Bangkok - a hard man now humble

Oh, beauty.

We arrive in Bangkok, and the airport is the first to strike.... it was so clean! Everything is in order, the walls are white, the floor is white, the lines are formed in actual lines, and people are smiling.  We read,  prior to leaving Canada, that first time travellers could be in for a 'culture shock' when first entering Thailand ..... we scoffed at this idea after being in India, thinking that nothing could ever compare. While we were right in the sense that it wasnt a culture shock (nothing could be anymore) but of more a reverse culture shock! We are so used to India that this new, foreign landscape, in all of its cleanliness and order, still allowed for a shock.

We hopped into a 'prepaid taxi' and sped off to Kho San Road (the famous backpackers area of Bangkok) area, where we were staying a few blocks away. The higway sped by with amazing amounts of greenery, gold plated signs devoted to the king and very little air pollution. Things came to a screeching halt once we arrived into "Old Bangkok" where we experience Bangkok Traffic Jams in full force; after India we thought that we would be grateful for line painted roads and street lights, but after the 3rd red light that lasted 25 minutes (NO JOKE!)  we werent happy with our wish being true. 2.5 hours later, a few small marital squabbles and 6 blocks of walking in 95% humidity with our bags to our hostel later (our taxi dropped us off on the wrong road) we had officially 'arrived'.

Stripping down to the basic necessaties of clothing (it is SO hot and humid here), and finally feeling the freedom as a woman to bare my arms and legs again, we began our first stroll through the Old City. How can a person describe the sights, the smells, the sounds without being a novelist? I will try.

Each road has more food stalls, small counters adorned to bikes, mini restaurants and BBQ stands than you would think physically possible. People crowd around plastic chairs, sipping on cheap cold beer in cans (it is legal/tolerated for tourists and locals alike to drink anywhere they find a seat or a beer,  including grabbing a beer out of the cooler in the hardware store to enjoy while shopping for power tools).
The air smells of frying noodles, BBQ pork and chicken, a mixture of raw and cooked seafood, fried egg, soup broth, flowers and open waterways (not sewer, just water from sinks, etc, adding to the fish smell).

On each road, somehow precariously wedged in between all the other food stands, there is a food market. A food market (often running primarily in the morning/afternoon or night) is a delightful mixture of food stalls, an organic produce market and the best sports bar you have ever seen - with a few clothing stalls mixed in.

Then, in between more food stalls you thought possible that are wedged in between massive food markets, there are clothing and trinket shops. I am not sure of the legalities, but it seems that you are able to set up a shop on any stretch of sidewalk that is not already consumed by the aformentioned food stalls and markets. The clothing shops sell everything you could ever want, ranging from childs trinkets, to fire spinning toys, to skanky foreign clothing to dried fish eyeballs hung decoratively from a string. :)

If you have a chance, or remember, to look up to the sky from the physically impossible food stalls, precariously placed food markets and  sidewalk shops you will find streets decorated with rice paper lanterns, streamers and the ever present gold plated monuments for the king.

This was only two blocks! Kho San is a circus, an area much like that of any city on say, Canada Day. It is a travellers circuit on steriods, with so many things to keep the sensations alarmed. The beauty of Bangkok City, though, is that it takes about 4 blcoks to remove yourself from the craziness, and you will find yourself in a local bar, listening to thai kareoke, eating thai beer snacks and smiling at locals.

Outside the tourist area, we are finding here that less people speak English and even less signs are in English than in India (which we had misthought would be the opposite)  This has so far led to some interesting experiences (always safe, though, which is a breath of fresh air) and to some interesting meals!

After 4 days in Bangkok, a great meet up with a fellow friend from my nursing class (which led to the awful 12 hour bus ride with Amaris'  first "ChangOver", as we later found out the cheapest beer uses fermaldehyde as a preservative, giving most tourists and awful hangover) we headed over to 'Paradise Island'.....

time for some sun fun!

MMM MMM FOOD

mmmm...... it is a wonder that we are not gaining weight while travelling! We thought that, as we leave India tomorrow, it would be lovely to share with you what we have sustained our souls and bellies on in this country.

