Someone here in Goa really had an Indian stroke of genius when they decided to put an internet cafe inside the train station. Travelling on trains is definitely the best way to go here, they are affordable and comfortable, but they are reliably unreliable. It's safe to say that every train we've ever taken has been around or at least 2 hours late. So a place for killing time in a time wasted zone is a lifesaver.

So Goa is nice, I think we made the most of it quite well. We had a beach craving we needed to satisfy, and now that we have we can move on. Though Goa is not really like being in India, which is a good and a bad thing. When we first got here we were so relieved, food was realiably good-- my 3 weeks of diarrhea went away, people spoke better english-- now that just sounds awful and spoiled but let me clarify and digress... in India people HATE to say "i don't know" so instead when you ask a question and the person has no idea what you're saying they just say yes. Now eventually you get a little frustrated when it seems everyone in the country is steering you in the wrong direction just because they don't know how to acknowledge they don't know the answer. Some don't say yes and point you on further down the road, to the next person towards a cow, whatever. A straight answer is like gold and perhaps harder to come by.

So what I'm trying to say before I run out of time is that Goa is nice if you need a break of India or if you're one of the many tourists who come to India without actually wanting to come to India anyway. You can pay a lot for everything, spend all day at a abeach, and all night at a bar but right now I'm ready to get back to India on a two hour late train to Kerala.

Beach time

Hmm... 2 weeks since the last post? I believe that. I think Hernando and I have been on another planet for the last 2 weeks, and especially the last few days. Right now I'm actually surprised to find myself on the internet. We're on a remote beach that thus far still doesn't have a proper road to it, though that is unfortunately soon to change as they are working on a road right now. We're in Gokarna, in the state of Karnataka, south of the touristy beaches of Goa. I forget how amazing it is to be on the beach, to operate on beach time, with nothing to do in a hurry.

We are now half way through our India trip. We've seen a lot, done a lot, but now we are relaxed and we're both in very contemplative moods. Our lives have been divided into simple sections, life before the trip, life since the trip began, and what we have ahead, both for the rest of the trip and for daily life once again when we restart in San Francisco. We are both so glad to have stepped out of Boston, and the lives we had there. Hernando's job was better but we both feel like we were just caught up in the rat race with everyone else. It's just too easy to do. Work, make money, spend it, over and over. Traveling like this has given us new perspectives. I feel like I've been given a chance to step outside myself and concentrate on what I want to make happen for myself in the future.

That way of thought comes after observing what I have of life here for people in India. People here are very caught up in the rat race on a level of desperation you don't see in the US. People work and work here for that very last rupee --there is no 8 hour day here, that's the stuff of fairy tales-- and it often will be the difference in having food on the table, but only after the cell phone has some credit on it and they have chewing tobacco in their pocket. The mentality seems to be the same everywhere, we seek modern things and the extra money required to have more of them all the time. The man I mentioned in the last blog from Sanchi seems to have it all figured out just right. He has a house that his whole family shares, three generations and then some under one roof, but everyone gets fed, the kids go to school as opposed to work for extra family income, and he spends his days doing the things he likes to do. Money is not a worry for him so long as he has enough to maintain his way of life, and his way of life doesn't require much.

Speaking of our friend Parihar, our last night in Sanchi we were invited to watch a ceremony he called "husband puja." This is an annual ceremony chosen to take place on a night of the full moon. The wives fast all day, no water even, and prepare special foods to be taken during the ceremony at night. When the moon came out we all went to the roof, surrounded by neighboring families on their rooves. Usually 2 or 3 wives perform the ceremony together. They pray, burn incense, walk in a circle and spill water and grains, then each married couple pairs off and the wives do a prayer for their husbands, touch their feet, and feed them a bit of yummy coconut cake and other things. I took tons of photos so those will have to posted next time I feel inclined to leave the beach and use the internet. It seems to be for the wellness of the family though again my only given explaination was, it's husband puja, with a shrug, just one of those things you understand if you are Indian. Puja is a word used for everything. You have puja with holy monuments, with statues, with anything spiritual, it's just puja, a lovely way of understanding that I don't entirely understand as a foreigner.

