After Holi things returned to a normal pace around the town and school. I've continue to enjoy helping with the English classes in the morning and then take off quickly before lunch. The cook, Bharti-mam, does not understand why myself and Nadine, the other volunteer, do not like to eat mushy white rice and salty/watery dal every day. The afternoons are my time off, I usually hunt out some western food and attempt to shop to bring goods to sell back in Canada for the school. As much as I like shopping everything is a fight. Everyone claims to have the best quality and if you talk to an Indian they always say that you could have gotten it cheaper. Either way I think I have some nice silk scarves.
Nadine and i decided it would be nice to take the kids out on a few adventures. The first of which was taking half of the hostel kids out to a movie. By the time all the rickshaws arrived we we 20 minutes late. It was probably a good thing as, despite asking before hand, the movie "Happy Elephants" did not contain any happy moments and was all killing and fighting. Thankfully the 3 year-old has vision problems and was focused only on the movie popcorn and pop with ice in it. The other kids were so happy as they are never allowed to see movies like that.
The next Saturday Nadine and I selfishly wanted to go to a pool as it is in the high 30's here. So we took all the kids to Hotel Surya in the "nice" part of Varanasi ( I couldn't tell the difference) The kids had never seen such a nice pool. The hotel was quick to try to rid the pool of the mass of children and kept complaining that they were not in swimming costumes. Nadine and I stood firm and we stayed as long as we wanted. And we had so much fun!
We made it back to the hostel in time to watch India vs Sri Lanka in the Cricket World Cup. As I have completely no idea about cricket I couldn't even understand the score and thought that the kids were just not speaking English properly when they kept telling me the game would last 6 hours. The streets were totally dead all evening until 1030 when they officially won. We ran to the roof of my guest house and people were lighting off fireworks in every direction.
The next day we took the other half of the kids to a much more appropriate movie. Which was 3 hours of musical montage's and so much overacting that Nadine and I had no problem understanding the plot. The best part was the escalator in the mall. The kids were so frightened to step on it and we had to help each kids one by one. Then during intermission I took the girls to the bathroom and when I reminded them to flush they were so confused. I showed them and they all ran to watch the fascinating flush toilet! It was so great!
My last week is coming to an end and I am already sad to be thinking about leaving. But I am also excited as being here has given me so many ideas of how I can continue to be involved from from home. So stayed tuned for lots more fund-raising schemes!
Must go it is time for lice check! My count is on rise and I need to get mine and the kids numbers down :)
Thursday, April 7, 2011
Tuesday, March 22, 2011
Holy "Holi!"
Yes I think I am probably the first one to make that connection.
Varanasi the city spent the week preparing for Holi and the whole city sitting was buzzing. Colour was for sale every few feet and big piles of sticks were being made to burn bonfires the night before Holi.
On Friday at the school there was a pre- Holi celebration and we all threw coloured powder on each other and afterward all 120 kids got new Holi clothes. The were hideous/hilarious sequined dresses and embroidered shirts but the kids were so proud of them.
On the actual Holi eve we went for a walk around the ghats on the Ganga with the kids who had not gone home for the holiday. But we made sure to have them all home by 8pm as that is when the drinking starts. I slept at the hostel that as everyone said it would not be safe for a woman on the streets until 2pm the next day. From the hostel we could see the fires burning and hear the firecrackers going all night. The girls were so excited that Nadine (the other volunteer) and myself were sleeping over. I was excited too but the excitement wore off when the girls fell asleep with their arms and legs around me and scratching for lice in their slumber. But despite that and the cement floor and dogs howling all night, I was really happy to be there in the morning.
The boys were all putting silver on their faces and I wanted to as well (not knowing why, just because it looked funny) but they ran out. I discover the function minutes later when Bola-Sir ran in and wipe green paint all over my face and neck. Gone were the powders of Friday and the real stuff was not going to come off.
Soon after buckets of water were filled and mixed with pink, purple, blue and green dye. The music was brought outside and started to play as loud as possible. The kids were all given buckets and water guns and the mayhem ensued. It was so much fun and once the buckets of water were finished we started attacking people with the mud on the ground. While Sheelu continue to make more buckets of colour we would all dance or chase each other. It was sooo much fun.
