Off To See The Wizard About... something!

It's A Wedding!

2006-05-06T10:45:00.000-07:00

The last few nights here in Jordan have been pretty cool. One night, my friend's counterpart and her husband took us out for a ride around and felafals. They pointed out some pools of lights in the distance that were coming from Israel. (It's kind of disconcerting - not in a bad way, though - to be so close to the borders of Israel and Saudi Arabia! Makes me want to visit so badly!) Then the last two nights I was invited to a Jordanian wedding. The first night was a celebration by family members and close friends but the bride was not there. First, there was time to say hello and get to know each other, to chit-chat. Then food was served. Afterwards there was dancing. All this was done with women only while the men in a separate part of the house had there own celebration. It was pretty darn cool to see some of the women remove their hijabs, kick off their high heels and start ululating and grooving! Boy, and when they groove - can they shake and shimmy! I'm still holding to the belief that they remove a vertebrae when they're really young to get their hips to flick like that!! No wonder they have to keep the women and men separate! :-)

The second night was similar except that the bride was there and the celebration took place in Ma'an instead of at the family home. First, we went to the home that the bride was at. Some of the women sang to her while the rest of us hung out. Then we all caravaned it to Ma'an, blasting music, clapping and honking horns to announce the marriage. Once we got to the reception hall, women from the groom's family danced and sang for the bride. (Again, the men and the women were segregated into their own celebration parties.) Then it was the bride's family and friends turn. After that, all the women close to the bride sang and danced. All of this was done more formally then when they were at the family home the night before. The bride was then cajoled into dancing for everyone. (Ugh...I, as with the night before, was also coerced into dancing. I felt so awkward! Don't get me wrong...I love dancing but it's so nerve-wracking in front of people that I don't know in a more intimate setting than a club! And dancing Arabic-style? Uh, yeah...about that... At least this time I wasn't being coaxed into that!) Once everyone stopped to cool down and mingle, the food was then served. Afterwards, the groom and only the groom joined us. Many people queued up to give their well-wishing, love and support for the new marriage. Since we were trying to catch up with my friend's counterpart's husband, we missed the rituals that the bride and groom went through. They did have a dance together under her veil, though.

Although I couldn't really have conversations with the women it was all so amazing to have been privileged with this opportunity to share a more intimate detail of the lives of the people here. The women were all so welcoming.

On another note, Petra was more spectacular than I could have imagined it. My friend informed me that to fully explore Petra one would need about 7 days. But I got a chance to take the walk to see the Treasury (the stone "building" that was the final shot in the Indiana Jones movie I mentioned previously) along with a hike up to see Al-Dayr (the Monastery). It's just as impressive as the Treasury, in my opinion. But for me, the most awesome visual came after a hike up to this triangular point at the very edge of the mountain for Sacrifice View. It was even better than the view I got at Jebel Musa. You can see the different colors of the layers of rock exposed by the uplifting eons ago. Dark gray, green, red, slate, beige... Again very breathtaking.

Anyhow, I'm in Amman hanging out with my friend waiting for when I leave (flight's at 3:00 a.m.!). This has been a trip of a lifetime! I have seen places that I have only dreamt about for so many years, met many beautiful people, and have experienced so much that I believe has made me a fuller woman. I am so glad that I did this! I am so completely grateful to all of you for your support and encouragement throughout this. (Especially to those that has financially helped me complete it after the thieving.) I miss you all but I will see you all very soon!

Much love, Cristella

Winding Down

2006-05-02T04:11:00.000-07:00

Yes, this may very well be my last posting on this blog. I'm well into my last week on this amazing trip. I am very very sad to be leaving soon, especially this place where my friend lives. She's been acting as my interpreter here but strangely enough, I am starting to get the gists of the conversations and am able to pick out some of the words if everyone speaks slowly enough.

Anyhow, I've been chilling here at At Tabiyyah. It's near Wadi Musa near Petra. (Petra is the closing scene of one of the Indiana Jones movie with Sean Connery...) But let me give you a brief run down of the places and things I've seen and done.

After Op Smile, I left with my friend and another volunteer to this volunteer's village Ma'adi (in the county, so to speak, of Deir Alla). Ma'adi is located in the Jordan valley. Descending into it provided a lot of eye candy. It's so much greener than here in Tabiyyah. There's quite a few farms of various crops. In her village, we were greeted by many a folk. Lulu apparently is the "Norm" of her village. Actually, she gets teased by the other volunteers as she's gradually working her way into becoming the "Norm" of Jordan! Also, that night we got a chance to glimpse at the festivities of a wedding that took place. (The newlyweds ended up moving in next door to Lulu.)

Since Ma'adi isn't too far away from the Dead Sea we spent the next day there. Again, many a weird moment wandering around and hanging out in my swimsuit! Not to mention receiving stares, the three of us, as we came out of the Sea covered in its alleged medicinal mud from the neck down! The Sea was pretty incredible, though, as was the day. Very nice to just float on my back, staring up at the overcast sky. When we got back, we tried our hands at barbequeing. Hysterical trying to get the coals lit. The fish turned out pretty tasty but the vegetables were a fiasco.

From Ma'adi we took several different buses to get to Tabiyyah. I got another visual overload coming into Wadi Musa. The mountains here are very similar to those of the Sinai peninsula but with villages dotting some of the sides. Not too far from the doorstep of my friend (just across the street) you can see several peaks and ranges. It's much, I imagine, like living on the edge of the Grand Canyon. Breathtaking beyond words. I'm constantly smiling, giggling and laughing everytime I get an eyeload. I still can't believe that she lives here! And everyone that she's introduced me to has been so kind and generous.

One of the things that I'm most happy about with my traveling is that I was blessed with so many opportunities of meeting people. Whenever asked by others traveling or by residents about what is the best part of my trip, I always reply that the best part of traveling and one of my primary objectives is meeting the people, getting to know them a little bit and touch lives for a while. Don't get me wrong...the places that I've seen, the food that I've tasted, the bus rides and other various modes of transport has also been fascinating and educational for me but the thing that I will carry with me always are the people.

So, I'm just chilling out, preparing myself for my return home. It's been very relaxing. I'm looking forward to visiting Petra myself this Friday, inshallah. But it's been such a blessing giggling with my friend, watching movies (like "Jarhead" and "Syriana" which is very surreal to be doing so here), sleeping and simply being silly.

http://www.infoplease.com/images/mjordan.gif

Regarding The Bombings In Dahab

2006-04-26T04:09:00.000-07:00

To all of those of you writing in to see if I'm okay and safe from the bombings in Dahab - yes, I'm okay. I missed being in the area by a day and a half. I feel very lucky since the area that was bombed was just outside where I was staying. They were places that I passed by many times during the day and night, places where I hung out. In fact, I still have friends there in town. I haven't heard from a couple of them and am praying that they are okay and safe, inshallah.

I must admit I am slightly in shock. I was there not too much before the explosions. I interacted with the shopkeepers, workers and locals of the places bombed. It's a place I was considering living and working for a bit. It's a very peaceful place full of people enjoying life and each other.

I don't know if it hit the U.S. TV news or if it was in the papers or what, but for those of you that hadn't heard of what's going on, here're some links to a couple of news stories:

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/egypt_resort_attacks
http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20060425/ap_on_re_mi_ea/egypt_resort_blasts

Off these links there should be pictures of the aftermath.

Operation Smile - Amman, Jordan

2006-04-26T01:52:00.000-07:00

I am in Amman with my friend from the Berkeley Free Clinic. It is really good to see her. For all you heppies, she looks absolutely fabulous! And boy, is it really amazing to watch and hear her speak in Jordanian Arabic!

Actually, not only with A, it is very cool to watch and listen to the Peace Corps volunteers here speak Jordanian Arabic. Also, it's amazing to see them in action with the Operation Smile mission going on here. (Here's a link to the operation currently happening: http://www.operationsmile.org/missions/reports/?country=JO. It's very cool!!!) They are working with the medical volunteers in coordinating the surgery schedules, answering questions and concerns from worried parents/guardians as well as talking and generally hanging out with them to keep them occupied and relaxed as much possible. They also play with the children and hold the babies to keep them entertained or to give the parents a break. It is so touching to see how gratified many of the adults are for the volunteers' efforts.

It has also been very heartbreaking at times. As mentioned in the link, most of the families were bussed in from Baghdad. They are mostly Iraquis but some are also Kurds. (A few of the patients are Jordanian.) On the way towards the Iraq-Jordan border, the bus was stopped by a group of Sunni insurgents demanding all Shi'ia or those from south Iraq get off the bus so that they may kill them. Although all the patients are from the south, someone insisted they were all from Baghdad. When an insurgent demanded to see his identificaiton, the man handed over his passport instead of his ID card which spcified the region of where he is from. The insurgents eventually let the people go but now they are very scared about what may happen upon their return as the insurgents threatened to keep watch for them. The volunteers are now trying to figure out how to get them safely back home. But how must the parents and guardians feel? I cannot even possibly start to imagine! The excitement and joy of having their child undergo a procedure that would improve one aspect of life just to face the strong possibility of having their child be killed shortly!!!

But the fear doesn't stop there. As one man related the politics of Iraq and its violent and deadly fallout to my friend, fear for their lives and even more so, fear for the lives of their family members and loved ones is a constant. As this man relayed, life was very bad before under Saddam. Despite his removal from power, life has not gotten any better. As told to me, the word chosen to describe the situation now is "bloodbath." How's that for the "War on Terrorism" in Iraq??!??

Oh. For those of you that are haven't heard of this, do please try it. Go to Google's home page. Type in the word "failure" in the Search box. Then hit the "I'm Feeling Lucky" button. Whatcha think??!

Ahhh...Woman Power

2006-04-26T01:42:00.001-07:00

Ok. I feel so much better since my last post. I got in a nice long nap. Also, I had a great night hanging out with a new friend I met from my snorkelling adventure as well as some other really cool ladies. We had a great time relaxing, munching on chips and throwing back a couple of beers while sharing travel stories, details of our lives, and laughter. It was so nice to not have to have your guard up against the barrage of come-ons and constant "habibi"s!!

Speaking of good times with fellow female friends, i will be meeting up with my friend in Jordan with the Peace Corps. So for now, I bid Egypt adieu.

Quite Possibly The Most Stupid Thing I Could Have Ever Opted To Do In Egypt!!!

2006-04-26T00:47:00.000-07:00

What could that possibly be, you might ask? Well, let me share that event with you. It's hiking up Mt. Sinai in the pre-dawn dark hours in order to reach the peak to catch the sun rising over many of the jagged mountain peaks of the area. Idyllic sounding? A somewhat mystical thing to do? NO! and NO! yet again!!! It was heinous.

Before I get into my rant, here's a little bit of background information about Mt. Sinai. Locally, it is known as Gebel Musa. Its peak reaches an elevation of 2285 m (~7541 ft.). Although disputed by some researchers and academicians, many people believe that Mt. Sinai is the place where Moses received the Ten Commandments from God.

I wanted to hike up Mt. Sinai, not as a religious pilgrimage, but rather to scale a renowned mountain to check out its draw and to watch the sunrise from such a place. And I thought I would avoid the crowds for who the hell would be nuts enough to hike up a mountainside in the dark guided only by a headlamp? Not to mention I really wanted to do some hiking. Well, it seems that several hundred people also had the same idea! So, again with the massive herds of people (this time in the dark from 2:00 a.m. to 5:30 a.m.) along with several herds of camels and their Bedouin handlers, I trekked up a path not designed to handle that kind of traffic. The camels came in very useful to many of the tourists who were fearful of hiking in the dark or were not physically able to make the ascent.

There are several problems with this, however. The first is that those of us who chose not to ride a camel up are then stuck trying to sidestep the piles of camel dung and pools of camel urine as well as being careful to not be directly behind a camel to avoid being the recipients of these gifts. (Oh, and to avoid the jets of gas as well!) The second problem is to avoid being run over by these camels. While some of the handlers shouted "Camel!!" to alert the trekkers, other handlers will only cluck, hiss, or smack their lips together to alert the trekkers (which we were obviously expected to hear over all the noise) that they and their caravan of camels were bearing down on us. Despite doing this, they really didn't much care whether or not those on foot were knocked on their keister or trampled on.

Luckily, having backpacked around a couple of countries with a 30 kg pack for about 2.5 months has put me in decent shape. Consequently, I was able to escape my group from the microbus and, not needing to take rest brakes, I was part of the few people who made it up to the peak first. This was a good thing since I got an excellent seat on one of the boulders to catch the sunrise. Many were not so fortunate. There were also a good number who completely missed the sunrise as I found hiking back down the mountain. Since I wanted more solitude and to avoid the slow shuffle back down, I fast-walked it down after quickly looking around at the peak. It was nice having the path mostly to myself and the peace I was able to enjoy in the parking area before everyone else showed up was pretty nice.

Trying to leave was a different matter. The driver threatened not to leave until everyone paid the "guide fee." Everyone of us on the microbus was extremely upset about having to pay extra money for a guide (who basically did nothing except stop for rest breaks and pocketing out money). All of us fought against it, some of us eventually paid and a few escaped. Those that escaped were the ones being hassled. Outrage and anger in all of the passengers mounted until the driver and the "guide", in pissy frustration, gave up so that we were able to finally take off.

I guess I could wax philosophical about this nightmare by correlating the crowded climb up the mountain to struggling through life to be rewarded with the sense of acheievement/accomplishment, light, fresh start, renewal, yada yada crap but right now I'm too tired and too grouchy. Maybe some other time.

http://acs2.aucegypt.edu/hekman/sinai.html
http://www.ehabweb.net/mount_sinai.html

The Beautiful Deep Blue

2006-04-22T06:42:00.000-07:00

So today I went snorkeling in a couple of places. It was kind of weird in couple of regards: 1) To take my clothes off (outer ones, that is) in public after having so consciously made efforts to ensure that I was appropriately covered for almost 3 months now in the Islamic countries with long-sleeve shirts and long pants/long skirt (not to mention having been covered for many months before that due to the cold weather back home!), and 2) To wander to and from the water in my swimsuit, albeit it is a one piece, racing-style. (There was no way I could bring myself to bring a two-piece...) Granted I was more fully covered than many of the other women but I felt so completely naked, so to speak.

