Beirut and (thankfully) an American

Beijing is a long way from Beirut.  Somewhere between middle school geography and the year 2011, my brain shrank the distance, resulting in me thinking it was maybe a 3 or 4 hour flight.  Well, it's a 10+ hour flight (Departure: 11:55pm. Arrival 5:25am), and if you've read the post Big Cities, you'll know that flying with a plane-full of Chinese people is not conducive to relaxation or sleep.  I had a seat in the middle of the party for the first couple hours of the flight, but my Turkish Airways stewardess-hero took pity on me and moved me to the economy preferred section (or whatever Turkish Air calls it), and I was able to get a few hours of sleep.

I'll digress for a moment to give thanks for 2 things: the British and speaking English.  I am thankful that I speak English, and I'm guessing the extent of the British Empire is what caused it to become the international language.  All airlines announce things in English (many as the first announcement), and this includes internal India/Nepal/China flights as well as international flights.  Also, most signs across the Near and Far East have an English translation in smaller letters.  I can't imagine traveling only speaking German or Thai. 

Moving onwards, Lebanon is a beautiful country.  You can see this much from the plane before landing.  Just generically, I suppose it's hard to find anything but beauty in a country spilling out into the Mediterranean with mountains in the background.  And the fact that you can swim in the sea and then snow ski 45min later is pretty cool (not that I would ever do that; seems like a lot of effort for a vacation).

Besides spending time in Beirut, we hit Faraya (in the mountains), Harissa, and Byblos.  All were beautiful, and all were worth the short drive from the city.  Byblos is one of the oldest continuously-inhabited cities in the world (with signs of civilization dating back to 5000BC).

Yeah...not depressing, to say the least. This is the view down the coast from Byblos.

I know you're all wondering about how my ego has been since Beijing, and I am happy/sorry to say it has been killed.  I was pretty confident in the looks and the physical fitness department, and both have taken hits.  First off, my buddy Mac killed me on a run up and down hills on the coast (seriously killed me).  Then, it became clear that Lebanese women have no interest in skinny white boys.  The cool guys in Lebanon clearly spend more time in the gym (mainly bench press, apparently) than they do yogging.


My four days in Beirut, etc were definitely a highlight of the trip.  It was great to see a friend after 6 or 7 weeks of solo travel, and it was great to hear that friend speak English in a normal, native accent.  I found that I could talk in my usual cadence and actually be understood.  It was quite refreshing.

 

 

 

View from Harrisa.

Byblos.

China pics

I took fewer pictures in China than in India, and I regret that on some level, because there was just as much to photograph.  I think China was just such an enjoyable country overall that I forgot about being a tourist at times.  In India, the famous destinations were the (only) hilights, so I snapped away when they were in view.  In China, it was nice to see famous/beautiful things, but I would have been just as happy wondering around the cities.

Scenery around Yangshuo/Li River

Pandas in Chengdu

Entrance to Three Gorges in Feng Jie

Great mis-translation at the Three Gorges Dam.  There were definitely better ones than this, but I didn't always have my camera, unfortunately.

Shanghai skyline from the water.

Dragon Well tea plantation outside Hangzhou

Warriors in Xi'an

Entrance to Forbidden City in Beijing

Great Wall outside Beijing

Wall, Ego, and Nage

Yes, I went to the Great Wall of China.  Yes, I was expecting to be underwhelmed.  I find that when things are as built-up as this wall (you can even see it from space!*), they generally disappoint.  Is this attitude a clever/sad way of distorting high expectations in an effort to allow myself to be wowed rather than merely satisfied?  Yes, yes it is.  Did I learn this trick from a life full of disappointments?  Yes, yes I did.**

Oh yeah, the Great Wall.  It doesn't disappoint.  There's nothing particularly grand about any given 100 foot (I almost typed 'meter' there; the dark side is creeping into my soul) chunk of the structure; it is, after all, just a big stone wall.  It's the scale of the thing that gets you.  I went to a section about 90min outside Beijing, and as you drive up and see it on the top of a pretty steep hill, it looks mildly impressive.  But once you trek up to the wall (you can take a cable car if you roll that way) and walk along it to a high point, you get it.  It goes on forever, and when that is coupled with the fact that construction began in 200BC and the whole thing hit 5,500 miles long at one point, I was forced to take a deep breath and admit non-underwhelming-ness. 

I am typing this on my last night in China from the city of Beijing.  I am sad to go, though I will not miss having Facebook and my blog blocked.  I would have no qualms being transferred here for a job, and I am tempted to take a stab at learning the language even though it seems quite impossible; the sounds and names and characters have zero to do with any of my life experience thus far, and it's very intimidating.  

