Kolkata Kolkata...

Sooo

After a marathon run of the Northwest, about two days in Amritsar, two in Dharamsala, another two in Rishikesh and about a days worth of traveling to each place, I've realized that the whole sightseeing and tourist getup sort of travel is DEFINITELY not for me. I got a week to chill out in Varanasi and Sarnath, which is about a half hour rickshaw drive from Varanasi's old city. There's not much in Sarnath, a bunch of old Buddhist ruins and holy places, except for the week I was there...His Holiness the Dalai Lama was giving teachings. Dunduddunnn! There were probably a thousand plus people, mostly monks and Tibetan refugees there, all spread out across a huge awning covered field listening to him. I went for a few hours, and listened for two of the days he was speaking. He was mostly reading from religious texts and giving feedback on the teachings and it was a bit hard to follow the radio transmitted translations, which were heavily accented and full of pauses and throat clearings. But it was neat to listen to the chants and prayers that they performed before and after all of his teachings. Some of the monks were chanting so deeply, so low that it felt like the earth was shaking, like giant machinery was running somewhere nearby. It was pretty crazy. I stayed for the tibetan bread and butter tea (basically hot water and hot/butter - not my favorite) that was passed around, a pretty sweet treat considering the enormity of people at the event. Everyday around 11 and then again at about 3, some of the young monks would run through the aisles at full speed to pass around snacks and tea to everyone. It was a bit wild to see all of these safron robed men streaking through the crowd, some dripping with sweat after working so hard.
One day I went to checkout the Archaeological museum and some of the ruins in Sarnath, outside the park where the Dalai Lama was speaking. I was walking around this park, full of temple ruins and the bricks from ancient monasteries where Buddha gave some of his first teachings when I was stopped by a bunch of posche looking security guards. They said that "He" was going to be walking through in the next few minutes. At first I wasn't really sure who "He" was, but then it dawned on me...Dunddudunn! The Dalai Lama! And I got to see him from about twenty feet off as he walked around this huge, old brick stupa through the ruins and into another adjacent park. A group of Argentinian tourists called to him "Ohee Dalai Lama!" with thick Spanish accents and he waved and put his palms together in our direction. Pretty lucky coincidence, I was definitely in the right place at the right time there. After having been a little weary about spending so much time in Varanasi/Sarnath, and not really quite sure why I was doing so, the experience turned out to be well worth it.

I went from Varanasi to Jaipur, Rajasthan, the desert and jemstone/precious capital of India, to stay on a farm just outside the city. Saharia Organic Resort, where I weeded, dug holes, painted trees, with cow shit, cleaned a swimming pool (that turned from black to blue, with enough ammonia that is), and learned how to cook some Indian delights with a girl from Sweden, a woman from Canada, a Guy from LA, and a few Indian families living on the farm. It was wonderful, probably one of the most beautiful places and most wonderful experiences I have had so far in India.

I'm back in Kolkata now, after staying with a future Indian reality TV star in Jaipur, and spending close to thirty hours on a train ride without a reserved seat. But I survived...with a bit of a cold, and even got to see the Taj last minute.

Damn it feels good to be back in Kolkata!

Well, there's a lot to catch up on, got some pictures up for the time being...

We spent Christmas in Pokhara, Nepal and New Years in Amritsar (well, meant to be in Amritsar, in all actuality we were still on the train to Amritsar) but many happy celebrations all the same.

Wishing you all the best!

much more to come soon...

sorry, it's been forever...

Erin and I are in Darjeeling, where it is freaking cold! Well I guess it's only like 40 something degrees, but people leave the windows open like it is the middle of summer. Most buildings are without heat and a hot shower is a things to come across. In Pelling we had to order hot water by the buckets, only available in the morning or before dark in the evening (5pm)...so we opted not to shower at all...at least we stayed moderately warm.

Anyways, Tomorrow we are planning to get up around 330AM to catch a jeep out to Tiger Hill, about 11km from Darjeeling town....to watch the sun come up over the mountains. It's been a bit foggy/cloudy, today we didn't have a very clear view but on our drive in Kanjengdzonga (I have no Idea how to spell it) was clear as crystal. It was seriously unreal, almost like a backdrop of a movie set or something. It's the third highest peak in the world and a pretty holy place to the people of Darjeeling and Sikkim. From Tiger Hill we are supposed to get an incredible view of the Himalayas. I guess Mount Everest is even supposed to be a speck on the horizon..so we're hoping for clear skies...

