Back to India (my "disgusting" trip)...

I know I've been back from India for nearly three months now...but now that the busyness of summer and my parents coming home, etc. has slowed down I'm finally getting back to chronicling my trip to India.  


When I got back from India one of my brothers told me that my trip to India was "disgusting," and I was treated like somewhat of a leper by my family...at least for a few days.  I think it was my post on Varanasi and the Ganges that made my brother give my trip the "disgusting" label and me the "leper" treatment.  But hey, give me some credit...I wasn't walking barefoot on the banks of the Ganges like the hippie backpacker tourist types we saw.  I'm a clean, hand-sanitizing-gel-wielding tourist.  


And I didn't mean to disgust you all, but I guess there were lots of things in India that I found to be disgusting and I wanted to share that disgusting-ness with all of you for some reason...I guess I just wanted you to feel like you'd been to India yourself after reading my blog, especially since now I think I've scared you all and none of you will ever want to go to India.  It was a wonderful trip though and I don't mean to be culturally insensitive by sharing all the gory details...but it's just the truth.  There were also many incredible, beautiful, and even clean things I saw.  And overall, even though India isn't a cushy comfortable trip, suitable for large groups of retirees in matching hats, it is still a wonderful place to visit...and you're highly rewarded for putting up with the filth.  

Anyway, India really isn't that bad (you'll see in this post)...and you should all go if you get the chance.  Yeah, parts of it were dirty and gross but we have dirty and gross things here too.  Like lakes...which are just giant cesspools as far as I'm concerned.  Even beautiful "crystal clear" lakes, like Lake Powell, have problems.  I haven't ever been there but I've heard that when the water gets low all sorts of human feces gets stranded on shore...yuck!  


And, even with all my traveling...to 10 countries in Africa...to almost all of Central and South America...to Eastern Europe...to China...and, to India, the worst disease I've ever contracted came right from our local Idaho Falls Aquatic Center, (and yes, I'm cured of that...no need to shun me), and the worst food poisoning I've ever fallen victim to stemmed from a late night visit to a Taco Bell in Monterey, CA, USA.  


So, let's not act like snobby Americans...we are lucky to live in a pretty clean country, but we have disgusting places and disgusting people and things too.  


Anyway, enough about America...back to India...

After our night train from Varanasi to Delhi, spent with cockroaches and Indians smacking on their dinners, Marissa and I had another day and a half to explore Delhi.  

Our first stop was to visit the Sikh temple in the old part of Delhi.  Sikhs are super cool people.  They wear turbans.  But they aren't usuallly terrorists...instead they are some of the kindest people on earth.  So if you see a Sikh, don't run away...instead stop and say "hi," because they're really great people.  

I don't know a lot about Sikhism other than that they believe in only one God, which makes them stand out from the polytheistic Hindus.  They believe that the "realization of truth is higher than all else" but "higher still is truthful living."  


Sikhs are awesome because they:
1) wear turbans
2) have Tom Selleck moustaches
3) wear a curved dagger at all times (which symbolizes their duty to come to the defense of those in peril)
4) don't cut their hair...ever
5) wear special underwear (to remind them of mental control over lust)
6) feed every single person who enters their temple, in addition to feeding the poor and homeless every day
7) are super nice
8) and are sort of sexy...because of all of the above listed reasons (but not the older Sikhs in the following pictures...the ones more my age)

The Sikhs had a really great spirit in their temple.  I didn't take any pictures there because we weren't quite sure what we could take pictures of and what things we shouldn't...so we just didn't take any.  But, I did take a couple of pictures of them preparing food for the poor.  Their kitchen is open 24-7 to the hungry.  

After our visit to the Sikh temple we took a bicycle rickshaw to the spice market.  It was really spicy.  In fact, there was so much spice in the air that both Marissa and I couldn't stop sneezing.  Ah-choo!

Then we explored more of the old city.  It's just skinny streets and lots of shops.  Some things reminded me of Jerusalem's old city.  

Check out the power line behind me!  And that was a good power line.  Yikes!

We passed this giant Hindu monkey temple a few times during the few days we spent in Delhi.  I wasn't ever able to get anywhere where I could get a good picture of it, but luckily I found one online.  That train in front of it is an elevated train...if that gives you any idea of how big the monkey temple is. I kinda think the Hindu monkey god looks like Michael Jackson...but don't tell anyone I said that.  

We had different drivers every day we were in Delhi.  

