Ah, where to begin..
Yesterday morning (9:30) I got in my maroon robes and went down to OSHO via auto rickshaw, which is about a 2 minute ride. I kind of regret not going to the earlier meditations, but I was so tired! Oh well, can't go back in time. So I arrived for the "Welcome Morning" and that was interesting. It was a three hour welcome program that include short examples of some of the meditations and a tour around the resort. There were about twenty of us in the group. I talked to a bunch of people, all much older. I don't really know names (oops) but they were from Australia, South Africa, Germany/Chicago, and some unknown Eastern European country. I did make a friend whom
I spent most of the day with. His name is Giampaolo and he's from Italy. He's probably in his mid 40's. I know that might seem a little weird, but then I remember that I'm actually pretty tight with some of my parents' friends (sup, Val and Chris) and former teachers (wuddup, D-Rad.) So yeah, he was really laid back and easy/fun to talk to. Something kind of funny about the Welcome Morning, the woman mentioned that you see a lot of people hugging because it's a great way to share energy. Then she added "but you can't just go hugging everyone, it has to be a mutual hug" and I felt like I was in kindergarten.
Unfortunately we didn't watch the clock close enough and missed the "Silent Sitting Meditation" by like three minutes. Soooo I only got to go to one meditation, the Nadabrahma Meditation. I spent 30 minutes humming, 7.5 minutes reeeeeally slowly pushing my palms-up hands from my torso out in front of me and then out and around...then 7.5 minutes the other way. Then 15 minutes sitting in silence. I could have stayed for the Kundalini meditation again because someeeeeone (coughdadcough) was late and I totally had enough time to stay. So that really sucks, two days and only two meditations. I really wish I had at least another day or two at OSHO. Maybe one day I'll go back...maybe. There's apparently a branch in Manhattan but I can't imagine that that'd be the same at all. I can't remember if I already mentioned that in my other post but whatever.
Oh yeah, no photography allowed at OSHO. Lame!
So back to the apartment I went. We left for Mumbai via car and got there around 10:30 or something. After finally being able to check in (there was a "suspect bag" or something) we finally got on the plane. I was so stoked to get the window seat of an exit row. Although it turned kind of bittersweet because I fiiiinally get that opportunity but then there was a row (of 2) with no one in it. So I took the chance to lie down across those two seats. It actually was not very comfortable...my back is killllling me today. So yeah, I slept maybe like three crappy hours on the plane before landing in Bangkok. Upon picking up my bag I saw that my Cayman Islands patch was ripped off :[[[[ I'm going to reinforce all of the other patches soon so that doesn't happen again. Sucks. Oh oh oh, while waiting in line for security at the airport, I legit saw a name on the news (TV) that read "Sheila Dikshit." Suckssss to the max.
I'm back here at Saladaeng Residence, where I stayed in December/January. We're here for one night, as tomorrow we board the sleeper train to Chiang Mai. I go to the Buddhist temple for two weeks on Monday! So these posts will cease. I'll be hand writing in a journal from then on out but I'm not really sure if I'll post it. Probably most of it but I can imagine some things will be kind of personal. I'm a little nervous to go to the temple. Two weeks is kind of a long time, plus the type of meditation is completely different. OSHO is all about dancing and relieving stress and celebrating life. Buddhist meditation is ancient and very silent and still. Whatever, either way it'll definitely be an amazing life experience. I'm sure I'll go on day trips and do some fun things. Apparently there are five or six others that will be staying at the temple at the same time. Hopefully they're cool.
Today I think we're going to go to Chinatown/Coffee Society/go get massages or something. Take it kind of easy. I've already done the super touristy things in Bangkok so it's nice not to feel like I have to go out and do a ton of stuff. Plus I'll be back here for two days at the end of my trip.
Tomorrow we're running(/walking) a 5k...we'll see how that goes. Yay Thailand! It's great to be back, I love it here.
(I'm not sure how to apply the new time zone to just one post...not sure if I can, but just add an hour and a half to each new post from now on)
Saturday, July 31, 2010
Friday, July 30, 2010
Well, I don't have HIV
Always a good thing to hear, eh?
Today was interesting, different, and fun! This morning Sham and I went to get henna done. My palms are now so fancy!
Afterward I went to OSHO Meditation Resort. Immediately I had to get tested for HIV..I'll admit, some "loving" things can go on when there are a lot of hippies in one place, but that's definitely not the point of the resort!!! I know you all were really worried for me and all, but I'm happy to share that I am HIV free.
OSHO a really neat, yet really silly environment. During the daytime everyone wears maroon robes, and at night they're white robes. The type of meditation is contemporary and very energetic. I like it although it's not all for me. I'm excited to see how tomorrow goes, I'll be there from 9:45-5:00 pm.
Since I was at the resort alone, it was nice when someone came to talk to me. I don't remember his name but he's 21 and from somewhere in India. We were the youngest by far. Okay there were a few people in their late 20's or so but mostly mid 30's+. Again, I'm glad he came and talked to me but...ugh he's like a leech. I feel bad saying that because he's really nice..but seriously, give me some time to myself!! Even during the meditations he was all over me and I felt self conscious and weird (It was during a completely freestyle dance.) He even mentioned how he was possibly looking for a girlfriend while he was there.
No.
Thanks.
(He would be a very bad person to read this post..) Nothing's sacred on the internet but let's hope for the best..
