Magic 6 and Me, a Bad Traveller (Varanasi, India)

I'm back in India now for a 3rd time! This time, I'm not escaping the heat. It's 35C / 95F+, dry thankfully. Boy, I guess I just can't get enough. :) I've just "come back" to India (Starting to feel like home - NOT) from Nepal where I spent 2 weeks, including 1 week hiking/trekking in the Himalayan ranges - Annapurna region.


ONE HUNDRED OR TWO HUNDRED DEAD PEOPLE

On One of those days I was a 6-8 hour hike away from a town (Beni) where fighting broke out between the Maoists (Terrorists?) and government forces. About a hundred or so people were killed. or a couple of hundred....a front page picture in the Kathmandu Post showed a couple of women walking past a body lying on the street.

That town lay at the end of a day's hike that would have avoided a 1600 meter/5300ft+ climb and descent over 2 days. Gruelling I might add. I guess it was good that my guide recommended we go the high road - literally. I have to recheck my calendar, but if we had gone the "easy" route, which I had thought about, we probably would have walked right into the action - or at the very least an army checkpoint which would have turned us away. Pleasant and happy traveling. I love South Asia!

I really should reconsider going to Pakistan where a fellow Dutch traveller on the trail informed me that he had heard that some men MASTURBATE ON THE STREET at the sight of non-Asian/fair haired women. Lovely. I haven't looked for the RENT-A-GUN picture yet on the Internet, but a picture of a Pakistani guy masturbating in public isn't high on my list. Heck, while I'm at it I should go to Afghanistan too and join my fellow Americans looking for Osama, as an International observer...yeah. Maybe I can use my new found Arabic language skills to help them.

I have seen Indians publicly peeing out in the open with little discretion while my taxi drove by - in Agra, among other places. Funny they don't mention that in the tourist literature when they talk about the Taj Mahal in Agra. Or the stench in the Taj Mahal tomb either. Really, you'll like India. Come here soon.

[ Terrorists? Hey...everybody is a terrorist these days. Can I call
anybody I don't like or consider a pest, a terrorist? For all those people holding
ideas that I'm attacking you might want to call me a _____ terrorist.
flipping the tables...Can I call Britney Spears an entertainment terrorist?
It is a bit much when I see her photo on a beauty parlor sign in India.
Overly greedy corporate chieftains - financial terrorists? Needless to say,
this is a list that could go on for quite awhile. Use your imagination ]


BAD TRAVELLER

Maybe the hallmark of a good traveller is one who doesn't compare and contrast so much. Enough to keep one out of danger, but not so much that it stops one from seeing the wonder in the moments apart from what they know to be life. Well for various reasons, which I may or may not have expressed - I do compare and contrast alot. That is how I learn. That is probably how most people learn. I do make judgements. While I certainly let places change me, maybe I don't go far enough. Maybe I'm a bad traveller at times.


MAGIC 6

...anyways...what is this Magic 6 stuff. Well, a friend (Whom I've mentioned before - don't get the idea that everyone I know is a long term traveller) who traveled for 6 months straight or so mentioned that he would have "gone over the edge" if he had been on the road any longer. This is loosely unscientifically validated by some other travellers I've met who have been travelling multi-month. It's about 6 months as I post this journal.

I'm in no danger of "going over the edge"- thanks to all my techie gadgets, but I have reached CULTURAL OVERLOAD. Which maybe is the step or two right before going over. I don't know. My ability to discern and appreciate differences is declining fast. My patience is wearing thinner. And so is my sense of humor. Which is really one thing
that one shouldn't lose while in South Asia if I haven't made that obvious already. Maybe that is why Indians like Laughter Yoga so much. Tonic for the chaos.

-- All I know right now is that I miss my bicycle, I want to eat some "more" authentic Mexican food, I want my favorite yogurt, I want to cook my own meals, I want to eat a Burger King Whopper with an ICE COLD coke (Not Indian/Nepali cold), i want to hear true red white and blue American voices (Lesson 7 of Arabic done now!), I want to drive a car somewhere scenic, I want to watch a movie where I don't have to rush and fight my way to the food counter to get a popcorn (One of my enduring memories of chaos in India). And...I'm sick of people thinking that I am Japanese, both travellers and natives alike!! But this is another article in itself --

I realized it when I was trekking in the mountains of Nepal, which is quite the cultural experience. Once I realized the overload I actually hiked out one day faster than planned. This was not easy considering the altitude gain/loss and all the rocks to climb around and over. Let's just say consecutive 8-10 hour days of hiking weren't out of the question. Oh, let me not forget to mention I puked at 3500 meters from altitude sickness and promptly went down below 3000 meters on the same day. I have a picture of the spaghetti...before I ate it. :) I'll show you sometime. For a brief second, I thought about taking a picture of my puke for your entertainment

....never mind that I wouldn't leave Nepal itself any sooner, I would only get back 1 day sooner to my comfy hotel (And techie gadgets) I found in "healthy air" Kathmandu full of barking dogs and overly ambitious roosters cocka doodle dooing - but that was enough motivation. Anything so I could watch CNN and BBC and be connected to the world outside of South Asia.

