It seems like every day there is a new story about Freiburg in the news. This video is from Good Morning America. They are kind of confused, not only with the horrible pronunciation of Vabuan (which makes me cringe every time they say it), but also by calling it its own city, when really it is just a district of Freiburg.
All this public attention that Freiburg is getting isn't helping me miss it any less! :-(
Oh I'd give anything to be riding on that Vauban tram right now!
Saturday, August 29, 2009
My Worst Moment in India
My stories so far have all been about how amazing India and Nepal were and how much fun I had. I honestly had one of the best times of my life the three weeks while I was there, but I have also never experienced so many highs and lows. India is a beautiful country, but it's also intense: dirty, heartbreakingly poor, crowded, people stare at you and ask personal questions, people try to rip you off, and everyone wants your money.
One of the lowest points I had in India happened right after we crossed over by land from Nepal.
We took a tourist bus from Nepal that was 8 hours long, but semi bearable (minus the loud Nepali music blasting from the speaker right over my head) because it was air conditioned, we got free water, and I had my motion sickness patch on.
Once we reached the border, we had to go into the Nepali office and be stamped out of the country, and then the Indian office to be stamped into the country.
When we crossed the border around 4 in the afternoon, it instantly seemed more insane. It was much much hotter than it had been in Kathmandu, and everyone was after us trying to get us to ride their rickshaw or get on their bus. We were taking pictures of each other at the border when a little boy came up and asked if we wanted one together. We said we didn't, but he took my camera anyway. I was so sure he was going to steal it! Thankfully I got it back, but you can see in this picture that we are ready to run after him!
We needed to get a bus to Varanasi, and we found one just over the border. We got a seat up front and stowed our luggage underneath. A man who said he was the manager of the bus told us that the seats were reserved and we couldn't sit there, and kicked us to the back of the bus. This should have been our first red flag, but we obeyed. Once we were in the back, he told us a ticket was going to cost something like 375 rupees, and we handed over our money. He came back with another guy and this guy told us that we also had to pay a 250 rupee express fee. We asked him what that meant and he told us that he couldn't explain it in English, but we needed to pay it, and showed us the ticket completely in Hindi except for the number 250, and told us that that's what it said.
Zach started to fight with him, saying that we weren't going to pay for anything that we didn't understand, "WELL," he started screaming at us, "THIS IS WHAT THE TICKET SAYS, AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY THEN YOU CAN GET OFF OF MY BUS!" We were horrified that he screamed at us, and I was scared and didn't want to be stuck at the border all night, so I handed over the money. We asked him what time we would arrive in Varanasi and he told us not until 6:30am. He threw the tickets at us and told us not to lose them, and then I watched him and the other guy get off the bus! I knew that was kind of weird, actually, the entire thing was kind of weird, but we were too overwhelmed to care. We were just told that we were going to be stuck on this bus for the next 14 hours and we weren't sure what to do with ourselves. It was so hot that we were completely drenched in sweat and only had a little water left from our bus in Nepal. I don't think I can put into words how hot and sticky it was on that bus.
We started moving and those two guys that sold us the tickets were nowhere to be seen. Zach went to talk to the driver and found out that tickets to Varanasi only cost 173 rupees. We had paid 625 rupees for ours AND got kicked to the back of the bus. Zach told the bus driver our story and he shouted, "HE CHEATER! WHY YOU NOT BUY TICKET FROM ME!!" and shared the story in Hindi to the other surrounding Indian passangers, who all looked at us and shook their heads. "Many cheater in India," they told us. We had been kicked to the back of the bus so this guy could rip us off and not have the REAL bus driver see it!
So, we were stuck on this bus which drove long into the pitch black night, constantly honking the horn and waking us up every time we tried to sleep. The seats didn't recline, sometimes we drove in circles, it was so packed that people were standing in the aisles, and eveeeeryone was sick. We were the only tourists on the bus and people were just STARING at us unblinkingly. We were still completely soaking wet with sweat, and the body heat all around us wasn't helping. We were extremely paranoid about our stuff getting taken, and with all eyes on us all the time I refused to close mine, even for a second.
The one good thing that came out of this nightmare of a bus ride was that at 2:30am, the bus driver came back to told us we were in Varanasi. At first we didn't believe him. We told him that the other guy said we wouldn't be there until 6:30. "WHY YOU NOT ASK ME! HE CHEATER!" the driver told us again, and assured us that we were in fact in Varanasi. I didn't believe him until I saw a sign that said Varanasi Hotel, and then I knew I had made it. It was an 18 hour day of travel on buses, usually not even on real roads. We were exhausted, hot, sweaty, hungry, and cranky. We hated India. We didn't know what we were going to do, but we promised ourselves right then and there that that was the last time we would get ripped off in the country.
One of the lowest points I had in India happened right after we crossed over by land from Nepal.
We took a tourist bus from Nepal that was 8 hours long, but semi bearable (minus the loud Nepali music blasting from the speaker right over my head) because it was air conditioned, we got free water, and I had my motion sickness patch on.
Once we reached the border, we had to go into the Nepali office and be stamped out of the country, and then the Indian office to be stamped into the country.
When we crossed the border around 4 in the afternoon, it instantly seemed more insane. It was much much hotter than it had been in Kathmandu, and everyone was after us trying to get us to ride their rickshaw or get on their bus. We were taking pictures of each other at the border when a little boy came up and asked if we wanted one together. We said we didn't, but he took my camera anyway. I was so sure he was going to steal it! Thankfully I got it back, but you can see in this picture that we are ready to run after him!We needed to get a bus to Varanasi, and we found one just over the border. We got a seat up front and stowed our luggage underneath. A man who said he was the manager of the bus told us that the seats were reserved and we couldn't sit there, and kicked us to the back of the bus. This should have been our first red flag, but we obeyed. Once we were in the back, he told us a ticket was going to cost something like 375 rupees, and we handed over our money. He came back with another guy and this guy told us that we also had to pay a 250 rupee express fee. We asked him what that meant and he told us that he couldn't explain it in English, but we needed to pay it, and showed us the ticket completely in Hindi except for the number 250, and told us that that's what it said.