Anyway, at 9:30 we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe (super Indian, right?) for Luigi's birthday. The only other people there were two other Italians, a married couple, probably in their early-mid forties. They were fun! We had lots and lots of food and there was music and beer and cake! That was the first alcohol I've had on this whole trip. Sham took a ton of pictures so I'll steal those and get them on Facbeook eventually. I really had a great time :]
Here:
(lol)
It's late (for my body, at least) and it's time for sleeeeep, but I'm totally packed for tomorrow! I'm shocked that everything fits in my backpack...including my camera case. I'm very, very impressed. Off to Bangkok tomorrow night!! I'm not sure what we're doing on Saturday, but Sunday is the "mini marathon" (which is actually a 5k,) and then that night we're taking a sleeper train to Chiang Mai. I go to the temple on Monday afternoon :D
PS: I miss my friends
Today was interesting, different, and fun! This morning Sham and I went to get henna done. My palms are now so fancy!
Afterward I went to OSHO Meditation Resort. Immediately I had to get tested for HIV..I'll admit, some "loving" things can go on when there are a lot of hippies in one place, but that's definitely not the point of the resort!!! I know you all were really worried for me and all, but I'm happy to share that I am HIV free.
OSHO a really neat, yet really silly environment. During the daytime everyone wears maroon robes, and at night they're white robes. The type of meditation is contemporary and very energetic. I like it although it's not all for me. I'm excited to see how tomorrow goes, I'll be there from 9:45-5:00 pm.
Since I was at the resort alone, it was nice when someone came to talk to me. I don't remember his name but he's 21 and from somewhere in India. We were the youngest by far. Okay there were a few people in their late 20's or so but mostly mid 30's+. Again, I'm glad he came and talked to me but...ugh he's like a leech. I feel bad saying that because he's really nice..but seriously, give me some time to myself!! Even during the meditations he was all over me and I felt self conscious and weird (It was during a completely freestyle dance.) He even mentioned how he was possibly looking for a girlfriend while he was there.
No.
Thanks.
(He would be a very bad person to read this post..) Nothing's sacred on the internet but let's hope for the best..
Anyway, at 9:30 we headed to the Hard Rock Cafe (super Indian, right?) for Luigi's birthday. The only other people there were two other Italians, a married couple, probably in their early-mid forties. They were fun! We had lots and lots of food and there was music and beer and cake! That was the first alcohol I've had on this whole trip. Sham took a ton of pictures so I'll steal those and get them on Facbeook eventually. I really had a great time :]
Here:
(lol)It's late (for my body, at least) and it's time for sleeeeep, but I'm totally packed for tomorrow! I'm shocked that everything fits in my backpack...including my camera case. I'm very, very impressed. Off to Bangkok tomorrow night!! I'm not sure what we're doing on Saturday, but Sunday is the "mini marathon" (which is actually a 5k,) and then that night we're taking a sleeper train to Chiang Mai. I go to the temple on Monday afternoon :D
PS: I miss my friends
Wednesday, July 28, 2010
Meep
First of all, is anyone actually reading this? I'll reiterate, it's definitely for me to look back on and remember every stupid, meticulous detail about my trip...but I am curious if anyone is actually reading it. LET ME KNOW.
Anyway, today has been super tiring. I woke up at about 7:15 am and was so excited about finishing my drawing (shading, actually) that I stayed up and finished it. Here:
Only really faint, basic outlines were provided. And a shaded version on the other page. Okay whatever, I'm learning.
Then I started drawing eyes!
Who knows, maybe if I don't get bored/frustrated I'll actually pick up drawing as a legit hobby. So far so good, I really like it.
Anyway...Sham and I were intent on finding a yoga place this morning. We walked around for about two and a half hours before finally calling it quits. We got the name and number of some guy who teaches but apparently it's only in the mornings of certain days..plus we were told no one would take us for just one class/lesson. Bummer. However, in our search, we came across the Osho International Meditation Centre. There's a large possibility that I'm going to go there for a few hours tomorrow and nearly all day on Friday. I have to wear maroon robes and I just meditate all day (guided, of course.) Apparently there's one other branch in New York. Interesting...but I can't imagine that it'd be anything like this one. There are 28 acres or something on this campus. Very peaceful and beautiful.
Tonight someone that works for my dad took us out shopping. Her name is Soni and she's 25. I went to about six different shops looking for something somewhat specific...no luck. I'll try department stores again. I managed to buy a neat little wall hanging for my room...not that I have any wall space but I'll make it fit somewhere (ooh ah?)
Then we went out for dinner and talked and hung out and it was nice, she's really cool. Man I'm super wiped! Oh, tomorrow we're meeting that Italian guy Luigi and a colleague of his/his girlfriend/some other French guy for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. That should be interesting. Apparently it's Luigi's 23rd birthday. Ooh I'd feel so creepy if he found these posts and read about himself. Ew, weirdddd.
Okay I think it's time for sleepies.
Anyway, today has been super tiring. I woke up at about 7:15 am and was so excited about finishing my drawing (shading, actually) that I stayed up and finished it. Here:
Only really faint, basic outlines were provided. And a shaded version on the other page. Okay whatever, I'm learning.
Then I started drawing eyes!
Who knows, maybe if I don't get bored/frustrated I'll actually pick up drawing as a legit hobby. So far so good, I really like it.
Anyway...Sham and I were intent on finding a yoga place this morning. We walked around for about two and a half hours before finally calling it quits. We got the name and number of some guy who teaches but apparently it's only in the mornings of certain days..plus we were told no one would take us for just one class/lesson. Bummer. However, in our search, we came across the Osho International Meditation Centre. There's a large possibility that I'm going to go there for a few hours tomorrow and nearly all day on Friday. I have to wear maroon robes and I just meditate all day (guided, of course.) Apparently there's one other branch in New York. Interesting...but I can't imagine that it'd be anything like this one. There are 28 acres or something on this campus. Very peaceful and beautiful.
