There's a first time for everything and as far as I can remember, today was the first time that something man-made was able to make me cry from sheer awesomeness. The Taj Mahal. Wow wow wow wow wow. I had seen it from my hotel's rooftop restaurant yesterday and thought "yep, that's the Taj." But it wasn't til this morning (being the 5th person into the gate at 7 am) that it really just STRUCK me. It was a very foggy morning but it made the atmosphere around it so mysterious...the Taj just rose right out of the fog before me and I got to see the sun rise with it as a foreground.
The Taj took 11 years to build and was completed in 1653. You might think it's a religious monument (well in fact there ARE mosques here) but the Taj itself is not. It was built by Shah Jahan, the emperor at that time, as a resting place for his wife, Mumtaz (Taj) Mahal when she died giving birth to their 14th child. Shah lays beside her now. Most emperors and noblemen at that time had several wives, as did Shah Jahan, but he only truly loved Mumtaz and grieved for months when she died. The Taj (at least the main roof) is supposed to look like a teardrop from God for the loss of Mumtaz. If anybody's looking for some holiday reading, check out the novel "Under a Marble Sky" it's about the making of the Taj Mahal as told by the point of view of the daughter of Shah and Mumtaz (Jahanara) and is great because you learn the history but the book is an easy read and brings all the characters to life. I'm still not done but plan to finish on the train ride to Amritsar tomorrow then I'm going on a yoga retreat...I need some R&R desperately!
I think this monument is the most beautiful the world has ever or will ever see. I could stare at it endlessly, and as my last day in Agra spent what remained of my afternoon/evening just sipping Chai tea gazing at the Taj from the rooftop patio. It's just immaculate. I had the place nearly to myself to begin with but Indians also have vacation right now so it got busy...quite fast. Others there at first light were mainly photographers, there was one Slavic dude getting supper pissed off that people kept getting in his photos, he was yelling at one of the locals at the top of his lungs at one point!
I also got to see the many other sights of Agra (for $7 I had my own personal driver all day long!) and amazing as they were, they paled in comparison to the Taj. Should have taken an extra day and done the Taj on it's own on the last day. Agra Fort was also very impressive and was where Shah Jahan was eventually imprisoned by his own son (the bloodthursty Aurangzeb). His son afforded him views of the Taj from his prison, however.
I am still a local celebrity and I think I could actually make a living in India charging for my photo. Even Agra that sees so many tourists...I'm surprised by the number of people that want a picture with me!
Pictures at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Agra
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
Varanasi
Never has a place alarmed me so much as Varanasi, India. I think I spent a good 3 hours with eyes the size of saucers and my mouth hung open when I took my first walk along the Ganges. I got there early on Dec 27 after spending nearly a full 24 hours travelling from Pokhara Nepal. The journey is a story in itself but a new American friend and I made it at about 4am after travelling by the bumpy and loud, local night bus from the border town of Sunauli.
Varnasi India is located on the holy Ganges River and basically people come here to bathe and purify themselves in public...it's also where they burn the dead (also in public). Within the first hour of walking around I came across the burning Ghat (I am not sure on the exact definition of a Ghat but it seems to consist of steps leading down to the river where people go to bathe themselves...the dead are also bathed before being burned). It's located not too far from the hotel we're staying at; I guess that's why it was so cheap??!
They are actually quite good with foreigners and give them the whole speal about burning and the dead. Photos aren't allowed at this Ghat, I wouldn't want them anyway! It takes some 200 kg of wood to incinerate a body and there are separate locations for low, middle, and high class burnings. 24 hours after the person dies, they are burned. they're wrapped in white cloth and then covered with yellow, orange, and gold wrapping then are brought down to the Ganges and washed in this shrouding. Then they start the fire from this 500 year old Shiva Fire and I think sometimes they send the corpse out on a boat to burn but I never saw this. They remove the yellow, orange, gold stuff before burning but keep the white cloth on. No crying is allowed - it is supposed to be a celebration because if the person dies in Varanasi they are set free of the birth-rebirth cycle. If the dead person is a pregnant woman, child, or holy man, they are not burned but are tied to a rock and sent to rest at the bottom of the Ganges. This River is where the locals cleanse and purify themselves...many of them go for swims! I ain't getting closer than a meter from that water!!! Yilch!
Anyways, the Ganges is a very interesting place, you can watch everyday life take place including people peeing for the world to see. Well that happens everywhere in India...but after a few hours you get accustomed to the sights: boat builders go about their building, cow patty driers gather cow dung and lie it in paddies to be dried as fuel for fires, cricket matches abound, and there are always about a hundred kites in the air at any given time, and there are constant row boats travelling along the Ganges full of sightseers or people heading to the Golden Temple.
A few pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Varanasi#
Varnasi India is located on the holy Ganges River and basically people come here to bathe and purify themselves in public...it's also where they burn the dead (also in public). Within the first hour of walking around I came across the burning Ghat (I am not sure on the exact definition of a Ghat but it seems to consist of steps leading down to the river where people go to bathe themselves...the dead are also bathed before being burned). It's located not too far from the hotel we're staying at; I guess that's why it was so cheap??!
They are actually quite good with foreigners and give them the whole speal about burning and the dead. Photos aren't allowed at this Ghat, I wouldn't want them anyway! It takes some 200 kg of wood to incinerate a body and there are separate locations for low, middle, and high class burnings. 24 hours after the person dies, they are burned. they're wrapped in white cloth and then covered with yellow, orange, and gold wrapping then are brought down to the Ganges and washed in this shrouding. Then they start the fire from this 500 year old Shiva Fire and I think sometimes they send the corpse out on a boat to burn but I never saw this. They remove the yellow, orange, gold stuff before burning but keep the white cloth on. No crying is allowed - it is supposed to be a celebration because if the person dies in Varanasi they are set free of the birth-rebirth cycle. If the dead person is a pregnant woman, child, or holy man, they are not burned but are tied to a rock and sent to rest at the bottom of the Ganges. This River is where the locals cleanse and purify themselves...many of them go for swims! I ain't getting closer than a meter from that water!!! Yilch!
