Making Thai Food Out of a Twisted Ankle

Well, since I can't go trekking (due to clumbsiness or stupiditiy that resulted in a nice goose-egg on my ankle), I have been searching for alternate things to try out in Chiang Mai. Trust me, there is no shortage of things to do around here. And my chilled-out guest house is just the place to discover them.

Last night, a group of us from the guest house went to the Sunday Market. Shopping, shopping, shopping.... Oh my, so many things to buys and not nearly enough room in my backpack! I spent yesterday just browsing, but I plan to hit the markets pretty hard before I head out. The food is something else, too. Lord, I ate sooo much last night! And all of it very good. Not Indian, but still good. :)

Then today, I headed out to a farm outside of Chiang Mai so that I could take a Thai cooking class. Yes, me - I actually cooked. And I enjoyed it. Try to contain your disbelief! I liked 5 of the dishes we prepared. The fourth one had shrimp with little eyes still attached and that just grossed me out.

We also took a trip to one of the markets and saw some delicious looking meats on display (sarcasm). My favorite was the pig's head, I think. Although the chicken with feet and head still attached came a close second. Yum Yum! Who's hungry?? It's almost enough to force me to adopt tofu for life.

Thailand has been a lot of fun so far (well, except for the ankle, that hasn't been so much fun). I have to admit, though, the differences are so dramatic between India and Thailand, I think I'm actually going through reverse culture shock. This place is so western. People wear almost nothing (and I'm not even at the beach yet!). After a month in India, I was shocked to see women wandering around in cleavage-baring tanks tops and the like. I actually thought it looked a little indecent after so much time in the land of saris and kurtas. I've found myself constantly on guard for beggers. Someone walked past and said "Hello" to me today. I went immediately on the defensive, all set to start refusing to give money no matter what. Turns out, people can actually be friendly just to be friendly! What a novel discovery!

I miss India a bit. It took a while to get used to it, but once you've adjusted, it sticks with you. That's something they also tell you in the guidebooks, but I think you need to experience it to really know what they mean.

I think that's it for now. I'm off to hobble back to my guest house and sit down with a book for a while.

No hurry, no worry, no chicken, no curry

Greetings from Thailand. I am in Chiang Mai now, resting up after neatly stepping off the plane and twisting my ankle in the process. Stupid, stupid Kt. This is how I begin my visit to northern Thailand, by injuring myself with literally my first step off the plane. So going on a trek is on hold for a day or two, just to be safe. Maybe I'll take some Thai cooking lessons while I'm hanging around or something.

Last week I was in Jaisalmer in eastern India. Went on a two day/two night camel safari that was absolutely awesome. I seriously loved, loved, loved it. I had been warned by our guest house operator in Jaipur not to do a safari because camels are horribly uncomfortable and painful. But I decided not to listen and go for it anyway.

Jaisalmer is close to the Pakistani border, a fort rising sharply out of a scrub brush desert that vaguely resembles Utah, sort of. It isn't a rolling sand dune type of desert. The train there from Jaipur took about 14 hours. Luckily, it was reasonably comfortable in the sleeper car and this time, the car was roach and rat-free, thank God! After one night in a guest house in the fort, I loaded up with about 10 other people and we headed off into the desert on camels with several guides walking with us.

Camels are really strange animals. I've never paid much attention to them before. We had a group of male camels and right now, it's mating season, so we had "bubbling" camels. They make this weird bubble noise in their throats and then breathe out toxic breath for a while - I'm guessing it's supposed to attract the ladies, but it had the opposite effect on the riders! They make some horrific noises when they're angry - One of the guides was training a young camel and that little guy was fierce (the camel, not the guide)! He (again, the camel) sounded like a cross between Chewbacca and a really angry lion. The camel and the guide got into a regular tussle every morning and I am still amazed that the guide managed to escape with all of his fingers intact!

Both days followed a standard pattern. Ride for a few hours and then break for about half an hour. Ride for another hour or so, break for tea and lunch and a siesta. Ride for a few more hours and break for a bit. Ride again until reaching camp for the night. Both nights, the guides led us to small patches that were actually sand dunes, so we all had a chance to pretend we were Laurence of Arabia, arriving to the rolling dunes on our camels.

The guides prepared all of the meals and chai of course. I awoke the second morning just before sunrise, peaked my head over the blanket (since it was a bit cold at night), watched the sun rise over the hill, and the next thing I knew, a steaming cup of chai appeared beside me with a smiling "Good Morning" from our guide. Heaven... Then I rolled over and got a prickle stuck in my hand - They were everywhere! Every time we walked around, we would come back and dig prickles (or "pickles" according to the guides) out of our clothes and fingers and feet. So maybe it wasn't quite perfect, but it was still good fun! Overall, a very relaxing two days - Our guide's motto was "No hurry, no worry, no chicken, no curry". Catchy, right?