Tonight someone that works for my dad took us out shopping. Her name is Soni and she's 25. I went to about six different shops looking for something somewhat specific...no luck. I'll try department stores again. I managed to buy a neat little wall hanging for my room...not that I have any wall space but I'll make it fit somewhere (ooh ah?)
Then we went out for dinner and talked and hung out and it was nice, she's really cool. Man I'm super wiped! Oh, tomorrow we're meeting that Italian guy Luigi and a colleague of his/his girlfriend/some other French guy for dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. That should be interesting. Apparently it's Luigi's 23rd birthday. Ooh I'd feel so creepy if he found these posts and read about himself. Ew, weirdddd.
Okay I think it's time for sleepies.
Tuesday, July 27, 2010
Princeton Town, India
MONDAY ~11:00 pm
Today was a pretty low-key day, but I was totally fine with that after our eventful weekend. Sham and I saw Inception and it was really good. She accidentally heard me say the name of the movie was "Conception" so that gave me a bit of a giggle. That would be a very different type of film…Like Thailand, they play the national anthem before the movie starts. This time it was just an animation of the waving flag, but in Thailand it's this whole propaganda video involving the king and children and all sorts of things. Another thing I found interesting was that the movie was not only in English, but had English subtitles as well. I heard it's because a lot of Indian English speakers have a hard time understanding American accents. Ha.
We did our first department store shopping trip and they had surprisingly very reasonable prices. I got one more Indian kameez thing. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and recuperating here in the apartment. It's raining pretty hard so that kind of made it easy to stay inside. I watched American Beauty which was really nice. It's my favorite movie and I haven't watched it in sayyyy two years? A perfect amount of time had passed, regardless. What a fantastic film.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street. I noticed a guy eating alone so we asked him to join us. I'd say he was in his mid to late twenties, from Italy, and his name is Luigi. I'm so proud I didn't crack a SINGLE Mario Bros. joke :D His English wasn't spectacular but it was enough to talk a little bit. He invited us out for dinner on Thursday night with some more Italians and one French guy. Sounds fun! Another note with the English speaking..I've definitely heard more English than Hindi. There was a large table next to us of students and they were all speaking in English, so was everyone at the department store. Interesting.
It's now 11:05 pm and I'm impressed that I'm still awake. I was up in the middle of the night for like four hours last night due to a stupid bad dream. I slept a little later than usual today (10 am) and I didn't take any naps. Pretty legit, huh? I hope to be on a solid, regular schedule soon. Jet-lag suuuucks. You know what sucks more? The internet isn't working. My guess is because of the rain. What I think sucks the most is that my computer is proving once again to be a pain in the ass. For some reason Skype was working while Firefox and Adium remained offline (and every other internet-accessing program I tried.) Weird. My computer keeps doing the cursor freeze thing again and has stupid blips. I just got it fixed like two months ago :| I'm glad it's under warranty but it's still such a pain. I think Apple owes me a new computer at this point.
TUESDAY 8:57 pm
Internet is working again…sort of. Guess where I found myself today? Outside a little place called "Princeton Town." Awesome. Today I bought a book on shading pencil portraits and some fancy pencils. So far so good! I'm hoping this will keep me busy for the weeks to come.
Today was a pretty low-key day, but I was totally fine with that after our eventful weekend. Sham and I saw Inception and it was really good. She accidentally heard me say the name of the movie was "Conception" so that gave me a bit of a giggle. That would be a very different type of film…Like Thailand, they play the national anthem before the movie starts. This time it was just an animation of the waving flag, but in Thailand it's this whole propaganda video involving the king and children and all sorts of things. Another thing I found interesting was that the movie was not only in English, but had English subtitles as well. I heard it's because a lot of Indian English speakers have a hard time understanding American accents. Ha.
We did our first department store shopping trip and they had surprisingly very reasonable prices. I got one more Indian kameez thing. The rest of the day was spent relaxing and recuperating here in the apartment. It's raining pretty hard so that kind of made it easy to stay inside. I watched American Beauty which was really nice. It's my favorite movie and I haven't watched it in sayyyy two years? A perfect amount of time had passed, regardless. What a fantastic film.
We had dinner at an Italian restaurant across the street. I noticed a guy eating alone so we asked him to join us. I'd say he was in his mid to late twenties, from Italy, and his name is Luigi. I'm so proud I didn't crack a SINGLE Mario Bros. joke :D His English wasn't spectacular but it was enough to talk a little bit. He invited us out for dinner on Thursday night with some more Italians and one French guy. Sounds fun! Another note with the English speaking..I've definitely heard more English than Hindi. There was a large table next to us of students and they were all speaking in English, so was everyone at the department store. Interesting.
It's now 11:05 pm and I'm impressed that I'm still awake. I was up in the middle of the night for like four hours last night due to a stupid bad dream. I slept a little later than usual today (10 am) and I didn't take any naps. Pretty legit, huh? I hope to be on a solid, regular schedule soon. Jet-lag suuuucks. You know what sucks more? The internet isn't working. My guess is because of the rain. What I think sucks the most is that my computer is proving once again to be a pain in the ass. For some reason Skype was working while Firefox and Adium remained offline (and every other internet-accessing program I tried.) Weird. My computer keeps doing the cursor freeze thing again and has stupid blips. I just got it fixed like two months ago :| I'm glad it's under warranty but it's still such a pain. I think Apple owes me a new computer at this point.
