Friday, November 26, 2010

Being Thankful for New Experiences

Oh my...it's been soooo long since I've blogged and there have been soooo many experiences in that time that it's hard to know where to begin. First of all, suffice it to say that I still love India. It is colorful, exotic, alive and exciting all while being infuriatingly un-Western on so many levels. Either you embrace India, bring your sense of humor and have a life-altering experience, or you measure it on familiar standards and go postively insane. I choose the former, and after now spending a total of four months in this country of 1.2 billion people, I can't wait to come back again and again.


This trip has been both familiar and entirely new for me. My amazing friend Gerdien (who I traveled with for nearly five months on my previous journey) came to meet me and we traveled together for nearly three weeks through Rajasthan, with a brief detour up to Amritsar in Punjab. We had a predictably hilarious and adventurous experience, and I can vow that I know what it must be like to travel with Brittany Spears! Gerdiens blonde hair and big blue eyes stop Indians in their tracks, leading to many hilarious encounters.

But India's new experiences will be the focus of this post.


Rajasthan and the Golden Triangle -- On my previous journey, I only spent time in three cities - Varanasi, Bodhgaya and Calcutta. My focus of this trip was to further explore the north part of the country. This was for two reasons - to have fun and experience new places and to create new itineraries for Grand Asian Journeys.

And I did both (New itineraries to be posted soon). Rajasthan means the "land of rajas (or kings) and therefore a big part of touring the northwestern part of the country is visiting the forts and palaces of the historic rajas. Also in Rajasthan, the culture and food are distinct from other parts of India. They still make it easy to be a vegetarian, but parathas replace chapati and naan as the roti (bread) of choice. My favorite places were Udaipur, Jaisalmer and Mandawa. The Amber Fort in Jaipur is also a pretty exceptional destination. Which leads me to my least favorite place in Rajasthan...



Tourist attack at the Taj Mahal - On my previous journey to India, I intentionally skipped the Taj Mahal. This time I knew I needed to visit it as it is one of the top tourist destinations in the world and certainly will be on the wishlist of many people visiting India. My vote: over-rated. Beautiful, yes. But the most beautiful or worthy place in India? No way. Too crowded, too much security, too many lines. The Golden Temple gets my vote for best place to visit.

Finding peace amid chaos: The Golden Temple -- The "vatican for Sikhs", the Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of the most magical, holy places I have ever visited. In order to arrive at this beautiful temple however you have to make your way through one of the busiest, most polluted small cities in India. Amritsar is total chaos! And, the Golden Temple is Absolute Peace. Unlike the Taj Mahal, which is essentially a very exquisite mausoleum built for a rich guy's dead wife, the Golden Temple is an active place of worship. Hundreds of thousands of Sikhs from all over the world come every single day to bathe in the "amrit" (sacred water) around the temple. And the Sikhs are so unlike the stereotype that haunts them. They are kind, generous, non-judgmental, service-oriented ("sehwah" or service to others is the central tenet of their faith) and peace-loving. Unlike all other temples in India that charge up to $20US to visit, the Golden Temple is free to enter (donations are of course accepted) and they will serve a free meal to anyone who walks in. Every day it's estimated that they serve 50,000 free meals to people of all faiths, castes (they do not believe in the caste system), color or need. This is near the top of my list of worthwhile places to visit in India!

Having a business card - For nearly three of my five weeks in India, I traveled with our India travel agent as a part of a FAM (travel industry lingo for familiarization) tour. This was a very new experience for me as it operates very much like a custom tour with all hotels, experiences, transportation, transfers and meals arranged in advance. I felt like a princess! At each hotel, the manager would come out to personally greet me, give me a tour, offer dinner or other special things. My Grand Asian Journeys business card was the key to really royal treatment! Definitely much different than haggling over prices at backpackers hotels with Gerdien!

Sexy temples - Another of my "must visit" destinations in India are the temples of Khajuraho. Created over 1,000 years ago of sandstone, somehow they survived neglect for hundreds of years and have remained absolutely stunning. Set in a peaceful town (there are not many of these in India) and a bit off the beaten path, the temples are worth making a special trip for - especially if you think that the Indians are sexually repressed people! The temples origin is unknown, but some say that it was the "sex education" temple. Certainly that could be true with probably millions of detailed risque sculptures around the complex.