Anyways, the Ganges is a very interesting place, you can watch everyday life take place including people peeing for the world to see. Well that happens everywhere in India...but after a few hours you get accustomed to the sights: boat builders go about their building, cow patty driers gather cow dung and lie it in paddies to be dried as fuel for fires, cricket matches abound, and there are always about a hundred kites in the air at any given time, and there are constant row boats travelling along the Ganges full of sightseers or people heading to the Golden Temple.
A few pics:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Varanasi#
Thursday, December 25, 2008
Feedback to Health Canada RE: the Flu Shot please include Nepalese strains in future flu cocktails!
MERRY CHRISTMAS from Nepal! More specifically, Pokhara, the 2nd largest city in the country although it sure doesn't feel like it. It doesn't even come close to the chaos that is Kathmandu.
As the title suggests, I was utterly struck down by the flu on Dec 23. I was JUST getting over a cold from Everest, then on the 22nd starting to feel worse again and by the 23rd I couldn't leave my room. Covered in 5 blankets (it's 25 degrees here) I still had the shivers, every part of my body was sore, and well...everything inside of me was coming out every possible direction. It wasn't pretty. I'm not 100% now but am on my way up and out of it, I've already booked a ticket back to the Indian border by bus tomorrow and either I'll go to Varanasi or to Agra (last minute decision and will depend how I feel).
It sure doesn't feel like Christmas here. There was a "parade" I guess you'd call it...a pretty lame excuse for one. Mainly a few motorbikers dressed up in Santa hats...with a few "floats" 2 to be exact, with streamers and yelling children. Hey at least they tried I guess. I felt good enough to walk around...me and one of the guys working at the hotel and his wife went to see some caves in the area and a waterfall and we climbed up to the World Peace Pagoda high above the city. On a good day you can see the Annapurnas but all week has not been good...today was the best...I guess I used all my luck on Everest because the weather there was PERFECT. So I'm done with Pokhara for now, I'll be back some day to trek the Annapurnas but not now, not until I forget all about the exhaustion that was Everest.
Speaking of which: PICS! Please check out:
Everest:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Everest
Kathmandu:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Kathmandu#
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! I hope there is plenty of snow and it feels like Christmas wherever you are!!
As the title suggests, I was utterly struck down by the flu on Dec 23. I was JUST getting over a cold from Everest, then on the 22nd starting to feel worse again and by the 23rd I couldn't leave my room. Covered in 5 blankets (it's 25 degrees here) I still had the shivers, every part of my body was sore, and well...everything inside of me was coming out every possible direction. It wasn't pretty. I'm not 100% now but am on my way up and out of it, I've already booked a ticket back to the Indian border by bus tomorrow and either I'll go to Varanasi or to Agra (last minute decision and will depend how I feel).
It sure doesn't feel like Christmas here. There was a "parade" I guess you'd call it...a pretty lame excuse for one. Mainly a few motorbikers dressed up in Santa hats...with a few "floats" 2 to be exact, with streamers and yelling children. Hey at least they tried I guess. I felt good enough to walk around...me and one of the guys working at the hotel and his wife went to see some caves in the area and a waterfall and we climbed up to the World Peace Pagoda high above the city. On a good day you can see the Annapurnas but all week has not been good...today was the best...I guess I used all my luck on Everest because the weather there was PERFECT. So I'm done with Pokhara for now, I'll be back some day to trek the Annapurnas but not now, not until I forget all about the exhaustion that was Everest.
Speaking of which: PICS! Please check out:
Everest:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Everest
Kathmandu:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/Kathmandu#
MERRY CHRISTMAS TO ALL! I hope there is plenty of snow and it feels like Christmas wherever you are!!
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Everest Base Camp and back
On December 15 at approximately 2 pm, I made it to the 5364 meter expanse on the Khumbu Glacier that is called "Everest Base Camp". The following morning I made it (hanging on by about a millimeter thick thread) to Kala Pattar at 5550 meters (for incredible views of the Himalaya ranges). The last 2 weeks have been the most trying, most physically exhausting, most gruelling, but also the most rewarding experiences of my life.
In 12 days, my group of 11 foreigners (plus 3 guides and 5 porters) and I trekked approximately 70 miles (not including rest day mileage), gaining then losing about 3 km in altitude (Min altitude: 2600 m, Maximum 5550 m). Most of us suffered from colds as well as altitude sickness and even food poisoning during that time. In 12 days I lost 5 KILOS (11 pounds), you just can't keep up with energy demands of trekking at high altitude. For the first time in 2 weeks, I felt "full" yesterday at dinner having stopped trekking and returning to Kathmandu.
Who else is crazy enough to sign up for this $hit?? 2 Irish Farmers (one is a sub 3 hour marathoner), 4 from the UK (including a personal trainer), 3 from the US (one serves in Iraq), 1 from Australia, and yours truly, the only Canadian on the trip. 4 of the 11 are marathon runners and everybody else is extremely fit in other ways.
So the trek starts from a place called Lukla which you fly in and out of from Kathmandu. There are no motor vehicles in this region WHATSOEVER. Transportation and carrying of goods is by yak or porter. Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla is without a doubt the scariest airport I've ever been to. The runway is extremely short and the landing strip is 60 meters higher on one side (you land going uphill and take off going downhill). If you overshoot the runway, you hit an embankment, if you underestimate it, your plane falls off a cliff. There have been several accidents here, as you can imagine. The Nepalese pilots dress like Tom Cruise...with aviator sunglasses and leather jackets...they think they are IT, which honestly, they are for making the landings and take-offs safely. I gave about 5 sighs of relief on landing safely in Kathmandu.
Weather was perfect, couldn't have been better. Clear days (except the day we fly to Lukla and the day we leave). Got up to about 20-25 degrees at "low altitude"...3000m. Was very cold at night, no heating, often no electricity. We all huddle around by the fire at night. I am glad to have brought my -18 deg C sleeping bag, there were 2 nights when that wasn't even enough.