TUESDAY 8:57 pm
Internet is working again…sort of. Guess where I found myself today? Outside a little place called "Princeton Town." Awesome. Today I bought a book on shading pencil portraits and some fancy pencils. So far so good! I'm hoping this will keep me busy for the weeks to come.
Sunday, July 25, 2010
Weekend in Delhi & Agra
SATURDAY 10:09 am
I can already deem this another good day and it's only 10:09 am! (The internet isn't working so my intent is to write this now and post it later.) We flew from Pune at 7:30 pm and arrived in Delhi two hours later. We immediately met up with Sham's driver friend who took us to Agra in about four hours. I slept for a very large majority of that. We woke up at 5:45 to go to the Taj Mahal! I'm so glad I got a chance to go, it would've been a shame to be in India and not see something so magnificent. I almost feel like some sort of minor celebrity...so many people asked to take their picture with me (or just "candidly" take a picture of me from afar...which I'm not too happy with.) Maybe it's 'cause they think I'm preeeeetttttyyyy. Ha. There were a lot of white people there but not a crazy amount, I guess. It is blistering hot here...I'm so glad that Pune is elevated and much cooler. Ooh, ooh. So we went into this shop where the descendants (14th generation) the people who built the Taj Mahal continue to make marble plates/art/all sorts of stuff. We bought some things and in return the guy agreed to give me a small little marble box if I sang the Star Spangled Banner. Excellent deal.
We just ate breakfast in the revolving restaurant upstairs and when we were finished they asked us to fill out a suggestion card. From the restaurant you can only see the very top of the Taj Mahal, so I suggested that they raise it about 50 metres so we can see it better. I hope they do it.. I also corrected the English which is probably slightly obnoxious but hey--maybe they'll fix it and appear more professional and legitimate. I'll post some pictures later, we're checking out in about 45 minutes and going back to Delhi.
SATURDAY 8:30 pm
Okay so the ride back to Delhi wasn't bad at all. There was lots to be seen, including snake charmers at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch! I can't get the song out of my head..so...repetitive (dd rr ff mrim dd rr ff m I slept towards the end of the ride and as a result ended up being rudely awoken the moment we got to a temple in Delhi. Honestly I just wanted to sleep, what a long day. I'm glad we went though, it was The Bahá'í House of Worship, a temple for all religions to pray and meditate and it's shaped like a lotus. Pretty neat. It's 8:30 pm now and I'm in our hotel. Sham and I walked around a bit to try to find the market but once it started getting dark (read: extremely shady) I was ready to turn back. We'll go to the main bazaar tomorrow morning and that'll be good. We're leaving at 3 pm tomorrow...short stay but hey, I've been to the Taj Mahal! Neat-o.
We have five more days in Pune once we get back. Four if we decide to spend the last day in Mumbai...maybe. Not too sure what we're going to do, but Sham and I want to go see Inception and go to the big yoga place. I guess we'll figure it out..? The last thing I need to do is more shopping--however tempting. I'd like a few more things (including gifts) but I think I can get some of it in Bangkok, too.
For your (and my own) amusement, I will now list the noteworthy animals that I saw today:
Dogs, cows, water buffalo, camels, elephants, monkeys, pigs, horses, donkeys, and goats. Awesome.
SUNDAY 3:10 pm
Well this computer (my dad's tiny notebook) sucks. I can't figure out how to redo my stupid undo which erased what I just wrote. I want my Macccccccccccc. Okay..so today we went to the main bazaar and of course did a lot of shopping. It's kind of the equivalent to Khao San Road in Bangkok, only smaller, dirtier, and less people. We also went to the place where Gandhi was martyred. Pretty heavy stuff but really great to read about his life and accomplishments and read his fantastic quotes. After that we went to a "World Heritage Site of India," Qutub Minar. Following that was lunch and now here are are. OH! Apparently I saw a very holy/famous guru as we entered the airport. I got some pretty baller pictures of the crowd, however I only managed to get one very blurry picture of the man himself. At least my dad and Sham snagged some photos, though. I'm ready for my nap on the plane.
SUNDAY 8:22 pm
I think I'm getting lazy in terms of posting pictures..plus it just clutters the whole thing up. Maybe if I'm bored enough I'll add some, but chances are if you're reading thing we're Facebook friends, so just look there for corresponding photos.
I will leave you with this, though. Today I won a million dollars:
(If the words "brand," "new," and "key" mean anything to you, I miss you.)
I can already deem this another good day and it's only 10:09 am! (The internet isn't working so my intent is to write this now and post it later.) We flew from Pune at 7:30 pm and arrived in Delhi two hours later. We immediately met up with Sham's driver friend who took us to Agra in about four hours. I slept for a very large majority of that. We woke up at 5:45 to go to the Taj Mahal! I'm so glad I got a chance to go, it would've been a shame to be in India and not see something so magnificent. I almost feel like some sort of minor celebrity...so many people asked to take their picture with me (or just "candidly" take a picture of me from afar...which I'm not too happy with.) Maybe it's 'cause they think I'm preeeeetttttyyyy. Ha. There were a lot of white people there but not a crazy amount, I guess. It is blistering hot here...I'm so glad that Pune is elevated and much cooler. Ooh, ooh. So we went into this shop where the descendants (14th generation) the people who built the Taj Mahal continue to make marble plates/art/all sorts of stuff. We bought some things and in return the guy agreed to give me a small little marble box if I sang the Star Spangled Banner. Excellent deal.
