Backpacker lifestyle

So.....we are loving the Marriott. It seems so plush to what we have become accustomed too. They have such nice things as washclothes! Anyway, I feel slightly out of place here. It seems to extreme of a jump to go from dread locked smelly backpackers to fat germans (the resort is loaded with them). We also have carried some backpacker lifesytle options over to the Marriott which makes it tough. No way are we eating the $15 breakfasts, so its yogurt and museli for us. $9 burgers - No Way! Its PB&J for us. We have a Tesco (british wal-mart) across the street so its easy to shop, and we have a fridge so we can store beer, jelly and yogurt in our room. But it does feel a little silly sitting on a plush bed eating a PB&J....oh well 3 more nights till we go back to our normal lifestyle.

Changing Rupees

As we were leaving India, the Thomas Cook guy said to change our Rupees in Bangkok as we would get a better rate. So today, we decided to trade them in. Well after 5 stops at banks were they wouldn't accept Rupees.....we were cursing him. It took the better part of the morning to trade them in. We did get a better rate but only marginally so.

Other than that we checked out the royal palace in Bangkok (check flickr) which was pretty cool. They have this emerald buddha, actually made of jade They dress it up for the seasons....ha! Tomorrow we head for Hua Hin and the much awaited Marriott resort.

Other tidbits on Bangkok
- The touts have nothing on the Indian touts.
- We have been traveling by ferry in Bangkok which is a nice change of pace
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Chaing Dao

So yesterday, we decided to head out of Chiang Mei and into the hills for a respite from the city. Well, we decided on Chaing Dao, which is a town about 75 kms from Chiang Mei. We took a bus, which was actually nicer than many of the buses we rode on in Europe up here. We are so glad we came up. For starters, our accommodation is very quaint. Its 6 bungalows nestled at the base of a mountain, the largest limestone mountain in Thailand. They have thatched roofs and are in a lush environment.....we are surrounded by banana trees and other flowering plants. The food at our restaurant is also some of the best we have had in Thailand.

In addition to the delightful accommodation, we also saw some nice sights. This area is famous for its caves and we got a tour of them. For the most part, the caves are completely dark, so a guide leads you through them. You have to crawl around to get to some areas, but its well worth it. The formations (all of which are named) are awe inspiring. They just look freaky (Hopefully we can upload some pics soon). After the caves, we checked out this famous monastery. It was at the top of a hill and required 500 steps to climb up to it. It was definitely worth it, but we were covered in sweat by the time we reached the top. The views from up there were beautiful and the temple itself was quite impressive. Its somewhat strange to see monks everywhere, but they seem to be just part of life here. Today, we check out a local hill tribe and some more monasteries/wats. To be honest, they are similar to churches in Europe or temples in India....and I can see them starting to blur in my mind after a while.

Thailand so far

Ok, Thailand so far has been relatively boring. Not because Thailand is boring, but because I have been sick. We arrived on Tuesday and didn't do much besides walk around due to exhaustion from travel.

On Weds, our primary goal was to arrange for a trek which we did. That took a longer part of the day, and we filled the rest in with massages along with shopping at the night bazaar. The night bazaar is a shoppers dream. It pretty much has everything you could want there, plus it is loaded with designer knockoffs. Ashley picked up a two cute Izods, I picked up a Von Dutch t-shirt. We purchased a few gifts for our fashion conscious friends and relatives.

Late Weds night, after several Changs (Thai Beer), I broke out with a fever and some stomach problems. So all day Thursday, I laid in bed hoping to get better. We ended up having to cancel our trek as I was too sick to go. Luckily we got our money back, but I was definitely disappointed. Today, we have kept it low key also, as I still feel a little shaky. We did check out another Wat (see picture) with this spectactular buddha statue. Tomorrow we head to some caves nearby.

India vs. Thailand

So, we are in Thailand and we can't stop thinking about India. We are constantly comparing and contrasting India and Thailand.....here is a summary.

Price - this is the first thing that pops into my cheap mind. The price of things in Thailand are signficantly higher. Its still cheap, but no more $2 meals.

Aroma - Thailand smells much better than India. We have yet to smell raw sewage which is nice. We miss the street cooking smells of India food.

Food - Total mixed bag here. The food so far in restuarants is inferior, no questions about that. Its good but not Indian good. However, we are not paranoid about what to eat. We got freshly made fruitsmoothies on the street today....which was a nice change. We saw them all over India but were too scared to try them.

Conditions of Streets - Thailand is much cleaner than India. Not much trash. Ashley is happy about the fewer street dogs, but they have been replaced by prostitutes (which makes me happy too).

