I was on the shinkansen the other day doing some writing and I found these scribblings in my notebook. I thought I'd digitize them.
First was this weirdness while I was trying to get to the Agra Cantt train station back in August:
I'm rushing out to the street from the Sheela Inn to find an auto rickshaw when I'm approached by this young kid who's directing me towards an auto and an older gentleman standing beside it. We negotiate a price and I'm off to Agra Cantt Station. I thought the older guy was going to drive but the kid jumped in. The roads were full of people and every one of my senses was being bombarded by stimuli. Three camels linked together wandered across the street. People were shouting. Food was frying. Honking in every direction. We're racing through all of this, swerving around cows, kids, bikes, merchants. I'm thinkin', man, this kid's good! I wonder how old he is. I look through my pocket for a tip, I'm so impressed. I think about asking how old he is, my guess was 13, maybe 14. I say nothing though, he's 'in the zone'. We finally reach the station, I get out, and as I look up at him I'm startled to discover that in the light, this kid's actually a mustached man in his thirties. I'm very weirded out, I still tip him, and he smiles as I dart to the platform.
Next is an excerpt from Paul Theroux's article "The Exotic View" (1977):
It seems natural to dream of the exotic as to dream at all. We are born with the impulse to wonder and eventually to yearn for the world before the fall in which we may be the solitary Crusoe (with his bad conscience he is rather more credible than Adam); and who has not dreamed of being a princeling with a jeweled sword, marching across an eastern caliphate? In a sense, the literature comes later. Because the dreamer's perfection emphasizes that it is unattainable, man searches for proof that it is not. And whatever fantasy one has reveals one's peculiar hunger. It might be very simple: The island paradise. Or it might be complex: The oriental kingdom of silks and plumes.
And there's the random dialogue I scribble everywhere:
I'm a dreamer. And the thing of it is, my dreams come true. I just don't know when, where, how, or with whom. So I'm constantly on guard because at any moment, that could be it.
While in my mountain hideaway...
There is no humanity without humans. Why do you think you have to do this alone?
Really?
My tombstone will read: I did it all for Love.
Who am I talking to?
I have the perfect role for you in my fantasies and damn it, you've already nailed the audition. Yet you seem to have no interest in the part.
I'm continuing to meet fascinating people on the trip. A French chef staying at my guest house recently sold off everything and is traveling with his wife and 7 year old for four years. His first trip ever was a 3,000km motorcycle ride from France to Norway when he was 16 years old. It's wonderful to sit back and just listen to the smokers wax poetic about their experiences and everything 'shanti shanti'. They find me to be a quiet and peaceful person (not quiet and creepy like they do in the States, ha!). In fact, that's been one of the encouraging things about meeting people on this journey... often, people have commented that they've found me to be a generally good human with a positive energy or aura. I had a lot of trouble appreciating that when I was back home.
Dear Mom, Thank you for mailing the box back. It has been received and my refund is being processed.
Dear Valentina, When you return to Paris from Africa, expect a funny looking package sent from Delhi, India. I hope the color pleases you.
I think I jumped back into normal food to quickly yesterday. Potaotes, eggs, and buttered toast... bad call. So far toast, porridge, and mint tea seems to be working out. Wish me luck on the bumpy 12 hour bus ride tonight.
My long puffy hair makes me look skinnier in photos. I need a buzz cut desperately. I was thinking about a 20 Rupee hair cut in India but the other day, I watched a bunch of people crowding around this guy from Yemen at my guest house. They were checking out the lice eggs in his hair. Mmm, let's make an omelet. Pin, hope you have a good place for me to get a trim- number 2 on the sides, chop the top.
I'm excited for Japan, it's going to be sooo different! India is an incredible place but you need to take your time here. Have a friend with you. There is no way to do it at the pace of my European trip.
Labels: India
I had a hard time sleeping last night and I started to think about this whole Earth in 20 years business. I think I may have come off as pessimistic (blame the indigestion). I don't want you to think that my outlook is so bleak. After seeing so many beautiful things and witnessing what human beings are capable of when they have chosen to do good things... it's a beautiful planet.
The key for me over the last few years is to strike some sort of balance. Life is ups and downs, beautiful and ugly, easy and difficult, yin and yang. I want to do my best to be a good human being. I think if there are enough people making this effort, the planet will find more balance. I left LA a few months back because something was way off. Now, I feel things leveling off a bit.
The morning sun has warmed up Vashisht. I need to head out and find some mellow food to get my strength back. Tomorrow night I'm jumping on another night bus back to Delhi.
