Funeral Pyres and Bathing Ghats...The Real India

HELLO FROM VARANASI, India!!! I'd like to take this blog entry to explain all about this amazing city. Let's go back to 2 nights ago, right after I finished the last blog entry (and shortly after I arrived in Varanasi).

Here's a quintessential sequence of events for the life of a traveler: I left the internet cafe the other night and headed back to my guest house to have some dinner and call it an early night. Ganpati Guest House is located right on the shore of the Ganges, and sits high up above the river, providing stunning views of India's holiest place. Anyway, I look over the balcony and see lots of people gathered in the nearby ghat (bathing area) with candles and fire highlighting the area a few hundred meters down river, so I ask what's going on. Apparently it's they it's the daily religious ceremony along the Ganges (in Hindi, Ganga Arti). I decide to check it out, postpone dinner, and walk along the banks of the Ganges so I can easily navigate my way to the ceremony. Once I arrive, the place is full of local Indians and westerners, scattered camera flashes artificially adding light to a most unique and colorful sight. The Ganga Arti is basically a fire ceremony, where people dressed in traditional religious clothes hold up fire to the accompanying cacophonous rhythm of drums and horns. While I was trying to capture the scene from a better vantage point, I wind up next to an American guy, Canadian/African girl, and Spanish girl, Brian, Maita, and Alba. We strike up a conversation so I join them for dinner at the Ganga Fuji restaurant nearby, a Lonely Planet-prescribed eatery. All wonderful people, I enjoyed great company before realizing that I hadn't slept in what felt like days, so we all called it a night and decided to meet at 5:30am the next morning to take a boat ride on the Ganges at sunrise. As a solo traveler, I find it quite difficult to remain alone. :-)

7:30am the next day, I woke up and realized that my body was in no condition to get up before dawn with such little sleep. Luckily, Brian and I had agreed to meet at the Indian Airlines office at 2pm that day in case one of us slept through the boat ride (phew). Brian is also flying up to Kathmandu, and I agreed to move my flight up one day so we can fly together. I had a lazy morning catching up on sleep, switching to a nicer room in my guest house with a river view, enjoying a yummy banana porridge breakfast, and then heading out for the day at noon. I walked up river to the burning ghat, as I had heard so much about it and couldn't wait to see it for myself. Varanasi is a holy city in India because it is believed that if you die and are cremated in Varanasi, your soul will leave the reincarnation cycle and go straight to Nirvana. When I got to the ghat, I was escorted by my 'guide' (you can't really go to any city in India without being offered a guide), who showed me around the ghat and explained what everything is. The first thing you notice are the multiple fires simultaneously burning. Basically, the burning ghat is a large cement dock/platform area above the river, with stairs leading down to the Ganges. I walked down to the fire to get some close viewing action (no photos allowed), and you can see the body burning inside the flames. Quite amazing. Before being burned, the body is wrapped in cloth, placed on a makeshift stretcher and covered on top with a multicolored shiny fabric before being carried down to the river to be dipped in the holy water one last time. The body is then placed inside the wood (the 'box' style Greg...BLC rope burning style! same same but different) and then the oldest son of the deceased waves a lighted stick over the funeral pyre 5 times (to signify the 5 elements) before setting the body alight. Each pyre is lit from the 'eternal light', a holy fire that's been going for a long time (they say for thousands of years, but who knows?) There are multiple pyres around the ghat, with some on higher platforms and in a more grandeur setting, depending on the level of prestige/wealth of the deceased. However harrowing and gross this whole process may sound, it's actually quite peaceful and beautiful to watch. Death is very much a part of life in Varanasi, and to see such spiritual devotion to a city and its river is quite awe-inspiring. It brings comfort to the bereaved to know that their loved is cremated in Varanasi. Once the burning is finished (approximately 2 hours), the ashes wait for three hours and are then thrown into the Ganges. Meanwhile, the pyre is cleared away, and the next one is set up to make way for another body. The ghat burns approximately 180-200 bodies every day, 365 days per year. That's 65,700-73,000 cremations per year!!

---The Lonely Planet explains how severly repulsive the Ganges river is. After so many years of dumping waste (human bodies and otherwise) into the water, the water is septic and therefore cannot hold any living creatures. Whereas the normal pollution limit is 500 fecal parts per liter (above that is unsanitary), the Ganges river has 1.5 million fecal parts liter. Yes, you read that correctly.---

From the burning ghat, I followed my guide through the maze of Varanasi's old town narrow streets, stopping at a nearby temple with lots of carved erotic images juxtaposed with various Hindu gods (naturally), and hopped in a rickshaw to meet Brian at Indian Airlines. After a brief stopover there, Brian and I spent the next 4 hours walking around the city, getting lost in amazing places, stopping to talk to shopkeepers, children, police officers, and various passersby. I was yet again reminded how much I love the sensory overload that is India. While the serene isolation of Leh was a most welcomed break, I am happy to be thrown back in the midst of crazy India. Brian and I walked all the way down along the river from ghat to ghat, stopping at a pickup cricket match just beside another burning ghat---smaller, only one pyre, and is available to non-Hindus as well---before turning around and up into the city through the small streets all the way back to our guest house. At around 7:30 pm we hopped in a rowboat and headed back upriver to the main burning ghat (where I was earlier that afternoon). I wanted to see it at night and from the river's perspective, and it was truly a sight to behold. It felt like another world, hundreds of years ago, or how a movie set might portray such a scene. Multiple pyres were lit in various locations across the ghat's two- storied structure (probably 6 or 7 pyres in all), people were chanting prayers and carrying bodies down to the Ganges for the body-washing ritual, and there was a general hum of spiritual routine about the whole thing. It was probably the most otherwordly sight I had ever seen. So beautiful, so incredible, so holy. This is why I came to India.

Brian and I had a great dinner at Hotel Alka and then realized that we were both shattered from the day's activities. We agreed to meet at 5:15am this morning for the boat ride, for which I managed to successfully wake up! What a treat it was to see the Ganges and Varanasi wake up to a new day. From our rowboat, we had a front row seat of the Indians lining the steps of the ghat for their daily holy bath in the Ganges (shudder). The Indians are so happy and joyous to be bathing and swimming in the Ganges; for them there is nothing more sacred, and any health concerns were imperceptible on their smiles. Some people were lathering up in soap, others were reciting prayers and pouring water over their heads, and I even caught some people drinking the water! (double shudder). It was a great opportunity to see such a daily routine (bathing, swimming) taken to a whole new level of spirituality.

Varanasi is the India that I had always imagined, stepping back in time and into another world. I met many fellow backpackers who balked at me when I said I was detouring to get there, however I can't imagine being in Northern India without seeing this place. If you get the chance, catch the movies "The Namesake" or "Water", both of which have scenes filmed in Varanasi.

Tomorrow I leave for Kathmandu to begin the Nepalese phase of my journey. Again, I have nothing planned and no idea what to expect...except that it will be an adventure, of course. :-)

Lots of love always!!!

Bicycles, Buddhas, and Bloody Cold Water

HELLO FROM VARANASI, India!!! I left beautiful Leh at 5:00am this morning, after an incredible 11 days there. After the trek, I relaxed for one day and then gave myself three amazing one-day trips to fill the time before I left today. On Tuesday, I rode a mountain bike down the highest motorable road in the world: over 18,000 feet! I went with Adi and Adam, and we took a van all the way to the top of the pass (where it was snowing!) and then set off on our bikes down the road. With the Himalayas as the backdrop the entire way down, the views were absolutely stunning. I stopped plenty of times and soaked up the view, so it was an enjoyable 2-hour bike ride down a pretty well-paved road (minus some rough spots).

Above: Danny on the roof of Thiksay Monastery with a Himlayan background

Below: Adi and Adam at the top of Khardung La pass, ready to bike down!

On Wednesday, Adam, Omri, and I took a day tour of 5 monasteries in the area: Taktak, Chemday, Hemis, Thiksay, and Shey. We started at a traditional Buddhist festival at Taktak monastery, which showcased Monks performing traditional dances in colorful masks and costumes. Then we moved on to Chemday, where the three of us sat inside the gompa (prayer room) with the monks chanting away and banging on random musical instruments during their prayer session. We enjoyed some tea with the novice monks, and then headed on our way to the next monastery: Hemis. Hemis is the oldest monastery in the region, founded in the 13th century, and is also the largest. The residential quarters are huge, so we walked around there for a while, enjoyed a nice lunch and went on our way. Thiksay was next, and was the most impressive. Built into the hillside, the monastery is a cluster of buildings that is an architectural feat. Once we walked up to the main entrance, we realized that this monastery was more special than the rest: the level of beauty among the artwork, prayer rooms, and surrounding decor was stunning. And, with the Himalayas all around the monastery, it was truly special to be there. Our final stop was Shey Palace, which is an old, huge stone monastery set on top of a hill. The three of us hiked to the midpoint for a nice photo op, but opted not to continue all the way to the top as it had been a long and tiring day of monastery-hopping.