By Day 4 many of us have developed coughs (one guy started the trip with a cold and it quickly passed through all but 1 of the group members). I think I started coughing Day 3 and Day 4 it turned into a chest cough and cold. The effects of altitude sickness began probably at 3800 m - they aren't huge...mostly just sleep disturbances, and sleep-wake "cycles" of every hour or so instead of constant sleep. By 4900 m it was full blown altitude sickness. You are startled awake several times through the night because your body stops breathing. You wake up and hyperventilate, it's an awful feeling.
We got 3 "rest days" which were optional "torture days"...I partook in all 3 "torture days." One was from 4400 m to 5000 m and back down. The oxygen is getting really limited at this point (in comparison, the oxygen at 5500 m is HALF as much as at sea level). We climb up this pretty steep hill. I broke down getting up there...only 5 of 11 of us attempted it. You look at the hill and think to yourself "No problem, I can do that." In the back of your mind you keep telling yourself, "It's not sea level, it's 4500 or whatever odd meters." But it's hard to wrap your mind around it, you just can't understand why the hill should be so hard and why after taking slow steps up it, you hyperventilate. Again, a terrible terrible feeling...that you just can't get enough oxygen into your system. I thought this "torture day" would put me in good shape for trekking to 4900 m the next day. I felt fine until that evening when sometime thru the night (the coldest night yet...you DID NOT want to leave your sleeping bag unless ABSOLUTELY necessary)...a very intense headache started and I kept up the wake-sleep-wake-sleep cycles. In the morning, I'm completely nauseous. I tell the main guide how I'm feeling and he gives me a cup of hot water and tells me to take Diamox for altitude sickness. I throw up the water 10 minutes later but I think some of the pill stayed...I began to feel better 10 minutes later. Seriously thought I wouldn't be making base camp though, just so sick and so tired. Diamox is truly a wonder drug though, I only needed it for 2 days, but without it I wouldn't have been able to complete the trek.
Only 3 of us make the Kala Pattar excursion (5100 m to 5550 m), it was the coldest I've been in my life, only 0 deg C but who knows what it is with the windchill factor. Brutally freezing. I wanted to turn around so bad and go back down but my guide said "Erin if you don't keep going I will carry you to the top of the mountain." 3 SLOW steps up the mountain and you gotta rest, it is really that exhausting at altutude. Exhaustion at 5100 m is simply getting out of your sleeping bag at night to use the washroom then getting back in and zipping it back up. You're out of breath at that simple act. Heck, you're out of breath packing your sleeping bag up in the morning.
The only real event of the trip was at the end, Day 11...we had done a relatively easy downhill walk for 4 hours and were chilling out at a teahouse (2800 m) by the fire when all of a sudden one of the guys just collapses. No warning, he just faints. Normally when you faint you come to relatively quickly. He didn't. It took 45 minutes for him to speak again and another couple hours for him to get up and start walking. There was talk of sending him to Lukla by pony that night, none of us knew what to do. The owner of the teahouse waved hot coals (with incense) over his body to bring him back to life...the smoke from it is intoxicating, if the guy was having any trouble breathing at all, it probably would have suffocated him. The rest of us can't stop coughing. Luckily, he is fine and is able to complete the final 5 hour trek to Lukla the next day. All of us were quite scared though, it was just the accumulation of days and days of complete exhaustion. Made us all realize the dangers of altitude and exertion on this kind of scale.
Want to write a lot more about this but gotta meet up with the remaining 4 members of my group for dinner...am trying to attach pics but so far no luck.
Hope everyone is in the full swing of the Christmas Season!! Our Christmas treat came early when we were lucky enough to watch TV for an hour or so and saw George W getting shoes thrown at him! We all laughed hysterically for hours that night!
Write more hopefully tomorrow.
Erin
In 12 days, my group of 11 foreigners (plus 3 guides and 5 porters) and I trekked approximately 70 miles (not including rest day mileage), gaining then losing about 3 km in altitude (Min altitude: 2600 m, Maximum 5550 m). Most of us suffered from colds as well as altitude sickness and even food poisoning during that time. In 12 days I lost 5 KILOS (11 pounds), you just can't keep up with energy demands of trekking at high altitude. For the first time in 2 weeks, I felt "full" yesterday at dinner having stopped trekking and returning to Kathmandu.
Who else is crazy enough to sign up for this $hit?? 2 Irish Farmers (one is a sub 3 hour marathoner), 4 from the UK (including a personal trainer), 3 from the US (one serves in Iraq), 1 from Australia, and yours truly, the only Canadian on the trip. 4 of the 11 are marathon runners and everybody else is extremely fit in other ways.
So the trek starts from a place called Lukla which you fly in and out of from Kathmandu. There are no motor vehicles in this region WHATSOEVER. Transportation and carrying of goods is by yak or porter. Tenzing-Hillary Airport at Lukla is without a doubt the scariest airport I've ever been to. The runway is extremely short and the landing strip is 60 meters higher on one side (you land going uphill and take off going downhill). If you overshoot the runway, you hit an embankment, if you underestimate it, your plane falls off a cliff. There have been several accidents here, as you can imagine. The Nepalese pilots dress like Tom Cruise...with aviator sunglasses and leather jackets...they think they are IT, which honestly, they are for making the landings and take-offs safely. I gave about 5 sighs of relief on landing safely in Kathmandu.
Weather was perfect, couldn't have been better. Clear days (except the day we fly to Lukla and the day we leave). Got up to about 20-25 degrees at "low altitude"...3000m. Was very cold at night, no heating, often no electricity. We all huddle around by the fire at night. I am glad to have brought my -18 deg C sleeping bag, there were 2 nights when that wasn't even enough.
By Day 4 many of us have developed coughs (one guy started the trip with a cold and it quickly passed through all but 1 of the group members). I think I started coughing Day 3 and Day 4 it turned into a chest cough and cold. The effects of altitude sickness began probably at 3800 m - they aren't huge...mostly just sleep disturbances, and sleep-wake "cycles" of every hour or so instead of constant sleep. By 4900 m it was full blown altitude sickness. You are startled awake several times through the night because your body stops breathing. You wake up and hyperventilate, it's an awful feeling.