Zach started to fight with him, saying that we weren't going to pay for anything that we didn't understand, "WELL," he started screaming at us, "THIS IS WHAT THE TICKET SAYS, AND IF YOU DON'T WANT TO PAY THEN YOU CAN GET OFF OF MY BUS!" We were horrified that he screamed at us, and I was scared and didn't want to be stuck at the border all night, so I handed over the money. We asked him what time we would arrive in Varanasi and he told us not until 6:30am. He threw the tickets at us and told us not to lose them, and then I watched him and the other guy get off the bus! I knew that was kind of weird, actually, the entire thing was kind of weird, but we were too overwhelmed to care. We were just told that we were going to be stuck on this bus for the next 14 hours and we weren't sure what to do with ourselves. It was so hot that we were completely drenched in sweat and only had a little water left from our bus in Nepal. I don't think I can put into words how hot and sticky it was on that bus.
We started moving and those two guys that sold us the tickets were nowhere to be seen. Zach went to talk to the driver and found out that tickets to Varanasi only cost 173 rupees. We had paid 625 rupees for ours AND got kicked to the back of the bus. Zach told the bus driver our story and he shouted, "HE CHEATER! WHY YOU NOT BUY TICKET FROM ME!!" and shared the story in Hindi to the other surrounding Indian passangers, who all looked at us and shook their heads. "Many cheater in India," they told us. We had been kicked to the back of the bus so this guy could rip us off and not have the REAL bus driver see it!
So, we were stuck on this bus which drove long into the pitch black night, constantly honking the horn and waking us up every time we tried to sleep. The seats didn't recline, sometimes we drove in circles, it was so packed that people were standing in the aisles, and eveeeeryone was sick. We were the only tourists on the bus and people were just STARING at us unblinkingly. We were still completely soaking wet with sweat, and the body heat all around us wasn't helping. We were extremely paranoid about our stuff getting taken, and with all eyes on us all the time I refused to close mine, even for a second.
The one good thing that came out of this nightmare of a bus ride was that at 2:30am, the bus driver came back to told us we were in Varanasi. At first we didn't believe him. We told him that the other guy said we wouldn't be there until 6:30. "WHY YOU NOT ASK ME! HE CHEATER!" the driver told us again, and assured us that we were in fact in Varanasi. I didn't believe him until I saw a sign that said Varanasi Hotel, and then I knew I had made it. It was an 18 hour day of travel on buses, usually not even on real roads. We were exhausted, hot, sweaty, hungry, and cranky. We hated India. We didn't know what we were going to do, but we promised ourselves right then and there that that was the last time we would get ripped off in the country.
Friday, August 28, 2009
In Search of the Himalayas
Today's story is from Nepal, because I haven't given Nepal any attention in this blog and I loved it there so much. Zach and I almost didn't want to leave and oftentimes in India we wanted to escape back there. It was like a more laid back version of India, not to mention a lot cooler.
Everyone goes to Nepal to see the Himalayas. Zach and I didn't have the time (15-21 days), or the money ($3000) to trek to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, so we had to take matters into our own hands.
We rented a motorcycle instead for $5 each and decided to take it to a place called Nargakot, about 35km away from Kathmandu with supposedly amazing views of the Himalayas. Traffic in Nepal is insane. First of all, the drivers drive on the left side of the road, and there are no speed limits or road rules. This results in
crazy traffic jams, the constant honking of annoying vanity horns, passing from both the left and right sides, undefined lanes, and getting hit several times along the way. Basically, it's a free for all, but there is no road rage and you can directly hit someone and just be smiled at and waved away. In some places, the pollution is so thick that you can't see 10 feet in front of you, and everyone was wearing scarves over their faces just to be able to breathe!
Still, it was great to get out of bustling Kathmandu and explore some of the countryside of Nepal. Outside of the city is where you realize how incredibly poor the country is. We passed small children washing their clothes in the river, men performing back breaking work making and transporting bricks, and women in beautiful saris carrying huge bundles of leaves and sticks. Most of the time, the roads weren't paved and a few times we even got stuck in the mud. It was a very humbling experience.
Along the way, we had to stop every 5 minutes or so to make sure we were headed in the right direction. We finally made it and began our ascent up a huge mountain. Halfway there, it began downpouring rain; we were visiting Nepal during monsoon season after all. We were getting soaked and the roads were becoming too dangerous to drive, so we found a small hut on the side of the road and stopped. There were already about 6 other Nepalese guys seeking shelter under the roofed porch of this hut and we asked if it was all right to join them. We had no idea how long the rain was going to last, so we hung out with these guys, who turned out to be our age, and had great conversations in broken English about our studies at university (they were students too), and how the Nepalese dislike the Indians. One guy even took out his cell phone and played some Nepalese music for us.
When it cleared up enough to keep going, we found out that these guys were headed to the same place as us, and they invited us to come along with them. They said they knew of an amazing lookout tower where you could definitely see the Himalayas. After stopping in a restaurant after another downpour of rain, and then stocking up on a bunch of Nepalese junk food, we finally made it.
The lookout tower was very rickety, it would never be open to the public in America. The only way to get up was an old ladder, which had become very slippery with the rain. The Nepalese guys climbed it no problem, and laughed down at me and Zach, who were terrified. We made it up, but it had rained so much and was so cloudy that we couldn't see any mountains! Here is the best view that we got:
All of a sudden, it started to downpour again and we were trapped at the top of this tower! The temperature dropped to about 75 degrees and all the Nepalese guys, and Zach, who had been in South East Asia for the past 8 months, were FREEZING and all huddled together for body heat, while I stood back and laughed--it was NOT cold at all. So there we were: huddled together at the top of a sketchy view tower in the Nepal countryside with 6 Nepalese guys, snacking on spicy chips imported directly from India, listening to the latest Nepalese hits on one guy's cell phone, and NOT looking at the Himalayas. I'm pretty sure that me and Zach are the only people who have ever been to Nepal and not seen any mountains!