We just ate breakfast in the revolving restaurant upstairs and when we were finished they asked us to fill out a suggestion card. From the restaurant you can only see the very top of the Taj Mahal, so I suggested that they raise it about 50 metres so we can see it better. I hope they do it.. I also corrected the English which is probably slightly obnoxious but hey--maybe they'll fix it and appear more professional and legitimate. I'll post some pictures later, we're checking out in about 45 minutes and going back to Delhi.
SATURDAY 8:30 pm
Okay so the ride back to Delhi wasn't bad at all. There was lots to be seen, including snake charmers at the restaurant we stopped at for lunch! I can't get the song out of my head..so...repetitive (dd rr ff mrim dd rr ff m I slept towards the end of the ride and as a result ended up being rudely awoken the moment we got to a temple in Delhi. Honestly I just wanted to sleep, what a long day. I'm glad we went though, it was The Bahá'í House of Worship, a temple for all religions to pray and meditate and it's shaped like a lotus. Pretty neat. It's 8:30 pm now and I'm in our hotel. Sham and I walked around a bit to try to find the market but once it started getting dark (read: extremely shady) I was ready to turn back. We'll go to the main bazaar tomorrow morning and that'll be good. We're leaving at 3 pm tomorrow...short stay but hey, I've been to the Taj Mahal! Neat-o.
We have five more days in Pune once we get back. Four if we decide to spend the last day in Mumbai...maybe. Not too sure what we're going to do, but Sham and I want to go see Inception and go to the big yoga place. I guess we'll figure it out..? The last thing I need to do is more shopping--however tempting. I'd like a few more things (including gifts) but I think I can get some of it in Bangkok, too.
For your (and my own) amusement, I will now list the noteworthy animals that I saw today:
Dogs, cows, water buffalo, camels, elephants, monkeys, pigs, horses, donkeys, and goats. Awesome.
SUNDAY 3:10 pm
Well this computer (my dad's tiny notebook) sucks. I can't figure out how to redo my stupid undo which erased what I just wrote. I want my Macccccccccccc. Okay..so today we went to the main bazaar and of course did a lot of shopping. It's kind of the equivalent to Khao San Road in Bangkok, only smaller, dirtier, and less people. We also went to the place where Gandhi was martyred. Pretty heavy stuff but really great to read about his life and accomplishments and read his fantastic quotes. After that we went to a "World Heritage Site of India," Qutub Minar. Following that was lunch and now here are are. OH! Apparently I saw a very holy/famous guru as we entered the airport. I got some pretty baller pictures of the crowd, however I only managed to get one very blurry picture of the man himself. At least my dad and Sham snagged some photos, though. I'm ready for my nap on the plane.
SUNDAY 8:22 pm
I think I'm getting lazy in terms of posting pictures..plus it just clutters the whole thing up. Maybe if I'm bored enough I'll add some, but chances are if you're reading thing we're Facebook friends, so just look there for corresponding photos.
I will leave you with this, though. Today I won a million dollars:
(If the words "brand," "new," and "key" mean anything to you, I miss you.)
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Finally
Today has been pretty awesome. You have been forewarned: I took a lot of photos today and I intend to share them on this thing. Sham and I went back to the same area that we were in on Tuesday. More shopping! I bought a scarf, an anklet, three skirts (two are PERFECT for Reunions..well especially one :D,) a traditional kameez, and some legging-like pants (for under the now two kameezes that I have.) ANYWAY. So that was awesome, but I'm mostly stoked over my photos. None of them are overly incredible or anything, but it's the first time that I've really taken photographs since arriving.
Without further ado, the [many] photos of today in chronological order with snippets here and there:
Sham and I spent a lot of time here and got a lot of stuff
Girls we started randomly talking to. Yes, I cropped [most of] myself out.
This goat cracks me up every time
It became my model
"Make sure to get my profile lolz"
The way Sham is touching it is ridiculous. Love it.
Mama & baby cow
Horrible photo but it started coming at me and I got scared!
Another goaty :)
I ate street food for lunch! My whole meal was only 10 Rupees. That's about 21 cents.
No idea what this vegetable was but it was tasty
The mandatory, cliché, super closeup
"'cuse me, you're doin' it wrong"
I love when people ask me to take their photo. People get pretty excited to see a DSLR
And there you have it!
Also, that little girl who was grabbing on to Sham the other day reappeared. She did it again and it was pretty ridiculous. Also, also. I saw a really funny thing this morning. I'm super mad I was in a car and didn't have my camera out, it would've made a hilarious picture. There was a goat standing on the bench of a bus stop. Just chillin'. People were sitting and waiting like it wasn't even there. Nice.
I've promised myself to stay awake long enough to go out for dinner. It will probably be difficult given I'm only operating on 4 hours of sleep AND I'm still jet-lagged...but the battle must go on.
More updates!!
I promised myself to take a nap between 6-7 ONLY...but of course it went until 8:30. That's fine! I woke up and we went to a jazz club! It was really spectacular, I bought their CD afterward. It was really crowded, lots of young folk and the most falang I've seen. There was lots of hookah but I had no one to smoke it with me :( Not that I'm even a big fan of tobacco...never smoked even a single cigarette! But you know, it's about the full experience. Sham has a bunch of pictures so I'll probably steal them from her camera tomorrow or something.
Without further ado, the [many] photos of today in chronological order with snippets here and there:
Sham and I spent a lot of time here and got a lot of stuff
Girls we started randomly talking to. Yes, I cropped [most of] myself out.
This goat cracks me up every time
It became my model
"Make sure to get my profile lolz"
The way Sham is touching it is ridiculous. Love it.
Mama & baby cow
Horrible photo but it started coming at me and I got scared!