We got 3 "rest days" which were optional "torture days"...I partook in all 3 "torture days." One was from 4400 m to 5000 m and back down. The oxygen is getting really limited at this point (in comparison, the oxygen at 5500 m is HALF as much as at sea level). We climb up this pretty steep hill. I broke down getting up there...only 5 of 11 of us attempted it. You look at the hill and think to yourself "No problem, I can do that." In the back of your mind you keep telling yourself, "It's not sea level, it's 4500 or whatever odd meters." But it's hard to wrap your mind around it, you just can't understand why the hill should be so hard and why after taking slow steps up it, you hyperventilate. Again, a terrible terrible feeling...that you just can't get enough oxygen into your system. I thought this "torture day" would put me in good shape for trekking to 4900 m the next day. I felt fine until that evening when sometime thru the night (the coldest night yet...you DID NOT want to leave your sleeping bag unless ABSOLUTELY necessary)...a very intense headache started and I kept up the wake-sleep-wake-sleep cycles. In the morning, I'm completely nauseous. I tell the main guide how I'm feeling and he gives me a cup of hot water and tells me to take Diamox for altitude sickness. I throw up the water 10 minutes later but I think some of the pill stayed...I began to feel better 10 minutes later. Seriously thought I wouldn't be making base camp though, just so sick and so tired. Diamox is truly a wonder drug though, I only needed it for 2 days, but without it I wouldn't have been able to complete the trek.
Only 3 of us make the Kala Pattar excursion (5100 m to 5550 m), it was the coldest I've been in my life, only 0 deg C but who knows what it is with the windchill factor. Brutally freezing. I wanted to turn around so bad and go back down but my guide said "Erin if you don't keep going I will carry you to the top of the mountain." 3 SLOW steps up the mountain and you gotta rest, it is really that exhausting at altutude. Exhaustion at 5100 m is simply getting out of your sleeping bag at night to use the washroom then getting back in and zipping it back up. You're out of breath at that simple act. Heck, you're out of breath packing your sleeping bag up in the morning.
The only real event of the trip was at the end, Day 11...we had done a relatively easy downhill walk for 4 hours and were chilling out at a teahouse (2800 m) by the fire when all of a sudden one of the guys just collapses. No warning, he just faints. Normally when you faint you come to relatively quickly. He didn't. It took 45 minutes for him to speak again and another couple hours for him to get up and start walking. There was talk of sending him to Lukla by pony that night, none of us knew what to do. The owner of the teahouse waved hot coals (with incense) over his body to bring him back to life...the smoke from it is intoxicating, if the guy was having any trouble breathing at all, it probably would have suffocated him. The rest of us can't stop coughing. Luckily, he is fine and is able to complete the final 5 hour trek to Lukla the next day. All of us were quite scared though, it was just the accumulation of days and days of complete exhaustion. Made us all realize the dangers of altitude and exertion on this kind of scale.
Want to write a lot more about this but gotta meet up with the remaining 4 members of my group for dinner...am trying to attach pics but so far no luck.
Hope everyone is in the full swing of the Christmas Season!! Our Christmas treat came early when we were lucky enough to watch TV for an hour or so and saw George W getting shoes thrown at him! We all laughed hysterically for hours that night!
Write more hopefully tomorrow.
Erin
Saturday, December 6, 2008
Namaste from Kathmandu Nepal!
Hi guys...or rather Namaste! Thanks so much for your posts! I am doing well (but extremely tired...I never slept a wink last night in anticipation/worry of missing my flight to Nepal which ended up being delayed due to weather in Kathmandu by 3 hours). If only I would have known!
So I spent all my time at or close to Shimla, India. I absolutely loved this town, so much character and very safe. My treatment (and nearly everything) in India has been very random and unpredictable. I get curious stares from some, seemingly evilish stares from the odd few, but from most...help when I need it, answers to questions, and more friends and contacts! I also love how I have become somewhat of a mini celebrity in Shimla...I get asked to have my photos taken with the Indians...Shimla being a very very big tourist town (for Honeymooners in particular...not so much white folks... the 2 couples sitting around me on the train ride back got married Nov 23 and Nov 24!). I think I will start charging for photos!
I trekked with Mushy to Tattapani...not sure exactly how far this is but man, we had amazing views of the Himalayas in the distance, and of the surrounding mountains. We make it most of the way but decide for the last descent into Tattapani to take the local bus since it's getting to be dusk. Again, this region doesn't see so many tourists...Shimla does but mainly not white folk...and even fewer venture into the smaller villages from there. The bus pulls over and I am not kidding you, the ENTIRE bus full of Indians just stares at me wide eyed. It's hilarious!! At Tattapani there are hot natural sulfur springs...relieves the muscle tension of all the trekking. At over 2000 meters ASL the trekking is tough in spots, I'm short of breath. I ask Mushy whether he thinks I can make base camp and he thinks I can...provided the weather holds. He has more faith in me than I do...I am somewhat nervous for this...unchartered territory for me.
A few gripes about India:
- Garbage. It's everywhere. You are travelling on a UNESCO world heritage site railway...full of history and charm and stunning scenery. And everybody is eating their bags of chips and biscuits, whatever and just chucks the wrappers freely and easily out the side of the train. It irritates me when the locals do this, it irks me even more when foreigners do it because it's what everybody else does. I don't get it - why don't they have pride in the beauty of their country?? I feel like starting an ad campaign.
- Spitting. There are signposts around train stations etc. not to spit. But this is not enforced - everybody does it. And not only do they spit, they make terrible gutteral sounds getting whatever flem up from their stomach lining that they can. Sorry for the details, I just want you to feel my pain for a moment. I have gagged more than a few times because of people's "manners."