Everyone goes to Nepal to see the Himalayas. Zach and I didn't have the time (15-21 days), or the money ($3000) to trek to the Mt. Everest Base Camp, so we had to take matters into our own hands.
We rented a motorcycle instead for $5 each and decided to take it to a place called Nargakot, about 35km away from Kathmandu with supposedly amazing views of the Himalayas. Traffic in Nepal is insane. First of all, the drivers drive on the left side of the road, and there are no speed limits or road rules. This results in
crazy traffic jams, the constant honking of annoying vanity horns, passing from both the left and right sides, undefined lanes, and getting hit several times along the way. Basically, it's a free for all, but there is no road rage and you can directly hit someone and just be smiled at and waved away. In some places, the pollution is so thick that you can't see 10 feet in front of you, and everyone was wearing scarves over their faces just to be able to breathe!
Still, it was great to get out of bustling Kathmandu and explore some of the countryside of Nepal. Outside of the city is where you realize how incredibly poor the country is. We passed small children washing their clothes in the river, men performing back breaking work making and transporting bricks, and women in beautiful saris carrying huge bundles of leaves and sticks. Most of the time, the roads weren't paved and a few times we even got stuck in the mud. It was a very humbling experience.
Along the way, we had to stop every 5 minutes or so to make sure we were headed in the right direction. We finally made it and began our ascent up a huge mountain. Halfway there, it began downpouring rain; we were visiting Nepal during monsoon season after all. We were getting soaked and the roads were becoming too dangerous to drive, so we found a small hut on the side of the road and stopped. There were already about 6 other Nepalese guys seeking shelter under the roofed porch of this hut and we asked if it was all right to join them. We had no idea how long the rain was going to last, so we hung out with these guys, who turned out to be our age, and had great conversations in broken English about our studies at university (they were students too), and how the Nepalese dislike the Indians. One guy even took out his cell phone and played some Nepalese music for us.
When it cleared up enough to keep going, we found out that these guys were headed to the same place as us, and they invited us to come along with them. They said they knew of an amazing lookout tower where you could definitely see the Himalayas. After stopping in a restaurant after another downpour of rain, and then stocking up on a bunch of Nepalese junk food, we finally made it.
The lookout tower was very rickety, it would never be open to the public in America. The only way to get up was an old ladder, which had become very slippery with the rain. The Nepalese guys climbed it no problem, and laughed down at me and Zach, who were terrified. We made it up, but it had rained so much and was so cloudy that we couldn't see any mountains! Here is the best view that we got:
All of a sudden, it started to downpour again and we were trapped at the top of this tower! The temperature dropped to about 75 degrees and all the Nepalese guys, and Zach, who had been in South East Asia for the past 8 months, were FREEZING and all huddled together for body heat, while I stood back and laughed--it was NOT cold at all. So there we were: huddled together at the top of a sketchy view tower in the Nepal countryside with 6 Nepalese guys, snacking on spicy chips imported directly from India, listening to the latest Nepalese hits on one guy's cell phone, and NOT looking at the Himalayas. I'm pretty sure that me and Zach are the only people who have ever been to Nepal and not seen any mountains!
Thursday, August 27, 2009
Love Aaj Kal
The Bollywood industry is huge in India and you'd be hard pressed to find someone who ISN'T playing the latest Bollywood hit from their cell phone or talking about what the big Bollywood stars are up to. Zach and I kind of got caught up in the Bollywood fever while we were staying in India.
Everywhere we went, we would see these posters for a movie called Love Aaj Kal, and we thought it would be a ton of fun to go and see a Bollywood movie IN India!
We were 15 minutes late for the movie, but bought tickets and went inside anyway. All the seats are assigned, just like they were in Germany, and you could pay more or less depending on which seats you wanted. Before we entered the theater, we had to go through security and I had my purse checked for anything dangerous.
We were the only foreigners in the theater, which I guess makes sense considering that this movie was completely in Hindi! We knew that going in and figured we could make up our own story line. It was a lot of fun whispering to each other in the theater what we thought was going on, although I'm sure the people sitting in front of us weren't too thrilled. I actually think we did pretty well. It was a story of a guy and a girl who kind of had a thing for each other, but they kept moving all around the world: the girl was in London for a while and the guy went to San Francisco (so thankfully there WERE parts of this movie in English). They dated other people but were still best friends and called each other all the time for life updates. Of course in the end they end up together. It was an absolutely fantastic movie; we both loved it so much and are trying to find a version of it with English subtitles so we can actually understand more of what was going on. Every other city we visited in India people were talking about Love Aaj Kal and what a great film it was. When we told them that we went to see it, everyone laughed. "But how you understand?" they asked.
Halfway through the film, there was an intermission and me and Zach decided to buy some popcorn. Everyone got a kick out of the two white kids walking around the concession stand--people were actually pointing and laughing at us! And the concession itself was total CHAOS. There was no line, just people mobbing and screaming their orders out in Hindi to two very busy workers. Zach left me in charge of buying snacks while he went to the bathroom and when he came back, I was still standing in the same spot, totally distressed and being trampled by Indians. Finally one guy in line was nice enough to push through for us and order in Hindi, so we got our popcorn, and it was delicious.
Bollywood films are of course famous for their big song and dance numbers that happen throughout the film. The first big song happened right before intermission and Zach told me that while he was in the bathroom, all the guys were singing together it at the urinals! It makes me laugh every time I think about it. I don't blame them either--here is the famous song from the movie, this has been stuck in my head for the past 3 weeks!
