecture takes your breath away. We hope those who celebrated Thanksgiving had a great time. We were thinking of our families and friends a lot and even participated in a thanksgiving ceremony with a Brahmin priest at sunrise at the holy lake in Pushkar - what great timing that it fell on Thanksgiving day.

Back to school

In Varanasi, we were quite impressed with how the local schoolchildren got to school - they took a little cycle rickshaw pedalled by one man that took about 8-10 kids. Not a bad way to get to school.



I guess this is the alternative way in some parts.



By the way, Karen and I are also taking some classes while we're travelling. We've started practicing our Spanish for South America. We weren't planning on doing so, but once we saw this place, we just had to sign up.



I mean, where better to practice your Spanish than in ... Kathmandu, Nepal???

Taj Mahal

The world famous Taj Mahal:



Well, it was closed when we got there so this is as close as we could get. So we went to this little place just a few meters down the road.



People say it's just as good, but I'm not so sure.

The Taj is definitely an impressive place, even with all the tourists. The inside of it isn't that stunning though - very dark and not as breathtaking as the outside. We were there for sunset so we got to see some great color variations on the white marble.

Most places in India have a vastly different pricing structure for locals versus foreigners. To take the most expensive example, entrance to the Taj Mahal costs 750 rupees (about 17 USD) for foreigners. The price for Indians? A measly 20 rupees (about 40 cents). I'm trying to perfect my Hindi to work some of these discounts, but so far have had little success.

I wanted to get some closer pics of the Taj, but we reached this sign, and since I couldn't figure out how to proceed, we simply turned around and went home.



Maybe I should have just taken advice from the locals and do as they do.

Delhi Belly is NOT a Myth

We're no longer in Delhi but my belly still feels like it is. I really thought I wouldn't be susceptible to a bad belly in India and that it was just rumours that everyone always gets ill in India. But I was definitely proven wrong. Let's hope for an improvement pronto! That said, I haven't actually been eating much less since the food has been pretty good. We are now in Jaipur, the lovely pink city and one of the few planned cities in India. We've finally gotten used to the level of begging, incessant noise and harassment from salespeople that we get at every tourist stop and that's when India started to come alive for us. Amidst the chaos is an incredibly artistic, vibrant and diverse country that hopefully our pictures will affirm. We head to the quiet town of Pushkar tomorrow. We've missed the Camel Festival but we'll be going on a camel safari soon after and sleeping in the desert!

now in India

We've been in Varanasi, India for the past two days. Varanasi is one of the holiest cities in India and is a major pilgrimage site for Hindus. Similar to Mecca for Muslims, every Hindu should try to get to Varanasi once in their lives to bathe in the Ganges. Apparently we missed out on a Brad Pitt sighting here in Varanasi. While we were lazing around the hotel, the other lady on our tour saw him down on the waterfront. Oh well.

Yesterday we had an very early wakeup call as we left at 5:30 a.m. to go down to the Ganges to see all the early morning bathers and other activity. Quite lively down there at 6 in the morning. We returned back to the river at sundown to see the priests lead their daily end-of-the-day thanksgiving ceremony.

To get to Varanasi we first flew from Kathmandu to the border and then took a 8 hour drive to the city. Our flight was on a 30 seater propeller plane. It only lasted 30 minutes, but they still managed to serve us peanuts, soft drinks and beer - and they didn't charge us like Ryanair. They did keep playing with the departure time, though. Originally we were told 4 p.m. then the day before we were told 5 p.m. but then the day of the flight it was back to 4:10, which is what the check-in desk said, then we were told 5 again and then finally the departure board said 5:15. Well, it did leave "on-time" at 5:15 exactly, but I think it's cheating slightly when you change your departure time 4 times!

Driving in India is fun. Amazing how 2 lanes of road turn into about 8 different lanes going in all directions. You've got the bicycles, the cycle rickshaws, the auto rickshaws, the pedestrians, the carts, the mopeds, the motorcycles, the cars, the buses, the big trucks, the dogs, the goats, and, of course, the cows - who can do whatever the heck they like, including laying down right in the middle of the road while everyone tries to avoid them.

