Warm, southeast, the full range of the french, beaches, and new good friends.

I had a long bus journey when I left Bangalore and headed to Chennai (can you believe a long bus ride in India) Luckily for me the bus wasn't very full and it rained a good part of the way which was actually quite pleasant as I watched the change of surroundings heading to the coastal city of Chennai. What I found out was that it had rained the previous few days in Chennai causing floods throughout the city and making it a hell for people living in the slums; destroying there foods, wetting everything in their homes and encouraging the rat population. When I arrived I heard a girl dealing with a rickshaw driver and agreeing to pay way too much. I stepped in and helped (me, helping an Indian with the bargaining of a price) She was thankful and offered to share the ride and then when we arrive at her place she would drive me on her bike around to get a hotel room which she did. A few days later I met with her for a home made lunch which was just great!!


One day I went sight seeing to get a feel for Chennai. There is a common thing that goes on in big cities where a rickshaw driver will take you on a long tour of sights for fairly cheap as long as you will go and look in a couple of shops. They are hoping that you buy something which will end up being much more for them in commission. Many people apparently have the mind set to go into the shop and just look and then spend their money. Little did he know that his chances of me buying something were not too good (this means 0, nothing, not gonna happen). But I did get to visit sights for about 3 hours including the Marina beach which is the 2nd longest in the world. It is also disgustingly filthy, nobody swims in this water. Then the visiting of temples, churches, etc...

I was curious to see a slum, so I was brought to a fishing village slum. He waited in the rickshaw and I meandered through the little alleys. I asked this man above if it was alright if I walked down one alley and he continued to take me down that alley, show me his home, his family, his neighbors and a full tour of the slum which was wonderful; the tour, not the slum, although everyone was extremely happy and nice. It is said that fishing slums have a big drinking problem towards the afternoons, I was visiting early afternoon and the man that showed me around doesn't drink or even eat meat, including fish.

This was one of the churches on tour that is one of the most famous churches in India because some high ranking person is buried under an alter. My facts on this are not with me at the moment.

This is Veera and his cousin who you will hear more about later. I met Veera briefly early on in my trip while in a restaurant in Varanasi. He told me to let him know when I would be in Chennai because that is where he lives. We met up for dinner and he took me to an unbelievable restaurant and forced me to eat until I could barely stay awake and would not let me pay for anything...ever. His cousin smiles a lot!!

Starting in Chennai to now I have been a busy little bee as far as work goes, meeting with people and seeing places, hotels, sites. I also met a woman who I will be working with, Gouthami, in Chennai who had me over to her house for a home cooked meal.

From Chennai I went south to Malaburipuram. This is when I started to realize that many places, especially in the south had two names. Some maps and signs on the street say Malamalapuram. There town is small and on the beach and is swarming with tourists. The way the locals act and talk you know they are used to dealing with laid back tourists and know the right things to say. After a full day of visiting hotels and seeing the little city I decided to do a day of nothing; this was because Veera was going to come down the following morning (his saturday off) and spend the day.

We got pool passes at a nice hotel and spent half the day relaxing by the pool, eating, drinking and swimming. That night after dinner we met up with our hotel neighbor, Sandra (a columbian yoga teacher). The three of us walked the beach and enjoyed the fire work show due to a wedding down the beach.

The next morning his cousin showed up and we visited a few of the other sites in the town that I hadn't seen including this one. I really like this photo. Then the 3 of us and Sandra headed a little north to a beach where Veera's family owns a prawn farm on the water. We spent time on the beach swimming and just relaxing (I scared some local kids by chasing them and when I caught them threatening to take them in the water). We then headed back to the building where the people who work for his family made us possibly the best meal I've had since being in India; home made fried fish with seasoning that is making my mouth water as I write, some great chicken and a rice mix that we add a onion/yogurt salad too. Veera and his cousin were beyond hospitable and just good people. I know that I will be friends with him for a long time to come.

Veera and his cousin then headed back to Chennai and Sandra and myself headed south to a place called Auroville. This place is an international city built in India. It is intended as a moneyless society. You will have to research on your own for now if you want to know more. Inside this huge area they have no public buses, you must have a motorbike which we didn't know. After walking around for quite some time we grabbed lunch which we paid someone cash to let us swipe their card (remember, moneyless). This is the monument at the center of Aroville and is the focus point for meditation.