Everywhere we went, we would see these posters for a movie called Love Aaj Kal, and we thought it would be a ton of fun to go and see a Bollywood movie IN India!
We were 15 minutes late for the movie, but bought tickets and went inside anyway. All the seats are assigned, just like they were in Germany, and you could pay more or less depending on which seats you wanted. Before we entered the theater, we had to go through security and I had my purse checked for anything dangerous.
We were the only foreigners in the theater, which I guess makes sense considering that this movie was completely in Hindi! We knew that going in and figured we could make up our own story line. It was a lot of fun whispering to each other in the theater what we thought was going on, although I'm sure the people sitting in front of us weren't too thrilled. I actually think we did pretty well. It was a story of a guy and a girl who kind of had a thing for each other, but they kept moving all around the world: the girl was in London for a while and the guy went to San Francisco (so thankfully there WERE parts of this movie in English). They dated other people but were still best friends and called each other all the time for life updates. Of course in the end they end up together. It was an absolutely fantastic movie; we both loved it so much and are trying to find a version of it with English subtitles so we can actually understand more of what was going on. Every other city we visited in India people were talking about Love Aaj Kal and what a great film it was. When we told them that we went to see it, everyone laughed. "But how you understand?" they asked.
Halfway through the film, there was an intermission and me and Zach decided to buy some popcorn. Everyone got a kick out of the two white kids walking around the concession stand--people were actually pointing and laughing at us! And the concession itself was total CHAOS. There was no line, just people mobbing and screaming their orders out in Hindi to two very busy workers. Zach left me in charge of buying snacks while he went to the bathroom and when he came back, I was still standing in the same spot, totally distressed and being trampled by Indians. Finally one guy in line was nice enough to push through for us and order in Hindi, so we got our popcorn, and it was delicious.
Bollywood films are of course famous for their big song and dance numbers that happen throughout the film. The first big song happened right before intermission and Zach told me that while he was in the bathroom, all the guys were singing together it at the urinals! It makes me laugh every time I think about it. I don't blame them either--here is the famous song from the movie, this has been stuck in my head for the past 3 weeks!
Wednesday, August 26, 2009
I Go Pakistan?
My other story from our camel safari (see part I below)i:For some reason, Zach is obsessed with Pakistan. He wants to go there very very badly and talks about it all the time. As you can see, Jaisalmer, where we took our camel safari, is very west in India and is on the border with Pakistan.
While on our camels, Zach asked one of our guides how close we were to the border."By camel? 3 days. By car? 3 hours."
"I go Pakistan?" Zach asked
"No problem!" said the camel guide, "I bring you there. Not much money. We take 3 days, maybe 4 if you tired."
"How we get in country?" Zach asked, "No visa."
"No problem!" smiled the camel guide, "We give guard little money and say we sell girls in Pakistan. He like that. We go Pakistan, no problem! You want go Pakistan?"
I could see the wheels turning in Zach's head. Thank God we had a train to Delhi to catch that evening, or else I think I might have been sold for a free trip into Pakistan!
"Next time I come Jaisalmer, you bring me Pakistan," Zach decided. That is one trip I don't think I will take a part of.
"I take you Pakistan, no problem!"
Desert Kids
नमस्ते! Somehow, my blog now lets me write in Hindi and I'm extremely excited, but the only word I know is नमस्ते!
Anyway, I could honestly write an entire blog on the day and a half camel trek we took in Jaisalmer, but I'm going to share two stories (in separate entries) right now.
After we had been riding for about an hour on the first day, we took a break in a tiny desert village literally in the middle of nowhere and were allowed to walk around and explore while our guides prepared our lunch. The children in the village were excited to see 4 foreigners (me, Zach, and the two guys on our trek from France) and immediately came running over to us. Like all kids in India, they begged to have their pictures taken. The photos I have of this sum up the experience better than I can in words:
This kid wanted 10 rupees for this picture! haha!
Seeing me use my camera, they got excited and reached out and took it to try their own hand at photography. They had no idea how to use it and started taking pictures the wrong way! These are two of my favorite pictures of my whole trip:
I decided to step in and show them how to use a camera the right way, and Zach took out his camera to take pictures of me showing them how to use my camera! Confused yet?
They were smart kids and got the hang of it fast!
This is one of my favorite ones of me and Zach--hard to believe that a little kid took it!
We said our goodbyes to the desert children and I had to pry my camera out of their hands. One little girl (not pictured) took my pony tail holder and my sunglasses as a parting gift I suppose. I took my sunglasses back but pointed to my pony tail holder and then her, letting her know she could keep it. These kids were so adorable, I had so much fun playing with them in the desert
Anyway, I could honestly write an entire blog on the day and a half camel trek we took in Jaisalmer, but I'm going to share two stories (in separate entries) right now.
After we had been riding for about an hour on the first day, we took a break in a tiny desert village literally in the middle of nowhere and were allowed to walk around and explore while our guides prepared our lunch. The children in the village were excited to see 4 foreigners (me, Zach, and the two guys on our trek from France) and immediately came running over to us. Like all kids in India, they begged to have their pictures taken. The photos I have of this sum up the experience better than I can in words:
This kid wanted 10 rupees for this picture! haha!
Seeing me use my camera, they got excited and reached out and took it to try their own hand at photography. They had no idea how to use it and started taking pictures the wrong way! These are two of my favorite pictures of my whole trip:
I decided to step in and show them how to use a camera the right way, and Zach took out his camera to take pictures of me showing them how to use my camera! Confused yet?
They were smart kids and got the hang of it fast!
This is one of my favorite ones of me and Zach--hard to believe that a little kid took it!