:-)

Above: Danny on the bike ride down the highest road in the world

Below: Traditional Buddhist festival at Taktak Monastery

Yesterday, Adam and I went white water rafting. (Note: Adam is not that much taller than me, he's just standing on a rock in that photo!) I know, I'm crazy for going non-stop every single day, but it's just too easy to do such great trips from Leh, so why not???! The morning started out not-so-great, as we had to endure a pretty miserable 2-hour bus ride through the mountains to get to the starting point (from the very back of the bus, no less). There were about 35 people signed up for rafting that day, and Adam & I stealthily managed to get into the raft without any annoying Indian tourists, or kvetchy Israeli tourists (these Israelis were not like my wonderful Israeli friends...they were pretty aweful). Once we set off, our morning woes were behind us. The mountains towered over us from all sides in the river, and the blue sky made for a perfect, picturesque day. Some of the rapids were pretty intense, and I got to sit in the front of the boat, which made for a wet Danny. However, since the water was super super freezing, I would have preferred a more lazy river-style adventure, and not such a wet-and -wild ride. But, the sun was out enough to thaw our feet and hands, so no lost appendages.

:-)

Above: Omri, Adam, and Danny at Shey Palace (we didn't walk all the way up to the top)

Below: Danny & Adam, about to get wet

After rafting, we rested up that afternoon and Adam and I enjoyed a really great last meal together, and probably the most delicious Indian dinner I've had yet! Omri and I had a bit of a challenge booking a taxi to the airport later that evening, but we managed to get the last taxi in Leh for this morning (nothing like leaving things for the last minute!). I woke up at 5am this morning, said goodbye to Adam (we were sharing a guest house room since the trek ended), and then met Omri to go to the airport. Here's how my day went: 5:30am- arrive at airport, 7:30am- leave Leh, 8:30am, arrive in Delhi, 3:00pm- leave Delhi, 4:00pm-arrive Varanasi, 5:30pm- arrive in Ganpati Guest House, 6:00pm-arrive in internet cafe. (yes, I waited in Delhi airport for about 6 hours or so...luckily Omri stayed with me for about 2 of those 6 before heading into Delhi). Long day, but that's what travel days are all about.

Below: Prayer flags at Hemis Monastery

I was quite sad to leave Little Tibet (Leh) today, but once I arrived in Varanasi, I remembered why I came to India. Seeing crowded streets with people, rickshaws, cows, garbage, etc etc, I was instantly brought back to real INDIA...the experience of a lifetime. I only have 4 days in Varanasi, which should be more than enough, before heading to Kathmandu on Tuesday. Varanasi is famous for being a holy city, as it resides along the Ganges river, and ghats (baths) are used for people to clean themselves, purify themselves, and ALSO to come and die to end the reincarnation cycle to which they are beholden under the Buddhist tradition. It's said that if you die in Varanasi, you will go to Heaven. So, there are lots of dead bodies burned along the river....lovely. I haven't seen it yet, but I will take a boat ride along the river tomorrow or the next day and I'll report back to you all on what I see.

The journey continues...

Miss you all so much!!

Lots of love always!!!!

Conquering The Himalayas? Check.

HELLO FROM LEH, LADAKH, India!!! I have successfully returned from the most amazing 4-day hike...ever. I've uploaded lots of pics on this blog entry, so I hope you all enjoy! At times it was extremely difficult (see the picture of Adi and Chris walking directly uphill at 15,000 feet), other times we were able to relax and have fun, and throughout the entire time, we were surrounded by landscape that was completely new and simply fantastic. The area around

Ladakh is often referred to as a "moonscape", as most of the landscape is barren, dry rock (see

photos). Ok, so here's the scoop on the trek.

Above: Danny at the top of the pass, Day 3

Below: The 5 of us at the top of the pass, Day 3

We left Leh on Day 1 ataround 8:30am, and the four of us (Adam, Guy, Adi, and myself) were joined by a 5th member, Chris, from France. The first day was quite remarkable; we were in the middle of a mountainous desert, and the 5 of us were playing "musical hiking buddies" as we kept rotating among each other throughout the morning in different pairings, making for quite interesting and diverse chat. Our guide's name was Jalak, a 20-year old Nepalase guy who had the most heart-warming smile, and always said "yes please" to everything you said. Such a sweet guy. We made it to our camp at around 1pm on Day 1, and fortunately there was a lovely flowing stream next to our tents for us to cool off under the scorching sun. We enjoyed a huge dinner (all of our meals were amazing and prepared by our wonderful cook...our crew consisted of a guide, a cook, and two porters). The evening consisted of playing cards and telling stories to make everyone laugh. Then we crawled into the tents and called it a night.

Moonscape Scenery, Day 1

We woke up on Day 2 quite early (6am), and after a not-so-wonderful night's sleep. Nevertheless, we set off for our biggest day of trekking. We hiked for about 5 or 6 hours that day, and the last 2 hours before we reached our camp were probably the hardest of the entire trip. As we rose in altitude, each step was more and more strenuous. My backpack felt like it weighed one million pounds. All I have to say is, thank goodness I'm not a smoker. When our camp was finally in sight, Adi and I were in the back of the group and we pushed each other so hard to finish the trek that day. The last uphill stretch was quite difficult, and I was completely shattered and elated at the same time when we arrived. (The picture below of me barely able to open my eyes is right after completing the trekking on Day 2).

Guy trudging along with his walking poles, Day 2

That evening we enjoyed a great sunset and great dinner, and then we all

crashed super early as the high altitude's minimal breathing ability was super condusive for passing out. As Day 2 was quite challenging, I was super nervous for Day 3, which was the steep uphill towards the top of the pass over the mountain ridge (4,600 meters). Luckily, my good night's sleep allowed me to more adequately adjust to the altitude, and I woke up feeling well rested and breathing much more easily. The other reason why Day 2 was so difficult was because we wanted to go as far as we can to ease the burden of Day 3, which was completely uphill for 2 hours. The 5 of us left at 7:30 am and started uphill with the parting words of wisdom from our guide: "slowly, slowly." So, slowly slowly we did (see the photo below of me looking uphill at Chris and Adi climbing the windy slopes uphill). It was tough, but surprisingly less difficult than the previous day's trek.

Lush scenery, Day 2

Finally, we reached the top and were treated with spectacular panoramic views of the Himalayas. After taking lots of photos, we headed downhill for a couple of hours until we reached our camp. We actually got there rather early, so we had the whole afternoon to relax, rinse off in the freezing cold stream nearby, and wait as our crew prepared the biggest dinner I've ever eaten. :-) That night the 5 of us hung out in the tent playing card games and chatting about the differences in movie/TV show titles when US shows are sent abroad (for example, the TV show "Full House" is called "Sorry for Raising Daughters" in Israel. I don't think I had laughed that hard in a long time. Really fun night. We woke up the next morning and hiked downhill to Stok where our Jeep was waiting for us to bring us back to Leh.

Danny just finishing the hike, Day 2 (completely exhausted)

All in all, it was a great experience: the trekking company was wonderful and we didn't have to worry about anything during the entire 4 days, the 5 of us got along great, and I even had multiple Hebrew lessons from Adi (I've learned quite a bit!). Now that I'm back in Leh, I have until Friday to enjoy some more fun before I leave. I am going on a 1-day bike trip tomorrow (they drive you to the top of the mountain, and then you ride down amidst the scenery), and an overnight trip to some nearby lakes which should be quite beautiful (and no hiking involved). So, needless to say, I'm capitalizing on the plethora of outdoor opportunities available here in Leh.

Adi & Guy finishing dinner at dusk, Day 2

Thoughts on the expected 'introspection and ephiphany' enlightenment: Being up in the mountains definitely gave me the time I wanted to think all about me, and my life. What I ended up doing was thinking about all of you guys and how much I love all of you and miss you all so much. One thing I continue to realize is that I am an entangled, multi-faceted, and webbed fabric of my experiences and memories with all of you. My friends and family allow my compassion, happiness, and will to succeed to shine through. Thank you all for that.

OK, the internet in Leh has been most grief-inducing today. I've been trying all day to finish this mega-blog. Speak to you all soon!

Lots of love always!!!
MORE PHOTOS!!!

