Friday, July 31, 2009

More Adventure and I Still Hate Delhi

The trip from Bundi to Varanasi was long, tiring and confusing. All of these things however are normal for India. It starts in Bundi where we showed up to the busstand at like 10 expecting there to be a bus waiting. Nope. Instead there are people laying in the shadows and "platform" of the station. As soon as we stand still the "hellos" and "what your country?" start. Not really in the mood we make our way over to a man shouting "Kota" for a shared jeep. We get the price down to Rs20 and have the experience of taking a shared jeep for an hour. Not too bad. It was faster than the bus anyway. We get to the train station and get a general seating ticket to New Delhi. Let me tell you something about general seating. Its a free for all. You know those pictures that you see of the trains in India with people hanging on the side and sitting n the roof? Yes, that's it. We thought we were going to have to sit in the door all night. Luckily some young man made room for us. However while it was nice to be able to sit, 12-13 hours in the same position, trying to get some rest and making sure you aren't getting robbed is most exhausting. Did I mention that the train arrived in Kota at 1:50am? We finally get to Delhi late and go straight to the tourism office and get our next train ticket to Varanasi. We chill in Delhi for a bit and get a pizza. When it is time to catch our train we head to the Old Delhi station (different from the one we arrived at) and find that the train number on our ticket is not up on the board. Ten minutes til our train leaves we go onto the platforms and ask where are train is. We are directed to a platform that has a different train number on it but it turned out to be the same one. This time we had bunks in a sleeper. I will show you the bunks in a bit. I don't want to describe them. I would do them justice. Not that the pictures will either. This train ride (also over night) was not as bad. We just should have packed more food. We actually managed to sleep even with three fans buzzing near our heads, noise from the train (because there were no windows) and the heat. This train arrived 3 hrs late. No biggie. Then we had to deal with sketchy ass auto rickshaw drivers who mostly are wrapped up in some crime syndicate. We were not dropped off where we wanted and almost gave up finding the Guest House we were looking for. Justine ended up suffering from heat exhaustion and we chilled for the rest of the day and slept in today. I think I like Varanasi so far, but I will let you know later.

Train



Varanasi

Monday, July 27, 2009

Good Bye Sweet Bundi

So you may have read elsewhere that I had the pleasurable experience of getting sick in India. I feel like I almost made it. The weird part is that I can't figure out what I got sick from. I'm guessing it was the disgusting bathroom in our lovely rooftop room. The day before I got sick I'm pretty sure is the day I either cleaned out the toilet with steel wool or when Justine's pants fell in the toilet and I washed them. Whatever it was, it felt like food poisoning, which it wasn't because no one else got sick. I vomited til it hurt and could not eat the next day and a half. Mama gave me this natural medicine that seemed to do the trick. However, right after I was starting to feel better, Justine got sick from something. We were both out of commission for a while.

Here are some pictures from the past few days, as well as a few scanned prints. The prints are terrible quality so when I get back I will be scanning all my negatives and properly adjusting the color, light, etc.

Our lovely little hut.



Views from the rooftop.







An alien space ship hiding in the clouds.




Here are a few more photos from the fort in Bundi.





The "small" waterfall. It was amazing on the top, but that roll is still in the camera.








Justine look'n all sassy.



Our sometimes favorite kid. Actually not really.



This is Mama.



Me.



Hanging out.



Favorite Pigs.



Justine's additions to my tattoo.

Tuesday, July 14, 2009

Can't Remeber Anything

So I am still in Bundi. It's rad here and originally we weren't going to leave because we thought there was no reason too. But then as many of you may know Justine received a most generous offer to stay in the guest house for free and help out. Well I just haven't moved on yet. The food is amazing and endless and the company is great. However, I only have until the 5th of August before I go back to Thailand. There are some errands of sorts that mus be taken care of before I can move on.

Anyways. We went to a water fall for the second time managed to hike to the top. It was amazing up there. There was no trash and no people. Fresh water crabs and Komono Dragon-like lizards running around. If we weren't with someone else, we might have stayed up there for a while.

Oh man I keep gettnig distracted by this street vendor right outside the window. He is selling Aloo Titka. So good. Have I mentioned that I will never be able to eat food with out chilies again?