Speaking of the language, the people in Northern China seem to use 'that' like we would use 'um.'  For example, I might say, "I'll have um, um, the roast duck."  While a Chinese person would say, "I'll have that, that, roast duck."  No big deal, right?  Well, maybe a little bit.  'That' in Chinese is translated as 'nage', which is pronounced exactly like the slang version of a very bad N-word that is often used in rap songs.  (Rhymes with 'wigga'.)  So, I'm walking the Great Wall or running the streets of Beijing or sitting in a restaurant, and all I hear are Chinese people loudly using an English (American) racial epithet.  I did my part and told my (attractive) tour guide to remember never to say 'that' should she find herself in America.

I hesitate to report this last bit about China, because I do not want it to discredit my previous blog posts of praise.  I will assert that I have enjoyed China for China, and this last piece of the story only affected my ego (and mildly, at that).  The truth of the matter is that my hair has gotten a bit long and more than a bit curly, and Chinese women don't seem to mind.  For the first week, I thought I noticed members of the opposite sex looking at me a bit more/longer usual, but I shrugged it off and figured my eyes still hadn't fully healed from laser surgery.  

But, at the beginning of the second week, a random girl came up and said, "You handsome. Picture?"  She was the first but not the last to look up 'handsome' and 'picture' on her iPhone dictionary before coming up to me and unknowingly plunging me into a struggle to retain my humility.  But not to worry, I am headed to Beirut to hang out with a much cooler and admittedly more attractive man-friend, and should that not cure me, I have complete faith that my Houston friends will help knock me back down to where I belong.  Finally, if they don't succeed, my sister will see how much weight I've lost on my journey and immediately start taunting me with her favorite word: manorexic!   

*apparently a mistake by a US astronaut

**blatant lie

Big Cities

Travels Since Chengdu:

Bullet train to Chongqing: largest municipality in the world at 33mm people 

Bus to Feng Jie: town on the Yangzi River at the entrance to the 3 gorges

Boat down the Yangzi, ending in Yichang: unimpressive city of 4.5mm people where the controversial Three Gorges Dam is located

Flight to Shanghai: great, modern city of 22mm people

Bullet train to Hangzhou: beautiful/peaceful city of 8mm people built around the West Lake (check out www.nytimes.com for a recent article in the travel section)

Flight to Xi'an: see below for thoughts

Musings: 

I have found that the easiest way to differentiate Bangkok, Hong Kong, and Shanghai is by remembering what people continually offered me on the street. In Bangkok, it was sex and tailored shirts/suits. Hong Kong was fake Rolexes and tailored shirts/suits, and Shanghai was fake Rolexes and pot. I may have to throw out the Shanghai survey results, though; my hair is getting pretty fro-ish at this point, and I'm not positive I've shaved since Nepal, so I MAY be putting off the hippie vibe. 

While I continue to experience general enjoyment and amazement in China, I am willing to offer mild criticisms at this point. First of all, I think that the development of Chinese manners is lagging behind their infrastructure/technology progress. The most glaring example of this is with spitting. Men spit in the street very often, which is fine, in theory (I suppose), but this is no ordinary spit. This spitting would qualify as 'hawking a   loogie', but that doesn't even capture it. It's a deep, guttural groan that starts at the bottom of the ribcage, working its grumbling up through the torso, ending with a couple sharp, mucus-laden coughs and, at last, a spit. The whole production takes at least 30seconds. To make matters worse, the loogie is often followed by the runners' nose-blow (no tissue, blowing directly on the ground). I'll try to get it on video just in case my explanation is lacking. 

I have also found that manners on planes are not quite as refined as I am used to. Well, these could be chalked up to just cultural differences, actually. Regardless, people take flights as a time to get really  into some loud discussions. And these discussions are not limited to those sitting in your row, because all the men seem to think the cool thing to do is stand up in the aisle and congregate around the epicenter of the most lively conversation. I find this rude for 3 reasons: 1) flying is my reading and relaxing time, and I don't need people standing next to me and essentially shouting (yes, that's a selfish reason) 2) going to the bathroom is a hassle for everyone because 7 dudes have to decide to let you through 3) it's not a ton of fun for the flight attendants as they try to serve people. 

Lastly on the plane subject, people go wild when the plane finally reaches the gate. There is a sudden, chaotic, shoving-match-ish rush for the door. Mind you, the door is not open (and won't be for a couple of minutes), but everyone sprints 2 or 3 rows forward in an effort to be off the plane 12 seconds earlier (this happens on buses, as well). Yes, you could argue Americans do the same thing at times, but this situation is slightly different, because you'd be the last person off the plane even if you were in the first row. No one lets anyone into the aisle; there's no orderly procession out. So, you have 2 options, and my tour group is split evenly between the 2: 1) sit and wait for everyone to exit and then saunter off the plane or 2) have a little self-respect and throw an elbow into the aisle, letting people know you've played the game before. I respect both approaches, of course. 