Another goaty :)
I ate street food for lunch! My whole meal was only 10 Rupees. That's about 21 cents.
No idea what this vegetable was but it was tasty
The mandatory, cliché, super closeup
"'cuse me, you're doin' it wrong"
I love when people ask me to take their photo. People get pretty excited to see a DSLR
And there you have it!
Also, that little girl who was grabbing on to Sham the other day reappeared. She did it again and it was pretty ridiculous. Also, also. I saw a really funny thing this morning. I'm super mad I was in a car and didn't have my camera out, it would've made a hilarious picture. There was a goat standing on the bench of a bus stop. Just chillin'. People were sitting and waiting like it wasn't even there. Nice.
I've promised myself to stay awake long enough to go out for dinner. It will probably be difficult given I'm only operating on 4 hours of sleep AND I'm still jet-lagged...but the battle must go on.
More updates!!
I promised myself to take a nap between 6-7 ONLY...but of course it went until 8:30. That's fine! I woke up and we went to a jazz club! It was really spectacular, I bought their CD afterward. It was really crowded, lots of young folk and the most falang I've seen. There was lots of hookah but I had no one to smoke it with me :( Not that I'm even a big fan of tobacco...never smoked even a single cigarette! But you know, it's about the full experience. Sham has a bunch of pictures so I'll probably steal them from her camera tomorrow or something.
i can haz bowl?
I really wish this place had bowls. There are plates and utensils but no bowls. I've been eating cereal out of a pot. Despite that sucking, I got everything on the original "Things I Don't Have But Wish I Did" list.
Yesterday I didn't do anything. Really. We walked around in the morning for maybe an hour, exchanged some money at the bank (which took about an hour as they had to call someone in to check the authenticity of our bills,) and bought some fruit/drinking water around the corner. Oh, and I sewed on two more patches--only two more to go! I'll take a picture when I'm all done. It's such a random assortment of countries.
I'm determined to actually start doing things around the city. It's difficult because my dad is working during the day, plus we're going to be here for like a week more. So much timeeeeee! Tomorrow we go to Delhi/Agra though and I'm super super excited! I'm hoping to do a lot of shopping there, I'm sure it'll be better than in Pune. Pune has a lot of Western style boutiques and such but I want to buy things from markets and street vendors. I want authentic Indian clothes, not something I can buy at home with the same price tag.
I'll see what Sham wants to do today but hopefully I can stay awake. I took a nap yesterday for about 3 hours and that kind of ruined any chance of going anywhere. Once again I missed going out for dinner. I was going to be super determined not to nap today but I woke up at 5 am and haven't been able to get back to bed :/ That left me with four hours of sleep.
Yesterday I didn't do anything. Really. We walked around in the morning for maybe an hour, exchanged some money at the bank (which took about an hour as they had to call someone in to check the authenticity of our bills,) and bought some fruit/drinking water around the corner. Oh, and I sewed on two more patches--only two more to go! I'll take a picture when I'm all done. It's such a random assortment of countries.
I'm determined to actually start doing things around the city. It's difficult because my dad is working during the day, plus we're going to be here for like a week more. So much timeeeeee! Tomorrow we go to Delhi/Agra though and I'm super super excited! I'm hoping to do a lot of shopping there, I'm sure it'll be better than in Pune. Pune has a lot of Western style boutiques and such but I want to buy things from markets and street vendors. I want authentic Indian clothes, not something I can buy at home with the same price tag.
I'll see what Sham wants to do today but hopefully I can stay awake. I took a nap yesterday for about 3 hours and that kind of ruined any chance of going anywhere. Once again I missed going out for dinner. I was going to be super determined not to nap today but I woke up at 5 am and haven't been able to get back to bed :/ That left me with four hours of sleep.
Wednesday, July 21, 2010
Shops 'n' Stones
I actually woke up at a normal time today, which I was pretty proud of. Either 8:30 or 9, who can remember. Sham and I left at about 9:30 to go into the real center of the city. I literally did not see a SINGLE other white person. Or Thai, for that matter. (I will probably often use the Thai word "Farang" meaning "foreigner")
We went to a temple and did the whole praying bit as we scoped it out. I was really bummed there were no cameras allowed, there was a really neat circle of men who were chanting around a fire and throwing something in it (here's where I feel silly for not being educated on religious customs.)
**DISCLAIMER: I'm not trying to flood this blog (sorry but that word makes me cringe..documentation?) with photos. That's what my photo albums on Facebook will be for. However, I just so happen to be a visual learner I'm sure it must be better to see it rather than have to guess what Pune is like.
Here's the temple from the outside:
Inside the smaller part:
And a vendor:
We walked around a bit more and finally found some promising shops with Indian clothing. You'll have to pardon these crappy pictures from PhotoBooth, but I haven't taken better quality photos yet. Here's what I managed to find for myself! Three shops, total.
First shop yielded this:
The gold pants are pretty wild but I dig 'em.
Second shop yield:
Sorry, kind of hard to see. Black leggings, blue shirt with gold trim at the top and on the sides
Third shop yield:
I need to figure out the real name for that "scarf"
Here are five photos that I took while walking around:
Probably the worst part about the day was when these young girls were literally touching us and hanging on to Sham begging for money. I know it's what they've been "trained" to do and obviously social norms are different..but it was super annoying and kind of freaky. I was scared one of them would try to get into my [very heavily zipped and protected] bag. Eventually after saying "no" about a million times in Hindi and walking faster and faster, they left us alone. In general, I also don't like how people (drivers, bellboy type figures) will help you out and then straight-up ask for a tip. Again, culture clash but I just personally find it rude. It's a tip because you deserve it, not because you ask for it. They'll even name their own prices. I think it's especially uncomfortable for me because I have a hard time asking for money even when someone owes me for real.