The Steep Climb, Day 3

Up, up, up we go, Day 3

View From The Top of the Pass, Day 3

Adi Looking Beautiful, Day 3 (and every other day)

Mountains surrounding our camp, Day 3

Danny and Adam

Danny and Guy

Sunset Over The Mountains, end of Day 2

Take My Breath Away, Bollywood-Style

HELLO (again) FROM LEH, LADAKH, India!!! I'm leaving for the trek tomorrow, and I'll be out of touch for a few days, so I wanted to check in once before the trip begins. Our group grew to 5 people today, but now we're back down to 4 since Omri is now too sick to join us. Very sad. Luckily, my friend Adam whom I met in McLeod Ganj joined our group, so there are now 2 Israelis and 2 Americans...a perfect mix for the trek. Adam is from California, went to UC Santa Barbara, and is halfway through a 16-month trip around Asia. We've had lots of good conversation already, so it should be a very enjoyable 4 days.

----Before I continue, I have to say quickly that I was just at the campfire restaurant down the street here in Leh, and there were these 2 famous Bollywood stars hanging out there as well (one guy, one lady), because they're filming a movie in Leh at the moment. As I was leaving just now, the female star (who is absolutely gorgeous, but I don't know her name) gave me "the look" of all looks...up and down, for a long time (as in multiple seconds, and even when I passed by her, she was still looking at me when I turned around). I think my breath stopped for a few seconds, and maybe my heart. Damn, some things just aren't meant to be. haha.----

My Israeli friend Guy, who is one of the 4 in our group for the trek, has quite an amazing story. He served in the Israeli army for 7 years (he's now 25), and was in the special forces division, comparable to the Green Berets in the US Military. During last year's war between Israel and Lebanon, he was fighting in an area south of Beirut, and he was injured when pieces of a missile shell hit his body, near his left hip bone. He was in the hospital for 3 months, and afterwards, his parents convinced him to resign from the military. He's since gone traveling through SE Asia and India. It doesn't really phase him that he's been through such unbelievably life-threatening and scary situations. When you meet him, he seems like any other 25-year old kid...not someone who is responsible for both life and death. For Guy, he loved his job in the army, and thrived on the satisfaction gained from completing a successful mission. It was all about getting the job done. Now that he's here, it has been a huge release for him to travel through India, despite the fact that he left the army under such undesirable circumstances. Now I know why Israelis travel to India after the army; it is the ultimate escape from a world of conflict and struggle.

Thoughts on the upcoming trek: Throughout this trip, I've had to remind myself that one of the main purposes of traveling around the world by myself is to give myself ample time to focus on me. I oftentimes get caught up in making new friends with fellow backpackers, or getting enmeshed in the local culture through conversations with Indians, which is amazing, and has made this trip so memorable and wonderful and everything I could've hoped for, and more. However, it is the moments of solitary introspection that are invaluable in surroundings such as these. I still have more to learn about myself, and truly become comfortable with me. Hopefully the next 4 days will be that opportunity to explore that a bit further. With each experience out here, I've been able to look back and see how I've grown, or changed, or learned something new. However selfish it may seem, I think it might be time to focus on me for the next few days. I'll let you know what epiphanies (if any) I reach when I'm back. Basically, in order for me to completely open myself up to someone else at some point down the road, I need to first know and love myself completely. Isn't that how it works?

Alright, enough waxing philosophical for now - off to pack up my stuff and get some rest before tomorrow. Miss you all lots, and speak soon!!

Lots of love always!!!!!!!!

Snow-covered mountains

HELLO FROM LEH, LADAKH, India!!!!!!! I am finally in the Himalayas, and it is absolutely stunning. I made it up here via an incredible 2-day bus journey from Manali.

I had a wonderful time in Manali; I was actually really surprised at how much I enjoyed it there. I was expecting it to be a stop-in-transit between McLeod Ganj and Leh, but I had such a great time with my new Israeli friends: Omri (who's here in Leh with me now), Yael, and Hille. On Saturday Omri, Yael, and I hiked to a nearby waterfall in the neighboring town of Vashisht. Very scenic and tranquil, it was a perfect way to spend our last day before boarding the bus for the big journey to Leh. However, the four of us had too much fun drinking beer and playing "truth or dare" until 2am, it was a bit hard to wake up at 5am to catch the bus the following morning! :-) How junior high of us! Fun night, though. (That picture is of Hille, Yael, and Omri, left to right).

Ok, now for the bus trip story. In order to go from Manali to Leh, you have to take a 2-day bus trip through the Himalayan mountains. The road to Leh is only open during the summer, so it's quite opportune that this all worked out for me. We left at about 6:30am on Sunday morning, and drove out of Manali through the mountains for the rest of the day. The scenery on day 1 was lush mountains covered in trees, waterfalls, and valleys flowing with rivers and streams. The bus snaked around the mountains...slowly but surely we made it over one mountain and onto the next. I was pretty tired on day 1, needless to say, so the first day was interspersed between admiring the scenery and catching some shuteye. Every now and then, we'd reach a makeshift village somewhere in the mountains, and we'd all have to get out and register our passport info with the Indian police. It's so archaically bureaucratic, but that's what India is all about. We have to wait in a long line, and then they write your name, passport number, visa number, etc in a big dusty notebook that will probably never get looked at again. But, you gotta do what you gotta do, so just go with the flow.

At about 8pm on Day 1 we reached a bridge that had been broken only a few minutes before (see photo above). So, the bus stopped, we all got out, and it took about an hour or 2 for them to fix it. Finally, at 10:30 pm we reached our tent campsite. When we got off the bus, it was absolutely freezing...probably 30s or 20s degrees Fahrenheit (maybe colder!). Thank goodness I've carried around that big fleece at the bottom of my bag for the last 3 1/2 months - I knew it would come in handy sometime!!! When we stepped off the bus, the cold weather was the first thing we noticed; the second thing we noticed was the unbeliveable amount of stars in the sky. I've never seen a sky so flooded with stars. Shooting stars darted across the sky every few minutes; unfortunately I could only bear such a short time before freezing my ass off, but it was a spectacular sight. I passed out in the tent at about 11pm, and we started Day 2 at 5:30am. Stepping out of the tent that morning was also breathtaking; the surrounding mountains were perfectly lit by the rising sun, it was picture perfect!

The interesting thing about India is that her landscape changes every 100km or so. Coming from Rajasthan back to Delhi, you can see the climate morph from desert back to deciduous forests, into a sprawling city. The same can be said on this ride. While Day 1 was full of tree-covered mountains, Day 2 was the start of India's arid, desert-like northern region of the Himalayas. We left the Indian state of Himachal Pradesh and entered Jammu & Kashmir. The mountains were quite breathtaking: jagged, snow-covered peaks in the distance, and our bus slowly meandered up the rocky, steep, and windy roads. At one point in the afternoon, we reached the second-highest pass in the world! (A pass is the point at which you cross a mountain range). Check out the picture - over 17,500 feet!!!!

Needless to say, the bus ride was an amazing journey, and I'm so glad I did it. Omri is an excellent travel buddy; he's such a nice guy and it's quite advantageous to be travelling with an Israeli in northern India!!! So, we finally arrived in Leh yesterday at 6pm after 2 days, and 26 hours of sitting on a bus. :-) It was definitely the most beautiful bus ride of my life.

Leh is the capital of India's Ladakh region, which is a Tibetan-influenced population. The town is quite quaint, and similar to Manali in that it's surrounded by mountains all over (dry, rocky mountains here, though) and the town caters to tourists in general, Israeli tourists in particular. This morning, Omri and I met another Israeli guy and girl (Guy and Adi), so we spent the rest of the day with them walking around town. This afternoon we went to watch a film at a local non-profit organization called the Women's Alliance of Ladakh. The film explained how western influence and development has severely destroyed and eradicated the traditional way of life of the Ladakhi people. Founded on agriculture and a communal sense of living, modern influences such as monetary systems, imported goods, and government-subsidized industries have wiped out the isolated rural way of living. While Ladakhis villages did most things together: harvesting crops, helping families in times of need, making community-wide decisions, western influences have changed their society from one of interdependence and shared values to one of independence, winner-takes-all, capitalistic ideals. It is sad to say that the development of Ladakh in the last 15 years is a textbook case of one culture's identity being wiped out by the west.

Ok, so now I'm heading to a campfire with my Israeli friends to hang out for the rest of the evening. I'm leaving for a 4-day trek through the Himalayas on Thursday, which should hopefully be breathtaking. I'll update the blog once more before I leave. Until then, miss you all so much, and speak soon!!!

Lots of love always!!!