- Driving. Oh man...actually I have to note one important thing! No matter how crazy the roads, how unstructured, unsafe, or chatotic they are. Bus drivers STOP THE BUS when their cell phone rings! So there's one plus. Glad that Ontario is recognizing the hazard in this too. But I don't get it: some places there are no lines on the roads so people make as many lanes fit. But even where there ARE lane markers...little white dotted lines...people drive wherever they please and wherever they fit! Ahhhh, whenever I'm in a vehicle in India it is an extremely stressful white knuckle ride. I will be sticking to trains, they seem to run on time and are much much safer.
Lots more stories to tell, but I've had a sleepless night and gotta go to bed. Got into New Delhi Train station at 10 pm, decide to go directly to airport and forego the ~4 hours of restless sleep I'd get by staying at a hotel since I have to catch a 6:45 am flight to Nepal. Flight ends up being delayed til 9:30 or so due to bad weather (fogginess) in Kathmandu. Aaah, wish I had have known. But on checking in (I was one of the first) I get asked where I'd like to sit. I say "window seat." The guy assigns me my seat then asks "First time to Nepal?" "Yes." "You need a different ticket then." He assigns me one on the side of the plane with the best Himilaya views. Honestly on the flight it takes me awhile to notice. It is a bit cloudy and I'm lamenting over the fact that I can't see below me. Then I peer out at eye level....and.....wow....there they are....peaking way over the cloud line...the Himalayas. They stretch for miles and miles...what looks like a solid line of them. They don't look so big from the plane, but then again, what does? But on decent into Kathmandu, and realization of just how far above the cloud line they really are....I start getting nervous. I meet my trekking group tomorrow and the following day we fly to Lukla to begin the 2 week trek to Everest Base Camp at 5400 m ASL. I will therefore be out of touch completely for 2 weeks but will update you when I get back Dec 20 or 21.
Hope to get on here tomorrow though. Kathmandu is CRAZY (but love it!)! Took me almost all day today to get my bearings, steets are narrow but buildings tall, many shops look the same. Must keep an eye open for cars, bikes, walkers, autorickshaws, cyclerickshaws, motorcycles, the works.... :)
Enjoy all the Christmas festivities and speak soon.
Erin
So I spent all my time at or close to Shimla, India. I absolutely loved this town, so much character and very safe. My treatment (and nearly everything) in India has been very random and unpredictable. I get curious stares from some, seemingly evilish stares from the odd few, but from most...help when I need it, answers to questions, and more friends and contacts! I also love how I have become somewhat of a mini celebrity in Shimla...I get asked to have my photos taken with the Indians...Shimla being a very very big tourist town (for Honeymooners in particular...not so much white folks... the 2 couples sitting around me on the train ride back got married Nov 23 and Nov 24!). I think I will start charging for photos!
I trekked with Mushy to Tattapani...not sure exactly how far this is but man, we had amazing views of the Himalayas in the distance, and of the surrounding mountains. We make it most of the way but decide for the last descent into Tattapani to take the local bus since it's getting to be dusk. Again, this region doesn't see so many tourists...Shimla does but mainly not white folk...and even fewer venture into the smaller villages from there. The bus pulls over and I am not kidding you, the ENTIRE bus full of Indians just stares at me wide eyed. It's hilarious!! At Tattapani there are hot natural sulfur springs...relieves the muscle tension of all the trekking. At over 2000 meters ASL the trekking is tough in spots, I'm short of breath. I ask Mushy whether he thinks I can make base camp and he thinks I can...provided the weather holds. He has more faith in me than I do...I am somewhat nervous for this...unchartered territory for me.
A few gripes about India:
- Garbage. It's everywhere. You are travelling on a UNESCO world heritage site railway...full of history and charm and stunning scenery. And everybody is eating their bags of chips and biscuits, whatever and just chucks the wrappers freely and easily out the side of the train. It irritates me when the locals do this, it irks me even more when foreigners do it because it's what everybody else does. I don't get it - why don't they have pride in the beauty of their country?? I feel like starting an ad campaign.
- Spitting. There are signposts around train stations etc. not to spit. But this is not enforced - everybody does it. And not only do they spit, they make terrible gutteral sounds getting whatever flem up from their stomach lining that they can. Sorry for the details, I just want you to feel my pain for a moment. I have gagged more than a few times because of people's "manners."
- Driving. Oh man...actually I have to note one important thing! No matter how crazy the roads, how unstructured, unsafe, or chatotic they are. Bus drivers STOP THE BUS when their cell phone rings! So there's one plus. Glad that Ontario is recognizing the hazard in this too. But I don't get it: some places there are no lines on the roads so people make as many lanes fit. But even where there ARE lane markers...little white dotted lines...people drive wherever they please and wherever they fit! Ahhhh, whenever I'm in a vehicle in India it is an extremely stressful white knuckle ride. I will be sticking to trains, they seem to run on time and are much much safer.
Lots more stories to tell, but I've had a sleepless night and gotta go to bed. Got into New Delhi Train station at 10 pm, decide to go directly to airport and forego the ~4 hours of restless sleep I'd get by staying at a hotel since I have to catch a 6:45 am flight to Nepal. Flight ends up being delayed til 9:30 or so due to bad weather (fogginess) in Kathmandu. Aaah, wish I had have known. But on checking in (I was one of the first) I get asked where I'd like to sit. I say "window seat." The guy assigns me my seat then asks "First time to Nepal?" "Yes." "You need a different ticket then." He assigns me one on the side of the plane with the best Himilaya views. Honestly on the flight it takes me awhile to notice. It is a bit cloudy and I'm lamenting over the fact that I can't see below me. Then I peer out at eye level....and.....wow....there they are....peaking way over the cloud line...the Himalayas. They stretch for miles and miles...what looks like a solid line of them. They don't look so big from the plane, but then again, what does? But on decent into Kathmandu, and realization of just how far above the cloud line they really are....I start getting nervous. I meet my trekking group tomorrow and the following day we fly to Lukla to begin the 2 week trek to Everest Base Camp at 5400 m ASL. I will therefore be out of touch completely for 2 weeks but will update you when I get back Dec 20 or 21.