Anyway, after our adventures I was ready to just sit and relax for a little bit. Ate some noodles. But I know by now that no vacation of mine is complete without some sort of medical issue. This time it was my damn kidney stones. A few Aleve, two Hydrocodones, one Naproxen, and one lie down later--I finally feel better. I probably was in significant pain for 2+ hours. Stupid inefficient painkillers...the doctors keep prescribing the same crap no matter how many times I tell my doctors it doesn't work.
So from then on out I just kind of stayed in bed and watched movies. I skipped going out to dinner because even though the pain was gone, I was left feeling nauseous and loopy. I'm none too pleased to say that I haven't had Indian food since being here. Awful! Okay, tomorrow's the day.
I was almost forcing myself to stay awake for the end of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (good movie) but then I was relieved when it ended at 10 pm--I could finally go to sleep! I was so proud of myself; waking up in the morning and taking zero naps until a reasonable hour (10 is very reasonable--nearly brag-worthy--for someone jet-lagged by 10.5 hours!)
...it's now 3 hours later and I haven't slept yet. I only just got on the computer and I know that's a bad idea because the screen is a stimulant but I wanted to write this. When I'm done I'll read a few pages of a book, I swear. Just took 5 mg of Ambien so hopefully I'll be good to go.
No idea what we're doing tomorrow but our weekend trip seems to be shaping up :) Oh actually, I think we're going to a little market in the morning or something, it's nearby.
We went to a temple and did the whole praying bit as we scoped it out. I was really bummed there were no cameras allowed, there was a really neat circle of men who were chanting around a fire and throwing something in it (here's where I feel silly for not being educated on religious customs.)
**DISCLAIMER: I'm not trying to flood this blog (sorry but that word makes me cringe..documentation?) with photos. That's what my photo albums on Facebook will be for. However, I just so happen to be a visual learner I'm sure it must be better to see it rather than have to guess what Pune is like.
Here's the temple from the outside:
Inside the smaller part:
And a vendor:
We walked around a bit more and finally found some promising shops with Indian clothing. You'll have to pardon these crappy pictures from PhotoBooth, but I haven't taken better quality photos yet. Here's what I managed to find for myself! Three shops, total.
First shop yielded this:
The gold pants are pretty wild but I dig 'em.
Second shop yield:
Sorry, kind of hard to see. Black leggings, blue shirt with gold trim at the top and on the sides
Third shop yield:
I need to figure out the real name for that "scarf"
Here are five photos that I took while walking around:
Probably the worst part about the day was when these young girls were literally touching us and hanging on to Sham begging for money. I know it's what they've been "trained" to do and obviously social norms are different..but it was super annoying and kind of freaky. I was scared one of them would try to get into my [very heavily zipped and protected] bag. Eventually after saying "no" about a million times in Hindi and walking faster and faster, they left us alone. In general, I also don't like how people (drivers, bellboy type figures) will help you out and then straight-up ask for a tip. Again, culture clash but I just personally find it rude. It's a tip because you deserve it, not because you ask for it. They'll even name their own prices. I think it's especially uncomfortable for me because I have a hard time asking for money even when someone owes me for real.
Anyway, after our adventures I was ready to just sit and relax for a little bit. Ate some noodles. But I know by now that no vacation of mine is complete without some sort of medical issue. This time it was my damn kidney stones. A few Aleve, two Hydrocodones, one Naproxen, and one lie down later--I finally feel better. I probably was in significant pain for 2+ hours. Stupid inefficient painkillers...the doctors keep prescribing the same crap no matter how many times I tell my doctors it doesn't work.
So from then on out I just kind of stayed in bed and watched movies. I skipped going out to dinner because even though the pain was gone, I was left feeling nauseous and loopy. I'm none too pleased to say that I haven't had Indian food since being here. Awful! Okay, tomorrow's the day.
I was almost forcing myself to stay awake for the end of Kiss Kiss Bang Bang (good movie) but then I was relieved when it ended at 10 pm--I could finally go to sleep! I was so proud of myself; waking up in the morning and taking zero naps until a reasonable hour (10 is very reasonable--nearly brag-worthy--for someone jet-lagged by 10.5 hours!)
...it's now 3 hours later and I haven't slept yet. I only just got on the computer and I know that's a bad idea because the screen is a stimulant but I wanted to write this. When I'm done I'll read a few pages of a book, I swear. Just took 5 mg of Ambien so hopefully I'll be good to go.
No idea what we're doing tomorrow but our weekend trip seems to be shaping up :) Oh actually, I think we're going to a little market in the morning or something, it's nearby.
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Day 1: Recap
I didn't end up sleeping at all in the morning. Pretty much found all sorts of ways of keeping myself occupied with the help of my computer. How ethnic.
We went food shopping around noon, via auto rickshaw. I want to keep calling it a tuk tuk like they do in Thailand! It was about a two minute ride into Pune Central, which is essentially a mall. Sort of. More like one big department store and the grocery store up on the top floor. From there we walked back and picked up some fresh fruit on our way.
Here's a glimpse:
My dad then left for his first day of work. Oh yeah, that's what I'm doing here in India, by the way. Tagging along. Sham and I had planned on going shopping for some Indian clothing but my little "nap" turned into five hours instead of the planned one hour :( Oh well. I ended up sleeping through dinner but they brought me some food back.