Anyhow, one of the places I went to is called the Canyon and the second place is called the Blue Hole. Both are locations that the scuba diving outfits in town take newbies (the former) and those looking to get more experienced (the latter). There are so many diving clubs! It's very big out this way in the Red Sea as well as the Sea of Aqaba as there are many beautiful reefs to check out. Unfortunately, as I'm informed, many of the diving spots are gradually being destroyed by the overwhelming number of tourists looking to obtain their diving certifications and the government hasn't made too much effort to controlling the overuse and destruction of the diving spots.

I got a chance to see some of this snorkeling at the Canyon. The area where the divers and snorkelers are supposed to wander into is not a rock area but actual reef that is now dead from all of us trampling in and out of the water. Away from this there are still some very nice marine life to watch. Very similar to other areas that I've snorkeled in.

The Blue Hole was something completely different, though. Although I have really wanted to learn to dive (and had thought I might be able to on this trip), snorkeling around the Blue Hole reefs has really firmly blown that idea up in my head. There was so much color and designs, immense marine flora and fauna, and such mystery from the walls of the sea canyon that seems to just drop away infinitely. It's like something straight out of a National Geographic/Discovery/Animal Planet/etc. marine show! It was also very cool to watch the divers taking pictures of some of the tunnels burrowing into the reef, learning new dive techniques and just generally having fun. The bubbles that they release tickle as you swim over and through them. Some of them are so big that they almost look like some kind of jellyfish. A dive master that was snorkeling with me freedived down about 10 meters or so to touch this porcupine fish. (Here's a link to a picture of the fish I'm talking about: http://www.divegallery.com/porcupinefish.htm.) It was all so completely incredible! As I've mentioned before, I have always daydreamed about learning how to dive but have been lazy about following through...now I am going to actually going to do it! As a matter of fact, I received a serious offer from the owner of the hotel I am stayed at to become a dive master so that he can try and capture the small but growing number of Chinese tourists as well as to head up the development of massage therapy services to be offered by the hotel! Things that make you go "Hmmmm...."!

Here's some links to websites with some pictures to give you an idea of Dahab and the bodies of water in the area:
http://www.divernet.com/travel/0602dahab.htmt http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/
http://www.anatol.org/images/egypt/dahab_all/index.html
http://www.divesitedirectory.co.uk/dive_ site_red_sea_dahab_reef_the_blue_hole.html
http://www.sinaidivers.com/redsea/diving-dahab.html

An Ordeal That Ultimately Provided A Beautiful Reward!

2006-04-20T13:16:00.000-07:00

Thinking that I would be able to not have to deal with the heat of traveling by bus during the day as well as to save on lodgings for the night, I opted to take a bus from Ismailia to Dahab (located on the eastern side of the Sinai peninsula by the Sea of Aqaba; it's name is Arabic for "gold").

BUT WHAT A LONG AND EXCRUCIATING BUS RIDE!!!

It wasn't because it was a night bus. It was simply because I was traveling via a bus. And I've been on much longer bus rides in Morocco but for some reason, this ride really hurt.

As with the buses in India, they play movies at the start of the trip. At a very, loud volume. (I can't tell you what the movie was about as I was able to constantly drift off to sleep...as far as I can tell it involved men beating each other up, gun fights where no one is able to hit each other and lots of yelling. Then again, they could just be talking in really loud voices...who knows?) But that wasn't what made the bus trip so hard. What took so long were the numerous number of stops that were made. Other than two restroom breaks and one to wait our turn to traverse the tunnel that goes under the Suez Canal, the rest (10 or so?) were for identification checks. For a trip that I don't think should take that much time, it took about 8.5 hours or so because every time we entered a "new zone" (city limits), we had to present our ID. Other than the first ID stop, all the other ones had the guards/policemen pulling some of the passengers off the bus for a check. As I understand it, Egyptians must carry ID cards that have a scan code on it. Once that is scanned in, all their personal information is pulled up: personal stats, marital status, crimes, travel movement within the country, employment, education, etc. I wasn't sure why certain men were chosen to be checked - whether or not it was random or something didn't sit well with the guard/policeman. I thought it best that I didn't get too terribly nosy about these things although the really nice woman I was sitting next to was happy to explain things to me and help me out during the bus ride by letting me know what was up. (She has the most beautiful children, one of which was only barely two. Egyptians really do love children as some of the men around played with them, feed them, and held them. What was even more amazing was the complete ease with which the mother let these strangers hold and play with her kids. Other Americans I've met have commented about this complete faith and trust that we don't have regarding our children!)

Despite the ID checks and the seemingly painfully long ride, it was definitely worth it as we approached Dahab. There are peaks after peaks of mountains, all noticeably bare of any flora. In the early morning light they are truly breathtaking, reflecting the increasing sunlight in shades of reds, browns, and greenish-grey. There were very few people left debarking by this time so there was no rush or crowding. The taxi ride had me in the back of an open pick-up truck/jeep. This was great as I was able to get 360 degree views approaching the little beach town. After the taxi driver helped me find a cheap enough yet decent hotel, I settled in for a nice nap.

Here're some links with pics and some info on Dahab:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dahab
http://centre4sinai.com.eg/environment.htm
http://centre4sinai.com.eg/galleries.htm
http://www.travelsinparadise.com/egypt/dahab/index.html

Ismailia

2006-04-20T12:54:00.000-07:00

My travel companion and I took a second-class train to Ismailia. Although it is NOWHERE near as bad as the local second-class train of India (then again, I don't even think anything could be as bad as that), it was still interesting. The train itself wasn't too bad but the tracks were in terrible condition. Those that connect Cairo to Alexandria (as I'm told) and to Luxor and Aswan (as I've experienced) are pretty decent. Totally different than the other routes within the country. I don't think that there is as much care and maintenance invested into them as not that many tourists use those trains. Consequently, you are being rattled to death on them. Although I didn't think that anything was going to really happen, there were a couple of moments when the thought that the train was going to rattle itself apart or into derailing did cross my mind!

Anyhow, Ismailia is a smallish town between Port Said (located on the Mediterranean Sea) and Suez. Despite it's proximity to the Suez Canal, I did not get a chance to watch some of the boats manuevering their way through. I was just so completely pooped. So I ended up sleeping quite a bit here.

I did get a chance to explore parts of the town on foot for the afternoon and early evening before I took off for Dahab. The town is really laid back with more of a developing modern city feel to the northeast and the quaint colonial charm of the south. There weren't any other tourists that I could see. As a matter of fact, especially in the northeastern part that I roamed around, there were very few people that could speak English. But they were very patient with me and my few horribly-chopped up Arabic phrases. They were so nice! It's clear that the tourism industry hasn't spoilt the charm, grace, and generosity of the people here. But it is a shame that tourists don't see this side of Egypt. For the most part, many only get the hassle of the touts, demands for baksheesh and the price-gouging of shopkeeps. Which really is too bad as the people that I've had the pleasure to meet have been so wonderful. It certainly was a relief for me as I was getting a bit grumpy from the hassles as well as being shuttled around in herds. It's definitely coming back to what I enjoy and have grown accustomed to from the earlier parts of my travels.

A Day of Firsts

2006-04-20T12:28:00.000-07:00

It was pretty nice to be back in Cairo. This time I stayed in a different part of town called Zamalek. It has a lot of colonial-style buildings, lots of trees, and is much quieter than in downtown. Reminds me of parts of New Orleans.

Anyhow, due to my bad luck of not being able to catch an early enough train back, I wasn't sure that I'd have time to visit all the pyramids that I wanted to visit - Giza, Saqqara and Dashur.

Just to make sure that I would at least get in one set, I set off to those at Giza - Khufu (Cheops), Khafre (Chephren), Menkaure (Mycerinus) as well as the Sphinx. As with many locals that cater to the tourist industry, my taxi driver "had a friend" that had horses that people could take to visit the pyramids and the Sphinx. Not really into it but agreeing to at least check it out, I assented.

And boy. Am I glad I did.

After haggling for a decent price, I took off with my guide. It was my first time riding (I don't count the one time I did it when I was like six) and I was a bit nervous. But looking around at the desert around me completely took my mind off of my anxiety. It was so completely incredible! There were very few other people out on horses or camels so it was really quiet. You weren't shepherded in with the hordes of visitors pouring out of the tour buses.

And what a way to approach the pyramids and Sphinx! You come up from the back side through the nearby village called Nazlet as-Samaan at a slow walk to get accustomed to riding (for the newbies) which was pretty cool in and of itself. Then you go over a couple of small dunes. On top of the larger ones, looking behind, you can actually see the other pyramids at Saqqara in the distance with the flat desert in between. To your left is the huge metropolis of Cairo. Standing like this you had the pyramids behind you not too far. I can't even begin to put into words how phenomenal the whole landscape was!

And the pyramids and the Sphinx!!! They were so immense and grand! Woo-hoo! Another life dream turned into reality!

P.S. I never got to see the other pyramids which definitely calls for another visit to Egypt. Also, by the end of my tour of the area by horse (which was named Mickey Mouse, by the way!), I was able to ride at a gallop - no problem! Can I just tell you just how incredibly fantastic it was to have the wind in my face, hair streaming behind as I said good-bye to Khufu, Khafre, Menkaure and the Sphinx while my guide and I raced across the desert flats?! (Well, okay. I was kinda racing to get away from my guide!)

3 Cities and 3 Stalkers Later...

2006-04-20T12:23:00.000-07:00

Okay... Brief update as far as where I've been.

On the 15th I met up with a British traveler that I had met in Aswan. After hanging out and doing our own thing on the 16th, we traveled back up to Cairo on the 17th so that I can get a look at one set of Pyramids (the ones at Giza). Then we traveled on the 18th to Ismailia on his recommendation. After that, I took off on the 19th on the night bus for Dahab. Details on all this to come...

Some Tidbits of Interest

2006-04-14T13:30:00.000-07:00

1. Sugar cane fields are not allowed to be grown closer than 400 m anywhere near roads that tourists travel by. This is because terrorists have used them in the past as places from which to ambush and to which the run through to escape capture and possible death. Only very short crops such as clover are allowed grow within the 400 m.

2. Almost all buildings throughout Egypt look to be in perpetual construction. This is to accommodate families as they expand. Construction then predominantly grows upward. Also, as long as the buildings remain unfinished, the tenants/owners are not taxed. Once construction of the building is completed, taxes that run about 40% of the value is then assessed - a very huge amount that is impossible and crippling to many.

3. After the 1997 massacre, the number of tourists visiting Egypt has dropped tremendously. This drop was exacerbated by September 11th. According to numbers that I was given, the number of tourists once ranged at about 6000, dropping to an a low of 800 on any given day (during high season, of course; I'm told only the Spanish are crazy enough to brave the 50-55 degree Centigrade temperature during the summer months). It has recovered somewhat but now because of the war waged by America against Iraq the number of tourists still has not recovered. Hmm... another reason for the Americans to be so disliked?

3. General "impressions" I was told that Egyptians have of the tourists (as a joke but with some seriousness thrown in):
* English - beer in one hand and an arm thrown around a partner
* Aussies - beer in both hands
* Japanese - camera in one hand and an opened umbrella in the other
* Canadians - packs always decorated with the Canadian flag to be distinguished and separated from being identified as American
* Americans - packs decorated with the Canadian flag to be mistakened for Canadian
* Spanish - hands and packs always holding food being consumed
* Dutch - beer in one hand and a sack of weed and other drugs in the other

4. The Egyptians really want their treasures that are now languishing in other countries back. Badly.

5. Despite latitude given to tourists to dress as they please, it's really not appreciated by most Egyptians. Some secretly take it as a sign of disrespect. You know, the attitude of "when in Rome" is preferred. Those that take that into account and also try to learn a few phrases in Egyptian Arabic is hassled much less.

The Dead of Thebes (Luxor)

2006-04-14T12:51:00.000-07:00

Today I took a tour of the west bank of Luxor, once known as Thebes, again with a great small group of people. Places visited:
Colossi of Memnon, Valley of the Kings (tombs of Ramses IV, Ramses VI, Ramses I), Valley of the Queens (tombs Khaemwaset [44], Titi [52], and Amunherkhepshef [55]) and Deir al-Bahri (Temple of Hatshepsut).

You know, watching some of the public television shows and seeing the experts wander around and work in these places I've always wondered what it would be like to walk in the same places as they've walked. Now I know! And can I just say? It just gets more and more incredible. In a previous blog, I had mentioned that it was a shame that not more of the color has survived because what little I saw, in my opinion, added more dimensions, richness and details. Well, that became so much clearer in all the places that I visited today for so much more color was extant here. AMAZING, FABULOUS, JUST SO DAMNED INCREDIBLE!!! One is able to see the different types of clothing that different persons, whether priests, royalty or god(dess) wore and the colors that the ancient peoples attributed to them. Yellow, blue, red, black, red, white - all painted on. They are mixtures of ground up stones and minerals with egg. Malachite, lapis lazuli, iron oxide, limestone, carbon, alabaster. The details are so fine and precise. So accurate. Since I can never do this justice with words, here are some links with pictures (not complete but to give you an idea):

http://www.bluffton.edu/~sullivanm/egypt/thebes/colossi/colossi.html
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/egypt/explore/memnon.html
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/ramessesvit.htm
http://touregypt.net/featurestories/ramessesi.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/khaemwasett.htm
http://www.touregypt.net/featurestories/Amenherkhepshef.htm
http://www.molon.de/galleries/Egypt/Luxor/Hatshepsut/

So. My mantra for Egypt thus far is ... Wow!...

Ripped Off Horoscopes For Ya

2006-04-14T12:29:00.000-07:00

(The following was something I ripped off from the Cairo Jazz Club...)

"The horoscopes were compiled by chanelling the spirits of Nermal the cat, Mighty Mouse, The Transformers, and other loser cartoon characters throught the gay Teletubby."

Aries (Mar 21 - Apr 21)
Take a great big deep breath early on in the month, and prepare for a severely heavy workload. This will be a blessing in disguise, because you need the work to get your mind off your personal life. Take care of your finances though; don't be tempted to blow a hole in your wallet just because it's there. Forward thinkg is key!