We said our goodbyes to the desert children and I had to pry my camera out of their hands. One little girl (not pictured) took my pony tail holder and my sunglasses as a parting gift I suppose. I took my sunglasses back but pointed to my pony tail holder and then her, letting her know she could keep it. These kids were so adorable, I had so much fun playing with them in the desert
Tuesday, August 25, 2009
Best City in the World?
Recently, Udaipur was named the #1 best city in the world by Travel and Leisure.
Interesting list, but where is Freiburg?
I ended up spending 2 extra days in Udaipur while Zach was in the hospital and it was a beautiful place. After dealing with the insane touts in both Agra and Varanasi, Udaipur seemed like a relaxing change of pace (it was a LOT cooler), and I have never met such genuinely nice people in my life. I mentioned it earlier in this blog, but while Zach was in the hospital, one rickshaw driver took me to the hospital twice a day to visit him, and waited with me on the first night to make sure Zach was ok. One time he couldn't use his rickshaw in town due to a festival and took me on his own motorbike to ensure I made it there safely. He never accepted any money from me until the end, when he told me I could give him whatever I thought was appropriate. I gave him a really big tip.
Then there was the doctor who gave me a ride home from the hospital at 11:00 one night, after all the rickshaws had stopped running. He wouldn't let me give him any money for the ride home, even though he had driven out of his way to bring me to my hotel.
There was also the young Internet Cafe owner who gave me free cups of chai whenever I came in because he felt sorry that Zach was in the hospital and I was all alone. Of course I can't forget the wonderful people who owned our hotel would ask me every day how Zach was doing and when he was coming back.
When we weren't spending long hours at the new American Hospital on the outskirts of town, we relaxed in outdoor rooftop restaurants and took the views of the beautiful lake that surrounds the city.
One day we rented a motorbike and took it to the top of a mountain to visit a place called Monsoon Palace, where the rainwater used to be collected to be used by the city. We ran into these kids carrying clay up to the palace and Zach immediately grabbed one bowl off a girl's head and carried it up for her. The kids were all giggling madly and you could tell that he totally made her day, if not her life. Afterward he told me that it was extremely heavy, and he didn't know how those little kids were taking multiple trips up and down with these heavy bowls.
Finally, we made a video from Udaipur about the mysterious Indian Head Wobble, which had been puzzling us for weeks:
Post Script:
I know I said I was going to wrap up this blog, but I can't get the idea of India and what a beautiful country it was out of my brain. So I hope you don't mind if I continue to update this with some stories and experiences I had while I was there, because I'm not ready to let go yet!
Oh and I almost forgot! The James Bond film Octopussy was filmed in Udaipur, and we watched an extremely bootlegged version at our hotel
Interesting list, but where is Freiburg?
I ended up spending 2 extra days in Udaipur while Zach was in the hospital and it was a beautiful place. After dealing with the insane touts in both Agra and Varanasi, Udaipur seemed like a relaxing change of pace (it was a LOT cooler), and I have never met such genuinely nice people in my life. I mentioned it earlier in this blog, but while Zach was in the hospital, one rickshaw driver took me to the hospital twice a day to visit him, and waited with me on the first night to make sure Zach was ok. One time he couldn't use his rickshaw in town due to a festival and took me on his own motorbike to ensure I made it there safely. He never accepted any money from me until the end, when he told me I could give him whatever I thought was appropriate. I gave him a really big tip.
Then there was the doctor who gave me a ride home from the hospital at 11:00 one night, after all the rickshaws had stopped running. He wouldn't let me give him any money for the ride home, even though he had driven out of his way to bring me to my hotel.
There was also the young Internet Cafe owner who gave me free cups of chai whenever I came in because he felt sorry that Zach was in the hospital and I was all alone. Of course I can't forget the wonderful people who owned our hotel would ask me every day how Zach was doing and when he was coming back.
When we weren't spending long hours at the new American Hospital on the outskirts of town, we relaxed in outdoor rooftop restaurants and took the views of the beautiful lake that surrounds the city.
One day we rented a motorbike and took it to the top of a mountain to visit a place called Monsoon Palace, where the rainwater used to be collected to be used by the city. We ran into these kids carrying clay up to the palace and Zach immediately grabbed one bowl off a girl's head and carried it up for her. The kids were all giggling madly and you could tell that he totally made her day, if not her life. Afterward he told me that it was extremely heavy, and he didn't know how those little kids were taking multiple trips up and down with these heavy bowls.
Finally, we made a video from Udaipur about the mysterious Indian Head Wobble, which had been puzzling us for weeks:
Post Script:
I know I said I was going to wrap up this blog, but I can't get the idea of India and what a beautiful country it was out of my brain. So I hope you don't mind if I continue to update this with some stories and experiences I had while I was there, because I'm not ready to let go yet!
Oh and I almost forgot! The James Bond film Octopussy was filmed in Udaipur, and we watched an extremely bootlegged version at our hotel
Monday, August 24, 2009
Freiburg in the news again!
I promise I will update soon and wrap up everything about everything, but right now I'm too excited because Freiburg is in the American news yet again!!
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Camel Safari
The camel safari = THE GREATEST THING I HAVE EVER DONE IN MY LIFE.
We left yesterday at 9am after a delicious breakfast of porridge and chai. Camels are crazy to ride on and man it hurts haha. We traveled with 2 other guys from France, both our age and studying engineering. We trekked for about an hour and then got off in a small desert village where we walked around, and the kids there had fun playing with my camera.
Shortly after, our guides made us an amazing Indian lunch, and we all took a nap. Getting back on teh camel was painful, and we rode to INSAAANE sand dunes where we spent the rest of the evening. About 8 other kids our age came and joined us in a Jeep--they didnt want to ride the camels but wanted to spend the night in the desert. The sun quickly set and we ate another amazing Indian dinner while our guides sang to us in Hindi around the campfire.