Labels: India
I've been spending more time at the Rainbow Cafe, talking to various travelers. Topics of discussion have included world cinema, relationships with nature, and prophecies told by tribes from around the world. Apparently 2012 may be an interesting year for moving up a dimension. My friend Chris here told me how he has chosen to believe in this upcoming event where the world will experience a great energy exchange. Some will go to the other side and some will... who knows? Kind of wild stuff to digest if you're not high like everyone else but what he did say that kind of struck a chord was that he chose to believe in this fantasy of the future because the future's reality was harder to believe in. This was profound to me because, sadly, 20 years from now, I do not believe we will be in a better place. The momentum in which the world is moving towards environmental destruction, war, poverty, and so forth seems unstoppable. I do believe we can slow it down but in five, ten, twenty years... I'm glad I've taken the opportunity to see as much as I can.
I received the typical Indian souvenir yesterday- belly problems. I was so confident that I'd be able to avoid it but bam! weird sharp pains hit me at night. The worst part was rolling around in bed for three hours. I couldn't turn my brain off and I just kept thinking and thinking about different things, having conversations with people in my head. All the while, it felt like a knife was sticking out of my stomach. The next day I popped immodium, drank the guesthouse's host's lemon-salt concoction, and had a reiki treatment performed on me by a Russian girl. When you're in the Himalayas, you try everything, heh. Today, my belly's still out of whack but my head feels better.
You know what's creepy about this blog? You're all getting to know me way too well.
Labels: India
You get that question frequently as you travel. The best compliment I get is someone conversing with me in the local language because they think I'm from there. I've had quite a few people start telling me things in Hindi. When I tell them I'm from the US (in aggressive touristy areas I've started saying I'm from Toronto, Canada) they look at me strangely and say I look Japanese, Chinese, etc. The Indians can really spot my "Chino Eyes" (my Mexican friends throw that term at me, not the Indians). I have to explain my Vietnamese heritage and they nod with that "I thought so" expression. I swear, I should really just buy a local outfit wherever I am and I think I'd manage a little better, maybe avoid "tourist" prices.
I seriously need a haircut.
I've decided, there's no '5 second' rule in India.
It never stopped raining today so I played cards with some Canadians and listened to music on the balcony for a couple of hours. I took a nap and had a dream where Jack Nicholson played a part. Weird. I sat and had Nepali style chicken at the Rainbow Cafe (run by six dudes from Nepal) while watching the clouds roll into the valley, making everything disappear. Crazy Himalayan mountains man. It's nice to feel cold in India.
Labels: India
I've spent about a day in Vashist and I feel this strange turmoil weighing on my shoulders. I sat staring out at the mountains yesterday thinking how I've felt least at peace in India than anywhere else. I want to go out and create a beautiful video for you of the natural beauty surrounding me but I think I'll just sit and do some writing and some reading.
Vashist is an interesting little town in Manali. You see a lot of "hippie" looking guys and girls. Everyone's smoking hash or ganja. I think I may be the only one who's not. There's a temple here and a hot spring where people bath all day or do their laundry. Cows roam all over the place (watch your step, there are fresh droppings on every path). At meals, I enjoy the company of creatures. A fly stood and ate a grain of sugar yesterday while I had my vegetarian thali. This morning at breakfast, a bird stood in front of my plate and ate rice and bread crumbs. In another mood, it could be spiritual but right now, I think of loneliness, the future, and the why.
If it doesn't rain, I'm going to try to make it to the top of the mountain today. And if the weather holds up tomorrow, perhaps I'll venture on farther.
Labels: India
I was on the craziest bus ride of my life last night. Twelve hours. It was like being on Star Tours for twelve hours straight except you're not strapped in. The seats recline all the way back so you can try to sleep- if you can stay in your seat. I wasn't worried though for some reason. I think I've reached this point in my travels where I decide to do something, shrug, and put my faith in the hands of the world spirit.
I reached Manali and it's a beautiful and peaceful place in the mountains. I tried hiking to a waterfall but I cut my toe so I turned back. Plus, the path completely disappeared on me. I may head to a higher place in the Himalayas tomorrow or Monday. I forget how to spell it. Wish me luck. I'm gonna go chill now.