It then started to pour. We were a long way for where we wanted to be and any rides and the rain wasn't going to let up for some time. I concentrated no a plan and then stuck my thumb out on the road. A fifties british car drove by and then hit the breaks and a big head with a british accent stuck his head out of the back door and asked where we were going and I said anywhere, so we jumped in and it turned out we weren't going where he was going. He had a meeting and then after the meeting we were still waiting for another car so he (Kenny) said to get in and he would drop us off after we stopped by his house. While waiting in the rain a guy walked by completely covered in rain gear from head to toe and had a smile like he enjoyed the rain, so I said "it looks like you are having fun in this rain". He turned to me and with a french accent said "I have never met you, why are you talking to me?"

Don't worry, for each of those there is a Kenny. We stopped at Kenny's where we met a girl who was staying there who apparently was stranded a couple days before and Kenny helped out and gave a place too. As it continued to rain outside we all sat around listening to music, singing, painting, drinking beer, and more music, more beer, more talking and better friends. We ended up crashing there and heading out the next morning. I could write a mini book about Kenny and the stories he told. In the end, he is a good guy and was a great host and has moved to this place a couple of months ago to spend the rest of his time with his own home-stay that specializes in ayurvedic treatments; someone I will work with also.

Next morning on our rainy drive into Pondicherry.

Some girls who we had met a couple days before gave us their number in case we come into Pondicherry and wanted to meet for dinner. We did, and at our table sat me, from the US. Someone from Columbia, Holland, a real nice girl from french and then we called a girl over who was sitting at a table alone who was from Spain...it was like the UN.

Below is the streets of Pondicherry inside the French quarter.

I can't believe how big the damn sea shells are in this city!!!!!!

We walked around the big markets which had tons and tons of flowers, fruits, vegetables, fish, clothing, really anything.

If any of you have listened to the comedian Mitch Hedgeberg than you will appreciate this picture below of the red bananas. If you don't know him than maybe you will still like the picture of red bananas.

We stayed in a fantastic home-stay in Pondicherry where there are only five rooms and the family that runs it is extremely nice and beyond helpful. They too lived in Paris for 30 years and were beyond nice... just that damn raingear wearing frenchie.

This homestay I will definately send people too on my tours. They are completely booked for the rest of December and January.

I headed south on my own from Pondicherry and was trying to go to one place but ended up in a nearby town where there were NO tourists around and eating in the local restaurant this was my view while I was eating; everyone looking at me like "he eats food just like us, can you believe it?"

Since then I have been to two more cities, am now in the third, drove a car, ate a free lunch, and am getting close to running out of clean shirts and underwear.

I have seen quite a bit of rain in the last 2 weeks...actually not that much, but only compared to the rest of the time I have been here. When it rains a lot in the US it is a little of an inconvenience; it is crazy to see how heavily it impacts so many's lives here, more so there livelihood that just their feel for the day.

I want to see slum dog millionaire, I have gotten a few emails about it.

I have read since being here:

Grapes of Wrath

Five point something

Unbound India

White Tiger- Such a great read. This is a book I wouldn't want the people I send on tour to read before, it really shows the "dark side" of India.

I am now reading Sacred Games-another Indian book.

Ciao

Yogi-ville in the mountains, big baller, new friends, touching home base, friends in the south

Rishikesh is known as the place in India for Yoga; at least from a backpackers perspective. There are so many babas here. Above is what I mean when I say a baba. This guy was always outside the door where I stayed; he was the happiest I saw, always with a big smile. What a better setting than in the mountains right along the rushing waters of the Ganges River.
While here I got busy with work, meeting with people at Ashrams, Guesthouses, Hotels, resorts, and learning the area. Being up in the mountains there are a lot of places that cover a large amount of distance so it wasn't possible to see the places I wanted by foot. Hiring a taxi for the day would have cost too much, so I talked to locals and asked if someone wanted to take me around on their motorbike. Sure enough, I found someone who I hired for about 7 hours to drive through the mountains, with wonderful views, checking out the different hotels and such. It was much more enjoyable on the back of a bike than looking through a car window. I don't know how so many people do these tourist buses around the countries; it is like watching through a TV. You have to be part of the place, smell the smells, be right up close where the action which a tourist bus doesn't allow.


One place that I went to check out was "Ananda- a health spa resort". To get here we had to drive 18 km straight up the mountain to arrive at this 5 star resort that sits on 100 acres and was an old palace. They have spa packages here for 21 days that start at about $18,000. A basic room for a night; which isn't so basic, is $560. After doing a walk through here I decided this night that I would write to the corporate office requesting they give me a complimentary night; what did I have to lose. Somewhat to my surprise they agreed and said that they would compliment me 1 night only for the room. What this meant was if I wanted massages, or special therapy sessions or meals that I would pay out of my pocket. I packed my bag with water, fruit and cookies to last me my 24 hours at the Ananda. When I checked they showed me the wardrobe that everyone wears which is a white loose pants and a white comfortable top. This is to go with the whole relaxation, therapy feel.