This is our driver nicknamed "Gocky."  He's a wrestler.  Apparently a very popular one in his hometown.  He was also quick to inform us that his family is the highest caste in his village.  Cool.  He was a funny little man.  

We asked him to take us to Lodhi Garden.  

He laughed at us and instead took us to Buddha Park and Talkatora Garden (as guides in India rarely take you to where you actually want to go).  

Later we discovered why Gocky laughed when we asked him to take us to the gardens...apparently Delhi's parks are where couples go to make out...and pretty much only couples go there.  So that may explain why he kept asking me to marry him while we were there...I guess love was on his mind.  It got awkward after the 10th time I nicely told him "no," but luckily Marissa was there...even though she was laughing at Gocky's proposals to me and egging him on.  

From Delhi Marissa and I took a really uncomfortable night bus (that should have been 10 hours but somehow ended up being 12) to McLeodganj, near Dharamsala.  The ride was mostly uncomfortable because the seats go back way too far...which is fine, unless the person in front of you puts their seat all the way back...as the lady in front of me did.  Most people just put their seat part of the way back and there's kind of an understanding that if everyone just puts their seat back part way then everyone will be more comfortable.  But I guess the lady in front of me didn't get that memo.  And it was pouring rain most of the way.  And rain kept dripping on me somehow...even when the window was closed.  But somehow I survived the 12 hours of claustrophobic water-boarding and arrived safe and sound in McLeodganj.  I should have taken a NyQuil though.  

Anyway, McLeodganj is where many Tibetans, including the Dalai Lama and the exiled Tibetan government, have found refuge since getting kicked out of their country by the Chinese.  Jerks.  Anyway, the McLeodganj/Dharamsala area is a beautiful, mountainous, cool, and peaceful part of India.  It felt so different than the other parts of India that we'd been to that we had to keep reminding ourselves that we were still in India.  And throw in all the Tibetans and Tibetan food, and really it felt more like we were in Tibet than in India.  I took a ton of pictures, so here we go...

Me, on one of our many hikes...everything in McLeodganj is uphill...everything (well, except when you're going downhill).  So we certainly got our exercise while we were there.  We walked a lot around town, we went on some hikes, and we got more than enough exercise just getting to and from our guest houses.  

In McLeodganj the Tibetians have a big Tibetan Buddhist Temple.  It's where the Dalai Lama hangs out when he's not out galavanting around the world.

Oh, okay, thanks.

This is a sign they had up at the Buddhist Temple in McLeodganj.  You have to remove your shoes to enter parts of the temple so they offer this warning sign.  I thought it was funny.  

Me, with the view from the Buddhist Temple behind.

A view of some mountains

One day we took a long and winding hike to Naddi Village to get a better view...later we found out there's a road to Naddi Village...and you can take a taxi there...kinda made our hike a little less awesome.  I guess we got some good exercise though.  

Me...in Naddi village.  

Hiking down a Tibetan prayer flag strewn trail.  

The first couple nights we spent at a beautiful guest house called Jagatram Niwas in a little village called Heini, just outside of McLeodganj.  It is right on the side of the mountain and had gorgeous views of the whole valley.  But it was quite a hike getting there.  You can take a taxi part of the way, to the Heena Cafe, but after that you've got to make your way straight up the mountain and through barnyards and people's backyards to get there.  And when you don't have your luggage and you're feeling cheap you just take a huge long stairway straight up the mountain, which is a nice little shortcut, but sure did get us sweating.  It was really nice to stay so far out of the way and to get to watch the villagers out and about doing their daily tasks.  It was so super peaceful and a nice break from the rest of India and even from the busy little town of McLeodganj.  

Some of the many stairs to our guest house...

packing up after a few fabulous nights at our guest house...it was 11 dollars a night each...quite a splurge given that our next hotel was 5 dollars a night...but it was nice, so I guess it was worth the extra 6 dollars per night.  

Here we are ready to leave (I know I'm not the lightest packer in the world...but I might just be the most prepared) the guest house with the guest house owner (Bavinder) who doubles as a taxi driver.  We payed Bavinder to take us to a better viewpoint of the Himalayas, or I guess pre-Himalayas.  Instead he took us to Naddi Village, where we had already hiked to, an old Christian church, a Tibetian cultural center, and a really dumb art museum.  When you hire a guide or driver in India you tell them where you want to go and what you want to do, they say "okay, okay, no problem," and then proceed to give you a tour of what they want to show you (which may or may not include things you actually wanted to see or do).  So basically you never know what you're going to get.  We tried not to be too bugged...apparently it's the Indian way of doing tourism.  

