Tacky Tourists

say cheese… Jon even went out and bought me the deluxe version (10Rs instead of 5Rs) of the taj mahal in the snow globe key chain after our visit. The deluxe verison has more liquid in it. Now that’s love..

street food

Jon: My biggest frustration so far in India, had been my stomach. I mean, our north American stomach need sometimes to get use to food abroad. Today, I decided enough is enough. There is too much great food on the streets of India, and I wasn’t going to miss out on it anymore. So I had lunch on the street today, I cant tell you the name of the dish, and I cant say it was the most amazing meal I have ever had, but it felt great to be able to sample what most people here eat. Today for me it was some kind of fried mashed potato with chilies, tomatoes, and chickpeas, with mango sauce. Ok got to go, time to sample the street side desserts.

Example of some of the ornate artwork in the palace

Still beautiful after hundreds of years.

Orchha on a whim

We decided to stop in Orchha on our way to Agra for a few nights. Not knowing much about this small town before arriving, we have been pleasantly surprised. Set in a beautiful landscape the town is surrouned by the ruins of old palaces and temples. Today we wandered around the Raj Mahal Palace.  Although a little  neglected, we could still see the forgotten beauty of times past and the Medival Indo Muslim architecture was very inspiring.  It felt as though we were in a different time wandering through long corridors and stone courtyards with the sounds of distant songs from the nearby temple.

Khajuraho

Jon and I rented bikes in Khajuraho and visited the several temples around the town site. The temples are famous for their erotic sculptures and we found our visit most interesting even though the area is quite touristy. The season is just starting and the shop keepers were fighting for our attention. We had a great afternoon riding bikes in the tropical down pour.

peace on the River Ganges

We got up early this morning to take a boat ride up the Ganges River. This is a picture of Raul and his friend… Raul is the son of the boat owner. His uncle  was taking us on the tour with 2 other people from New York. Raul told me his other uncle owned a silk shop and if I would like he would take me there after. He has grown up on the bank of the Ganges. Over tea we talked about all the garbage thrown into the river. He told me he did not think it was good for the river but that everyone does it. There is a lot of praying going on in Varanasi. I pray for the life of the river.

Varanasi

We are here! Staying at the Ganpati Guest House by the River Ganges. The Durga festival was in full swing last night with the dumping of iconic statues, of all sizes, into the river, lots of music, dance, sweets and ceremonies. If you want to read more about it check out www.durga-puja.org

Why do we travel?

We are back in Delhi. We have to wait 2 days to catch the train to Varanasi so here we are again. We have to say that we like it better this time but we still have to deal with the touts and the endless schemes to rip us off. Today when we arrived at the train station we were told by “agent” that we had to go to so and so office to get ticket. When we arrived at office they told us no tickets were available for a week but they could sell us a packaged deal to the destination of our choice, private driver, hotels, etc.. After much consideration and some argument between Jon and I, we decided to come to the hotel we first stayed at and check with the agent here. Sure enough we were able to book a train ticket to Varanasi. Long story short, over dinner, Jon and I were discussing travel and why we do it. He was thinking that the organized tour sounded not so bad and perhaps we wouldn’t have to deal with all the hassles from people trying to rip us off and that maybe having things organized would leave more time for relaxation. I, on the other hand, felt that the magic of travel is partly about the journey and not only about seeing sights. For me, It is more about how you arrive, who you meet along the way, the element of chance (faith) and freedom of choice. So we stand, slightly divided on our thoughts, and wonder what others might think about this matter… I know everyone travels differently (mom) so we put the question out there?

At the top

At the top

Day one of our trek was pretty easy other than the walking in the hot desert sun and getting a bit of heat stroke on the way. We really enjoyed our stay at the Guest House and wished we could stay longer. The family exuded friendliness and even though they spoke very little English, we felt very comfortable. Day 2 was a very beautiful walk down a river to the Rizong Monastery and then a long walk over a mountain to Hemis Shukpa Chan for our 2nd night. Our guide and Jon were really fast but I took my time and finally made it to the summit. I was very happy!

Home stay in Yangthan

On our journey on the Sham Trek we had the great honor to experience Ladakhi hospitality at our guest house in Yangtang. Our wonderful hostess prepared for us some amazing meals on her stove powered by a mixture of wood, and cow dung. We also had the great pleasure to try some “Chang”, local alcohol made from barley. I learned some new recipe, and cant wait to share them with you when we come back.