Images of India

Dharamsala, India

The Dali Lama smiled at me...

He was maybe 3 feet away from us, walking through a crowd on his way to give a speech. And I swear, he smiled right at me. The hundreds of monks sitting around us were grinning like children, fidgeting to get a better look as he walked by. It was a crowd filled with intense happiness and excitement.

I'd like to say that I left the speech more enlightened, but in all honesty the English translation was difficult to understand, and from what I did understand, there was nothing said that I hadn't heard before. Just being there, however, was an amazing experience. We're in Dharamsala, India (the home of the Tibetan government since its exile from Tibet) and we had no idea the Dali Lama would be in town, let alone giving free speeches to the public. After spending a few weeks in China (and questioning so much about the Chinese government), I have even more empathy than before for the Tibetan people. Having this as our last stop really brings our month-long journey full circle.

Dharamsala itself is an incredibly beautiful town. It's in northern India, in what I guess are the foothills of the Himalayas. Backpackers on their way to week-long treks, yoga practioners staying for months at a time and young monks walking around in their maroon robes and crocs (apparantly the shoe of choice of Tibetan monks) coexist in this laid-back mountain town. It's the rainy season right now, so every day a few hours of rain has fallen, which makes a pleasant change from the intense heat of Delhi (and Thailand and China...).

Earlier this week we hiked up a mountain, though the intense rainfall stopped us from reaching the peak. An hour from the top, soaked to the bone and essentially walking through rainclouds, we encountered a tea hut perched on the mountain. We sat under a tarp, drinking chai and eating ramen noodles, waiting for the rain to cease. This hut was almost magical, having every item we could possibly need (and maybe we didn't realize we needed). Wool socks, wool hats, heavy Tibetan blankets-- we bought it all. We were really freezing after a few hours in the rain. When the rain let up and we finally hiked down (never having reached the top), we saw gorgeous views of the towns below (which on the way up were covered in clouds), as well as dozens of monkeys playing in the trees.

Last night we sat on our hotel balcony, looking into the cloud-covered mountains, hearing the monks chanting, drinking a bottle of wine. This after a morning Dali Lama lecture and an afternoon yoga class. Not a bad way to spend a day.

Delhi

Imagine dozens of Indian men, apparantly trying to be helpful (or to earn a hefty commission), following you saying "Madam, you need taxi?" "Madam, you need hotel?" "Madam, I take you to tourist office!". Then picture hundreds of cars, motorcyles, rickshaws and bicycles-- none of whom are following any conventional rules of traffic-- everywhere. The air smells like incense and spices (a pleasant change from China's aroma of cabbage and construction), which thankfully masks the odor of pollution (though not of the occasional puddle of urine). Add streets littered with garbage and the occasional cow blocking your path, and that's pretty much Delhi so far.

To be fair, there are many areas of Delhi, as there are of any city. Last night we happened to stay in the fairly dirty area described above (which for whatever reason is where the Westerner backpacker types stay). Today we've moved locations-- when we enter our hotel tonight we will no longer have to push our way around cows, motorcycles and touts.

We've been here for 36 hours and have seen strangely little of the city so far. Getting anything done here has been pretty hard, whether it was finding an acceptable hotel or setting up the travel for the rest of our trip. We were lucky to meet an American guy the other day who made our lives a lot easier-- walking around the city with him allowed us to be a little invisible, and random men seemed to ignore us a little more. Having him with us also allowed us to do things like take a taxi at night, which we would not have done without a man. Sad fact of life in this part of the world-- the concept of women travelling (or walking through a city, even) without a man does not seem to exist, therefore we're treated either as if we're incapable of doing anything for ourselves or as if we're sketchy, immoral women who dare to be without male escorts. Tasche's husband flies in to Delhi tonight, and I'm excited to have him with us for the rest of our travel in India.

Bangkok

I just had my second massage in three days-- I'm feeling kind of decadent. Because this is my last night in Thailand I shelled out a whole $10 for an hour-long massage at a fairly fancy-pants place (it's about 3 times more expensive than my beachside massage the other day!).

This morning we went to a Buddhist temple, and it was the only sightseeing we have done in a week-- thank goodness. After two weeks in China, we were both a bit done with the sightseeing-- it was nice to not have to think about our grant and just do what we wanted to do for a few days. We have basically spent the last five days eating, sleeping, relaxing, shopping and drinking lots of banana milkshakes. There were pedicures involved... and spring rolls... and an episode of "the Daily Show-- Global Edition". That's about it.

I have loved every minute of it.

China is a far distant memory and India looms large ahead. We fly to Delhi tomorrow morning...

Ko Samet, Thailand

White sand beaches... $24 beach-front bungalow... hour-long massages on the beach for the price of two subway rides in NYC... Not bad for a last-minute get-away!

Thailand

Life is so much better here.

Beautiful beaches, amazing food, friendly people, cheap accomodations. We're leaving this place WHY, exactly?

Appreciating the much-needed break. Photos to come soon...

Searching for a village we could not find

We went looking for the village of Fuling today. We were told it was 30 minutes away. Turns out, we rode for about 30 miles and never found it. So instead, we enjoyed the scenery...

(Note to my family: yes, I rode a bicycle for 30 miles. There was even traffic involved-- motorbikes, tractors, even a truck or two. No injuries, no incidents, no problems. Maybe there was something wrong with the streets of Toledo when I was a kid, not with me...?)

Number One Most Beautiful Tourist City on the Planet!

The Southwestern city of Yangshou has been our home for the past few days. We have seen it by bike, bus and boat, down two rivers and across numerous villages. We have been surrounded by Chinese tour groups and European backpackers alike (though the Chinese tour groups have been far more prominent). We have visited minority villages of the Yao and Zhuang people, traveled down the Yulong River on a bamboo raft, and had a private outdoor lesson to learn the basics of tai-chi. It has been a VERY busy couple of days in this relaxing place...

We're essentially in a vacation town, so it's obviously geared toward tourism. From what I can tell, everything in China is overhyped, so it's the Number One Waterfall and the World's Best River and the Most Beautiful Laser Light Show in Asia. Chinese tourists seem to believe the hype-- it's like the whole country is a 12 year old girl, desperately wanting to fit in and do whatever everyone else thinks is cool. This proves problematic for Western tourists who only want to see something that is actually worthwhile, not just because it might happen to be the Tallest Banyon Tree in China (because really, who cares?).

So, while the scenery is gorgeous, being here is draining. We're trying not to fall prey to anything, but at the same time, we're trying to stay true to the grant that paid for us to be here, which is all about studying minority cultures. We're certainly studying culture-- everything we do, from ordering breakfast to walking down a street, proves that-- but the "minority" part is hard to do without a guide, and even then it's hard to know what is authentic and what is just put on for us.

We're trying to squeeze in some time at a beach to truly relax, so we might cut short our stay in China and head to Thailand's beaches ASAP. It's possible we have had enough culture for awhile-- at least until we head to India...

Yangshao: Relaxation in Southwest China

We've been in Southwestern China for a few days now. Check out how beautiful these towns are-- quite a change from Beijing and Guangzhao!

The best signs in China (so far...)

Dragon's Backbone Rice Terrace-- Longshen, China