The day we left our guest house on top of the mountain we met the nicest Sikh family from Delhi.  I wish we would have met them sooner.  They were so interesting to visit with and were the happiest little group of bobble-heading Indians ever.  

The day before this I sprained my ankle...really bad...like I almost passed out when it happened.  And you'd think it would have happened on one of our many hikes around McLeodganj...but no, I couldn't be that normal.  Instead of spraining my ankle on one of the many rocky steep paths we wandered on, I sprained my ankle while shopping in the little town of McLeodganj.  There was just a place where the "sidewalk" dropped down about 2-3 inches and I stepped off the edge and rolled my weak (due to a high school soccer injury) ankle.  In my defense though, McLeodganj is a pretty crazy little town...there are no real sidewalks and the street/sidewalk is crammed with honking cars, speeding motorbikes, meandering cows (and bulls...yikes!), street vendors, potholes, etc.  So I blame my little accident on trying to avoid getting hit by a car, motorcycle, or cow, and not on my stupidity and klutzyness.  

Anyway, I was hobbling around our guest house the morning we met our Sikh friends and they asked me about my injury.  And the next thing I know is that the Sikh mom is pulling an ACE bandage out of her purse and is wrapping my ankle and giving me all sorts of advice.  ACE bandage in the purse?...totally my kind of person...I love fellow over-prepared souls.     

And that is just one more reason to add to my list of why I like Sikhs...generous, kind, and prepared.  

My life was much better and less painful with the addition of the ACE bandage...something I never would have thought of packing, but something that came in very handy.  

Me, with the pre-Himalayas and maybe even Himalayas in the background from near Naddi village.  It was kind of hazy so the picture didn't turn out too awesome, but the view with my eyeballs was much better than how the picture turned out so I was glad I got to see that view for myself. 

We went to the Tibetan Cultural Center, a little ways outside of McLeodganj.  It was actually really cool, informative, and was free to get into (amazing for India).  

Me, at the Buddhist Temple inside the Tibetan Cultural Center.  

The grounds of the Tibetan Cultural Center were so beautifully kept...it made for a peaceful, beautiful place to spend an afternoon.  

Me, turning the Tibetan prayer wheels which spreads spiritual blessings and well being all around.  You're welcome everyone.  

One super cool thing about the Tibetan Cultural Center is that they train Tibetan artisans in artistic methods unique to Tibet in order to preserve the tradition.  Tibetans are very focused on preserving their language, culture, religion, etc...which is super important, especially since they are a people who have been basically kicked out of their own country and are now scattered about.  

We tried Tibetan food several times while in the McLeodganj area.  It was delicious, nutritious, and super cheap.  One meal Marissa and I bought cost $1.80 each...for Tibetan bread, momo for an appetizer, Tibetan noodles (as seen above) for the main dish, and a drink...oh and a tip too...crazy!  I guess the Tibetan refugees haven't figured out yet that they can (or are too nice to) rip off tourists like 99.9% of Indians do.  

Speaking of getting ripped off...I'm pretty sure I got ripped off when I bought these mangoes...but how would I know...look at how he's weighing them...super old school!

This was the beautiful view from the second guest house we stayed at in the McLeodganj area...the Pink House.  It cost $5 per night...had hot water, wireless internet, and did not have bed bugs.  Awesome!  

Two days after I sprained my ankle, and because we still felt we hadn't gotten close enough to the Himalayas, I doped up on 800 mg of ibuprofen, wrapped my ankle, and Marissa and I set off on a hike...a long hike (6+hours round trip)...to a pre-Himalayan mountain village (called Triund) at the top of a little mountain in order to hopefully see some bigger Himalayan mountains behind. 

I know it's maybe not the smartest thing in the world to hike on a sprained ankle, but I just thought, 'hey, I may only be in India once...I don't want to miss out on anything cool.'  And really it wasn't too bad.  The ibuprofen and ACE bandage worked their magic and I somehow made it to the top in good time.  But three months after returning from India my ankle still hurts...so I may have some lasting consequences of my "carpe diem" attitude.  Oh well.  

So let the hike pictures begin...

Check out my awesome fashion statement.  It was hot...so I rolled up my pants.  I didn't care how I looked...cause it was hot.  The only thing I'm a little sad about is that I was planning on leaving some old clothes I didn't like in McLeodganj.  So I thought, 'I'll wear the ugly clothes I want to give away on the hike so I won't get clothes I'm keeping dirty.'  But I didn't think about hating how I looked in all my pictures.  Dang.  