Everything about this place was beautiful with top of the line service and an atmosphere unlike the rest of India I knew. There were about 6-7 workers for every guest. After checking in I went down to the main spa area and alternated from hot to cold small pools where you walk on rocks and it imitates acupunture. From here I went into the steam room, followed by a cold tub dunk. My body was already more relaxed than it had been since arriving in India. Afterwards I went to the gym where I trainer did a exercise on the big rubber ball class, followed by an abs class. Later I went to a lecture by a ayurvedic doctor to learn a little more about this and then had a complete tour of the whole spa facility with all the specific massage rooms. I headed back to my room, turned on my ipod, filled the large tub that overlooked the scenic valley, lit some candles in the bathroom and spent the last of my energy thinking how I went from a $4 room to a $660 room.

I fell asleep in the most comfortable bed by 8:30 only to wake up at 6:00 with the sun rising outside my window with an undescribable view of the mountains. I woke up slow and walked to the main building for my morning yoga class. After yoga I went back to the gym where I went to a stretching class. As I was the only guest that showed, the trainer helped to stretch me while doing a sort of Thai Massage in the process. I went down to the spa one last time before my 24 hours of bliss was over. I checked out at the latest time possible and went to the main gate to meet my driver on a bike (I think I was the only visitor in the history of the Ananda to be dropped off and picked up on a motorbike by a guy who spoke no english).

I then took a public bus to Haridwar where I caught the evening ceremony where people light hundreds of little baskets filled with flowers and float them down the river. (At times of the year the number of baskets is thousands and once every 12 years it is literally millions of visitors a day that do this-2010 is the next time this happens.)

I headed back to Delhi where I met friends of friends who happened to be in the India tourist industry. I stayed at there apt and we spent all the day and night talking and getting to know each other before I headed out early the next morning on a train to head back to my family in Jaipur for a short stay before my flight to the south of the country.

I could either have taken a train to the south which would have taken 3 days or a 5 hour plane ride. I decided to splurge and go by air. I arrived in Bangalore, where I have been staying with good friends that I met a couple of years ago in Egypt and then stayed with in India, Kiran and Vibha. After my time in the north where I didn't eat meat and only had a drink one day, now I was in the south where I have eaten meat with every meal almost and I went out with Kiran, Vibha and their group of crazy friends for a wild night that took us until 4am and lead to a day of rest and recovery. After finally coming alive that next night and looking forward to a good night sleep, the clock turned midnight and it was time to sing happy birthday to Kiran. Followed by singing the doorbell ring and friends who decided to surprise him stopped over with a full meal, cake, bottles of liquor and other people. As I passed on drinking, this night continued to go on until 5:30am.


I am now caught up on sleep, emails, blogs, and the 3 days of terrorist action in Mumbai has come to an end. I have a bus to my next destination tomorrow at what lies ahead we will see.

When I arrived at the airport to fly south I read on the screen: "Explosives, weapons, and liquids over a certain amount are not allowed in Carry On bags" -does anyone else see the problem with this?

End of Manoj era, india healthcare, on the move again

It is so hard to not only find the time to write a blog, but what is even more time is being in the right mind set with the right amount of energy. Too much energy and it's hard to sit still. Not enough energy and the writing will turn out blah. So here I am, long overdue.
It seems a long time ago that I left Orcha and headed with Manoj to Agra (Manoj had never seen the Taj) I didn't go see it with him since I've seen it and they charge foreigners almost 40 times what they charge locals. I did however get to stay in a wonderful homestay that I didn't have to pay for. The people who ran this place were so confident in it that they wanted me to experience it first hand as opposed to just a walk through-it was great and is somewhere I would have my clients stay!! I also had a chance to meet with some other guests staying there who were extremely nice and made the stay even that much better.

We arrived home the next day where the family was happy to see us and Manoj spent hours telling the stories and how different it is traveling with a foreigner. The following day I didn't want to leave the village, I really wanted to do nothing. However, since I was heading to the mountains I went into the city to find a thick sweatshirt. Finding a sweatshirt my size in an Indian market is like finding an Indian that really wants me to only look in their shop and not buy anything. (It doesn't exist) At the shops, many would wait until I made my request and then tell me they don't have my size, while others would see me approaching and tell me the don't have my size (it didn't matter what I wanted). I headed back to the village without my extra thick sweatshirt. Coincidentally, I woke up in a sweat and felt completely awful which lead to my village hospital visit the next morning.
Once I was cleared of Dengue fever and Malaria, they gave me a shot in my butt (first one of my life here) for the joint aches. Then, the nurse rubbed a cold pack over my stomach and chest to bring down my temperature. They filled me with hydration fluid while Ganeesh (my indian brother) rubbed my head as if I was 2 years old and told me I don't listen to him when he tells me to take care of myself and this is why this happened. 3 hours in the hospital with prescriptions cost me around $14; a tad different than the bill would have been in the US.