We are heading out tonight on the overnight train to Delhi.

itinerary for the next 3 weeks

We've joined our tour now here in Kathmandu. Technically we're on the 2nd day already, although there's not much in the first 2-3 days. Here's what we'll be doing over the next 3 weeks:

From Buddha to Bollywood

45 minute time zone?!

We've been in Nepal for a few days now. We kept wondering why everyone was late for everything. Then we were on our rafting trip and another girl kindly informed us that the time in Nepal is GMT + 5:45, not + 6 hours. So, we were 15 minutes early for the couple of times we had to meet up with tour guides etc. We must have looked like eager beavers when we showed up for our 6 a.m. rafting meet-up at 5:45 in the morning. Things you wished you had known earlier... It only took us 3 days to get on the right time. I did wonder why every clock we saw had the "wrong" time. I knew India had GMT + 5:30 but had forgotten that Nepal was even stranger.

Our rafting trip took us on the same road back towards the Tibet border. On the way, we got stopped by the Maoists! Huh? I thought they just signed a peace deal. Anyway, we collected all the receipts from the people on the bus and showed it to the Maoists. It seemed like everyone besides us had paid the Maoists. Mainly because everyone had gone trekking in Nepal. I guess that's the tradeoff: trek in Tibet and sleep in sub-freezing temps or trek in Nepal and sleep in warm accommodation but pay the Maoists. I think I would have rather paid. Well, it's a good thing everyone kept their receipts because the Maoists let us go without paying anything further. Fortunately we didn't get stopped on the way back to Kathmandu. I guess we were just lucky not to have been stopped on our way into Kathmandu from Tibet the other day. Turns out the going rate to pay the Maoists is 100 Nepal Rupees a day (about $1.40) per person and most of the people had gone for 7-15 days.

Farewell Kathmandu

So we're on the move again and our time in Kathmandu has been much too short. We've been able to chill out here but we also went on a little whitewater rafting adventure in the Bhote Koshi river which is one of the top ten rivers to raft on in the world. It was awesome and was almost non-stop action. I did happen to fall in the river and it was slightly scary but I kept my cool underwater and soon emerged out of it again. I also drank about a cup of that river and fortunately it seems like my insides are doing fine. The people of Kathmandu are really chilled out and so many people speak English. It's actually quite a contrast to China in terms of the kind of people we've met. I was here when I was 12 with my family and the city is so different. It's completely crowded and noise pollution is a big problem (I've heard this is small time compared to India, though). I remember it being fairly empty 17 years ago! As you may have heard, the Maoists and the government have called a truce...that didn't stop us from getting stopped by the Maoists though but Kevin will tell you more about that adventure. Here are some images of the Kathmandu we saw.

Here is a Maoist celebration rally we chanced upon.



And the all-seeing eyes that so distinctively look down on you from all over the city...





We head to the border tomorrow...

Nepal

We have now arrived in Nepal. First impressions are good. Firstly, the temps are around 20 Celsius, which is perfect. Especially compared to the freezing weather we had in Tibet. Plus there's actually electricity, running water, and a Western toilet in the hotel we're staying at! Bonus.

We did the land crossing at the border between China and Nepal. It was a bit confusing what was going on as people kept running across in groups and then some got turned away, etc. But we made it across with no particular problems. Our Tibet guides weren't allowed across the border so we had to walk 100 meters across the Friendship Bridge to meet our Nepalese drivers. Where else in the world can you walk 100 meters and gain (or lose) 2 hours of time? China has this silly policy where the whole country is on the same timezone, so Tibet has the same time as Beijing, even though it is about 4000 kms west of Beijing.

The first 20-30 kms of roads on the Nepal side were even worse than the Tibet roads (and that's saying a lot). Our driver kept flagging people down and asking them questions. We were worried that he was asking if there were any Maoist rebels down the road ready to attack us. Apparently in some border areas, the Maoists will demand 100 bucks or so from everyone - but they will issue you with a receipt (no joke)! Well, after asking about 15 different people, we finally found out what he was asking about. He actually wanted to find a substitute driver to take us the rest of the way to Kathmandu. So after driving us about 30 kms from the border, he finally found a substitute driver who simply hopped in the car and took over while our first driver headed back to his village the other way. Strange. We think our second driver was also trying to get a third replacement driver but was unsuccessful so he wound up taking us the rest of the way.