Sikkim was an amazing place. It was so relaxing after four months of Kolkata, we were in dear need of a break from the city life. It was quite, clean, and the freshest air I think I may have ever breathed, it is just a really chill place. People were friendly and unintrusive, and we had heavy blankets and a great hot shower in our hotel in Gangtok, the capital of the state of Sikkim. Apparently Sikkim is the capital of Eco-tourism, I am not sure exactly what that means, but stores are prohibited from giving out plastic bags and there were signs all over warning of serious fines and even jail time for dumping. It's almost like a different world from the streets of Kolkata.

We met up with a friend Dan (another IPSL Student) in Gangtok, after our overnight train out of Kolkata. We were actual;ly sitting at a cafe, hanging out and drinking some tea when he came up an put his hand on my back. It was great to see him, and we were a bit worried we weren't going to find each other, but it worked out spectacularly...I guess that's traveling in Sikkim for you. The three of us hiked up a hill together just above Gangtok town. An approximate 6100ft hill, to a little viewstation called Ganesh Tok. It was abit cloudy, but the mountains (the Khangendzonga massif) seemed to be trying to poke its head out, so we were able to see a few peaks. After some soul and body warming momos (dumplings with a spicy garlic sauce) and tea we walked through a zoo/park area with red padas, snow leopards and I think my favorite a Himalayan black bear, who looked like he was doing yoga. We walked around a corner and he was just sitting, looking up at us holdinmg his feet out in front of him by his paws. He had small round ears and a white stripe around his neck, which made him look almost like he was wearing a necklace. It was a pretty hilarious sight. I don't think I've ever seen an animal sit in a similar fashion...

So we hoped on a share jeep after two days in Gangtok (share jeep with about nine other people) for a five hour drive to Pelling, just a little south west of Gangtok, still within the state of Sikkim. Pelling was also I think, at about an elevation of some 6000 or so feet. It was a much smaller town that Gangtok, but beautiful as can be. Our first day was cloud covered, but the next day was clear as could be, and the Khandjegzonga range was out like a monster staring us in the face. It was massive! We took a hike out of Pelling to Khechopalri Lake, a wishing lake neighboring a Buddhist monastery. We didn't make it all the way there, but hitched a ride on a jeep carrying twelve others only a few kilometers from the actual lake. We had hiked down from Pelling to a river, crossed on a crazy ricketey bridge, and were only about 8km from the lake, but they offered a ride and we gladly accepted after the four some hours we had already been walking. The lake was pristine as could be and surrounded on almost all sides with a sea of Tibetan prayer flags. Aparently from the Buddhist story the birds living around the lake remove all the leaves from its surface. We reached it just as the sun was beginning to set, and a group of monks came to the little walkway leading the lake edge, for a short cerimony. They lit a bunch of incense and started chanting, it was really beautiful...

Darjeeling is wonderful, lots of other tourists, but it's nice to talk with them about their travels and hear about tricks and all that is going on elsewhere. Erin is headed back to Kolkata and then home on Saturday and I am headed on to Kathmandu, Nepal. I'll be meeting up with three other friends from IPSL there, I've heard only the best about Kathmandu and Nepal so far. It's great to be done with the IPSL program, relaxing and yet stressing in a whole new way. Things are really wonderful here, don't really know if they could be much better. Got lots to bring back...
love to all.

more to come soon of course...

We're all safe and sound here in Kolkata...Mumbai is a long way away. Things seem to be going fairly normaly here, although security is definitely heightened, we are staying close to home and avoiding crowded and touristy places.

The IPSL program is almost over, meaning an end to classes and the relief of turning in our assignments, and never having to worry about them again. Although it is a bit stressful with what has been happening on the other side of the country we are still enjoying ourselves, keeping an eye on the news, travel warnings and information from the US Consulate.

Hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving! We made a pumpkin pie from a whole pumpkin..it was pretty amazing!

Much more to come soon...it's been a while...