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Lazy days in rainy Sanchi

Finally after weeks of draining rushing about we have found a sleepy little town to relax for a few days. We came here for the famous Buddhist Stupa I studied at the Museum School, though we've been so relaxed that after 4 days we still haven't seen it! We hadn't anticipated spending so much time here but we met a truly friendly Indian man who befriended us and has been showing us around. He's lived here all his life and takes an interest in cultural things that travelers enjoy as well so he often befriends the travelers who come to this town. Most fascinating are the ancient rock paintings he took us to the first day. This region is somewhat covered with them though the famous ones are further South. But since these are minor ones we got to have the place to ourselves for hours just relaxing and enjoying the ancient paintings and trying to figure out what they all are. We also saw an ancient temple that was reduced to rubble but it currently being excavated and renovated. When they finish I'm sure it will be amazing, though for now it is somewhat of a secret apparently it's not known about by any guidebooks, just a local treasure.

The nights we have been spending with him and his large family in their home. It's such a treat to be invited into someone's home. The family is very sweet. He has 3 kids, his parents and sister in law and her kids live there too at times making a total of 10-12 people on a regular basis! His 18 year old daughter has been teaching Hernando Hindi and I've been playing with Annu his energetic 12 year old daughter. She's a total riot. The girls covered my left hand and arm up to the elbow with henna one night and it turned out beautifully.

The last 2 days have been very rainy so we've been taking it easy and reading a lot. Tomorrow we hope that the weather will actually clear up enough to let us see the Stupa we came for in the first place before we head off to Mumbai for 3 days.

We are on our way South to the beaches. Though large areas have been absolutely devasted by torrential rains in the past few days. It seems that the areas we want to go to are ok though. We'll see!

check out some photos at: http://www.flickr.com/photos/37516374@N02/

sweat, patience, and the Taj Mahal

India is tireless, insistent, hot, smelly, filthy, impoverished, beautiful and culturally rich. As much as we have worn ourselves out we are so glad to have come. I've imagined this place my whole life, watched the documentaries, looked at the picture books, but nothing is ever like actually being here and experiencing it myself. As cliche as it is the most apt description I find is that India is a multifaceted experience that plays itself out on your every sensory level in excess.

For example: a simple walk down the street-- It's hot, you step out of your guesthouse and exchange a friendly smile with the guesthouse worker who you were arguing with over prices an hour ago. Grudges don't hold out here too long, everyone is after your business/money at all times, you stand up for what is fair and move on. Did I mention it's hot? You're already dripping with sweat. A rickshaw driver jumps to attention and insists on driving you wheverever you want, you insist on no over and over and stop making eye contact quickly so he isn't too hopeful. And repeat that with the 30 other people with a saleable service you pass until you reach the end of the block. You're at a roundabout, a huge cow is leisurely picking his way through the traffic that anticipates it's movements and swarm around it like bats using sonar navigation. While refusing a dozen more drivers you dodge the traffic yourself which is coming in all directions at all times. Since people never use them lanes are often not even painted on the street. People drive en masse on the wrong side of the road so long as a huge vehicle isn't staring them down. The distinct smell of human defecation fills your nostrils, you've come to recognize it. You look down at your feet in flip flops wondering where not to step but the whole thing looks like a mess, just keep walking. A woman who must be young is looking at you with a dark leathery face, a small child is draped over her shoulder so it's bottom is facing you. She lifts its badly scarred leg in your direction, you look away and keep walking. Soon you figure you're probably lost. You haven't seen a street sign yet, you look for a rickshaw driver and finally can't find one.

Other interesting things about India are:
There are animals everywhere. Cows really are king here and they're everywhere. Besides them there are hordes of dogs, cats, tourist areas have elephants giving rides on the sides of the highway, camels are in common use for carting and tourists, monkeys are everywhere, we haven't had any bad encounters with them yet but everyone here is pretty freaked out when they get too close, pigs, huge oxen, donkeys, mules, and horses absolutely overburdened with huge carts of stuff, i've seen a couple peacocks, and one night i saw a leopard! Hernando doesn't believe me because he's jealous. We were driving back from a remote hilltop fort on another awful road at night and i saw it peek out from behind a rock! That was awesome.