Marissa and I at the top...in Triund.  By the time we took this picture it had clouded over a bit but we were lucky enough to get a glimpse of the snow peaked Himalayas before it clouded over.  There were just layers and layers of mountains...as far as the eye could see.  Amazing!

I kinda felt awesome for making it to the top with a sprained ankle.  So I took an "I feel awesome" picture.  And I really did feel awesome...especially thanks to the magic lemonade I bought at the last tea-house we passed on the path before reaching the top.  I don't know what was in that lemonade...it was Minute Maid brand and I swear the top was sealed, but the minute I drank that Minute Maid I had a Richard Simmons-like energy boost and practically ran up the last bit of the hike...which just happens to be the steepest part.  Later on the trip I bought another of the same type of lemonade...but it didn't give me the high that the first one did...I guess all lemonade can't be magic.  

Then I took a normal picture.  

And then one more "I am awesome because I'm standing on the edge of a cliff in the Himalayas with a sprained ankle and sweaty armpits" picture.  

Just a pretty view from the top...

and another.  

When you get to the top of the mountain and end up in Triund, it's kind of on a plateau...it was rocky and grassy and green...it was beautiful!

We dined on a lunch of tuna and crackers, granola bars, and trail mix at the top and then explored around a bit.  But then a super scary black cloud started rolling towards us and we decided it was time to get off the top of the mountain...and we headed back down.  

It was a gorgeous hike...here is one of the views on the way down.  

The view looking back after we'd gone back down part way.  The dark ridge below the big Himalayan peak is where we hiked to.  

A little farther down...the clouds pulled back and made a cool dome over the top of the biggest peak.  

Part of the long and winding path...

which besides being long and winding was also very rocky.  About half the way down, the storm we saw rolling in caught up to us and it began to thunder and rain and lightening.  The thunder and lightening were so loud...it sounded like God was shooting a gun, but he probably wasn't.  It was scary though.  So, despite the rocky path we basically ran down the second half of the trail.  I was pretty scared and I thought for sure I was going to get roasted by a lightening bolt, but, in spite of the many expletives muttered while running down the rocky path with a now throbbing ankle (guess the ibuprofen and magic lemonade wore off), we were protected and made it back to the shelter of the Heena Cafe (at the base of the hike) just as it started hailing.  

Me on the hike...must have been on the way up because it's not raining, I'm not running, and I don't look scared.  

One last pretty picture I took at the top.  

Anyway, we waited out the worst of the storm at the Heena Cafe and then scrunched in a taxi with a bunch of locals to ride back down into McLeodganj.  It was a great hike...even with the sprained ankle and storm.  I highly recommend it to anyone visiting McLeodganj.  

A beautiful sunset later that night.  

Me, with the crazy McLeodganj traffic in the background as well as the Tibetan Buddhist Temple (white building) while waiting for our meditation class to begin.  We did a couple of free meditation classes while in McLeodganj.  Meditation and yoga are huge in India and especially in this part of India...so we thought we should give it a try.  It really was pretty cool and wasn't nearly as weird and hippyish as I thought it would be.  

Me on the roof of our guest house the Pink House on our last day in McLeodganj.  I left the shirt I am wearing in this picture in McLeodganj...it was worn out...like a hole in the armpit worn out.  But I'd publicly like to thank that shirt for it's great service.  It was a great travel shirt and accompanied me to Brazil, Argentina, Bolivia, Ecuador, all over Europe, until its death in India.  I was actually kind of sad to leave it but I had to move on.  

McLeodganj is a really cool place to go and stay for weeks or even months as there are a lot of different volunteer opportunities there...from teaching Tibetan refugee children, to volunteering at the Tibetan daycare so the woman can go to school or work, to teaching English, to cleaning up mountain trails.  

We didn't have a ton of time to volunteer but we did make time to volunteer with an English class for the Tibetan Buddhist Monks.  It was called "Conversation with Monks."  It turned out to be really fun and was nice to get to visit with the Monks and learn a little more about their lives.  

All the monks we met were happy and peaceful people.  

They gave us white scarves to thank us for coming to practice English with them.  I don't know what the symbolism is for sure of the white scarf, but it must be something important for the Tibetan Buddhists because if you go to the Buddhist Temple on certain days you can bring a white scarf and the Dalai Lama will bless it and place it around your neck.  Unfortunately we weren't in McLeodganj on one of those designated days...so our scarf from our English-speaking monk friends will have to do.  