I have never seen so many stars in my entire life than I did last night laying out in the desert. We all got blankets and pillows and just slept out in the open. The blankets were itchy and I was cold and uncomfortable, and terrified of snakes and bugs crawling on me in the night, but it's definitely something I will never forget. I saw so many shooting stars, and woke up this morning in time to see the sunrise.
We trekked back on the camels this morning after eating breakfast and lunch together (paaaainful) and I took an AMAZING shower at our guesthouse. I had sand in every single place where sand could possibly be: my hair, inside my ears, my nose, my mouth, my underwear (?!?!). I was dirty and tired but I'll never forget it. The desert was so peaceful and so gorgeous, just like you'd imagine it. I can't believe so many people make their homes there.
Now we have a 15 hour train to Delhi that is leaving in 2 hours, and I leave the day after tomorrow for America!!!!
We left yesterday at 9am after a delicious breakfast of porridge and chai. Camels are crazy to ride on and man it hurts haha. We traveled with 2 other guys from France, both our age and studying engineering. We trekked for about an hour and then got off in a small desert village where we walked around, and the kids there had fun playing with my camera.
Shortly after, our guides made us an amazing Indian lunch, and we all took a nap. Getting back on teh camel was painful, and we rode to INSAAANE sand dunes where we spent the rest of the evening. About 8 other kids our age came and joined us in a Jeep--they didnt want to ride the camels but wanted to spend the night in the desert. The sun quickly set and we ate another amazing Indian dinner while our guides sang to us in Hindi around the campfire.
I have never seen so many stars in my entire life than I did last night laying out in the desert. We all got blankets and pillows and just slept out in the open. The blankets were itchy and I was cold and uncomfortable, and terrified of snakes and bugs crawling on me in the night, but it's definitely something I will never forget. I saw so many shooting stars, and woke up this morning in time to see the sunrise.
We trekked back on the camels this morning after eating breakfast and lunch together (paaaainful) and I took an AMAZING shower at our guesthouse. I had sand in every single place where sand could possibly be: my hair, inside my ears, my nose, my mouth, my underwear (?!?!). I was dirty and tired but I'll never forget it. The desert was so peaceful and so gorgeous, just like you'd imagine it. I can't believe so many people make their homes there.
Now we have a 15 hour train to Delhi that is leaving in 2 hours, and I leave the day after tomorrow for America!!!!
Sunday, August 16, 2009
Yesterday was Indian Independence Day, so happy Indian Independence Day to everyone reading this!!
I think the worst prt about traveling is the actual traveling part. Last night we took a night sleeper bus to Jailsmer. The bus had actual beds so we could "sleep", but it was way way too bumpy to ever sleep, plus THE HORNS NEVER STOP HONKING! People here use their horns more than they use their brakes, and EVERYONE has a vanity horn which gets extremely annoying extremely fast. It's also kind of stressful because no one ever announces the stops/we don't speak Hindi, so either we pray we end up in the right place, or pray that someone tells us when to get off. The worst part is the rest stops because we never know when the bus is leaving and the toliets are ALWAYS squatter. Wearing jeans on the bus last night was a bad call haha.
We had to change buses at 5am which caused for more stress because some people do not like to be woken up and put up a huge fit (and they know who they are). We did make it though, the scenery of driving through the desert was gorgeous.
We got a guesthouse right away and have already set up our train tickets to Delhi, our final destination. Tomorrow at 8am we are going on a camel trek. We each get our own camel and they are taking us way out into the sand dunes to explore the area. We get breakfast, lunch, dinner, we sleep in the desert, get breakfast the next morning, and then head back to town, where we'll hang out until it's time for us to hop on the train to Delhi. I think it will be a lot of fun, and I think after having to pee in the desert, I will never complain about squatter toliets again!
I think the worst prt about traveling is the actual traveling part. Last night we took a night sleeper bus to Jailsmer. The bus had actual beds so we could "sleep", but it was way way too bumpy to ever sleep, plus THE HORNS NEVER STOP HONKING! People here use their horns more than they use their brakes, and EVERYONE has a vanity horn which gets extremely annoying extremely fast. It's also kind of stressful because no one ever announces the stops/we don't speak Hindi, so either we pray we end up in the right place, or pray that someone tells us when to get off. The worst part is the rest stops because we never know when the bus is leaving and the toliets are ALWAYS squatter. Wearing jeans on the bus last night was a bad call haha.
We had to change buses at 5am which caused for more stress because some people do not like to be woken up and put up a huge fit (and they know who they are). We did make it though, the scenery of driving through the desert was gorgeous.
We got a guesthouse right away and have already set up our train tickets to Delhi, our final destination. Tomorrow at 8am we are going on a camel trek. We each get our own camel and they are taking us way out into the sand dunes to explore the area. We get breakfast, lunch, dinner, we sleep in the desert, get breakfast the next morning, and then head back to town, where we'll hang out until it's time for us to hop on the train to Delhi. I think it will be a lot of fun, and I think after having to pee in the desert, I will never complain about squatter toliets again!
Saturday, August 15, 2009
I just got Zach out of the hospital, so things are going to get a lot better.
We loved Agra. The Taj Mahal was breathtaking, we actually ended up going twice because the first time we took so many pictures that it closed before we got inside. The next day we got up for the Taj Mahal at sunrise which was amazing. We were the first people through the gates and it felt like we owned the place.
That night, we took the sleeper train to Udipar and it's a lot cooler here, thank God. The place is surrounded by a big lake, which is usually dried up, but we were lucky enough to get here during monsoon season when the lake is full, and it is gorgeous. Tonight we are taking a sleeper bus to Jailsmer to do a camel trek before reaching Dehli, our final destination. It's really funny being here because everyone loves to stare at us. The other day, a guy had his 2 kids take a picture with us, and then hopped in for a picture with us himself, just because we're white.