Breakfast usually consists of black tea (or coffee when we find it. The concept of 'coffee' here is instant... and awful instant, so we have become tea drinkers) and either baked beans on toast, or grilled tomato cheese sandwich.... usually paired with some sort of potato (fried, boiled, mashed, hashbrowns,etc) and Trevor drinks a fresh squeezed, no sugar no water orange juice. Not Amaris, she sticks to the caffeine beverages only.

Our 'lunch' is often fresh fruit (there are stands everywhere to buy that which is 'peelable') and nuts/salty mix of some kind. From time to time we will treat ourselves to a street vendor that is whipping up lunch-sized versions of our favorite dinner foods. The only mentionable one that differs from supper is the glorious 'rolls' we have found on the streets of Kolkata - think vegetarian donair. Of course, not to forget the Samosa - a found everywhere, always fresh and for less than 10 cent glorious piece of fried heaven. Trevor ate so many he is sick of them!

and the pice-des-resistances ...... supper food. The food culture varies from South to North, East to West, with the 'Dosa' being the only South Indian food we have not been able to find in many places outside the south. Everything else, though, is found everywhere.....We were able to sample much Tibetan fare, also, while in Bodhgaya. We will start with that, and the rest is what our palates have appreciated in the rest of India.

In Bodhgaya, due to both our tummy episodes and the typical fare, our diet consisted of a variety of soups. The 'staple' bread is called a Thig-mo, which is a steamed bread that resembles a dinner roll/crumpet. Steamed may not sound appealing (it didnt to me) but it surprises with an amazing sourdough like texture (and flavor, now to think of it. A kind of bitterness)

  thigmo

  thukpa - tibetan noodle soup.....

The first 'new' love for Indian flavors that we have found lies in the Paneer, a soft, unfermented cheese. this cheese resembles the chewy texture of tofu, with a subtle cheese flavor that absorbs and compliments a huuuge variety of dishes. Paneer is often used as a 'meat substitute' in what we would know as traditionally meat dishes in Canada (butter chicken, chicken tikka masala, etc) and AMARIS LOVES IT.

  

The dosa (Trevor's favorite). It is a 'pancake' (more crepe thickness but almost cornbread flavor) that is made from rice flour. It is then filled with Masala potatoes (masala is the 'typical' spice mixture when you think Indian food) and served alongside a fresh coconut chutney and tomato chutney. Pieces are ripped off (with one hand) dipped into said sauces and eaten. Delicious!

     

Next is the multitude of masala lentil mixtures - there is chana (chickpeas) dhal (black lentils) dhal fried (yellow lentils, or moong dhal) rajma curry (kidney beans) and many many more. This is often eaten with rice (LOADS of rice) but we prefer to have a few chapati's each and skip the rice (it becomes too much food)

  chana

    moong dhal

   rajma curry

Other 'new' flavors (we always 'cooked Indian' at home, but obviously being here the food is a thousand times more amazing, and we have found a huge variety of vegetarian food/new recipes to take home with us)

Aloo Mutter - Potato and Peas

Palak Paneer -  (spinach and cheese)

chili paneer - the greatest blend of chinese and indian flavors

Paneer Pasanda - stuffed paneer

shahi paneer - gloriously garlicy paneer cheese

malai kofta - a veg 'ball' (much like a meatball) made from

veggies and paneer in a tomato curry sauce

and the list goes on and on, with a variation of veggies, paneer, beans and curry. and always a good rhoti chapati. :)

We are now hungry and going to enjoy our last veg 'donair' from the streets of kolkata. We are off to Thailand tomorrow morning, and we will update the blog when a few days of excitement have passed!

What would it take to feel human again...

The wierd thing about having expectations in India is that no matter what you expect, the reality of the situation is almost always, unexpected. We left Bodhgaya a few days ago feeling worn out and highly dissapointed. Our expectations for Calcutta were pretty low, we were dreading it actually. But, we needed our Visas and Calcutta was the most suitable place to get them done. Having no idea how long it would take, or in other words, if this would be the time for all the good luck and karma we have had over the last while to come to a crashing halt, we wanted to make sure we gave ourselves lots of cushion time for the process. So 8 days in Calcutta it was.