-Force Feeding-
I forgot a little experience in Agra the other day that I wanted to make note of. I did the Taj and then I went to cut my thank yous at Costa coffee. When I got out, I went to the sketchy internet cafe before trying to head back to the hostel. My rickshaw driver was persuading me to go to a handicrafts place so he could get a commission, even if I didn't buy anything. But I was feeling woozy in a weird way so all I wanted was to get out of the sun and wait for my train. He wouldn't stop persisting so I handed him some money and tried to get another driver to take me. He tried to get me to go to a shop, too. I was so frustrated. Then this woman with a baby came tugging at me for some change. I refused and she begged even more. I swear, this was the most aggravated I'd ever been in the three months I've been traveling. I just wasn't feeling well so I marched down the street and over-paid a guy to take me back to the hotel. That's where I ran into John and got eaten by skeets. (the bites have swollen up since they rubbed all over the bus seats while I crashed around last night on the ride here)
I mentioned to John that I'd felt a weird kind of woozy and I didn't know whether it was fatigue, the heat, or some disease I picked up from a bug. He told me that the heat can make you lose your appetite and I realized that was the problem. I hadn't been hungry since coming to India. I'd somehow managed to sleep away a lot of meals. He told me that he had to force himself to eat three meals due to an earlier ailment. So since then, I've also been forcing myself to eat, even when nothing seems very appetizing when my head is breaking out, I can actually smell myself, and all I want is to bath in a nice, clean, shower that's separate from the toilet area.
I'm seriously thinking about checking into someplace ritzy when I get back to Delhi. Though I could hold out til Japan... though the showers aren't much more 'Western' there. Okay, enough whining. Just wanted to tell you that the heat will play with your body. Remember to eat! (Yes, mom)
Labels: India
While I tried to kill time by counting the number of new mosquito kisses I could collect in one hour (twelve), I ran into John, my ten-month traveling British friend. We were discussing our journeys and beyond. He mentioned that traveling had enabled him to soak up knowledge a lot quicker, like a sponge.
I liked this idea of being a sponge. As we travel, we soak up images, smells, sounds, stories, knowledge and so on. By the end of the trip, it's dripping out of you. It'll definitely take some time to sit, reflect, and squeeze it out to see what you've got. Otherwise, it'll evaporate, leaving you damp at most. I think I'm going to actually have to take some time off, after my time off, to sort through everything I've been collecting in my brain.
I was telling John how I'd come to the decision to travel and mentioned that no one ever regrets traveling. He said he'd met two people who told him that traveling had wrecked their lives. I grew nervous for a moment thinking that perhaps taking time off had cost them some sort of opportunity. What they said was that once they had returned from their trips, they found themselves eager to go back out again. They'd sit at work and find themselves trying to figure out when they'd have enough money to go to the next generation. The funny thing was, I'd had this imaginary conversation with myself on the train to Agra the other morning (I make up a lot of random dialogue... stop looking at me that way):
- How'd you guys deal with getting acclimated to being back home after seeing so much and traveling so long?
+ You don't, you just come back and try to figure out how you can get back out there again.
= Yeah man, you're $%^ed. You've got 'it', you've got the travel bug.
(laughter)
+ I'm sure everywhere you went, someone told you what you should have seen.
- Yes! People were like, "Are you going to Turkey? You should spend at least a month in Turkey." And I'd say, um, I'm spending zero days there, you think that's enough?
= You'll never see everything. You have to realize that. It's not possible.
+ You'll try though. Every moment you're back at the office, you'll be working towards the next trek.
So it was interesting that John mentioned these 'wrecked' lives. I'd already started to feel it. One of my newest fantasies is to return to the States for a few weeks and figure out how to make some quick cash to continue on to South America as soon as possible. You can't travel five continents and just stop can you?
I'm heading to Manali today on a night bus. I'm currently passing time, pre-typing blogs in the sanctuary of another air-conditioned coffee house (today Barista, yesterday Costa). To my dismay, there's no wifi nor an outlet to keep my laptop charged. But the paneer sandwich and ginger fizz were yummy.
Labels: India
Thanks to the Raiker Family! Taj Mahal Morning
0 Comments Published by Tony on Thursday, August 16, 2007 at 2:08 AM.
Before I left for my big trip, the Raikers sent a handful of rupees with me for my trip to India. They've helped me get to Agra to visit the beautiful Taj Mahal. I got up early and headed over to see it in the morning light. The skies were a bit hazy so it was a bit different than a normal sunrise but I couldn't believe how incredible it was. An amazing monument to love. I spent about three hours on the grounds just checking it out from different angles and watching as people from around the world showed up to experience it. At times the sun peeked out and made the whole side of it sparkle. Definitely a wonder of the world. I ended the morning with a nice breakfast at the hostel and in a few hours I'll head back to Delhi before heading North to Himachal Pradesh
Have a safe and pleasant trip to Peru. Many many thanks. I'll see you again soon enough.