We loved Agra. The Taj Mahal was breathtaking, we actually ended up going twice because the first time we took so many pictures that it closed before we got inside. The next day we got up for the Taj Mahal at sunrise which was amazing. We were the first people through the gates and it felt like we owned the place.
That night, we took the sleeper train to Udipar and it's a lot cooler here, thank God. The place is surrounded by a big lake, which is usually dried up, but we were lucky enough to get here during monsoon season when the lake is full, and it is gorgeous. Tonight we are taking a sleeper bus to Jailsmer to do a camel trek before reaching Dehli, our final destination. It's really funny being here because everyone loves to stare at us. The other day, a guy had his 2 kids take a picture with us, and then hopped in for a picture with us himself, just because we're white.
Friday, August 14, 2009
It's been kind of rough here the past few days because Zach got really sick and ended up in the hospital, where he has been for the past 2 days. It is sad and lonely doing India by myself, but it is making me a lot stronger, and a lot thicker skinned, that's for sure.
We are in Udaipur now and it's a lot smaller than anywhere else we've been, and the people hassle you a lot less. There have been amazing people--the people in our hotel, a certain rickshaw driver, and a DR last night who gave me a ride home from the hospital--that have helped me a lot through this.
We are in Udaipur now and it's a lot smaller than anywhere else we've been, and the people hassle you a lot less. There have been amazing people--the people in our hotel, a certain rickshaw driver, and a DR last night who gave me a ride home from the hospital--that have helped me a lot through this.
Saturday, August 8, 2009
Hideout
Today we are on hideout.
India is soo stressful. Everyone is trying to get you to buy their stuff or look at their shops and they dont understand the word 'no.' It is EXTREMELY hot, I average about 4 liters of water a day. It is noisy and crowded and we couldn't take it anymore, so today we decided to hang out in our air conditioned hotel room and watch movies.
Last night we took the night train to Agra. It was stressful because I didn't want anyone to steal my stuff and they don't announce the stations so we literally had no idea where to get off. Thankfully some guy helped us and we made it here. From our room, we have an amazing view of the Taj Mahal!
We have met a lot of really funny people here which does make the stress fun at times. Sometimes when we are surrounded by rickshaw drivers trying to get us to ride with them, someone will say, "only 2000 Euro!" Lately when people try to sell us stuff, we try to sell them our Lonely Planet guide book, "20 rupees, good price, good price, no cheater!" They always find that to be hilarious.
Everyone wants to know where we are from and they get so excited when we say America. We went to see some guru yesterday for some reason and he was all excited because I guess he gave a reading to Goldie Hawn back in the 80s. Neither of us have any clue who Goldie Hawn is. We also met a CRAAAAZY old guy from Canada who decided to move to Varanasi about 30 years ago, and you could tell that he was just nuts. He had a long gross beard and spoke weird English and his eyes were glazed over in crazieness. He told us he had a love/hate relationship with the city, which I can understand, and he is the only trooper there because everyone else leaves in April and May when it gets too hot. I think he was drinking too much water from the Ganges...
India is soo stressful. Everyone is trying to get you to buy their stuff or look at their shops and they dont understand the word 'no.' It is EXTREMELY hot, I average about 4 liters of water a day. It is noisy and crowded and we couldn't take it anymore, so today we decided to hang out in our air conditioned hotel room and watch movies.
Last night we took the night train to Agra. It was stressful because I didn't want anyone to steal my stuff and they don't announce the stations so we literally had no idea where to get off. Thankfully some guy helped us and we made it here. From our room, we have an amazing view of the Taj Mahal!
We have met a lot of really funny people here which does make the stress fun at times. Sometimes when we are surrounded by rickshaw drivers trying to get us to ride with them, someone will say, "only 2000 Euro!" Lately when people try to sell us stuff, we try to sell them our Lonely Planet guide book, "20 rupees, good price, good price, no cheater!" They always find that to be hilarious.
Everyone wants to know where we are from and they get so excited when we say America. We went to see some guru yesterday for some reason and he was all excited because I guess he gave a reading to Goldie Hawn back in the 80s. Neither of us have any clue who Goldie Hawn is. We also met a CRAAAAZY old guy from Canada who decided to move to Varanasi about 30 years ago, and you could tell that he was just nuts. He had a long gross beard and spoke weird English and his eyes were glazed over in crazieness. He told us he had a love/hate relationship with the city, which I can understand, and he is the only trooper there because everyone else leaves in April and May when it gets too hot. I think he was drinking too much water from the Ganges...
Thursday, August 6, 2009
Incredible India
One of my good friends told me that "India sucks you in" and she was 100% correct. We crossed over land from Nepal and it was extremely overwhemling at first. People everywhere are trying to get you to buy this or that and they dont take no for an answer. Within the first 5 min, we got scammed into buying bus tickets 4x the actual price, and we promised ourselves it would never happen again.
We are in Varanasi now and it is the holiest place in India. People come here to die and then their bodies are burned on the Ganges river and thrown in, as well as raw sewage. It is the most polluted body of water i n the world, it is septic and there is no dissolved oxygen at all, but yet people come everyday to bathe, drink, and wash their clothes in it. The river is considered a goddess of Indian culture and every day there is a morning and evening ceremony to welcome the day/say goodnight. This morning we got up at 4am to see the sunrise on a two hour boat tour and it was incredibly peaceful and serne.
It is HOTTTT here. Over 100 degrees every day and I just drink liter after liter of water. We eat cheap local food and always get a bit extra for the homeless families near our guesthouse---good karma and they always seem extremely grateful. We can eat a huge meal here for about $2 each so there is no reason not to share.
We went to a Bollywood movie yesterday completely in Hindi and it was a blast. We made up our own story line and I think we did pretty well. We are going to see another one tonight.
The sights, the sounds, the smells, the colors here are all amazing. WE have met some genuinely nice Indians who want to help us and are careful of the scammers. Tomorrow we are taking the train to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is!
