Lost in experience

Everyone recognize a Camel? The other shots are the old Fort behind the city. No one is conquering that place. It looks like it was carved directly out of the earth, from the top of the mountain down. The other photo is the clock tower near the city center, about a two minute walk from our room.

I had planned to write more, I always do but there is just so much happening at all times. There is the tangible. Like the constant motion of bodies and machines. Also the perceptions of my new surroundings. I'm lost. Every moment is a new beat, a new stimulus. It's all action with little chance of reflection. I can't even journal fast enough. Every new sight gets drowned out by the next. Beauty after sorrow after Oh Shit, I almost got run over by a Water Buffalo or whatever I might not be dodging fast enough for that one moment. No wonder it's so hard to find alcohol here. It's too dangerous to not be tip-top.

Tomorrow we catch our train to Bikaner. The plan thus far is to hang in Rajasthan, which is sooo hot right now. Then we regretfully return to Delhi for as little time as possible in order to catch a train North to the state of Himachal Pradesh to lay low in the Himalayas for a couple of weeks. I can't wait for some lush, cool environment. Gonna make me homesick for the Northwest

Days of Pushkar

So this is just a taste of Pushkar. The first photo is the sunrise from the vantage point of our balcony. The next one is a Unicorn and the third is a one of the Ghats that surround the lake. Shortly after I snapped this picture we crossed over a bridge and were signaled over by some Babas under a Bodhi tree for a sit. The days blend together but saw for the first time snake charmers and an ALL DAY festival for the full moon. The celebrations adn parades wind their way through the streets causing chaos and excitement. everyone is involved in the action. The parades and music run deep into the night and this is a way of life. In the states we'd have traffic cops, guard rails, security for the floats and you know abotu a thousand phone calls to the police thrity seconds after dark because of the ruckus. These people have more of a communtiy than any I've ever seen.

Still in the Deserts of Rajasthan

Well now we're in Jodphur, Rajasthan. We held out in Pushkar for three days and got completely spoiled by the lack of noise and air pollution. The city is very tiny compared to all of the others that we've been to and doesn't allow autorickshaws which cuts down on the filth factor considerably. we also splurged on a 450 Rupee room (US $11.25) which sat high up on the top of the hotel with numerous windows and a balcony overlooking the lake and most of the city. The sunsets from this room were amazing. We did have a bit of a schedule to keep and we felt like we had seen all of the city. So our next destination we decided on was to be Bikaner which is home to a rat temple. Since the trip from Pushkar to Bikaner is roughly 10 hours by bus we thought that we'd do it in two trips, having a two day layover in Jodphur.

As for our illness, I'm feeling a lot better. Almost 100%. After I just couldn't kick the shits I fell back on antibiotics and stopped taking my Malaria Meds. I wish that I had a picture of the pharmacy we went to and the guy running it. It was small, like the size of a living room in a double-wide trailer and with the same feel to it. The "Doctor" resembled a human slug that couldn't control it's teeth. All I could think of when staring at this guy was the Ruler in DUNE that floated around and and drank pus all day. And every time we brought up an ailment (Diarrhea, Back Pain, Nausea) the "Doc" had the proper (maybe ?) med within arms reach on his desk somewhere in a pile of cellophane pharmaceuticals that were scattered about. Sometimes you just gotta have faith (and Google).

A Strong Contender for "Worst Night of My Life"

So Melissa and I came down with the expected case of Diarrhea. But it was accompanied by the violent regurgitation of anything lining my intestines, chills, sweats, and vicious muscle spasms. Mels came on 16 hours before mine and I couldn't have guessed that it was going to be such a hellish experience. I became completely dehydrated without the capability of holding water and it took all the life out of me. We holed up in our room for two days and then decided to make way to Pushkar by taxi. There was no way that I was going to risk a four to five hour bus ride with no toilets so we paid Fifty American for the cab. This was about five days ago now and I'm still having issues.

Other than that Pushkar has been beautiful. There is a lake in the center of town which is surrounded by Ghats that head down to the water. The people, for the most part, are less pushy than in the other cities. Except for some Gypsies that started calling me a "Poosay" when I wasn't falling for their pleas for money. The food is good and we found a hotel with a pool yesterday where we took some time to cool off.

