Pad Thai-land

After 10 weeks in places without real roads or consistent electricity, turning up in Bangkok's uber-modern airport and grabbing an air-conditioned taxi on smooth roads was a real pleasure. The nine of us, ready to trade our hiking boots for flip-flops, high-tailed it to Koh Chang, one of the nearest island beaches to Bangkok. We arrived during a torrential rainstorm, but even that wasn't enough to spoil our fun. In fact, swimming among the monsoon was one of our more memorable experiences. What ensued were days of sheer relaxation at the beach by day and buckets of booze and skinny-dipping by night.

Our dear friend Steve surprised us by booking us a night in one of the beach resorts- a huge step up from the $7 dollar a night, ant-infested bungalow we were staying at. It was by far the best accommodation we had stayed in thus far. Thanks again, Steve!!

We finally had to part ways and left for Kanchanaburi, best known for being the home of the Bridge on the River Kwai. This bridge was part of the larger Thailand-Burma Railway, nicknamed The Death Railway because of the more than 100,000 deaths that occurred when the Japanese forced POWs and Asian laborers to build the railway under horrendous conditions. A local museum dedicated to preserving this history had put together one of the best exhibits we'd ever been to- it did a phenomenal job contextualizing the deaths and showing the human side of the atrocities.

We also splurged and took a Thai cooking class at Apple Guesthouse. Our teacher, Noi, started out the day by taking us through the local market and describing and having us try out various ingredients used in Thai cuisine. Back at her kitchen, we cooked up the best Thai meals we'd had yet: chicken pad thai, massaman curry, green curry, and tom ka kai soup. It was seriously delicious and eating it all induced a food coma that put us out of commission the rest of the day. The good news is we took copious notes and are anxious to try out our skills on all of you when we get back!

In between all this we had many rest stops in Bangkok, which started to feel like a home away from home, with the exception of lady boys, auto rickshaws (tuk tuks), and flooded streets. We spent a good amount of our time at the side street stalls consuming as much pad thai and mango sticky rice as we could. Maybe because it was off-season, or maybe because we had become desensitized in India, but Bangkok wasn't half as hectic as we expected. We managed to leave without buying any of the novelty items that were constantly hawked on Khao San Road, the main tourist street. And we did pick up a great travel tip for getting tuk tuk rides- let the driver bring you to a vendor that provides him with petrol tickets as commission, spend ten minutes acting interested, and he'll bring you to your actual destination for virtually nothing (about $.30). Seeing as we weren't on any rigid schedule, we took full advantage.

Nick's pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=132992&id=547921549&l=f9af6c75c7

Rebecca's pics: http://www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2051516&id=35300950&l=40c0a39849

Video of a typical monsoon. It also shows the type of bungalows we often stay in:

Annapurna Circuit...these boots were made for walkin'

Our main reason for heading to Nepal was to trek the Annapurna Circuit, a hike taking you up to, across, and down Thorung La, the highest mountain pass in the world at 5416 meters (about 17,800 feet to all us Americans). It was by far the longest (we hiked 12 days and 110km) and highest either of us had ever hiked and provided the most breathtaking views of the Himalayas. Along the way we met up and ended up trekking with the best group of people we could have hoped to meet, and we had a blast hiking by day and playing cards and goofing around by night. The Circuit passes through lots of different terrain, beginning with lush fields of corn and grain, and climbing through pine forests, before rising above the tree-line into more rocky and rugged vegetation.

As we climbed above 4500 meters we definitely noticed the altitude effects: headaches, loss of short term memory, generally slowed thinking, and difficulty breathing, but these challenges just added to the full experience of the trek. The day climbing up to Thorung La was the most difficult and gratifying, as we were at 50% of the oxygen level at sea level and had to hike up almost 1000 meters and then descend 1700 meters (a full vertical mile!!) to the next town, taking about 8 hours, all with heavy packs on our backs.

It was one of the more memorable experiences of our lives, let alone the trip, and we became so close with Becci, Lisa, Steve, Tom, and Paul, that when we got to Pokhara (where newlyweds Gunnar and Jo joined us) we decided to change our flights and plans and fly to Bangkok together, the 9 of us on the same flight!