Taurus (Apr 22 - May 21)
You need to do some serious thinking about your long-term goals, and where you see yourself five or ten years down the line. Even though you're very successful now, what's your ultimate goal? What are the costs and benefits of going for it? Big questions that need big thinking. It's time to make use of your analytical skills, and apply them to your life.

Gemini (May 22 - Jun 21)
Things are coming apart at the seams, but you are still holding the fort. You've never been a quitter, so anything less just wouldn't become you. In the same vein, there will be change aplenty this month, both good and bad. However, when you do your accoutning at the end of April, it'll all come out balanced, and you'll be amazed at what you've been able to navigate through yet again, consider the extremely rocky ride.

Cancer (Jun 22 - Jul 23)
Your recent career change has proven to you that bureaucracy and bullshit is pervasive no matter where you go. You can run, but you can't hide! But since this pays better, enjoy the heavy pockets until you get sick of this too and decide to move on again.

Leo (Jul 24 - Aug 23)
Your health is your Achilles heel this month. A spate of ill health is going to follow you around, and just when you thought you'd got over that bad spell, it'll catch up with you again. Don't worry; you'll eventually be rid of it. On the upside, you'll be the centre of attention for a while!

Virgo (Aug 24 - Sep 23)
Strange cravings will overcome you this month. You'll yearn to do things that are just not your usual fare, and you'll be into things that people would have never expected you'd even be interested in. You'll have fun pursuing these new avenues, so go for it. You're only going to live once.

Libra (Sep 24 - Oct 23)
Expect a surprise visit from someone you wouldn't have thought you'd see again so soon. April is going to be something out of the ordinary for you. Your comfortable routine will be pushed off its tracks in a big way, but just keep your cool. It could turn out to be great.

Scorpio (Oct 24 - Nov 22)
You need some focus in your life, and soon. Shifting about aimlessly isn't going to make things happen for you. Take a trip, change the scenery, do whatever you have to do to get your creative energies flowing again, and focus them on your life. It's definitely makeover time!

Sagittarius (Nov 23 - Dec 21)
You have turned a new page in your life, and you feel exhilarated. Take full advantage of the upcoming free time to think and reflect on what it is you want to do, and what path you want to take. The worst thing you can do at this point is rush into something new without really giving yourself a chance for thought and reflection.

Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 20)
Even though work will not be all-consuming this month, you'll find that you'll be kept completely busy finishing up little takss that you've had on your to do list for ages, and that you need to finally get done. You're also feeling bored with a place where you spend a lot of your time, and it's stifling you. Rather than throwing in the towel and moving elsewhere, see if you can give the place a makeover. It might do wonders.

Aquarius (Jan 21 - Feb 19)
Your mind is wandering to places it really shouldn't be wandering to. This means you have to take another look at a personal relationship and see where things are not right, and fix them. If you don't have the inclination or the courage to do that, the honest thing to do is to move on and not string people along.

Pisces (Feb 20 - Mar 20)
The sprawling metropolis that is XXX has become all too small for you, giving you a serious case of claustrophobia. The only thing for you is to become a serial vacationer. Which is just as well since you desperately need to meet some new people anyway.

Lazy Days On The Nile

2006-04-13T12:20:00.000-07:00

11 April 2006 -
Had a short felucca ride to visit a couple of the islands in the Nile within the city limits of Aswan - Kitchener's Island and Elephantine Island. It was a really cool intro as to what I would be on for the next 3 days and two nights. Nothing fancy but the nice thing was again meeting other fellow travelers. Now I have a connection in El Salvador who is more than happy to have me and anyone else I know visit El Salvador, Honduras and Nicaragua. Particularly to do outdoor adventure sports like trekking, surfing, and diving. Yay!! I also met up again with the two ex-UCSF Med students who will be a part of the longer felucca ride up the Nile.

To explain, a felucca is a truly barebones sailboat. But it's enough to do a completely memorable trip along the Nile. (There are other ways to travel up and down the Nile such as in cruise ships which are similar to the larger versions that haunt the seas.) Anyhow, the felucca will take up to 8 passengers so the companionship is much more intimate, true, and laid back. Meals are simple, and restroom breaks allow you a quick visit with locals living/working along the Nile!

Along with the UCSFer's, there were three absolutely lovely ladies from Spain, and a really sweet couple from Taiwan (now living in the Czech Republic). We played card games, told riddles, talked about each others traveling/lives/plans, and just plain relaxed. As the evening hours approached we docked along with eight other feluccas in an area, had a basic dinner and then listened to each other sing songs. A group of the felucca captains came to our felucca to sing some Nubian songs accompanied by drumming. What a completely awesome night this was!!!

12 April 2006 -
Just a really, really lazy day. I realize how much I enjoy these days - so much more so than those days when I'm in a big city or at a tourist site crowded with hordes of other foreigners. Ah...I think the nature-side of me is screaming to be let out! Anhow, we stopped off by this really small village called Daraw. We toured through it by taxi and also visited the camel souq. It's where they keep all the camels that are brought up from Sudan. (I'm informed that it's approximately 1500 km of which they walk most and are trucked in part of the way. They journey supposedly takes about a month since the walk is only done in the morning hours as the afternoons and early evenings are much too hot.) By this time only the 3 Spaniards and I were left. Since we really wanted to just to sail and enjoy the tranquility of the Nile we really didn't want to hang out for too long in Daraw. So off we went again.

13 April 2006 -
Our felucca journey ended near the village of Kom Ombo. From there we, along with a massive number of tourists visited the Temple of Kom Ombo. Here're a couple of websites that I found that has some decent pictures (the second link has more):
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/kom_ombo.htm
http://www.horus.demon.co.uk/Nile/photos/KomOmbo/html/index.html

From Kom Ombo, we again traveled in a police escorted convoy to the next stop, Edfu. (We even had a policeman complete with a very nice big rifle in the microbus with us!) At Edfu, we stopped to visit the Temple of Horus. Here're some links:
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/edfu.htm
http://www.sights-and-culture.com/Egypt/edfu-horus-temple.html
http://homepages.tcp.co.uk/~nicholson/egypt/temples.html

It is just how amazing the detail of the artistry that adorns these ruins. They are not just sporadic but rather cover completely the entire complex, even the ceilings! (It's amazing how many tourists don't look up, especially since the carvings run from the ground all the way up onto the ceilings!) In some spots you can still see the coloration that was applied to the carvings. It really is a shame that not much more exist for they really do add many details of the jewelry, clothing and decorations of the carvings, providing them with greater richness and fullness of the artisans perspective and royal demands. How just absolutely INCREDIBLE and awe-inspiring these monuments must have been in their day!

After Edfu, we finally stopped off at our various accommodations in Luxor from where I am posting this blog.

There are two things that I'd like to comment about visiting Egypt. More often than not, you are "sheep-herded" to visiting many of the tourist places like the temples I've mentioned above by being forced to travel in these police caravans. Yes, there are ways to get around it but for the most part, the majority of the tourists are subjected to this process because of the 1997 massacre that happened in Luxor. (Here are some links as to the event:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/32179.stm
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/November_1997_Luxor_massacre
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/18/egypt.attack.on/
http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9711/18/egypt.attack.mubarak/)

Anyhow, it would seem that after the amazing pharaonic treasures of Egypt, the tourists are the next prized possession. Consequently, the Egyptian government is taking very serious measures to protect this resource of theirs. It also works in that you have a completely captured audience. Anyhow, it's very interesting to be a part of this.

The second thing that I wonder about is just how truly the Egyptians feel about the tourists and the tourism industry they are so heavily reliant upon. Yes, you have your usual hassle from the touts, shopkeeps, and street vendors (that are really just young boys). And there are a LOT of tourists and visitors. There are some Egyptians that appear to make a very good living off of them but what about those that are roped into providing services for the tourists? They smile all day and it's "yes, sir...yes, madame" and then it's back to a home that houses an extended family - struggling to make ends meet while all these other people are enjoying themselves. Even though I am chosing to travel "on the cheap," the fact that I still have enough disposable income to travel... Well. It doesn't really matter to them, does it? How does this truly affect the psyche of the Egyptians that I come into contact with?

Lovely, Lovely, Lovely!!!!!

2006-04-10T11:51:00.000-07:00

Can I just say right now I am having a FABULOUS time in Egypt? I know it's only been 3 days but yeah...

Here's the scoop:

7 April 2006 -
What a Fantastic introduction to Cairo! Met an expat (she's from the SF bay area/just finished doctorate's from Cal) and her partner from Barcelona waiting for the bus. Ended up catching a taxi to the proposed hotel. Hit if off wonderfully! As we where driving into the city from the airport, I just kept mentally thanking the gods and goddesses for how clean and not noisy (relatively speaking, of course) Cairo seemed to be. At 20+ million people, I was really dreading it! But it's NOTHING compared to India!

At the hotel, met a girl from SoCal trying to see if she can make it to a year of being a Cairene. We spent the afternoon hanging out, with her showing me around the downtown area and providing me with some tips about Cairo. Also got some great tips from these two older Brits (Dudley) about where to hit in Egypt, places to stay, what to watch out for, etc. Wonderfully kind gentlemen! Later that night, I met up again with the SoCal girl along with 2 other long-term visitors (a Swiss-Italian and another SF bay arean-NBayer), and 3 locals. We all went to the Cairo Jazz Club, hung out, danced a bit, and talked a lot. One of the local guys had a car so he ended up taking a me and the Swiss-Italian for a quick drive-through of central Cairo after dropping everyone else off. Finally got in around 4 a.m. extremely tired (I had to get up at 4 a.m. 24-hours earlier to catch my flight from Mumbai to Cairo) but excited and happy.

8 April 2006 -
Slept in some. Spent the day re-orienting myself to central Cairo. In the evening I met some more people (2 UCSF med school grads and 3 Brits). We went to Khan al-Khalili (pronouced kan ahl-kahleelee), an area of town in east Cairo - had some Egyptian pancakes, toured around the marketplace a bit, had some mint tea and sheesha at Fishawi (pronounced fee-show (as in ow)-wee) Coffeehouse. Afterwards we took a long walk (through smog and exhaust that you can literally see at night!) to grab a quick drink at the After Eight Club before grabbing our bags to catch the midnight train to Aswan.

9 April 2006 -
Long train ride but it was nice...very different from that of India. In Aswan, I am staying in a room that has a balcony. Consequently, I have a beautiful view of the Nile, the feluccas and other boats that traverses it and of the west bank of Aswan. (I can see some ruined tombs, Tombs of the Nobles. It really is quite spectacular.) After settling in, I took a public ferry to the largest of the islands between the east and west banks of Aswan called Elephantine Island. I took a quiet and pleasant walk through the two Nubian villages there, Siou and Koti. Heading back to the east bank, I made my way to the Nubian Museum where I met this taxi driver. After realizing that he wasn't going to get a paid trip from me, we got to talking in earnest. He ended up taking me around the southern tip of Aswan and to the Nubian House Restaurant (lol - all for free!) where we had a very pleasant time talking and enjoying the sunsent over the city and the river.

10 April 2006 -
Okay...I am not getting enough sleep! I got up to be ready for a 3:30 a.m. (yes, A.M.!) pick-up to sojourn down south to Abu Simbel (roughly a 4-hour ride each way). Because there is concern that the area between Aswan and Abu Simbel may still be fraught with potential violence, all the tour buses had to wait so that a police convoy could be made. I counted about 60 tour buses ranging from our size (a microbus with max capacity of 14 persons) to luxury double-deckered vacation buses that made up the tourist portion of the convoy! The caused me to be concerned that if someone really wanted to make a statement by targeting tourists we would have, as a convoy, been the perfect target!! Anyhow, because it's rather peaceful lately we didn't have to stop but still had to drive through several checkpoints where there were at least a dozen of armed soldiers at each. Licenses of the buses were noted down and permitted passage as we were accompanied by more armed soldiers. (BTW, Abu Simbel is the temple that has the 4 images of Ramses (with one being damaged) on the outside...it's shown in "The Mummy" movie.)

Anyhow.

W.O.W.!!!

Wow. I'm speechless. Even if I had a camera, it wouldn't do the Great Temple of Ramses II and the Temple of Hathor justice. I wish I could have you all here with me so that we could share in the grandeur and enormous scope of it all!!! Lake Nasser (the largest man-made body of water of the world) is right there as well. It's such a grand combination of a herculean work of artistry of an ancient past and the indescribable beauty and splendor of nature...absolutely gorgeous! To get there and back we drove over the Aswan Dam. In the afternoon we went to check out the High Dam. Afterwards, we took a ferry ride to Philae (pronounced fee-lay) Island to visit the Temple of Isis. I need a thesaurus to come up with more words to describe what I'm actually seeing with my own eyes! I hit it off with 3 of the people that was in the microbus with me (two Londoners and a Japanese from Osaka) which added even more to the experience. Having not eaten pretty much all day, I ran off after the tour to one of the restaurants along the Nile and had a huge, delicious meal of kofta and kabab (halal-style). Afterwards I met another lovely Brit and chatted away the late afternoon and evening.

Anyhow, here's a link to a website I found with some great shots of Abu Simbel:
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/abus.htm

and of Philae:
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/philae.htm

and of Aswan (very generally):
http://homepage.powerup.com.au/~ancient/aswan.htm

Tomorrow I'm off to sail up the Nile on a felucca (those sailboats in the picture of Aswan) to Edfu. Should be interesting!

And She's Off!

2006-04-06T00:18:00.000-07:00

Yes! I am finally able to leave Mumbai! Tomorrow I will be flying off to Cairo. YAY! I am excited for many reasons. One is because I am going to continue on with my trip and visit two more countries of the world. But mostly it’s because I am able to finally leave India.

It isn’t because I have not enjoyed my time here. I have. Tremendously. Well, except for this last part. This part I hated, feared, and dreaded. But even throughout this excruciating ordeal I have been able to experience some rather incredible things. Like the forex owner pressing on me Rs. 1000 without asking for securing against it or even knowing my name – only trusting that I will repay him. Like the care and attention given to me by the staff at the hotel I’ve been staying at this past week and half here in Mumbai (Have you eaten? Here, have some chai. Take the water!) Like the friendly greetings or waves of acknowledgment from street vendors and neighbors of the areas I pass through almost on a daily basis to replace all the official documents permitting me departure and entry into countries (even my own!). The generosities of smiles, kindness and spirit have done much to counteract the loss of all things taken from me (not only that which was stolen…).