It's probably just as warm in Sherman Oaks but at least there's a mall or something to escape to. Yesterday I hired an autorickshaw to take me to a few of the sights around Agra. It was a pretty relaxing day. The Agra Fort was massive and pretty cool. I wandered around for a couple of hours, spotting monkeys running across walls. I was driven out to the river where I could catch the backside of the Taj Mahal. This was my first close up view of this magnificent building. I watched buffalo going for a swim and had kids coming up to me asking if I wanted a photo for a few rupees. Finally, for lunch, I stopped into a restaurant called Indiana and had a fresh lemon soda, butter naan, and chicken murg masala. Pretty tasty. My last stop was a marble shop where a fellow by the name of Krishna told me stories of how eleven generations of his family had been working on the Taj Mahal. I got some background on the Taj which made today's visit more interesting. I wish you could have been there. Hope you get the cardio class going. Can't wait to tell you stories in person when I get back! Take care and stay cool. One of us has to.
I haven't been taking photos of India which is a shame, I know. I've always been uncomfortable taking photos of street life in poorer areas. Valentina says it's called "the gaze"... those pictures of kids smiling while living in poverty. I'll try to snap something 'real' while I'm here but for now, let me try to paint the picture in words. (Half of you just stopped reading and scrolled to the YouTube videos ha!)
To catch a 6am train to Agra the other day, I decided to book myself into the Smyle Inn across from New Delhi Railway Station. The hostel's actually located in an alley off of the Market Bazaar. Now, imagine chaos. Double that. You get the area around NDRS. Across the street is this market where you're subjected to all sorts of unpleasant smells and constantly have to watch your step as there's animal droppings, food debris, or people spit everywhere. You'll also have to dodge cows, motorcycles, autorickshaws, and people pushing carts or carrying goods.
When I finally found the Smyle Inn, I thought, "hmm, it smells like a toilet" (that's not exactly what I said to myself but I have to clean up my language- mom's readin' this). I couldn't figure out where it was coming from until later when I realized, there was actually two open squat toilets right at the entrance of the alley. Only once did I see someone use it and thank goodness he was only urinating.
Bathing has been a chore in India. Most of my bathrooms have a shower with low pressure, no hot water, and no toilet paper. What they do have are buckets. 'Bucket showers' are a new fact of life. You fill up a bucket, try to soap up, and use a smaller bucket to poor the water over you. This makes 'a quick shower' not so quick. Meanwhile, you end up with the entire floor completely wet. All of this was part of the adventure at Caroline's because I knew that she was the only one using the place (plus she's got a great squeegee to clean up the water). But there's a whole lot of shuttering going on when I start thinking about how people use the other tiny bucket for the toilet next to the shower. My poor feet. Oh, and in Agra, I was showering and looked up to see dozens of tiny insects hanging out in the corner above my head.
Last night I came back from my day roaming the Agra Fort and other sights and saw something run across my wall. I was spooked. The four different types of insects I spotted didn't bother me so much as long as they stayed out of my hair and shoes but this thing was big. I pulled the bed out and found a lizard. ::sigh of relief:: I thought, at least he's helping to eat the bugs.
On the streets of Agra, I've been spotting a variety of wild life. Again, I wasn't able to whip out the camera in time. There are elephants, camels, buffalo, goats, burrows, dogs, (a rat just ran out the door of this internet cafe) and my favorite- families of monkeys. It's a zoo out here!
Lying in bed last night, I started to get a little impatient. I was constantly shifting my body around to get out of my own sweat spot. I'm laying there under a fan, swatting away flies, and I'm thinking, this is only the beginning. Thailand, China, Vietnam... there are some funky places ahead. What have I gotten myself into. But this morning, I met an Englishman who's on his last stop before returning to the UK from a 10 month trip (shortened from 12). I can do this. I stink right now and there's something crawling on me but man, what an adventure.
...and getting caught in the rain. You'd love Delhi.