Afterward everyone attempted to clean off as much as possible and the kids put on there new Holi clothes. The kids looked relatively clean but the 4 blond foreigners playing were unable to get the dye off. Sheelu said cooking oil would take it off. I found some sesame oil in my guesthouse kitchen and lathered up but it was not super affective. It is now 2 days later and I have finally got the pink off of my face, my neck still has a green tint and all down my back are big streaks of purple where I can't reach. The most obvious though is my hair. It has made little improvement and all my blond streaks are bright pink with a few and green and blue parts. It is very eighties chique. All my Indian friends have said it will come out in only 3 weeks, one even suggested I wash it with shampoo, like I hadn't already done that 10 times. But it was totally worth it!
The next 2 days were holidays and no school so we went to a waterfall about an hour away and all the kids got to swims and bathe it felt great.
It was a great introduction to Holi!
Varanasi the city spent the week preparing for Holi and the whole city sitting was buzzing. Colour was for sale every few feet and big piles of sticks were being made to burn bonfires the night before Holi.
On Friday at the school there was a pre- Holi celebration and we all threw coloured powder on each other and afterward all 120 kids got new Holi clothes. The were hideous/hilarious sequined dresses and embroidered shirts but the kids were so proud of them.
On the actual Holi eve we went for a walk around the ghats on the Ganga with the kids who had not gone home for the holiday. But we made sure to have them all home by 8pm as that is when the drinking starts. I slept at the hostel that as everyone said it would not be safe for a woman on the streets until 2pm the next day. From the hostel we could see the fires burning and hear the firecrackers going all night. The girls were so excited that Nadine (the other volunteer) and myself were sleeping over. I was excited too but the excitement wore off when the girls fell asleep with their arms and legs around me and scratching for lice in their slumber. But despite that and the cement floor and dogs howling all night, I was really happy to be there in the morning.
The boys were all putting silver on their faces and I wanted to as well (not knowing why, just because it looked funny) but they ran out. I discover the function minutes later when Bola-Sir ran in and wipe green paint all over my face and neck. Gone were the powders of Friday and the real stuff was not going to come off.
Soon after buckets of water were filled and mixed with pink, purple, blue and green dye. The music was brought outside and started to play as loud as possible. The kids were all given buckets and water guns and the mayhem ensued. It was so much fun and once the buckets of water were finished we started attacking people with the mud on the ground. While Sheelu continue to make more buckets of colour we would all dance or chase each other. It was sooo much fun.
Afterward everyone attempted to clean off as much as possible and the kids put on there new Holi clothes. The kids looked relatively clean but the 4 blond foreigners playing were unable to get the dye off. Sheelu said cooking oil would take it off. I found some sesame oil in my guesthouse kitchen and lathered up but it was not super affective. It is now 2 days later and I have finally got the pink off of my face, my neck still has a green tint and all down my back are big streaks of purple where I can't reach. The most obvious though is my hair. It has made little improvement and all my blond streaks are bright pink with a few and green and blue parts. It is very eighties chique. All my Indian friends have said it will come out in only 3 weeks, one even suggested I wash it with shampoo, like I hadn't already done that 10 times. But it was totally worth it!
The next 2 days were holidays and no school so we went to a waterfall about an hour away and all the kids got to swims and bathe it felt great.
It was a great introduction to Holi!
BHN Begins
As most of you know my dad died 2 weeks before coming on this trip. So it was up in the air whether or not I would be able to come. I decided that a month away and some time with some incredible Indian children would be good for me. And it has been. Although still overcome with missing Dad sometimes, being here feels good and this program means so much to me.
For those who don't remember or never knew.... "Basic Human Needs" Is a project here in Varanasi for street children. They run a school for 120 kids and a hostel for 35 kids. I was introduced to them through my friend Jess last summer in India and have stayed in contact and continue to want to support them. For more details see www.basichumanneeds.net
I arrived last week and was so happy to be welcomed back by the staff and kids with shouts of "Yodi-mam!" Yes I was secretly afraid they would have forgotten me. I quickly fell back into my routine of helping out in the English classes in the morning and spending time at the hostel in the evening.
I usually show up at the hostel around 4pm when they are just waking up from their nap, I alternate between playing games and being the official "lice checker." The kids actually like to be checked to see is they can beat there friends at having less lice. We keep track in the "lice book," I am 0-0-1 so far. It is really an exercise in harm reduction rather than an actual attempt to rid them of lice. The hostel kids are usually under 10 but I checked one of the school girls and got up to 38 before it got dark and I couldn't see anymore.