Our last day there we also visited the Tibetan Children's Village.  It's a place for the education and care of Tibetan orphans, refugees, and poor.  Many of the children there are children of people still living in Tibet.  They send their kids to McLeodganj for safety and for a better life and education.  It's kind of sad that such little kids have to be away from their parents but the Tibetan Children's Village is a really nice place and the kids are treated so well and are given a good education.  

We got to meet some of the kids in the library.  They were so cute...

Later that night we caught the night bus back to Delhi.  The ride back wasn't nearly as hellish as the ride there.  There wasn't rain pouring in on me and the person in front of me wasn't lying on my lap the whole night like on the way there.  

There were a couple of cute little girls sitting with their mom across the aisle from us.  One of the girls reached across the aisle and shyly offered me curry flavored potato chips.  I took one and then offered them some Goldfish Crackers back.  I asked the girls if they liked the crackers...the older girl look down and shook her head "no."  I guess they didn't like the Goldfish...what kid doesn't like Goldfish?...curry potato chips instead?!  Tastes in food are so relative I guess.  

We were back in Delhi the next morning...we went to our hotel, rested and showered and then headed back out to see more of Delhi.  

It was Friday so it was a good day to go to the Muslim Mosque to see all the people gathered for Friday worship.  But because it was Friday we couldn't actually go into the mosque but we could go into the mosque complex.  It's free to get in...unless you're white.  They let the non-Muslim Indians in for free as well as Indians who are obviously tourists from other parts of the country, but if your skin is too light, as was the case with Marissa and me, you will get charged a fee and handed what I referred to as a "wizard cape" to wear.  

We were a little bugged.  First of all it was like 110+ degrees (no exaggeration), so the addition of the wizard cape to our wardrobe wasn't very comfortable.  Second of all, they were really long and we kept tripping on them.  Third of all they were really dorky looking which made us not like our pictures and made us stand out even more than a couple of blond girls traveling by themselves in India would normally.  And, I think what bugged us the most is that we'd made the effort to dress extra modestly for the mosque visit...we were both wearing long dresses, had our shoulders covered, and even brought scarves to cover our heads if necessary.  The typical dress for non-Muslim Indian women is actually kinda, according to American standards, slutty, with a bare midriff and often a bare shoulder.  Anyway, we were way more modestly dressed than all the other non-Muslim Indian women entering, but they weren't being forced to rent wizard capes.  Such is the injustice of being a white tourist in India...you just have to get used to it. 

Anyway, right when we walked into the mosque complex this little girl and her brother came running up to me and the little girl said, "excuse me ma'am can we take a picture with you?"  And I obliged...wizard cape and all...but only because she asked so nicely.  Just part of being famous in India I guess...

These cute Muslim girls also wanted a picture with us.  I look like I have a really ugly hospital gown on backwards.  

Part of sprawling Delhi from the top of the mosque...you can see Delhi's Red Fort...and not much else due to the heat and pollution which caused a haze over the city.  I had to climb like a million tightly twisting stairs to get this view...it was hot and I tripped all the way up on my wizard cape.  Marissa opted out and she was smart to do so because really the view wasn't worth it.

But as I came back down I exited one set of stairs and I saw a little boy and his dad about to enter the stairway.  The little boy was bawling...I think he didn't want to climb the stairs in the super hot heat.  Right when his dad saw me his eyes lit up and I saw him reach for his camera.  He gave me an inquisitive look and said, "one picture?" to me as he shoved the bawling little boy towards me.  I shrugged and posed for the picture.  So, somewhere out there in India a family has a picture of their bawling little boy and a red faced white girl they don't know in a wizard cape.  And I find that really funny.  It made my sweaty sojourn up the spiraling stairway somewhat worth it.   

Me, in wizard cape, with the Delhi Mosque behind...

Me, at the entrance, sans wizard cape...much more comfortable.  

Then our guide took us to some tomb...of someone...someone famous...but not famous enough that I can actually remember who it is.  Anyway, the tomb buildings were pretty and the evening lighting was nice so I like my pictures at the mystery tomb...it was where our guide took us instead of where we wanted to go, but such is life as a tourist in India.  

That's what's so funny about most Indians in tourism...they want to please the tourists and are always asking how you're liking things and if they did a good job...they all want to do a good job or say they want to.  But they never really do what you want them to do.  Weird.  

Anyway, that ends this installment of "India in the Eyes of Becca".  Stay tuned...only two more installments left!