Now that I've offered a little color, I'll go bland again and tell you I'm in Xi'an, which was the capital of China for 1,000yrs. It's now a smaller city at only 7.5mm people (seriously, that's not considered big here; I guess if you have 1.2 billion people, you end up with a couple big cities), but it seems to be a pretty cool place. They've got high-tech industry, a great 'old town' inside the ancient city gates, and the terra cotta warriors (I just got back seeing them: awesome). 

China Travels

As mentioned, I had the pleasure of flying on the largest and greatest commercial airplane in existence, and I can confirm that it was a pleasure.  The plane was shockingly quiet, and Emirates does it right on service.  I mean, even in coach, there are wood accents around the windows and marble counter tops in the bathrooms (not that either of those mattered at all, but it was noted and appreciated).  Plus, each seat has a pretty big TV with over 1,000 movies/tv shows on demand (and you can watch through takeoff and landing), music, and 4 live cameras from the front/back/bottom/top of the plane.  Plus, the staircase between decks is bigger than those in most houses, which I found cool, for some reason.

The plane dispensed me in Hong Kong, and while I was sad to leave Emirates, I quickly warmed to the former British colony (protectorate? conquered land?).  English is everywhere; it pretty much felt like New York.  It was nice to feel understood, and I tip my hat to England for conquering the delightful little island and imparting the wonderful English language on the inhabitants.

Late the next afternoon, we took a train into the Chinese mainland, spent an hour negotiating customs, ate an early dinner at the train station, and then boarded an overnight train to Yangshuo.  One fun tidbit I've learned about myself from this round of traveling (first observed in India) is that I can't sleep on trains even when in a pretty soft bed with clean bedding.  Every time the train slows down or stops, my body wonders what is happening and wakes me up.  It's pretty fun.

We got to Yangshuo at 10am the next morning, ate some breakfast, and headed out on a boat tour of the Li River.  Around Yangshuo and the Li River are these odd, sheer limestone hills jutting out of the earth everywhere (they're memorialized in all the Chinese paintings you've seen, and they're on the 20 Yuan note).  I'd upload a picture or two, but China doesn't seem to like that, so check out http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Yangshuo_County.

We spent a couple of nights in Yangshuo, and I really enjoyed it.  The town is only maybe 50,000 people, and the culture is really relaxed.  It's a cafe city with restaurants and tea/coffee houses spilling out into the streets everywhere.  All the coffee was good, and the food is great.  I think I'm beginning to reverse the India/Nepal weight losses, which is positive.

From Yangshuo, we flew China Southern (surprisingly nice airline) to Chengdu, where I've seen some giant pandas and red pandas, hung out at Wenshu Temple, jogged, walked around Culture Square (has the largest Mao statue in China) and People's Park, eaten some Sichuan hot-pot (painfully, painfully spicy), and found out I got into the Rice MBA program.  I really like Chengdu; it's about half the size of Shanghai, so merely 12 million people, but it's also a pretty relaxed city with lots of tea houses and spots to relax and play majong.

Apologies for the long and rambling post, but China seems to be randomly deciding whether or not to block this blog from their servers.  We're good today, so I'm trying to get as up to date as possible (mainly so I don't forget things).  Other than random site-blocking, China is really great.  It's very, very modern and clean and everyone is very friendly, trying their best to speak English (most people think they know it better than they actually do).

On one hand, it's awesome to be seeing this vibrant, growing country, and on the other hand, I can't help but thinking they are WAY ahead of what I expected, meaning they are WAY closer to taking over the world than I had anticipated.  Their roads are perfect and buildings are nice and people are hard working and power never goes off and 12mm people drive without traffic jams and subways run on time to the second.  Everything seems too good to be true.  Perhaps I'm just in the tourist twilight zone, and everyone is an actor, and all the building are mirages.  Perhaps.

Back to Bangkok and on to Hong Kong

Well, it did rain for 3 days at the beach. It didn't rain all day, and it didn't rain particularly hard, but it did rain. It was pretty amusing to watch people migrate to and from the pool as the weather changed throughout the day. All the work of getting kids in their pool gear and lathered up with sunscreen only to get an hour or two of decent weather. Oh well. I don't have kids.

I will admit to staying at the Hilton in Hua Hin. I will also admit to staying there mainly because of the Conrad Hilton character in Mad Men. He sold me on the whole 'bringing America to the world' bit, and I was curious to see how the chain is accomplishing his goal. All in all, I'd say it was pretty much America except for the Americans. I'm pretty sure there were mainly Northern Europeans in Hua Hin. Plenty of old dudes in speedos, and lots of not-French/Italian/Spanish being spoken. The only reason I'm not positive is because there were also plenty of fat people, and I thought Americans were the fat people in the world. Perhaps Americans are wearing speedos and learning other languages.