Rebecca's pics: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050008&id=35300950&l=a1ee684ff2

Corbett (NO) Tiger Reserve :(

After some sad goodbyes and a 7 hour bus ride we arrived in Ramnagar, the entry town for the Corbett Tiger Reserve, home to the largest number of tigers in India. Surely, we thought, this ensured our seeing a tiger or two or five. Sadly, though, after 2 four-hour jeep safaris and a three-hour elephant ride at dawn, we were mistaken. We did, however, see a ton of other wildlife, including but not limited to: families of spotted deer and elephants, wild boars, peacocks, jackals, monkeys, alligators, and various birds. As is was just mating season, we got to see lots of babies, with the elephants being our favorite little ones.

Nick, after 5 and a half weeks with no health issues to speak of, caught the full wrath of a stomach bug, had to miss the elephant ride, and was laid up for 3 horrible days in Ramnagar with a 103 fever. We really learned the true hospitality and caring nature of the Indian people, as they brought us to a great family doctor and checked in on Nick frequently, when Rebecca was expected to give the full run down of Nick's "motions" :).

Not the best way to end our time in India, but a lesson that we are not immune to the notorious "Delhi belly".

Rebecca's pics: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050007&id=35300950&l=93e1cd32e4

A Rest in Rishikesh

After a a month of long train and bus rides almost every other day we were in desperate need of a break. So we headed up north to the foothills of the Himalays and not only put down our bags, but fully unpacked them in Rishikesh. Known as the unofficial yoga capital of the world and also the place where the Beatles wrote their White Album during an ashram stay, it was the perfect place to do what we wanted- a whole lotta nothing.

Our first night there we were invited by a neighboring table to join their singalong jam session and it was the start of some beautiful relationships. Henk, Noa, Doron, Na'ama and ourselves became pretty much inseperable for the next week and a half chilling out, singing along to Henk's slammin guitar skills, all the while eating delicious yak cheese sandwiches. We also took a local yoga course and were suprised at how much of a difference a week makes in terms of flexibility and ability to hold the assanas (poses).

The highlight was Henk's birthday, which we celebrated by taking a long walk to a quiet (and actually clean!) spot on the Ganges where we spent the day in the water and capped it off with Henk's first ever birthday cake. We passed along Nick's journal and each wrote a line to the following poem:

There's no better way to celebrate Henk's birthday
Then dipping our feet in the holy Ganga
A sacred place encouraging foot fetishism
Our words flowing over smooth rocks,
Beautiful mountains and calming streams

Rebecca's pics: www.facebook.com/album.php?aid=2050006&id=35300950&l=6754065c9a

And we're back.....Varanasi

Sorry guys, we know it's been a while, but it's only because we've been out enjoying and haven't had the time or connection speeds to keep up to date. Anyway, back to business...

At the top of our lists and possibly the place that had us most excited about visiting India was Varanasi as it promised to provide an insightful look into Hindu culture in India. It is one of the holiest cities where droves of Hindus make pilgrimages to die as they believe it frees them from the cycle of rebirth. The dead are cremated along the river at the burning ghats, where all can watch the wrapped bodies being carried and placed into a funeral pyre before being set afire.

Similar to our experience in Pushkar, Varanasi was another holy city tainted with iniquities. We were approached by kids as young as 10 offering "super duper opium" and the ghats displayed heaps of trash within a terribly polluted Ganges River. Still, it was an interesting to take a sunset ride down the river with a guide who proved to be very informative. Some facts learned were:

• Even burning ghats display ones societal status, as the type of wood used, and proximity to the river indicate what burial costs a family can afford. The very poor, unable to even afford the cost of wood, use a cheaper electric cremation station down the river. Ironically, the main burning ghat is owned by an Untouchable, the lowest of the caste system, who is paid 4 dollars tax for each body, which translates into him being one of the wealthiest people in town. As they say, the only two sure things in life are death and taxes...

