A sense of humor eh? (Delhi, India)
I'm trying really hard to like India. I'm even staying at a nice homestay on the outskirts of Delhi central which I found through a booking engine on the Internet. www.indianhomestay.com. The area I am in is rather clean for India. I'm plesantly surprised. Maybe the lesson is - get out of all big and medium sized Indian cities as soon as possible. Though I'm not sure what that means from a population perspective. Less than 50,000?
I recall hearing from someone/somewhere that North and South India are pretty different places. Let alone the different regions. I guess it is like any big country. Certain commonalities but differences in the details. Which would be apparent even with a little more than casual observation here. For me liking India at this point is more in the details, and the lessons about life by looking at extremes, and not the big picture and/or pleasure of traveling itself - dodging scams / kickbacks, is demanding enough. Numerous Indians I've encountered seem to be quite clever and crafty (As my friend has used) but definitely not very wise. If they were India would look very different. More on this in the future hopefully. Definitely too "sticky" and detailed writing for a journal.
I definitely don't recommend traveling to India for any "Westerner" unless one has a good sense of humor. Even with that at moments I sometimes feel that my sense of humor isn't good enough. Of course, as I've noted before what one laughs at can be very different depending on what one is accustomed to.
Big Monkey God
Case in point, on my way to visit a couple of UN World Heritage sites in Delhi yesterday I passed by a huge "couple of hundred feet+" tall Monkey God statue still under construction, but largely complete - near the middle of the city. Literally it is a huge statue of a monkey looking character. I'd love to show you the picture but I can't figure out how to upload it right now. While I wasn't laughing at the time I saw it, nor when I put my hands together to quickly pray to it when my rickshaw stopped due to chaotic traffic and the "bizzareness" of it, I reflected on it later in my room and found it hysterical. Of all the crazy things I'd seen in India so far, this one stands out for some reason. Beyond the cows everywhere, Laughter Yoga, images of various gurus, little statues of Ganesh - the elephant headed god, and countless of other "interesting aspects" of culture. Then I thought a little harder and realized that I didn't find quite so amusing the huge Jesus Christ statue in Rio or large statue of Mary - Jesus' mother - in Butte, Montana. Though I'll add the monkey god statue is larger than the Christ statue in Rio, and I *THINK* it is larger than the one in Butte, Montana (I have a weblink for that site with picture somewhere on this site).
So my sense of humor is getting attacked - just surviving the chaos and looking at the very run down living conditions is very trying. Let me just say again...I'm thankful I'll be on my way to Nepal and the mountains in a couple of days. Though I know there are poor areas there too...at least the population density is much lower. Of course I'm gearing up for another kind of travel experience. Not just the mountains, but a Maoist insurgency against the government. Though I guess I avoided the worst of Jakarta, Indonesia and Sri Lanka - where I hear tensions may be continuing to heat up.
This all pales in comparison to a Swedish fellow I met diving in Palau. He has traveled very extensively for business and also worked as a UN Peacekeeper for a few years with assignments in such glorious places as Rwanda (During the ethnic cleansing), and Sudan. His least favorite major city is Karachi, Pakistan - where apparently upon arrival at the airport there is a stand where one can RENT-A-GUN. From a handgun up to an AK-47. There must be a picture of this on the Internet somewhere. One week there was enough for him. He told me he never wants to go back. Considering what he told me about his other life experiences, I doubt you will find me ever in Pakistan. I think he was there for business vs a soldier. As going somewhere with a bunch of your heavily armed compadres as a solider with all sorts of equipment vs going solo to these places must be quite a different experience.
Ok...enough for now. Some links on Nepal:
Various Nepal Links:
--------------------
Yahoo! News search for Nepal stories
Q&A: Nepal Conflict (BBC)
Nepal News
Himalyan Times
Trekking with the Maoists (BBC)
Nepal Tourism Statistics (Notice the plummeting visitors from 2001-2002)
Himalyan Times Recent - Mar 2004 News Story on possible blockades
The blockade that will remain in force till March 23 (2004) has been imposed in 13 district headquarters of Palpa, Chitwan, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Syangja, Parbat, Tanahun, Kaski, Lamjung, Baglung, Myagdi, Gulmi and Manang of Gandaki, Lumbini, Dhawalagiri and Narayani zones.