Back in Bangkok, I took a picture for my loyal followers.  The view from my hotel.  You're welcome.

At the Bangkok airport, I just paid a little over $10 for Burger King. Not sure how that happened; I'm not proud of it. Now on to Hong Kong with Emirates in the A380.  That probably doesn't mean much to people, but it's the only plane in the world with private suites and showers on board (no, I'm not in one).  It's also the quietest, biggest (up to 600ppl), and most fuel efficient plane on the market.

  

To Bangkok

The best I could coax out of the iphone

At first, I was regretting not getting up early to take the Buddha Air mountain flight (just an hour of buzzing around the Himalayas) with a couple people from the group. I had heard it could get delayed, and I had no intention of missing my flight to Bangkok, where a real hotel with assuredly clean bedding and towels awaited (I got the feeling many Indian and Nepali linens were their version of clean). Luckily, I sat on the window of the left side of the Thai Air flight out of Kathmandu, and was treated to a view of the entire Himalayan range as we headed down to Bangkok. It was stunning. I tried to take some pictures with my iphone, but none of them do the 20min of perfect mountain views justice.

I ate dinner at the hotel, and then I had breakfast at Starbucks. It was delightful. My theory on the low quality of the last few weeks of my diet was confirmed, and my stomach had its first quiet day in some time. Luckily, it's raining in Bangkok, so I don't feel the need to do any sight-seeing. I'm not even going to take any pictures. But I did take a jog in the gym and relax in the hot tub. Tomorrow I head to the beach in Hua Hin, and I really wouldn't mind if it rains a couple days there, too. The whole point of Thailand is to gain back the 5+ pounds I've lost and rest up before 3 weeks in China.

Back to Kathmandu

If you haven't guessed which airline we flew from Chitwan to Kathmandu, you're way behind. Buddha Air, of course. It's actually the only Nepalese airline foreigners begrudgingly trust. Yeti Air is surprisingly not on the list, and neither is (Royal) Nepal Airlines, which has all of four 70's-era jets to its name.

It's a 20min flight to Kathmandu, but, of course, we had to get there two hours early. On top of that, it was SLIGHTLY cloudy, and our guide was pretty convinced there wouldn't be any flights. They didn't fly any yesterday, and we were thinking it's cloudier today. This brings us to the joy of internal Nepal flights: they don't really have air traffic control, and there's not much in the way of radar. So, mist, darkness, and rain all quickly cancel flights. I was personally really hoping for a flight, because it's a 5hr drive (yeah, it takes 5hrs to get 50-60miles as the crow flies when there are mountains). Luckily, we made it out of the forest and back to civilization. (Fun tidbit: the flight was actually on time, which our van driver didn't even consider possible, so he was late picking us up.)

Cremation platforms

Close-up

We headed out from the airport to see the last sight of the trip: the holy place where the Nepalese burn their dead. The whole area is full of stupas and temples and holy men, but the main point is the platforms built next to the river where bodies are burned. Anyone can use them, and bodies are burned non-stop. I found it unsettling to see mourning families watching a loved one burn. Many tourists seemed to treat it like any other famous sight, but it was all I could do to snap a couple pictures (just to satisfy you blog-readers, of course) before retreating. I didn't really think I'd like random people from Nepal crashing my funeral, so I tried to stay out sight. That being said, they really didn't seem to mind.

Chitwan 2

Bath with elephant

Day 2 in Chitwan may have actually beat day 1.  I skipped the 6am elephant ride.  I know, I know; how many more elephant safaris will I have the opportunity to go on?  Well, I'm a bit spoiled by a week of safaris in the Serengeti, and 2 hours on a lumbering elephant with a wooden bar between your legs may sound comfortable, but I assure you it is not.  Don't worry, I traipsed through the forest on a 1.5 hour nature walk at 830.  The 8ft tall termite hill worried me a little and convinced me not to buy any Chitwan real estate.

River? No problem

Next came the elephant info session and the opportunity to bathe with the elephants.  Fun facts for the kids at home: Asian elephants have a hump-back while African elephants have a straight back.  Asian elephants' trunks have one finger-type thing at the end while African elephants have 2, and (supposedly), Asian elephants' ears are the shape of India while African ones are the shape of Africa.  

The bathing was the best.  People basically volunteered to get sprayed with a fire-hose of river water.  Most of you should have guessed by now that I didn't think that was the best idea, but I was more that happy to watch and take pictures.  In fact, if no one had volunteered, it wouldn't have been any fun, so I thank the brave souls.