Then from 6-8pm is homework time. I either help out with older ones English homework or read books and play with the little ones. Unfortunately for me I started playing "bumpy road, curvy road" with the little ones and I have myself with a line-up for 45 minutes with the oldest being 13years old and dying to sit and my lap and play "bumpy road"
The youngest kid right now in the hostel is 3 years old and the cutest thing alive. When he came to the hostel a few months ago he could barely walk and never smiled. He now runs everywhere and has the best full bellied laugh ever. All the kids take care of him and make sure he is taken care of and wash him when he forgets to tell people he needs to go "2 number." He has an older sister and a brother who also live in the hostel and there is an understanding that they need to take care of him if no one else will.
When I first arrived there were 2 other volunteers in the school. They were holding twin babies and feeding them rice and dal. I was surprised they were feeding them this but when I mentioned it they told me they were actually 2 and a 1/2 years old and severely malnourished. They have been working with them for 2 months feeding them and giving them "ensure" every day. They have just started to sit and one of them has learned to crawl. Their older brother and sister live in the hostel but the hostel does not have the capacity to take babies and they go home every night around 7pm.
Overall I am pretty excited to be back here and that I get to be part of such a great project for a full month!
For those who don't remember or never knew.... "Basic Human Needs" Is a project here in Varanasi for street children. They run a school for 120 kids and a hostel for 35 kids. I was introduced to them through my friend Jess last summer in India and have stayed in contact and continue to want to support them. For more details see www.basichumanneeds.net
I arrived last week and was so happy to be welcomed back by the staff and kids with shouts of "Yodi-mam!" Yes I was secretly afraid they would have forgotten me. I quickly fell back into my routine of helping out in the English classes in the morning and spending time at the hostel in the evening.
I usually show up at the hostel around 4pm when they are just waking up from their nap, I alternate between playing games and being the official "lice checker." The kids actually like to be checked to see is they can beat there friends at having less lice. We keep track in the "lice book," I am 0-0-1 so far. It is really an exercise in harm reduction rather than an actual attempt to rid them of lice. The hostel kids are usually under 10 but I checked one of the school girls and got up to 38 before it got dark and I couldn't see anymore.
Then from 6-8pm is homework time. I either help out with older ones English homework or read books and play with the little ones. Unfortunately for me I started playing "bumpy road, curvy road" with the little ones and I have myself with a line-up for 45 minutes with the oldest being 13years old and dying to sit and my lap and play "bumpy road"
The youngest kid right now in the hostel is 3 years old and the cutest thing alive. When he came to the hostel a few months ago he could barely walk and never smiled. He now runs everywhere and has the best full bellied laugh ever. All the kids take care of him and make sure he is taken care of and wash him when he forgets to tell people he needs to go "2 number." He has an older sister and a brother who also live in the hostel and there is an understanding that they need to take care of him if no one else will.
When I first arrived there were 2 other volunteers in the school. They were holding twin babies and feeding them rice and dal. I was surprised they were feeding them this but when I mentioned it they told me they were actually 2 and a 1/2 years old and severely malnourished. They have been working with them for 2 months feeding them and giving them "ensure" every day. They have just started to sit and one of them has learned to crawl. Their older brother and sister live in the hostel but the hostel does not have the capacity to take babies and they go home every night around 7pm.
Overall I am pretty excited to be back here and that I get to be part of such a great project for a full month!
Monday, August 16, 2010
Seoul Time
I was not prepared for the culture shock when I arrived in Seoul. It was soo nice. I really don't remember everything being so nice. It was hot but everything had airconditioning! And no power cuts! The taxi driver put Peter's address in his GPS and drove me right to his school and I didn't even have to argue about the cost or tip.
Patrick was here visiting for the first week and the three of us had so much fun together. We went to Everland for the rollercoasters. After a few drinks we even got Peter on the steepest wooden rollercoaster in the world. We have done a good amount of bbq and noraebanging (Korean singing rooms) Enough that it made whatever stomache bug I had gotten from India come to the surface. I was pretty sick for a few days, but Patrick was the perfect person to be sick with, as he was totally content to lie in bed all day and watch tv with me. Thank goodness for antibiotics!
I am having fun attempting to remember my Korean from 6 years ago and seeing a lot of old places I used to go to. Peter and I went to a Handsome furs concert last Friday and managed to have a big night out in Hongdae. Then on Sunday we went for a hike that turned out to be bigger the we expected. Some how in our attempts to do a loop we did a straight line across the whole park, but it was a beautiful hike.
There is an opening at Peter's school and it did briefly tempt me, but alas I think I will come home. As much as I love it here I don't think I could live here again, although I am really not looking forward to having to live at home with out Peter.
I can't believe almost 6 months is over already and despite being excited to see my family and friends I really would prefer to keep on travelling. Although I have a feeling it could be awhile before I settle down, and I may be couch surfing for the next while. Free couch anyone? I will have the same phone number though so feel free to call me anytime after the 18th. See you soon!