The next few days were for recovery. Also, I went to the bathroom every hour or so. Having this problem in India reminds me mostly of soccer conditioning. Squatting so often that my legs are sore. Sweating like I've been working my body hard and when it's over each time I am absolutely wiped out. Unlike hoping for thunderstorms during soccer conditioning, all I could do was wait it out. As my stomach continued to hurt for a couple of days, the family had a village stomach guy come over. He layed me on my back, put his thumb in my belly button and pushed my stomach muscles around. As one point he pressed hard on my foot, then raised my knees and bent my leg, and after a few minutes asked me if I was alright. Not speaking Hindi, I just said "I feel the same". He not understanding english took this as something good and left on his way. He learned what he knows from his father who learned from his and so on. Apparently, many villages have this person.
I spent the next couple of days on the couch switching back and forth between 3 english movie channels. India gets our worse movies we ever have made. Most, I have never heard of. Most, as I get into it, the power in the house cuts anyway. Power cuts are common everday to India. Most of the time when this happened I found myself somewhat relieved that I couldn't watch the rest of the movie and then drifted off to sleep. I cut back on eating heavy-ish foods and ate mostly rice.

After a few days I decided to get going and went into Jaipur to meet another friend Balveer. The meeting place was McDonalds. Now, I haven't eaten Mcd's in almost 4-5 years. I don't like the idea of them. This day was different. I craved french fries and a coke. This McD's I loved. It may have been the food, it may have been a taste of home surrounded by white people, it may have been that I got to go and sit on Ronalds throne. I think when I went into the bathroom and got comfortable, this is when every male in the restaurant decided that they too needed to use the bathroom. I heard the lock tested many times and for those who weren't sure in their ability to open doors gave a yell to see if someone was really in there.

I left that night on another train ride with Balveer and his parents to his village. We had general class tickets. This means that when the train stops you get your ass in there and get a seat or you will be standing. It is a fight at the door with pushing, shoving and sometimes punching. As the train neared I saw the mass of people pile up to the door when I then saw out of the corner of my eye Balveer jump through a window after throwing his bag through. I then handed him the other bags and we had our seats secured.

It was a nice, relaxing stay at Balveers house with his family.

Side Notes:
1. Manoj and I found another double banana.
2. I got my hair cut in the village on my day of rest. At home I find it difficult to explain to a barber how I want my hair cut. Not speaking the language and using my hands I find it doesn't differ too much, it always comes out fine, but not what I had in mind.
3. Lots of people in public transportation put their hands on my knee, always guys. I don't know why and usually I don't bother doing anything as it's usually crowded and I'm too tired to deal with it. I think this might be the lighter feel of prison where someone claims you and then everyone thinks you are with them.
4. I am attempting to find places to practice yoga for people I send to India. What westerners think of Yoga is in general what Indians think of as normal everyday life. Positions that would take me years to be able to do, everyone from little kids to grandparents do it. It is their normal ways while eating, walking, sitting, and even going to the toilet. Being calm is necessary here just for public transportation: everyone just sort of meditates while on a busy bus or train.

This photo was from Manoj and I arrived back to Jaipur and it was the start of wedding season so they were preparing all the flowers to sell in the markets. I think it's funny "wedding season"
It makes me think of hunting season where they take people out and then they are married.


With that, the toilet is calling and I have had a full day of looking at hotels.
Thanks for being patient with me, and next time you are stuck in traffic, think of me between five people on a bumpy, dirty bus with at least one hand on my knee and just calm down.

Wildlife, wild temples, wild bus rides make for tired Steve

Hmmmm. First off-- Happy Birthday to my brother Mark.
After Varanasi we our goal was to get to Bandhavgarn National Park. We took an overnight train ride to Katni where we thought we had about an hour bus ride. The public bus turned out to take over 5 hours with many stops and with many people and goods on board. Before we move ahead, I met a man and his wife on the train who were very friendly and he kept asking me if he comes to get America if I can get him a visa. I explained to him that I am powerless and he has to get his own visa. By the fourth time he asked me the same question I just said that if I was able to get someone a visa, it definately wouldn't be him (I figured it didn't matter what I said because he clearly wasn't listening to me). As the sun came up when we awoke on the train I saw him smiling and looking at me. He pointed to the sun and said how beautiful it was. He told me that the sun rises in the east, and I wish I was kidding, but I'm not; he asked me if it rises in the east in America too; poor chap.