I recall hearing from someone/somewhere that North and South India are pretty different places. Let alone the different regions. I guess it is like any big country. Certain commonalities but differences in the details. Which would be apparent even with a little more than casual observation here. For me liking India at this point is more in the details, and the lessons about life by looking at extremes, and not the big picture and/or pleasure of traveling itself - dodging scams / kickbacks, is demanding enough. Numerous Indians I've encountered seem to be quite clever and crafty (As my friend has used) but definitely not very wise. If they were India would look very different. More on this in the future hopefully. Definitely too "sticky" and detailed writing for a journal.
I definitely don't recommend traveling to India for any "Westerner" unless one has a good sense of humor. Even with that at moments I sometimes feel that my sense of humor isn't good enough. Of course, as I've noted before what one laughs at can be very different depending on what one is accustomed to.
Big Monkey God
Case in point, on my way to visit a couple of UN World Heritage sites in Delhi yesterday I passed by a huge "couple of hundred feet+" tall Monkey God statue still under construction, but largely complete - near the middle of the city. Literally it is a huge statue of a monkey looking character. I'd love to show you the picture but I can't figure out how to upload it right now. While I wasn't laughing at the time I saw it, nor when I put my hands together to quickly pray to it when my rickshaw stopped due to chaotic traffic and the "bizzareness" of it, I reflected on it later in my room and found it hysterical. Of all the crazy things I'd seen in India so far, this one stands out for some reason. Beyond the cows everywhere, Laughter Yoga, images of various gurus, little statues of Ganesh - the elephant headed god, and countless of other "interesting aspects" of culture. Then I thought a little harder and realized that I didn't find quite so amusing the huge Jesus Christ statue in Rio or large statue of Mary - Jesus' mother - in Butte, Montana. Though I'll add the monkey god statue is larger than the Christ statue in Rio, and I *THINK* it is larger than the one in Butte, Montana (I have a weblink for that site with picture somewhere on this site).
So my sense of humor is getting attacked - just surviving the chaos and looking at the very run down living conditions is very trying. Let me just say again...I'm thankful I'll be on my way to Nepal and the mountains in a couple of days. Though I know there are poor areas there too...at least the population density is much lower. Of course I'm gearing up for another kind of travel experience. Not just the mountains, but a Maoist insurgency against the government. Though I guess I avoided the worst of Jakarta, Indonesia and Sri Lanka - where I hear tensions may be continuing to heat up.
This all pales in comparison to a Swedish fellow I met diving in Palau. He has traveled very extensively for business and also worked as a UN Peacekeeper for a few years with assignments in such glorious places as Rwanda (During the ethnic cleansing), and Sudan. His least favorite major city is Karachi, Pakistan - where apparently upon arrival at the airport there is a stand where one can RENT-A-GUN. From a handgun up to an AK-47. There must be a picture of this on the Internet somewhere. One week there was enough for him. He told me he never wants to go back. Considering what he told me about his other life experiences, I doubt you will find me ever in Pakistan. I think he was there for business vs a soldier. As going somewhere with a bunch of your heavily armed compadres as a solider with all sorts of equipment vs going solo to these places must be quite a different experience.
Ok...enough for now. Some links on Nepal:
Various Nepal Links:
--------------------
Yahoo! News search for Nepal stories
Q&A: Nepal Conflict (BBC)
Nepal News
Himalyan Times
Trekking with the Maoists (BBC)
Nepal Tourism Statistics (Notice the plummeting visitors from 2001-2002)
Himalyan Times Recent - Mar 2004 News Story on possible blockades
The blockade that will remain in force till March 23 (2004) has been imposed in 13 district headquarters of Palpa, Chitwan, Rupandehi, Nawalparasi, Syangja, Parbat, Tanahun, Kaski, Lamjung, Baglung, Myagdi, Gulmi and Manang of Gandaki, Lumbini, Dhawalagiri and Narayani zones.
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