God Bless Dramamine

HELLO FROM MANALI, India...aka Little Israel. There are tons of Israelis everywhere, in fact it's probably 99.9% Israeli, which has added to the wonderful experience of it all. But, let's back up a bit and continue the story from whence we left it. I left McLeod Ganj yesterday after spending one full week there; I must say, I absolutely loved my time there. Learning from the Dalai Lama (and our "TA" Geishi) was a once-in-a-lifetime experience, and the surrounding mountainous scenery created a sense of other-worldliness among such spiritual philosophy. And, I loved getting to know the place so well; it was sad to leave my favorite restaurant Carpe Diem (at which I spent every single meal) and their most-friendly Nepali waiters, Raju and Ramu. But, I boarded a bus on Thursday night, 8:30pm, and headed down the windy roads out of McLeod Ganj and Dharamsala, and towards Manali.

Having had over 3 months' experience of bus riding, I was feeling pretty confident about my abilities to handle a vomit-inducing ride from the second-to-last row of a coach bus. Boy, was I wrong. About 3 minutes after we left McLeod Ganj, the nausea set in (no thanks in part to the Kit Kat bar I munched on as I sat down in my seat). God Bless Dramamine. I reached into my bag, popped one of the suckers, and then held my head in my hands and counted the minutes until those magical chemicals did their wonders. What a relief. I should be in a TV advert for Dramamine: "Even in the most dire of circumstances, like sitting in the back of a bus for 10 hours on the most windy roads imaginable in the Indian Himalayan mountains, I still didn't get motion sickness."

So, I arrived to Manali in a half-sleep stupor at 6am, and the plan was to head to my Israeli friend Omri's guesthouse so we could meet up and resume our trekking-planning activities. However, Omri gave me the wrong name of his guesthouse (grrrrr), so I ended up going to 2 non Omri-occupied guesthouses before finding the right guesthouse (one hour later). However, the "manager" of Omri's guesthouse (I use that term very loosely) didn't have a record of him checking in, so I just said "screw it" and walked next door to find a room for myself where I could crash. Coincidentally, the "manager" of my guesthouse met Omri 2 days before and knew which room he was in (at the guesthouse next door). So, I finally found my friend at 7:30am (waking him up from a deep sleep...but I didn't feel that bad after the wild goose chase I just endured), and I hit the sack for the next few hours. Basically, it was a stroke of luck that I found Omri this morning, thank goodness for that. You gotta love India's random ways of always making things work out.

This afternoon we had a bit of rain, so I hung out in a cafe and watched some movies: Crash, and Alpha Dog. I would say that the only reason to watch Alpha Dog is to see a shirtless and multi-tattooed Justin Timberlake, but I'd also be giving you all a reason to waste 2 hours of your life. Nevertheless, it passed the time this afternoon during the rain. This evening I joined my Israeli friends for Friday night services at the Chabad House. I hadn't participated in any Jewish services since Ross' wedding weekend in March (which is still the most beautiful Friday night service I have ever experienced!) It was so much fun to be super Jewish tonight. The Chabad House is orthodox, so the men sat in the front half of the room during the services, and the women sat in the back (separated by a cloth wall). The service kinda reminded me of 'Fiddler on the Roof' times. Lots of singing and dancing and clapping, and "hey, hey, hey-ing" (with a Yiddish accent, if you get my drift). It's exactly how you would picture an ortho service with a bunch of ortho Israelis. Great fun. There is also a less-ortho service in town, which I'll probably opt for next time, but it was a great experience. We had a HUGE meal afterwards and sang lots of Israeli/Hebrew songs.

It is so interesting to hang out with Israelis simply for the fact that these kids, most of whom are one or two years younger than I, have already completed a military experience that I have not even considered attempting in my life. In the group of 3 Israelis with whom I went out for a beer after dinner, one was an artillery officer (Omri), one was a pilot and weapons systems operator (Amir), and one was a logistics officer (female). When I was talking to Amir about the fact that I admire Israelis because military service is something that most Americans do not have to encounter first-hand, he said that "it's better not to have these types of experiences at such a young age. It's not natural to have fighting and battles and weapons systems management as part of your educational upbringing. It's not human." How true. I often think how different America would be if we had mandatory military service; American citizens would most definitely hold the threshold for 'just cause for war' at a much higher level if they knew their sons/daughters were the ones who would have to fight. The US would instigate less wars, since the American constituent body would be more attune to world affairs with their children in military service, and there would be more of an attempt to create a diplomatic world community, rather than a hegemonic unilateral military force (as hinted today by UK International Development Secretary Douglas Alexander). Then again, would the US ever change its culture to accommodate this? Most definitely not.

It's also funny to hang out with Israelis, because I feel like I have to prove my 'Jewishness' just to be part of the crowd. Once they know I'm Jewish, it's like I'm one of the gang. "L'chaim", my Israeli friends.

I head to Leh on Sunday morning (2-day bus trip, with a camping stop in the tents in between), so I'll hang around Manali again tomorrow. Hopefully the weather will cooperate better so I can get out and enjoy these lush mountains all around me.

OK - now it's after 1:00am and I'm too tired to write any more!!! Miss you all so much! Be in touch!!!

Lots of love always!!!!!!!!

Where Are You From?

HELLO (for the third time) FROM McLEOD GANJ, India!!!

One of the most common questions I get asked as a traveler is: "Where are you from?" Of course, my answer is a simple and confident "New York." However, I have developed a false sense of attachment to, and have attributed too much personal responsibility towards a city which, although I've had a close association with my entire life, has only been a temporary home for 1/25th of my existence. In my opinion, the question "Where are you from?" cannot be answered by identifying an impermanent location, since we all know that my various residences have proven to be far from permanent. Therefore, I have decided to delve further into this question and find out the real source of Daniel Seth Shapiro.

I am from Stephen and Elise Shapiro. I am from a 3-foot snowstorm on a cold December night. I am from Mama Eda and Papa Jack, Mama Kitty and Papa Dave. I am from Gregory Shapiro. I am from 122 Dogwood Lane, Newburgh New York. I am from Brant Lake, NY, Waltham, Mass, Washington, DC, East Village, NYC, and Park Slope, Brooklyn. I am from Tots-N-Us, Horizons-on-the-Hudson, North Junior High School, Newburgh Free Academy, and Brandeis University. I am from a lifetime of playdates with Ross & Lauren, and countless days at my second homes on Summit Ridge Drive. I am from my grandparents' perseverence and wisdom, my parents' guidance and love, and my big brother's enduring ability to always look after his little bro.

I am from Mama Eda's chopped liver, and Mama Kitty's chicken noodle soup. I am from car trips to Waterside and Long Beach, and I am from weekly lunch visits to 451 South Street. I am from 5 Uncles, 3 Aunts, and 5 cousins, and family gatherings around delicious holiday meals replete with time-honored traditions. I am from Lithuania, and I am from Montreal. I am from Judaism: bar mitzvahs, high-holidays, menorahs, matzah, and mezuzahs.

I am from mornings of waiting for the school bus at the bottom of the driveway, parking the Corolla at Mama Kitty's driveway, and dragging myself out of bed to class on the other end of campus. I am from evenings of little league, hebrew school, piano lessons, JCC basketball, and school concerts. I am from years of baseball card collections, games of 'horse' & 'around the world', endless rounds of Nintendo, and baseball catches in the yard---all with the greatest of mentors, my big bro.

I am from summers at Brant Lake Camp, eternally Gray. I am from winters on the Vermont ski slopes, and springs on the Newburgh baseball fields. I am from back-to-school jitters in September, and end-of-school celebrations in June. I am from America, but I am also from abroad: Israel, Scotland, Thailand, Cambodia, Vietnam, Laos, and now India.

I am from my parents' daily reminder of what love and success truly are. I am from life, and I am from death. I am from happiness, and I am from suffering. I am from the wisdom that we are given the gift of life primarily to show compassion towards others. I am from all of these things and more, and I am excited for what tomorrow will add to this list.

Now, Where Are You From???


Lots of love always!!!

More Photos!

Here are a few more photos to entertain you all!!! (Make sure you check out the new blog posting below!)

Danny in McLeod Ganj (taken by self)

Golden Temple, Amritsar (Day & Night views)

Monk Debate at the Dalai Lama Temple, McLeod Ganj

Flag-lowering ceremony, India/Pakistan Border, near Amritsar

Hope you like!!!

Lots of love always!!!

Danny And The Dalai

HELLO (again) FROM McLEOD GANJ, India!!! What an enlightening few days it's been. ;-) First of all, I'm really enjoying staying in one place for more than 2 days...which is a break from tradition of the last 13 weeks, most likely. It's nice to get to know a place, with your favorite eating spot (Carpe Diem), your favorite cafe (JJ's next to my guest house), and your favorite internet cafe (whichever one has a computer available!). There are tons of backpackers everywhere, which I now realize is both good and bad, but I'll get to that later. I'm sure you're all eagerly anticipating my amazing account of a most auspicious audience with His Holiness, The Dalai Lama. (GREG - another BLC reference for you...Little Nell!)

