Southeast Asia

Dear all,

So I know this is crazy overdue, but it’s finally done. This is the abridged version of my thoughts and daily events while I was in Southeast Asia. I had my little Pocket PC with me and I caution you to read only if you have lots of time, patience and a love for brown people like me. Otherwise you can just look at the pictures when I eventually post them. Thanks.

8 December, 2004

This is day one of our trip to Southeast Asia. It's about three or four in the morning. Already it has been an interesting adventure. I called the travel agent at Pan travels to inquire about getting a Qualis (a suv) for our coming trip to Agra. All of a sudden Uncle tells me that our flight has been preponed (never heard that word before, but I now use it all the time, except I pronounce it “prep-oned”) and that instead of leaving at 9:15, it's leaving at 6:15! So we had to speed home and left the apartment after four thirty but were supposed to be at the airport by five! We barely boarded our (prep-oned) flight on Myanmar airlines and it was actually quite nice. We are all seated in the emergency row and there is plenty of room. We stopped in Myanmar on the way to Bangkok and were taken to this really nice hotel for refreshments and food. We had to spend a few hours sleeping on benches and then we were on our way and now we are on our final leg of our flight. I packed too much. Oh yeah, at the airport this Punjabi uncle started talking to me and telling me that he was there for "kam." In addition to meaning work, Kam also means sex in street Hindi and there were a bunch of uncles there for “kam.” Pleh.

9 December, 2004

So I guess this is day two of our journey. We arrived in Bangkok very early in the morning, it was probably around five or six. As we cleared customs and exited the airport, it quickly became evident that we were now in a much more modern society. The streets were perfectly paved and the cars were US-like. We were also welcomed by a familiar face when the colonel warmly smiled at us on a KFC sign. We took a local train to get from the airport to central Bangkok. From there we searched for a fax machine and ran into the biggest language barrier I've ever encountered. My limited English, French, Swahili and Hindi skills all proved useless as the locals couldn't understand us and we could not understand them. It was actually quite funny because the people in Thailand are very funny and friendly, so instead of communicating, we all ended up laughing at each other. Eventually we grabbed a bite to eat at a hole in the wall after walking by carts of fried octopus, rats, crickets and more. Then we took what is called a Tuk Tuk to an area in which we desired to stay. We found a cheap but safe hotel and checked in. Because we really didn't sleep the previous night, we crashed for a couple of hours in our comfortable room. After awaking we freshened up and treated ourselves to some fresh Thai ice tea at a small stand. It was incredible and after the beverage I felt okay with leaving Thailand at any time, because I got what I came for. We then began our first day in Thailand by venturing to a restaurant and ate incredible Pad Thai. After the amazing meal we were about to go exploring when we decided to enjoy a mid-afternoon round of Karaoke. We rented out a room in an incredibly nice place and sang hits from such artists as the Venga Boys, Shaggy, and Bob Dylan. It was amazingly fun and entertaining and locals walked by our room and laughed as we had the volume up a bit high. After Karaoke we ventured to a place called Night Bazaar where we were entertained by live music and a huge beer garden. We were about to take the sky train to another area when we walked past a lively event. It turns out they were filming an episode of Thailand Action Games. We were given seats in the audience and were served complimentary Thai food while we watched the hilarious and colorful Nickelodeon type show. After the show we took the subway to a kickboxing arena where we watched incredible but brutal live kickboxing. It was a nitty gritty setup and at one point we swore the kick boxers could not have been older than 12. We all agreed they could beat us up because in this kickboxing all contact is allowed except for head butting. This includes elbows and knees to the groin and neck areas in case you were wondering. The crowd was amazing and chanted as contact was applied between boxers. There was a heavy amount of betting and there was a high amount of respect between fighters. Afterwards we took (a) tuk tuk home and ate some street food and came back to the hotel. There were also countless offers for "free" women and tuk tuk drivers pulled out menus of women and thrust them in our face. So my first day Thailand was amazing. The combination of the incredible street food, the hilarious entertainment, the violent kickboxing and the incredibly friendly Thai people made it feel like we packed a week into a day. Tomorrow we plan on going to a bazaar that has 15,000 stalls and over 200,000 visitors a day. Then we get back on a plane to head towards our next destination, Laos.

10 December, 2004

So today was another amazing day, but I don't have much time, but I have to go to sleep, so here is an outline:
-woke up 9am
-push-ups
-cold shower
-checked out
-noodles for lunch
-funny passport pictures
-shopping in huge mall
-KFC – blizzard type dessert treat
-amazing mall
-backpack too heavy
-bought street t-shirts from deaf people
-took train
-taxi to airport
-Thai airways
-street food
-landed in Udon Thani
-caught a "limo" (van) to border
-crossed into Laos to Vientene
-checked in o hotel and ate dinner

11 December, 2004

-slept in
-missed bus we were supposed to take
-booked night bus ticket
-ate breakfast
-Lao iced tea with “milk” amazing
-see friends in two weeks
-tried to go bowling, no go
-looked at buddhist area, very cool
-went to buddhist temple, met nice monk
-he wrote our names in lao
-took tuk tuk to bus station
-really crappy bus and crappy food
-man behind us has a gun
-not going to vietnam
-trying to sleep on bus
-will be in laong prabang by morning
-going on route 13, attack route where buses like ours have been hijacked and tourists killed

12 December, 2004

So today was a pretty mellow day compared to the rest of the trip. We actually arrived safely in Luang Prabang about 5:30am. We took a tuk tuk to a hotel and they didn't have a clean room, so we ended up staying next door for five dollars. We took naps after eating a tasty breakfast. After about three hours we woke up and started our days. This morning struck Vietnam off the list because it won't make much sense to go there...I'm going to finish this in the car tomorrow...

13 December, 2004

So as I was saying yesterday, we took Vietnam off because we wouldn't be able to see it right. We went to a travel agent and booked a flight for the next day to go to Vientenne from Phonsoven. We also booked a private car to take us to Phonsoven at four thirty in the morning. After that we took a ride to a market and picked up some food and then went down to the Mekong. At the Mekong we hired a boat to take us up the river to these ancient caves where buddha sculptures were hidden. The ride up was amazing and took over two hours. It was amazing to be riding up the Mekong on a freakin' boat. We finally got to the caves and they were amazing. Images of the buddha everywhere. After that we rode back down the river and got back to hotel. Then we had a really nice meal where I had duck and then walked to the Night Market. On the way home this lady propositioned me and I kindly refused. Then we came back and went to sleep. This morning we woke up at four in the morning and made it out by four thirty. Our van eventually came and then we took the seven-hour ride to Phonsoven. I felt a little sick because of the motion, but other than that it was fine. We actually got to drive through villages and it was amazing to see how Lao people live. Eventually we got to our destination and we saw one of the most interesting places I've ever been to. It was called the Plane of Jars and what it is, is this area in Laos that has hundreds of huge concrete jars. Historians don't know exactly what they are for, but they were amazing and huge. Perhaps the more amazing part about it was that the whole place had been bombed during the war and we actually walked through the area where there were mines, bomb craters and trenches from the war. It was truly amazing and it was only the second time I've felt like I was really experiencing history. Michael and Chris told me stories about their grandfathers who fought in wars and they were amazing. Afterwards we went and had a bite to eat and then went to the airport. The airport was the smallest one I’ve ever been to and there was only one airstrip. On the flight I met this Lao fellow who spoke pretty good English and we talked a little in French too. When we landed after our half hour flight, we collected our luggage and the nice fellow drove us to the bus station. I gave him some postcards and my number if he ever came to the states. The bus station we were dropped at was actually the same bus station that was bombed a few years back. Crazy. We booked our tickets to Pakse and then had some lunch and boarded the bus and now we are on our way. The bus is supposed to be VIP, but it is clearly not. I just hope to get a little sleep tonight because we have a lot of traveling ahead of us. But once we get to Si Phon Don, it should be pretty relaxing. The trip has been amazing so far and I love listening to music and thinking about what we are experiencing. I'm so excited about everything right now because even as this trip comes to an end, that just means I'm closer to seeing everyone. I really just want to get some rest....

14 December, 2004

So I'm sitting here in Si Phon Don on a dock right now typing. This place is absolutely amazing. We are on the Mekong river right now and it is dark. There is only power here after six in the evening. So last night I rode the whole night on a bus. Sleep wasn't that great, but it was better than the other ride. Right before I fell asleep a bunch of people stormed the bus. It was like nothing I've ever seen before. They were all people selling French bread. They were all competing to sell the bread and one lady got edged out. It was quite an experience. So we finally made it to Pakse at around six or so in the morning. Then we had to take a tuk tuk to the other bus stand. At the bus stand we got some breakfast and basically took a larger tuk tuk for about four hours to Si Phon Don. The ride was incredibly packed and it was pretty dusty and really smokey. We finally arrived and then took a boat ride down the Mekong to get to Don Khon island. Once there we had a bite to eat and then couldn't find a place to stay, so we took another boat ride up to another island called Don Dit. Here we found incredible accommodations on the river for literally only a dollar or two a night. There is no bathroom and no power, but the place has an incredible view and is very charming. The toilet is a public one and has a squatter. While I was in there taking care of business, there were pigs outside making a lot of noise. It was very interesting. After that we sat on the balcony talking and swinging in the hammock. Then we had a bite to eat and sat on the dock playing cards and talking. This is an incredible part of Laos and I really can't believe I'm here. We survived route 13 again and I'm just going to try to finish strong. I just can't believe my life right now...I am so thankful...

15 December, 2004

So we are sitting here on a dock in Si Phon Don at tiny little restaurant waiting for our food. We've been eating a lot of fresh spring rolls and drinking a lot of iced tea and coffee. We slept in this morning and I had really comfortable sleep even though we were three to a bed. So I woke up around nine or so in the morning and went outside and read a little on the hammock. Eventually the boys woke up and we had some breakfast at the place next door. I had the best French toast I've ever had and then we looked for places to rent a canoe. We eventually found a guy who doesn't rent canoes normally, but had the perfect one for us. We paid him a couple bucks and then went and retrieved Michael. We had a drink and then proceeded to canoe on the Mekong. When we first started out we saw some sea snakes. We were trying to navigate our boat and this guy came towards us in his powered boat and completely cut us off and ended up running right into us. Our boat got rocked and Michael was in the back and fell in the water. It was hilarious. Eventually we made our way down the river and found a nice little spot to park our boat. We parked it and proceeded to hang out on our island and read. It was amazing to be hanging out on the Mekong. It was truly amazing. After a while we docked across the way at Don Khone and had a bite to eat. Then the sun was going down so we got a lady to tie our boat to hers and then she took us home. The ride was amazing as the sun was going down and we were holding on to our boat with our hands. There was a little boy sitting behind me that kept tapping me and smiling at me. He was so cute. We made it back and gathered our things and now here we are. Today was awesome and I think we're going to spend at least one more night here. A day of swimming in the Mekong with snakes was a good time. There are a lot of travelers here that are from all over. One guy just told me he likes nipples. It's only like nine days until I see the other troops. That is all for now...