Riding a camel is similar to a horse. They're a bit bouncier and you're a lot higher in the air. And these camels were just like trail horses... They listened when they wanted to, and the rest of the time, they ignored what we were trying to get them to do. I admit, by the third morning, when we were on our way to the Jeep and civilization and hot showers and such, I was pretty stiff and ready for a break from the bouncing. But I think when I look back on it, I'll forget about the aches and pains and "pickles" and just remember the peace in the desert as we all rode along. And maybe I'll remember the Indian camel guy randomly singing "Take Me Home Country Roads" as we sat around the campfire.... That was good, too. :)

Onward....

Hello again,

My two-week volunteer vacation has come to its conclusion today. Tonight I board the train to Jaisalmer, in the desert of western Rajasthan. I’m sad to be leaving. Overall, it’s been a good experience. It definitely has not been without it’s frustrating moments, though.

Basically, the program is designed to help with conservation of a lake here in Jaipur. There is a beautiful palace in the middle of the lake and the setting is fantastic. Unfortunately, a large part of the city sewer system drains into the lake, which makes it smell awful. In fact, I have to say that it is by far the most vile, repulsive, and nauseating lake I have ever seen. So coming to volunteer here for a few weeks is really going to do very little to help the situation.

For the last 2 weeks, we’ve been attempting to bird watch – not very successfully, to be honest. Although I do recognize some of them at least…. We also helped with a birdwatching workshop for the schools in Jaipur. It was organized by our coordinator and guest house owner, Minoj. The kids were very amused by the white folks hanging around, and very curious. There was a lot of blatant staring. But for the most part, they were all very well behaved and curious about the birds and animals and plants along the way. It was fun. And I think that is probably the best way to make an impact here, by teaching the children about conservation and the environment.

Other than that, we spent three days on an island in the middle of the lake, removing invasive plants so that native plants can be planted in their place. We didn’t have shears or a decent ax or a shovel so it was a lot more work than it could have been with better tools. But that is just how things are done here. It’s very different. And of course, it is always an adventure getting to the island in the first place. I mentioned the lake is vile. I HATE being in a boat in the middle of it. It’s terrifying. So it was always a relief to be done for the day. I am definitely not going to miss going to the island.

I will miss the crew here, though. Steve and James are great – a lot of fun to work with. And the whole family at the guest house is wonderful.

But it is time to move on to other things! So I’ll give an update soon!

-Kt

Let's Go Fly a Kite at the Taj Mahal

This weekend was the beginning of a festival celebrating Jaipur. They kicked off the festivities with a kite festival. For those of you who have read the book The Kite Runner – this is very similar to the kites in that book. They fight with each other. The kites are small and made of paper, but the string is coated in glass, so if you’re a gifted kite flyer, you can slash the other kite strings. It’s an impressive sight to see.

The sky above Jaipur was literally full of kites. For the most part, the city shuts down for the day. Everyone hangs out on their roofs, flying kites and blasting ridiculously loud dance music. It was a warm and sunny day, so all in all the event was perfect. I’ll post pictures sometime, hopefully.

That afternoon, James and Steve (the other volunteers here) went with me to Agra. We arrived there via bus (about 5 and a half hours away through some beautiful countryside and horrible roads). We stayed at a guest house recommended by our current guest house. The location was perfect, right down the street from the entrance to the Taj Mahal.

Bright and early on Sunday morning, we walked over to the Taj, arriving at about 6:45 AM, before it got too crowded. What can I say about the Taj Mahal?? You’ve all seen pictures. It’s stunning. Huge. Captivating. Haunting. I loved it. It’s much bigger than I realized, to be honest. We stayed a few hours, just looking around and taking pictures – which I will post at some point!

Next stop - Agra Fort, also well worth the trip. It’s a huge sprawling red sandstone fort. We spent another few hours there, just wandering. And then it was time to hop back on the bus to Jaipur – definitely a whirlwind trip. The trip back was awful. The bus seats have virtually no leg room when the person in front puts the seat back. So it was a bit cramped. And the bus honked the whole way back – quite possibly the most annoying noise in the world. I think I’ll stick to trains to get around after that!

This week we’re working with some school kids, teaching them about bird watching – which is a huge laugh, since none of us know a thing about India birds, and quite frankly, we don’t really care all that much. But hopefully tomorrow we’ll get out to the lake and chop down some invasive trees or something. Saturday we’re going with one of the project coordinators to an Indian wedding reception. I am getting a sari top made as we speak and will be fully decked out for the event…. Then next week, I am off to Jaisalmer for a camel safari!

The good, the bad, the ugly

Greetings once again from India! I’m still in Jaipur with my I-to-I Volunteer project. Originally, we were supposed to be doing lake conservation – So cleaning and planting and building bird houses. But right before I left, the man in charge quit, so I have arrived here as the first group under the newly revised project. It’s still lake conservation, but since it is a new program, things are a bit up in the air. There are two other volunteers here at the moment, both British – James (18) and Steve (40). Both very nice and so far we get along well enough. We’re overwhelmed and bored at the same time. We all had planned on actually working while we were here – and at the moment, we’re bird watching. And none of us are very good at it…. We went out to the lake today, but all just kind of lost interest pretty fast. So it was a pretty long day. I like birds, but there is no way I can spend full days watching them.