Patrick was here visiting for the first week and the three of us had so much fun together. We went to Everland for the rollercoasters. After a few drinks we even got Peter on the steepest wooden rollercoaster in the world. We have done a good amount of bbq and noraebanging (Korean singing rooms) Enough that it made whatever stomache bug I had gotten from India come to the surface. I was pretty sick for a few days, but Patrick was the perfect person to be sick with, as he was totally content to lie in bed all day and watch tv with me. Thank goodness for antibiotics!
I am having fun attempting to remember my Korean from 6 years ago and seeing a lot of old places I used to go to. Peter and I went to a Handsome furs concert last Friday and managed to have a big night out in Hongdae. Then on Sunday we went for a hike that turned out to be bigger the we expected. Some how in our attempts to do a loop we did a straight line across the whole park, but it was a beautiful hike.
There is an opening at Peter's school and it did briefly tempt me, but alas I think I will come home. As much as I love it here I don't think I could live here again, although I am really not looking forward to having to live at home with out Peter.
I can't believe almost 6 months is over already and despite being excited to see my family and friends I really would prefer to keep on travelling. Although I have a feeling it could be awhile before I settle down, and I may be couch surfing for the next while. Free couch anyone? I will have the same phone number though so feel free to call me anytime after the 18th. See you soon!
Yodi-Mam
Although Varanasi was a little out of the way I really wanted to see the kids that I had spent 2 weeks with earlier in June. (see blog entry "basic human needs" if you don't remember every detail of my travels :)) Seeing the kids again was the perfect way to end my time in India. I got to see the school where on the first day in July 127 kids showed up. They have a few class rooms but most of the kids sit in different areas outside under hutlike covers. Beside the "classroom" is the counter where Bharti-mam spends the whole morning cooking lunch for all the kids and staff on one burner.
In the mornings I would come and help out in some of the classes or sometimes I would help Bharti with all the vegetables she had to cut for lunch. Often the girls would have to bring their baby brother or sister to school, so I would just hold a baby for the morning so they could go to class. After lunch school was over, as it is too hot to have school in the afternoon, the kids that had homes to go to went home. And the 30 "hostel kids" went back to the hostel for their afternoon nap. The kids that lived in the hostel were the ones that I spent most of my time with as they were the kids that were at camp in June and I knew them the best. I would spend the afternoon and evening hanging out at the hostel. After nap time we would all go out to the field and play games until 6pm when we would head back to the hostel and I would help the kids with their English homework and then we would eat dinner and I would catch a rickshaw back to my hotel. The kids begged me to sleep with them at the hostel as I had slept with them at camp, but the hostel had even less room.
The hostel has four rooms total and the girls sleep upstairs and the boys sleep down stairs. There are no beds and they all just sleep cuddled together on the cement floor. The amazing cook Interjit and his wife stay over night with the kids. There are 2 toilets and a spot for a bucket shower. It is amazing how well organized they are and I felt like I got to be apart of their big family. I was only there for 9 days but I feel like it was much longer and I totally fell in love with the kids again. Each one has their own sad tragic sad story but they are such survivors.
Not wanting to spend anytime away from them I got them to take me sight seeing around Varanasi which was so much fun. They looked after me more then I had to look after them. The only trouble that one boy got into was beating up another kid on the side of the road, but I had a hard time getting him in trouble when I asked why he was punching the other boy, he said he was "speaking abuse" about me.
Varanasi is a holy city for the Hindus and to die in the city and then be cremated here is especially auspicious as it is said to free you from the cycle of life and death. All along the Ganges or "Mother Ganga" there are ghats where pilgrims bathe away their sins in the water. The water is completely polluted with people being continually cremated on the burning ghats where the fire that Krishna himself started 3000years ago is said to be. As well people use it as a toilet, for bathing and doing laundry, and you will find some kids just swimming and drinking the water. This was all common place for the kids and one of the kids with very good English was able to tell me all the stories of the Hindu gods which really are quite interesting. He was so good at explaining and then in the middle of explaining one story I interupted and asked "Karim aren't you Muslim?" And he was like "Yes, but Yodi-mam it is all the same God." I love india and these kids.
The manager of the school had just recently gotten married and I felt totally honoured to be invited to the wedding party. One of the teachers and a new friend lent me one of her Sari's, jewelry and even a bindi dot for the occasion. I was just excited to dress-up for a night and although it was a small party it was great to see and of course eat.