16 December, 2004

So today was another relaxing and interesting day in Si Phon Don. I woke up in the morning a little early because some French dudes were talking loudly. Then I sat outside on the hammock and read a bit and then we went next door and got a bite to eat. I had the incredible French toast and a fresh spring roll. After that we wanted to rent motorcycles, but we played with the monkey for a bit first. Then we took a boat ride over to the adjacent island and it turns out they didn't have any motorcycles. So we got in kind of a messy situation because we didn't want to pay the guy and he wouldn't take us where we wanted to go. Eventually we just went back and ended up paying him most of the money and then renting bicycles. Then we rode through the village with kids chasing us and people saying hello to us. We rode our pansy bikes to this cool waterfall and then explored and had lunch there. When we had lunch they seemed to like us and brought out a tiny puppy for us to see and then showed us their newborn baby. After the waterfall, we rode to a remote beach area. Eventually we left and rode back through the village as the sun was setting. It was a nice ride and nice to get some exercise. We returned the bikes and then got some crappy dinner where they completely forgot to make my dinner. The food sucked anyways, so we just came home. Tomorrow we have to wake up at five to catch a boat at five thirty in the morning to try and see Irrawady dolphins. Then it's off to Thailand again so we can cross into Cambodia. Hopefully we'll be in Cambodia tomorrow or the next day. The time is quickly winding down and it's amazing that the troops are coming in about a week now. I really can't believe it. I'm going to try and go to sleep early now so I can wake up in time. That is all for now...

17 December, 2004

So today was an interesting day. Last night when we went to bed, the people in the next hut over were copulating. The girl was really loud and it woke us all up. I had a hard time getting to sleep after that. So we woke up this morning at five and checked out of our place early. So we got on the boat and headed over to a different island. Then we took a tuk tuk and got on another boat and sped to this tiny sandbar. I'm not sure if we were in Cambodia or not, but it was cool that we could actually see Cambodia. We spent a little time on the sandbar and saw a few Irrawady freshwater dolphins. They were nothing special, but it was a cool experience. After that we took an amazing ride back to Pakse. I listened to music the whole time and it was incredible. I thought about how everyone is coming this week and how amazing it's going to be. We got to Pakse and had some lunch and then went to the internet cafe. After email we took a couple tuk tuks to another city in Thailand. We had to go back to Thailand because we can't get a visa crossing the south border from Laos to Cambodia. We rode on the roof of a tuk tuk and it was a lot of fun. Then we finally made it to the bus station and now we're on our way back to Bangkok in an awesome bus and we will get back on a bus tomorrow to Cambodia. So much more, but that is all for now...

18 December, 2004

Happy to be alive...

19 December, 2004

So I didn't get a chance to write last night because I had to go to bed super early in order to wake up at 2am. This is what happened. By the way it's about 7:30am right now on Sunday. So the night before last we spent all night on that luxury bus. Sleep wasn't great, but it was better than the other nights on busses. We arrived back in Bangkok around 5am at the big bus station. We ended up hanging out there for a couple of hours waiting for the information booth to open so we could get info on going to Cambodia that evening. The night before in Ubon Ratchathani was awesome. We had KFC, which was incredibly tasty and where the service was amazing and everyone in that city loved us. Girls were honking at us and when we'd walk by bars, people would ask us to sit down and join them. It was really amazing and I guess they don't get many tourists over there. Anywho, when the information booth finally opened, we found out that we could take a bus leaving at 3:30am to get us to the border. We would have to come back to buy the tickets, so we decided to get a hotel. First we started walking towards the huge weekend market. Then we realized it may not be easy to find a place there, so we took a tuk tuk back to the bus station and ditched our luggage there and then went back to the market. This was the most amazing market in the world. It was huge and supposedly there are 15,000 stalls and I believe it. I've never seen anything quite like it. You could buy anything there, literally. They had everything from every kind of pet imaginable including snakes, manta ray, tiny little puppies and squirrels, to antiques, old t shirts, groceries, incubators, everything. It was an amazing experience and I ended up walking around on my own most of the time. I really over packed for this trip and I'm only wearing a few things because everything I wear gets thrashed. Eventually we left the market and I was really glad we came. We got some lunch after that and then decided to pick up our stuff and check into a hotel in Siam Square. So we got a ride back to the bus station, grabbed our things, had amazing Thai iced tea from 7-11 and then got a tuk tuk to Siam Square. SS is where these two huge malls are and is a really cool part of town. We eventually found a hotel and ditched our stuff. Then we decided to go bowling. We went into the mall and found the alley and it was the most amazing bowling alley I've ever seen in my life. The sleek frameless sliding glass doors opened automatically to welcome us to a world like no other. The lighting was amazing, the staff friendly, and the crowd lively. It was super plush and there was this machine to give you shoes that you put a token into and it spits out the shoes in the size you select. It was amazing. The lanes were perfect, the lighting dim, and the western hip-hop was bumpin with a live DJ. The booths were comfortable and each lane had a flat screen LCD displaying the score and options. It was really fun and we bowled three games. I was horrible but had a great time. After bowling we wanted to get blizzards from Dairy Queen, yeah Dairy Queen. All of a sudden Christoph wasn't feeling so well and he ended up puking in his hands and in the bathroom. I got some street pineapple on the way home and then went up to the room. Christoph was in bed resting and I took a shower and repacked all of my things. My backpack is amazingly spacious. We decided to play it by ear as far as leaving in the morning was concerned. We didn't want to push it with Christoph's fragile health. I set a couple of alarms and fell asleep around ten or eleven. I woke up around 1:30am and talked to Christoph and his status didn't seem that great, so we decided to hold off on leaving for Cambodia. I went back to sleep, woke up, and now here I am. So the trip is flying by and that's okay because on Saturday I see everyone. It's so crazy to be able to say that. I really want to appreciate our time though. I see so many German tourists here with young Thai women and wonder what the hell is going on. I really think there are a lot of lonely people in the world. We will probably spend the day in Bangkok today and hopefully if Christoph is feeling better, leave for Cambodia tonight. I'm so lucky to be here with these two amazing people in this amazing place. We will see what today holds...

20 December, 2004

So I didn't get a chance to write yesterday because I was so tired, but here's what happened. So we were supposed to leave for Cambodia, but Christoph fell sick, so we ended up spending another day in Bangkok. The morning started out well, I went and had some MacDonalds for breakfast, which wasn't great, but the Milo chocolate milk was awesome. I wrote a bunch of emails and even sent out a packing list. After that I walked around the mall for a bit and then I picked up some pineapple and went back. We transferred our stuff to a different hotel and then sat around and talked for a while. Then we got picked up by this van that took us to this tailor that was way overpriced. We think there might have been some mafia ties there. They dropped us off to this really touristy area and "suggested" that we tip the driver, so we did. After hanging out there for a while, we went to the mall and decided to see a movie. Because of the heavy language barrier, it took us a while to figure everything out. Eventually we sat down and had some mediocre food but then we watched Oceans 12. It turned out to be an awesome movie and I really enjoyed it. There were a couple noteworthy things during the movie. Before the film began, they played a bunch of music and showed pictures of the king. Everyone stood up to pay their respects and it was really interesting. Also during the movie there was a Thailand reference and the crowd went crazy. It was really strange, when we got up it was only then that I realized we were in Thailand again because everyone around us was Thai. We got a quick bite to eat after that and then came back to our place and crashed...So today was an interesting day. We had to wake up at two in the morning to take a taxi to the bus station. I hate waking up that early and I could tell that if I kept having to do it, I was going to get sick soon. So we stood in the long line and eventually got the last three seats on the bus. We thought this was a blessing, but as soon as we got the tickets, they flipped the sign for a bus leaving ten minutes later. I had a feeling we would get donged and we did. We had the back three seats on the bus and this thing was not nice. It was right by the bathroom and our seats did not recline. I had to rest my head on a sink and halfway through the night a man came and sat on the sink. I had no space at all so I rested my head on his leg. It was the worst night on a bus ever. So we got to the border of Thailand at around 7:30am and then crossed over. We finally made it into Cambodia! Once there we took a ride on a bus to get into Siam Reap. It was the bumpiest ride I've ever taken in my life and Cambodia was crazy. I've never seen anything like this in my life. It is so dirty and dusty and it actually looks like a war was fought here. I guess there are active mines all over the place and it's actually a pretty dangerous place. We checked into a hotel and then took a trip to Angkor Wat to see the biggest religious monument in the world. We watched the sunset and it was amazing. This place is amazing and one of a kind. I thought about a lot when I was up there walking around. I thought about the kids begging, I thought about how the people selling things are selling them every single day of their lives...

21 December, 2004

So as I was saying yesterday, the people selling things are selling them every single day for their entire lives. Now I'm not trying to say I feel bad for them or anything like that, because they have a lot that I don't as well, but it's amazing to me that they can do it with a smile on their faces. Yesterday after the sun went down, the King drove by and the crowd erupted, that was cool. So eventually we had some food and then arranged our taxi and went to bed. We were supposed to wake up early at about five to go take advantage of the day today, but of course we all slept in and didn't leave until nearly seven. It was fine and we got to see a decent amount today. Sometimes I don't really know what the hell is wrong with me because it's hard for me to appreciate everything that I'm seeing and doing. So we spent the day at Angkor and then came back and had a bite to eat and then took off. Eventually we got in the taxi and took the bumpiest ride ever back to the border. Along the way we stopped and got some refreshments and played with this puppy and this baby. Then we hit the border and got back into Thailand. Once there we took a pick-up to the bus stop and got on a full bus. Again we got stuck in the very back and it was stinky and really uncomfortable. Eventually people got off the bus and we were able to shift a little, but it was still sucky. We took a tuk tuk to Siem Square and found a restaurant to eat at. After dinner we were walking back to the hotel and we saw this dad kick his little kid and saw the kid fall off the cart and hit his head on the ground. We couldn't believe it but didn't know what to do. We also saw a dog with one paw facing the wrong way and earlier today saw a boy in a wheelchair with a disorder I've never seen before. The poverty in Cambodia was kind of difficult to handle and we’ve seen a lot of difficult things. I really don't understand the world or how it is supposedly just. I cannot explain it. I took a shower and now I'm laying on the bed typing. I think tonight I will get bitten by a lot of mosquitoes. I hate them. So today is the 21st of December. I really can't believe it's all over and all beginning again. My Southeast Asia trip is over and that means the new voyage is just beginning. Tomorrow is the 22nd and I fly back to Delhi and then to Hyderabad the next day. Everything is coming to a close now. I slept a lot today and will sleep more tonight and then it's lots of flying for a while. I have a beard right now and I don't know if I want to keep my long hair.

