India Funnies

Photos!

to put some photos with my long-windedness, feel free to browse around:
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/coffeewithkatie/IndiaTamilNadu#
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/coffeewithkatie/IndiaTheGoldenTriangleRajasthan#
http://picasaweb.google.co.in/coffeewithkatie/IndiaRishikesh#

Spiritual Playground: Rishikesh

whatever inspires you, even if you don't know, rishikesh can help you find it. it is set within close proximity of the himalayas and right on the holy ganges river. take some yoga classes for a spin, ashram hop, guru hunt, unwind and relax with meditation, rejuvenate with massages, check out and learn about any holistic medicine you can imagine from reiki, ayurveda, gemstone therapy, others i have never heard of. rock climb, raft the ganges, trek in the himalayas, become friends with the cows. you name it, it is here, and there is something here for everyone. we have been staying at a quiet ashram (well except for the 4:30 am tincan bells and loudspeaker chanting), enjoying the gardens, good food, and experiencing one of the nightly fire poojas (offerings and chanting). we are housed on the top floor/roof, and share it with a village of monkeys apparently. so we spend a good chunk of the day fending off monkeys when they break into the room and corner us on our beds until we feed them.

i should not complain. life is quite good here. we kick off the morning with a painfully good yoga class, followed by more good food and perhaps a dip in the ganges river or an afternoon spent reading or visiting with fellow travelers. the evenings may bring another more relaxed yoga class or perhaps an easy stroll or run, and each night we are soothed by the sweet and calming voice a swami (holy woman) who leads guided meditation. she makes it seem easy and pleasant for a novice like me.

just a quick note about running in india. i had not run in 3 months and thought it sounded like a nice idea. i set off, dodging through people, playing chicken with motorbikes, and felt winded. but it was such a cool experience to see another perspective. for a minute, i did not feel like a tourist. i was not asked to buy anything or even take a look. i received more curious gawks wondering why i was running, or kind namastes (greetings) and smiles, and a few chuckles. it was more satisfying than i had anticipated.

(the last photo is the last leg of our journey to rishikesh. our bus hit an oncoming car, but no one was seriously injured.)

Sore Butts, Camel farts, and Camel Carts

rajasthan is full of history, but i know very little of it, admittingly. And while we only visited a small piece of it, we missed the numerous forts and temples synonomous with the region. The romanticism of the architecture and the stark contrast of vibrant colors and textiles set against the drabber colors of the desert hues, along with the strong traditions attract people from around the world. In the smaller villages in particular, the women wear colorful saris sparkling with sequins, the married women keeping their faces a mystery to the outside world covered beneath a sheer cloth. And her body is decorated in jewels - earrings, ankle bracelets, arm cuffs, nose jewels.

we just brushed the surface of this rich culture as we rolled into the city of bikaner, still relatively off the beaten path compared to the golden triangle anyway. our main objective here was to get as deep into the desert as our virgin camel-riding bodies could tolerate and inhale the cleanest air we could expose our lungs to.

we set off into the desert on the funny creatures that are a weird mix between a brontosaur, a giraffe, and a horse. the ride was bumpy (creating open wounds on our butts and sore backs), and the farts were stinky. not the most charming animals i have ever seen, there was a constant pulsating stream of urine and stool, and being mating time, one male camel in particular demonstrated his unattractive mating call (see video).

now that i have painted the most unpleasant picture of camels, don't let it deceive. this was a highlight for me. they were hilarious to observe, and are quite gentle animals. i grew very fond of Angeli, my camel on the second day and Jay's on the first. she was so sweet, a new momma with her 9 month old baby, Raju. they marched to their own beat...literally, constantly behind the pack. but she didn't care. she was just out for a stroll, and so was i. it did not matter much to me either, as long as i could still see the rest of the crew.

the food was gourmet. we ate really well since it was "cart camping" with all of our supplies carried in a camel cart, meals prepared by the fantastic crew. (apparently, some camels can pull up to an impressive 2 tons!) we trekked along with 3 aussie travelers and enjoyed an eve of cards, delicious food and drink, serenaded by traditional live music of harmonium (similar to accordian), drum, and beautiful voices. the first evening sunset was so quiet it was almost deafening. my ears continued to ring into the silence trying to adjust to this unusual darkness of sound. and the colors of the sunset reflecting off of the white sand were brilliant. i think all of the stars in india have migrated here, because i have not seen them many other places. it was quite a treat and exactly what i needed.

Golden Triangle: Jaipur

we wrapped up the chaos in the third angle, the "pink city" of jaipur in rajasthan. it is known for its rich culture, beautifully vibrant colors, and deliciously spicy food among other things. Jaipur in particular is known for its wonderful shopping, especially gemstones and textiles.

upon our 4 am arrival, we befriended a young rickshaw driver, Saleem Ali, who kindly helped us find accommodation, and became our guide to the city the next couple of days. per protocol, the ride was cheap, but the shopping hot spots he introduced us to dipped a bit further into our pocketbooks.

india, unsurprisingly being located in the east, is loaded with "eastern" remedies and medicine (i.e. ayurveda, reiki, yoga, meditation, and various energy-based approaches) holistically incorporating mind, body, and spirit. our curiosity was peaked after visiting a gemstone therapist who read our chakras and insightfully shared detailed personal information with each of us. we could not refuse the gemstone he recommended each of us based on his reading. Scam or not, he was quite impressive and convincing. and so we all left jaipur with frustration of large crowds and salesmen sure and probably more phlegm, but better yet our energy-tailored gemstones, beautiful textiles, opening minds and hearts, stories to share, and a drive deeper into the quietness of the Thar desert!