After our painfully long bus ride we arrived to a little one street town of Tala where we got a room and then went in search of white people. For the national park there is a steep fee for foreigners in a jeep as opposed to Indian tourists, so if I were to to share a jeep with Indians I would pay about 6 times more than they taking on the majority of the cost. However, after a couple of hours of walking back and forth I was unable to find any sun burned faces. I was saddened and went back to the room with Manoj. We put on some music and started reading when there was a knock at our door...white people. They wanted to share a ride out of this place the next day which we also wanted to do. So with a little luck we had a shared ride to our next destination; at least something. They left, I sat down and five minutes later there was a knock on the door. More white people. They were in search of someone to share the safari with the following morning; perfect. This is how small this town is. They went a step further than I had and asked a couple people if they knew where a foreigner was. Apparently people watch me and where I go.



The next morning we were up early on our way to the national park in hopes of spotting a tiger. Soon after we entered the park our driver pointed out footprints in the sand. All I could think was that it was suspicious and I could imagine someone walking in the morning with a foot on a stick pushing footprints in the sand (I still half think this is what they do). This was the closest we came to a tiger. It was a scenic safari trip none the less and a good change of pace.



Soon after we were off on our shared ride to Satna, more or less a stopping point. We ate some good food, got a good night sleep and had some good chats with our fellow passengers.

The next morning we left for Khajaraho, famous for it's erotic temples built over 1,000 years ago. If not for these temples there wouldn't be one visitor here. They push sales like I haven't seen, but we got a place off the main road where it was a bit quieter. We found Hariom, a 12 year old boy who claims to be 15. (again, many have no knowledge of their age, it is as trivial as what they ate 2 weeks previous) He had learned english only from talking with tourists. He was happy and very clever. I hired some bikes, sat him on the back of mine and we were off to visit half of the group of temples for the first evening.

The following morning Manoj and I went to see the more famous of the temples; the western temples. Some beautiful carvings with many of them being Kama Sutra poses. They were as horny a bunch back in the day as ever.
On this one temple there are hundreds of elephants looking straight ahead like you see on the left. However, there is this one elephant looking to the side, his face obviously laughing while looking at the two next to it enjoying themselves.



Our next destination was Orcha/Jhansi. We were told that the bus ride would take at most 4.5 hours. This story is why http://www.onelovetours.net/ will work out well. I am traveling for 6 months so I have days that I can waste, sort of. For those people who come for 2-3 weeks and try to do public transportation, without a doubt they will lose at least 1 day a week dealing with it or having something happen in the middle of it.
After arguing about the high ticket cost for being a foreigner, we agreed on a price, his big selling point that it is a luxury deluxe bus. I have to say that since I was only medium crammed in, it was a luxury bus. After about a half hour drive we heard a loud noice which sounded very unnatural. For some reason this didn't bother anyone except me. Less than 10 minutes later we were on the side of the road with a flat tire.

They told us it would take half an hour to fix which meant at least half the day. After almost two hours they put us in another passing bus which definately wasn't deluxe luxury. We did get a seat on this bus that had about 45 seats but ended up carrying about 85 people. It turned into about an 8 hour ride since for some reason we would stop every hour and a half for 30 minutes.

I am complaining a little, but while it happens for some reason, it doesn't bother me that much. It isn't that a flat tire happened, it isn't that they say the wrong times, or people don't care about personal space. It can only be classified as "India happened". This is why I am starting the travel company for travel in India, to eliminate all of these things that would drive people crazy or waste half of a trip away. They sometimes make for good stories though.
We arrived in Orcha which is a bit like an island between two rivers. It is very small with the main attraction being old forts/palaces that were built about 600 years ago and untouched since. They really are incredible. Beautiful buildings that sit high above the city with views of the rivers, the palace walls and the city below. We hired a guide to tell us the history of it and spent a good part of today exploring this place. There is a small part of the for that was turned into a hotel. We went an checked out the rooms (8 all together) and they were really clean and in a unique setting. These are the kinds of places that I am shooting for to make as part of my tour. There are tons of basic hotels, but to be able to stay in the fort, part of history, is something special.


I have been helping Manoj with english and he has been helping me with Hindi. For some reason he thinks that my pronunciation is really funny, I think I'm his first student.
Instead of always saying "I go toilet" I explained to him that I say "I have to go pee" or "I have to take a shit"
Then when we were walking I told him not to step in the cow shit. He was thrown off that this is also called "shit"
He said "For us it's shit"
Me: "Yes"
"For cows it's shit"
Me: "Yes"
and for dogs?
Me: "shit"
Me: "when it comes out of that place from any animal, it is shit"
Manoj: (hysterically laughing)

At least we are covering the basics.