23 December, 2004

People in Myanmar are weird. I was just on the phone with Faizal and the guy at the desk simply put his finger on the hang up button and just like that it was over. So here is what happened yesterday. We basically woke up in the morning and got to the airport. We checked in without issue and boarded our flight. We were all very antsy yesterday because of the timing with everything. Our flight was a little rough but was not a problem. Then we got to Myanmar and waited in the airport and then it happened. The flight was severely delayed but they wouldn't make an announcement at all. People were going nuts. Eventually they cancelled the flight altogether. Apparently the fog was very heavy in Delhi. So they transferred us to a hotel and we checked in and basically spent the night eating and watching tv. It was pretty crappy because I'm supposed to confirm my flight to Hyderabad and I had no way of getting hold of the airline. So the final night I was supposed to spend in my apartment Delhi never happened and now I'm sitting here in the hotel stuck in Burma. It's really quite amusing. I can't believe I'll hopefully be seeing those guys within the next day and a half. It's crazy. I'm supposed to be in Hyderabad tonight which will hopefully happen and then I get on a train tomorrow night and end up in Chennai the next day. So crazy. I can't believe my life right now...last night it was really funny, there are these glass doors that open to the front of the hotel and I saw a man walk right into the wall, which is also made of glass. One of the staff tried to stop him and put his arms in the way, but he couldn't. I really wanted to bust out laughing, but I felt bad for the guy. In another incident yesterday, I became upset. These Indian men were yelling at everyone for chai and saying that it wasn't human what they were doing and how we were being treated. I couldn't believe it. The worst part was when the airline official was writing up a sign to post about information regarding our flight. About ten or fifteen Indian men surrounded him and were making fun of his English and his ability to write and spell words. That made me really upset. Sometimes I hate our own people. But I guess it's not just our people, it's people in general. That is all for now. I still haven't gotten on a plane yet and it's not looking good at this point. All I can do is hope for the best...Okay so I am actually on an airplane headed for Hyderabad! I can't believe I actually made it. So here's what happened since this morning. We were stuck at the airport for a couple of hours and somehow, miraculously, we boarded our flight and actually took off. The flight was pretty good and brief. I worked on the bags for the welcome kits and got them mostly done. I realized that the welcome kits are going to be kind of lame, but I kind of got donged with time at the end of it all. So we landed in Delhi and it was amazing that I had made it that far. It took us a while to get out of the airport, but we finally did and got a taxi home. It was interesting to be back in Delhi and India. Part of me was happy, but part of me wanted to go home. I think I was really anxious because I wasn't sure if I'd even be leaving tonight. So eventually I got home and I had to start working right away. I quickly began unpacking and repacking. I also ordered pizza and when it came, it was over 30 minutes late, but I gave the guy money because I felt bad. So I kept at it and finally finished it all. I called the YWCA and some other places and took care of some business. When I was finally done, it was crazy. It all happened so quick. I had no time for closure or to think about anything. It was simply time to go. My flight was originally supposed to leave at six thirty, which I did not know, but then it was delayed until eight. That was fine with me. So around six I was getting a taxi to the airport. My backpack is still pretty heavy and I don't really know why, I took out a bunch of stuff. Anywho, at the taxi stand the guy asked me for rupees 275 to get to the airport and I told him no way. I told him 200 and he kept going further down but stopped at 225. I told him that 200 was a fair price and the taxi drivers ganged up on me. I told them I would just take an auto. I was bluffing, but I just didn't want to get ripped off. As I was walking away, the guy finally caved and we were on our way. The ride was pretty long and I was a little weary that we might not make it in time. Eventually we made it a little past seven and I went to check in. The flight had been further delayed until nine and I checked in my bag and sat and read in the airport. Eventually they let us pass security and the flight didn't end up leaving until almost ten. I haven't allowed myself to fully take in what is happening because there were so many obstacles. When we finally took off, that was when I knew that things were finally coming together. I've been reading on the flight and I should get into Hyderabad about midnight or so. I will call hotels from the airport before taking an auto or taxi out there. I left a lot of errands undone, but that is okay. So things are insane right now. I think that the troops are probably boarding their flight soon and I can't believe I see them the day after tomorrow. I'm going to eat some food and try and write more later. One more train ride tomorrow night and then it's on like crazy. Tomorrow I have to check my email and mail postcards and call about our taxi to Agra. I think after tomorrow I can finally breath easy after all this insanity. I really didn't think I'd make it out of Myanmar today and never thought I'd make it to Hyderabad. So far so good with some minor bumps...

24 December, 2004

It just hit me that it's Christmas Eve today. That's kind of weird. So my flight landed last night around 11:30 or so. By the time I got my bag it was about midnight. I was going to take a taxi to my hotel, but they wanted to charge me over two hundred. I didn't know how far it was, but I knew that was way too much. So I started walking out to the street and caught an auto. He wanted 150 and I got him down to 100 and then got in. I realize that I am a little defensive when I travel on my own. Maybe that's good for me. Keeps my edge, but doesn't allow me to fully relax. Anywho, I couldn't get hold of the hotel I was supposed to stay at, but eventually after driving around for a while, we found the place. When we rolled up to it, I did not like what I saw. It appeared to be on the 1st (2nd) floor which was not a problem, but on the bottom floor there was a large gathering of men and a couple of them were fighting. Not only that, there were fires blazing as well. It was quite a weird scene. I didn't like the feel of it, so I took a chance and had the driver take me to a place he probably gets a kickback from. We arrived and at least this place was locked up. The guy showed me the room and it was a piece of crap, but I didn't feel like driving around. There was a bigger room available for more money, but it was just me. Anywho I agreed to take the room and it was rupees 400. I filled out the paperwork and I found myself being a little rude and on edge with people. I guess it will take time for me to relax and be a solid fellow when I travel on my own. Eventually I went up to my room and basically got situated. I needed to do number two, but when I tried to go out to buy tp, they said everything was closed. I didn't sleep that well because there was constant activity outside, and I ended up waking up very early. I think it was around six or seven in the morning.

25 December, 2004

Merry Christmas. So I can't believe where I am right now. I'm sitting in this incredible hotel in Chennai. In only a couple of hours Faizal, Sandeep and Derek are going to walk through the door I'm looking at. I just took an incredible hot shower and I really think I'm cleaner than I've been since coming to India. I'm in a white bathrobe and I'm watching TV. So I will pick up where I left off yesterday. So I woke up early in the morning and couldn't sleep. There was still no toilet paper, so I decided to go out to get some. I walked around for a while but couldn't find any anywhere. One uncle told me that in Hyderabad everyone uses their hand. Eventually I found some napkins and then I went home. I trimmed everything I could get my trimmer on. It felt good to be groomed again and even though I couldn't shave, it was nice. After that I took a bucket shower, probably my last for a long time. Then I went out for the day. First I went to an internet cafe and checked email. Then I went to the post office and after that I met Gautam for lunch at this really expensive hotel. Deepna had emailed me a few places to go and so after lunch I headed off there. I went to Charminer and walked around and then went Colgonda Fort. I was apprehensive about going there because I've seen so many forts, but it was awesome. It was a beautiful view and if it wasn't for the Hindi movie being filmed, it would have been super quiet. Anywho, so after the fort I went back to my hotel. I got my things together and walked to the train station. I was really early and really hungry, so I walked to a close restaurant and had a dosa. After that I brushed my teeth and then went back to the train station. After that I boarded the train. As soon as I boarded the train, I met a bunch of people. They were all students studying agriculture and they were in love with me. They loved that I was Indian American and they were full of questions. They were even taking pictures and it was pretty cool. I fell asleep pretty early last night because I was so tired, but I totally donged myself because I couldn't find my socks and had no blanket or anything. I woke up a bunch of times but eventually morning came. That was it. It was my last train ride in a long time. This morning I sat and listened to my music until the train arrived. When it did I took an auto to the hotel. When I got there they had no idea who I was and had no reservation held. All I wanted to do was lounge in the hotel all day long. I used their internet, I made some calls, but there was no reservation. So I was stuck. I decided to go see a movie but when I got there, it was crowded. I had my huge backpack with me, so I decided to go to the beach. There was nowhere to put my stuff, so I went to a cheap hotel and got a room for rupees 200. It was actually a lot nicer than my room in Hyderabad. I had some food and then walked around for a while. After I was back in the room and I kept falling asleep. Then Sandeep called from Singapore and told me their flight was delayed. He also told me that we were staying at the Taj. So I packed up my stuff and headed over here. I like Chennai. I checked in here and it was exactly what I wanted. This place is amazing. It's insane to me that in about an hour we will be reunited. I have waited for this for over six months. I have waited for this my whole life. I have been living in India for over six months and now I am a different person. It's going to feel so good to be so giving with them. I can't wait. I took a long shower and thought about a lot. It's really hard to believe that it's all happening. I'm trying to take it all in. I am so lucky and so thankful for this. It really is an amazing way to end the trip. I'm going to sit here and watch TV and wait...It's finally here...

The Final Entry...Coming Soon

New Year's Eve in Goa

When Push(kar) Comes to Shove

So sadly (for me and I’m sure only me), this is one of the last blog entries I will be writing. With only a few days left in Delhi and since I’m leaving next week for Southeast Asia, this is one of the final entries, so please have tissues readily available.

Before journeying to Rajasthan to attend the annual (once a year) Pushkar Camel Fair, we were treated to a nice Thanksgiving dinner at our UC professor’s house in South Delhi. In all there were about twenty EAPers in attendance in addition to (and I’m warning you I’m going to name drop here) Romila Thapar (google here if you are curious, then google me, then google yourself, then google me again). The event was fully catered with Indian food (we just call it food over here) that would have made the pilgrims wish they came here. It was tasty. There was a wait staff wearing bow ties and all and I really felt like we didn’t deserve any of it. Some of the Hyderabad students were there as well as they have completed their studies and are now traveling or on their way home. The night was a good time, but nothing like dinner back home. Thanksgiving dinner is normally the best meal I have all year, and I missed eating turkey with all the accessories and having the meal with my family. The next day a group of us, nine in total headed to the bus station to catch our ride to Rajasthan. None of us had ever taken a sleeper bus before and it would prove to be quite the experience. The bus ride there aside from being one of the bumpiest rides I’ve ever been on wasn’t so bad. Actually, I take that back, it was so bad. Although the bus had beds, there were people smoking in the bus and this old Indian lady just wouldn’t shut up when everyone else was trying to sleep. The bed was probably about half the size of a single bed, but wasn’t too shabby. After getting only a few hours of sleep, we arrived in Ajmer about seven or so in the morning. There were some complications with our return tickets, so we ended up having to secure them through a travel agency in Ajmer. We hired a taxi and were taken to Pushkar. When we got there, we were greeted by a mass of people. It was a sea of colors and animals and was quite the site. We walked to our overpriced hotel and dropped our stuff off and changed. Unfortunately that was the last day of the Camel Fair, so we walked down to the fairgrounds to catch the closing ceremony. When we got there, there were thousands of locals all crowded around trying to catch a glimpse of what was happening. Because there was no room to move and because we had so many girls with us, we decided to walk around to the other side where there it looked less crowded. When we got to the other side, we noticed a section with chairs, shade, and a perfect view. We didn’t have tickets but decided to walk up to the entrance and try our luck. As we got to the police line, they were turning locals away left and right with their sticks. Then as we approached they stepped aside and allowed us to pass. Before we realized what was happening, we were seated comfortably under the shade enjoying the view. Sadly this weekend we realized the benefits and drawbacks of being a tourist. We felt horrible that they were letting us sit comfortably simply because we were tourists while all of the locals were pushed aside on our behalf. There was actually a big white sign that read “Foreigners” where ourselves and mostly white tourists were seated. It was quite unjust. They even let us walk onto the field to take pictures of the events.

Don't Judge Them

Little did I know that sitting in the shade and taking pictures also painted big red bulls-eyes on us. As the festival ended and while we were making our way to a restaurant, trying to navigate through the mass of people, our group got split up. There were so many people and I don’t think I’ve ever been in the middle of such a large group before. I had one hand on my manpurse and was using the other to make my way through the crowd. In India, everyone touches everyone; there is no such thing as personal space, so you get used to people touching you. Well, one minute everything was fine, and the next I looked down and my cell phone was gone. As soon as I noticed it missing, I knew that this time there would be no heroic recovery in which the entire town would gather around me and chant my name, I just knew it was gone. I realized that because we were sitting in the shade with the other foreigners, people knew exactly where to look to spot us and lock onto their targets. I didn’t know it at the time, but the other part of our group who we had split from had one of their phones stolen as well. I actually wasn’t even mad. I felt stupid. I felt defeated. I felt like I was doing so well and then they finally got me. I just wasn’t careful enough and I paid the price. I tried calling the number, but the phone had been turned off and just like that it was gone for good and the dream was over. As I came to terms with the loss, we decided to make the best of the rest of the trip. We spent the remainder of our stay in Pushkar shopping and eating. I picked up many presents for people and it actually turned out to be quite a nice visit. Because we missed most of the camel fair aside from some horse tricks and whatnot, the trip was not at all what we expected, but we turned out to be pleasantly surprised by the city.