Golden Triangle: Agra and the Taj Mahal

it turns out that agra is about equally as crazy as delhi, but we wanted to see the Taj Mahal, india's most famous and probably most romantic monument. to gear up for the crowds, we first made a stop at a nearby hotel for a few kingfisher beers. at the entrance, we passed the tight security check and off we went to view and stroll around the magnificent white structure full of inlaid precious gems. being the minority of western tourists, we became taj mahal celebrities, having our photos requested by multiple parties. what a hoot!

we were somehow tracked down once again by a rickshaw driver with a sixth sense of our given location at all times of day. we met him immediately off of the train in the morning, again on our way to find a breakfast spot, and again later in the day, 7km from our original meeting point, in a neighborhood we had inadvertently but pleasantly lost ourselves in the maize of its paths. here, we captured the interest of the cute local kiddos, curious what these westerners were doing in their village. but again, there he was, waiting for us in an inconspicuous corner in the depths of this community. what? how did he find us?

eventually, we found our way away from the creepy tok tok driver, back to the train station where we started the morning. determined not to stay the night in agra, we caught the night train to jaipur (the pink city). after a 5 hour delay observing the colonies of rats living on the train tracks, we hopped our train and arrived in jaipur in the wee hours of the morning.

Golden Triangle: Delhi

We were so close. As a traveler in India, you have to do it, right? it can be considered a rite of passage anyway. i felt surprisingly fresh to meet and greet this wild city of delhi despite the 30+ train ride from the south in Chennai. or maybe my energy came from my excitement to meet up with 2 friends from seattle, Robb and Jay. i had been looking forward to their visit since they gave me the thumbs up. Robb and Jay, on the other hand, arrived the day before me without a guidebook or timely recommendations from me, and were immediately taken for a ride (literally, after jumping into a taxi from the airport and promptly getting into an accident followed by the road rage of their driver that led to his exchange of unfriendly words with the fellow accident driver). but we easily met up in the new delhi train station to experience the craziness that is delhi.

the plan was to leave the hustle and bustle of the city asap, but not before spending most of an entire day trying to complete the simple task of purchasing train tickets. after a couple of days in the smog of such a large, dense city, the three of us seemed to develop what we like to refer to as "Indian lung" - an abnormal amount of phlegm, encouraging daily hocking and spitting, especially in the wee morning hours, creating the effect of an alarm clock if it is your neighbor.

the following day with train tickets in hand, we left our modest hotel room in the main bazaar of new delhi and set out to the train station.

Fast Track to Enlightenment?

no such thing. but i caught a long commute via train and bus acoss the south of india to the town of Tiruvannamalai (aka "tiru") - a few hours west of chennai - to find out for myself. the town itself hosts the holy mountain, Arunachala, and is the home of Ramana ashram (a famous guru). the powerful mountain draws loads of pilgrims, sadhus (real and pretenders) and western spiritual questers. it has sort of become a spiritual theme park offering satsungs (q and a's with various gurus), lectures, meditation sessions, yoga, and is dotted with countless temples. it has an interesting feel as it is arguably one of the most spiritually charged places on the planet.

"am i sensitive to energy?" someone asked. i do not have a clue. i had few expectations upon arriving to this town, and i did not notice the strong energy nor was i particular drawn to the events i attended. i tried discussions, a satsung, and attended a darsana (this guru has taken a vow of silence after years spent meditating in a himalayan cave and now shares her vision of devotion and the divine purely through sight). many people report feeling Sri Sivasakthi's (the guru) transfer of energy. i was intrigued, however perhaps my expectations going into it were set a little high. perhaps i was envisioning more levitation or increased heart rate or something indicating the interchange of energy as this holy woman laid her eyes on me. again, i felt nothing. i will have to admit, i was a bit disappointed in myself, but it just was not speaking to me (no pun intended). maybe another time and/or another place.

my main draw to the city was to meet with a friend from seattle, sanjay, where we adapted our tradition of coffee in our cozy local neighborhood cafe in seattle (Irwin's) to tiru's version, chai at tasty cafe. it turned out to be a perfect spot to kick back and unwind.

accommodation was basic, located 7km away from the spiritual tourism town and set amidst rice paddies tended by their respective farmers and buffalo-led plows and harvesters in beautifully contrasting colorful saris; all of this set against the backdrop of Arunachala. not bad at all. i was biking into town which felt great considering my physical activity has felt minimal otherwise, and hiked up the holy mountain one day but felt more worked than i had hoped.

5 days later, i set off north for a 30 hr train ride to meet Robb and Jay, 2 good friends from seattle, in delhi.