People - The people are friendly in Thailand and always smiling, but not near as friendly or as interested in us. We are no longer celebrities. Plus there are tons of westerners.

So far we like Thailand and look forward to spending more time here. We are in North Thailand now (Chaing Mei). On Friday we head out for a trek for two nights, so today to prepare we got two massages. 1/2 hour on the feet and 1/2 hour on the back.....total cost per person - $10.

India.....Assault on the Senses

We will miss India. We truly enjoyed the experience of it all. From the lovely temples to the home stays to the incredible food, the imprint of India is burned within our psyche and will forever change us (ok, that was a little over the top but it was definitely memorable). Anyway, as we were leaving India, Ashley thought we should talk about how India is totally overwhelming on all of your senses. The most noticeable is visual, you see both crushing poverty and overwhelming beauty. The Taj Mahal was probably the single most impressive man made structure I have ever seen. It just blew me away. At the same time, seeing families sleeping on the streets in hovels, or sometimes not even hovels just a tarp, imprinted visuals I will never forget. For the audio, the most noticeable was the honking although dog barking is a close second. It was incessant and quite annoying but we got used to it. But at the same time, the Hindi music and the kids giggling, just have to make you smile. Smells were the most overwhelming of all the senses. As you walk down the street, smells intermingle. One moment you will be smelling the most wonderful street food (which we never sampled but smelled awesome) and the next you are reeling from the smell of raw sewage. It was quite intense and I will never forget the two inter-twinning.

For taste, we only have good memories. The memories of some of the best food we have ever had in our life. For Ashley, it was a vegetarian paradise. I ate vegetarian the whole time in India and I have to say it was incredible. You know you are going to have good veggie options when things are labeled - as Veg or Non-Veg. Ok, we don't really have anything for the sense of touch but we liked this theme for a post (Ashley's idea!).

We really enjoyed our time in India, but we have moved along to Thailand. While we will miss the intensity of India, we welcome a slightly easier travel experience.

Finally, the gruesome travel day(s) was not as bad as we thought. Besides getting upgraded on the train to first class, we got an earlier flight to Chaing Mei (northern Thailand) which reduced our layover. I am not keen to travel for 40+ hrs anytime soon, but it was not as bad as I imagined.

Hello

Whenever we walk around, we often get stares. Its a little odd. The kids seem to do it the most and most often after staring at us they say "Hello" really loud. When we respond with "hello" they start giggling uncontrollably. We are not sure why they do this, but we find it very cute. Usually its the younger kids who do it and for the most part its the boys, not girls that do it. The older kids will walk with us and ask us where we are from and chat with us......not just stopping at hello.

Right now, we are in Kalimplong. We don't find it quite as endearing as Darjeeling. Its got better views (it might be the weather), but the town is slightly dingier and our lodging is sub par. We got here by taking a share jeep from Darjeeling. This was a total trip and a half. They crammed 12 people (11 passengers and the driver) in a mid-sized SUV. No seatbelts and not much of a roof combined with a ride with no guard rails through the mountains made for a slightly scary ride. Yeah, it was crazy scenic, but nerve wracking. After the ride, we checked out a Buddhist monastery. They were beating drums and chanting, pretty cool. We also spun some Tibetan prayer wheels. Today, we are heading to check out another monastery and the top of a mountain.

Other musings....
- We are slightly worried about our package of goodies shipped home. It was supposed to arrive Thursday, and has yet to arrive.
- I forgot to mention two other food favorites. Fresh lime sodas and Vegetable Jalfrezi. Both are new to us and both are yummy. Fresh lime soda will be easy to replicate in the states, not so sure about Vegetable Jalfrezi.
- We are thinking of adding another week in Thailand. We want more time on tropical beaches than the currently allocated one week. We are also toying with flying from Australia to Bali, but will probably just stay in Thailand for another week.
- I got to watch Mets-Cards game yesterday. A nice treat. I got up early to watch yesterday's game, but our cable was out.
- Kingfisher beer is pretty good. Its a Indian brew and quite tasty. I would strongly recommend it if you get a chance to try it.

Indian Food

As you probably can tell, we have been eating well on our trip. With the exception of two meals, every meal we have had has been at least pretty good, with most being outstanding. The home cooked meals we got at Auntie and Uncles (both of them) where by far the best we had. We also got to sample fare that we would have never tried without being in someone's home. For instance, at Auntie and Uncle in Bombay we got to try the Bombay specialties such as bhelpuri. Its was a puffed rice mixture and Ashley and I loved it. We would have never known to try it without Auntie preparing it for us.