We ended the day with a Rover ride through the park.  It probably wasn't that fun for most people, but there's something really cool about conquering forests and rivers with a 1970's British truck.

Chitwan National Park

Getting on the elephants

Five hours of bad Nepalese roads (that's admittedly redundant) in the van and then a 40min Land Rover ride across trails, rivers, and streams, and we're in Chitwan National Park ready to head out on an elephant safari.  The coolest stuff to see in Chitwan is the Royal Bengal Tiger (well, the Bengal Tiger, but more on that later), the sloth bear, rhinos, crocodiles, and rare birds (booooring).  Our group saw everything but the coolest two, so that obviously means no tigers or sloth bears. We also tacked on some surprisingly ugly deer species, wild boars, and the kingfisher bird.

Self-Portrait

I am personally fascinated by the kingfisher because it is a bird, the most popular beer in India (get Kingfisher Blue - aka premium; the regular is a bit rough after a lifetime of premium American beers like Miller Light), and an airline.  I'm not sure about the history of these connections, but I'm thinking that the whole scenario is leftover from when birds used to rule the world.

I'll circle back to explain why there is no longer a ROYAL Bengal Tiger.  In 2008, the Kingdom of Nepal became the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal.  In other words, the monarchy was abolished.  The then-king now lives in a normal 2-story house in the suburbs (probably smart keeping a low profile).  Well, the Nepalese decided that since the the government was no longer royal, nothing could be royal...  Royal Chitwan National Park = Chitwan National Park.  Royal Nepal Airlines = Nepal Airlines.  Royal Bengal Tiger = Bengal Tiger.  Clearly, there are many more examples of this.  I find it all mildly amusing.

Pokhara

Going against everything I believe in, I woke up at 5am today to take a drive to the highest point in Pokhara to watch the sun rise over the Himalayas. As luck would have it, the cloud gods are back in full force, and we couldn't even see one peak. The cloud cover was so thick, it even took me a while to notice that the sun was on the horizon. Based on the pictures all the locales were hawking, the view is pretty amazing when the sky is clear. You can see 10 or so major Himalayan peaks. Moral of the story is that nothing good has ever come from waking up at 5am.

We are supposed to hike to the World Peace Pagoda in a bit, but I'm not feeling the need to get dusty and dirty for a second time today. Plus, I've already run, which automatically makes it a productive day no matter what else you do. True story.

Heading to Pokhara

Tibetan (refugee) monastery

We left Begnas after lunch and headed towards the Tibetan refugee camp. We stopped by a small Tibetan monastery and then a traditional rug weaving factory. The monastery was cool to see mainly because I watched Seven Years in Tibet before I left, and all the monks were wearing the same garb as the monks in the film. I know that's a bit shallow, but I find it hard to really get into golden statues and prayer wheels. As for the monk thing, that didn't look fun at all. It's the destiny of the middle son to become a monk, and many join when they are 5 or 6 yrs old. While I haven't spent too much time in jail, I'm going to comfortably rate the accommodations as prison-level.

Turning wool into yarn

I was impressed by the Tibetan rug weaving. Three women outside were doing some wild handiwork turning wool into yarn (or string or whatever), and inside, women were putting the yarn to work. The rugs were nice, I suppose, but the impressive part was that the whole operation was handled in one building, and I'd put one of the women up against a machine any day. Their hands never stopped.

After the Tibetan-themed stop, we arrived in Pokhara at a pretty decent lakeside resort. I'd say it's about a 3-star hotel now. But, back in the day, it was clearly 5-stars; plenty of 60's and 70's celebs and royalty visited. I'm finding the 'used to be 5-star' to be somewhat of a pattern in India and Nepal. It's like the British built themselves a bunch of super-preppy destinations, but then they went into decline along with the empire. Regardless, I ventured out for a run, and I'm about to grab some dinner in town.

Begnas

View from hotel
(should be able to see Himalayas above the hills)

The next stop after Bandipur was Begnas. The main/only attraction is the Begnas Lake Resort. It is on a protected lake; no motor boats are allowed, so guests have to take a 30min row boat ride to the hotel. I'm guessing the row boat bit influenced the construction just a tad, since it took 3.5yrs to build just 30 rooms. We took an afternoon hike and then everyone partook in the 2-for-1 afternoon happy hour.

Up until Begnas, every day had very misty/cloudy, but waking up in Begnas, the Himalayas peaked out of the clouds. They are awe-inspiring even when still pretty covered with mist. I'd say beautiful, but I think a better term would be one that somehow fully encompasses both frightening and amazing.

Bandipur

Bridge to the school

Looking over Bandipur

Leaving Kathmandu, we headed towards the mountain town of Bandipur. We stopped about half-way and hiked over the river to a school, where we donated supplies and chatted a little with the kids. (well, some people chatted with the kids) Then we had lunch on the riverbank.