August 6th was the Dalai Lama's 72nd birthday, and there was a huge celebration planned to mark the event. I woke up super early and headed down to the Dalai Lama temple - a big complex consisting of the temple itself (shrines galore), a large surrounding courtyard, a nearby Tibet Museum, and housing facilities for the resident monks. The birthday celebration was a long program (3+ hours) of traditional Tibetan musical and dance performances, mainly by young children from the surrounding area. I met up with my friends Heather & Morgan (from that lovely sunset dinner in Udaipur, Rajasthan) so I had company during the event. We had to sit on the cement floor the whole time, cramped in among hundreds and hundreds of people (possibly thousands?), so I was a bit uncomfortable most of the time, to say the least. Plus, His Holiness the Dalai Lama (henceforth refered to as HH) did not make an appearance, so in my opinion, it was all for naught. It was nice to see the cultural aspect of Tibetan life, but perhaps it would've been better from a more comfortable theater. That afternoon I had a most relaxing few hours in bed, alternating between reading my book-du-jour (Irvine Welsh's 'Trainspotting'...absolutely classic) and nodding off. I met up with Heather and Morgan that evening again at Carpe Diem (the it spot in McLeod), and got ready for the big date with HH in the morning.

OK - Day 1 of the teaching. I met Heather & Morgan for breakfast at 7am, and then wandered down to the temple entrance by 7:30am. There was a huge line to get in, swinging from the outside gate all the up to the main temple steps. The funny thing is, the security system was divided into two lines: male and female. The female line was the really long one, and the male line was considerably shorter. So, Morgan and I said goodbye to Heather and awkwardly walked past the throngs of women waiting in line towards the end of the men's line (and the almost-front of the women's line!). We got through security and headed upstairs to scope out the situation. HH had already begun his teaching, and when I reached the top of the stairs, I could see a sea of people: Koreans, Tibetans, Chinese, Taiwanese, Indians, and westerners. The areas surrounding HH's temple (and podium spot) were designated for each of these different groups. I found a great seat with an Optimus Prime view of HH, and opened my mind for enlightenment.

HH spoke in Tibetan, which was then restated by a Chinese interpreter, which was then translated into English by another translator. The English was broadcast on FM radio, so the whole audience has headphones glued to their ears attached to mini FM radios. Having practically no exposure to Buddhism (my only other encounter being in Chang Mai when Aly P. and I visited a temple and sat down with a monk scholar for a brief lesson in Buddhist principles). On Day 1, HH focused on basic concepts, which I took to heart and absorbed to the fullest. According to Buddhism, we are all afflicted with 3 main poisons: attachment, aversion, and anger. All other emotions can be cast under these three headings. In order to remove these poisons from within us, we must find a counterbalancing force to directly oppose these poisons. At the root of these three afflicting poisons and the foundational cause for each of these arising within us is self-grasping ignorance. The 'self' is involved in each of the 3 poisons (attachment, aversion, anger), and we must strive to educate ourselves properly to counter this ignorance.

There is a divergence between the way we perceive ourselves and the way we are in reality. This distorted belief creates a disparity between perception and reality, therefore feeding into the self-grasping ignorance that is at the root of our negative afflicting emotions. Once we know that our view of the self is distorted, then we can begin to rid ourselves of ignorance. Buddhism teaches that the self is a dependently-originated being, not an independent being, as we might inherently believe. This creates the distorted belief and accompanying disparity between reality (dependent self) and perception (independent self). In order to understand how we are not independent but dependent beings, Buddhists believe in the step-by-step process of ridding oneself from the self-grasping ignorance, thereby releasing the 3 poisonous afflictions (attachment, aversion, anger), and ultimately freeing oneself from suffering and pain. There are strict techniques to acquire this necessary wisdom. The wisdom that Buddhists seek, however, is not born within us, but must be acquired through reading/training, reflection, and ultimately meditation, so that the wisdom is so strongly inplanted inside that you have the skill and knowledge to spontaneously extinguish any spontaneous eruption of negative emotion.

The necessary mental discipline needed to successfully achieve this wisdom is daunting, so Buddhists teach that physical and verbal disciplines (ethical actions) must be achieved first. With this skill, the mind becomes focused on the path to enlightenment and can eliminate the self-grasping ignorance through 3 trainings: mental discipline, meditative concentration, and training of wisdom.

After HH's lecture on the first day, I went to the Tibet Museum to learn all about the plight of the Tibetan people under the oppressive Chinese government. I didn't really know much about Tibet, except that it's not free, and that Richard Gere is a huge advocate for change there, but it was shocking to see the destruction and death that China has caused this country. Over 1 million people have been killed since China first invaded Tibet in the early 1950s. The Dalai Lama was forced into exile in 1959, and many Tibetans (who were lucky enough to escape) followed suit to various destinations around the world, including Dharamsala, the home of the Tibetan Government-In-Exile. All Tibetans want is their freedom and independence, and a chance at a peaceful co-existence with China. It is a struggle that has been ongoing for decades, and without end in sight.

Later in the afternoon on Day 1, I went to a lecture on "Understanding China", led by a Tibetan refugee who has studied contemporary Chinese culture. It was quite eye-opening to learn how much of a front China is putting up to the western world, in order to cover-up their government's corruption, spying, and un-democratic policies. While the buzz is that China's growing economy will lead to more democratization, this is a major Western misconception, and may lead to further harm if China is able to continue to lead the West down its path of deception.

On Day 2, HH referred to the various world religions and explained the need for such divergent views, due to the divergent types of populations and varying degrees of temperaments among society. While Buddhists do not ascribe to a higher deity, they do not believe in superiority of one religion over another. HH did say, however, that it is harmful to put faith entirely in G-d since it rids oneself of responsibility from problems. All traditions (monotheistic, brahaman [Hindu], and Buddhist believe in the 'self', but the Buddha teaches selflessness in order to reduce the self-grasping mind. Also, love and compassion is stressed in Buddhism as a main source of health and happiness in society. HH also talked a bit about quantum physics and its similarities to Buddhism, namely how there is no objective, independent reality (a parallel to the Buddhist belief that we are dependent people), but I won't try to pretend like I know much more that.

Each day at 2pm, there is a review session (taught in English by a leading scholar of HH) to discuss the morning teaching and elucidate HH's main points. It's very comparable to the 'TA Section' after the professor's lecture. Our 'TA' is great - he's also the English translator for HH during the morning sessions. I was able to more firmly understand these main tenets of Buddhism, and to get a less cloudy picture of the more high-level conceptual ideas that pretty much flew over my head. I finished Day 3 of the HH lecture, and I think I may head down in a few to catch the 3rd (and probably final, for me) day of Buddhist enlightening education.

At the end of each day, HH exits the temple along a path that leads to right in front of my seat! So, for the past couple of days, I've been within about 5 feet of HH! I'm feeling extra holy. :-)

I've thoroughly enjoyed the experience of the HH teachings. I must say, having been exposed to a variety of religions these past 3 months--Hinduism, Buddhism, Jainism, Sikhism, etc--I have maintained a solid love for my own religion, Judaism. It's nice to find comfort in the familiar in a world of the unfamiliar, so I say the 'Shma' every day, and even sometimes when I'm in other religions' temples, just to make sure no other religion's ideals is getting in the way. haha. :-) My Jewish identity remains strong, perhaps stronger now than ever, even with this single outlet for practice (reciting the Shma daily). Hopefully I'll be able to more firmly reattach to Jewish practice after this trip. (I met a group of Israeli friends who informed me about Jewish houses - Chabad, etc - here that have Friday night services. Unfortunately I think I'm leaving before this Friday, but it's no big deal.)

Speaking of my new Israeli friends, I think my plans have now changed slightly. I'm heading to Manali in a couple of days, as originally planned, but then I'm joining my new Israeli friend Omri up to Leh, Ladakh, for some trekking. Apparently the conditions are unsuitable for trekking in Nepal at the moment (monsoon, abundant leaches), so I'll spend less time there to just see Kathmandu, and more time in the way north of India for proper trekking. Very excited for that.

And that's about it. I'm really enjoying everything there is to offer in this town; I'll make my way to neighboring Bhagsu and Dharamkot tomorrow (small, quieter towns), and head down to Manali Wednesday or Thursday. Yesterday marked the 3 month anniversary of my departure from New York. Three months! Hard to believe.

Oh right - before I forget - there are tons of tourists in this town, in fact, this place is swarming with westerners, Indian tourists, in addition to the heaps of monks that are everywhere in sight. It's great, since I've made some new friends, but it's also slightly frustrating in that the culture here is very tourist-centered and watered-down.