Diwali, Varansi, all with Manoj

One of the big activities that I organized at the home was for all the women to take a night off from cooking and allow me and some of the younger boys to cook dinner for everyone. This was the first time I cooked for around 20 people. I made a big stir fry and threw some pineapple in which threw everyone off; they couldn't believe it, but it went over well. Also, the women were very happy to have a night off and it ended up being a lot of fun.

I ended up staying for the festival of Diwali and postponing to leave for travels and meetings until after.

I arranged a morning family game of cricket on Diwali so that I could learn the rules and also so that some of the family members who worked too much and hadn't gotten a chance to play in some time got to have some fun. It ended up being a tie. I ended up throwing my shoulder out (I continue to remember I'm getting older), and the others who hadn't played in some time were also quite sore after. It is much better to play than to watch, more so than other sports.

The rest of the day consisted of painting and decorating inside the home and then in the evening dressing up, listening to fireworks all night and walking around to all the other houses to pay respect and say "Happy Diwali" and "Ram Ram"-a greeting. In the end, the fireworks made the family buffalo take a big shit and then run away only to be found the next day.

The following day I was settled into India and ready to head off on the road. With me, I brought Manoj, one of the family members. Manoj is 15 or 16, it is unknown. I have learned that in India at some point in school they make a school ID and ask someone in the family the age of the child, often being a father, uncle or grandparent, who says an approximate age. This age they write down is forever ingrained on their record, even if they get a passport, it gets transferred on. Anyways, it has been good fun having Manoj, feeling like he is a younger brother I have come up with many nicknames for him along the way (he asked me not to write them in case his family ends up reading this.

We headed off the day after Diwali on a 20-some hour train ride to Varanasi. Now it is somewhat known that there is lots of bribery and cheating of foreigners in India. I have learned that there are also some advantages to being of a lighter color. Like if I want to go and sit in the lobby of an expensive hotel, nobody will question me. Also, since we bought cheap tickets on the train and I saw that it was completely full I told Manoj to follow me into the nicer, cushier train car that costs much more. Seeing me, they let us in and asked nothing, whereas if it was a common Indian, they would double check his ticket. Through the night ticket agents came and after seeing I had the wrong ticket they informed me and I played the unaware tourist for the amount of time to have them move on and leave us there.

On arrival in Varanasi we found a wonderful guesthouse where we chatted a bit with the family and Monu, the son ended up taking us for a walk around the city, explaining things and introducing us to the local foods; yummy.

Varanasi is quite a holy place where people come from around the world to study Hinduism, practice yoga and meditation and bathe in the Ganges River. Also, loads of wood are continually brought in so that bodies can be burned along the river. This is highly desired by many people and so bodies are burned around the clock as the ashes are dumped into the river. Manoj and I woke one morning at 4:30 to take a boat ride in the river, watching the sun rise as people bathed in the holy waters; this was quite a scene.

We also made a visit to the local university which is one of the largest in the country. What struck me first about this place was how clean it was compared to the rest of India that I had scene, all trees, plants, and grass, with little garbage scattered about.

We bought some bananas and saw for the first time in either of our lives, a double banana inside one big peel. After many takes this is one of the best photos of it. It took a lot of takes because for some reason I found it very funny and was laughing too hard that the photos kept looking fuzzy.

"It is like a family banana" - Monu

The Sequel begins, Part 1

I haven't done one of these in quite some time. It feels a little rusty. Also, it is not somewhere completely new as I have visited India before. I feel like it is in a book when you start a sequel and say after 9 months here we are. By saying that I would think that there has been nothing worth reporting in the last 9 months, but on the contrary there is too much to report.

So here I am back in India.

When I was leaving NYC for the airport I was a little nervous, but this is a normal thing to happen when you leave something comfortable to something new and a bit unknown. The flight was long, sitting between two people in a normal seat (I had gotten spoiled for sometime with the exit row). I arrived in Delhi and was quickly thrown into the craziness of the culture and continuous attempts at Indian trying to charge much more to a gora gora or ingraze (a white person). Luckily I had a little idea and found my senses hightened once again and prepared for the battles that lie ahead. After a couple of days of settling in on my own and enjoying some food I headed to meet familiar faces and spend some time with locals and my Indian family to first settle into the Indian way, before heading off on my own.

This time around in India, I found things to be easy. I wasn't surprised my the wandering cows, the smell, the amount of garbage, the begging for money, the stares and general questions, or any of it. It seemed strangely normal to me and I anticipate seeing new places that I have yet seen.