Horse Tricks and Whatnot

It had a lot of character and people were very giving, except for the guy who took my cell phone, who was very taking. It sounds lame, but having my cell phone stolen was very humbling. It made me realize that contrary to the huge superhero-like frame that stares at me in the mirror every morning would have me believe, I’m not invincible. While I hate being vulnerable to thieves, I have learned a lesson and will be even more careful with my things from this point on. I guess one could say that it had to happen. At that point I was just glad to be healthy, at that point. After staying one night in our meager accommodations, we spent the next day walking around some more and then took a taxi back to Ajmer to catch our bus. We got to Ajmer very early and decided to go see a movie until our bus arrived. Ajmer wasn’t the nicest of places I’ve been in India, it was actually one of the crappiest places I’ve been in India. Nonetheless, we walked into the crappiest theater I’ve ever been in and watched part of the crappiest movie I’ve ever seen. Crap. It was some old Hindi film from the eighties and we could only stand about an hour of before we decided to leave. As we wondered around Ajmer looking for a place to eat, we found nothing to our liking. We walked into a few different restaurants looking for a hint of privacy but found nothing. Finally we came across a hotel/restaurant that had a big sign claiming air conditioning. We stopped in to have a gander and they didn’t have anything we liked. We were about to leave, but noticing once again that we were tourists, offered us a room to stay in for free if we ordered food from their menu. After clarifying that we only wanted use of the room for an hour or so and that it was in fact free, we dropped our stuff into the room and ordered some food and relaxed. We couldn’t believe that once again our foreigner status had gotten us access. Again we didn’t know whether to feel happy or like snobby elitists. After leaving the hotel without issue, we took an auto to the bus stand. This is where the real drama was to begin. When we got to the bus stand, a man took our ticket slip and held it. We waited for the bus to arrive for almost an hour. By the time it finally arrived, it was completely packed. We had to step over people to get to our beds and there were people sleeping on our beds. We knew there was something fishy going on, so we got off the bus and had it out with the ticket gentleman. We told him that there was no way we were getting back on that bus because we had paid for beds and that there weren’t any available. He said they would kick people off them for us and we knew that would not have been a good idea and that the driver of that bus just wanted our money. We argued for almost half an hour delaying the bus even further and finally we decided that there was no way that we were going to get back on that bus because the locals on the bus were all staring at us and looked like they wanted to kill us. He offered us guaranteed beds on a later bus and we opted for that. As we waited another hour and a half, the temperature dropped and the local puppies piled up to stay warm. When the bus finally arrived, we could not believe what we saw when we boarded. The beds that claiming to be doubles were in fact the same size if not smaller than the beds we came to Ajmer on. We had three doubles and one single and unfortunately my rock, paper, scissors skills aren’t what they used to be, so I had to share a bed with my friend. This was a little closer than I ever wanted to be with him, but you do what you have to do.

Too Close for Comfort

The late ride back was worse than the ride over, but we just wanted to get home. When we arrived in Delhi Sunday morning about ten or eleven, I was feeling a bit nauseous I thought it would pass and it did, after I threw up. I haven’t thrown up in years and right as we were about to get in an auto to go home, I let loose. It was not a pleasant feeling. That’s when I really felt defeated. I felt like, ‘okay India, you’ve got my cell phone and now you’ve made me throw up all over you, you’re the big winner, I’m the big loser.’ After sitting on the side of the road while the rickshaw driver and passersby watched as I displayed the previous night’s dinner, I just wanted to get home. I actually felt a lot better afterwards releasing. I came home, bought a new cell phone and went to sleep for a long time. So that was my weekend in Rajasthan. It was quite interesting I must say. I really learned the power of foreign money in India and what it buys you, both good and bad. Sometimes it gets you a shaded seat in a festival of camels, sometimes it can get you something you don’t even want like a bed on a bus that someone already paid for. I guess you just have to decide how powerful you want it to be and deal with the benefits and drawbacks as a result.

Humiliated Camel

With the coming weekend quickly approaching, I have my Hindi final exam on Thursday and then I’m officially done with EAP. I will be in Punjab this weekend and then have to pack up my stuff, move out and depart for Southeast Asia. This last week since finishing my papers has been most enjoyable. I went sight seeing around Delhi in addition to shopping for a lot of people. Hopefully I will be able to squeeze in one more entry before returning to the states, but this I cannot guarantee. Despite my health issues and having had my cell phone stolen, my spirits remain high. I’m feeling much better now and in no time at all I will be seeing six very familiar faces in this place I have made my home. Please note my new cell phone number and I hope to hear from all of you and that you are all well…

New Mobile: 9899015059


Actual Photo of Zameer Attempting to Talk on Actual Hand after Successful Phone Theft

Wedding Bells, Fireworks, Term Papers

So the last few weeks haven’t been filled with too much excitement, but there have been some good times. Mostly what I’ve been occupying myself with has been writing all of my papers and getting school out of the way. I have been spending massive amounts of time at the study center working late hours in my attempts to rid myself of the burden of school. I usually sleep on my thin sleeping bag on the hard tile or on a long desk in the conference room. Sometimes I go for days without showering or going home (don’t judge me). The good news is that I’m finally finished and I’m going home tonight to shower! With the exception of my final exam for Hindi in early December, my studies are pretty much complete here. In the last month since returning from the break I have completed three classes and written over forty pages for said classes. It has been challenging but ultimately rewarding as it feels amazing to finally be finished, almost. During my studies we were fortunate enough to be invited to the wedding of my roommate's cousin. The wedding was about an hour away but well worth the journey. I had never been to a Hindu ceremony let alone attending a wedding in which the couple were arranged. It proved to be a most interesting evening. The drinks were flowing, the rotlis were rolling and the bindis were bountiful. Since none of us had ever attended a wedding in India, we were unsure as to the order of events. We arrived at the groom’s house and waited while guests slowly began to arrive. We were about half an hour early because we didn’t account for the IST (Indian Standard Time) half-hour delay. Before the groom ceremony began we took seats at the back of the yard. In the middle of the ceremony my roommate’s uncle stopped everything and insisted that we take seats behind the pundits performing the ceremony in front of the entire crowd. We resisted, he persisted and eventually we gave in to uncle’s insistence. The ceremony was very interesting and then the all of the attendees including ourselves poured into the streets to dance where a live marching band played the latest Hindi film songs and boys carried lamps on their shoulders plugged into a generator on a bicycle. The neighbors watched and clapped as the procession made it’s way down the streets of Delhi. The next stop was the mandir to quickly pay our respects and then finally to the hall where the wedding ceremony was to take place. We arrived and began to feast on the selection of tasty Indian appetizers, entrees and desserts. Spirits were lively as the bride finally made her way into the lavish hall. As the bride and groom sat in their respective thrones on stage, we lined up to take pictures with them. When my roommates and I finally got to the stage, I quickly handed my camera to an uncle. As we posed for the professional photographer’s picture, the uncle I handed my camera to aimed the camera towards his own face and looked into the wrong end of the lens, not understanding how to properly use the camera. I didn’t have the heart to tell him the camera was backwards and upside down and in the interest of time we stepped aside. As the night progressed we wondered when the actual ceremony would begin. To our surprise it didn’t commence until most of the guests already left. Not to mention there was constant chatter and background noise during the ceremony. We decided to stay and watch it in it’s entirety and it was quite beautiful. As I sat there during the ceremony, I tried to imagine what it must be like for the couple who hardly knew each other to be entering into a lifetime of love and commitment. The spirituality of it all was quite mesmerizing and we were lucky to behold such an event. Witnessing such a beautiful ceremony made me realize that if I ever get married someday (place your bets), I really want to have an Indian ceremony.

The Wedding Roommates


The Bride and Groom

We were also lucky enough to be around during Diwali. We had a party at the study center that we had partially catered and for which we partially cooked. During the week that led up to Diwali, fireworks were constantly going off. During the night of Diwali we went up to the roof and lit off a massive amount of fireworks. Apparently neighbors try to outdo one another with firepower during Diwali. On the roof it sounded like we were in a war with bombs going off all around us. The experience of being in India was amazing during Diwali. There was excitement, energy and a massive amount of pollution in the air. The air in Delhi is bad enough without the additional smoke from all the celebration. At night it’s getting so cold that I would be able to see my breath if it wasn’t for the incredible pollution.

Z on Diwali with Masculine Sparkler

One of my classes at Delhi University is called an Mphil class which is basically a class for students who have completed their Masters degree and wish to go further in their studies. For whatever reason I am in this class and one of the traditions is to get the professor a present at the end of the course. The students each contributed a hundred rupees each and we bought the professor a calendar, a paperweight and a painting. It is a nice little tradition and part of me is sad that the class is now over.

Professor Trivedi, My Mphil Indian Literature Instructor

It occurred to me today that I have about nine days left in Delhi. Soon I will be taking off for Amritsar in Punjab, Pushkar in Rajasthan, Dharamshala in Himachal Pradesh and then Southeast Asia. The realization that my stay here is close to over is a difficult one to come to terms with. I will try to maximize the precious time I have left. I will travel as much as I can, while attempting to take in as much of India as possible. Somehow in the midst of the massive poverty, the immense pollution, the unbearable heat and the abundance of illness, I have managed to find a home amongst all of the beautiful people, the rich history, and the busy daily life in Delhi. I am unsure if I’m ready to leave Delhi and I don’t know if I will ever be ready to leave India, but each night before sleeping, I pleasantly entertain thoughts of family and friends in the states.

11 November, 2004--Short Story, Birthday

So this is just a quick story about an incident that occurred today. I was working on my paper this morning in the study center when my friend Michael came back from breakfast. Because I had earlier informed him that I was going to go jacket shopping today, he told me there was a fellow around the corner selling jackets. We walked out of the study center to the road and the jacket vala happened to be coming our way. We stopped and began perusing his selection of jackets. In India people sell clothes, fruit, cooked food and more from carts which they roll around neighborhoods. I took off my man-purse to try on a jacket and it was okay, but the jacket didn’t punch me in the stomach, so I put my man-purse back on. We were looking at a couple more jackets when all of a sudden, the jacket vala said he was leaving. This seemed highly irregular to me as most valas that sell goods from carts encourage people to look in the hopes that they will buy something. For whatever reason, it was then that I checked for my cell phone. I was pretty sure I brought it with me and kept it in it’s little Velcro compartment in my man-purse, but I could have been mistaken. I checked my pockets and my purse and couldn’t find it anywhere. The jacket vala really wanted to get on his way and he was trying to leave. I asked him why he wanted to leave and he told me that we were just looking and not buying anything. I told him we were looking first and then were going to buy. This didn’t seem to make any difference to him and he just wanted to leave. I couldn’t find my phone anywhere, but didn’t want to accuse him, because as many of you know, I can be quite absent-minded. I told Michael that I thought the guy might have taken my cell phone and asked him to run back to the study center to look for it on the desk and chair I was using. While Michael was gone, the jacket vala kept trying to leave with his cart but I stood in his way. I kept asking him what happened and why he wanted to leave. At this point I hoped that Michael was going to come back with my phone in his hand, but my gut felt otherwise. As he tried to leave while I blocked his way, my friend Sejal came walking out. I told her what was going on and because her Hindi is better than mine, I asked her to tell him that there was no problem and that we wanted to buy jackets, hoping to keep him around longer. He kept insisting and trying to leave and I finally told him that I thought my phone might be in the pile of jackets. He told me to look through the jackets and I did just that, finding nothing. Michael came back and said he couldn’t find my phone anywhere. Then I asked him to wait there while I ran back to the study center in case I dropped it or left it somewhere he didn’t happen to look. As I ran back to the study center, I was thinking myself a fool because just the day before I had recharged the card with over sixty American dollars. I just didn’t want to deal with getting a new cell phone and number and all that when I’m so close to coming home. When I got back to the study center, I picked up my friend’s cell phone and kept dialing my number prompting it to ring in the hopes that I would hear it and retrieve it. I heard nothing. As I was running back to where the cart was, I kept calling the phone. While Sejal and Michael were talking to him, they thought they heard a faint ring. The problem was the jacket vala kept talking whenever it rang so they couldn’t hear exactly what it was or where it was coming from. Eventually Michael heard what he though was my cell phone ringing and he asked the jacket vala what the sound was. The jacket vala said it was probably some auntie’s phone ringing in her house. As the phone continued to ring, Michael bent down and it got a little louder. He stuck his hand below the cart into a bag and felt something vibrating. The jacket vala tried to stop him but Michael persisted and pulled out a handful of clothes wrapped around my cell phone and tied up in a bag underneath the cart! Just as this happened, I came running around the corner. Michael, Sejal and I stood there in disbelief at what had just happened. We weren’t sure what to do. Part of me wanted to knock the guy’s block off, but then I realized that nothing good would come of that. We thought about getting the police involved, but there was no one around and we weren’t even sure how to contact the police. The jacket vala said nothing because he knew we caught him. We swore at him in Hindi and walked off, cell phone in hand, astonished at what had just happened.