Eating Indian food alone has been an adventure. I never quite know what to do with everything in front of me. Yesterday for lunch I tried Sagar restaurant in the Defence Colony. I believe it's supposed to be 'South Indian' cuisine. I sat down and asked the waiter, "Whatsa vada?" He had a hard time explaining it to me but I ordered it anyway along with a dosa masala which I've also never had. Oh, and a mango milk shake. Mmm. Anyway, out comes two metal bowls of some sort of sauces and a metal cup of water (they love metal plates and cups here). Then the vada arrived. They looked like doughnuts! Why didn't he just say so? I cut into it and dipped it into the coconut sauce. Definitely not sweet like a doughnut. More spicy and maybe a hint of onion. The other sauce was brothy like a spicy vegetable soup. I dipped the vada in that, too. Then the guy brought two more metal bowls of sauce and the dosa masala soon after. A dosa is pretty much an Indian crepe. Except it's not sweet but rather spicy. (it's like they've taken western desserts- doughnuts and crepes- and added a bunch of spices to play jokes on your tongue's expectations) Overall, pretty good light lunch. Though I've already acquired a taste for Indian in the past.
Oh, I forgot to mention the pre and post meal customs I've encountered at Punjabi by Nature and Anand Restaurant (where I had some tandoori chicken and biryani tonight). They brought out an appetizer 'salad' of sliced onions with a spicy powder or sauce on top and a wedge of lime. If you like raw onions, it's not too bad. Though I only eat a few bites to keep the mosquitoes from kissing me. After the meal, you might get a plate of fennel seed, sometimes sugar coated or mixed with rock sugar. This is used as a breath freshener. I kind of dig it. (Fennel has a bit of a licorice flavor due to a compound called anethole that they both contain) At PbN, they also brought out bowls of water to wash our fingers as much of the dining involves using your hands. (at Anand, I used wipes I keep in my pocket)
Last night, I also met up with Manash's cousin Ankush and his girlfriend. We got caught in a bit of rain but it did seem to cool down the city a little. Over some bottles of Kingfisher, we had some good discussions about child development, Indian cinema, cultural differences within the country, and why I should have spent more time here. Time is really flying. I took my brother's advice and decided to just relax for a couple of days in Delhi. I've tried catching up on a million emails. Sorry if I haven't replied.
I finally managed to escape the apartment and go shoe shopping for Valentina at Dilli Haat (not very interesting to me as the only thing I bought was a Maaza mango drink). I jumped into an autorickshaw [video below] and went to Janpath market where I finally found the shoes but instead of buying them, I talked to an Indian merchant for an hour. He tried to convince me that I should visit Kashmir instead of Manali and make use of his houseboat. If only there was more time, Shaki. Hmm, why do I keep talking to locals and eating chicken immediately afterwards? That's three countries in a row.
Man, I'm rambling now. At least you're all ready for a nap now. Night!
I had so much catching up to do with FeedTony.com messages, I've spent the day at Caroline's place cutting, blogging, and uploading.[Egypt and Greece photos are up on Picasa] Maybe tomorrow I'll actually see what Delhi looks like in the daytime!
Again, much thanks to my family- Walt, Charley, Binh, Carol, John, and mom who continue to support. I hope you don't need a video to know that I appreciate your assistance as it's made things like broken cameras and whether to take faster ferries much easier to deal with. Love you guys!
Again, much thanks to my family- Walt, Charley, Binh, Carol, John, and mom who continue to support. I hope you don't need a video to know that I appreciate your assistance as it's made things like broken cameras and whether to take faster ferries much easier to deal with. Love you guys!
Caroline, I'm so glad I caught you before you took off for Geneva. Thank you for the delicious welcome to India meal at Punjabi by Nature. I swear I thought I was back in LA for a moment until we walked back out into the humidity and roads crowded with rickshaws, stray dogs, and cows. It was an amazing evening. The bats flying over Lodi Gardens... I'll remember that forever. And the water adventures, too funny. Sorry for wrecking your bathroom. And by the way, I've been eating your pears and bread... wouldn't want you to come back to spoiled food now would we? I wish we could have spent more time together but I guess that means we'll have to meet up again somewhere on the planet.
You've been YouTubed:
Flew into New Delhi this morning, no problems- my luggage even made it to my surprise (I had to change planes in Munich... you know what happened last time). After I made it through customs, I noticed mosquitoes flying around my luggage. I thought, "Nice, the mosquitoes have actually come to the airport to greet me". Then on the way to the money exchange, I saw a cat... in the airport, just chillin'. Other than that, all of the cringing people did when I mentioned flying into Delhi didn't seem warranted.
I hopped a taxi to my friend Caroline's place in the Defence Colony (that's how it's spelled here). The drivers here are almost as crazy as the driver's in Cairo. Lots of honking and a complete disregard for lanes. I was completely wiped out when I got here so I've been napping all afternoon. I was going to try to catch up on my blogging and photo uploading but I can't seem to figure out how to get my computer online here yet.
Thanks for taking care of that package, mom!
Labels: India