I am not quite sure why I felt even more attached to these kids then ever before. Just seeing how the happily survive on nothing, I am committed to staying a part of their lives. The school and the hostel is able to run on such little money by Canadian standards but are always having trouble finding the money as the kids keep coming and they continue to need to hire more staff to deal with them. The school was completely overwhelmed with the generosity of my friends. I sent out one email asking for donations and was able to give the school $1800! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of those that gave. The school was dangerously low on money and they were so overwhelmed by the amount of money and that people trusted me and them. I am really hoping to go back as soon as possible and want to maintian contact and hope to get a steady base of donations from Canada so the school is not continually worried about the next month. If anyone is still interested in giving please contact me!
On my last night the kids threw me a little good bye party where they all sang songs for me and had made me a big goodbye card and all kinds of little good-bye cards. After hugging all the kids good-bye before bedtime, although some of the little ones had already fallen asleep in the corner of the room, I headed out to the train station with my regular rickshaw driver in the pouring rain.
The whole station was flooded and it was hard find a place to stand with the crowds let alone put down my bag. Plus the power kept cutting out every few minutes. It took awhile to figure out, but my 1155pm train ended up being delayed 2 hours while I sat on the platform in the pitchdark. Although I didn't feel scared I was able to recognize this did not seem like a safe situation. But at 2am my train arrived and I was able to find my bed and get a little sleep on the 14 hour journey while trying to keep my hands on all my stuff. With no energy left to deal with Delhi I went straight to the airport even though my flight wasn't for another 9 hours.
India was probably some of the hardest and most interesting travelling I have ever done and I was quite sad to be leaving not knowing how soon I could get. But at least I had Peter and Patrick waiting for me in Seoul for the last 2 weeks of my trip!
In the mornings I would come and help out in some of the classes or sometimes I would help Bharti with all the vegetables she had to cut for lunch. Often the girls would have to bring their baby brother or sister to school, so I would just hold a baby for the morning so they could go to class. After lunch school was over, as it is too hot to have school in the afternoon, the kids that had homes to go to went home. And the 30 "hostel kids" went back to the hostel for their afternoon nap. The kids that lived in the hostel were the ones that I spent most of my time with as they were the kids that were at camp in June and I knew them the best. I would spend the afternoon and evening hanging out at the hostel. After nap time we would all go out to the field and play games until 6pm when we would head back to the hostel and I would help the kids with their English homework and then we would eat dinner and I would catch a rickshaw back to my hotel. The kids begged me to sleep with them at the hostel as I had slept with them at camp, but the hostel had even less room.
The hostel has four rooms total and the girls sleep upstairs and the boys sleep down stairs. There are no beds and they all just sleep cuddled together on the cement floor. The amazing cook Interjit and his wife stay over night with the kids. There are 2 toilets and a spot for a bucket shower. It is amazing how well organized they are and I felt like I got to be apart of their big family. I was only there for 9 days but I feel like it was much longer and I totally fell in love with the kids again. Each one has their own sad tragic sad story but they are such survivors.
Not wanting to spend anytime away from them I got them to take me sight seeing around Varanasi which was so much fun. They looked after me more then I had to look after them. The only trouble that one boy got into was beating up another kid on the side of the road, but I had a hard time getting him in trouble when I asked why he was punching the other boy, he said he was "speaking abuse" about me.
Varanasi is a holy city for the Hindus and to die in the city and then be cremated here is especially auspicious as it is said to free you from the cycle of life and death. All along the Ganges or "Mother Ganga" there are ghats where pilgrims bathe away their sins in the water. The water is completely polluted with people being continually cremated on the burning ghats where the fire that Krishna himself started 3000years ago is said to be. As well people use it as a toilet, for bathing and doing laundry, and you will find some kids just swimming and drinking the water. This was all common place for the kids and one of the kids with very good English was able to tell me all the stories of the Hindu gods which really are quite interesting. He was so good at explaining and then in the middle of explaining one story I interupted and asked "Karim aren't you Muslim?" And he was like "Yes, but Yodi-mam it is all the same God." I love india and these kids.
The manager of the school had just recently gotten married and I felt totally honoured to be invited to the wedding party. One of the teachers and a new friend lent me one of her Sari's, jewelry and even a bindi dot for the occasion. I was just excited to dress-up for a night and although it was a small party it was great to see and of course eat.