I can see why people have said that most visitors come away from India either loving it or hating it. Or both. Traveling in India is definitely something that you have to work hard at if you want to get to the treasures she harbors. I do not say this because of how I have chose to travel throughout India. For most people, this would be true (in my opinion) even if you were to have everything pre-arranged and guided. For even trying to make your way through some of the markets and chowks to buy souvenirs or gifts to yourself requires patience, endurance and unflagging enthusiasm. But with tempered perseverance and faith, one can be rewarded with the most splendid of things, places, people and views.

INDIA - Brief Comments (On-going)

2006-04-05T23:50:00.000-07:00

1. After Maaza, I am addicted to cane juice. I had forgotten how refreshing this drink was until one day I followed this rhythmic clank to a street vendor. Extremely hot and thirsty, I chanced my stomach and possible threat of traveller's diarrhea for a glass. Ah! What sweetness! (Bonus: No upset stomach...)

2. The open air market (Crawford Market, Mumbai) is much like those of Morocco with types of things being sold clustered mostly together in a specific area. Although no less chaotic, there is a greater hint of orderliness to its chaos as compared to the Moroccan souqs.

3. Local buses are extremely cheap (Rs. 5-7, approx. 1-2 pennies) and convenient. It's not a bad way to go locally, providing if you can get a seat/bus isn't too horribly crowded and traffic flows well enough to catch a breeze through the opened windows. (BTW, there are a few rows of seats up towards the front of the bus reserved "for ladies only.")

4. When asking for directions, it's a good idea to ask several people. Oftentimes you get conflicting or differing responses. Earlier in the trip K and I experienced this in Chennai. At one corner, asking one person we were told to go left. Another person informed us to go right. A third person adamantly gestured for us to continue on straight ahead. A cruel joke on the tourist? A random answer thrown out better than not providing an answer? All correct but varying ways of getting to the final desitnation?

5. The darker I get (despite the liberal use of sunscreen), the more I am believed to be from the northeastern states of India. I've noticed that I'm greeted more and more in Hindi...

6. Officially, there appears to be a strong aversion to acknowlediong the theft of my bag as such. Not even with the preface of "alleged." No. I've just reported "the loss of" my bag, oh she just "lost" her bag, her bag was "lost", etc. Hmmm...

7. Some of the people that I have come into contact with all like their music, TV, and movies played at VERY LOUD volume! What?! What was that? No, I can still hear you! Turn it up! Yes, I can still hear myself think! LOUDER!!

8. At the cinema, they play a snapshot of the governmental approval prior to the trailer or feature film they are about to show. Sometimes it is in Sanskrit and others it is in English. Also, right before the feature film starts they run a short film of the Indian flag at which the audience immediately stands up and sings the national anthem.
(By the way, if any of you haven't seen "Crash" yet, I highly highly recommend it. It was kind of weird sitting in an Indian theater absorbing what's going on in the movie while contemplating if the audience realizes that what happens in the movie [which is a worthwhile representation of reality, in my opinion], transcends all kinds of boundaries be it nationality, ethnic, religious, value-systems, and beliefs.)

9. There is no such thing as "moderation" here in India. It is my perception of extremes.

10. Dogs rule here in India. As opposed to Morocco, I've only seen 4 cats during my entire 6 weeks here.

11. During "rush hour" here in Mumbai, the police ties a rope to the light post and holds the other end. This is so that he can prevent people from trying to cross against the light by pulling it taut. When people are allowed to cross, he just drops it down until the next light change.

12. People jaywalk/cross against the light constantly here. I've picked up the habit and have gotten very adept at it (patting myself on the back)!

13. The wealthier people here not only own foreign cars (such as Ford, Chevrolet, Honda, Hundai, Mercedes) but it appears to be a must to have drivers for them - drivers that wait around all day to take you to wherever whenever you need to go.

14. Despite being a huge supplier of IT/computer-related brilliants, there is not a single website available for people in India to book a ticket on-line.

15. The more expensive larger vehicles do not have a simple repeated beep that sounds when they put the vehicle in reverse. No, no. That would not do! Too boring! So, in lieu of that, they have horns that play some melodic/musical fragment of songs. Really.

16. Although it has been difficult for me to become completely vegetarian with my diet in the States, I have slipped into one here very easily. In fact, I've eaten beef only a couple of times.

17. My backpack, upon leaving the States, weighed in at 22 kilos (~48.4 pounds). I believe that it is now up to about 27-30 kg and has gained about 6 inches in height. Yes, it has been christened "Ganesh" although K honors it with "Vishnu"!

18. OMG!!! The air pollution is so completely horrible here. And I hate how my mind works sometimes because I started thinking of all the dry particulates that I'm breathing in; in addition to vehicular exhaust, you have spit, spit with betel juice, piss, cow dung, dog dung, horse dung, garbage, evaporation of waterways clogged with garbage and sewage, urine from everyone and everything...ugh.

19. The pictures that I have taken will not do India any justice for they fail to also capture the smells and sounds of India.

20. Bollywood: Where are the dark-skinned actors? Things that make you go 'hmmm...'

21. When my travel partner and I laugh, we laugh heartily - from the belly. And we laugh loud. Which is something that India women do not do so we often get the entire area within hearing distance craning around to see the source of the laughter and the cause of it. Jeez...it was how a new friend of our found us/our hotel room in Darjeeling - by following the sound of our laughter!

22. The screeching of the birds in Mumbai gives the growing number and volume of vehicular honking a total run for their money in the mornings.

23. Spitting is the thing here. Often with betel nut juice. YUCK!

24. Drivers of Mumbai utilize any and all space available on the road much more efficiently than any other drivers on the road. You get so close to the other car that, as my travel partner put it, "you can almost smell their mouthwash!"

25. I'm not that good of a salesperson. I was trying to sell my watch (band included) for 800 Rs. to the street vendor trying to sell me a small drum. The sale didn't take...

26. I am SOOOO LOVING the music that Indians play here...whether it's in English or some Indian dialect, they all have SUCH great beats!!! I am in great danger of spending much of my money on ripped CDs.

27. Strolling the pathways/roads/alleys with cows have gotten to be a very commonplace thing.

All Things Ubiquitous In India

2006-04-05T23:40:00.000-07:00

1. Spitting.

2. Spitting betel juice.

3. Men peeing. Like just "right there"...!

4. Men teaching their sons to pee "right there"...!

4. Dogs.

5. Cows. (They get free rein in India to go whereever they please...the train platforms, the temples, crossing busy streets, hovering near a shop... Notably, though, they were completely missing in Darjeeling.)

6. Honking. (Good grief but for one motor vehicular ride - one walk down a street! - without the incessant honking!!)

7. Question of "Where from?"

8. Question of "Taxi?" "Rickshaw?"

9. Question of "Married?" followed by "Why not/never married?" after the initial shock/disbelief/puzzlement upon finding out that I'm 37.
(By the way, I found something in "The India Times" newspaper that may be apropo to insert here: "Marriage is the triumph of imagination over intelligence. Second marriage is the triumph of hope over experience." ~Anonymous Somehow, though, I don't think the people who've asked me about my non-marital status would be satisfied with that answer...

10. Lack of personal space/boundaries. They take literally of "give an inch, take a foot."

11. Chinese food. Everywhere. It is served everywhere. I kid you not.

12. Power outages.

13. Lonely Planet's India Guide.

14. Garbage, piles and mountains of garbage, alongside the train tracks. It's so unnerving to watch people just toss out their wrappers, plastic bottles, etc. out of the window. A huge bummer of this is that the deeply impoverished people that live along the tracks within city boundaries that are the recipients of this garbage dumping...

15. Did I mention spitting?

Overwhelmed

2006-04-02T12:15:00.000-07:00

Here's the latest update:
No passport yet. So with fervent hope I am praying that it will be available on Monday. This is so that I can leave India for Egypt on Tuesday. For if I am not able to complete the crazy obstacle course I am currently challenged with, then I am staying until next Saturday before being able to leave.

As you've probably picked up in that last paragraph, I have decided to continue on with my original destinations of travel. Reading all your emails and comments, I am sitting here in this inet cafe utterly overwhelmed by all your support, encouragement, and love. You have no idea how much it all moves me and how extremely comforted I am now - how grateful I am to have you all a part of my life.

Thank you.

Persona Non Grata

2006-03-29T23:32:00.000-08:00

That would be me. As of today, I have been without a passport for 5 days.

I have also been without money, credit cards, exit permit, my outbound ticket for Cairo, camera, memory cards, my journal and a plethora of small things but needed things.

Yup. I've been robbed. While trying to stow away my backpack on the train heading out to Aurangabad. Needless to say, we never made it to the caves.

The downside of all that is apparent. Along with the tremendous hassle of all the things that one has to do to get some of those things replaced such as the passport and the ticket or cancelling the cards. Along with the heartbreak of losing all pictures that had, in a small way, captured bits and pieces of my trip to remind me and trigger my experiences, trials/tribulations, and joy. (Sorry all - there will be no picture-viewing parties when I get home!)

The upside of that is that I got to visit a U.S. Consulate General in another country. Pretty interesting. The one is Mumbai appears much smaller than the one we walked by in Chennai. Despite this, it seems to be more tightly guarded. As with the one in Chennai, there is a wall that surrounds the compound with spikes along the top. There are also more guards with big rifles. They do not let anyone pause in the immediate front of it nor in the area across the street. They will emphatically motion you to move on. They check for traces of explosives on anything going into the compound by swiping the items at random/specific places for chemical analysis as well as running a detailed visual scrutiny. To enter, you have to go through a series a guarded locked doors, revolving bars doors, bullet-proofed doors, electronic scanners all the while carrying an endorsed visitor invitation note. Throughout all of this there are video cameras watching your every move.

The whole process of trying to get a new passport was rather painless but that was because I had documentation of my original passport (thank you a thousand thank yous to B and Mo!!!). Hopefully, I will get it from the States by tomorrow (Friday). If not, then I'll have to wait through the weekend until Monday.

In the meantime, I have succeeded in getting the approval to get a ticket re-issued for my next leg of the trip - Egypt. The only problem is to work out when I can leave. This is because I also need to get approval for an exit permit from the Foreigner's Regional Registration Office.

So. If my passport comes in tomorrow and I am successful in running around like mad and having people at Etihad Airlines and FRRO work with me, I may be able to head out of India by Saturday. If not, my going-on won't happen until Tuesday.

The next question is - Do I go on or do I go home?

Do I travel on the mercy and kindness of generous friends and family through wired money? Do I visit two of the most visually stunning countries without a camera? Do I forego some of the things that I have planned because of this huge detour? Frankly, I'm not sure. Admittedly, much of the wind has been let out of my sails.

My travel companion, for a multitude of reasons of which I wholeheartedly agree with, has decided to not continue on with me to Egypt. I bid her good-bye last night. She will continue on with her travel plans that she had established after Egypt. I do wish her better travels and pleasure (as well as rest and recuperation) with her next destinations. And I thank her a thousand times for all her help and support through these past days. What an ending to India, huh, K??

So.

Mumbai Redeemed

2006-03-29T23:14:00.000-08:00

Okay...so I don't dread Mumbai as a city anymore. During our stopover here from Jaipur before heading out to Aurangabad, we have discovered that there are some very nice spots in Mumbai that make the city more pleasant. For future travelers to Mumbai, I would recommend that you stay in the Fort area or the posher area of Colaba. For those that have never been to an extremely densely populated metropolitan city, I would recommend arriving on a Sunday and taking advantage of the emptiness in this southern part of the city before being bombarded by the hordes of people and vehicles during the rest of the week.

Mickey D's...Where's the Beef?

2006-03-29T22:25:00.000-08:00

It has been on our minds as to where, if any, are there McDonald's in India. (We had heard rumors that there was one spied but that was unconfirmed.) You see, it's our perception that McDonald's, like Coca-Cola Co. and PepsiCo, has infiltrated the world but we hadn't seen any on our trip yet. We have walked by Domino's, Pizza Hut and a Subway or two but no McDonald's. Could they really not have chosen to dominate and drive the fast food market here in India? (Yeah, yeah...we could have just looked it up on the web. By the way...here's the link to Mickey's in India: http://www.mcdonaldsindia.com/)

No. They are here. We can attest to it.

Our first sighting of a McDonald's occurred in Jaipur. Questions ran rampant in our overwhelmed brains - Could they really have beef burgers??! If not, how has their menu been altered? Does their fries taste the same? What?!

It was too much - we had to peek at their menu and try it.

Yes, their menu is very different. It's more limited. To see what they have, check out this link: http://mcdonalds.net.in/mcd/corp/OurFood/index.php .

We can say that the food taste the same. I can personally vouch for the Filet-O-Fish Value Meal (although it's called the Combo Meal here). K had the Maharaja Mac - yup, the veg replacement for the Big Mac. It's an interesting burger. Another interesting thing of note is that they served us the food as it became available. I thought that it was perhaps just because it was so slow (we were there in the morning).

We found another Mickey's in Mumbai. We got there shortly after it opened at around 9:10 a.m. It was a very posh-looking place with faux dark wood paneling with a huge outdoors seating area. We placed our order and sat down to enjoy the air-conditioning. The food again was brought out to us since it wasn't ready immediately upon our placing the order. They'd rather you not wait for it if it's going to take some time. (There's also a guy who gets kind of snippy if you self-serve dumping your tray into the garbage. And for those who aren't interested in dealing with the traffic, the heat, the walk - whatever - they can get McDelivery. Yes. You read that right.)

By 9:30 a.m. the place was packed. And it continued to be packed the entire day. To expedite the ordering queue, there's an employee that takes your order via paper which gets handed to you so that you can hand it to the cashier.

Another interesting facet of McDonald's in Mumbai is the patrons themselves. In the States, it's patronized by everyone. Here, the patrons appear to be mostly the well-to-do/well-dressed/trendy folks. It's not that the prices are that expensive compared to what we pay in the States (it's cheaper here, of course) but relative to what most people earn, it's rather costly. The Combo Meals run from about Rs. 85 to 105. That translates to just under $2 to $2.40. A large soda costs Rs. 42 (just under $1). And if what we read about the average earnings of Indians is correct, this would make sense.