By the time the train finally docked at the station, it was dark outside and we were exhausted. Booking a pre-paid taxi was our favourite option. Luckily we had a room already booked for the evening, and after an hour of crawling through traffic, we made it. The hotel we booked slapped us in the face right away with it's cleanliness and charm, and the room we were givin was like a palace to us. It came with all the trimmings, Television with THREE english channels, a mini fridge, and hot water. Did we ever revel in it! The next morning we got up and at'em nice and early, found a great cafe that serves hot beans on toast, grabbed a taxi and we were off to the Thai consulate. Now as I said, we didn't know what to expect when we got there, so we did our best to have all our paper work and everything else we needed in order. Our only concern was the passport photos we had done in Bodhgaya where the guy litterally cut and pasted our faces on to a white background. We didn't think this was a good idea. When we arrived at the consulate the cab driver asked us if we needed a return fare. We told him that we didn't know how long we would be here, possibly two or three hours we thought. "Oh no, 15 mins" he laughed at us. So I said "Sure if you don't mind waiting". Fifteen minutes later we were back in the cab on our way home. The next morning, just as easily, we picked up our passports with the newly added Visas and we were now the ones laughing. If this is a sign of things to come...

Since then, we have been spending our days walking around the streets soaking in as much as this big metropolis has for us. Eating great food and drinking great coffee. There is a music store close by so I replenished my stock on a years supply of guitar picks and strings. The people of Calcutta are impressively friendly and helpful. The traffic has some sense of organisation, even though we still jeopordize our lives everytime we simply cross the street, but we are used to this by now.

As we have said many times, India is a land of extreme. Some of the most amazing and beautiful, and some of the most unimaginable experiences and sights to have touched our lives have been in the last three months. The other night we witnessed one of the most amazingly heart warming things you could imagine. I don't want to tarnesh the moment by putting unjust words to it. But it was something that put tears on our cheeks and some of lifes greatest lessons in our hearts. After being stipped down to the bone and having our egos beat bloody and torn, it was great to be givin the gift of feeling human again.

And this my beautiful friends and family, is India.

for those of you further interested in the 'truth' of Varanasi, or those that had any
"what are yooou doing to fix the problem" or
"you just didnt look deep enough" or
"you are being pessimistic and its all about the loooove"

please read this -     http://memestreamblog.wordpress.com/2007/02/04/varanasi-shit-hole-of-the-gods/

this blog (and debate that ensues) covers most of the facets of the 'argument', and in a much more intelligent way than I could even attempt.

Bodhgaya

Our trip to Bodhgaya started with a late train ride that ended with a new friendship (Hi Todd and Anise!) and a rickshaw ride along a dried up river bed. We arrived in Bodhgaya in time to find a room, drink a beer and eat a portion of food we thought was satisfactory.

We woke the next day to frequent trips to the bathroom and nausea. Hey, at least we spent our first days here in a nice, clean room. :)

After recuperating, it was time to see the town. Bodhgaya (as mentioned) is the original birth place of Buddhism, where Buddha attained enlightenment after a long term meditation under the Bodhi tree. In the high season (winter) the majority of the town is populated by Tibetan refugees (that are finding solace from the harsh winters in the summer town, Dharmsala) and Buddhist monks of many ethnicity's. There are monasteries of many cultures and countries (Tibet, China, Thailand, Vietnam, Bangladesh, Darjeeling, Bhurma etc) all situated around the grand park and stupa  (monument of remembrance) around the Bodhi tree (a secondary original, planted a few hundred years ago from a seedling of the original, now resides in Sri Lanka) Restaurants are primarily temporary tent structures erected to feed the masses of monks/refuges/tourists in the high season, and most serve Tibetan/Chinese/Indian. We were looking forward to the new culinary experience to be had here! The city is flocked with colors of burgundy, orange and yellow as the monks walk from place to place, from monastery to the park.