• Varanasi is a total loophole in the Hindu's belief of Karma. Anyone, even Jack the Ripper, would be freed from rebirth just by dying there. Alternatively, a "bad" person who died elsewhere, it is believed, would be reborn in a lower caste, or even as an animal. We then learned that you don't even have to physically die there, it is enough for your family to transport your body or even ashes there. We have since converted to Hinduism and are racking up the sins and plan to relocate to Varanasi late in life...

• Certain people are unable to be burned and instead their bodies are weighted with stones and sunk in the river. These people include: babies, people bitten by cobras (the god Shiva has a cobra, considered a holy animal, around her neck), pregnant women, and others we have forgotten. While we didn't see it, it's not uncommon for the stones used for sinking to come untied and the body to float to the surface, which people on pleasant sunset boat rides sometimes come across.
  

Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Varanasi-Rebecca/

Agra: The Taj at sunrise

The only reason we decided to brave blistering hot Agra, was to feast our eyes on India's number one tourist attraction, The Taj Mahal. It was absolutely worth it!! We forced ourselves out of bed at 5am in order to see the sun rise on the Taj. Many times, when you actually see a famous structure in person, it ends up being anti-climactic, but the Taj was exactly the opposite. It was the most beautiful building either of us had ever seen. We couldn't help but to stop and stare at it in wonderment. We were amazed that a man-made structure could evoke such strong emotions. Our guess is that its perfect symmetry and beautiful curves make it naturally appealing to the eye. Here are a few of our favorite pictures:

Rip-roaring through resplendent Rajasthan

Boy, was Rajasthan a blur! We wanted to see a handful of cities in this Indian state, but every day seemed to be hotter than the last, so we accelerated our timetable and spent just 2-3 nights in each place. Here's a rundown of the best and worst of each:

• Jaipur: After being conned off of our bus too early by a conniving rickshaw driver and then witnessing another driver be bitch-slapped by a crowd of his peers, we safely made it to our wonderful guesthouse, the Explorer's Nest. Arvind, the owner, was incredibly sweet and accomodating and our room felt like one you'd pay hundreds of dollars for at a B&B in the States. We were walled into our room the first night by a cheeky monkey who just wouldn't let us down the stairs. He eventually relented, and this was the first in what has been a series of monkey incidents since. After a nice walk though the colorful bizzares of the Pink City and a hike up to a fort atop a mountain, we were ready to move on to our next stop.

• Pushkar: This city is considered holy and many Hindu pilgrams come here in order to wash their sins away among the ghats of the sacred lake. Ironically, however, this was also where we encountered the most unholy of things: fake priests conning people out of their money for "a family blessing," the sacred lake a polluted mess and the holiest of animals, the cow, allowed to starve (forced to eat the trash and drink thier own urine while peeing- gross!). Business men were cheating fellow shop owners, we were constantly approached by drug peddlers and it never was easier to get an illegal beer (referred to as "special juice" on the reciept). Despite all this, we had one of the best views yet from our balcony - it's still a breathtaking city - and we also had a great time hanging out with the group we'd formed with Vanty, Katy and Danielle.

• Udaipur: We instantly took a liking to Udiapur, perhaps because it's the most European-feeling city we'd been to yet. We weren't hassled by touts like everywhere else, and we saw cows being fed fresh greens (our new barometer for how friendly a city will be is how healthy the cows look...accurate so far). The architecture was really pleasant, with nice mixes of in and outdoor areas and rooftops providing great views of the city. We caught a boat ride to Jalismir Island and enjoyed a traditional Rajasthani dance performance.
  

• Mt.Abu: We traveled to this city atop a mile-high mountain in order to take a meditation class with the Brahma Kumaris. Neither of us took a liking to the town itself, which felt like an Indian version of the Jersey Shore. We had planned on staying to complete the full introductory course, but by the end of our first session, we both had decided the organization was not for us. Our teacher was lovely and very open to our feedback and the organization seemed to be legit and involved in some great community and environmental activities, but the religious aspect didn't gel with our beliefs, so we ended our stay and began our loooooong bus ride to Agra.

Rebecca's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Rajasthan-Rebecca/

Nick's pics: http://s609.photobucket.com/albums/tt175/werperipatetic/Rajasthan%20-%20Nick/