I'm not really feeling this "blog" thing right now. Partly because there is so much to write about and partly due to Mel waiting for me to go get something to eat. I'll be back

And check Mels blog out 'cause she has all the dope photos

Now this was a great day. We headed into the bazaar for a little window shopping and then caught a bus to Amber (pronounced Amer) which was a Palace/ Fort high up on the hill. It houses the worlds largest canon on wheels and many different Muslim and Hindu temples. We met some of the most kind and friendly poeple yet there. Almost like super-fans of the West. So much hand shaking and hand waving and picture taking. We were total rock-stars. The Muslims we passed were not as freindly. Almost no smiles coming from those grills. At the top there were again many monkeys. Not as many as at the Hanuman Temple and also a different kind. Very friendly. Their soft hands would gently take some naan from mine. Although when I tried to play hard to get with the food some fangs came out. I learned my place very quickly.

This is India

This is a view from atop the Wahal Mahal

Jaipur, Rajasthan

On our first day in Jaipur we toured the city by auto-rickshaw. I can't really convey how chaotic and unnerving the city streets are. There are bikes, and rickshaws, and motorcycles, scooters, pedestrians, cows, camels, and dogs all going back and forth. There are sometimes street lights and traffic guards but it seems that they are only cautionary devices. It's confusing even to describe so I'm going to learn to post video so you can get a taste.

We headed through the remnants of the old Pink City and made our way to the Sun God Temple which you can see above the Pink Gate on the picture. The driver stopped at the bottom and we trekked up to the top which is also the monkey temple and a shrine to Hanuman, the monkey god.
Holy Monkeys! They were everywhere. You can see in the picture at least thirty and there were more behind us, above us in the trees and scattered about the mountain. I felt like I was home.

The middle picture is just the view from the temple. The city sprawls forth and fades away. This is India. Never ending company.

A Shitty Day

We left our windowless, A.C.less room about an hour too early this morning to make it to the train station on time. It was just before five in the morning and already the horns were Honking and the rickshaws were out in full force. We caught a ride for about thirty cents a piece, which I'm told might have been too much, passing the sleeping homeless and early rising merchants. By the time we hit the station ten minutes later the city seemed wide awake. Somewhat. The station is open-air and could easily be described as Post-Apocalyptic. Broken tile floors with sleeping bodies (or I hope they were sleeping) littered about and in every other available surface the people were already moving back and forth. This was just after five. We made our way to the platform with an hour to spare. Nothing to do but either confront or ignore the thousands of stares coming from all sides. I had my eye on one drowsy looking stick of a man with his back to me when I noticed that he was actually peeing on the platform. And then he stood there. And the people were still staring at us. Then a few minutes later the stick man took hold of his pant leg and began to shake until pieces of shit fell out near his ankle. And he remained standing there. And the people were still staring at us. At us! He took a few more minutes, slipped out a few more lumps, got some on his feet, and then walked three feet to a pillar and scraped the shit from between his toes. I was too entranced to notice anyone staring at me. Later someone slipped in it.

As the train rolled along we passed the type of slums that I've only seen in National Geographic or Time. Such a sad display of existence that I couldn't attach an emotion to it. I just watched with me eyes stuck. And then we started to pass "The Poopy Fields". Andrew had forewarned us and it was everything I had expected. Men pooping everywhere. Some hidden in the grass, others squatting directly on the tracks. It seemed ludicrous, like I was in a perverse Dr. Seuss book. They stared in our windows as we passed with their pants down and.... You know what, I'm just gonna stop there. It did seem to take the edge of the rest of the sights. What I mean is that multiple men pooping outdoors in "The Poopy Fields" is so very funny.

My Compatriots

So I'm traveling with two very close friends. One being Andrew who is a friend from Olympia and the Other being Melissa whom I've known for over a decade. They both have blogs which I would now like to direct anyone to.

Andrews is http://andrew-tarter.livejournal.com/
Melissas is http://blogsfromanon-blogger.blogspot.com

Melissa is also a professional photographer with her own business back in Florida (which is one of the reasons I allowed her to tag along:). She is an amazing photographer and I would encourage anyone with a little spare time to chech her website at
http://www.melissamariephotography.net/
Since our talents lie in different arenas I will, from now on, refer to here as

My Photographer

as she will she will also refer to me as

Her Journalist

. It just sound good.

I'm Here

Well it took around 24 hrs. to get here but it but it was smooth. Andrew met us at the airport with a cab waiting. Thirty minutes of the most terrifying traffic later we made it to the New Delhi Bazaar where we had a room waiting for us. We took a quick minute to unload our gear and we hit the streets.