Hope to get on here tomorrow though. Kathmandu is CRAZY (but love it!)! Took me almost all day today to get my bearings, steets are narrow but buildings tall, many shops look the same. Must keep an eye open for cars, bikes, walkers, autorickshaws, cyclerickshaws, motorcycles, the works.... :)
Enjoy all the Christmas festivities and speak soon.
Erin
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Photos
Uploading takes forever but a few of Shimla are here:
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/ShimlaHimchalPradeshIndia#
You'll have to wait til I get back for the rest!
http://picasaweb.google.com/ErinSzumsky/ShimlaHimchalPradeshIndia#
You'll have to wait til I get back for the rest!
Shimla
I go walking early this morning and meet school kids in uniform. The kids are beautiful here, they start learning English so, so young! The girls I was talking to must have been about 8 years old. They wanted to know where I was from (and then what the capital of Canada was) and what my hobbies were. The one really likes dancing. They wave a huge goodbye when they have to turn off to go to their school...it's adorable.
Shimla is a really awesome town. The buildings look like they're clinging to the side of a mountain. Parts of it make you feel like you're walking through a set of a play with old English buildings. It's very surreal.
I go trekking with one of the people that owns the hotel...Mushy is his nickname. He's awesome...his English is amazing and he's very genuine. We take a local bus (i.e. one absolutely jam packed with Indians) a few kms away and hike up, up, up to a Hindu Temple (can't remember the name). It is quite the hike getting up there but then there are panoramic views out over Shimla and the surrounding countryside with the snow-capped Himilayas in the background. It's stunning. Photographs just do not do it justice.
When we reach the temple, I'm a bit leery about going in, don't know what to expect. You have to remove your shoes and wash your feet then you can go up. At the top of the first set of marble stairs is a little old Indian man. He yells "WELCOME" at me in his boomingly cheerful Indian voice and tells me to go look in the halls to the right and left...again views out of the windows just incredible. I continue up the 2nd set of stairs, take a look at the shrine and then continue back down. The little old man calls me over. I automatically assume: he wants some kind of offering....he's gonna expect a lot. Etc etc. Typical Westerner... Nope. He tells me to go downstairs and have some breakfast. Mushy tells me I should go, if I don't I might offend them. So I do...it's rice...and there are several toppings you can have for it. He tells them no for the one vegetable dish, says it might make me sick. I haven't been in India long enough. I'm a bit embarassed about my original reaction - thinking that this guy wants something of me...when instead he only wants to offer something. That hit home pretty good. Everybody here is very friendly and helpful and my first reaction is always to be suspicious of that. Not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time, leaves you less open to experiences.
This afternoon I also checked out Viceroy Hall. Man, the building looks very Harry Potter-esque...I will have to attach photos! It was created in 1888 and was where they signed an independence agreement with Pakistan in 1947. It's now used as a university for post-docs. I wish UW buildings had half the character this place has!!
Oh, in lieu of the fact that Shimla is so awesome, I'm scrapping my plans to visit Amritsar (will visit but later in the trip). I am going to go trekking to a place called Tattapani tomorrow. It'll be good altitude training for Everest.
Shimla is a really awesome town. The buildings look like they're clinging to the side of a mountain. Parts of it make you feel like you're walking through a set of a play with old English buildings. It's very surreal.
I go trekking with one of the people that owns the hotel...Mushy is his nickname. He's awesome...his English is amazing and he's very genuine. We take a local bus (i.e. one absolutely jam packed with Indians) a few kms away and hike up, up, up to a Hindu Temple (can't remember the name). It is quite the hike getting up there but then there are panoramic views out over Shimla and the surrounding countryside with the snow-capped Himilayas in the background. It's stunning. Photographs just do not do it justice.
When we reach the temple, I'm a bit leery about going in, don't know what to expect. You have to remove your shoes and wash your feet then you can go up. At the top of the first set of marble stairs is a little old Indian man. He yells "WELCOME" at me in his boomingly cheerful Indian voice and tells me to go look in the halls to the right and left...again views out of the windows just incredible. I continue up the 2nd set of stairs, take a look at the shrine and then continue back down. The little old man calls me over. I automatically assume: he wants some kind of offering....he's gonna expect a lot. Etc etc. Typical Westerner... Nope. He tells me to go downstairs and have some breakfast. Mushy tells me I should go, if I don't I might offend them. So I do...it's rice...and there are several toppings you can have for it. He tells them no for the one vegetable dish, says it might make me sick. I haven't been in India long enough. I'm a bit embarassed about my original reaction - thinking that this guy wants something of me...when instead he only wants to offer something. That hit home pretty good. Everybody here is very friendly and helpful and my first reaction is always to be suspicious of that. Not necessarily a bad thing but at the same time, leaves you less open to experiences.
This afternoon I also checked out Viceroy Hall. Man, the building looks very Harry Potter-esque...I will have to attach photos! It was created in 1888 and was where they signed an independence agreement with Pakistan in 1947. It's now used as a university for post-docs. I wish UW buildings had half the character this place has!!
Oh, in lieu of the fact that Shimla is so awesome, I'm scrapping my plans to visit Amritsar (will visit but later in the trip). I am going to go trekking to a place called Tattapani tomorrow. It'll be good altitude training for Everest.
Delhi to Shimla
So as if my 13 hour flight and all that the travelling to the airport, layovers, etc isn't enough, what do I decide to do the very next day? Catch the 7:40 am train out of Delhi for an additional 10 hours of travelling (by train) to a little place in Himchal Pradesh called Shimla. But man is it worth it!
The first time I got overwhelmed in India was Dec 1 - walking from the hotel to the New Delhi train station. At 7am, the place is ... bustling...but if there's a bigger, harsher, word for bustling...I'd use that....oooh...chaotic. Yeah, that's it. Traffic (busses, bicycles, motorbikes, autorickshaws, bicycle rickshaws) going everywhere, I'm trying to cross the road...I stand there for maybe 2 minutes looking helpless, finally a nice guy on a bike points me where I should better try to cross...and holding my breath, I make it.