Namaste!
We are in Varanasi now and it is the holiest place in India. People come here to die and then their bodies are burned on the Ganges river and thrown in, as well as raw sewage. It is the most polluted body of water i n the world, it is septic and there is no dissolved oxygen at all, but yet people come everyday to bathe, drink, and wash their clothes in it. The river is considered a goddess of Indian culture and every day there is a morning and evening ceremony to welcome the day/say goodnight. This morning we got up at 4am to see the sunrise on a two hour boat tour and it was incredibly peaceful and serne.
It is HOTTTT here. Over 100 degrees every day and I just drink liter after liter of water. We eat cheap local food and always get a bit extra for the homeless families near our guesthouse---good karma and they always seem extremely grateful. We can eat a huge meal here for about $2 each so there is no reason not to share.
We went to a Bollywood movie yesterday completely in Hindi and it was a blast. We made up our own story line and I think we did pretty well. We are going to see another one tonight.
The sights, the sounds, the smells, the colors here are all amazing. WE have met some genuinely nice Indians who want to help us and are careful of the scammers. Tomorrow we are taking the train to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is!
Namaste!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
It is stressing being here, because we realized that we have a lottt of things to do, but there is not enough time for anything. Tomorrow we are leaving at 7am and taking the bus to Varanasi, India. We had a whole huge route planned for India, but it looks like we're going to have to leave a bunch of stuff out. Zach wants to do a 3 day camel tour through the desert there...we'll see about that haha
Nepal was originally ruled by three kingdoms and there was a lot of political problems for many many years. It used to not be a safe place to travel, and the US Dept of Safety still has out a travel warning against it. However, about 3 years ago, the kindgoms dissovled and Nepal became democratic.
Now it's very safe to be here, but tourism is still suffering. It is quite different from Europe, where I would hear English everywhere I went, compared to here where I can count the number of tourists I've seen on one hand. We can also talk about anyone we want and no one can understand us! haha!
The poverty here is incredible. Yesterday we took a long motorbike tour around Kathmandu and ended up in some slummy areas where we saw small children washing their clothes in the river, men doing back breaking work making bricks, and stray dogs everywhere. The trashmen here recently went on a strike, so there is trash all over the street. Cows are holy and wander the streets. Children run up to you begging for money and doing anything to get your spare change. Everyone we meet says, "You from America, you rich!" and even though that isn't the case, it is really humbling to think of everything that I have and see these small children in ripped clothes playing in the mud.
Today we are getting out of the city and going to try and see the Himalyas. It kind of stinks that we are here during monsoon season because you can't see any mountains at all, hopefully we'll be lucky in the spot that our hotel suggested to us.
Nepal was originally ruled by three kingdoms and there was a lot of political problems for many many years. It used to not be a safe place to travel, and the US Dept of Safety still has out a travel warning against it. However, about 3 years ago, the kindgoms dissovled and Nepal became democratic.
Now it's very safe to be here, but tourism is still suffering. It is quite different from Europe, where I would hear English everywhere I went, compared to here where I can count the number of tourists I've seen on one hand. We can also talk about anyone we want and no one can understand us! haha!
The poverty here is incredible. Yesterday we took a long motorbike tour around Kathmandu and ended up in some slummy areas where we saw small children washing their clothes in the river, men doing back breaking work making bricks, and stray dogs everywhere. The trashmen here recently went on a strike, so there is trash all over the street. Cows are holy and wander the streets. Children run up to you begging for money and doing anything to get your spare change. Everyone we meet says, "You from America, you rich!" and even though that isn't the case, it is really humbling to think of everything that I have and see these small children in ripped clothes playing in the mud.
Today we are getting out of the city and going to try and see the Himalyas. It kind of stinks that we are here during monsoon season because you can't see any mountains at all, hopefully we'll be lucky in the spot that our hotel suggested to us.
Saturday, August 1, 2009
I am here in Nepal and I love it so much, it is such a big change from Europe.
I had a 15 hour flight here from Germany, including a 6 hour layover in Bahrain. Bahrain was AWESOME too, everyone was walking around in Muslim clothing; I was truly in the middle east, and the first thing I saw was a McDonalds in Arabic.
I have a friend from Nepal so she picked me up from the airport and I went to her house for a shower and a lunch of boar meat that her grandmother made. It was AMAZING. Then we went to pick up my other friend at the airport and found a guesthouse with 2 beds, shower included, TV, fan, and free towels for like $4 a night each. In Europe that would be at least 50 Euros.
We have seen so much, we rented a motorcycle and ride around, which is crazy but so much fun. They drive on the left side of the road here and everyone is nuts. There are cows just chillin on the side of the street and people are everywhere. Everyone wants your money, everyone is trying to sell you stuff all the time. It gets really really annoying, but if you look past it, you can see the beauty of the country--the people, the buildings, the sights, and sounds and smells, etc. Soon we'll be off to India!
I had a 15 hour flight here from Germany, including a 6 hour layover in Bahrain. Bahrain was AWESOME too, everyone was walking around in Muslim clothing; I was truly in the middle east, and the first thing I saw was a McDonalds in Arabic.
I have a friend from Nepal so she picked me up from the airport and I went to her house for a shower and a lunch of boar meat that her grandmother made. It was AMAZING. Then we went to pick up my other friend at the airport and found a guesthouse with 2 beds, shower included, TV, fan, and free towels for like $4 a night each. In Europe that would be at least 50 Euros.
We have seen so much, we rented a motorcycle and ride around, which is crazy but so much fun. They drive on the left side of the road here and everyone is nuts. There are cows just chillin on the side of the street and people are everywhere. Everyone wants your money, everyone is trying to sell you stuff all the time. It gets really really annoying, but if you look past it, you can see the beauty of the country--the people, the buildings, the sights, and sounds and smells, etc. Soon we'll be off to India!
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