We have got to sample some old favorites (from our frequent Indian dining in America) such as Chana Masala (Chick peas in a sauce), Palak Paneer (Cheese and spinach), Navarratan Korma (vegetables in a cream sauce), Pakoras, Samosas, Naan, Dal Makahani (lentils), Lassi's and Dosas (pancake with potato filling). But we also found some new ones to love such as Chapati (another type of bread), Paneer Tiki (Cheese cooked in a tandori oven with spices), mixed vegetables, Vegetable Kebabs (ok, we make these at home, but they are better here), masala tea, and Momos (Tibetan steamed thingies).

Also.....I would love to get some pictures posted but there is no way from Darjeeling. I would suspect you will get few posts and pictures after Saturday. On Sunday we leave for the worst travel stretch so far.....we leave Sunday afternoon from Kalimpong (our next stop) and arrive in Chang Mei Thailand on Tuesday afternoon. Ouch!!!!

Darjeeling

Yesterday after a long travel day (4am to 8pm), we arrived in Darjeeling. Its much different from the other Indian towns we have visited, as the touts and beggars bother you much less. Plus, its in the mountains, so great views abound (although its often marred with trash). This morning, we went to Happy Valley Tea Plantation for a tour. It was quite interesting to see how tea was grown and processed. We didn't see much of the processing but did see the growing. Also, we saw the picking of the tea leaves. Only women pick tea leaves and do it for 8 hours a day, the compensation is only 40rs (about $.90). Not much if you ask me.

The tea that is grown there is sold to twinnings......so we have drunk that before and will do so again. The main tea that they sell is "super fine tippy golden flowery orange piko." What a crazy name but it was quite tasty to drink. We purchased some for a true tea lover in the family (although I am pretty sure the tea lover doesn't read this blog).

Hanging with Uncle

We had a really nice day today. Uncle, Ashley and I went to Elephanta Island. Its this Island about 1 hr boat ride from central Bombay. It has these rock temples to various gods (mainly Shiva). Anyway, it was pretty cool to check out the caves and the statues. The exact history of the caves are unknown, but they date from around 500 AD. There were 5 caves with one being the main cave and a temple to Shiva, the god of destruction. The statues and carvings are very intricate and for the most part in pretty good shape. The pictures (check flickr) came out only so so due to the lack of light, but they were very impressive.

Other notables:
- Uncle got us some fresh squeezed cane juice. We have seen it all over the place but were scared to try any fresh squeezed juice (guidebook warned us). Uncle took us to a reputable place. It was quite tasty.
- We also tried these "Bombay Burgers" which are veggie burgers (fried potatoes). They were quite tasty but slightly spicy.
- We also checked out a Jain temple. We almost went to see one in Delhi, but you have to take your shoes off and the area in Delhi did not look hygienic (standing water, rats). It was good to check out the temple and Jainism is a very interesting religion.
- Uncle was a terrific guide. He is knowledgeable about a wide variety of subjects, and doesn't mind Ashley and I constant questions. Plus the local touch keeps beggars and touts away.
- So you know, Uncle and Auntie are generic terms you use to describe relationships. They aren't my uncle or aunt as you think of it, but its what you call someone to show respect. I like the tradition and it came very natural.

Shopping with Auntie

Last night, we experienced true Indian shopping with Auntie in Bombay. We have been planning on buying the bulk of our souvenirs in India and then shipping them back. It will be expensive to ship it back, but how often do you get to go to India? Anyway, we knew that we were meeting with Auntie and Rebecca let us know that she was a master shopper. Rebecca was right. First stop, Auntie took us to a fixed price shop where we bought quite a few things for ourselves and a few things for other people. Fixed price shops are nice as you don't have to haggle, although I have to admit I like haggling. After that stop, we hit the mall. Ashley and I each bought a nice "ethnic" (the stores term not ours) shirt. Something that is colorful and durable to have as a lasting memory. From the mall, we did a stop at a handicraft bazaar (non fixed price). We picked up some more stuff - shirt for me, a wall hanging, and a present or two. I have noticed three things that make shopping better with Auntie over shopping alone.
1. Where to go. Auntie knows where to go to get a bargain. She knows which shops are reputable and which are not. Also, she knows where things are nicely priced.
2. Quality and Price. Its nice to have an outside opinion to comment on whether something is a good deal or not, plus the insight into the quality of the product really makes us feel better about purchases.
3. Instant Respect. We have noticed that in India there are two prices. The first is for Indians, and is much lower. The second is for foreigners and its higher. With Auntie, we get the Indian price!!!!! What a nice change. The haggling is much easier!