Men are very affectionate with one another though be clear this is still a homophobic culture. I believe they don't acknowledge homosexuality to exist therefore it's ok to hold hands with one another, walk with their hands around each others waists. They look like items...

And oh so joyfully I can now say I know what it feels like to be a celebrity. Everyday a number of men ask if they can take their picture with me. For the first 2 weeks Hernando and I tolerated this odd anomaly until it was no longer that. Actually the deal breaker was when one of them tried to hold my hand, and all Indian men from here on out have to suffer because of him. I'm serious, I am literally being hounded for my picture. To the point that where despite the Indian desert heat I prefer to go out with a shawl covering my hair and I wear sunglasses indoors and I shoo people away like Princess Diana with the paparazzi.

Our patience is definitely being tried. Sometimes it feels like we are persevering to have fun, but we certainly are. I can't expect you to go on but if you have another free hour I'll go on about where we've been!...

We spent two days in Dharamshala, a hill station in the himalayas famous for being the home of the Dalai Lama in exlie and thus scores of Tibetan refugees. I can't say much for the place, the weather was dismal and all the buildings were so dusty and moldy I felt like I could hardly breathe. The pillows we were given were so thouroughly infested with black mold, I couldn't believe it. And when I asked for new ones there wasn't much of a difference so we went pillowless. As a place it also wasn't very special though we enjoyed the Tibetan Buddhist temple, prayer wheels are so lovely, and we enjoyed the museum commemorating the plight of the Tibetan people. Well you can hardly enjoy learning about a people's collective torture and suffering but we were glad to walk away with a better understanding of what they have gone through. Tibetans are openly discriminated against and marginalized in Tibet and are paid lower wages for the same jobs. If you're interested the Dalai Lama has a website: dalailama.com.

Amritsar is also hardly a pleasant city but it is perhaps the most fascinating place I've ever been to. It is home to the Sikh holy place, the golden temple. It is so beautiful but what I like most is that unlike almost every other place you visit as a tourist this place is very much in use. And when you visit you take part in the traditions whether or not you are sikh. You take holy food with your hands after you leave the temple, you touch the holy water, you can also drink it but I'll leave that to the Sikhs. They even host anyone who needs a place to stay for free in a huge room with hundreds of mattresses on the floor. You can eat there for free 24/7, they are always serving. We had some good dal, rice pudding and chapatis there. The craziest cultural activity we've witnessed was the daily retreat ceremony at the border with Pakistan. Everyday thousands of people drive out to the border after it closes on both sides to watch their guards do a bizarre show. They're dressed up with fans in their turbans and hats, they stomp their feet, they rally the crowds, girls and little boys dance in separate groups to bollywood hits in the middle before it starts. For part of it both sides throw open the gates and charge one another right up to line where they throw out their arms and chests and like-- what you gonna do?-- and the crowd goes nuts shouting Hindustan, or Pakistan depending on what side you're on. What strikes me most is each side gets so into it as though they are making their stand to one another but in order for it to work it has to be so highly choreographed between the two armies. A bird above would see thousands of people doing the same things on either side of a closed gate. I have never heard of this anywhere else in the world, it obviously speaks volumes of the tension between these 2 countries despite everything Gandhi fought for.

This morning at 6 we saw the Taj Mahal. It is so incredible nothing else is like it in the world, it is worth all the hype. I think everyone should make an effort to see it and experience India at some point in their lives.

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Manali in Manali

So all my life I've heard about and have been dying to see this beautiful little village in the foothills of the Himalayan mountains called Manali, where of course my name comes from. And we're finally here. Upon research though about the place I find that there's a holiday inn and I have even heard from the occasional person who's been here before that there's a McDonalds, so needless to say this place has become all but undiscovered. Good news-- there's no McDonalds though it's very built up with guest house after hotel after guest house. Many Indian honeymooners choose to come here as with Indian tourists in general and for some odd reason hordes of Israeli backpackers. Unfortunately the local people have never heard of a trash can so they through everything in the river or on the nearest patch of available space, though litter is a huge problem throughout India not just here. Not to knock the place too bad, I know I don't sound too impressed yet, but it wasn't until our second or third day here that I discovered the gem of this place. In the back lanes of Old Manali, as opposed to the part known as New Manali, Hernando and I happened to come across the very old traditional houses of the local hill tribe people. They're 2 story homes that function both as a barn and house. On the bottom floor there's the family cow and the top floor usually has a beautifully carved wooden balcony that may be painted bright turquoise or green. It was lovely to get lost in those lanes they also have an amazing view of the valley below and tall mountains, some so high they are still capped with snow. That I imagine is what my parent's saw and fell in love with all those years ago, before the development Manali now sees today.