Luckily this is only temporary… We have someone who has agreed to row us out to an island where we will be removing invasive species and planting new trees for birds to nest in. But for the rest of this week, the boat is unavailable. So basically, we’re bored. The food is very good, too. I’ve liked most of the food here so far and no serious stomach issues yet. I have to admit, though – at the moment I am seriously craving a big fat hamburger… Not available here since cows are sacred. We went to McDonald’s today – at least it’s something sort of familiar! They have Aloo Ticki Burgers (Potato Burgers) and Chicken Burgers. YumYum! I just had fries and I can’t even tell you how good they were!

There are a lot of things about India that amuse me and a lot of things that are just downright depressing. The poverty is everywhere. We get bombarded by beggars everywhere we go because we are very obviously rich tourists. People live all over the cities in cloth tents. There is literally trash everywhere. That’s something I can’t comprehend to save my life. I see dumpsters around that are completely empty, but surrounded by trash – and usually there is a cow or a goat or a stray dog rustling through the trash.

I have to admit, I’ve gotten to the point now where I can turn a blind eye to the beggars (and many of them are children or mothers with babies, so that is difficult to ignore). Today was the worst, though. We had boy with a back or leg deformity, who could not walk, chase us down the street - He could drag himself along almost as fast as we could walk. It was heartbreaking. But you can’t give money or you’ll immediately be surrounded by about 20-30 children, all wanting cash. They get a little grabby and it is quite scary actually. We had to evacuate via rickshaw from a crowd once and they ended up chasing us down the street, still shouting “Hello Hello” and holding their hands out.

The good things are harder to explain. Obviously the whole culture is fascinating. The temples and palaces are beautiful. The people, unless they are trying to sell you something, are quite friendly. The traffic is a terrifying riot. No rules at all. One of our drivers told us there are three necessities to driving in India:
1-Horn (everyone honks as courtesy so that the other drivers know they are there)
2- Brake (for obvious reasons)
3- Luck!

That's it for now! I've been here for ages, so my guess is that our guesthouse is wondering where we are! Plus James is waiting outside so I should rescue him....

Later!
Kt

The trip so far

All of the guidebooks tell you that you will either love or hate India - and that most people waver back and forth between the two. They couldn't be more right!

For the first ten days I was traveling with friends. We saw Delhi, stayed with a lovely family there, went on the trip to Amritsar, and did a lot of awesome shopping. Yesterday, I took off on my own to Jaipur, where I will be starting my two weeks of volunteer work, helping to conserve a lake here. There are two other people volunteering, both from the UK. We're all staying at the same guesthouse, run by a very friendly family. The guesthouse has it's issues, but for the most part, it's fine. Not exactly a 5-star resort, for sure!!

So now, after I was pretty well adjusted to things last week, I am up in the air again here. It'll probably take a few more days to readjust. I hope!

India is unlike anything I have ever seen. Dirty and polluted and so crowded, it's completely overwhelming. Makes me appereciate the US so much! But despite all of that, if you can look past it, there is a lot of beauty. But you definitely have to look for it, it's not right out in the open.

Bear with me, everyone - today was not a good day, but I know in a few days, I'll have readjusted and things will be much better - this is the same thing I went through when I first arrived, so I know it'll be fine!

More later - we have a handy internet cafe right around the corner....
-Kt

A few pictures

I have a few minutes so I thought I'd try to load a few pics for y'all...

New Year's Eve at Calypso, a club in Delhi

Visiting the Golden Temple in Amritsar - the center of the Seikh religion - such a beautiful temple! Everyone must have their heads covered in the temple. The third person with me and Julia is Kirn, one of Julia's classmates.

Me and Julia on the elephant after a ride to Amber Fort, near Jaipur

On the overnight train to Amritsar, near the Pakistan/India border

View from the back of an auto rickshaw in Delhi

Happy New Year!

Hi everyone!

Happy New Year from Delhi!
Julia and I arrived her without any problems last week - It's a little hard to find internet cafes at the moment, so thats my excuse for not updating this sooner.

India is overwhelming - especially Delhi. The poverty is everywhere. The smog is stifling (makes LA's air look completely clear). The shopping is great - as long as you don't mind being haggled at every step.... Things do calm down a bit outside of the city. We saw some beautiful countryside with musard flowers as far as the eye could see whe went to Jaipur yesterday. Jaipur is much more laid back than Delhi. Still bustling and crowded with people, honking cars and rickshaws, cows, and stray dogs everywhere, but much more relaxed. I liked it, actually. So I am looking forward to going back this weekend for the volunteer vacation...

I hope everyone had a happy new year! So far things are going well here, other than the residual jet lag and the head cold I now have - which is very annoying! I'll really try to keep this blog updated as much as I can, but I guarantee that it will be very sporadic....

More soon, hopefully!
-Kt