Traveling with a man! -- Some of you know that my boyfriend Keith met me to travel for five weeks through India and Vietnam. That is certainly a new experience worth mentioning! The only awkward part was that people in India assumed that we were married as it is not a normal custom to even see each other before you are married there! The experience has been (and continues to be) a lot of fun for both of us, and yes it is a great way to get to know each other very well!

Indian wedding -- No, it wasn't mine though apparently I did unknowingly undertake a wedding ritual in Varanasi. A simple photo opportunity of some women painting their feet red, turned into my feet being painted, a tikka on my forehead part near my hairline, and voila! I was congratulated for the rest of the day on my marriage, and the hotel staff even asked me to bring sweets (a wedding custom). No, it was not official!

But enough about my supposed wedding. One of my intentions for this trip (but that I was unable to plan for) was to attend an Indian wedding. A major event in Indian life, weddings are planned for auspicious dates based on matching astrological charts by families. Often the couples do not ever see each other before they are tying the knot. A strange custom on Western standards, but as the divorce rates are about 80% less than in Western cultures, perhaps they are onto something?

So, back to my story... we show up at a hotel to outrageous fanfare - drumming, dancing, flowers, food and drinks just for us. After getting over the somewhat awkward welcoming (it was only for the two of us) we were told that there was to be a wedding that night in the village of a girl who worked at their resort. She (16) and her sister (13) were having a double wedding. As they were lower caste people of modest economic status, it was not the huge to-do that I had heard about. Instead, it was maybe even more authentic!

Chaos abounded when we arrived. Drunk men played loud music and danced. And after about 12 seconds, our presence was noticed and the entire focus of the wedding turned to Keith and me. The brides were dragged out of their safe house and "introduced" to us. There were lots of namastes and smiles from us, and utter fear from the brides while dozens of people surrounded us and watched the introduction. The grooms sat on a county fair style electric float with loud Hindi music blaring out of the ill-equipped speaker. Drunk men mobbed us and pulled us on the muddy dance floor. We took turns being in the middle of a circle and acting out some Bollywood dance that we'd seen on TV, and then pointing to someone not inside the circle to come in and outdo us (not a difficult task!). The scenario went back and forth for about 45 minutes until we were dragged by our guest house hosts to the point of the wedding. A strange tradition that involved the groom using a long stick to knock down a tall sign on a stick being held by someone else (don't ask me) apparently indicated that the marriage was official. It became clear to us that our presence was taking attention away from the brides and grooms, so we left shortly after the "ceremony".

Oh, certainly the turbans that had been tied on our heads at the guest house right before the wedding helped us blend in a little too. Yes?

Festival of lights in Varanasi - You might remember that my favorite city in India is Varanasi. It's so deeply spiritual, magnificently poor and undeniably electric. It can move me to tears and goosebumps on a normal day, but we arrived on a ab-normal day: Dev Dipawali. "The festival of lights for God" we were told upon arrival at the airport was the "best night of the year" here, and the local agent had arranged for a nighttime boat ride for Keith and me. As dusk approached and we headed towards the ghats (the steps along the river) we saw thousands (perhaps millions) of small butter lamps being laid out artfully along the sacred Ganges River as an offering to God. As we got on our small private row boat with our guide, the banks of the river came alive with light. Rowing past the burning ghats, the cremation sites for 1,000 people a day, the pyres alive with death, the butter lamps burned on the banks of the river, illuminating the night sky. Music played from the evening "aarti" as thousands of boats crowded around the stage. It was an indescribably religious experience!

The "accidental Brazilian" -Lets just say that getting a bikini wax with your underwear on is one of the riskiest adventures I faced in India. 'Nuf said.

So, I sign off from Vietnam after three full days here. That update will be in the next blog post, hopefully before I get home on Dec. 17!

Happy holidays to you and your families...

With love,
Pam

2 comments:

Hi Octane Jewelry said...

Sounds delightful. I need pictures. Lots of them I want to see what you are seeing. Hope someday down the road for a journey like this.

Leslie said...

I can just see the Lights as you describe your boat ride past the sacred steps... incredible. Can't believe your trip is almost over - time does dance along like the wind.

Enjoy your last bit of this adventure.

Peace, Love & Light,

Leslie