I am not quite sure why I felt even more attached to these kids then ever before. Just seeing how the happily survive on nothing, I am committed to staying a part of their lives. The school and the hostel is able to run on such little money by Canadian standards but are always having trouble finding the money as the kids keep coming and they continue to need to hire more staff to deal with them. The school was completely overwhelmed with the generosity of my friends. I sent out one email asking for donations and was able to give the school $1800! THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU to all of those that gave. The school was dangerously low on money and they were so overwhelmed by the amount of money and that people trusted me and them. I am really hoping to go back as soon as possible and want to maintian contact and hope to get a steady base of donations from Canada so the school is not continually worried about the next month. If anyone is still interested in giving please contact me!
On my last night the kids threw me a little good bye party where they all sang songs for me and had made me a big goodbye card and all kinds of little good-bye cards. After hugging all the kids good-bye before bedtime, although some of the little ones had already fallen asleep in the corner of the room, I headed out to the train station with my regular rickshaw driver in the pouring rain.
The whole station was flooded and it was hard find a place to stand with the crowds let alone put down my bag. Plus the power kept cutting out every few minutes. It took awhile to figure out, but my 1155pm train ended up being delayed 2 hours while I sat on the platform in the pitchdark. Although I didn't feel scared I was able to recognize this did not seem like a safe situation. But at 2am my train arrived and I was able to find my bed and get a little sleep on the 14 hour journey while trying to keep my hands on all my stuff. With no energy left to deal with Delhi I went straight to the airport even though my flight wasn't for another 9 hours.
India was probably some of the hardest and most interesting travelling I have ever done and I was quite sad to be leaving not knowing how soon I could get. But at least I had Peter and Patrick waiting for me in Seoul for the last 2 weeks of my trip!
A Pause in the Punjab
On yet again another sketchy over night bus I made it to Amritsar in the Punjab province of India around noon. The whole city was buzzing with Sikh pilgrams from all over India coming to see the Golden Temple. The 2 things I had wanted to see was the Temple and the India-Pakistan Border closing ceremony. Some guy at the side of the road was selling seats in his van, so that seemed like a safe and cheap way to get there.
I got in the van with about 8 other Indian men from the air force. Actually some of the nicest Indian men I have met on the whole trip. When we got to the border it was a total gong show with people everywhere people fighting for good seats in the bandstands over looking the border. The Pakistan side had people crowded in a bandstand as well. The next half hour people on either side of the border cheered about their respective countries, then the border guards came out and did a bunch of silly walks and then after both sides had strutted up and down a bunch they shook hands lowered the flags and the border was declared closed. Very weird considering how much bad blood there is between the countries but very interesting to see everyone having fun.
On the way back I realized that I had read my plane ticket wrong for the next day and was leaving first thing in the morning not at night. I don't travel much so it was an easy mistake to make. Lucky for me the Golden Temple is open 24 hours a day. I was totally blown away by how big and gorgeous the temple was. There were people everywhere swimming in the holy water and doing a whole other set of religious rituals that were new to me again. I went back again at 430am before going to the airport and it was busy at the that time too. People sleep there and there is always free food available for everyone. Although a brief stopover it was totally worth it. The people were so warm and friendly and once again a completely different side to India.
I got in the van with about 8 other Indian men from the air force. Actually some of the nicest Indian men I have met on the whole trip. When we got to the border it was a total gong show with people everywhere people fighting for good seats in the bandstands over looking the border. The Pakistan side had people crowded in a bandstand as well. The next half hour people on either side of the border cheered about their respective countries, then the border guards came out and did a bunch of silly walks and then after both sides had strutted up and down a bunch they shook hands lowered the flags and the border was declared closed. Very weird considering how much bad blood there is between the countries but very interesting to see everyone having fun.
On the way back I realized that I had read my plane ticket wrong for the next day and was leaving first thing in the morning not at night. I don't travel much so it was an easy mistake to make. Lucky for me the Golden Temple is open 24 hours a day. I was totally blown away by how big and gorgeous the temple was. There were people everywhere swimming in the holy water and doing a whole other set of religious rituals that were new to me again. I went back again at 430am before going to the airport and it was busy at the that time too. People sleep there and there is always free food available for everyone. Although a brief stopover it was totally worth it. The people were so warm and friendly and once again a completely different side to India.
Friday, July 23, 2010
Trekking in Thin Air
Our 10 day trek started out easy. Kristi, Sophie (our soon to be good friend from France) Tserring (our guide) Bobbi (our cook) Driver-ji (Our driver)and myself in the jeep. We headed out to a little town where the Dalai Lama lives when he is in town. It was His Holinesses birthday and there was a big celebration. We took a tour of HH's house, watched some dancing and toured a temple. Afterwards we headed out to Rumtse where our trek was to start and set up camp to wait for our ponies and Pony Man.
