230 miles. 18 days in the nepalese himalaya. they say it's one of the best treks in the world. i can't wait to find out for myself!
will update in a few weeks.
love from nepal!
28 March, 2009
27 March, 2009
no love from Agra
each time i get sick in india, it seems to get worse and worse. it's a good thing i'm off to nepal today. the first time i had indigestion and was woozy the rest of the night. the second time i had a fever, chills, couldn't move for a day, and was afraid to leave the security of my toilet for the next few.
i should have known better; not to consume every buttery lassi and paneer pakoda i see on the street. but i never learn and i rarely stop myself from sampling the tasty treats found on the streets of india. i joke after each bout that it's almost worth the sickness...but when i'm laying on the floor with india's grimey foot stepping on my neck...all i want is a one-way ticket back home.
this last time i woke up in a hot sweat at 3am a few minutes before my body decided to angrily reject the banana lassi i drank a few hours prior...in the toilet, on the floor, and in the bathroom bucket that indians use to bathe out of. for the first time i understood the panicky feeling one gets when they can't decide which end of their body more urgently needs the toilet. the rest of the night was a blur and by morning i had kicked over my water and was laying next to my security bucket. needless to say, i didnt make the 5 o'clock alarm set for myself the night before...just so i could get a glimpes of the taj mahal at sunrise; when i heard you can see it's reflection in the stretch of pond leading to it, and watch it's colors change from pink to orange to white. by 9am i decided through a hazy fever turned headache, turned earache, that i didn't travel 10,000 miles and two months through india not to see the taj--vomiting or no vomiting...i was going to see this monument to love that took 20 something years and a fleet of thousands of elephants to build. i dragged myself through the dusty streets of Agra and after 3 security checks, layed my tired eyes on the pearly white walls of the taj. i then spent the next 4 hours alternating between sleeping on a park bench and the cobble stone floors leading up to the monument. i have to admit, waking up from my sickly state and turning my head to see the glowing sunlight reflecting from the marble-lined taj made for a pretty spectacular sight. thank you, india, for humbling me once again ... then showing me some sweetness. you are never short of surprises.
i should have known better; not to consume every buttery lassi and paneer pakoda i see on the street. but i never learn and i rarely stop myself from sampling the tasty treats found on the streets of india. i joke after each bout that it's almost worth the sickness...but when i'm laying on the floor with india's grimey foot stepping on my neck...all i want is a one-way ticket back home.
this last time i woke up in a hot sweat at 3am a few minutes before my body decided to angrily reject the banana lassi i drank a few hours prior...in the toilet, on the floor, and in the bathroom bucket that indians use to bathe out of. for the first time i understood the panicky feeling one gets when they can't decide which end of their body more urgently needs the toilet. the rest of the night was a blur and by morning i had kicked over my water and was laying next to my security bucket. needless to say, i didnt make the 5 o'clock alarm set for myself the night before...just so i could get a glimpes of the taj mahal at sunrise; when i heard you can see it's reflection in the stretch of pond leading to it, and watch it's colors change from pink to orange to white. by 9am i decided through a hazy fever turned headache, turned earache, that i didn't travel 10,000 miles and two months through india not to see the taj--vomiting or no vomiting...i was going to see this monument to love that took 20 something years and a fleet of thousands of elephants to build. i dragged myself through the dusty streets of Agra and after 3 security checks, layed my tired eyes on the pearly white walls of the taj. i then spent the next 4 hours alternating between sleeping on a park bench and the cobble stone floors leading up to the monument. i have to admit, waking up from my sickly state and turning my head to see the glowing sunlight reflecting from the marble-lined taj made for a pretty spectacular sight. thank you, india, for humbling me once again ... then showing me some sweetness. you are never short of surprises.
14 March, 2009
where have i been?
the last month and a half of travel through india has been an incredible experience. i feel like i took a tumble through the looking-glass the night i arrived--and though it's just as disorienting and perplexing as ever, i think i've finally stopped looking for my way out. i'm better adjusted to the ropes here (and boy, did i need to learn them)...but india has a way of tossing surprises in your face just after you start to feel settled. just when you think you've got a grip on things your ego gets a hard kick in the backside. it's mother india's way of humbling you.
this country is mad. at first, it's bizarre. it seems contradictory....it balances between extremes. it's a sensory assault. it's serenity. it's heartbreaking. it's heartwarming. and what i call "heart-making". it tears you down then teaches you a different way of looking at things. it pushes you to new limits and just when you think you've had enough, it "gives you some sugar" as my travel buddy amy put it. it's rough on your body and your mind; it nourishes your soul. it jostles and shakes you from the outside-in, and then the other way around. it's rich in ancient spiritual and religious tradition that permeates even modern indian culture. india is heart-healing.
*********************
and since the last post i've traveled through much of south india. from hill stations of munnar to kodaivattakanal; i spent much of my time in the southern state of tamil nadu, including a short stay in kanyikumari, the southernmost tip of mainland india. there, you can sit on a rock and watch the confusion of the waves at the only place in the world where three oceans meet. the waters from the bay of bengal, the arabian sea, and the indian ocean come from all directions and swirl into each other, creating a distinct color and pattern in the sea. because of it's location, there's a time of year when you can see simultaneous sunset and moonrise in kanyikumari, but i missed it by a month! i relaxed on the sleepy canals of the backwaters in kerala, then headed 2,000 km north to the capital of delhi. i'm now in north india; a much more aggressive place, or so i hear from the travelers i meet. so that's the geographical update of my journey thus far. stories, incidents, and my random ruminations to come!
this country is mad. at first, it's bizarre. it seems contradictory....it balances between extremes. it's a sensory assault. it's serenity. it's heartbreaking. it's heartwarming. and what i call "heart-making". it tears you down then teaches you a different way of looking at things. it pushes you to new limits and just when you think you've had enough, it "gives you some sugar" as my travel buddy amy put it. it's rough on your body and your mind; it nourishes your soul. it jostles and shakes you from the outside-in, and then the other way around. it's rich in ancient spiritual and religious tradition that permeates even modern indian culture. india is heart-healing.
*********************
and since the last post i've traveled through much of south india. from hill stations of munnar to kodaivattakanal; i spent much of my time in the southern state of tamil nadu, including a short stay in kanyikumari, the southernmost tip of mainland india. there, you can sit on a rock and watch the confusion of the waves at the only place in the world where three oceans meet. the waters from the bay of bengal, the arabian sea, and the indian ocean come from all directions and swirl into each other, creating a distinct color and pattern in the sea. because of it's location, there's a time of year when you can see simultaneous sunset and moonrise in kanyikumari, but i missed it by a month! i relaxed on the sleepy canals of the backwaters in kerala, then headed 2,000 km north to the capital of delhi. i'm now in north india; a much more aggressive place, or so i hear from the travelers i meet. so that's the geographical update of my journey thus far. stories, incidents, and my random ruminations to come!
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