Shit now I can't remeber what I was going to write about.

I am getting some film developed so there will hopefully be more pictures soon. Unfortunately Justine's camera is non-functional, so picture will be down to a minimum. Of whenever I get film developed and prints scanned.

The other night we heard gunshots every so often. We think it may have been people shooting dogs and collecting the carcuses. The Indian Government pays for them because there are so many dogs on the street.

Oh wtf else...

I started doing Yoga with Justine and working out a little in the morning. Its really exhuasting because of the heat but feels so good. Now I won't look like a stick.

Looking forward too: Veloshop Neutral Race Tent!

Tuesday, July 7, 2009

PIctures

SO. There are pictures up. On Justine's blog. We finally figured out how to get them off the camera. It's been frustrating. Since it took three hours to upload the pictures to her blog, I will not be doing the same. If you really want to see the pictures click on this LINK!

Enjoy.

Monday, July 6, 2009

Sneaks and Sunsets

So we are still in Bundi though we are leaving tomorrow morning for Kota. It's like an hour away. Should be rad there too. There is a moat with crocodiles in it. Thats all I can remember about it at the moment. Oh yeah on the bus ride here we met a young man who is training for the Indian Air Force. I forget his name but he said I was "looking cool dude." He has my email address and he made me promise to write him back, but he hasn't emailed me yet. So that's in Kota. there are also two power plants one being nuclear. Though if they are both operational, the westerner in me asks why there are constant power outages here. Of course if you refer to the picture of the power lines in Delhi that I posted, that might be obvious. Anyways.

Last night Justine and I switched to the room on the roof. Its rad, though today its really hot and the electricity cut out in the morning so basically we were sleeping in sweat puddles. Then at about 6 or 7 I think we woke up to what sounded like boulders on the roof. It was the "morning" monkeys. We were forewarned about this. We were not warned about a small monkey trying to sneak in the tiny hole in the ceiling. If I wasn't such a light sleeper he would have gotten further than half way down the wall. For some reasoned I hissed at him. He climbed back up to the hole and stared at me. So I had to walk over towards it and get him to leave. We shall see what happens when the "evening" monkeys come. I think those are Langur monkeys. They are much cuter anyways. They are gray with little black faces and super long tail. The other ones are Rhesus Macaques. They are super creepy and aggressive.

Which makes me think of something else. A few days ago we went up to the palace and fort that over-looks this small town. We went with a Swedish guy named Roger. He is a pretty cool guy. In the palace there are hundreds of bats and it was really cool. I wish I could show you pictures. I may get nose cancer from all the bat poo. After the Palace we went up the the fort which is free and abandoned. This makes even more interesting because its like the fucking jungle book up there. There are soooooo many monkeys. At one point Justine and I turned a corner and there was a baby and mom, and there seemed to be a photo opportunity. But we didn't notice that the other one had balls. Naturally, being that they were kind of cornered the male almost attacked us. We only got away unscathed because we had are wits about us and sticks. Monkeys don't like sticks. Tonight we are going to go back up there and watch the sun set. Dangerous? Definitely. But there is supposed to be a great view.

Yesterday I tried to get money from my card. I don't know if my card is broken or not. The internet was down for the whole city so the card readers might have been off too. I tried going to the only ATM in town and it likes to turn on and off by itself, so I didn't even put my card in it.

One thing that I have forgot to mention is how Justine and I have had our pictures taken by Indians so many times we have lost count. In the Amar fort we had a photo op with an entire family. There are also the men who sneak pictures with there cell phones. It never ends and we haven't gotten used to it and probably won't.

I think that when I get back the the States (and I think Justine agrees) most of the food is not going to be spiced enough. I have eaten so much spicy food here. I can't stop and I know that I have a higher tolerance for spicy foods. I tried running right after eating and it was like dwarves used their master kindling skills and lighted a fire in my stomach.

Also I think our bodies have adjusted somewhat to the heat, mine more than Justine's. I feel as though I am drink less water, which is not entirely good, and peeing more. At first I pretty much only urinated once a day, after drinking a gallon of water. Now it's a little different. I also don't get as hot as I used too. I think.