Ok, gotta run, but miss you all lots, and speak again soon! Thanks for getting through this blog!!!

Lots of love always!!!

India Adventure, Chapter 2: Spitirual Journey

HELLO FROM McLEOD GANJ, India!!! I have officially entered the next phase of this trip; I am sitting in an internet cafe in a hill station town next to a Buddhist monk, if that gives you some context as to the type of environment in which I have arrived. McLeod Ganj is the home of the Tibetan Government in Exile, and His Holiness The Dalai Lama. Coincidentally, I have arrived the day before his birthday, and 2 days before he leads a week-long teaching seminar, so I am about to embark on a whole lot of Buddhist spiritual wisdom.

Let me back up a sec and recap the past few days. I'll be a bit more concise, as I was probably a wee bit too verbose in my last blog. Sorry about that! (but thanks for reading it!) So, while in Bikaner, I was pretty much done with the whole car-tour-through-Rajasthan-thing, and ready for a change. Luckily, right after I finished the massive blog that night I met a group of Indian guys and chatted with them over some chai and Indian sweets for a couple of hours before heading back to the guesthouse. Great guys - they work for an NGO that helps to sell village crafts and provide the profits and outside donations directly back to the villagers. That redeemed my time in Bikaner. The next (and penultimate stop) was JhunJhunu, which is a very old city in eastern Rajasthan. I only had one night there, so in the afternoon I wandered around wonderful narrow, winding streets fulled with shops and their shopowners lounging inside. After the initial shock of seeing a westerner in their town, people warmed up to me, and I eventually had a little entourage of kids following me through the streets. I felt like a celebrity - waving, and saying hello to people as I passed them by. It was fun, but I was exhausted after a couple of hours. Back at the hotel, I met a Belgian girl named Eva who had just started her Rajasthan car tour (headed in the reverse direction), so she and I had a lovely dinner together and I gave her lots of helpful advice on how to enjoy the car tour experience (to the dismay of her driver).

Finally, we ended up back in Delhi!!!! I gladly said goodbye to my driver, walked back to my original guesthouse, dropped off my bags, and then headed to the New Delhi train station for my first Indian train ticket buying experience. For all of the hullabaloo and drama people have stirred up in my mind about buying a train ticket in India, I was definitely let down. It was one of the easier things I've done in this country. Basically, the hardest part of the whole thing is to find the foreign tourist ticket office, and ignore the claims you hear along the way that "it's closed", "it burned down" or "it doesn't exist" from the touts outside the station. Once you're in, you just fill in a quick form, wait in a line on a couch, then go up to the desk to get the ticket. Easy. Done. Let's not waste any more time frightening poor Danny about the horrors of Indian trains, ok?

I met up with my Australian friend Katy (who was also done with her tour) for dinner that night - she was headed to Varanasi, to which I'll head in a few weeks, so we had a nice time and said our goodbyes for good. My train left at 7:30 the next morning for Amritsar, which is in India's Punjab state. Amritsar is like the Mecca for Sikhs; in Amritsar is the famous Golden Temple, to which Sikhs make their holy pilgrims. The temple was absolutely beautiful - a huge golden temple in the middle of a small square lake, surrounded on all sides by a marble walkway and huge columned buildings on all four sides. There were thousands and thousands of Sikhs there. It was a great taste of the Sikh religion, if just for a day.

OH RIGHT - really quickly - when I got to Amritsar I left my 3 British friends whom I had met on the train and tried to find the "great and cheap" accommodation inside the Temple, recommended by Lonely Planet. (I'm sneering right now). It was a huge hassle, and took almost an hour to find the right office, in the right building, etc etc, but I finally got my room, along with 3 American friends I met who were in the midst of the same plight. After hanging out at the Temple for a couple of hours, I joined the 3 Americans (one of whom has been working for Microsoft in India for the last year) in their car to go to the Indian/Pakistani border for the daily flag-lowering ceremony. Here's the setting: on either side of the India/Pakistan border located at Wagah, they have built a fancy gate separating the 2 countries, and huge grandstands on either side for the hordes of crowds that arrive each day. Soldiers from both countries are dressed up in huge elaborate uniforms, lined up and down the street that runs through the middle of each side of the gate. It's a huge spectacle; Indian and Paksitani flags are waving everywhere, and there's an MC on each side that leads chants like "India is the best" (and on the other side of the gate "Pakistan is the best"). It's very comical - people are cheering and screaming, it's like a big sporting event. Then, right at sunset, the soldiers march in ridiculously machismo, bravado fashion, kicking their legs SO high up in the air with each step right up to the 2 gates, each gate is opened, and then with even more ridiculous bravado marching, standing inches from one another, they lower their flags slowly and at the same speed (not to have one flag above another) until they reach the ground. Great show. That's how I spent my 4th of July; a different form of patriotism, indeed.

Happy Belated 4th of July to everyone!!!! Greg, I was thinking yesterday about Bobby G's annual BLC speech every summer. I miss that. hahahaha

I got back to Amritsar that evening, had a nice dinner with the Americans, and decided that I would leave the following morning (this morning, today) for McLeod Ganj. I found out that there are no private buses, and the only way to go is by public bus, or taxi. I was not about to hire a taxi after sitting in a car for 2 weeks, and I wanted the adventure of figuring out the public bus system of Punjab, India, so I woke up today at 5:30 am, headed to the bus station via rickshaw, and boarded one bus to Pathankot (3 hours), and switched buses to Dharamsala (4 hours), which finally called at McLeod Ganj.

Peaceful mountain spiritual bliss. That's a good way to describe my initial feelings about this place. Oh yeah, and 'swarming with tourists' (which I'm not unhappy about, by the way!). So, McLeod Ganj really is up in the clouds! We're way up in the Himalayas, so the views from the town are quite spectacular. It actually looks a lot like Sapa, in Northern Vietnam. The hills have been transformed into rice paddies, so you see the step-shape landscape all around. (Zack, my guesthouse room has the same type of view as ours did in Sapa!!!) After a long day on a bus, I arrived at around 2pm, walked around for a bit, found a guesthouse with a (great) room, and as I was checking in, the monk who runs the place asked me: "have you signed up for the teaching session with the Dalai Lama?" Why of course I haven't, how can I do that?! was my immediate response. :-) So, I grabbed my passport, 2 passport-sized photos and waited in line with the other westerners for a pass to his week-long class. There's big celebrations tomorrow for his birthday, and the class begins the day after tomorrow. I'll keep you all informed on the wisdom I am about to accrue.

This afternoon I met a German guy who's been here for 3 weeks already, and has mucho spirituality to share. I'm all into spirituality and all, but it was a bit much for me to listen to (life energy all around us, breathing exercises to enhance your consciousness, etc) after being on a bus for 8 hours...I didn't really buy into it all yet. But I do want to be open minded here and experience new things, so I will definitely venture into the world of Buddhist spirituality while here. When in Rome....

And that brings me to now - miss you all lots, thanks for being in touch, and speak to you soon when I'm all the wiser!!!!!

Lots of love always!

Singing Silly Songs Under the Desert Moonlight

HELLO FROM BIKANER, India!!!!!! I am almost done with my 14-day marathon Rajasthan tour; Bikaner is the second-to-last stop on the route, before Shekawati and then finally Delhi. I must say, in hindsight I probably should not have done this car/driver tour...rather, I should have gone around Rajasthan by myself. But, hindsight is 20/20, and a life with regrets is rather futile, so I'm grateful for what I've seen and done so far. The added stress from my driver has been slightly unexpected, but not completely off-putting. I'll explain more as we get into the nitty-gritty details of the past 10 days or so. By the way, major apologies for not writing sooner - we've literally been on the go from one place to the next, and in the evenings when I have some free time, I've been so pooped I haven't had any energy to blog. Now that I have some roti and yummy Indian spices in my belly, I've got plenty of energy (and 2 hours before this internet cafe closes), so lets get blogging!

When I last checked in, I was about to leave Jaipur and make my way to Pushkar. I really enjoyed Jaipur - with its overcrowded, dirty, hassle-full personality overflowing everywhere, I soaked it all up. Jaipur is a major city being pulled in two directions - its historic past and the modernizing future - and the ensuing identity crisis is absolutely worth a visit.