(BTW, Pizza Hut food also tastes the same...)

Continuing Path of Travel Within India

2006-03-29T21:00:00.000-08:00

From Agra, we traveled to Jaipur in the state of Rajasthan. It wasn't at all what I thought it would be like. I think that other famously-known cities such as Jodhpur and Udaipur would have been more like what I had pictured.

From Jaipur we had to return to Mumbai in order to catch a train back out in the evening to Aurangabad, the city that we had planned to use as base to do day trips for visits to Ellora and Ajanta - both famous rock-hewn Buddhist cave sites (Ellora also has Hindu and Jain carvings). We were both very excited about seeing the caves but really dreading having to come back to Mumbai - even if it was for the day.

After the caves/Aurangabad, we were to come back to Mumbai to spend the night (joy joy) before leaving for Cairo on the 30th.

However, things have changed. More on that in later posts...

O Romeo, Romeo! Wherefore art thou, Romeo?

2006-03-21T06:10:00.000-08:00

Today I was able to strike another "life hope" off my list by visiting the Taj Mahal. It is as beautiful as all pictures depict it to be and more. The extraordinary, overwhelming love Shah Jahan felt for his beloved Mumtaz is definitely palpable through the scope, detail of craftmanship, and sheer beauty of the entire complex. It is easy to see why the romantically melancholic picture of the late Princess Diana sitting on one of the marble benches, gazing wistfully at the Taj, has struck a chord in many people, evoking deep emotions and remaining in their memories as one of the most appealing photograph ever viewed. In fact, it would be safe to state that that picture has created another tourist attraction feature at the Taj. I have witnessed many women stare at the aforementioned marble bench in awe while asking, "Is this where she sat?" I have even seen one Aussie lass rub her bum on said bench.

Silly as this might seem, it is quite understandable for how many of us - not just women - hope ardently to find that one true beloved that affords us safe harbor from all trials and tribulations of the world? To have someone understand and hold carefully in their hands our fears, dreams, and hopes? To be connected to another in such fashion where hand-holding in the late years of our lives is still as important as that first time?

To have the love of some other that is so deep, true and steadfast - almost limitless - that construction of such a seemingly everlasting monument is needed as a small token of homage? Amazing...

Update

2006-03-20T09:51:00.000-08:00

From Chennai:
K and I traveled by train to Kolkata. That was a 31-hour long ride. Fortunately, it didn't go so bad as we took the advice of the NY/LA pseudo-expat and splurged for the air-conditioned train (3rd class). In the south, it was easy to take the much less expensive non-A/C sleeper class because people were basically friendly and respectful. Not so much in the North. It is definitely better to take the 3rd A/C train but there still moments when it's touch-and-go as to whether or not you'll get into a disagreement about seating arrangements, volume control, lights on/off, luggage storage, etc. I later experienced this on our train ride from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri.

After getting into Kolkata in the morning we spent most of the day waiting to board another train that evening to get to New Jalpaiguri - the closest train stop to Darjeeling. It was a very tiring and hot wait. For the help that we've received on our travels we were able to return the favor for a Korean traveler touring around India on her own. She had just arrived in India that day and had no idea of where to go in Kolkata or any information on her proposed next destination. To this end we were able to provide her with those pages in our Lonely Planet guide.

Upon boarding the train, K and I tried to stow our huge packs as much out of the way as possible. However, a fellow passenger insisted on needing to store his luggage directly under his seat circumvented this hope. Oh well. I guess he preferred to have Ganesh' brain (the top of my pack) stick out and in his way. Anyhow, thank goodness for the help and kindness of another passenger who argued/translated for me and got everything smoothed out for the most part. She and her family ended up taking K and I under their wings, bought us snacks and drinks (I think they really pitied us because of our packs and lack of eating.) Her four-year-old son is beautiful, very smart and hysterically funny/fun to play with. On this train we also ended up talking at some length with the coach of the Indian Services (military) bodybuilding team. They were going to Darjeeling to compete in the "IBBF 45th Senior National Mr. India Bodybuilding Championships and Selection of India Bodybuilding Team for Asian Games."

From Darjeeling, we caught a shared taxi for a 3-hour ride up and up into the Himalayan mountains to Darjeeling (elevation of 2176 m, I believe). The route up was rather winding (as expected). However, it didn't sit well for one Indian matron sitting across from K (we were stuck facing each other on bench seats in the back of the SUV...the place in the back where people usually put cargo). I nervously watched her close her eyes against the tortuous whipping back and forth of the SUV (as well, I imagine, against the nausea and pain of motion sickness) and listened with great distress to her loudly belch. I was so afraid of her being sick on us for it would have caused my travel companion to get sick and, more than likely, also make me sick. Can you just imagine? The back full of sick passengers covered in vomit? Hm...yeah.

So. All-in-all a grueling bit of traveling we did (did I not swear this off already from my experience in Morocco?! but quite worth it after getting to Darjeeling and settling in). It was quite chilly but so extremely beautiful! Ironic that it's called a "hill station" when it's up at an elevation of 2176 m! Additionally, for us Darjeeling was quite a nice change of pace - it's much slower, kinder and gentler on tourists. Plus the Tibetan food! YUM! Momos, gyanthuk, thukpa, thenthuk, shabaly...ummm...but my mouth is watering just at that thought!

We spent 4 days/3 nights there. The highlight of my stay there was a sunrise trip to Tiger Hill. It was quite inspiring to see the the circular edge of the red sun peak through the clouds. But the star of the entire show was the gradual illumination of the mountain peaks opposite of the sunrise. The tallest of them all is Kangchendzoga which is reported to be the world's third highest peak weighing in at 8,585 m (28,169 ft). The name itself means 'House of Five Treasures’ represented by its five soaring summits. All the peaks were still covered in gloriously brilliant white of snow. As the clouds gradually withdrew downwards, the entire top of the mountain range shimmered with the morning light. Simply exhilarating! We were also able to see the very top peaks of Three Sisters as well as Everest in the distance.

Continuing onward, we caught a shared taxi back down to New Jalpaiguri to catch a train for New Delhi (22.5 hours), also 3rd A/C. From New Delhi we caught another train a few hours later to Agra to see the Taj Mahal and other goodies.

Let me tell you a bit about this last train ride. It has been our shortest train ride to date. And yet the most unbelievable amd the most unforgettable. Unless we caught the whole thing on video, I don't think you all would get the full impact of the situation. But let me try to describe it to you.

We have seen with other train boardings scores of people dashing off down the platform for some destination unknown to K and I. Today we found out why. Most trains have some cars for 1st A/C, 2nd A/C and 3rd A/C sleepers and/or chairs. The bulk of the cars are the non-A/C sleeper class.

Then they have the 2nd class. The few cars (usually 4, I'm told...2 at the beginning of the train and 2 at the end) are what the people are running for. The reason why they run is because they are trying to be the ones to get onto the cars - not to get a seat but just to get on. At the entrances to the cars there is quite a bit of hysterical shouting and screaming accompanied by violent pushing and shoving. This is because those on-board are desperately trying to shove their way off the train while those on the platform are desperately trying to shove their way on the train. I really wish I had a video to illustrate this utter complete madness.

So how did K and I discover this? Well, since we were interested in getting straight away to Agra from New Delhi and did not wish to arrive after dark, we chanced the purchase of a second class ticket. We had no clue what was in store for us.

Let me share with you the experience.

In shock we braced ourselves to push our way onto the very last car as it appeared to provide the best opportunity for us to just get on. Luckily we were able to make it on. However, almost immediately our packs (still on our backs) were being pushed, shoved, slapped, and beaten by crazed women with children trying to get off and get onto the car. Incredibly loud screeches and screaming in Hindu streamed from their mouths. (I'm sure we were being cursed to all sorts of hells and back!) Despite understanding their predicaments there was nothing that we could do. We were already pushed completely flat against the wall of the car. Various shapes and sizes of luggage were at our feet impeding us from shuffling anywhere not to mention other passengers (one of whom K knocked off balance with her pack when she tried to turn around to move)! Never have I experienced such crazed madness. One man helped us to remove our packs and arrange it slightly out of the way (although not by much). And then, with laughter tinged with a slight edge of hysteria and despair, we were finally on our way.

After a short while, however, K began to feel faint and not well at all. Luckily, at that time we had pulled into a train stop. The man who helped us with removal and storage of our packs, Kamal, got the attention of a train worker in the next car. He was able to get us moved into it. Frantically, with the help of another passenger, Kamal and I moved all our bags into that car while K tried to stay conscious as she made her way there as well.

Although it was at the expense of K getting ill (from which she recuperated mostly), this car that we moved into provided us with much space and much less number of bodies to be smothered with (there was only the flagger and his companion). It is here that we finally finished out our journey to Agra in peace.

Torn

2006-03-20T09:41:00.000-08:00

During vehicular rides (taxis, buses, autorickshaws) I often find myself torn between squeezing my eyes completely shut in order to not witness just how close we are to mowing down a pedestrian or a dog or careening into a scooter/motorcycle or another taxi/bus/autorickshaw and keeping them wide open in order to burn into my memory the crazy activities of the streets, the majesty of India's nature and lands, the reality of the Indian life.

A miracle how I have yet to witness an accident.

Mistaken Identities

2006-03-20T09:29:00.000-08:00

While here in India, I have been mistaken for being:
* Malaysian
* Canadian
* British (because of my "clear pronunciation of english")
* Japanese (yeah, yeah...)
* Korean
* Tibetan
* from the Northeastern States of India like Nagaland despite being pretty fair

Strangely, there have been a couple of times when, after declaring that I'm from the States, the inquistor was taken by surprise by my answer. Puzzled, they comment that I seem to "look Chinese or Korean or something like that." I don't think they realize just what a melting pot of ethnicities the States are becoming.

There has only been one time that someone has accurately guessed that I'm Chinese.

Favorites of India

2006-03-20T09:14:00.000-08:00

Fav advert:
(billboard) "Toneform bras and panties...For the perfect form for all your melodious moods."

Fav bus ride:
Traveling from Kanyakulam to Ernakulam after our stay at the ashram. "Why" you ask? Because during it, K and I experienced the closest near miss in any moving vehicle ever! Yikes!!

Fav nature scene:
As the sun rose, its light hitting upon and lighting up the snow-capped Kangchendzonga and the surrounding mountain peaks. Absolutely breathtaking!!!

Fav city:
Darjeeling - mountains, baby!! Plus it was very cool to visibly see the different ethnicities coexisting in the area.

Fav vegetarian dish:
Aloo gobi from Stuff Makers (Hotel Kamal, Agra)

Fav roti:
Cheese garlic naan (from Hanuman Restaurant in Anjuna Beach)

Fav quote:
"Very bad pu**y?" Oh, those crazy Frenchmen!!!

Fav moment:
Cheering for the Indian Services bodybuilding team during the participating bodybuilders parade through Darjeeling. (We met some of them and their coach on the train ride from Kolkata to New Jalpaiguri on the way to Darjeeling.) You should have seen the locals watching us in puzzlement/amusement!

Fav drink:
Maaza (distributed by Coca-Cola Company)

Fav tourist visit:
The lighting of the Maharaja's Palace in Mysore. Nothing like it I have seen thus far in my life...

Fav train ride:
Traveling from Mysore to Bangalore. It was quite amusing watching a group of monks (two of which were dressed hip-hop style) play cards, drink chai, sprawl/curl up completely passed out in sleep.

Fav autorickshaw ride:
In Chennai, leaving our lodging for the Chennai Central Train Station. There have been some autorickshaws and scooters whose horn sound have cracked us up because they have sounded similar to a duck quack or a screeching cat. This one takes the cake because when the driver went to use his "horn", he simply squeezed a rubber ball attached to a horn. I don't know if the drivers of the other vehicles ever really noticed...

Fav spelling of our names:
Crktella and Keny

To Actually See The Reality

2006-03-12T09:42:00.000-08:00

I am sure many of you have seen the commercials from charitable organizations fundraising depicting heartrending visuals of extreme poverty and deplorable living conditions. Well, I actually walked along one of the streets here in Chennai and got a chance to see it up close and in person.

I have mentioned that I was strongly struck by the extreme levels of poverty I witnessed in Mumbai. Although it was shocking it really didn’t hit home as I pretty much flew by it in a autorickshaw. Even seeing some of the horrible conditions in the streets of Mumbai didn’t really percolate through me as I have seen similar situations at similar levels in other countries.

But walking along this one street today really shook me – truly slapped me upside the head as to just how lucky I am to have a living situation that is rather posh in comparison to that which I saw today. In a major city. Along a major road (or so it seems according to the map provided to us by the government for tourists traveling in India). Propping each other up was small shack after another. Each one was put together with whatever materials are available, it seems. No electricity. No running water. Cooking is done with fire in the street in front of the home. The river running behind this string of shacks appears to serve as the dumping grounds for their garbage and sewage.

And these people are the lucky ones. At least they have a shack to go into and live. There were many more that I witnessed on the way to lunch that had no building whatsoever to call home. Their personal belongings are covered by sun-bleached tarps, plastic sheets or cloth while they sleep on the sidewalks. The lucky ones of this group of people have trees to offer shade and protection against rain. Those not so lucky must wander to other locations to stay cool.

Tonight walking here to this inet place, I saw these families come together around the cooking fire to eat dinner, talk and share each other’s day.

It is truly heartbreaking to see this…

Devastating.

Yeah... About that...

2006-03-12T09:21:00.000-08:00

Can I just state for the record here that I really, really, really hate shopping? I know…I’m a girl and by default I should have some genetic make-up within me that strongly encourages and even cause me to desire and enjoy shopping. Yeah…about that…NOT SO MUCH!

Right now we are in Chennai (formerly known as Madras), the capital of the state of Tamil Nadu. It’s a pretty large city. We were dreading coming here because of how we feel about Mumbai. Fortunately for us Chennai is nowhere near the scale of madness that Mumbai is.

We are here because of two reasons: 1) to visit Mamallapuram which is another World Heritage site that reportedly has an amazing temple and stone carvings to view, and 2) to go shopping.

So if I hate shopping so much why would I do it? Well, I put the blame squarely on this woman we met on the ferry ride from Ernakulam to Fort Cochin. She is from New York/Los Angeles but has been living in Jaipur (Rajasthan state) for the last year and a half (her boyfriend is Indian). She informed us that northern India is very much different from southern India.