We took a look at the local paper today, and it turns out that the government and the Maoist rebels just signed a peace agreement in the last 2 days or so, so I guess we needn't have worried. I wish we had already known that!

Just because...

And now some final images of Tibetan life...

Lovely ladies with great smiles...



Sorry for the finger in the shot...but just had to show you the toilets in our guest house. It seriously made most youth hostels look like the FOUR SEASONS. And it was sub-zero in the loo and in the room! Ahhchoo!



What a cutie! And eating one of my favourite things in the world...



There was this funny cloud just floating in front of Everest. And it just looked so surreal.

Fascinating Lhasa, A Pilgrimage

Even though the Dalai Lama has been exiled to India, numerous pilgrims still make their way to the various temples around Tibet to pay homage to Lamas past, to honour their particular Buddha (there are over 1,000 Buddhas), and make offerings. November is a prime month to visit because the farmers are done with the majority of their work and the nomads are on the move anyway. It was quite moving to see how intently the pilgrims made their way around the temples (often elbowing Kevin out of the way without any concern that he was twice the size of them)!



The view from the main square in Lhasa taken from Jokhar temple (in front of which the pilgrims in the first picture are praying)



This is the famous Potala Palace. We climbed its steep stairs during our first day in Lhasa...and with the effects of altitude it felt tougher than climbing the GREAT WALL. We were so winded and kept taking breaks. But it was a stunning sight and the pilgims and salespeople were out in full form.



Here is Kevin trying to avoid the advances of some eager saleswomen at the Potala Palace exit.

Why ISN'T the sky blue?

When you go out to the countryside or are in the wilds of Tibet and you see how clear blue the sky is, you really have to say to yourself "so, this is what the sky is supposed to look like"? It got me thinking, should kids who grow up in urban areas with smog, pollution, etc., instead of asking their parents/teachers "why is the sky blue?" actually be asking "why ISN'T the sky blue?"

Here are a few more Tibet landscape pictures, including one more of Everest with cool cloud in front.







One more reason why you'll want a professional driver in Tibet: when you are stuck in the middle of scrubland/desert and there isn't a single person or manmade structure within sight (and this is with a view of at least 5 kms in every direction) and you're faced with 3 dirt paths to choose from, you're gonna want to have someone there who knows what they're doing; otherwise you've got a long, lonely night in your car in the middle of nowhere ahead of you.

There were many times in Tibet when I simply couldn't get the song "We're on the road to nowhere" out of my head. I can't imagine why that was.



The view of Everest from the Nepal side is much different. You definitely don't get the clarity you get on the Tibet side. From Nepal, the snow capped peak just looks like a really strange looking cloud.





OK, I think that's enough blogging for today.

Weee're Baaack!

Well, it's been very tough getting these pix on our blog but I think we've finally had some success in Kathmandu! Tibet was so amazing...every corner had gorgeous scenery and interesting people. But man, the infastructure was dire! We'll show you a few pix of our lovely guest houses--the people were so hospitable and kind but these were towns with no electricity, heat or running water so the sub-zero temps at night were unbearable (Kevin and I are both nursing colds at the moment as a result). But back to the beginning...here are some pix from the amazing train from Shanghai to Tibet. The 52 hrs, 4,000+ kilometers really did fly by, the beds were comfy (SOFT SLEEPERS are the way to go!), and we even had a western/eastern toilet option! SCORE!



At around 4,000 meters we were given oxygen tubes to breathe from. We seemed to handle the altitude fine so we didn't need them but here's Kevin demonstrating the use of the oxygen and you can also see the plush beds we had (these seemed even more plush in retrospect after those Tibetan guesthouses!)


A view from the train....stunning!


And finally, soon after arriving to Lhasa we went to a hot spring and geothermal plant. The picture shows Kevin lounging in the spring with a sign saying we are at 4,300 meters.

Qomolangma

Everest: we came, we saw, we took pictures. Unfortunately, uploading pictures is pretty slow, so we can't post that many.





