On the subcontinent

Out of India

We survived Delhi, barely... : 19 August 2004

There's a song about going to Kathmandu, and now that we're here, we can see why. It's really cool! Sense of Scale We spent our last day there with a full day trip to The Taj Mahal and other various tombs. The three and a half hour drive out of Delhi was absolutely crazy... It made the worst parts of China look like paradise. We have never seen this many people or traffic in our lives. Every move was a near catastrophe. Whether that be the people, the Cyclos, the cows that love to lounge in the middle of the street with not a care in the world or the spastic monkeys that come flying out of nowhere. Rolling down the window was a health hazard anywhere from, lung damage, ear damage, nasal damage or heat damage. We could literally chew the air… gross. Once out of the car, every step we took was strategically taken as to not stand in the rancid shit and garbage all over the ground. This was somewhat difficult while being chased by beggars from every angle. As negative as this may come across, all in all, it was a great day. The Taj Mahal is an amazing piece of architecture. When actually standing in front of it, we were overwhelmed by the beauty and grandeur of so much marble and semi precious stones. Apparently it took 22 years to build and cost 40 million Rupees. Shah Jahan (who basically thought he was God) really must have loved his second wife (out of six) who died after giving birth to their 14th child. Robin has promised to build me an equally beautiful tomb, just as soon as I have our fourteenth child. From Taj Mahal we went to Agra Fort and Akbar’s Mausoleum: Sikandra. Akbar was the fourth Moghul Emperor. Of course between the Taj Mahal and the other sites we had to first stop at the Marble factory. It’s amazing, no matter where you are in the world, if you take a tour you are guaranteed to be taken to some factory to be manipulated into buying something. Carry that load That’s just what we needed to travel with, a huge junk of marble. With another fascinating drive back into Delhi, we arrived at our hotel around 9pm. Robin was a wreck at this point with a nauseating headache. I think he had sunstroke. The next morning, bright and early, we flew out to Kathmandu. We love it here. The people are so incredibly friendly. We are staying in central Kathmandu in a district called Thamel. Our Guesthouse is nice and cheap and in the center of it all. The last few days have been spent walking for hours each day in and around the outskirts of the town. The weather is so much cooler, relatively speaking. It is about 85-90 degrees and I am cold. Go figure. We are only here for a short while so we figured we would get a short (3-4 day) Trek in. At least to get into the Himalayan mountain range. Unfortunately, this did not pan out, too much money for our budget as of now. However, we thought it would be a great opportunity to get a group together for next year to do a real Trek (30 days) to Base camp, or for those real enthusiasts The Summit!? Anyone interested in joining us? Chris? Patrick? Teresa? Wes? Moms? Dads? Anyone? Something to think about. Anyway for the time being I joined a local Yoga class for a week. Local is right. I am the only tourist there and have already made a few friends. The yoga itself is a bit funny. It’s Yoga Reiki, sort of more on the meditation side. Nighttime in Kathmandu It’s a great experience for me, I have to get up at 5:30am to walk through the completely empty, peaceful wet streets to meet with the group at 5:45 for meditational prayer… by the time we leave, I too will have found my third eye. God knows, they keep telling me to look through it. It’s very relaxing, but I’m not sure if that is because of the Yoga/meditation or because I am still practically asleep. In any case it’s a great way to start the day. Today we are off to the Royal Palace. This is the place of the inexplicable royal massacre of June 1, 2001. Crown Prince Dipendra killed his entire immediate family including the King and Queen and five other relatives before killing himself. Most Nepalis now avert their eyes when walking pat the Palace or avoid the place all together. From there we are going to The Monkey Temple. We’ve seen enough actual Temples….bring on the monkeys. We have met a really nice couple from New Zealand who have been traveling off and on for nearly five years. It’s fun to share stories of the places we’ve all been and to get advise on the places we are yet to go. We are going to dinner and a traditional dance show with them tomorrow night. Should be fun. We will probably, unfortunately, have to leave Kathmandu by next week. We have to make sure we allow ourselves a day or so of complete nothingness before tackling India again.

Replies: 5 comments

Hey, I caught up with you. Good to know all is well in India. you can ignore the email I sent asking about you. I guess i had the wrong spelling on the URL. Love, DAvid Posted by David @ 08/19/2004 08:07 PM PST

Hey! Thank you so much for the funny monkeys! We love them and have tried to make them feel at home here in our new apartment. I'm still in awe of all you have accomplished. Only 2 weeks until Gary & Aimee's wedding-- I will send you pics. lots of good will, katherine & critter Posted by Katherine @ 08/19/2004 09:48 PM PST

Long time no seeing you,We went to the city of Shenzhen for a meeting,and we came back yesterday.Kathy and I miss you very much.Now we live in the city of Xian with long history.It is very good.Kathy' sister-in-law will come to see us today.we will go to see the Dayan Ta.We will have a good time.I am sure. Kathmandu is a very very buterful,misterious capital of Nepal,a country which is near by China.When I was a child , I had a dream of looking around the city. you know .Come back my friends .We are sitting in front of our house for waiting for you.Haha! Posted by Tony @ 08/21/2004 08:30 PM PST

hey guys Sounds like your still mad for it !!I have been in england for a month doing some work,going back tommrow ,been away from tara muksuda so im looking forward seeing them.So what about you guys are you still intrested in our plan for next year,or is andrea moving towards motherhood.Keep me posted as we are planing our trip to england next summer ,take it easy matt,tara&muksuda Posted by matt,tara & muksuda @ 08/28/2004 01:21 PM PST

Hey campers! what's crackin? I'm here at work (late) not getting anything done, so I thought I'd check in on you. Are you going to Kashmir? Bangladesh? Calcutta? Sri Lanka? All places I want to go... wish we could blink twice and be over there with you. Tesa and I were talking about Bali in Jan. (any possibilities?) I know you have a game plan to try to stick to, so where do you think you'll be in late Jan.???? Maybe we could get over to where you are. I might be in the Philippines in Oct. and maybe China (for biz) instead of Christmas time. "Come over to P.I., G.I. you buy me drink, I love you long time" Aloha....Wes, and Tess Posted by Wes and Teresa @ 09/01/2004 01:23 AM PST