Overall not a super thrilling day, clearly, but hopefully tomorrow will be better. I think we might go to a temple and do some shopping and things of the like. There's a waterpark in this city ooooohh.
I sewed on the tenth world flag patch my backpack. Four more to go! It's looking really neat and I'm excited to parade around with it :D (the flags are the countries I've been to.)
So here's the newest plan! On Friday we'll fly to Delhi, get picked up by a personal driver, then drive down to Agra. We'll go to the Taj Mahal suuuper early in the morning, spend a few hours there, then return back to Delhi. Sunday night we'll make our way back to Pune. I'm excited! It would've been a shame to be in India but stay in one minor city the whole time. I can't wait!
We went food shopping around noon, via auto rickshaw. I want to keep calling it a tuk tuk like they do in Thailand! It was about a two minute ride into Pune Central, which is essentially a mall. Sort of. More like one big department store and the grocery store up on the top floor. From there we walked back and picked up some fresh fruit on our way.
Here's a glimpse:
My dad then left for his first day of work. Oh yeah, that's what I'm doing here in India, by the way. Tagging along. Sham and I had planned on going shopping for some Indian clothing but my little "nap" turned into five hours instead of the planned one hour :( Oh well. I ended up sleeping through dinner but they brought me some food back.
Overall not a super thrilling day, clearly, but hopefully tomorrow will be better. I think we might go to a temple and do some shopping and things of the like. There's a waterpark in this city ooooohh.
I sewed on the tenth world flag patch my backpack. Four more to go! It's looking really neat and I'm excited to parade around with it :D (the flags are the countries I've been to.)
So here's the newest plan! On Friday we'll fly to Delhi, get picked up by a personal driver, then drive down to Agra. We'll go to the Taj Mahal suuuper early in the morning, spend a few hours there, then return back to Delhi. Sunday night we'll make our way back to Pune. I'm excited! It would've been a shame to be in India but stay in one minor city the whole time. I can't wait!
Monday, July 19, 2010
Hello, India
Well, I'm finally here. India, holy crap. I can't believe this is the EIGHTH country that I've been in in 2010. Taiwan and Germany don't really count (layovers) that number is still obnoxious.
Although I've been really excited to go, this trip didn't have quite the same build up as per usual. We only booked the flights a week ago, not months in advance. Crazy to think that I wasn't sure if I'd be going, yet here I am! It hasn't even really hit me yet.
Lots of boring travel things happened so I'll spare you, the reader, and attempt to summarize:
-Pfeiffer graciously drove my dad and me to the Princeton Junction train station, where we caught a train to Newark.
- Hopped on a 8:10 pm flight to Munich
- Seven hours and two movies later I find myself in Munich. My first time in Germany...although that hardly counts. Too bad, I would've really liked to explore and legitimize my visit
- Hour and a half later I board the plane to Mumbai (AKA Bombay)
- About six hours, a few mini-naps, and one movie later I'm in India.
- After waiting about an hour and a half (probably more) with baggage claim, Customs, and waiting for Sham (my dad's ladyfriend), we finally leave the airport
- A three hour car ride (read: nap) lands me in Pune, about 4 am local time.
So here I am! It's now four hours later and I haven't slept since we arrived. It's basically an apartment, yet kind of in a hotel style? Ish? There are two bedrooms (each with private bathrooms,) a kitchen, living room, and balcony. So far all I've managed to do is go online and attempt to sleep. There's something new.
Living area
My room
My stellar view
I'm hoping the others wake up soon (are they up now?) so we can go food shopping because I am so hungry! It'll also be a great excuse to walk around and really check out this area.
Okay so in terms of this blog:
I really only plan on using it for my own benefit, but if you find yourself curious as to what I'm doing on the other side of the world, by all means...read on. Perhaps I'll include photos and all sorts of things.
Also:
Things I Don't Have But Wish I Did:
Toothpaste
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Food
Although I've been really excited to go, this trip didn't have quite the same build up as per usual. We only booked the flights a week ago, not months in advance. Crazy to think that I wasn't sure if I'd be going, yet here I am! It hasn't even really hit me yet.
Lots of boring travel things happened so I'll spare you, the reader, and attempt to summarize:
-Pfeiffer graciously drove my dad and me to the Princeton Junction train station, where we caught a train to Newark.
- Hopped on a 8:10 pm flight to Munich
- Seven hours and two movies later I find myself in Munich. My first time in Germany...although that hardly counts. Too bad, I would've really liked to explore and legitimize my visit
- Hour and a half later I board the plane to Mumbai (AKA Bombay)
- About six hours, a few mini-naps, and one movie later I'm in India.
- After waiting about an hour and a half (probably more) with baggage claim, Customs, and waiting for Sham (my dad's ladyfriend), we finally leave the airport
- A three hour car ride (read: nap) lands me in Pune, about 4 am local time.
So here I am! It's now four hours later and I haven't slept since we arrived. It's basically an apartment, yet kind of in a hotel style? Ish? There are two bedrooms (each with private bathrooms,) a kitchen, living room, and balcony. So far all I've managed to do is go online and attempt to sleep. There's something new.
Living area
My room
My stellar view
I'm hoping the others wake up soon (are they up now?) so we can go food shopping because I am so hungry! It'll also be a great excuse to walk around and really check out this area.
Okay so in terms of this blog:
I really only plan on using it for my own benefit, but if you find yourself curious as to what I'm doing on the other side of the world, by all means...read on. Perhaps I'll include photos and all sorts of things.
Also:
Things I Don't Have But Wish I Did:
Toothpaste
Shampoo
Conditioner
Soap
Food
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