I can't really say how I feel about this place yet. It's an almost constant sense overload filled with noises, smells, and obstacles. It's everything I was informed that it would be and still unbelievable. Stray dogs, Roaming cows, Litter, filth, Bikes, Rickshaws, cabs, Horns, incessant movement everywhere. All of my attention is devoted to navigating the narrow streets and remaining with my companions. Last night I was nudged/ hit, by an auto-rickshaw and it just seemed like part of the game. Everyone is making there way somewhere and I'm asking myself, "Where"? Nobody stops but to pause and let another move forward and then it's on again.

We got an early start this morning and took in breakfast at a roof top restaurant above an Israeli Guest House. It was still fairly quiet and we could look out upon the city and see the still sleeping citizens on top of other buildings. As the time drew on the sounds became more frequent, the car horns more constant. After breakfast we made our way to the train station to purchase three tickets to Rajastahn for tomorrow morning. We catch the train at 6am and will end up at our destination 5 hrs. later.

I don't feel like I'm in a place mentally, to take photos yet but be sure they will come.

Peath Out

It's 9a.m. and wer'e about to leave for Orlando to catch our flight. 2 hrs. to Jersey, 4 hr. layover, and then 16 hours to Delhi. I'm still not filled with excitement. I've either got a sense of peace and Presence that i've never known before or I'm scared out of my fucking mind and refuse to face it. Either way it's good a place to be.

Hustlin' Time

I'm now just four days away from my departure to India. I've been in Florida since July 12th and it strikes me that only seven months ago I stated that, "this will be the last time i come to Florida". Hmmm.... well it wasn't a desire to return to this angry, cracker-ridden state that has me here now but instead a cherished friendship with my traveling partner Melissa. I originally had intended to meet her in Delhi but she had a few reservations about arriving in India alone. Considering India's oppressive treatment of women and reading about the scallywags and rat-scallions roaming the major cities in that country I can't really fault her for any apprehensions about being alone. But I need to make pefectly clear that I in no way wanted to visit this doomed and morally rotten appendage of the States.

But here I am and it's not so bad. I've got books and coffee and a pool. A few treasured friends and sunshine. i recieved a suprise email from an old friend that i hadn't heard from in over a decade and we're actually meeting up later today. He's also still connected to the other guys in our crew so it should turn out to be an awesome reunion.

As an update to my travels, i reconnected with a friend at the Crisis Clinic a few weeks ago and found out that she is going to take an extended vacation in Vietnam. What this means is that once my commrades in India return to the states I'll be free to make my way over to 'Nam, "The Shit", and meet up with Grace for some new travels. Man, the evolution of this adventure just keeps unfolding to include new people and places. It all started with a bike trip down the coast and I wound up staying in San Felipe, Mexico, spending three weeks in Arizona with my family, melting in Florida for a week too long, India, Vietnam, and who knows what else is to come. All of this because I let go of the life I knew for something I didn't. The fear that I felt before leaving has opened me up for experiences that I can only fully understand the meaning of in quiet retrospect. But I'm sure of gleaning immense benfits from these travels even before their had. Fuck Yeah.

Show Low, Arizona

It's July 11th and I've been spending the last three weeks in Show Low, Az. with the family.

After reaching the border and spending a few hours in Tijuana, Nevada and I drove back to San Diego and the following day drove down to San Felipe, B.C. to spend some time on the beach. Her father and his wife also live down there so we had a place to crash. It's a small, no-where town that is on the verge of coming up- American Style. Big half built housing developments for tourists and snow birds line the road miles before the town center. It seemed like the first pieces of property to go up were the overprotective concrete and iron barriers guarding the green grass patches and completely out of place water fountains. Almost no homes were in sight, only the billboards foretelling the future.

On our way back into the states Nevada's car began to overheat in the line to cross over to California. We scrounged up a few dollars, a bit of change, 2 lighters, and an apple to give to the men gathering water for the radiator. We barely made it to an auto parts store and I have to think that we had little chance of making it another mile without destroying the engine.

I met up with my Dad and his partner Nancy following our return to San Diego and the next day we began the seven hour drive back to Show Low, Az. We passed through some ares of lower Az. that were hosting some intense heat. 118 degrees in one town. About six hours into the drive we stopped for lunch and when we went to leave the car wouldn't start. The Heat had killed the Battery. Luckily we were able to get a drunk Indian with a Fiery, self-important attitude to give us a jump and we were on our way with our fingers crossed that the battery also hadn't killed the alternator. We made it home but the the next day the battery was toast.

It seems that I'm the unlucky common denominator in these motor excursions and tomorrow I leave for Florida. Hopefully the bad Juju has burned itself out and I can have an incident free trip which takes me by small commuter plane from Show Low to Phoenix Intl. where I'll catch a bigger jet to Houston, Tx. and then over to Orlando Fl.