How so? we asked. Her answer: the people are less friendly/more rude, more possessive of what are “theirs”, and more in-your-face towards foreigners. She has found that to negate as much of this as possible it’s better to blend in through dressing as much Indian-style as possible.

Despite trying to be as much as conscientious travelers possible, we still draw attention. Therefore, hearing this pseudo-expat describe her experience we decided to take her suggestion to do even more to try and repel attention and blend in. Also, we really didn't want to draw increase hassles. I ended up purchasing some kurtas and skirts. I also purchase a couple of saris, one of which I had the head saleslady show me how to put together. When I stepped out to display my new outfit everyone in the store was greatly amused. I feared that some of the men sewing in the back was going to fall out of their chairs trying to catch a glimpse/laughing! K, really not at all amused by the tiny blouses that one must wear as part of the sari, opted to go the route of kurtas with skirts and a salwar kameez (a knee-length tunic over pants topped off by a very long scarf). I purchased one also but the sleeves do not fit right after being attached – part of the yesterday’s ordeal that made me lose it in the middle of a confusing and maze-like shopping mall.

Today we ran a trial run with our new outfits trekking out to “Gallopin’ Gooseberry” – An American-Italian eatery. What do you know? They really did cut down on the questions, stares, inquiries of national origin, hassles from touts/taxi drivers/shopkeeps, and stares.

My First Stay In An Ashram

2006-03-12T08:43:00.000-08:00

It was really quite interesting to stay in an ashram and see how things operate. We stayed at Matha Amrithanandamayi Mission. The mission is headed up by one of India’s few female gurus, Amrithanandamayi, who is better known as Amma (Mother) – aka “The Hugging Mother.” She is known as such because her the darshan (blessing) that she practices is to hug people.

I found out about this from an Italian traveler with whom I shared the taxi ride from the Mumbai airport to my hotel. Then while perusing the ever-handy, much loved & hated LP guide for India (which is a brick, by the way), we saw that her ashram could be incorporated into a tour of the backwaters of Kerala state – something that has been recommended to us as something to do while in India. Hoping to see Amma and get a hug from her we decided to interrupt our backwaters tour and spend the night at her ashram.

Our lodging was in a high-rise building twelve-stories tall. It was quite strange to be spending the night at an ashram in such a modern piece of architecture (but the views of the river and the ocean and the miles of palm tree jungles were spectacular! We even got to watch a fireworks show taking place miles away!) The ashram is quite large and well developed. We were told that when Amma is in residence that as many as 3000 people are housed on the ashram. (Unfortunately for me Amma was not in residence but was touring northern India. Consequently, the ashram was very quiet.) There are also about 150 Renunciates – Westerners that have renounced the world to become a permanent part of the ashram.

Although Amma and her organization has provided much in the way of humanitarian works and funding, it was a bit disconcerting and, frankly, downright eerie to see how devoted her followers are to Amma. It’s seems as if many worshipped her in place of an intangible, ethereal god/goddess – something that is really bothersome to me. It’s not as if she demands such devotion (although I do not know this for certain); it’s just that her devotees are so enamored of her that they turn so much of themselves over to her.

Anyhow, while here I realized that I actually had heard of her from some brief viewing of a television program on her and that there is an American ashram in San Ramon. Strange…

I would still like very much to meet her and receive a hug. I’ll take any kind of positive blessings available in this world that I can.

Witnessing A "Story-Play"

2006-03-12T08:08:00.000-08:00

From Mysore we traveled to Kochi. It’s a city that has several districts. Although our lodging is in Ernakulam, we toured around the more picturesque Fort Cochin. It’s very quiet and mellow. Ernakulam itself has a very upscale, metropolitan feel within its city center but the outlying areas are quieter and almost rural-like. To get to Fort Cochin, a ferry must be used to cross the bay. It’s quite cheap; one-way cost Rs. 3. (The exchange rate is about Rs. 44 to $1.)

In Fort Cochin we attended a theatrical show – a performance of the art form of kathakali. (The literal translation is “story-play.” These are usually dramatised interpretations of Hindu epics.) Before the actual performance the audience was treated to the privilege of watching the performers put their face make-up on. It’s rather elaborate. Each performer puts on much of his make-up on but not all. To complete the face make-up another member adheres with rice paste pieces of paper that emphasizes the character that the performer is acting out.

The performers do not sing or speak. In order to act out the play, they must use grand gestures (mudras) and convey the action and emotions with their face. Some of the performers have very tight control over their facial muscles. They are quite talented and skilled in their facial movements. There are musicians that play. One plays small symbols; one drums with these long, curved sticks; and another also drums but with his hands (his fingertips are covered with what I believe are pieces of wood). The one who plays the symbols also plays a box-like accordion and sings as well.

There are no stage sets so much is also left up to the imagination of the audience. Very surreal.

To Live In The Shadows Of Ancient Temples

2006-03-05T20:15:00.000-08:00

Wow.

This was the word that kept slipping out of my mouth and circling my mind when walking around Hampy.

The first reason is because of all the granite hills that makes up the environment here. There are so many slabs and boulders and piles of rocks. Interspersed between these granite hills are valleys of deep, dark, lush green. The foliage is from the rice and banana fields as well as other vegetation they are growing here.

The second reason is because of the incredible array of temples and ruins that exist in the area. The village of Hampy surrounds the tallest of them all, the Virupaksha Temple. It's in the traditional Jain-style. It is still very much intact and used. There are some temples that have been excavated and restored. They are in astonishly good condition. They range in date from the mid-1300s to early 1600s. I really wish that I had the ability to upload pictures onto this blog now so that I may share with you how they look!

There is still pockets of archaeological digging going on. All is done by manual labor. The dirt is moved one basketful by one basketful on the tops of the heads of Indian women while many of the men are digging or moving freshly excavated ornate slabs into place.

While this all goes on, there are playfully energetic monkeys that chase each other around. Some, not so energetic, sit contemplatively, watching the activity around them in stoic quiet.

Astounding.

Bus Ride Straight From Hell

2006-03-02T08:05:00.000-08:00

Just a quick comment on our bus journey from Anjuna Beach to Hampi (pronounced "humpy") via Mapusa -

IT WAS PURE HELL!!!!

I'm not sure if something shady was being pulled on the riders or if what we were told were the truth...

Here's the story:

K and I (along with other passengers) were supposed to catch a sleeper bus labelled "Island" from Mapusa at 6:30 p.m. to take us to Hampi (with an estimated arrival time of 6:00 a.m.). We waited and waited around until a "pick-up" bus (small, barebones-style, somewhat uncomfortable local one) came to take us to the actual bus which was claimed to have broken down. I was told that we were going to catch the sleeper in Panjim, about half an hour away. K heard the bus workers tell a woman a different location to which she exclaimed in protest that it was two hours away. Not really knowing what was going on, truth-wise, we all piled in and drove to Panjim. There, instead of transfering to the sleeper bus, we simply picked up a couple more passengers and then proceeded to drive to a city called Caracona which is located not too far from the border between the states of Goa and Karnataka. At this stop, we were supposed to pick up a large group of people, some who did not have seats. A few people ended up snagging a ride on another large bus also going to Hampi (I'm not sure how they managed that). A family with two small children decided to just wait and catch the bus the following day. The rest of us crammed ourselves in with most of the luggage and headed off. By this time it was roughly 11:30 p.m. I was truly not happy and got a bit loud with the bus staff along with some of the riders that were with us from the start.

Anyhow, we finally started for the border (yes! the border) where the sleeper bus was now supposed to pick us up. Luckily the border was just under an hour away. However, we ended up waiting for yet another hour before we could board the sleeper. It was then about 1:30 a.m.

The sleeper wasn't too bad, fairly comfortable but not comfortable enough to handle the potholes in the road. I think I was pretty much the only one who yelped the first time we went over one at good speed. My prone body felt completely airborne. Consequently, the landing was a bit rough. By the time we reached Hampi, most of the bus was also yelping whenever we went over bumps and potholes. It truly is not fun to be horizontal when that happens.

Living It Up Hippie-Raver Style

2006-03-02T06:54:00.000-08:00

GO-UH!!!

Okay...actually it's Goa. Although Panjim is in the state of Goa, you don't really get the sense of what Goa's supposedly reputed for from either Panjim or Mapusa (pronounced "map-sa" - another small transport hub town inland from the beaches). However, if you wander off into some of the beaches you do get a taste. For those of you unfamiliar, like myself, as to what Goa is "known" for: Goa is reputed to be the party central in India. I think that it was once on par with some of the party spots of the world like Ibiza (although not nearly as glamorous) and Prague (Czech Republic). As I understand it, there used to be many dance parties/raves on the beach up and down the Goan coast. Trance and chillout music has deeply taken hold here (YES!!! Can you just picture my delight right about now?!?! YAY!!! :-D ) However, it seems that the government has taken a strong position in trying to do away with that element of Goa and all the social problems and stigma that goes with it. Consequently, upon K and my arrival and subsequent stay, it was rather quiet. Not that that wasn't welcomed by the two of us. In fact, given the resort-like feel to the place, we relished in it! (We ended up spending much time in Anjuna Beach.)

Trance and chillout blaring out of autorickshaws (aka "tuk-tuks"), restaurants and bars notwithstanding, there is still a deeply embedded hippie feel to many of the expat residents. There is a fairly high number of them - from all over the world with many more coming to visit and hang out. Although trance and chillout music is tremendously enjoyed by the locals (so much so there is a style of trance called Goan trance here), they do not really follow the hippie trend.

Anyhow here in Anjuna Beach, we've enjoyed:
* 2 incredibly amazing sunsets,
* chilling out Goan style,
* the best cheese garlic naan either one of us has ever tasted,
* meeting some really fun Goans and foreign travelers,
* a nice evening in a Mediterranean/Island style restaurant lounging on floor pillows,
* relaxing on the beach under a beautifully starlit sky,
* an enormous flea markets with hippies, various Indian ethnic groups and some Nepalese vendors selling a huge variety of things,
* as well as strolling down the small streets and dirt roads alongside cows.
There is a drink that is made by the Coca-Cola Company here called "Maaza" that has got to be the best drink has down we have either tasted. It's like a mango/cream/mix fruit drink. No carbonation, non-alcoholic. Anyhow, K and I (me more so than her) have enjoyed many while enjoying the cool sea breeze blowing in from the Arabian Sea many an afternoon and evening.

The one thing that broke through our idyllic time here in Anjuna Beach is experiencing first hand police corruption and extortion. Nothing happened to K and I; the experience happened to two persons that we met and was something that we were slightly a part of but mostly witnessed. It was at first a bit intimidating but after a while it was just plain infuriating and greatly annoying. The worst part of it how impotent and helpless it makes you feel. For there really is nothing that you can do; any argument or resistance will simply make things/the situation worse. It's also upsetting because these of the people we are supposed to turn to if anything out of the ordinary or unsafe were to happen. How do you trust that you'll receive help and not ambivalance, not to mention further harassment? Arrgghh!

Barring that blip and two nights stay in a really decrepit hotel (don't ever stay at Sai Prasad; our current recommendation is Mary's Holiday Guest House), our time in Anjuna Beach (February 27 - March 1) was pretty darn cool.

Carnival in Panjim

2006-03-02T02:39:00.000-08:00

Panjim, aka Panjini City, is located in Goa state. It was an overnight trip. Luckily it was on an air-conditioned bus. The only problem to that was that they froze us out! I found out that the type of bus that we took is called a semi-sleeper. At first I was very pleasantly surprised at how plush the seats were...so much more comfortable than anything I had had in Morocco. Little did I know that semi-sleepers are really hard on the bum! During the night I had to switch from cheek to cheek to tailbone on a rotational basis in order to alleviate the pain. Not fun!

The carnival in Panjim, which took place on February 26 (Saturday), pretty much consisted of a parade. If any of you have attended a carnival elsewhere in the world like Brazil or New Orleans, it's not anything like that. It was very mellow and family-oriented. The floats ranged from very rough, hand-made affairs to fancier, more polished ones. There were a handful of commercially-sponsored floats. Most, however, of floats by charities and groups promoting conscious awareness: HIV prevention, decreasing/eliminating slash and burn of Goa's hills, prevention of child sexual molestation, vaccination of chickens and prevention of Avian flu, etc. It was very cool.

After the parade, the "party" broke up with families and friends going off to dinner or catching some snacks before heading home. Very mellow.

Reality Frogger Anyone?

2006-02-24T03:06:00.000-08:00

Some of you may remember the video game called "Frogger" by Sega. It's the one where you try to get the frog (you) across a street/river without getting killed. The frog has to dodge cars as part of the game. Let me tell you...I am playing a real live version of that here in Mumbai!! Thank goodness for all the practice wandering around Berkeley. The thing is that here they play hardcore.

Yesterday, when K and I were wandering around we happened across a cow that was just casually wandering the streets. It's owner didn't seem to be around. Because the sight of a cow just strolling unrestrained down the road was so different, we followed it some ways while taking care to not be directly behind it in case it decided to release its version of "exhaust" (from the looks of the road where we first saw the cow, being hit with its "exhaust" could be quite traumatizing and filthy!). After a few blocks we were about to take our leave of the cow until we realized that, despite it wandering into oncoming traffic, the vehicles didn't honk at it. Instead they just waited patiently until it moved out of their way. Seeing this K and I decided to take advantage of this and "tailgate" the cow to cross the streets safely. (Very frequently drivers ignore the stop signal and just continue on through the intersection despite there being pedestrians. In fact, they'll honk at you to get out of their way!)

Itching and Itching...

2006-02-24T02:54:00.000-08:00

I have only been in India 2 nights and I have already racked up 23 mosquito welts. Not bites - welts! The sad thing is that I have a little over half a dozen on my bum from when I have gone to the bathroom!

ARRRGGGGHHHHH!!!!!! :-(

Culture Shock

2006-02-24T01:49:00.000-08:00

Whoa...