Pushkar is very different from Jaipur. Once a relatively unknown village about 15 years ago, Israeli backpackers discovered the hidden gem and decided it was the perfect location to add to their requisite "post-military service India trip." It has since become a major stop on the hippie trail, chabad house and all. :-) The "city" of Pushkar surrounds a holy lake, and there are plenty of priests who are more than willing to bless you and everyone you love with the spirit of the lake. (Don't worry, I got my money's worth out of my priest. If you're reading this blog now, I probably made him include you in the prayer). After blessing you, the priest ties a couple of red threads around your wrist, and you are henceforth considered hassle-free from the rest of the priests in Pushkar for the remainder of your stay, thanks to the almighty "Pushkar Passport" (aka red threaded bracelet), currently located on my right wrist along with a few other bracelets collected in the past 3 months.

After wandering around the old streets of Pushkar, stopping at a bunch of shops and a Brahman temple, I drove over to the huge hill alongside the city and made a fast trek to the hilltop for the Savitri Temple and the amazing sunset view (see previous blog posting for the pic!). Fortunately, I wasn't the only one making the trek up at that time, and I made two new friends: Katy from Australia, and Sindi from London (of Indian descent). Both great girls, the three of us hiked back down together and enjoyed a lovely nighttime dinner in front of the lake with the city of Pushkar lit up all around us. The next morning, I met Sindi for breakfast (same location), and we had such a nice chat for the couple of hours I had before setting of for the next location. Sindi walked me back to my hotel, and we stopped at the gorgeous Sikh temple in town for a short prayer (Sindi is Sikh, so she introduced me to the customs of entering a Sikh temple--eg, how to place your hands near your head, bow to the ground and touch your forehead to the floor, etc). Very beautiful and spiritual experience.

---Here's a taste of what I was referring to when I mentioned that I shouldn't have done the car tour. I would have loved to stay in Pushkar, hang out with Sindi for another day, but alas, I was on a strict schedule and had to get a move on. More frustration-venting to come, stay tuned. :-) ----

So from Pushkar, my driver and I made our way to Udaipur. Even though I was sad to leave Pushkar, I knew that Udaipur was going to be great. As you can see from the previous posting, Udaipur's main attraction is the gorgeous lake surrounded by lush mountains and beautiful architecture abounding all around the water. In the middle of the lake is the stunning white Lake Palace, and there are also a few more palaces dotted across the water. My driver wanted to take me to his guest house of choice, ie away from the old town, away from the lake, and an establishment run by one of his friends (I was starting to catch on to this whole 'Indian tour guide' thing at this point), and so I forcefully yet calmly explained that I wanted to stay in the Lal Ghat area, which is right in the heart of the old city's narrow streets. I got my way, of course, and found the most perfect guest house (thank you Lonely Planet) right on the lake with picture perfect views (again, see previous posting for the evidence). Right after I checked into the guest house, I went up to the roof to soak in the scenery, and I met a really nice couple, Heather (British), and Tom (Swedish), who met traveling a couple of years ago (there is hope for us lonely backpackers!!!!) and are now on their second around-the-world trip. They invited me to join them at the sunset view/restaurant near the city palace (not the one in the middle of the lake, but on the lake shore overlooking the lake). The sun was just starting to set as we arrived, and the three of us enjoyed a breathtakingly spectacular sunset (again, see previous blog posting...hahaha) and delicious food. I had spaghetti bolognese for the first time since Vietnam!!! It was a perfect way to cap off my first evening in Udaipur.

The next day, I slept in and then walked around the City Palace Museum...overall impression: "eh." After a while, all of these Rajasthani museums are all starting to look the same: weapons & armory, heroes & heroine paintings, krishna statues...you get the idea. After the museum, I stopped in the nearby temple (again, refer to the previous sentence for my sentiments on the temple), and realized that Lonely Planet loves to send its backpackers along the requisite routes, checking off all major stops along the way. I wish Lonely Planet would say once in a while: "don't bother with that temple...yeah it's nice and all, but you've seen it 3 times before" I should write to them!! Better yet, I should write for them. haha

The sightseeing of Udaipur's museums left me in a bit of a blah mood. Fortunately, the day was about to turn great. I was walking down the street by myself when four Indian guys called me over to them. My initial reaction was "no thankyou, I don't want anything" (since tourists develop this type of knee-jerk reaction to any form of beckoning). They responded by saying that they didn't want to sell me anything, and asked if I would like to join them for a chat. I happily joined them. --This is an advantage of being a solo traveler: other people are more willing to invite you to join them, and will approach you more regularly if you're on your own.-- So I sat down with the four Indian guys - all around 30 or 35, 2 married, 2 single. I started talking to one guy in particular, Yogi, who turned out to be quite a fascinating person. We chatted for almost 2 hours about Indian life, culture, religion, philosophy. What I am most interested in learning about (and what I've had ample exposure to) is how India has changed in the last 10-15 years due to western influences through tourism and economic cooperation. Yogi explained that 'real India' can't be found in the tourist havens; 'real India' is out in the countryside, amidst the untouched parts where culture and tradition are still intact. Yogi even leads charity work with one of the nearby villages, supplying food and school supplies. He said that if he could eradicate the most detrimental problems in the villages, it would be: adequate food supply, and sanitary funeral pyre systems. Can you imagine??? Most pyres do not sufficiently and completely burn the dead body; therefore, dogs and other animals get into the corpses, spreading disease among the village. Who would've thought that in this day and age, a problem such as this still exists? Another facet of our discussion was about the foundations and societies that collect foreign donations to help fight poverty in India. Skepticism is the key word here; Yogi believes that almost all foundations and societies pocket foreign money and only provide enough help to capture the perfect photo op in order to campaign for more money in their pocket. Yogi does all of his work on his own; he brings tourists out to the village to see for themselves the work that he does. Again, if I had more time, and I wasn't on a strict timetable with my driver, I would've stayed and gone out with Yogi to the village.

After lots of chat, Yogi and his friend Raju took me out on their motorbike for a ride around town. We went around the big lake, out of town, through farms and villages and posh homes outside the city all the way to a nearby lake called Tiger Lake. We came back into town, had some chai and 'chip-things' (I can't remember what they were called), and then we parted ways. It was a completely unexpected and wonderful afternoon. Yogi is a friend with whom I wish I could've spent more time (again, please see previous statements about my sentiments on the car tour timetable), and I've decided to take advantage of every opportunity to chat with local people while I'm here. I am learning more through simple chat with friendly Indian people than any book can teach me. I'm gaining lots of insight for the impending start of school this September!!!

That evening I went to watch traditional Indian dance & live music (picture from previous posting), where I ran into Aussie Katy (from my hike up to the top of the sunset hill in Pushkar) who was also going to watch the dancing. Katy is also on a car tour of Rajasthan, and shares many similar opinions about the whole thing...we shared lots of good chat/venting together. The dancing was terrific, and then Katy and I enjoyed a lovely rooftop dinner overlooking gorgeous Udaipur, the lake, and the night sky. Oh yeah-before I forget, earlier that afternoon, before I met Yogi, I met these 15 year-old boys at the lake who invited me to a hotel party full of food, wine, and 'many other persons your age'. I thought, 'what the hell, why not' and agree to meet them after the dancing to drive over to the party, but the boys never showed up at the meeting spot. When I was waiting for the boys, I met two other guys - one of whom is a Kashmiri 21-year-old boy named Ali who lost his parents and brother at the age of 14 when a bomb destroyed the factory his family was working in, forcing him to move down to Udaipur shortly thereafter. It's amazing the people you meet and stories you hear when you have the time to slow down and engage with your surroundings.

The next day, my driver and I left Udaipur to head to Ranakpur, a small village about 90 km north of Udaipur, where we visited a group of 4 stunning Jain temples (Jain is a sect of Hinduism); 1 of which contains 1,444 unique pillars (ie each of the 1,444 pillars is unlike the other). Lots of gorgeous carvings, statues, etc. From there we went to a really posh hotel (I didn't argue with my driver this time - I got a good deal on the room, and the place had a really beautiful pool, at which I spent the ENTIRE rest of the afternoon under the sun). Later that day I walked over to a nearby hill to watch the sunset. The scenery from the top of the hill was quite gorgeous - mountains, lake, sheep & goats around the lake, birds flying through the sky, and a divine sunset to cap it all off. On my way down the hill, I ran into Aussie Katy (again!) who was just finishing the sunset from another vantage point. So, we grabbed dinner together (again! haha) and she invited me to join her on a hike the following day to a nearby temple-built-out-of-a-cave-in-a-mountain type-thing. The next morning, I met Katy and the tour guide at 7am (after some annoying coaxing from my driver to get him to drive me over to Katy's hotel), and Katy & I & the guide drove to the starting point of the hike, then set foot up the trail to the temple. The walk up was quite interesting: we passed lots and lots of longoor monkeys within arms' reach of where we were standing, which added to the authentic feel of being in the wild. When we got to the village at the top of the mountain, I realized that everything is built around a rather large, cavernous crack in the mountain, which has (supposedly) formed a natural Shiva temple. Katy and I were guided up to the temple where a holy priest blessed me (again), rubbed the ubiquitous orange stuff over my forehead, ears, and neck (which turned into orange goop when combined with my incessant sweating), and said a bunch of prayers for me and my loved ones (again, you're in good shape if you're reading this blog, because I included everyone in that prayer also!) From the temple we hiked in the other direction, through the jungle, along a gorgeous trail back to my hotel in Ranakpur. All in all, a lovely day, filled with nature, spirituality, and great chat with Katy. She's also about to start a Master's course (at Cambridge), so we had lots to chat about during our walk through the jungle.