Actual Photo of Zameer Talking on Actual Phone after Thwarted Theft Attempt*

*Minimal Photoshop editing done to increase bust size and decrease self-esteem

3 November, 2004 - Delhi, Varanasi, Sarnath

Greetings all, it has been a couple of weeks since I’ve written an update on my situation over here. Fortunately for everyone, this entry won’t be nearly as long as the previous one; this one is what I like to refer to as a “one flusher.” Nothing super crazy or exciting has been happening, but things continue to roll over here. Here I go:

So a couple quick thoughts before I get into the mix. In India, ice cream is readily available wherever you go. In fact I’ve gotten used to eating ice cream almost on a daily basis and sometimes several times a day. I wish I could say that this is helping me gain some weight back, but alas it is not. Anywho, I’m really going to miss eating ice cream here. I really like it.

During the week that I got back from the big journey, there was a big Dassera celebration going on. Dassera is the tenth day of the celebration of good over evil and the end of Navratri. In the Ramayan, it is relates to when Ram killed Ravana. Well in our friend’s neighborhood, there were supposed to be lots of people gathered on these open grounds to watch Ravana effigies burn. We went there thinking that it might be interesting to see this, but we had no idea what it would be like. When we arrived, there were three 70-80 foot Ravana effigies reaching into the sky.

Ravana Effigies on Dassera
Thousands of people had gathered and it was very euphoric. While we waited for the fun to begin, we drank milk mixed with soda and various flavorings. Then they enacted a small segment of the Ramayan and ignited the Ravanas. They immediately caught fire and along with the fireworks inside, went up in flames within a matter of seconds. It was an amazing site and somehow they were able to keep the massive Ravanas from falling into the immense crowd. We were packed in like sardines with the rest of the crowd and once the final Ravana went up in flames, it was a mad rush to get out. This was the closest I’ve ever come to being trampled. We literally could not walk and our bodies were carried with the momentum of the crowd. Because I carry a man-purse here, I knew I would have to be careful. Luckily, my man-purse is equipped with a normal strap for shoulder use, a handle to carry it, and fanny pack style straps. Before the last Ravana was ignited, I fastened the fanny pack straps because I knew it would be an ordeal getting out and I figured some people saw me take pictures with my camera and would want to make it theirs. As we were carried out by the crowd, we struggled to remain on our feet because we knew if we went down, it would be sour times. When we finally made it out, our feet were trampled, my sandals were nearly all the way off, and someone had unfastened the shoulder strap of my man-purse. Luckily we escaped unharmed, but it kind of gave me a taste of what it would be like to be in one of those soccer crowds, not good.

The weekend after my return from the trip my friend Michael and I decided to go to Humayun’s tomb in Delhi. It is sort of like a mini Taj Mahal, but not as crowded and touristy at all. Indian residents get in for 10 rupees whereas tourists get in for 250 rupees, but my tan skin and limited Hindi skills proved valuable as I was able to secure us cheap admittance. Unfortunately we only had a limited amount of time there, but it was beautiful. We could have easily spent the day there. The tomb was built in 1570 and was the first garden-tomb on the Indian subcontinent. After the tomb we visited the INA market. This bazaar features imported food from all over including food from the states such as pop tarts, root beer etc. This bazaar also features a meat market that was like nothing I have ever seen before. If you are vegetarian or an animal lover, you might want to close your eyes while reading this. We witnessed chickens being killed and walked by tables with heads of goats piled on them. With the exception of beef, there was every kind of meat imaginable, both dead, alive and everything in between. The smell was overwhelming and the sight was assaulting. As a carnivore I forced myself to watch because I felt it was important. It was quite hard to handle, but I’m glad I experienced it. Oh, I forgot to mention the best part of the whole day. On the way to Humayun’s tomb, we were at a stoplight in our rickshaw and these children came up to us. Normally children ask us for money, but these children wanted something different. All they wanted to do was laugh at us and scratch our arms playfully. At first we didn’t know what was happening, but then we started enjoying ourselves and laughing with them. When the light changed the children said bye to us and we were happily on our way.


The Happy Scratchers

Last weekend two of my roommates and I decided to take a trip to Varanasi. Varanasi, situated in Uttar Pradesh, is one of the holiest places in India and one of the oldest cities in the world. According to some, many people travel to Varanasi and remain there until they pass, because to die in Varanasi can supposedly release one from the cycle of rebirth. This was not our intention of traveling there.
Varanasi
We took an overnight train to get to Varanasi from Delhi. Before we even got off the train, there were three or four people peering in at us through the bars of the train. When we got off they surrounded us and asked us if we needed an auto. Eventually we got our bearings and took an auto to the area of our hotel. In Varanasi, you can only get so far by auto because it is a maze of narrow alleys and tiny streets traversable only by foot or motorcycle. We checked into our hotel, which featured an amazing view of the Ganga. On our way out from the hotel down to the ghats, we came across three puppies. They were incredibly cute and we decided to name them and we each picked one out for ourselves. I named my little one Borris. We then walked through the streets and had lunch and for some reason decided to get haircuts and shaves with blades. We explored the city and took a ride on a boat through the many ghats. All along the Ganga there are ghats where people are cremated. From the river and from the edge of the bank, you can see the flames perpetually burning. In these flames bodies are cremated, all of this visible to us. In the evening we shopped a little bit and stumbled into a decent sized store that sold silk products. We sat on the cushions while the workers showed us different items. The owner of the store had a really good sense of humor and was joking around with us. Eventually he tried to sell us underwear made in Varanasi. He told us that everyone in Varanasi wore this type of underwear, called a lagotha. There was a man standing in the alley visible from the store and he called him over. The man then proceeded to pull down his pants and show us a little more than his underwear. We all laughed and then the owner asked one of his workers to try the underwear on for us. We told him it wasn’t necessary, but he insisted. We told him if he had to that he should put it on over his pants. So while we all joked around, the worker tied the underwear over his jeans. As the flash of my camera went off, the man trying on the underwear looked up and yelled and we all laughed, including him. The owner was a riot and used American slang to describe body parts and it was evident that he had spent a good amount of time talking to Americans. We each bought something from his store because we were thoroughly entertained and left happy customers.

Varanasi Underwear Model
Later that night we walked around the ghats and were taken inside one of the hospices. This was the most difficult part about being in Varanasi. They have hospices which people basically move into to die. We didn’t know we were being led up to one but before we knew it, we were standing in a pitch black hospice. A lady came up to us asking for money and it was explained to us that she was asking for money to pay for the wood which would be used to cremate her. We stood in the hospice for a long time watching the bodies being cremated below.

Hospices in Varanasi
There is something about Varanasi that is different than anywhere I’ve ever been. Death seems to be more a part of life there than anywhere. It is accepted and embraced there. I will never forget standing in the hospice that night thinking about what I was witnessing. Later that night we sat down to a dinner on the roof of this hotel and had food while listening to live north indian classical music. I had been eating a lot of french toast the whole weekend and I think I’m addicted now. I never considered myself a breakfast guy and I still don’t, but I’m really starting to enjoy it. We didn’t fall asleep that night until after one in the morning. The next day we woke up at five thirty in the morning to watch the sunrise from a boat on the river. It was a beautiful sight and when we returned to the hotel, we had breakfast. I had the french toast. After breakfast my roommates were really tired and wanted to nap. I was also extremely tired but I had other activities in mind besides sleeping. While my roommates slept I went down to where the puppies were. I started talking to the person who was the closest thing to an owner that they probably had. He told me that two of the other puppies had already died. I asked him if I could give one a bath and he said I could have him if I had a good home. I told him I just wanted to wash him because my home was in Delhi. Then I ran upstairs to the room and came down with a couple of bottles of water and some newspaper. I found Borris and placed him on this roof while I gently washed him. He was the cutest thing in the world and really dirty. It took me a while to get the dirt and dead ants off him. He didn’t struggle or put up a fight at all. All he would do was look up at me occasionally with his little puppy dog expression on his face. He was so cute I can’t even believe it. I eventually dried him off with some newspaper. Luckily it was a warm day, so he wasn’t too cold. Eventually I had to return to the room as we had to leave. On our way out, I said goodbye. It was pretty difficult, but I managed.

Sweet Little Borris
Our next destination was a place called Sarnath. Sarnath is the location at which the Buddha gave his first speech. It was pretty amazing to be there and we sat around and talked politics and ethics with each other. Before we knew it, it was time to go back to Varanasi to catch our train. Varanasi is supposed to have really good Pan, so throughout the weekend we were trying different Pan stands.

Pan Vala, Varanasi
We made it to the train station and boarded our train without issue. I listened to music and passed out early. Throughout the night we were awakened by the chai valas selling tea. That is pretty much how it goes on the trains, but by morning the number of chai valas was a little absurd. At one point it sounded like they were in a single file line in teams all calling out “chai, garam chai.” I remember having a dream and hearing a boy’s voice in my dream. I woke up at five in the morning to realize that the voice wasn’t in my dream, that it was some little boy on the train that wouldn’t shut up. The boy was speaking Hindi, but he seemed to have some Latin or Cuban accent and I was thinking to myself, “Who let freakin’ Illian Gonzales on the train, and how the hell did he learn Hindi?” I don’t know what this kid’s problem was, but he wouldn’t be quiet. At certain points on trains you just realize that attempting to sleep is futile and busy yourself with other things. I decided to busy myself with trying to stay warm because for some reason even though our train wasn’t A/C, it was freezing. All I had was a sheet that I brought and the lungi and shirt I was wearing. I wasn’t about to complain though because I knew this meant that the weather was finally cooling down. We got back to Delhi early in the morning and spent the rest of the day studying.