Okay. Right now I'm in Mumbai, India. I have been here since Wednesday (for 2 days). Thankfully, my travel partner and I have met up. I'm trying to get caught up with emails and this blog as well as look for possible places to stay for our next destination by hanging out at an internet cafe right now. Okay, admittedly I'm wanting to hang out at the i-net caf for its air-conditioning. (Yeah, it's pretty darn warm - so completely different than the freezing weather of Morocco!)

Mumbai is definitely a place of contradictions. For instance, some of the traditional dress of India women, in my opinion, is fairly sexy and revealing - bare midriffs and tight tops. But when my friend and I tried to stop to watch a group of men play something very similar to 3-card Monty, several men tried to shoo us away because "it's gambling - it's bad." They were pretty serious about it and fairly adamant that we leave. So we left.

The thing that is most astonishing to me is just how crazy Mumbai is. There is so much "more" than what I had imagined: immense hordes of people, tremendous poverty, insane drivers/driving, pollution of garbage and noise, depressed economy... I had some idea of what it would be like but my imagination certainly did not even come close to reality. The only thing that is making me cranky is the noise, specifically that coming from all motor vehicles - cars, taxis, trucks, scooters, motorcycles, etc. It doesn't really die down until about 1:00 a.m. and starts up again at about 6:30 a.m. Talk about a city that doesn't sleep! Let me tell you: Manhattan has NOTHING on Mumbai!! Good grief! I really hope that the rest of India is a bit quieter!

Not Recommended

2006-02-23T22:45:00.000-08:00

I really don't recommend traveling to get to your mandatory destination in one shot!

I traveled from Essaouira to Marrakech; showered, packed up, had dinner and then caught the 5:00 a.m. train from Marrakech to Fes; driven via private car from Fes to Nador; crossed the border from Nador to Melilla to catch my ferry; caught the train to the Malaga airport; flew from Malaga to London; and then flew right back out of London to Mumbai. This all took place from Sunday afternoon, February 19 to Wednesday, February 22.

WHAT THE HELL WAS I THINKING??!!

The cool thing was the drive via private car from Fes to Nador. We went over the eastern edge of the Rif Mountains. I wish I was lyrical enough to convey with words their intense beauty. Another reason why it was such a great drive was the "entertainment" I was provided with. It's totally amusing watching and listening to Moroccan men in their 40s rocking out to Pink Floyd, Eagles, and Tracy Chapman!

Lesson Learned

2006-02-23T22:36:00.000-08:00

Here's something that I learned from 2 other travelers I met that I'd like to pass on to you all. When you go shopping overseas and are buying things from small stalls, keep an eye on the item that you are purchasing. Make sure that it is the item they are bagging for you and not something else they are switching out with!

These 2 guys found out the hard (but hysterically funny) way. One bought a mock turtleneck that had a fake Nike swoosh on it. It seemed like a perfectly fine t-neck. However, when the other guy tried to borrow it to wear he found out that it wasn't the same as the one shown. The t-neck they ended up with had a head/neck opening the same size as the sleeves! Ohmygawd was it FUNNY watching B try to get the t-neck on!!!!

Second Most Favorite Spot In Morocco

2006-02-23T22:04:00.000-08:00

I LOVE Essaouira! It's a small seaport town directly east of Marrakech (about a 3-hour bus ride). It is so incredibly clean and laid-back. Then again, this might have to do something with my own personal bias of loving to be near the ocean.

As with Marrakech, I was quite surprised by the number of tourists in town. I should probably amend that to foreigners as I'm told there are also quite a bit of expats that live in Essaouira.

Anyhow, they have several huge music festivals several times a year. In June there's a Gnawan festival (of the music that I wrote about in a previous blog) for professional artists with another one in August for talent of "amateur" status. Then there's a mixed music fest in September that includes fireworks and medieval Moorish jousting and such. The Gnawan music of Essaouira is notably different from that of the desert. I think that I actually prefer that of Essaouira. There was a shopkeep that was playing and he was so amazing. I could've stayed there all day listening to him play. I really want to try and make it back to check out these festivals!

Soccer is also pretty big here (as with everywhere else in Morocco). Right now, since there are really no tourists frequenting the beaches, they hold games on it. When I was there, there must've been at least 5-6 games going. They're all pretty good. I wish I had gotten up the nerve to ask if I could've join in for a bit!

Thank The Goddess For A Huge Ass, Wide Hips, & Fat Thighs!

2006-02-16T13:50:00.000-08:00

Never in a million years would I ever had thought those words would cross my mind with such gratitude and happiness! (And before I get emails lecturing me on the phrasing of the title as commentary on my body, please know that it is simply a comedic thought that crossed my mind; I don't actually believe nor think that way. At least not completely...)

Let me tell you - riding a chameau (camel) is not something I would recommend to anyone that easily gets seasick, have rigid hip motion or bad back, or is afraid of heights! But it is so much fun! And I had such a cool camel to boot. A total sweetie. The only part of being on a camel that freaked me out (at first) is trying to stay on when the camel gets up. You see, the camel is completely kneeling in order for the rider to mount the camel. Then the camel stands up. To do that, the camel first straightens their back legs (and they are long legs) then their forelegs. Once you anticipate this motion, however, it becomes pas de probleme!

My trek started late in the afternoon last Thursday. The first night my guide and I ended up in an ousis (pronounced wa-zis) not too far away. The dunes were incredible. It was amazing how they changed color with the sun setting and with the amount of clouds in the sky. I also couldn't get over how quiet it was - almost deafeningly so. However, it was definitely a welcomed change after the clamoring noises of the people and vehicles of the large cities. And to finally breathe fresh air after the copious amount of motor exhaust and smokers!

The second day we trekked out to the hamada (the "black" desert where volcanic rocks are) to stay with a Berber family. It was really interesting to come upon them with two donkeys in their "yard". It was even more amazing to see 4 kids (and I mean young goats) leap playfully around the donkeys and up onto the Berber tent I was to stay in for the night. The child was the cutest thing ever. The only thing disconcerting about my stay here was the how flat the entire area was. The reason for this is because of how vulnerable I felt having to "use the facilities" in such an environment having come from a culture of being provided with the utmost privacy during such times! Even in the dunes or backpacking one can always find some feature to obtain privacy! But not in a hamada.

The third day we trekked to a small village called Khemliya. The Berbers make a big deal about this because it is a village comprised predominantly of "Black people", as they point out. Evidently even here, there is a significant segregation between Blacks and non-Blacks. Even though there is distinct racial segregation regarding this village because of skin color, there is also proud acknowledgment of the music the people of this village make. It's called Gnawan music. It includes a guinbri, a guitar-like instrument; tabl, double-headed drums; and qaraqeb, a pair of large dumbbell-shaped castanets. There is also dancing that accompanies the music.

The last morning brought me back to the village. Because of how peaceful it was, I couldn't bring myself to leave. The manager of the auberge that I stayed at introduced me to a local woman and her family. Because of my status of being "married", he had her paint my hands and feet with henna for luck and protection. Because the discoloration from the henna is in the traditional style instead of the curlique designs of flowers and swirls most tourists have done I get comments about my henna frequently wherever I go.

Still not willing to leave, I ended up staying in Merzouga until last night. During my stay I got to know quite a few of the locals, again courtesy of manager of the auberge. I was introduced to another Berber family whose women (Khadija, Mahma, and Zora) immediately took me in as one of their own. Right away I felt really comfortable with them as they laugh, talk, and carry on heartily and with full gusto of life - quite unlike the more staid and very reserved Arabic women I have met. The first night, they were determined to start my renovation into a Berber woman by dressing me up Berber-style. Quite hilarious. Because my name was too difficult for them to pronounce, it was modified to "Ashia Berber" (Asian Berber). From that night forth that's what I was called and introduced to other families as. It was so nice being so welcomed and accepted. I think, though, it kind of confused them as to why I would be interested in hanging out with them for there were a couple of times comments being made to that effect. Nevertheless, I think that it pleased them immensely that there was a foreigner interested in learning about their culture, language and way of life instead of just whipping through town in a 4x4, snapping pictures. (At least I hope so...)

I had such a wonderful time there is the desert. I really didn't want to leave at all. Such beauty, tranquility and peace... I shall miss it terribly.

But onward to catch whatever else I can of Morocco.

To that end I took another night bus (14 hours long, I might add) to Marrakech. It is crazy, crazy, crazy! Again, I chose to stay in the medina instead of the ville nouvelle. There are sooo many people. Here the shopkeeps are much more ruthless and persistent than in Fès or Meknès. Additionally, the quality of wares seem much poorer and more expensive.

But the Place Djemaa al-Fna is a sight to behold. There are definite remnants of French influence but it is surely a Moroccan circus. Open food markets, escargot soup (which is pretty good, by the way), snake charmers, Gnawan musicians, jugglers, transvetite belly dancers, fruit juice stands...all mixed into a huge jumble of a crowd. Truly jaw-dropping.

Okay, I'm off for a visit with a hammam to get scrubbed down. Bon nuit!

The Small Trip I Forgot to Mention

2006-02-16T13:46:00.000-08:00

So. After leaving Fès, I traveled to the next large city - Meknès. I visited the medina there briefly. The main goal I had was to make it to the Roman ruins of Volubilis located not too far from the hillside town of Moulay Idriss. It was pretty nice. I'm sure that it does not compare to anything like that found in Greece, Italy or Turkey but it has whetted my appetite to one day make the travels to those countries to visit them. I visited part of it on my own as I really didn't need or want a guide. However, a guide, after finishing with his customers, came over and offered a tour with whatever time I had left for free. Nothing major but a nice gesture on his part nevertheless.

I haven't had the chance to upload any pictures since none of the computers I've had the opportunity to use will let me do that but there was one "surprise" at the ruins that I'll share with you when I get home. Quite interesting!

Quick Answer To Some Questions About Fès

2006-02-16T13:26:00.000-08:00

Fès el-Bali is called the "old city" or "old medina". The streets are extremely narrow with the buildings going up 2-3 stories high. During the day it's rather charming, easy to get lost in, and thoroughly confusing. At night, however, when the streets empty they can seem rather sinister. It's quite easy to let your imagine take over and get yourself freaked out (and in some cases justifiably so) with images of a narrow dark alleyway, a rogue with malicious intent and an exotically curved knife, a body easily dispensed with one smooth motion across the throat.

All the streets travel downhill towards the different souqs; the city is pretty much shaped like a bowl.

Fès el-Jdid retains some of this romantic flavor but the path/walkways are much wider, there are fewer streets, and it is much smaller.

Le ville nouvelle is simply like any modern city.

MOROCCO - Brief Comments (On-going)

2006-02-08T03:58:00.000-08:00

1. The people here are very upset about the cartoon caricature. Demonstrations are being held and it's constantly in the news.

2. I am so glad that I don't get easily rattled with crazy driving! It seems that here in Morocco, as with in Southeast Asia, the demarcations in the road are "suggestions" only, the goal is to fit as many vehicles across as possible despite lane markings, treat pedestrians as if they aren't really there (or at best, as if they are as "indestructible" as a vehicle themselves), and horns are to be used not for warnings but for "conversations" as well.

3. The Moroccans have processions winding through the streets for both weddings and for funerals. It's quite a spectacle! (I witnessed both.)

4. Goats look totally out of place in trees but yet they're there!

5. Men here, as with men in every place I have visited don't think twice about peeing wherever they may happen to be!

6. I'm a spoiled brat... I really like Western-style toilets! Really. And what I wouldn't give for my shower at home!

7. In Morocco each large city has petit taxis and grand taxis. The petit taxis are cars that are slightly larger than the old-school Honda Civic hatchbacks. For the grand taxis the vehicles used are Mercedes-Benz! (Petit taxis will only carry up to 3 passengers while the grand taxis will take up 5-7 passengers.)

8. It really is amazing how completely diverse the topography of Morocco is. You can go from a seaport where it's crazy windy to huge mountain peaks covered with snow to the dry desert inclusive of large sand dunes to lush green hills in a matter of hours. Reminds me of California in that regard...

9. Marrakech takes the cake in having the craziest "traffic" traversing its roads: upon entering the city today I witnessed the standard array of motor vehicles (buses, petit and grand taxis, buses, trucks), donkey- and horse-powered carts (of course with pneumatic tires), motor bikes, scooters, bicyclists, and pedestrians (yes, in the roadways as well as on the sidewalks). It is absolutely nuts here!! In the medina, I am desperately trying not to get run over by the motor bikes and scooters. I have had roughly 5 close calls. Yikes!

10. Because of the huge variety of tourists that visit Morocco, you will find people that can speak a huge multitude of languages. They may not know it completely thoroughly but well enough for conversations. The languages I have encountered Moroccans speaking include French (of course), Spanish, English (oddly not a huge number of speakers, though), German, Portuguese, Italian, Japanese, Korean, various African languages. So far, no one can speak any Chinese so I am able to get away with ignoring much of the hassles of the shopkeeps trying to ply their wares. Plus, when they hear that "I am from China" they immediately back off...I guess us Chinese are just too poor/cheap/bargain too low to be dealt with! C'est la vie!

11. Three guesses of what smells worse than wet dog and wet wool combined...
(The answer is wet camel hair! Yuck! Yuck! Yuck!) But it is awfully waterproof as it kept me completely dry when it rained couple of nights during my stay. The rain was most welcomed as it hasn't rained in months.

12. There are 2 things that I have come to believe are ubiquitous - cats and mobile phones. Imagine my surprise when I heard the melodious chimes of the mobile phone of my camel trek guide tinkling in the quiet of the desert!

13. I wonder just how black my lungs are right about now...I am getting so completely smoked out from all the cigarette smoke and vehicle exhaust. Yuck...

Hamdullah yet again...

2006-02-08T03:57:00.000-08:00

Bon jour! Right now I am in a small town called Rissani killing time before I head out to Merzouga that is located on the edge of an erg, a set of sand dunes of the Sahara. I would have been here much earlier (instead of 11:30 am local time, it should have been at 6:00 am!) but I overslept on the bus and ended up an hour and a half west of here in a town called Tazzarine. Boy! Nothing like a lost foreigner just as the sun is coming up to draw a crowd! Since I was between two places that I wanted to visit, I couldn't decide what to do. However, several of the bus workers - all worried about and for me - decided that I needed to go back to my original destination of Rissani instead of Zamora. One of them, Atman (spelling?) insisted on feeding me breakfast while waiting for the next bus. Hamdullah!!