Bandipur is a really old-school town with no vehicles. It's a quiet, relaxing place. All the hotels are just converted homes, which means all the doorways are about 5' 5” high. (The Nepalese are quite small; our guide towers over people, and he's 5' 9”) The height issue came into play as I banged my head on absolutely every doorway for 24hrs.  

In and around Kathmandu

Great Stupa

Our first stop of the morning was the Great Stupa of Tibetan Buddhism, which is just outside Kathmandu in Bodnath. It is a collection of temples and shrines built high above the valley. They're serious about religion here; most people hit up a temple before breakfast. Also, the workweek is 6 days long, but this is offset by the huge number of religious festivals/holidays that are celebrated.

Durbar Square

Heading back into Kathmandu, we explored Durbar Square, which is where the old palaces and temples are. The pagoda architecture of the temples is really cool. The woodwork of the temples and palaces looks pretty good even though it's 400 years old. At the palace, I was lucky enough to see the living goddess. The goddess is a 6yr old girl chosen based upon lineage and 32 different physical traits, and she lives in the palace until she reaches puberty. Yes, it does sound a little weird and creepy, and it was made even worse by the heavy makeup she was wearing. (No pics allowed. Sad.)

Bhaktapur Temple

Next, we drove out to the feudal city of Bhaktapur. The palaces and temples there are similar to Kathmandu's Durbar square, but the setting in the smaller town with hardly any vehicles made it a little bit more intriguing. We had a traditional lunch of lentil bread and vegetable curry and then yogurt for dessert. My body is craving some regular fruits and vegetables. Everything in India and Nepal is caked in oil and sauces. You get the feeling they're trying to hide the poor quality of the food.  

Back to Delhi, on to Kathmandu

We caught a flight from Varanasi back to Delhi. I can unequivocally state that the nicest part of Varanasi is the airport. Once in Delhi, we had a farewell dinner, and I left at 4am for my 730am flight to Kathmandu.

One is absolutely correct to question the need to arrive 3hrs early for a 1.5hr flight leaving at 730am. In fact, I took the opportunity to seriously test the tour guide's reasoning, but he was insistent and correct. There was hardly a soul in the airport, yet it still took 2 hours to get through security, and boarding for international flights closes 45min before takeoff. I barely made it. Delhi has a brand-new, luxurious airport, but it is almost entirely offset by the way the place is run.

The Kathmandu airport has one terminal and 2 baggage claims. It was a welcome change from the size and crowds of India. I took a little nap in the hotel (which is the old royal palace) before heading out to walk around the city.

On my walk, I stumbled upon the Garden of Dreams and had my first real cup of coffee in 10 days. Things are looking up. I also had a great meal and was able to use the internet. The little things make a difference.

After a tasty dinner, I had a second Everest beer (660ml) at the hotel and passed out at 8pm or so. Early morning tomorrow to catch all Kathmandu's sights.

Varanasi

We arrived in Varanasi after a 12hr overnight train ride. I didn't sleep much; every time the train stopped, I woke up. I was a little worried this would cut into my precious sight-seeing, but it turns out that really the only thing to see is the pilgrims bathing themselves in the toxic waste dump that is the Ganges River. It is believed that a bath in the Ganges will cleanse your sins and that if one dies in Varanasi, the cycle of reincarnation is finished and enlightenment is attained.

As a result of all the religious background, you can't buy beer. Also, Varanasi has become a haven for the those hippie/spiritual westerners attempting to 'find' themselves. I found myself sneering at every white male wearing traditional Indian clothes, hanging out by the river. There's a very specific word phrase that kept popping in my head when I ran into my western brethren. I wouldn't dare publish the phrase in a public blog, but it rhymes with 'bouche dag.'

That being said, the sunrise boat ride was admittedly quite nice. And seeing the crematorium, which operates 24hrs a day, was interesting. Literally forests of wood were stacked around the building, just waiting to engulf human remains in flames.

After the sunrise boat ride, I was out for the count. The combination of a sinus infection and a stomach pretty tired of super-spicy food did me in, and I slept for 20hrs. Interesting facts: 25% of foreigners end up with a sinus infection in India (that's how bad the pollution is), and Varanasi is the place where most foreigners fall ill (it is a dirty, dirty place).

Crematorium

Khajuraho

Simon and I at the main Temple

After a 4 hour drive, we arrived in Khajuraho, which is home to the famous Kama Sutra temples. The main temple is a UNESCO world heritage site. The architecture is unlike anything I've ever seen, but the carvings of orgies and sex positions cheapen the experience a little (I think). It's tough to regard a building as sacred and holy when there are carvings of women with D cups contorting into impossible sexual positions. Not to mention the carving of the soldiers having sex with a horse and masturbating.