We really lucked out with our trip to Everest. First, the sky was clear blue. There were a few passing clouds here and there, but they quickly disappeared. Apparently November is one of the best months to see Everest as the skies are usually clear. Second, since it is offseason, there were no real guards, so we were able to drive all the way up to 2nd Base Camp. Usually you are stopped before 1st Base Camp unless you pay US$100 per person, so it was great to get in for free. Once we got to 2nd Base Camp, we hiked another 30 minutes up a hill to get a better view. So, these pics are some of the closest pics you can get as an ordinary tourist. The only slight downside is that we were there in late morning, so the face we saw wasn't fully sunlight yet. No major worries, though, as the sight was still truly awe-inspiring all the same.

We took these pictures at 5,200 meters. Considering Everest is "only" just shy of 8,850 meters, we were well over half way to the top. I still think we should have gone for the summit.

Freedom to blog!

So, we have now arrived in Kathmandu, Nepal. Now we can actually see our own blog! How exciting. Plus the internet is English rather than Chinese so we can actually know what we are doing when we click the buttons. Hopefully the picture posting will work.

Final thoughts on Tibet - it's an amazing part of the world with absolutely stunning scenery. Fresh air, blue skies, towering mountains - awesome. Unfortunately the infrastructure just is not up to scratch. We were off-roading for over half the time. Philosophical question of the day: if the road itself consists of dirt, rocks, more rocks and small rivers to cross, is it still considered "off-roading"? A 4x4 is an absolute necessity there. Toyota Landcruiser seems to be the 4x4 of choice in Tibet. Toyota really should film their commercials there, because the Tibetan terrain really throws everything at you.

If you go to Tibet, you absolutely need to have an English speaking guide, as almost no one speaks English. You also need to have an experienced driver who knows how to handle a 4x4. Fortunately we had a good guide and driver and can recommend them to you if you're interested. One time we were going through a mountain pass when they were paving the whole road in front of us - there were three options: 1) wait 7 hours until the paving crew went home for the day 2) back track about 140 kms over bumpy rocky road and go the other way or 3) simply drive down the embankment next to the road and drive your 4x4 through the river. Fortunately we were able to take option 3.

Our accommodation in Tibet was pretty spartan. For 3 nights we had no heat at all. At the first place when I asked for heat or a heater, oh my how they laughed! I learned my lesson for the other nights. We didn't have running water for 2 nights either. So, now that we've gone local in Tibet, I can say that heating and running water are not luxuries, they are absolute necessities!

One can only hope that the infrastructure and accommodation in Tibet gets significantly upgraded in the next decade or two. Since the blue sky, the stunning landscapes and the impressive mountains aren't going to change anytime soon, it might be worth postponing your trip to Tibet for about 20 years! :)

Overland to Nepal

We tried to download some of our train and Lhasa pics but it was just not meant to be. With these internet cafes in China, uploading photos to blogs just doesn't seem to work so we'll wait till Nepal to show you some pics. Lhasa is surprisingly developed--there are even some fancy shops around here (not designer labels but definitely beyond the average Tibetan's budget) and there are numerous SUVs (here they're actuall useful) and some are really blingin'! Potala Palace is really amazing and steeped with spirituality (and the strong scent of yak butter not to mention the very steep stairs!). We are off tomorrow to travel through Southern Tibet, making our way towards Kathmandu via Everest Base Camp (we get to Nepal around November 10th). We won't probably be able to update our blog till Nepal as accomodation and the villages we are staying in are apparently quite spartan. So until then!

quick update

Hi, not much time to write now, but just wanted to post a quick update to say that we are in Lhasa, Tibet, after our 52 hour train journey from Shanghai. The train was actually pretty good - pretty good soft sleeper beds and with nothing to do besides look at nice scenery, eat, and sleep all day - sounds pretty good! A bit of miscommunication left us waiting an hour and a half for our pick up at the train station, but we got to our hotel in the end.

Brian and Jackie's wedding in Shanghai went very well. A good turnout of the relatives on the Miao and Go sides. The weather also cooperated with nice temps and only a little drizzle - good thing as the reception was outdoors at a very nice restaurant downtown.

Our first week of staying with people in Beijing and at a hotel in Shanghai was sort of like a normal vacation, but now that we are on our own, the real adventure begins. And that includes almost missing our train in Shanghai and running around with our luggage trying to find the right platform. But we made it in the end.

No pictures for now, but we'll try to add some more later.

Btw, China has some strange censorship where we can update our blog but we can't actually see it for ourselves. Hopefully it's looking good! We'll finally get to see it when we get to Nepal or India.