On the school front, things have started to heat up. I’ve finally had to start doing some work and in the last two weeks I’ve given a presentation in class on a paper I had written and finished writing another paper. I’ve been spending most of my time at the study center where there are computers and a lackluster internet connection. One night I stayed up the entire night without sleeping because one mosquito was biting and bothering me. I hate mosquitoes. I have two more papers and one more test and I am officially finished with the quarter. I plan on finishing the next two papers in the next two and a half weeks or so and then enjoying my time in Delhi and other cities in India until I take my Hindi final on the 2nd of December. After that point, it’s off to Southeast Asia.

A couple other things and then I will end this message whose length has spiraled out of control. Diwali is coming up and it’s one of the biggest Holidays of the year, so it should be pretty interesting to be in India for it. Here’s a quick little story of how much of a loser and jerk I am. I was at this store the other day and there was an elderly lady sitting outside. She asked me for money and I gave her some change I had on me. Then I realized that I had some food in my backpack and asked her if she wanted some. She said yes and I handed her a bag of snacks. I finished buying my stuff and then she looked at me and told me she didn’t have any teeth. It was then that I realized that I had given her peanuts and the hardest edible substance known to mankind, Peanut Brittle! I couldn’t believe it. I felt like the biggest jerk in the world. I felt like a real shmuck after that and walked off with my tail between my legs.

Coming back to Delhi has filled me with a lot of mixed emotion. There is very little time left here now. It was incredible to be able to travel so much during the previous week, and I felt quite different upon returning. We came back to the pollution and noise and traffic, but something about it felt homey. The other day I was alone in a rickshaw on my way home from the study center late at night. I was listening to music and then it hit me. I realized that I really and truly love India. I don’t know what caused this realization, but it occurred to me that it has become my home. I’ve grown accustomed to and even fond of the people, the place, the sights, sounds, and yes even the smells. It saddened me to think that in a couple months I would be leaving India for who knows how long. I’ve recently realized that it is not possible for me to live in America without coming back to the India every so often. I think that I might want to come back here to live at some point as well. It is difficult to explain and I’m sure that many people who travel abroad for any extended period feel the same way, but India has become a part of me. It is such a beautiful place and no matter where you go, there is life, always life. I’ve come across some of the most disturbing things I’ve ever seen in my life, but at the same time I’ve experienced things that will be with me forever. I know it may sound contrived, but it’s true. My heart has been changed by this place and it is hard for me to imagine not living here. I have now made it past the four month mark and my journey is slowly coming to an end. I will see a handful of you next month for the trip of a lifetime. The rest of you I will see in January when I return. In the time I have left I plan on spending my time traveling and trying to appreciate life here. I will keep the updates coming and please keep me updated on your lives. Hope you are all well…

Z, Michael, Rohit in Varanasi

-Zameer

Z-Island in Maldives

Underwater Dreamworld in Maldives

Z Snorkeling in Maldives wearing Infant Equipment that hurts the nose badly

20 October, 2004 - India Trip

Dear All,

Introduction:

So just a little warning, this is probably going to be the longest message I’ve ever written in my life. I was considering writing it in sections, but decided against it because of copyright laws(?). Instead I will break down the email into segments for ease of reading if in fact anyone actually decides to read this in its entirety. I recommend printing it out and perhaps setting it in the restroom as reading material. The following is a synopsis of my 18-day trip around India. Please pace yourself and enjoy.

Body:

Preparty:

So the day before leaving I decided to get a haircut as my curly locks were causing a little civil unrest in Delhi. I thought I would try a different location to get my trim on and I ended up walking around the corner from my apartment to a local place. The gentlemen actually did a fantastic job and the price was 25 rupees, or roughly 50 cents. If you someday decide to come to India, I recommend growing your hair out first so you can indulge yourself once here. Cleanly groomed, I was ready to begin packing. I was excited to finally make use of my new backpack I purchased for this and other trips both within India and around the world. I ended up getting everything in with plenty of space to purchase gifts once traveling. I was up till two or three in the morning packing and had to wake up the next morning at five to make our flight.

30 September: Bombay

So after getting very little sleep, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone alarm and took a shower and shaved. Just to warn many of you, I decided to grow out a mustache recently. Most of the men here in India sport the “justache”, which is just a mustache. Knowing that the only two men within recent history to look good with the “justache” have been Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck, I decided to accompany mine with a goatee. Luckily my mustache is not evident in most of the pictures, but know that I can curl my mustache up on the sides and will do so until I decide to shave it, which will be very soon. Anywho, after some last minute packing, I was on my way, leaving Delhi for almost three weeks. We had a Qualis (basically the sport utility vehicle in India) pick us all up early and made it to the airport in time for our flight. We watched the news at the airport and the six of us boarded our flight and were on our way. Reading a paper in the airport, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Conan O’Brian will be taking over for Jay Leno in 2009. I immediately began a mental countdown in my head and I think the gentleman next to me could tell because he was looking at me funny. The flight was on Air Deccan, one of the newer airlines in India, and it was smooth as silk. My mother recently sent me some traveling items including and inflatable travel pillow that goes around the neck as well as a satin shade for the eyes for sleeping during the day. The thing about my eyeshade is that it is a lovely lavender color. This provided much comical relief to many fellow students as well as well as to many locals. I showed them all by sleeping soundly and darkly. We landed in Bombay about midday and the taxi ride to the hotel was glorious because it was my first view of the ocean (actually the Arabian Sea) in four months. It felt so incredible to finally be released from the landlockedness (not a real word) that has become my life in Delhi. Bombay was actually a really cool city. People dressed very Western (not like Western like Dirty Hairy, although that would have been funny, but Western like western cultures), and the architecture was very impressive. Bombay looked like a combination of Chicago, London and San Francisco. Their menus featured beef and their streets were filled with vendors. We came very close to being in a Bollywood movie because someone approached an East-Asian friend of ours and asked him to get some friends together to be extras in a movie. I was excited to finally get my big break into Bollywood after all these years, but it proved unsuccessful because the timing did not work out. This was also the fateful day that we decided to alter our travel plans. We really wanted to go to the Lakshadweep Islands but couldn’t find any booking information, so we were in a bookstore looking around when we came across a Lonely Planet book on the Maldives. Myself and two other friends decided together that if the three of us bought the book, we would commit to going to the Maldives. We walked out of the bookstore with the Maldives book in our hands and paradise on our minds. That night about seven or eight of us all had dinner at a place that specialized in Pav Bhaji. It was very tasty and we followed it up with some fresh paan. We also bought some new swimming trunks on the way home in preparation for Goa and the Maldives. We wanted to check out the nightlife in Bombay, so we went to a couple different clubs. We started out at a place called Polly Esthers. We showed up there and they told us that we wouldn’t want to come in. We were a little confused and asked them why not and they told us because there wasn’t a single person in there. They gave us directions to another club and we appreciated their honesty and took some free mints and were on our way. We went to another club called Red Light, which was also empty, but ended up having a good time. After we went back to Polly Esther’s and walked in and it was pretty lively. Judging from the mid-eighties music they were playing, the largely male crowd, and the flamboyancy of said crowd, I think we might have gone on an “alternative” night, but it’s a little hard to tell in India. I guess Thursday night is kind of an off night for clubbing in Bombay, but Wednesday is big along with Friday and Saturday. We left there hungry and a little curious at around two in the morning. We were all in the mood for mozzarella sticks and grand slam breakfasts, but then realized that we were still in India and that they don’t have Denny’s. To satisfy our hunger cravings, we decided to go to the next closest thing, the 5 Star Taj Mahal Hotel. It was pretty much the only thing open, so we decided to indulge ourselves. I had some tasty eggs and took some pictures of the nice bathroom. We left at four in the morning and because we had girls with us, were literally followed home by a group of teenagers numbering about forty to fifty. It was not a comfortable situation, but luckily other than having vulgarities yelled at us, we made it back to the hotel without incident.

1 October - Bombay-Goa

After the previous late night we had to awaken very early to get everything done. We had breakfast at a charming café and spent the day in Bombay roaming around. We booked our air tickets to the Maldives and took a boat to a place called Elephante Island. Elephante Island is basically and island with old temples carved out of caves. It was very interesting, but I’d seen so many temples by this point, that I was more excited about the ballyhoo the monkeys exhibited and the amazing corn I ate than the actual temples. I also had peanut brittle. After the island we journeyed back to our hotel and went shopping. I picked up some presents for people, some books and some DVDs. Then we showered at a friend’s hotel and took a taxi to the train station. Our train was to leave at 11pm that night and somehow we ended up arriving with only ten minutes to spare. It was at this point that we realized we were at the wrong station. We couldn’t miss our train because it was an overnight train taking us to Goa. We talked to the station manager and he told us that if we hurried, we could hop on a local train and try and meet our train at a different station. So we bought tickets for the local train and as we briskly made our way to the correct platform, there was an incident. I didn’t realize it at the time, but apparently I had an invisible target on me that encouraged birds to poo on me. A hefty amount of poo landed on my shoulder and although I didn’t have time to interrogate the perpetrator, I suspect it was intentional. We jumped on the local train and after a few stops jumped off and ran to our train. Luckily our train was running late and was just leaving. We ran to the platform and had to jump onto our train as it was moving. Relieved, we found our seats and set up our beds. Sleeping on a train in India isn’t the greatest, but it is manageable. Our train ended up running four hours late. We didn’t know it at the time, but apparently a few weeks before, on the same track going to the same place, a train had derailed and hundreds of people died. For this reason they were being extra cautious with our train, causing the delay. I didn’t mind as I was just getting into my new Sidney Sheldon novel.

2-5 October - Goa

When we awoke the next morning we met a gentleman on the train who was from the United Arab Emirates. He was very nice and told us to get off a stop early because of where in Goa our destination was. We took a taxi from the train to our hotel in Baga beach. It was a quaint little room that was 2 minutes from the beach. It was pretty clean other than the occasional ant or frog. We checked in and had lunch on the beach. I had a pineapple shake and shark. It was the first time I ever ate shark and although it was tasty, I think I prefer fish. After I changed and walked on the beach and took pictures and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life. It was absolutely gorgeous.
GOA SUNSET Along with the amazing sunset, we were treated to a rainbow and a cow fight on the beach. Yes, in India there are cows even on the beach. That night we had a really nice dinner and I had Tandoori Kingfish that had been caught that day. It was one of the tastiest fish dishes I have ever consumed. After we went for dessert at a place called Café Coffee Day.
Z AND KINGFISH
The next day we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We hired a taxi and explored North Goa. We went to Old Goa and Panjim. When we got back, we rented scooters from a place next to the beach. My friend and I went on a long ride and rode to a lighthouse. It was beautiful and there is a scene from Dil Chahta Hai that was filmed there. We went shopping and ended up getting soaked on our scooters as rain poured down. We walked on the beach in the rain and swam in the warm water. That night we decided to try this Thai restaurant we came across while riding our scooters earlier in the day. Me being the klutz that I am, wearing glasses, and having the pouring rain all combined to prove very painful. As I was walking out of our hotel, I somehow managed to walk right into some aluminum (pronounced aah-loo-min-yum) siding. I smashed my face right into the side of it, knocking off my glasses and cutting my cheek slightly. I felt like the champion of the universe. So we got a taxi to take us in the pouring rain to the restaurant. The meal ended up being very tasty, but nothing like back home. It was a fun time and there was even a live guitar and violin player there to serenade and sing to us. We met a couple from New Zealand that had been married 53 years. After dinner we stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins and it was amazing. I ordered two scoops and it was so tasty! I never order two scoops and as you can see since I’ve decided to include it here, it was and still is a very big deal to me. The next day we were leaving North Goa and took a taxi to Palolem in South Goa. We checked into our room and walked on the gorgeous beach. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and even though it tasted nothing like home, it was nice to have Mexican food again. The waiter was very nice and was from Kerala and told us about the place as that was our next destination. It continued to rain, but we continued to swim. The water was nice and warm and I managed to cut my feet pretty badly on some rocks. We went to dinner that night at this really nice Italian restaurant. I had a real salad for the first time in four months because they actually had lettuce there. It was really tasty and along with a pizza and some mentos and chocolate afterwards, I was fairly satisfied although I could still have finished a Big Mac. I was really happy about my appetite being back in a big way. I’m trying to gain back some of the weight I’ve lost, but that probably won’t happen until I get back to the states and pick up where I left off, eating fast food and beef almost daily. The next morning we woke up and were pleasantly surprised by the sun shining. We had breakfast on the beach and rented scooters for the day.
Z ON SCOOTER
A friend of ours had the shortest ride of her life when she ran her scooter into the parked truck five feet in front of her. She caused 800 rupees in damage to the scooter and decided against riding it. Myself along with two others ended up riding around for a few hours and it proved to be one of the best parts of being in Goa. We rode to the post office and found this amazing section of beach. We explored Goa and it was a beautiful place. We even came across a snake. We had lunch on the beach and I went shopping for more presents for people. After shopping I went back to our room and as I opened the door, I yelled, “Candy floss” (the equivalent to cotton candy). To my surprise, a large European fellow was laying on the bed. He was apparently sleeping and I had woken him up. It was then that I realized that I was in the wrong room. A few hours prior, we had shifted our luggage to a different room. I apologized as I quickly left his room and headed to our room. Champion. That night we took another Qualis from Palolem to Margao to catch another train. As I got my backpack out of the back of the car, I burned my calf on the exhaust pipe. It hurt very badly. Our train to Kerala was delayed a little and once we finally got on, it was quite disappointing. It was the dirtiest train I’ve been on. It featured roaches, rats and dirty sheets for us to sleep on.