The train station is a pretty interesting place, you have people from all walks of life, some of them seem to have camped out on the platforms for weeks. I opt for 1st class travel for my 1st train journey in India. I wouldn't call is plush, but it's nice and you are very well taken care of. You are given as much coffee and tea as you can drink, newspapers, they even give everybody a rose (WTF?) and a huge breakfast. Most everybody falls asleep after brekkie! Train travel, especially in 1st class, is very relaxing. The trip to a place called Kalka (4 hours away) is very flat...but of course you pass by crazy little villages, and well..safety in India is pretty well nonexistant. Cows, people, you name it, is on the rails one over. There is even a dead cow on its side right beside the railway. I do a double take.
The Kalka to Shimla Railway was constructed in the early 1900's. It's a toy train...very small...and the entire journey is a Unesco World Heritage site. I would not say the trip is quite as good as some of Norways but definitely a close 2nd! It's pretty spectacular. It's only 90k from Kalka to Shimla but you gain about 1400 m in altitude (Kalka at 650 Above sea level, Shimla at 2050 m ASL). There are 103 tunnels along the way. and the journey takes 6 hours. Rail car doors are open as you wish for photography/getting some fresh air. There are a lot of tourists on this train...Indian and Foreign...my ticket is next to a Russian dude called Peter who is travelling India for 6 months. Ha! That's the thing: Leaving Canada, everybody says "WOW, 6 whole weeks, that's incredible." But you get travelling, and everybody I talk to says "ONLY 6 weeks? That's surely not enough." And I'm definitely realizing that it's not!
I meet an Indian couple who just got married on Nov 20 and are honeymooning in Shimla (it is a very popular honeymoon spot). They share their Indian sweets with me....ooooh so good!
Getting into Shimla I can feel the change in Altitude when I try to walk uphill to the hotel...I am short of breath easily...things that would normally be easy for me at sea level are more difficult here. I'm staying at a hotel with marble floors and it's costing me $5 a night. Ridiculous. Amazing views too!
The first time I got overwhelmed in India was Dec 1 - walking from the hotel to the New Delhi train station. At 7am, the place is ... bustling...but if there's a bigger, harsher, word for bustling...I'd use that....oooh...chaotic. Yeah, that's it. Traffic (busses, bicycles, motorbikes, autorickshaws, bicycle rickshaws) going everywhere, I'm trying to cross the road...I stand there for maybe 2 minutes looking helpless, finally a nice guy on a bike points me where I should better try to cross...and holding my breath, I make it.
The train station is a pretty interesting place, you have people from all walks of life, some of them seem to have camped out on the platforms for weeks. I opt for 1st class travel for my 1st train journey in India. I wouldn't call is plush, but it's nice and you are very well taken care of. You are given as much coffee and tea as you can drink, newspapers, they even give everybody a rose (WTF?) and a huge breakfast. Most everybody falls asleep after brekkie! Train travel, especially in 1st class, is very relaxing. The trip to a place called Kalka (4 hours away) is very flat...but of course you pass by crazy little villages, and well..safety in India is pretty well nonexistant. Cows, people, you name it, is on the rails one over. There is even a dead cow on its side right beside the railway. I do a double take.
The Kalka to Shimla Railway was constructed in the early 1900's. It's a toy train...very small...and the entire journey is a Unesco World Heritage site. I would not say the trip is quite as good as some of Norways but definitely a close 2nd! It's pretty spectacular. It's only 90k from Kalka to Shimla but you gain about 1400 m in altitude (Kalka at 650 Above sea level, Shimla at 2050 m ASL). There are 103 tunnels along the way. and the journey takes 6 hours. Rail car doors are open as you wish for photography/getting some fresh air. There are a lot of tourists on this train...Indian and Foreign...my ticket is next to a Russian dude called Peter who is travelling India for 6 months. Ha! That's the thing: Leaving Canada, everybody says "WOW, 6 whole weeks, that's incredible." But you get travelling, and everybody I talk to says "ONLY 6 weeks? That's surely not enough." And I'm definitely realizing that it's not!
I meet an Indian couple who just got married on Nov 20 and are honeymooning in Shimla (it is a very popular honeymoon spot). They share their Indian sweets with me....ooooh so good!
Getting into Shimla I can feel the change in Altitude when I try to walk uphill to the hotel...I am short of breath easily...things that would normally be easy for me at sea level are more difficult here. I'm staying at a hotel with marble floors and it's costing me $5 a night. Ridiculous. Amazing views too!
Deep River to Delhi: The Longest Day
Talk about a long trip! I left the house at about 9:30 am on Saturday Nov 29 and reach my hotel in Delhi India at about 11 pm on Sunday Nov 30 (and ok ok in all fairness there is a 10.5 hour time change). Still the self-induced sleep deprivation have made it hard for me...but last night I slept 9 pm til 7am and I think I am officially adjusted to India time and am no longer in a complete daze.
So I fly Ottawa to Newark (about an hour) and the scenery on the way to Newark...in-fricken-credible! We landed as the sun was starting to go down but was slightly cloudy...the views over NYC were spectacular. Wish I could have photographed. I somehow managed to get the "executive" seat on the little Embraer...seat 1A. Tiny plane though...3 seats on each row (1 on one side, 2 on the other).
Newark is a pretty big hub for flights anywhere in the world, bigger than La Guardia. In some of the line-ups, I chat to some other travellers. You can certainly tell who's been paying attention to the news. They ask me where I go, I say "India." Then most people do a double take...hahaha! Others..."Oh cool, that sounds like a great place...have fun!" The flight attendant on the way to Newark told me she thought all flights to Mumbai had been cancelled...but in fact as I was preparing for the 13 hour flight (walking as much as possible thru the airport) I found the flight to Mumbai and to be honest, it looked like more people were travelling to Mumbai than were travelling to Delhi.
The flight Newark to Delhi. It's a big comfy Boeing 777...a giant in comparison to the earlier flight...9 seats per row but VERY comfy, lotsa space. The plane is maybe half full. There's another girl on the aisle seat, I have the window and managed to get the best views over NYC once again.