The next day started the way the rest were to start, with a "Good morning!" from outside our tent at 7am, and Tserring opening the tent to give us our "bed tea." We would then pack up, have a huge breakfast served to us, and head out with our lunch boxes for the day.
We covered over 160kms and hiked through 5 mountian passes, our highest being 5500m! We never never dropped below 4400m and we felt it. While walking up hill I was panting and my heart was racing like I had been running for hours and when I would look down at my feet I would see one foot slowly moving to take a small step in front of the other.
We would usually arrive at camp sometime between 1 and 3pm. Bobbie and Pony Man would have already made it there and would be waiting for us with chai and bisquits. Our afternoons would usually be spent lying around reading, journaling or sleeping. Sometimes we would also have language lessons with Sophie teaching us French and Tserring and Bobbie teaching us Ladakhi and Hindi. Tserring chose his own phrases he thought would be useful for me to know:
"Where is the bus station?"
"Give me your hat."
"I love you" and "Would you like to marry me?"
The only one I can remember is "Give me your hat." and I have yet to find a use for it.
Everynight Bobbie served us copious amounts of food ensuring our bodies did not get any weight loss benefits from our day hiking.
I really don't have the vocabulary to describe our incredible surroundings. Everyday/hour was different and on some of the mountain passess I felt like my mom, (sorry mom) I would get teary because it was so beautiful. You could see snow-capped mountains for miles in every direction. Between the passes we hiked in nomads land of big green valleys. We didn't run into any villages but did see some herds of yaks and goats, lots of marmets and pica, some wild ass and two wolves.
The last day we arrived at a little village on Tsomoriri lake. We stayed one extra day to see the nomads come in for the festival at the Buddhist monestary. The last day was spent driving all the way back to Leh.
Overall the trek was one of the highest points (pun intended) of my trip. We felt like a little family by the end and only the thoughts of a shower, soft bed and possibly a full breathe of oxygen filled air lured us back to Leh.
We didn't stay long though. After giving ourselves one day off Kristi and I were eager to fit in one more trek. We mistakenly thought the trek made us strong, not tired us out. And decided to do a 4 day trek in 2 days without a guide.
On day one we some how missed the last stop for drinking water and got completely dehydrated before finding a relatively clean stream to refill on water (totally worth carrying around the chlorine drops for 5 months)
After 8 hours of hiking up hill I thought I was going to collapse (actually I felt this way from hour 5 on) I have new sympathy for anyone that I have ever hiked or ran with who told me they could not go on. If you felt the way I did that day I am so sorry.
We made it to the idyllic village of Rumback and it made the day worth it. It felt like we were in a some magical village straight out of "Lord of the Rings." It was surrounded by huge rocky mountains and in a little valley with only a few fields of their own crops. The village had 67 people living there and 9 homes. All 9 houses were set up as "home-stay" options for trekkers.
We spent the night with a lovely Ladakhi family that spoke little English. It was a very cool brick home where we had dinner with the family and I mainly slept the whole time we were there and didn't even have the energy to take pictures. We were both so overwhlemed that we had the chance to experience staying there.
The next morning we filled up on water and electrolights and managed to make it 3 hours and 1100m's up top to the pass which, once again, too amazing for words blah blah blah.....
I felt completely on a high, partially from the beauty and partially from knowing I only had down-hill to hike from then on.
After 5 hours of hiking down we arrived at a little Ladakhi village where the women were having a big water fight. Filthy dirty we got a taxi home and walked straight into a Tibetan restaurant for some Momo soup after which I finally felt normal again.
The next few days the only exercise we got was shopping and visiting with all our friends around town (Mainly shopkeepers and the guys from the German bakery.)
I had plans to continue on to Srinigar in Kashmir but there have been some terrorist attacks and the city has been under curfew for weeks. Even though people insisted it was safe for tourists there was a possibility I could get stuck there so I decided against it. Despite my raving about the drive to Leh from Manali I was not eager to repeat it. But as the "Leh-Manali" road was the only "safe" route from Leh I headed back to Manali. I had to say good-bye to Kristi (who was an AWESOME travel friend for over month) and headed out on the world's 2nd most dangerous highway (according to the people in the van you may may want to varify that fact yourself) for the 19 hour bumpy ride back to Manali.
I am now relaxing back at Dharma guesthouse where I stayed last time I was here. Very nice to be greeted by friendly faces returning. They even convinced me to stay an extra day which was not hard as I am not eager to do another overnight bus or deal with the hot monsoon-ridden India that awaits me.