It is quite surreal to finally be here after a lifetime of curiosity. I'm still not quite sure what to make of it. The wierdest part is hearing my damn name everywhere-- that I will never get used to. I have to stop myself from turning around to every passer by sthat says Manali. It is also of course quite amusing to introduce myself to people. The bus driver from Delhi got a real kick out of it. One of the other people at the station must have told him my name because he didn't speak any English but whenever he saw me he would just say "Manali, Manali!"

Moving on to the most terrifying ride in my life, well one of them. There was one in Venezuela that was pretty bad as well... anyhow... Yesterday H and I were in a jeep like vehicle climbing 2,000 meters, over a 60 kilometer road (40ish miles?) fpr 3 hellish hours to reach the beutiful place you see in the photo called Rohtang pass. Our driver was nuts, though nery nice, overtaking any vehicle he could on this narrow cliff edge road. We finally made it and then an hour and a bit later it was time to come back down, mostly in the dark! I took videos. One day I'll have the time and gather the technological known how to upload that.

Tonight we leave on an overnight bus to Dharamshala, the home of the Dalai Lama.

Namaste!

(hello and goodbye in Hindi)

our first two weeks

I can't believe two weeks have gone by and this is our first post about the trip! Well we've been busy and we've hardly had a chance to get on the internet (except to cancel our energy bills!) until now, so there will be a lot of ground to cover.

The first 10 days were in England. London was fun. We did the Eye (giant ferris wheel), the Tate Modern, got lost in Camden Market, took our photos in front of Big Ben and all those things you have to do when a toursit in London. My 3rd cousin's Matt and Olly were sweet enough to put us up even though I totally played the family card on them. I'd only met them and their brother Richard twice before that! But we had a blast they're also musicians and a lot of fun-- thanks again guys!

After 5 days there we moved on to spend the rest of our time with my grandparents (mom's side) in the ever so quaint town of Woodbridge, a seaside town 1 1/2 hours NE of London by train. They drove us around everywhere since we decided not to save money and not rent a car of our own. Woodbridge is filled with picturesque and pristinely preserved buildings from the 1500's, and hobbling retirees who like to visit all the shops. We visited the seaside, Hernando saw his first castle, we drank many cups of tea, and enjoyed the rides through the narrow country lanes.

We also saw my Grandad, my dad's dad the Baptist minister give a service. It was my first time seeing him in church and it was how Hernando met him. Yes we arrived late to the service and sheepishly tried to sneak in unnoticed but the 10 other people in congregation all turned to see who these news strangers were interrupting the service. I also felt questionably dressed, I only have my ugly but oh so comfy grey sneakers and I didn't match at all, like OMG. I'm glad we went Grandad is 94 and I don't know how many other opportunities I may get. Though he is actually the most sprightly 94 year old ever, he looks at least 20 years younger. He always says he doesn't know how much longer he has, though almost gleefully. He can't wait to join Nana, God, and Jesus in Heaven. I don't know that I will joinging the Baptist church anytime soon though. Maybe a Hindu temple, they are vibrant and colorful... Though I guess Grandad would say that I'm just a doomed pagan. Oh yes-- in Hernando's sweet attempt to converse with Grandad he kept wanering into no go zones. I wanted to sigmal to him to stop but could only sit back and watch the show. At one point he unwittingly got Grandad to admit that my cousins are pagans, which means that we also are pagans. Yikes.

So we left Woodbridge and more than a day later with a 5 hour stopover in Bahrain we found ourselves in Delhi, India. One thing's for sure, we ain't in Woodbridge anymore. Delhi has to be the utter opposite of Woodbridge. Big, hot, dirty, smelly, and utterly chaotic. That' not to say we haven't enjoyed it! We've seen some sights and I have so much more to say but we need to catch a bus to our next destination-- Manali! Will write soon!