After Ranakpur was Jodhpur...the blue city!!!! (see previous posting for pics). I arrived into the center of town (and all of its crazy chaos) at around 4:00pm, hopped in a rickshaw to go to the guesthouse of my choice (not my drivers choice), which was absolutely perfect. An old haveli house (beautifully carved stonework), my room in the guesthouse overlooked all of Jodhpur. I literally threw my bags down on the floor of my room, and ran over to the fort in Jodhpur before it closed. Most every major city in Rajasthan has a huge fort around which the city has been built: Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Bikaner. Same same but, well, same. :-) I made it to the Jodhpur fort in time, and walked around the luxurious and gorgeous rooms...detailed architecture, fancy artifacts, priceless works of art, etc. When I was almost done with the tour, I ran into 2 Dutch guys: Joep and Berry, and I joined them for dinner afterwards and then we walked around the city for a long while (that was the night I uploaded the previous blog posting and all of those pics!). Great guys, they live in Maastricht, and we already have a standing date for them to show me around Netherlands' southern-most city this Fall. The next day, I woke up early and wandered around the city for a few hours before I had to meet my driver to head for the next town: Jaisalmer. Wandering around old Indian city streets is my favorite thing to do: pretty much everywhere you look is a Kodak Moment. It's hard to capture the beauty and life of India, but I'm doing my best!! The people are so interesting, and what is just daily life to them is, to me, foreign and beautiful.

So, the whirlwind Rajasthan tour continued on to Jaisalmer. Jaisalmer is famous for 2 things: its city-within-a-city Fort (ie, the 'Fort' is not a museum like Jodhpur's, but instead a living community full of hostiles, internet cafes, and shops) and CAMEL SAFARIS! Whereas you can't go to Maine without eating lobster, or you can't go to New York City without seeing Times Square (if you're a tourist, that is), one cannot go to Jaisalmer without signing up for a 2-day, 1-night camel safari. My driver wanted to set me up with one of his friends for a safari, but when we pulled up, a tout was selling his safari, and he had 3 Korean tourists who were already signed up to leave the next morning. Since I didn't really want to be alone in the desert, I decieded to join the Korean tour, much to the dismay of my driver. (He was actually pretty pissed off, and left in a big huff....hence the unnecessary added stress of having a car & driver throughout Rajasthan). I went to the hotel where the Koreans were staying, signed up for the tour, met the 3 Koreans, then dropped my bags in the room and walked around Jaisalmer fort for the few hours I had left of the day.

Safari time: Ok, the safari was great, so let me give you the quickest summary possible (since you guys are all SO great for reading this whole blog entry!) The Koreans are named: Udo, Jerrard, and Minkie. Jerrard and Minkie are 23 and have just gotten out of the Korean Marine Corps, and Udo is 25 and has been out of the Korean Army for 2 years, and is now studying chemical engineering. They were SO nice and friendly and funny. Minkie didn't really speak English at all, but Udo and Jerrard (brothers) did, so the three of us chatted away about American music, movies, Korean culture, politics, world affairs, etc. Going back---We left the hotel at 7:30am, stopped briefly at a small village for a photo op with the kids, then drove some more where our camels were waiting for us. We had 2 safari guides: David and Gadi, 2 villagers from the desert who are now tour guides for camel safaris. Gadi is only 15, and is one of the coolest kids I've ever met. David was super nice, and was always trying to ensure that we were ok and having the BEST POSSIBLE safari ever. The 6 of us (3 Koreans, 2 tour guides, 1 Danny) rode the camels for about 3 hours, then stopped under a big tree for a rest and lunch. Luckily, I had my iPod with me, so it meant for lots of quality music listening time, and lots of time for introspection. After about a 3-hour lunch break/siesta, we got back on the camels as rain clouds in the distance looked at us menacingly, and finally made it to our destination: lush, picture-perfect sand dunes, and our campsite for the night. For most of the day, we were riding on dry, cracked dirt, with patches of bushes here and there for the camels to nosh on. It wasn't the quintessential desert experience you might imagine, but there are a few areas with perfect sand dunes, like in the movies, which we stopped at. The sand dunes were fantastic. The clouds covered up the sunset, but after a lovely dinner, we laid out our beds on a huge cement block (to keep away from the bugs), and we 4 tourists and Gadi, the 15 year old kid, got ready for bed under the full moon. I wouldn't have traded away the gorgeous full moon that night for any sunset; once the moon came out, the setting could not have been more perfect at dusk: camels grazing in the distance in front of perfectly carved sand dunes, and the full, bright moon professionally lighting the scene. Absolutely beautiful and perfect. That evening the Koreans taught me some tae kwon do (and I captured their demonstrations on video on my camera!) And when we were in 'bed' (aka hard cement slab with a few blankets' worth of cushioning), the 5 of us sang Korean folk songs, Hindi songs, and frer-a-jac-a (spelling!???)...you know, the french song!! Some French tourists taught it to Gadi a few weeks before, so we all fell asleep singing silly songs under the moonlight.

The next morning, we woke up and raced back on the camels to meet the jeep by 10 am to be back in Jaisalmer by 11am so I could meet my driver and leave Jaisalmer for Bikaner (no need to reiterate my sentiments for timetables, here). In fact, hurrying back on the camels did not-so-great things for my back, which is sore today and still recovering from the bumpy ride. (I'm fine mom, don't worry!).

OK - 15 minutes until internet cafe close time!!!!!! I made it back to Jaisalmer, met up with my driver, and left for Bikaner, a random Lonely Planet-prescribed stop along the Rajasthan tourist route. This town isn't so great - busy, dirty, crowded - but it does have a gorgeous fort which I went to today. Yesterday we arrived from Jaisalmer around 6pm, checked into the hotel, and I managed to do some emailing and internet surfing at leisure for the first time in a while. Today, I went to the fort, and then to the RAT TEMPLE!!!!!!! Yes, about 35 km frmo Bikaner is the Karni Mata Temple - a temple dedicated to Karni Mata, an incarnation of Durga, but has since been overtaken by a colony of rats. Naturally, the Indians have attributed these rats as holy, and have made no attempts to rid the temple of these rats. There is literally an infestation of rats everywhere - you have to take your shoes off before you enter, which adds to the icky factor of the temple, and the rats are scurrying around EVERYWHERE!!! I didn't spend too long in the temple...my previous experience with rats is watching them on the subway tracks from the platform, and that's about as close as I like to get to them if I can help it! Odd experience - people are praying among the rats...bizarre, yet a great photo op.

THEN - this afternoon was my first Bollywood experience. Bikaner has 1 movie theater, and like all things Indian, it was quite an experience. My driver was good (for a change) about getting me in. Also, like all things Indian, acquiring a ticket required bribery, pushing, shoving, shouting...but we FINALLY were in our seats for the movie, called "Apne". To say that the movie was ridiculous, unrealistic, stupid, and a waste of 3 hours of my life would be a bit understated. But - I loved the experience for what it was. The movie was a huge ripoff of every "Rocky" movie ever made...boxing drama, family revenge, etc etc, but taken to a whole new cheese factor. Plus, since it was a Bollywood film, there were musical song-and-dance numbers scattered about. I have to say, I loved it. :-)

AND THAT BRINGS ME TO NOW - I'm so glad I'm all caught up on the blog. Tomorrow I head to Shekawati, which I think is another Lonely Planet-prescribed stop on the way back to Delhi, but I'm pretty much done with Rajasthan touring by now. I get back to Delhi on July 3rd, and then I head to northern India (Amritsar, Dharamsala - the home of the Dalai Lama!!!, Manali, Rishikesh/Haridwar). At least, that's my tentative plan for now. I'm very much looking forward to being unrestricted by the bounds of the tour guide experience...we'll see where my travels will take me.

MISS YOU ALL SO MUCH!!!!!!!!! Again, all of this alone time and introspection time has made me realize how much I miss my family and friends, and how important you all are to me. I think about you guys every day out here, so be in touch when you can!!!!!!!!

Speak to you again soon!!!!!
LOTS OF LOVE ALWAYS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!