Soldiers, animals, and themselves

There's not much else going for Khajuraho. It is pretty small and dirty. Definitely just a day stop, which is exactly how we handled it. At 11pm, we hopped on an overnight train to Varanasi.

(As a side note, I'm not really sure why I chose to visit Northern India. The entire area basically reminds me of a Mexican border town. Of course, there have been beautiful sites and interesting experiences, but it's definitely not a stop for someone looking for a relaxing couple weeks. The intense overcrowding and absurd overuse of horns is tough to get past.)

Indian joggers and Orchha

Orchha is a quaint city of 10,000 people surrounded by hills and centuries-old ruins. Before setting out to explore the palaces and temples, I took a jog. I also ran around the streets of Jaipur, and it's a fun experience for a couple of reasons. First of all, I usually tune the world out while running, assuming my mind will subconsciously guide me away from danger. Well, subconscious guiding is not enough on an Indian road. There are no sidewalks, and – as discussed – the streets are chaos. Every time I found myself even thinking about thinking about something other than running, I found myself about ½ a second from being run over. That added a fun little layer to running. The second fun layer is that I'm guessing the people of India have never seen a jogger before. As a result, each run was essentially 30-40min of people pointing, laughing, whistling, and yelling. The whole experience was vaguely menacing (is there such thing as a hate crime against runners?), so I ended up posting some pretty impressive mile times.

Orchha Palace Complex     Me, my man-purse, and Orchha

The palaces and temples of Orchha have not been kept up well, but I thought it was more than made up for by the fact that you can climb around and explore anywhere you want. After touring and climbing, we drank beer and watched the sunset from the riverbank while looking back towards the ruins. The experience was only slightly marred by the fact that I was drinking a Vasco (de Gamma? Who knows, I've never heard of it) beer, which turned out to be about a year past expiration. Oh well. I guess we were too thirsty to notice.

Sunset over Orchha Palaces  

I should probably attempt to tell you all the legends and facts surrounding the area and the amazing buildings, but after about 3 sentences on reincarnation and Vishnu, I tuned out and shortly left the group to see what I could find. While I didn't discover the fountain of youth or even the key to happiness, I can confidently say I do not regret missing out on the history and religion lesson. If anyone really wants to know, I suggest you Google/Wikipedia: Jehangir Mahal, Raja Mahal, and Lakshami Temple. For those of you hoping I'll toss out a nugget of truth, 'mahal' means palace. Now go out and impress your friends and coworkers.

Agra (Taj Mahal)

(I can't get pics to upload, so links will have to suffice)

A five hour bus-ride gets you from Jaipur to Agra; it's a nice ride through rolling farmland. There were little huts every half-mile selling basically the same rubbish over and over again. The one exact item they all offered was dried cow patties. Some stores had multiple stacks five feet high of the stuff. It kindof seemed like the currency of the countryside. I imagine chicken cooked over an open shit flame is delicious.

Taj Mahal from the Red Fort

Once in Agra, it doesn't take long to realize that there's not much going for it other than the Red Fort and the Taj Mahal. The Red Fort was fine; it is where the British first received permission for their East India Company to trade in India. The forts in Jaipur were more impressive except for the fact that the Red Fort has views of the Taj Mahal. Unfortunately, it hasn't been kept up too well, and the army still uses about 2/3's of it.

One of Three Identical Taj Entrances    Taj Mahal    Taj Mahal 2

There's not much to say about the Taj Mahal. Even the entrance gates are amazing. We went on a Sunday, and it was a madhouse of tourists and locals, but it couldn't detract from the Taj. There was a huge line of people to get inside, and being my impatient self, I was ready to call it quits. Luckily, there's a blond girl in the tour group, and when the guards saw her, they waived us all to the front of the line. While I'm glad I got to go inside, it's mainly just so I can say for certain that the inside is definitely not the impressive part.

Right now I am on an express train to Orchha. A quiet train ride through the countryside should be required after ever day or so in an Indian city.

Musings

I am feeling a little guilty about the extreme contrast I drew between Delhi and Jaipur. In an effort to assuage my conscience, I'd like to point out the similarities between the two cities (and I'm guessing most Indian cities).

Trash: Had I not been explicitly aware of the fact that both cities were real, long-standing destinations, I would have concluded that both were shanty towns built over landfills. While varying in degree by street and district, there is trash everywhere. And I don't mean that there is the occasional water bottle or napkin. I mean that there are piles of trash in corners, in the streets, in gutters , etc. Trash cans are rare, but that's not the issue, because they don't get used anyway. In an effort to fit in with the locals, I've stopped bothering to look for trash cans. (As a sidenote, I think the easiest way for India to up its stature enormously would be to tackle the trash problem.)

