Adventurasia Community

(Written by: Candice Lim Hing, around 2001~2003)

audrey and i just spent the past hour trying to put on our saris for “the shot” at the taj mahal. unfortunately, our attempts did not meet the indian approval of sari standards. “you look nice, but, no…” they declared upon seeing us. thus, a lady from our hotel had to help us put them on the proper way.

we have been in india for a week now. it is definitely a change of pace from the peace and tranquility of tibet and nepal. we spent 2 weeks in tibet, which is still a highlight in our trip. we visited several monasteries, where we learned about buddhism (integral part of tibetan society), met several monks, and watched pilgrims perform their rituals. the people, the culture, and the breath-taking scenery(himalayas and mt. everest) - all seemed untouched from our corrupt world. i definitely agree with tibet being described as the rooftop paradise of the world.

we spent a month in nepal, which i love as well. kathmandu’s variety of food was to die for after more than 2 months of chinese food. durbar square, pashupatinath (main hindu temple and cremation site), and swayambunath (monkey temple) were all very interesting. we then did a 12-day trek to the annapurna base camp. we saw great views of the himalayan mountain ranges, visited several local villages, worked our muscles as we walked up and down the trails, and bindged on food at the end of each day. unfortunately, neither one of us lost the 2 kgs that our guide told us we will lose. in fact, i’m pretty sure we both gained “muscles”, we like to think. after a few days of realxing in pokhara (switzerland of nepal), we did a 2-day rafting trip down the seti river to get to chitwan national park. the river rapids weren’t that exciting but it was still enjoyable. we saw some rhinos and alligators, heard the roar of the elusive tiger, and rode an elephant through the jungle. i also got to feed and play with a baby elephant!

upon crossing the border to india, we met first hand the cunningness of indian touts. we found a bus that goes to varanasi for RS140. a couple of teenage boys told us that we can get a “tourist bus”, that leaves half an hour later and takes only 7 hours rather than 12 hours, for RS160. seeing as the “local bus” didn’t look all that comfortable, we agreed to wait at a restaurant for the bus. after half an hour, they took us to the “tourist bus” which is the exact same bus and wanted us to pay RS20 more! good thing we refused to pay them in advance so we told them to get lost.

varanasi is like the venice of india. the ganges is lined with ghats, where people perform their daily rituals such as praying, doing laundry, getting a shave, massage, or haircut, playing cricket, flying kites, and bathing in the river. the river is so dirty and polluted but the people believe the water is holy. cremation is probably one of the most interesting thing i observed here. although, we stood just a few feet away from the burning bodies, i felt quite detached from it all. there’s no crying involved like in western funerals and there was even a man drying his sarong over the burning corpse. unbelievable, eh? the old city is composed of a maze of steps and alleys. finding our way back to our hotel is an everyday challenge. it is just chaos with cows, dogs, goats, people, motocycles, rickshaws, auto-rickshaws, bicycles, cars everywhere.

it was almost a relief to arrive in the small, quiet town of khajuraho, which is know for the erotic (kama sutra) carvings in its temples. little did we know that we will be harrassed by touts everywhere we go! we had men stalking us all the time. it was creepy because we told one person some info and the whole town knew about it. audrey thinks i’m very patient with people, but these men were even getting on my nerves. other than the people, the temples were amazingly well preserved. all the carvings were done in impressive detail and percision. very beautiful!

we will be heading to delhi for christmas. i had planned to be home for christmas but i have extended my ticket till the end of january. i will probably extend for longer because there’s so much to see. all depends on the funds, i guess.

HAVE A MERRY CHRISTMAS AND A HAPPY NEW YEAR!!!

Filed under: Travel (Other)