Quick note: On the biz end things are progressing well but I have much to do and I find everytime I think I have a solid plan it changes on me so I will hold off to dive further into this.

I can't tell you how happy I was to see my Indian family. I was a recognized face in the village that has yet to have another foreign visitor. For different days I have been here different relatives have come to the village to stay over and spend time with Steve (otherwise pronounced: Shoe, Shiv, Shtue)


New members of the family since last time are two new young wives and two new babies, so nice and so cute (wives nice, babies cute).

They continue to treat me too nicely and we have good chats as I am quickly picking up Hindi words and they English.
I really enjoy getting a shave at the barber too.
I will stay and celebrate Diwali (the biggest Festival in India) with the family and then head off after.

There is much more to tell, but I think this is a good starter and the keys stick a lot on this computer so I can't tell you how much extra typing and deleting I am doing.

Traveling-it is great seeing things, but the real enjoyment is trying to understand your individual life more. Being back here and seeing the family relationships and how everyone lives together, makes plans together and the close family way of life, it makes me think of how families in the US are and I will leave you with a quote which I think is many times too true in our or any culture.

"there's one sad truth in life i've found, while journeying east and west, the only folks we really wound, are those we love the best, we flatter those we scarcely know, we please the fleeting guest, and deal full many a thoughtless blow, to those who love us best." -ella wheeler wilcox

#77 My move and life thus far in NYC. New friends, my uncle/younger brother, concerts and visitors.

Ok,
Well, it has been a long time since I have written a blog.
Since my last blog I will tell you the quick version of what I've done before moving to NYC.
I hung out with Pete and Rebecca in San Francisco, drove by City Park to visit with Mark G, stopped in Chicago to see Mike G and other friends and met up with brother Mark after not seeing him for about a year. Went and hung out with Mark, his roommates and Milky Mike in Kalamazoo. Made it home in time for the family reunion where there were many games played, including volleyball tournament, golfing and cherry seed spitting. (I sharted one time after eating way to many cherries).
I had an accident where I stepped on a broken glass and severed 2 tendons in the bottom of my foot which lead to a ordeal at the hospital and me with a middle toe that sticks up so that I can now flick people off with it.

When I found out I had the opportunity to work in NYC I called my Uncle Lou who lives there and asked him to think about whether I could live with him. Within 2 seconds he said that would be great and so it was set, I was off to the big apple.

Mark and Timmer helped me first head out there to take some stuff and give the apartment a face lift to prepare it for two living there.
My mom then drove me out for the official move in.

In my first week I tried to get my barrings and also got tickets to the Late Show with David Letterman who I went to see with Age who just moved to Hoeboken. Age is one of the Cline's. The Cline's are like my other family. (they aren't like my other family, they are my other family). This would make Age a sister. No matter how many times we try to explain this situation to people, nobody wants to believe us.
The Letterman building inside is surprisingly very small. It looks so big on TV when they scan the audience. Regis was the guest this night and I wore my green suit hoping to get on TV; I didn't.

Once work began I started to quickly get to know the city better. I was introduced to Ann through friends of friends and she has become the best friend I've made in the city. She invites me to all of her outings to meet her other friends and made me feel comfortable in the city quickly. (she didn't realize she was at risk of losing her other friends by introducing me to them)
She is a lawyer for Heineken and often hooks me up with free beer. Thanks for being so nice Ann!!

Uncle Lou and I get along great. We harass each other constantly, but always end up laughing nonstop. He has taken on the role of a younger brother and when people tell him to keep me out of trouble I chuckle thinking how it really is the other way around. We generally go for a walk down by the river every evening and discuss the days happenings or I get to hear and learn stories about his life. I make the meals and always feel good doing it because he is always so thankful and sincerely tells me that I am a great cook even if it's just a sandwich.

I got to go to Chicago a couple of times for work and see old friends and make some good new ones. I spent the snowiest day of the year walking around with city and Lincoln Park zoo with my cousin Aimslee. We also had a sushi, swimming (where we learned some japenese from a fellow water lover), and chocolate night.

I have seen quite a few great concerts in the city. This is one of the best parts of NYC. The venues that are spread throughout the city are small and have such character that it just makes you want to see more concerts because you feel as if you are really part of the experience.

I have seen: Michael Franti (if anyone can ever see him live, he is one of the best live I've seen)
Brett Dennen, Van Morrison, Martin Sexton, and Kate Nash.

I also got to see the Rockettes do a Christmas special at Radio City Music hall.

Ann took me to a Taste of New York event where we got to taste foods by all the famous chefs from all the top restaurants around the city.

I live in the Ansonia, which is an historical building on the upper west side in a fantastic location, set between the Hudson river and Central Park. I live upstairs from one of the biggest markets in the city, Fairway. It is like an old school Whole foods.