The inside of the park (Bodhi tree and area) is a wonderful, peaceful and clean place of an oasis. We spent many hours on many days within this compound, reading and writing. As Buddha's path to enlightenment was completed over many weeks, there are areas designated within the park that are in remembrance of his steps. Throughout the day you can watch monks (and others) recreate his path while in meditation. We visited the monument at dark/dusk, and were treated to an amazing experience of sight, sound and smell. Hoards of individuals from many of the monasteries/classrooms come during this time to light incense, sit in groups and chant. The air is thick with religion, with belief - and peace.

...

Bodhgaya's spiritual centre and spiritual side of life was that of beauty - but the outskirts were just as heavy, just as daunting. We have already covered the 'negatives', so there is no need to repeat.... but it is a theme that has repeated itself in our surroundings. No good without the bad, they say.


After a few days of studying, walking the outskirts of the village and daily exercise we were headed to Kolkata (which is where we are currently writing from) We were nervous, as Kolkata is a city of 12 million people and we are here for 7 days (in order to arrange our Visa's) prior to flying to Thailand on Feb 9th. We hadn't had the best experiences with cities - and Kolkata is known for its destitution and difficulties (with a huge portion of the population living below India's poverty line, made up of the multitudes of immigrants/refugees created by the Pakistan (now Bangladesh war) on the border of West Bengal (Kolkata). We are here, and enjoying it. We will update that soon

It's time for some truth sauce

Varanasi is a huge pit stop on the traveller's trail, an auspicious city lining the holy Ganges with over 60 ghats (steps cascading into a river). There are the famous 'burning ghats' where bodies are cremated and their ashes spread into the river (dying in Varanasi is said to fast track the individual out of the cycle of rebirth to another human existence), and each ghat has it's own sense of 'personality' and characteristics that are usually formed around the majority of practices happening at each one (some are used primarily for washing clothes, some for dipping into the river to wash away sins, some have been turned into impromptu cricket grounds while others hold tourists who pay large sums of money to sleep next to the river and do 'yoga' on the ghats)

The 'city' itself (the area that most backpackers stay and eat) is lined along what is known as the Old City that is an array of almost under ground mazes, formed by the tall buildings and narrow alleyways between them. Here it is packed to the nines with shops, restaurants and backpacker joints - and in the midst a funeral procession of a body followed by a chanting family will squeeze past you. The city is ferocious, busy and thousands flock here to watch the religious ceremonies and take part in the cultural aspects in the place revered as the most holy place of pilgrimage for Hindus.

Varanasi has been our least favorite place. It's amazing (and  true) that the places you thought would be your favorite aren't, and the ones you dreaded become your favorite. We were really ..... disappointed and slightly disgusted at the state of the city . It has become difficult to grasp the concept that a place considered so holy is literally shit on by thousands upon thousands of people. By this, I dont meant the general age and cultural differences of  a typical third world country (we no longer cringe at bugs in the room, squat toilets or a stray hair in the food from time to time) but..... each ghat was so putrid that it was difficult to walk the length of the river along them. The river is polluted (an ongoing issue in India and around the world), there is mass amounts of garbage (more so than the usual) and the steps are currently being used as a toilet by those that can stand and urinate. It reeked of urine, feces and rotting garbage everywhere (not just in one place, but the entirety) - and the only spiritual people we saw were attempting to hide from the bus loads of day tourists coming to take photos. It was .... awful. Mix this with our only interaction with locals were of ones attempting to sell hash, boat rides, guest houses, rickshaws, clothing, more hash and the occasional back rub (something we have been able to avoid, even in bigger cities. If you look past the 'tourist market' you can meet amazing, genuine locals and truly connect - something we have found easy everywhere else) and we were ready to leave before we actually settled.

Off to Bodhgaya next - a small (er) place that is the birthplace of Buddhism. It is here that Buddha sat under the Bodhi tree and gained enlightenment... perhaps we will too.

I cannot feel guilty for that which I have, but only feel grateful.

Is this possible? You cannot imagine.... this.