Other thoughts about India....
- We went on a bus tour of Bombay today. The bus was a local one, and filled with natives. It was good to interact with them. We met some really nice kids on it (hi Sam!) and saw a lot of Bombay. A very nice time.
- Bombay is hot.
- Uncle has given us some good tips on travel and insight into Hinduism. We are fascinated by Hinduism and its nice to have a guide to help us understand what is what.
- Our culinary extravaganza continues. India home cooking is the BEST. We love it.

Something yummy in my tummy in Jaipur....cooking with Auntie

Something yummy in my tummy in Jaipur....cooking with Auntie
Originally uploaded by Flightplan.

Cooking with Auntie

This evening we had a memorable experience.....we cooked with Auntie (who we met yesterday). Auntie offers cooking classes to young girls and women around town, so that they can learn to cook. She agreed to do the same for us. She taught us how to cook 4 dishes - Dal, Chana, mixed vegetables and paneer masala. All of them turned out awesome, and I look forward to cooking them when I get back home (if I can remember!). It truly was a delight to meet with them and get to hear about them. I learned so much from Uncle about India, its culture and its future.

Upon leaving their house, we felt a sense of welcome previously unexperienced on our trip. Here are these people who are pratical strangers who open up their home to us, feed us, teach us to cook, show us around. They treated us as members of the family - not as guests. This truly was a delight and an inspiration. It reminds me of what is truly important in life.....friends and family. You are a collection of many things, one of the most important is the people you know and the relationships you form. These interactions make up your life and shape you into who you are. Sometimes we forget this, but the hanging with Auntie and Uncle reminded me of this. Not only from their hospitality, but they way they talked, acted and showed respect. Ok, enough gushing.

We also did some shopping today along with seeing the Amber (pronounced Amer) Fort. It was the best fort we have seen but pailed in comparison to our evening.

No pictures can be uploaded today, sorry. But we will head to Bombay tomorrow to meet Ritesh's folks.

Jaipur

Last night we arrived in Jaipur, and its a much nicer city than Agra. Its a lot cleaner, and there is way more to do. Also, its not quite as hot. So this morning the first thing we did was straighten out our train ticket from Darjeeling to Calcutta. Its always a chore going to the rail station, as there are tons of hassles. But from there, we did a bit of shopping. We bought ourself a nice throw for our bed, along with two silk pillowcases and a shirt for me. We also had some lunch. Ashley has grown terribly fond of fresh lime sodays (thanks Rebecca).

From shopping, we headed over to Rebecca's host family during her stay in Jaipur. Auntie and Uncle Singh along with their charming daughter Rose. Wow, what a treat. I consider it the highlight to our trip to India so far. We visited with them and had some tea (I love Indian Tea, very flavorful if not slightly sweet). Then Uncle drove us around and showed us Jaipur. He took us up into the hills near town and showed us this area with tons of monkeys. We must have seen 500 monkey (see flickr)!!!!! It was absolutely crazy. It gets even better as Uncle invited us over for dinner. What a fabulous meal! It was our best meal in India, not only for the food but also for the company.

Taj Mahal

Yesterday, we visited the Taj Mahal. It was absolutely amazing....one of the most memorable sights I have ever seen. We got up early to beat the crowds....around 6:30 am. We wanted to get up early enough to watch the sunrise, but that just was not going to happen. But we arrived at the Taj around 7:30, well before it was crowded. We walked out to see the Taj, and both Ashley and I were taken aback by the beauty of it. It really is an imposing figure, and what a testament to love. For more details on the story behind the Taj, check out the wiki page. But basically the Taj was built by an ruler of India as a testament to his wife that died giving birth to their 14th child.

Some other thoughts....
- Its intriguing that the national symbol of India (or at least what we perceive it as) was built by Islamic leader and has a mosque. Since India is majority Hindu, this just seems odd.
- Because its built on this marble base, it appears to float in the sky. It is just there.
- Agra is really hot, like absurdly hot. Plus, there are intermittent power outages. We wish we had day tripped it here, as opposed to staying two nights. Plus its really grungy.
- We had a great train ride to Agra, we sat with two lovely young people. One worked for a NGO and gave some insight into Indian life and what their challenges are in development. We also discussed American Politics, and its good to get outside perspective....but are not surprised at their comments - they dislike Bush and think he is an idiot.
- Both Ashley and I are having sinus troubles. Congested with sore throats.....Ugh!
- Our hotel in Agra had English speaking channels, so we watched a lot of TV since Agra sucks and we are sick. Even "Home Alone" is good in a pinch.
- Two sets of people have asked to take photos with us. The first time it was a little boy who dad asked us. Then it was a group of male teenagers. Strange, I guess we are a freak show.
- Finally.....photos are posted!!!! Not a lot due to our limited connection time in India, but we got some up. We had to upload them from an internet cafe.