I have had many visitors come and visit me since I've moved here.
My first visitor was Morgan, AKA: MOFO. We had a great visit. I had met her in Houston and she will always be a good friend.
I had Dave from England who I met while traveling in Cambodia come for about a week. We went out most days, one which included the Halloween parade downtown which was really something to be seen. This was his last stop on his long trip before heading back home.
I had Joyce from Ireland who I met while doing a safari through Africa come for a week. We rented bikes on what happened to be quite a cold day before heading to the bars for the Michigan/Michigan State game. Joyce and I headed to Washington DC for a weekend to meet up with Mr Lueders and friends to celebrate Tom's birthday. Joyce and I had a lot of laughs and few hungover days.
I got to see Big Mo Style who was here visiting from Kuwait. I hadn't seen him for about 4 years, but it didn't seem like a month had passed once we saw each other.
I had Pete, Rebecca, Johnny B (pea head), and Age over for a night for dinner and a connect 4 outing.
Mrs Cline has come to visit Age who lives in Hoeboken a couple of times, so I met up with her every time she has been in town and we always end up having a lot of laughs and an adventure around the city.

My brother Mark drove out with his four roommates for a long weekend and we took in a live comedy show and few big nights out on the town in between walking all around the city. It was the first visit to NYC for all of his roommates. 6 of us here in the apartment made it real cozy.
My parents came for a weekend which is always nice. It's nice for Uncle Lou too because then he has some backup and I can't pick on him so much.
For the Thanksgiving weekend I had my Venezuelan friend Carla come, who I met at salsa class in Houston come. This was the start of really feeling like the Christmas holidays were here. If you want to be in the Christmas spirit during the holidays, there is no place like NYC. They have lights and huge trees everywhere.
Megadeath who I met in Africa and then again in Thailand came to visit and go see a concert with her friends, that vist was good fun, but short and sweet.

I drove home for the Christmas holidays and got to see the whole family. We all took in a Pistons game and then we got to have some good family time for a few days. There was a night when I got to get together with all of my friends back home.

I drove back to NYC with Mark and his friend Mike (this was Mike's first time in NYC). On the way back I got to meet up with one of my favorite people who I met while in Vietnam, Sarah V.
We only got to meet up for a bite to eat and chat for under two hours, but as they say "it's not the amount of time, it's the quality of the time".

Mark, Mike and I had a day of exploring Brooklyn which I hadn't done; although walking the Brooklyn bridge is one of my favorite things to do; I have now done it 4 times.

For New Years we headed out of the city to Uncle Lou's good friends, Mack and Rose who really made us feel comfortable. I spent most of my time talking with an eight year old, Jillian. Mark, Mike and I wore my suits, orange, green and white. (we are happy uncle Lou still admitted to being with us)



For my birthday I took the day off work. Woke up late, had a great breakfast. Got some errands done that I have put off for too long. Did pilates. Spent a lot of time on the phone with many people calling to give me birthday wishes including King T from Kuwait. Sarah V was the only one to sing the full birthday song to me. I had a great lunch with Uncle Lou, took a solid nap and then Ann and Age arranged a dinner and outing for me. They took me to a Vietnamese restaurant and out to the Fat Black Pussycat lounge before heading to another bar. Age and Ann invited their friends who I have met and so it was myself and 9 girls for the night.



I recently met up with a friend Kristin, from high school who introduced me to a bunch of her friends that live in the neighborhood right near me. We went and saw "There will be blood" last week which really was a great movie. Very intense. I had to pee the whole second half of the movie but couldn't leave because I didn't want to miss any.

I am off tonight to sing Karaoke in Chinatown for a birthday party of a friend of Ann's.

I was recently on TV. It is a lifetime show called matched in Manhattan. I didn't know I was on it until my cousin Annie called me and then I had friends from different parts of the country call me to tell me they saw me. If you want to see the clip go to google and type in "matched in manhattan" then click on the first choice which will bring it up on the lifetime website. Click on the video part and then in the different video clips click on one that says "episode 1" under in with the picture of a lady at a bulletin board.

unitl later

Alistair Cooke:

"The thing that impressed me then as now about New York . . . was the sharp, and at the same time immense, contrast it showed between the dull and the shrewd, the strong and the weak, the rich and the poor, the wise and the ignorant . . . the strong, or those who ultimately dominated, were so very strong, and the weak so very, very weak-- and so very, very many."


Theodore Dreiser :

"New York is a different country. Maybe it ought to have a separate government. Everybody thinks differently, acts differently --they just don't know what the hell the rest of the United States is."