Urination/Defecation: In both Delhi and Jaipur, there was not a riskshaw ride that went by without seeing people openly relieving themselves in the street. Sometimes the person would at least turn away from traffic, but I would not say that was the norm. And we're not talking just peeing here.

Cars/Traffic: While the traffic in Jaipur was slightly better just because of the smaller population, it was still a madhouse. I dare anyone to rent a car in India. I dare you. Even if you survive, you'll have nightmares of horn choruses the rest of your life.

So, that's the grim truth of similarities, but there's another side: Both cities had fantastic places for well-off foreigners to escape the din. In theory, you could almost entirely avoid India while being in India. Stay at overpriced hotels and don't look out the bus window on the way to your sightseeing destination.

Jaipur

Rambagh Palace Hotel

Yesterday started with a 6am train ride to Jaipur. Of course, this is way too early, but the train was nice and the scenery of fields and ranches was a much-needed change from Delhi's stressful atmosphere.

Apparently, if you go to Jaipur, you're supposed to see a Bollywood film in some world-famous art deco theater. The tour guide spent about 20min trying to convince me I needed to go see a 3hr movie in a foreign language with no subtitles, but I wasn't taking the bait. Instead, I headed off to the Polo Bar and Steam Bar at Rambagh Palace Hotel. (The bar visit came after a late lunch of chicken curry, rice, bread, and some coffee; it was delicious
                                                                                       and and wiped an entire $1.00 off my net
                                                                                       worth.)

Amber Fort

 The Rambagh Palace is the place to stay in Jaipur. It is the old palace of the royalty, and with rates starting at $600/night, you're guaranteed a rif-raf free experience. The Polo Bar is a great old-school bar with deep wood and great leather chairs (and delicious gin cocktails). But the Steam bar took the cake; most of the drinking takes place in refinished luxury rail cars. With 45 acres of land surrounding the spot, the CONSTANT horns were a distant memory.

Now, I don't want my loyal readers to get the idea that I loved Jaipur because there's a hotel that made 

Lake Palace

 me feel like an English duke. At 1mm people, it is 95% smaller than Delhi, and roughly 95% better. Plus, the Amber Fort, City Palace, Lake Palace, and Observatory were great places to visit. Finishing up the day with a cocktail at Jaigarh Fort while watching the sunset over Jaipur was also great.

Tomorrow comes the Taj Mahal.

Observatory - largest sundial in the world

View from Jaigarh Fort bar

Delhi

 I arrived in Delhi at 6am on March 3^rd. The airport is somehow new and clean, and I immediately jumped to the conclusion that the warnings I had received about the squalor and over-population were unfounded. Turns out my conclusion was wrong.

Delhi, while vibrant and interesting, is not exactly a beautiful vacation spot. There is trash everywhere. The smells – good and bad – are pungent. There are too many people everywhere you look. It actually reminds of Mexico: tons of buildings and stalls that you have to assume were new at some point, but you can't quite imagine when. Once a light rain set in, the streets turned into mud pits, and the city began to look even more unlivable. Surviving and entire rainy season would be out of the question.

The worst of the over-crowding is the metro system. It was packed the entire day. If you couldn't manage to maneuver away from the doors, the crowds just sweep you out with them. Women have separate cars because it is impossible to tell accidental from intentional groping. The roads are just as crowded. With buses, cars, taxies, scooters, rickshaws, and people fighting for space, no one ends up going more than 15mph, and no cars are more than 2” apart when driving. I'm sorry if I ever complained about Houston traffic.

It should somehow be illegal for 20mm+ people to live in the same city.

Test/Intro

Don't drink the banana beer in Tanzania (the picture is a huge vat of boiling bananas, which are reduced to a paste and turned into alcohol somehow).  Or the banana wine.  Or banana juice.  Actually, if you don't like bananas, don't go to Tanzania; every major food in the country is a derivative of bananas or plantains.  They grow everywhere, and so that's what people eat.

Bananas are not high on my list of food choices, so I will not be returning to Tanzania in this trek.  That being said, I will be traveling to India, Nepal, Thailand, Hong Kong, China, Lebanon, Turkey, Austria, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Serbia, Bosnia, Croatia, Albania, Montenegro, and Greece.  I'll be alone for the first 2 months and then meet up with Katie and Tori for the Eastern Europe leg of the trip.

When I get back, I'm hoping to get my MBA at Rice or UT, but that's clearly dependent on an acceptance letter, which is not yet in hand.  If that doesn't work out, more risk management/trading is likely in the future.(I love you, Glencore, Vitol, and Trafigura; save a spot for me.)

And yes, I know the Tanzania bit was random, but I wanted to try the picture posting.  So deal with it.