I know that I have mentioned the kindness and generosity of the people here in Morocco. I don't think that I can emphasize that enough. As you move away from the imperial cities of Fès and Meknès, it becomes even more apparent. For instance, the bus from Meknès to Rissani was overly packed. I ended up in this non-seat actually. It worked and I could sit and was really, for me, no problem. However, it didn't sit well with one of the bus workers. He made one of the several teenagers on board give his seat up for me. I didn't understand the exchange but it was apparent that the teen wasn't happy about it and wasn't too happy with the lecture he obviously got as well. Women are treated with much respect. Obviously, if one were to conduct themselves otherwise, reciprocal treatment will be given as I have also seen. Another reason for my commenting on this is because such respect that I have been shown is a bit surprising. I thought that I would be given much more of a hard time and be hassled. It really hasn't happened at all! Despite the warnings that I have read about in other travel postings, etc. I have been fortunate to not experience any of that. My experience thus far has been very much to the contrary! I am well taken care of without any expectations of payment or "favors". Let's hope that I continue to be blessed with such good fortune for the rest of my trip!

P.S. The bus ride from Meknès to Rissani, before I fell asleep, was pretty fascinating as it brought me from lush, green hillsides through the Middle Atlas Mountains where there was lots of snow, down to the wind-swept valleys and desert gorges. Gorgeous!

The Three Faces of Fès

2006-02-08T03:42:00.000-08:00

There are 3 different parts of Fès: Fès el-Bali, Fès el-Jdid, and the ville nouvelle. I was quite amazed at how different they were. Traveling through those different parts (in that order), you can see how the architecture gets more and more modern (and frankly, in my humble opinion, quite bland and without character). What was also very interesting to note was the women - how they dressed and how they carried themselves. In the "old city" (Fès el-Bali), the women still pretty much wear traditional outfits and very little make-up. Going into Fès el-Jdid, less women wore the jellabas and covered their heads. Many more wore make-up - full make-up and perfume. Despite the high heels and form-fitting jeans, however, many still covered their heads. In the ville nouvelle there were even less women wearing the traditional garb. In fact, it seemed more like a large city. The women were meticulously made-up and sporting the latest fashions and perfume and without their heads being covered up. Quite interesting moving through the changes!

Hamdullah!! And kon ni chi wa!!

2006-02-06T06:16:00.000-08:00

Wow. What an AMAZING last few days it has been. Let me fill you in...

The morning after arriving in Nador, I searched around for an ATM to use to get Moroccan money - dirhams. For some reason, the machines kept rejecting my card. I wasn't too concerned as I had USD to change. I thought that I would just deal with getting money in Fes. (The significance of this little tidbit comes in later.)

Anyhow, while attracting all sorts of attention walking to the main bus depot (I can just imagine just how strange I must've looked, first, by being a foreigner in a fairly small town and, second, by carrying a backpack the size of a small child!) I lucked out by finding a tout that was very honest. I was able to get a seat cheaply and quickly. Within 5 minutes, I was safely ensconced in my seat (the bus staff were somewhat worried that I would not be okay with it since it meant that I would need to sit next to a male) and on my way.

Can I just tell you how truly incredible the natural beauty and varying topography of northern Morocco? I really wish that I was able to take pictures! It ranged from flat scrubland to dry, rolling hills. As we continued on east of the Rif Mountains, gray crags took over only to eventually give way to brown gorges. Going further south and then west introduced large and lush, green hills. I am picturing the ride over again and, reading over my description, words just fail to describe how majestically beautiful is the countryside.

The bus ride was very interesting itself. Everyone was trying to be discreet in checking me out. That's not what's truly interesting as I've pretty much resigned myself to that reality. (That and the fact that they're at least polite about it.) The bus had to keep stopping outside of towns and at randoms spots to be checked out by the police. (Those of you from my SEA class trip can guess at why!) They were looking for drugs being transported from the Rif Mountains into the cities. Also, they were looking for "safe transport" money. Yeah, basically there was a lot of extortion going on. I found this out in a conversation mostly in French sprinkled with Spanish from a second gentleman (who later introduced himself to me as Abde Lazis) sitting next to me.

After that icebreaker, Abde and I tried sporadically to converse - him in French and me in Spanish. It was quite a bit of work! As we got closer to Fes, I switched to practicing Moroccan Arabic. That got some of the bus workers involved along with some of the people sitting around me. Needless to say, I provided them with much entertainment as I struggled with the various phrases and words that I would need to use. But they were kind in gently correcting my pronounciations. Once we arrived at Fes el-Bali, Abde was extremely kind in helping me get from the city gate, Bab Bou Jeloud, to a place I was hoping to stay. Thank goodness for it was getting dark and the medina (old city) streets were quite packed with people as well as being extremely narrow and circuitous! I didn't negotiate very well and used up what last dirhams I had; I definitely need to find an ATM in the morning!

As with in Nador, I was awoken early in the morning (6 am) by the call to prayer. I lazed on until it got much lighter and then set out in my quest for an ATM. I found one and, again, my card failed to work. I found another ATM and tried again. No luck. By this time, I was starting to get seriously worried.

I decided to check out yet another bank. As I approached it, one of the store owners called out in English that the bank was closed and there was no ATM. Now fairly stressed, I continued on. As I approached the merchant who called out to me, I said my thanks while glancing at his merchandise. Seeing this, he encouraged me to stop and look further. Wanting to resolve my lack of funds immediately, I declined. He continued to encourage me to look, as looking was "for free." Thinking that it would be a way to kill some time (it was still early and I was holding out hope that I would find some ATM that would work with my card in the later morning hours), I went in. The merhant (whose name is Sahid) and I started talking. Eventually it came out why I was so distracted and somewhat stressed out. He reassured me (Kel, you're gonna like this), "No problem!" He stated that he would help me out and proceeded to suggest several solutions that could be attempted. He had one of his workers bring me a glass of coffee, followed by tea. (Moroccan tea, by the way, is SO good. It's green tea with mint leaves and lots of sugar.) He then insisted on feeding me breakfast so that we may be fortified in our trying to get me some l'argent. Afterwards, we set off for his other store that had a credit card machine. We ran my card through and, voilà, it worked! I was so relieved!! One of his workers there informed me that ATMs in Morocco do not always work - sometimes the connections are not established and often they are out of cash, especially on the weekends. Nice to know that now!

Sahid must've really taken pity on me because he offered to be my guide and show me around the medina. I accepted and, boy!, am I glad I did! The medina is one extremely confusing and busy area. I was able to see the tanneries, the different souqs (clothing, gold, textiles, fruit/animal), various mosques (of which I did not enter not being Muslim), various fountains and shops. Details, histories, and stories about all were patiently explained to me (in English, no less!). All my senses were completely overwhelmed! Nearly one o'clock now and seeing how I was starting to flag from overload, Sahid suggested lunch and escorted me back to his shop.

Sahid also invited me to stay with his family instead of my pension. I tried to deline several times but he wouldn't hear "no." Also, he informed me that his sister and her family had invited me to dinner; in fact, his mother was wanting to meet me as well. So now I have found new and very kind friends in Fes! Everyone I am meeting have been very kind and welcoming! Hamdullah!! (Praise be to Allah!)

Anyhow, having been told to stay in Fes for a while, I am exploring today Fes el-Jdid and the ville nouvelle. I'm hoping to see Meknes tomorrow and the nearby Roman ruin at Volubilis. Sahid also suggested that he help arrange a trip to the Sahara, inclusive of a camel ride! Amazing!!

P.S. The "kon ni chi wa" in the title is because that is what has been called out to me wherever I go. Japanese tourists are rather abundant here and are most welcomed because of how much and how freely they spend. Alas, I disappoint because of my lack of spending and response of "Je ne suis japonaise. Je suis chinoise!" which I have now shortened to "Chine!" More often than not, though, I get a big smile and a shout of "Jackie Chan!" I wonder if he knows just how popular he is around the world?? Anyhow, I'm off to buy something to bring to Sahid's sister's house as I've been invited to dinner again!

Have Wedding Rings, Will Travel!

2006-02-03T13:00:00.000-08:00

Please forgive me if mistakes in this post turns up. The keyboard I'm using in this Moroccan internet cafe is even more different from the one I used yesterday in my hostel in Spain with Arabic added to the keys and the web pages in French!

It was a beautiful ferry ride across the Mediterranean. The water was a slate grey that I have never seen in a body of water. Although it was pouring rain and the waters appeared rather choppy, it was a very peaceful (though long) crossing.

It was a very easy passport check and a short walk across the border from Melilla into Morocco. Then again, the guard was too busy telling me how unlucky he was because I was "married"! When I inquired as to whether or not he was married, he informed me that he was, with one very young son (he was very proud of that fact)! I asked then how could he be "unlucky" then? He laughed, shrugged his shoulders and then proceeded to stamp my passport.

The need to bargain hard began as soon as I approached the taxi drivers in order to get to the first town of Nador where I will be spending the night. Ah! I wish I could remember more of my basic, first semester French! Anyhow, the driver and his friend were crazy funny. After the basic drill of inquiring as to whether or not I had a boyfriend or husband (to which I affirmed - a lie I think I will be telling over and over while touring around Morocco, it seems), they started to tell me how much alike China and Morocco are. (I didn't bother to correct their assumption that I am not from China.) The only bad part about all of this was that the driver kept turning in his seat to speak directly to me - all the while driving on a poorly-lit road, trying to dodge other cars, and slap at his friend for trying to also talk to me! What an introduction to the country and its people!

Shady Me and Lovely London

2006-02-02T17:12:00.000-08:00

Okay, to backpedal a bit... My entrance into the UK yesterday was a bit nerve-wracking. At the passport checkpoint, the guard detained me for about fifteen minutes. He asked question after question while flipping through my passport over and over again, scrutinizing at all the visas and stamps in it. He also minutely perused through all my air tickets and travel itineraries. To some of you, this may not be a big deal but this has been the longest that I have ever been detained during a passport check. Also, I have never had to answer questions about what sort of education am I pursuing, how much credit I have, how much money I have on my person, why I have the visas and stamps that I do, what my parents do, on and on. If anything, I would have thought that this would be something that would have happened to me during my travels in Southeast Asia! Oh well. I wonder if this is just a preparation for other passport checks to come during this trip. Anyhow, obviously, I finally satisfied the guard as I am continuing onward with my proposed travel.

Departing from Heathrow to Málaga was also another new experience for me. My carry-on bag, while being X-rayed triggered the staff to pull me aside to physically check my person and pull out everything in my bag in order to inspect all items. I am not sure what caused this but it seemed that my case containing my digital camera memory cards, my organizer, my water-purifier bottle, my digital camera were all causes for discussion among 3 staff members and their supervisor. Who knows? Finally, I was able to continue onward to a flight that was delayed for 3 hours. Yay!

Despite this, I would love very much to come back to London in the future - particularly during the spring or fall. It was quite cold today - 0 degrees centigrade. There were even some very light snow flurries! Nevertheless, with the little time that I had for exploration today, I was able to see Buckingham Palace, wave at a procession of the Horse Guards, take a stroll along the Jubilee Walkway, admire the gothic beauty of Westminster Abbey and Cathedral, hear the chimes of Big Ben, gape at 10 Downing Street and other such governmental buildings, glimpse at the London Eye partially shielded by fog, and laugh at the laissez-faire attitudes of the pigeons lounging around Trafalgar Square. I also checked out their Chinatown. It is so different from some of the other Chinatowns that I have visited. It is much cleaner (and less fragrant); the streets/walkways are wider apart; there are less bakery, grocery and souvenir/gift shops; and is fairly small. It is certainly a haven of restaurants, however! And what an abundance of theater and shows available to those seeking such culture! It was absolutely amazing. I have to agree with a friend that the Underground is much more convenient that our BART. But with so many stations where you have to ¨mind the gap,¨ I would not be able to say that if I was physically-disabled, blind or had a stroller for two.

Tonight I am spending the night in Málaga, Spain. Tomorrow I will catch the ferry across the Mediterranean to Melilla, another Spanish city (although it is located on the Moroccan side of the sea). From there I will start my Moroccan adventures!

Here.

2006-02-01T13:41:00.000-08:00

This post is probably going to sound very unenthusiastic but that's because I am exhausted. I'm in London right now at a hostel in Hammersmith (Globetrotter Inn). And have just gotten up from a 5-hour nap(?). The flight was uneventful...got to watch some movies and slept some. (By the way, if any of you like jook/congee, SFO's international side has a restaurant that serves up some really good jook. Thanks for the tip and the send-off, Mr. K!!)

It's 9:45 pm local time so I'm heading off to the showers, and back to bed so that I'll have energy tomorrow to check out central London some before flying to Malaga, Spain.

Cheers!

WELCOME -- FOON YING -- BIENVENIDOS -- MINGALABA

2006-01-28T19:02:00.000-08:00

Also, 'gung hay fat choy, sun nien fai lok'!! Much prosperity, good fortune and many wonderful blessings to you for this coming year.

In order to not have to participate in any type of cooking for the Chinese New Year's Eve dinner, I have escaped to write this first post. As I've mentioned to some of you, this blog will be my way to share with you what's happening during my travels over the next few months. Please feel free to make/add comments to any of my posts (but keep in mind that my 10-year-old nephew will be reading this blog as well!). To share those "not-for-general-public-consumption" comments/thoughts/things to share/etc., please email me. (Again, my new email address is passionate4travel@gmail.com.) These are the only two ways to contact me while I'm traveling; my mobile will be temporarily disconnected until I get back.

Just to remind you of where I'm going to visit (in order) - I will be traveling to Morocco, India, Nepal (maybe, depending on the safety against Maoist activities), Egypt and Jordan. I'll be flying out to Morocco via London on January 31. Wow...just a few days away!! I'll be back May 7.

It's kind of surreal actually. Despite having gone through the process to bring this backpacking trip into reality for some time now, it still doesn't quite feel real yet. Probably because I've been planning for this trip for such a long while now (a much more pleasant alternative to studying given the intensity of my senioritis during my last semester at Cal). Also, probably because there has been some drama to overcome while trying to get travel plans established.

Okay, it's time for dinner. I'll be spending a day in London before I head for Morocco via Malaga, Spain. I'll post again then.