6-8 October – Kerala

The train ended up being only one and a half hours late, long enough for me to finish reading Sheldon and begin the Da Vinci Code. We arrived in Cochin and took a ferry to Fort Kochi. We met up with a friend of ours and all had dinner together. We then went to a North Indian Classical Violin concert. It was amazing and there were only three other people in the venue. The Kerala Kathakali Centre has live music 365 days a year. We would have loved to have stayed for the next night’s sitar performance, but could not.
Z AND S.INDIAN CLASSICAL GROUP
The next morning we walked around Fort Kochi and explored the quaint area. I did some shopping and checked out the sights and came across one of the cutest puppies of all time. We took a ferry and then a bus to get to Allepy. At Allepy we had lunch at a restaurant and I ordered French toast. It took half and hour and when it came out, it was two pieces of untoasted bread with some bad jam smeared on it. The waiter asked how my stomach was and if I enjoyed the food. I told him that it was the worst French toast I ever had in my life. He did not know how to react. Then we met up with the rest of our group and the eleven of us got onto our houseboat. We had rented a houseboat for a 24-hour cruise down the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboat was nothing like the states, but it was really fun. We coasted down the backwaters and talked and ate and played games. The sunset was beautiful as we dined and laughed. .
KERALA BACKWATERS
That night was the worst night of sleep I’ve had in my entire life. We slept four to a full size bed. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the extreme heat, lack of fan, and millions of mosquitoes. I slept about one hour that night and was literally bitten 30-50 times. They really feasted on me. We slept under a net, but because there were four of us, there were gaps for the little bastards to get in and then commence their flesh buffet. We had breakfast and I took a cold bucket shower and then we arrived. We took a two-hour bus down to Trivandrum, which is where our flight was to leave the next morning. From Trivandrum we took an auto to Kovalum because we wanted to stay on the beach. Since it was off-season, the three of us were able to stay in a hotel on the beach with a balcony for 300 rupees, roughly 6 dollars. I was really excited about eating fresh seafood again, so we went to another restaurant on the beach and selected some fresh tiger prawns and red snapper. They made a tiger prawn masala and grilled the red snapper in garlic and herbs. It was incredibly tasty and then we went to a German Bakery for dessert. The thing about eating cake in India is this. Most of the cakes we’ve eaten have been egg less and tasteless. At the German Bakery, they put eggs in their cake and the chocolate fudge cake was a delight. I took a walk on the beach at night and apparently at that specific beach, the tide is so strong that each year a handful of people get swept away to sea.

Intermission

OH HELLO


9 – 13 October – Maldive Islands

After waking up early and having waffles with fresh pineapple at the German Bakery, we took a taxi to the airport in Trivandrum. We checked in and I checked my email. Our flight was delayed an hour and surprisingly the airline actually gave us snacks while we waited. This turned out to be a real blessing because during the delay we met a nice man from the Maldives. He was born and raised there and we chatted with him. When we were talking with him, someone from the airline came over and asked us for our tickets. He took them and walked off. We were confused and asked our new friend what was happening. He told us that the gentleman from the airline was an old friend of his. When the gentleman returned with our tickets, he had upgraded us to first class! It was truly a nice way to start off the trip. When we boarded the plane we were immediately given a refreshing warm towel and fresh grape juice. The flight was a mere forty-five minutes and seemed even shorter because we were so comfortable in first class. Even though you’re not supposed to take pictures on airplanes in India, I couldn’t resist taking pictures as the islands magically appeared during the flight. They looked completely surreal and were truly a spectacular sight. The Maldives are a group of about 1200 islands in the Indian Ocean very close to the equator. The population of the islands is less than three hundred thousand and the population is supposedly 100% Sunni Muslim. Each island is basically a resort or uninhabited. You can walk around most islands in less than ten minutes. We landed at the airport and the airport itself is its own island, so a boat must come and pick us up to take us to our island. After getting our passports stamped and retrieving our luggage, we went to the dock to take our boat to the island. We had arranged for the less expensive dhonie (a big slow boat) to take us to the island. For the second time we lucked out as they had brought the speedboat instead. So we took a very fast speedboat ride to our island but only had to pay for the cheaper dhonie ride. When we arrived at Giravaru Island, we were greeted by a gentleman on the dock. He told us our luggage would be taken care of and we were shown inside. They gave us a refreshing towel and a beverage as we filled out our paperwork. We had lunch in the dining room and then surveyed the island on foot. The Republic of Maldives is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to in my life. The water is crystal clear and warm and the sand is white. There are tropical fish everywhere and it is truly spectacular. That evening I read and thought about my life and experiences while watching the sunset. Later on we had dinner buffet style in the dining room. After dinner we were shopping for snorkeling gear because the Maldives are supposed to be one of the best places to snorkel in the world. The shops in the resort were rather expensive. Calling the United States costs $10 a minute and I was tempted, but decided against it. While shopping for snorkeling gear one of the staff found out that I was having problems. The problem is really that my head is so small that a normal size mask wouldn’t fit me. So he said he had a small snorkel and mask that he could sell me. I ended up getting a used kids size snorkel and mask for about a fourth of the price I would have had to pay in the store. It was really nice of the guy and partially solved my problem. After getting the gear we went to sleep while watching some TV for the first time in a very long time. The next morning we woke up and had buffet breakfast and then went on our first excursion. We took a dhonie and stopped off at an uninhabited island and dropped off a large amount of food. Then we went to an island with a village on it. We walked around and saw what village life was like. After we went back to the first island and were amazed as a feast had been prepared for us on the beach. It was a beach bbq with amazing food. Then I went snorkeling for the first time in my life. Apparently my nose is huge and most kids don’t have noses as big as mine, because when I used the snorkel it literally felt like I had broken my nose after a few minutes of use. Not only that, for some reason I was having a problem breathing using the snorkel. It was really troubling because I don’t like to be limited in life physically in any way. I decided I would not accept the fact that I couldn’t use it and I calmed my breathing down and worked at it until I finally got it down. Once I got it down I entered a world like I have never experienced in my life. Snorkeling in the Maldives followed by seeing “O” in Vegas are the two experiences in my life that have most closely resembled my dreams. It was like being able to breath underwater while swimming in an aquarium. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever. The number of fish and the colors and the coral were simply astounding. I accidentally cut my foot on the coral, which is not good because it contains poison, but I’m a champ like that. After snorkeling we took the boat back to the resort and had dinner. They had plenty of beef but I held off because I decided not to eat beef while on this trip. I did meet a nice fellow from Bangladesh who works there. After dinner I fell asleep while watching Patriot Games on TV. The next morning we woke up and had fresh crepes for breakfast. Then it was off to another island for some snorkeling. We went to an island called Khodipparho where there was a lagoon with turtles, sharks and stingrays in it. It was pretty amazing seeing them all, but it was obvious that they were not naturally residing there, so it took away from the experience. We really wanted to see those animals in the wild while snorkeling. We snorkeled for hours and it was amazing. After we came back to the hotel and had lunch and I read in the ocean. We did some more snorkeling and then it was off to go sunset fishing. We took a dhonie out to the middle of the ocean during sunset. It was a beautiful ride. I’d never been fishing before, so this was going to be interesting. By the time we find a spot to anchor, the sun has gone down and it is actually night fishing. The sky was stunning with stars everywhere. At first the fishing seemed a little uneventful. Basically they bait the line for you and you don’t use a pole, you basically wrap the line around a piece of wood and hold the wood with one hand and the line with the other. I ended up catching a small fish first, which was pretty exciting, but then I felt something really tugging at the line. It was definitely stronger than the first fish. When I finally reeled it in, it turned out to be a barracuda! With its sharp teeth and it’s eyes glossy, it was a very vicious looking fish.
Z AND BARRACUDA
After fishing we went back to the hotel and had dinner. Once dinner was over we made our way to the café because they were going to cook up the fish we caught so we could eat them. The waiter at the café was a really nice guy who was from the Maldives. He shared with us his love for Will Smith and talked about growing up on the islands. He told us that he considers barracuda to be the deadliest creature in the sea and explained to us how they attack. We talked about girls and he told us of his girlfriend of four years and how they met. After the interesting café experience we retired for the evening. The next morning we woke up early to have a quick breakfast before another excursion. The destination was an uninhabited island made completely of sand. We stepped onto the catamaran, which is a really cool sailboat capable of fast speeds. It was very exciting being on the boat and the skipper was actually a former Bosnian prisoner of war. He came to the Maldives, met a Maldivian girl, got married, has two kids and is now sailing for a living in paradise. He was adamant about following your dreams and doing what you love and making it your life. We had an amazing time sailing on the ocean. We got to our island and the catamaran couldn’t get us close enough, so we had to anchor about a hundred yards from the island and swim to it. We took some amazing pictures and there was a point at which I was the only person on the island. Other people were off snorkeling and I laid on the sand on my own island. It was an incredible experience and I thought about a lot. It’s interesting how much travel makes you think about your life. While I was on the island, my friend saw sharks and a stingray while snorkeling. When we finally swam back to the boat the anchor was stuck in the coral and we couldn’t get it out. Like an anxious little boy, I wanted to do whatever I could to help out the skipper. At his request I dove into the water and attempted to dislodge the anchor. The problem was I didn’t have my mask on and I wear neon green contacts, so I couldn’t really open my eyes underwater. The anchor wasn’t giving and I didn’t want to rise to the surface a failure, so I started really yanking on the anchor until it was freed. I came to the surface successful and let out a Braveheart style yell (nope). As we sailed back to the resort, I sat on the front of the boat and watched the waves go by. When we got close to the resort, the catamaran has a motor that brings the boat in to dock. Well, we were within fifty yards of the dock and the motor failed. It ended up taking us over an hour to get fifty yards as the skipper expertly navigated us in using the sails, the wind and his experience. He ended up having to dive into the water at a couple points and we helped by keeping the boat from hitting other boats using our legs. It kind of sucked because the delay caused us to miss lunch. That had potential to turn into an international incident, but we handled it. After grabbing some lunch at the café, we went snorkeling again for what turned out to be the best day of snorkeling ever. We spotted a couple turtles and one even let us swim with him. It was an amazing experience and we took underwater pictures with single use cameras. The fish in the ocean were brilliant and they would sometimes let you swim with them. I tried grabbing a fish just to see what would happen because I’m incredibly mature and without any effort at all the fish would swim away. Swimming with a school of fish is something I will never forget. That day I got pretty sunburn and I am now peeling like a banana. I was putting on sunscreen, but I guess we were pretty close to the equator and were out in the sun a lot. The weather in the Maldives was perfect for our stay. The temperature was in the mid to upper eighties and the water was in the mid to upper seventies. After another tasty buffet we retired to our room and fell asleep reading. The next morning we had a quick breakfast and wanted to get in one last little snorkeling adventure before leaving our island for good. The snorkeling was great and we went really far into the ocean; about three to four hundred yards from shore. The fish were astounding and there was one school of fish that looked like a hurricane made of fish. After snorkeling I was taking a shower when I thought someone turned the sprinklers on outside. When I got out of the shower it was raining like a monsoon. The weather had turned from perfection to a storm out of nowhere. Luckily we were checking out that day to go to Male (pronounced Mar-lay), the capital and commercial epicenter of the Maldives. The dhonie ride taking us from our island to Male was kind of sad. We had an incredible time on Giravaru Island and didn’t want to leave. Male was a beautiful and busy place. We had no idea what to expect, but there were little cars and scooters everywhere. It was a charming little city with lots of shopping. The buildings were all very colorful and the people were very friendly. We found a hotel to stay at and walked around exploring the city. It was a really clean and safe place. Everyone was smiling all the time and there were lots of young parents everywhere. There were the most modern mosques I’ve ever seen all over the place and many restaurants. We decided to get our underwater camera film developed and found an affordable place. While waiting we had lunch at a pizza place and eagerly anticipated our film. We also got gelato at a little shop, which was amazing. I only got one scoop this time. Our pictures turned out very nice and there are some amazing pictures of fish and turtles and sharks. That night we had dinner at a Thai restaurant. While dining at the Thai restaurant I realized that I forgot my underwater photos somewhere. I placed my order and raced back to where I thought I left them. Walking on the streets of Male at night alone was actually very interesting. It just felt incredibly safe there. Girls walked alone dressed very modernly and I walked by the president’s home, which was heavily guarded. Luckily when I got to the shop, I found my pictures and then walked back to the restaurant. That night we slept early because we had to wake up early to leave for our flight. In the morning we walked in the rain to catch a ferry to take us to the airport. We checked in and had ample time in the airport to read while waiting for our flight. Leaving the Maldives was actually really sad. I couldn’t believe the time we had there but took comfort knowing that I will someday return. It is the most romantic place I’ve ever been in my life and hopefully next time I go back, it won’t be with two dudes. I can tell you that based on everything I read and was told about the Maldives, my expectations were unreasonably high. I can also tell you that the Maldives far exceeded my expectations in every way and I cannot wait until the day I can return.
Z IN MALDIVES SHAWSHANK STYLE