On the flight they give us Indian food. It's good...but still airplane food. A few differences between what you might get on a regular flight:
- Instead of coming with butter, my roll comes with "hot and sour pickle jelly" WTF!? It's gross. Some of the ingredients: mango, lemon, coriander, pickles (of course), and lotsa salt.
- Salad - has a nice side of HOT GREEN PEPPER!
- In place of dinner mints: "Dinner Epilogue" - that's right folks, it's the perfect mouth freshner and stomach soother all in one. Actually this is quite good. It's fennel, coriander, sesame seeds, peperment, and rose extract, and tamarind leaves and sends an immediate cooling sensation to my stomach. This I like!
Oh oh! And I almost forgot to mention the Bollywood film. So you have individual TV's and can choose what channel to watch. I see there's a Bollywood film playing - "Kissimat Connection" (and as I previously mentioned wanted to be a token blonde in one of these). Ironically enough, the film takes place in Toronto!! The movie is clearly all green screened, but there are a few scenes at Scotiabank that are bam on...cards not working in the ATMs etc. Unfortunately the one token Canadian blonde chick seemed to have an Australian Accent. This I plan on fixing!! :) The acting is comparable to Degrassi...very over-acted...TOO emotional...one small difference, they randomly break out in song and dance! Oh man, it's hilarious. The film definitely has deepened my desire to be part of Bollywood, if only for a day.
So getting into Delhi. Everytime I checked the forecast, it called for "Smoke". The picture was of sun but the description was "Smoke." I didn't quite understand until I got there. We obviously flew in at night (9 pm) and in comparison with flying out of Newark (crystal clear lights a twinkling)...there is a thick haze surrounding the city. You can't see much clearly at all until you're RIGHT there. YUP, now I understand the Delhi Smoke.
I expected my experience on leaving Indira Gandhi International to be scary and overwhelming. I expected a lot of attention and had pre-arranged my hotel to pick me up with a name placard. I should note that on the flight to Delhi, there were more than a handful of white people, some of them hippies going to the yoga centers, some of them older retired couples going on WWF tours, and some mixed couples, and maybe another trekker or two. Anyways, getting out isn't so overwhelming at all! People are helpful, my hotel actually arranged 2 people to wait (one on either side of the airport) so that for sure one of them would catch me. I find them no problem and then try to sleep right away. Delhi is colder than I thought though and I actually had to get out my fleece pants believe it or not...it is probably 5-10 deg at night.
So I fly Ottawa to Newark (about an hour) and the scenery on the way to Newark...in-fricken-credible! We landed as the sun was starting to go down but was slightly cloudy...the views over NYC were spectacular. Wish I could have photographed. I somehow managed to get the "executive" seat on the little Embraer...seat 1A. Tiny plane though...3 seats on each row (1 on one side, 2 on the other).
Newark is a pretty big hub for flights anywhere in the world, bigger than La Guardia. In some of the line-ups, I chat to some other travellers. You can certainly tell who's been paying attention to the news. They ask me where I go, I say "India." Then most people do a double take...hahaha! Others..."Oh cool, that sounds like a great place...have fun!" The flight attendant on the way to Newark told me she thought all flights to Mumbai had been cancelled...but in fact as I was preparing for the 13 hour flight (walking as much as possible thru the airport) I found the flight to Mumbai and to be honest, it looked like more people were travelling to Mumbai than were travelling to Delhi.
The flight Newark to Delhi. It's a big comfy Boeing 777...a giant in comparison to the earlier flight...9 seats per row but VERY comfy, lotsa space. The plane is maybe half full. There's another girl on the aisle seat, I have the window and managed to get the best views over NYC once again.
On the flight they give us Indian food. It's good...but still airplane food. A few differences between what you might get on a regular flight:
- Instead of coming with butter, my roll comes with "hot and sour pickle jelly" WTF!? It's gross. Some of the ingredients: mango, lemon, coriander, pickles (of course), and lotsa salt.
- Salad - has a nice side of HOT GREEN PEPPER!
- In place of dinner mints: "Dinner Epilogue" - that's right folks, it's the perfect mouth freshner and stomach soother all in one. Actually this is quite good. It's fennel, coriander, sesame seeds, peperment, and rose extract, and tamarind leaves and sends an immediate cooling sensation to my stomach. This I like!
Oh oh! And I almost forgot to mention the Bollywood film. So you have individual TV's and can choose what channel to watch. I see there's a Bollywood film playing - "Kissimat Connection" (and as I previously mentioned wanted to be a token blonde in one of these). Ironically enough, the film takes place in Toronto!! The movie is clearly all green screened, but there are a few scenes at Scotiabank that are bam on...cards not working in the ATMs etc. Unfortunately the one token Canadian blonde chick seemed to have an Australian Accent. This I plan on fixing!! :) The acting is comparable to Degrassi...very over-acted...TOO emotional...one small difference, they randomly break out in song and dance! Oh man, it's hilarious. The film definitely has deepened my desire to be part of Bollywood, if only for a day.
So getting into Delhi. Everytime I checked the forecast, it called for "Smoke". The picture was of sun but the description was "Smoke." I didn't quite understand until I got there. We obviously flew in at night (9 pm) and in comparison with flying out of Newark (crystal clear lights a twinkling)...there is a thick haze surrounding the city. You can't see much clearly at all until you're RIGHT there. YUP, now I understand the Delhi Smoke.
I expected my experience on leaving Indira Gandhi International to be scary and overwhelming. I expected a lot of attention and had pre-arranged my hotel to pick me up with a name placard. I should note that on the flight to Delhi, there were more than a handful of white people, some of them hippies going to the yoga centers, some of them older retired couples going on WWF tours, and some mixed couples, and maybe another trekker or two. Anyways, getting out isn't so overwhelming at all! People are helpful, my hotel actually arranged 2 people to wait (one on either side of the airport) so that for sure one of them would catch me. I find them no problem and then try to sleep right away. Delhi is colder than I thought though and I actually had to get out my fleece pants believe it or not...it is probably 5-10 deg at night.
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