LUCKY ME

So.....I have a week here in the holiest Hindu city of India where I will see people being cremated and maybe a body or two floating down the Ganges river. Then off to Dubai, UAE - where my plan includes Qatar and North Oman maybe if time and energy permits. I have the plan now! The last tour for the moment! I'm tired of planning. I just need to execute now. Capping it off with 5 days in London before returning to America for rest and re-evaluation of future travel plans.

I REALLY AM LUCKY

I really am lucky.....I have answered most, if not all, of my major questions that I had before I started traveling so my tolerance and urge to visit certain places is not as high now. How many people can say this at my age? Really...lucky me. This, as I mentioned before, will affect my travel plans more than any other. My curiosity is still there though...it just needs a recharge.



PS: I shaved my 3 week beard. Like you care. The beads of sweat from hiking dripping down on the beard really bothered me. Besides -- It really wasn't all that becoming of who the Waynester really is. I guess I won't blend in as well in Arabia.
I can only wonder at the difference in thinking between those who grow deep and full beards and those who are clean shaven. alas, that is another research project.


signing out from the South Asian Circus

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:
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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.

Burglary in my "Home" (Mumbai / Bombay and Delhi, India)

My "vacation" is over. 2 weeks was about right although I certainly wouldn't have minded a few more dive days - alas, getting sick threw off my plans a bit.

A brief 1 night stopover in Hong Kong reminded me quickly that I was no longer on a sparsely populated island. A former co-worker stationed in Hong Kong helped make my step back into a world of mass people a bit easier. It helped that I had been to Hong Kong a couple of years ago. Quickly reflecting on all the places I've been, I believe the population density in Hong Kong is the most I have ever been in. Though the modernity of the place certainly makes it easier to navigate. There must be a stat on the Internet somewhere...

India "Pleasantries"

I'm plesantly surprised that Mumbai is not as dirty as Chennai. Nor does it seem quite as chaotic. There are plenty of slum areas in Mumbai but at least I was able to explore some decent areas. I'm thinking either I didn't explore Chennai enough or that Chennai really is a crappier city all around - environmentally, cleanliness, and appearance speaking. At this point Chennai is below Mumbai on the hardship list. In fact, based on what little I have seen of Delhi today, it is lower than Delhi - 124 out of 130. One hint is simply the drive from the airport. In Chennai one is immediately thrown into the chaos. In Delhi the airport is in a little more of a rural area so leaving the airport area is quite pleasant.

Looking for a Friend

India is one of those countries where I wish I was traveling with a friend. If not for someone to help keep a lookout for safety/security but more importantly for the moral support. Getting around the big cities is draining and more challenging than just about any other country I can think of...save for Indonesia - Java.
Which is a different kind of challenge. While I ended up touring the city area with a German traveler that I met on a boat for a day in Mumbai, I did something for the first time on this whole trip - I bought a book to read.

I don't read many books these days except for guidebooks. For one - because I read so much before traveling but also because reading my guidebooks, newspapers, magazines, Internet, encyclopedia is enough.

At a local bookstore when buying a couple of guidebooks I came across a book titled "Holy Cow" by Sarah MacDonald. Published in 2002 at 320 pages...I finished it in 1 day. That's how bad I needed a friend. It is about an Australian woman's experience living in India with her Australian boyfriend then husband - a correspondent for ABC (Australian Broadcasting Corp) in South Asia. The extensiveness of her travels and experience in India has helped me to come to grips and understand some of what I have been witness to. Another voice when the only "voice" I have right now so to speak is my own. Highly recommended.

The Burglary

As for the burglary...well I've been living out of a couple backpacks for the last 5+ months so I consider that part of my home. When I opened my main backpack in Hong Kong I discovered that my DVD-ROM/CD-RW drive had been stolen!!! By the airport luggage personnel! I believe it happened in Manila, Philippines. Even though I have a lock on it, I may not have relatched it after passing through security. They knew exactly what to take...they didn't take the leather case or power adapter. The reason I believe it happened in Manila is because the person who was transferring my bag between Continental and Cathay Pacific overheard me mention to security that I had a CD Player in there.

Hopefully Cathay Pacific will come through and reimburse me for the theft. In the meantime I'll have to be content that this theft is also a coincidence. The only other item of any significant value (Or any value possibly) that I can recall being stolen from me is a portable CD Player I had in a cabinet above my cubicle at a place I worked in 1998/99. Go figure. As for other coincidences, here and there...but nothing that is worth mentioning at the moment.


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Due to the lack of proper facilities I probably won't be updating any other part of the website except for this weblog for the next couple of weeks. I can't even upload the story of diving in Palau that I finished earlier. I'll be in Nepal from Mar.13th until Mar.27th, I'll be trekking in the mountains for 1 week or so too so I will definitely be out of touch. I'll need to pay attention while trekking too so I can pay the 1000 Nepal Rupees / US$15 "entrance" fee to the Maoist rebels in Nepal!

www.trekinfo.com has more information on this for those curious.

If I haven't returned an email you have sent me that is why. Next site update is probably in Dubai in early April. 5 lessons of Arabic completed so far. Not easy learning another language in India. It's demanding enough as it is on my mind.