14 October – Tamil Nadu, Kerala

The flight back from the Maldives was short and before we knew it, we were back in India again. This was a bit difficult as living in the Maldives was more like living at home in the states as far as the amenities were concerned. But there was also something right about being back in India. Despite the rabid dogs, the poverty, the smell and the chaos, there is something about India that has gotten inside me (malaria) and it kind of feels like home now. I guess living somewhere for four months will do that to you. After claiming our luggage we walked out of the airport in Trivandrum and there was a gentleman holding a sign on a piece of paper that read “Mr. Zameer”. We got in the taxi and were on our way down to Kanyakumari. Kanyakumari is the southern most tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea all meet. The two and a half hour drive through Kerala and Tamil Nadu was beautiful. South India is incredibly green and full of palm trees and lush greenery. Listening to music and dozing off as life passed us by made the ride very memorable. We got to Kanyakumari and it was actually quite nice. It has become highly commercial, but nonetheless it was an interesting place to visit. We spent only two or three hours there and were on our way back up to Kerala. We went back up to Kovalum to stay on the beach and this time my friend and I stayed in a room on the beach for 150 rupees (about three dollars). We had a nice dinner in which I consumed shrimp and fish and during which the weirdest talent show I’ve ever seen came on. There were groups of teenage boys dancing in front of us wearing aluminum foil type costumes dancing to Hindi and Malayalam film songs. I forgot to mention this earlier, but being in the south once again introduced us to a language barrier that was sometimes difficult to traverse. Our Hindi skills proved to be futile on many occasions.

15-18 October – Gujarat

In the morning we woke up, had breakfast and were on our way to the airport once again. At the airport we checked in our luggage at the Jet Airways counter. Because all of us that were traveling together were Indian, we were able to get what is called an Apex ticket. That means that you are an Indian resident or born in India so you get incredible discounts on airfare. We were a little apprehensive about buying these tickets because there was a chance our scheme could fail. Luckily it went off without a hitch and we all passed as “true” Indians and flew Jet at a premium discount. We had a brief layover in Bombay and then landed in Gujarat. Gujarat held special significance for me because this is where my family originates. To be in the state where it all began was truly special. We had come to Gujarat to celebrate Navratri, a celebration of Durga, the mother goddess. Gujarat is the place to be for Navratri (that wasn’t supposed to rhyme, but I’m glad it did). Basically it’s nine nights of garbas into the night. A major earthquake hit Gujarat in 2001 that killed over 30,000 people and the state is still recovering from the massive damage. We stayed in Ahmedabad, a huge and dusty city. We stayed in the country club where the garba was taking place and it was an amazing time. We did raas and garba till very late and then had some unhealthy snacks at 2am in the café. We went back to our hotel room and played games till 4am. I was on the phone till about five am and the next morning we woke up early. We had lunch at this famous restaurant called Gordon Thal and it was tasty. It was some of the best food I’ve had in India and I think I liked it so much because it reminded me of my Mom’s cooking. We had ice cream after that (1 scoop) and then shopped in Gujarat. I walked around Gujarat by myself for a while and thought about my grandparents and ancestors. We ate dinner that night at Pizza Hut and it was very nice. Instead of going to a garba that night, my friend and I decided to stick around the hotel and hang out. We started by playing a friendly game of badminton. This country club actually had a nice badminton court indoors. They lent us the equipment and we began to play. It was incredibly fun. I hadn’t played in at least ten years and forgot how high the fun-factor is in badminton. While we were playing a small kid no more than seven years old asked if he could play. He was a little cutie and we told him once we finished the game he could play. After the game I took a seat and watched my friend and the kid rally. My friend assumed he couldn’t play and asked him if he knew how. The kid was very respectful and said he knew how. My friend then hit the shuttlecock high in the air and then something happened that I will never forget. The kid slammed the birdie in my friend’s face. The kid turned out to be amazing. My friend could not even get one shot on the kid. He had a stance for receiving serves and could play like no other. After my friend was humiliated, he wanted me to try. The kid and I started playing and he was amazing. At first he was beating me pretty badly. He combined drop shots with super slams and I couldn’t compete. Then I started to find my groove and it was on. We traded points and I was sweating up a storm. The kid had skills. It finally came down to point point and in the end, Rohan was victorious. We shook hands and I could tell he was satisfied with his victory. Part of me wanted to slide tackle him to show him who’s really boss, but then I figured I would let him have his moment of glory and simply tell his parents he was swearing at me. So I limped off the court defeated in once sense, okay in every sense. So after badminton, we tried to play billiards. When we got into the billiards room it was really tense in there. They racked the balls for us and neither of us knew how to play and no one seemed to want to show us. So we started playing and then my friend tried a shot and they stopped him. They said that he couldn’t play. We told them that neither of us knew how to play so we were allowed to stay. When he took his next shot they said that only he couldn’t play and that I was allowed. They said that he should take some lessons and come back. The only thing we were doing differently was holding the cue a little different than each other. I normally don’t go to the race card, but it was clear to me that they were being racist because my friend was white. It actually made us both very upset and I didn’t want to stay if he couldn’t play, so we left. It was interesting because I realized that the reverse racism that exists over here upsets me just as much as racism in the states. After attempted billiards and what I will refer to as the “badminton incident” from now on, I watched the garba from the roof of the country club. This was one of the most emotional and spiritual experiences I’ve had since being in India. There was something about being in Gujarat during this time and seeing everyone elaborately dressed up and feeling the music and emotion of the whole event that was moving. It was as if everything came together to create this entrancing experience in which everyone was happy and celebrating together and dancing. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it in my life and feel fortunate that I was able to. That night I fell asleep while watching TV in bed.
NAVRATRI IN GUJARAT
The next morning I woke up early and a group of us decided to go see the movie Bride and Prejudice. We had the choice of seeing it in Hindi or in English and we chose Hindi thinking it’s better to see it in it’s original language. Turns out the movie was filmed entirely in English. The movie was okay and after it was over we went shopping for presents for people. That night we went back to Gordon Thal for dinner and ended up garba hopping. We went to two different garbas and ending up eating at a place called Honest afterwards. At Honest we were sitting in a booth and there was a guy staring at me bigtime. I asked him why he was staring at me because he was literally turned around in his booth and looking right at me. He told me that he liked my style. I asked him what that meant and he said he liked my style but I was off about Gujarat. We had no idea what he was talking about. We think he thought we were talking badly about Gujarat when it was not the case at all. We ended up going home around three in the morning. I didn’t end up going to sleep at all that night because we had to leave at six in the morning for our flight, so I just talked to Deepna on the phone for a couple of hours. Our flight back to Delhi was delayed and when we finally got on the plane, most of us fell right to sleep. Arriving in Delhi filled me with mixed feelings. Part of me was sad the adventure had come to an end, but part of me was glad to be back. I think I was okay with being back because when it comes down to it I only have about six weeks left in Delhi. A few of the remaining weekends here will be spent traveling as well. This weekend I am off to Punjab to see the Golden Temple and the border ceremony and next weekend we are going to Varanasi. Basically in six weeks I have to write three papers totaling over forty pages and study for a Hindi final. Once December comes around, it’s time to travel again until January 7th, when I make my return to the states.

Conclusion

First off I want to say congratulations for making it to the end. There are probably only a handful of you that actually read this in its entirety and I thank you for that. I realize that this is absurdly long, but each time I write, I am attempting to convey what it is I am actually experiencing here. Overall the trip was amazing. I feel truly lucky to have been able to see India like I did. I learned so much about the country from which I originate. Luckily my health remains in top shape aside from the minor weight loss. As my time here winds down, I can feel myself preparing to come home, both mentally and emotionally. I am not quite ready yet, but I know that after these next six weeks, my time will arrive. Today is actually four months to the day that I have been in India. While there is still a good amount of time left, these next couple of months will surely fly by for us all with the holidays quickly approaching. I am thinking of you all and I hope you are well…

-Zameer

Injury List:
Poo (mental anguish)
Cut toe on Scooter
Cut toes on rock
Aluminum Siding Incident
Exhaust pipe burn
Cut foot on coral
Sunburn
Bruised Ego (“badminton incident”)
1639 Mosquito Bites