We both have lost a toooon of weight. I look fucking emaciated. I don't know if I mentioned this before. It's gross. I mean I have zero body fat. Though its not like I had much before. The only good side, is that when I get back and start riding again, I will be able to build muscle like a pro. Stoked about that.

That is a lot to read. So that will be it for now.

Thursday, July 2, 2009

India Again and No Pictures

So every time we got to new internet cafe, the same thing happens. The card reader that Justine bought doesn't work, the card reader that the shop has doesn't work, the computer thinks the card is a virus and tries to delete the pictures, the computer randomly shuts off while writing, the internet is to slow or the computer is too slow. Now maybe I shouldn't get so frustrated that when I go to spend 50 cents for an hour of the internet I can't get anything done. After all I am in India and perhaps I shouldn't be online so much. Though I didn't come here to find my spiritual self or spend hundreds of dollars seeing every ruin, temple or palace that India has to offer. Whatever. If you were looking forward to pictures you are going to have to wait even more. Maybe you all will have to wait until we leave India or even get back to the States for you to see pictures.

Anyways.

India. I know I haven't written anything about this place at all except for when I was freaking out about culture shock. While you may think that you might get over it after a while there are somethings that you would never get used too. Lets not forget that most westerners that come to India leave after a week. When coming to India one thing to remember is that there is nothing that you could ever do to blend in. NOTHING. Unless you are of Indian decent. Having tattoos and piercings only makes things worse. Well maybe worse is a harsh word. People are just fascinated with you. On top of that, it is customary to ask very personal questions of each other. Name, country, what do you do for a living, how much do you make, is that your wife, do you have kids, how long have you been married, does it hurt when you get a piercing, does it still hurt, why is the painting on your arm permanent, did that hurt, etc.

There is also the fact that the people here tend to make you distrust everyone that says hello. Sometimes its easier to ignore people rater than get halfway through a conversation at which point you are asked to go to this shop, or you should go to this "government" tourist center or will you have tea with me so I can read your horoscope in a creepy back alley shop. No thanks. I'm just going to keep walking down the street with "my wife." The children are the smartest, or most clever. They will come up to women and tell them that them need ghee for chapati and that their family is poor and lives in the desert. Sometimes this is true, but they would never ask you to buy food for them if it was. Turns out that the kids that were scamming (or trying too) were sons and daughters of government officials.

I mean you honestly can't blame them. Just like the rest of the world, their way of life has been destroyed by western influence. Here a great example that I got from some old German guy: About 30 years ago there was no plastic available to the masses. People did not buy chips, soda, bottled water or individually wrapped pills. They ate off of banana leaf (or similar things)and then threw it into the street. Then the cows, goats and dogs came a long and ate it. Very simple, very effective. When you introduce consumerism into a society that throws there trash into the street, what do you think happens? The country is one big landfill. It's terrible. This is why when you come to India you cannot drink the water.

Aside from the over population, the corrupt government, and the whiplash that India suffered when Britain left. Now there are Maoists fighting in the country-side, most of the bad things about western society mixing with a feudal class system and the highest HIV rates in the world. India is a great example of why the west has failed and our way of life needs to end.

Of course India is not all doom and gloom and there are some very very nice people here. I have seen over 50 species of birds, geckos on the wall every night, lizards monkeys, buffalo, ad more. Despite what I said earlier about ruins and the like, I have been to some and India is riddled with Mughal era architecture. Right now were are staying in a small town called Bundi. It is located in southern Rajastan in a valley. The mountains are topped with walls, towers and palaces. Which fortunately for us are abandoned, though unfortunately that means monkeys live there and we were told to carry sticks. We are also staying is a guest house owned and managed by a women and her two daughters. Refreshing so to speak as we have only talked to two other women while here.

So. Justine and I will continue to search for a way to upload pictures and videos. Justine has made a video and there is also a really bad one of me where I look emaciated that I may upload. As well as pictures of course.

Also you should all check out Justine's blog as we are together, but writing from our won point of views. There may be things that I have not mentioned or vice-versa. thereisabluebird.blogspot.com

Til next time I get frustrated with computers...ciao.