The next day started the way the rest were to start, with a "Good morning!" from outside our tent at 7am, and Tserring opening the tent to give us our "bed tea." We would then pack up, have a huge breakfast served to us, and head out with our lunch boxes for the day.
We covered over 160kms and hiked through 5 mountian passes, our highest being 5500m! We never never dropped below 4400m and we felt it. While walking up hill I was panting and my heart was racing like I had been running for hours and when I would look down at my feet I would see one foot slowly moving to take a small step in front of the other.
We would usually arrive at camp sometime between 1 and 3pm. Bobbie and Pony Man would have already made it there and would be waiting for us with chai and bisquits. Our afternoons would usually be spent lying around reading, journaling or sleeping. Sometimes we would also have language lessons with Sophie teaching us French and Tserring and Bobbie teaching us Ladakhi and Hindi. Tserring chose his own phrases he thought would be useful for me to know:
"Where is the bus station?"
"Give me your hat."
"I love you" and "Would you like to marry me?"
The only one I can remember is "Give me your hat." and I have yet to find a use for it.
Everynight Bobbie served us copious amounts of food ensuring our bodies did not get any weight loss benefits from our day hiking.
I really don't have the vocabulary to describe our incredible surroundings. Everyday/hour was different and on some of the mountain passess I felt like my mom, (sorry mom) I would get teary because it was so beautiful. You could see snow-capped mountains for miles in every direction. Between the passes we hiked in nomads land of big green valleys. We didn't run into any villages but did see some herds of yaks and goats, lots of marmets and pica, some wild ass and two wolves.
The last day we arrived at a little village on Tsomoriri lake. We stayed one extra day to see the nomads come in for the festival at the Buddhist monestary. The last day was spent driving all the way back to Leh.
Overall the trek was one of the highest points (pun intended) of my trip. We felt like a little family by the end and only the thoughts of a shower, soft bed and possibly a full breathe of oxygen filled air lured us back to Leh.
We didn't stay long though. After giving ourselves one day off Kristi and I were eager to fit in one more trek. We mistakenly thought the trek made us strong, not tired us out. And decided to do a 4 day trek in 2 days without a guide.
On day one we some how missed the last stop for drinking water and got completely dehydrated before finding a relatively clean stream to refill on water (totally worth carrying around the chlorine drops for 5 months)
After 8 hours of hiking up hill I thought I was going to collapse (actually I felt this way from hour 5 on) I have new sympathy for anyone that I have ever hiked or ran with who told me they could not go on. If you felt the way I did that day I am so sorry.
We made it to the idyllic village of Rumback and it made the day worth it. It felt like we were in a some magical village straight out of "Lord of the Rings." It was surrounded by huge rocky mountains and in a little valley with only a few fields of their own crops. The village had 67 people living there and 9 homes. All 9 houses were set up as "home-stay" options for trekkers.
We spent the night with a lovely Ladakhi family that spoke little English. It was a very cool brick home where we had dinner with the family and I mainly slept the whole time we were there and didn't even have the energy to take pictures. We were both so overwhlemed that we had the chance to experience staying there.
The next morning we filled up on water and electrolights and managed to make it 3 hours and 1100m's up top to the pass which, once again, too amazing for words blah blah blah.....
I felt completely on a high, partially from the beauty and partially from knowing I only had down-hill to hike from then on.
After 5 hours of hiking down we arrived at a little Ladakhi village where the women were having a big water fight. Filthy dirty we got a taxi home and walked straight into a Tibetan restaurant for some Momo soup after which I finally felt normal again.
The next few days the only exercise we got was shopping and visiting with all our friends around town (Mainly shopkeepers and the guys from the German bakery.)
I had plans to continue on to Srinigar in Kashmir but there have been some terrorist attacks and the city has been under curfew for weeks. Even though people insisted it was safe for tourists there was a possibility I could get stuck there so I decided against it. Despite my raving about the drive to Leh from Manali I was not eager to repeat it. But as the "Leh-Manali" road was the only "safe" route from Leh I headed back to Manali. I had to say good-bye to Kristi (who was an AWESOME travel friend for over month) and headed out on the world's 2nd most dangerous highway (according to the people in the van you may may want to varify that fact yourself) for the 19 hour bumpy ride back to Manali.
I am now relaxing back at Dharma guesthouse where I stayed last time I was here. Very nice to be greeted by friendly faces returning. They even convinced me to stay an extra day which was not hard as I am not eager to do another overnight bus or deal with the hot monsoon-ridden India that awaits me.
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