Round the World

Since we couldn't go to Morocco because Ashok could not get a visa, we ended up spending the extra days in Uruguay. It turned out to be one of our favorite countries (once again proving everything happens for a reason)! The Uruguayan consulates were also the nicest, most service oriented of all the ones we dealt with - proving my other theory that a consulate/embassy provides a good insight for what that country is like. In summary, Ashok started his visa application in Istanbul (he's the first to apply for a visa in Turkey) with the help of a woman from the consulate in Hamburg, and ended up picking up his visa in Buenos Aires.

Uruguay is a small country of only 3 million people which probably explains its laid back culture. Even Montevideo felt more like a small city than a capital city. In addition, the beaches are nice, the people are extremely warm and friendly, and the asados are great... so what's not to love?! Everyone has a place they dream of moving to, and Uruguay is one of those places for us.

Punta del Este is the big beach resort town (reputedly THE place to be seen in South America after Rio), but it was a little too much like any other resort town. What we loved were the smaller beach towns further up the coast that have a lot more character, in particular Punta del Diablo, a former fishing village turned local up-and-coming resort/surfer town, and Cabo Palonio, a small establishment in a national park where there's no electricity or running water, and the only way to get there is in 4x4 trucks.

Cabo Palonio:

The coast of Punta Del Diablo:

We met some great people in Punta Del Diablo: Veronica, owner of Elida Elena hostel, was helpful even though we didn't end up staying there (they didn't have rooms with private bathrooms). We ended up stopping by the hostel several times for great food and even better conversation with her, her boyfriend and everyone who works there.

An impromptu photo session with the people that works at the Elida Elena:

One of the amazing BBQs at the Elida Elena, with Gabriel presiding over the grill:

All our friends that love grilling would be jealous to see the huge pit/grill that is built into EVERY house in Uruguay (and Argentina), and the amount of meat that's piled on top of the grill each time. If not for the NYC fire code, we would build one on our roofdeck. While Argentina is known for steak, Uruguay has the best chorizos (sausages). In particular, we loved the Morcilla Dulce, a sweet blood sausage available only in Uruguay (the orange zest tempers the taste of the blood, and it tastes way better than it sounds!). While we're on the subject of food, we were "meated out" by the time we got to Brazil so I can't speak for the churrascaria there. However, the sucos (fresh squeezed fruit juice) in Rio were amazing! The abundance of tropical fruits in Brazil meant that the sweetest, freshest juices are available at any random sucos stand for less than $2. Ashok's favorite was the acai, and I could never decide between that or mango juice.

Sorry I digressed (food has that effect on me). Bernardo, from whom we rented the cabin, is another interesting person we met in Punta del Diablo. Apparently he used the cabin to "get away" from his kids and wife when it's not rented out, so it was perfectly normal for him to come over each evening to sit around and chat with us about everything from surfing (he's a retired surfer) to real estate to local and world politics. For a guy living in a small village where there's no ATM (but has internet connection!), Bernardo is very well versed in what's going on in the world. Another lesson for us - never judge a book by its cover.

Bernardo with his family (courtesy of Ashok who took the family portrait one afternoon):

The cabin that we rented from Bernardo in Punta del Diablo:

View of the ocean, taken from the bedroom of the cabin:

From Uruguay we went back to Buenos Aires for a few days, then headed up to Iguazu Falls and on to Rio, Brazil. We had grand plans of going to Salvador, Ilha Grande, and several other places in Brazil (thanks David for all your reco's), but we crossed over to Brazil at the Iguazu Falls border, got down to Rio, and just settled in. Actually, what happened was that, for one reason or another, we spent more days in Argentina than we had planned so we only had 7 days by the time we got to Rio, and since we were almost at the end of our trip we didn't have the energy to cram 2-3 places into such a short amount of time. Instead, we spent the days exploring Rio at our leisure and left the other places for our next visit to Brazil.

Sun and beach immediately comes to mind whenever Rio is mentioned. However, I think what really sets Rio apart is its location - situated between the lush green tropical mountains and the beach, few cities can claim such a dramatic setting.

One of the best ways to appreciate the view is to watch the sunset from Sugarloaf Mountain. We lucked out and were there on a very clear day with just enough clouds to provide some dramatic color.

One cannot be in Rio without going to Copacabana beach, even if the water is quite polluted these days... so one afternoon we packed our stuff and worked our way there. The beach was pretty quiet and we were able to find a nice patch of dry sand not too close to the water. As I was getting settled on my towel and starting to enjoy the warm rays of the sun, I saw this look of surprise and horror on Ashok's face, and sat up just in time to see this white wave come rolling towards us. The next thing I knew, I, along with everything we had, were completely soaked. The only saving grace was that Ashok was standing with one of his cameras at the time, and was able to grab the other one off the towel before the water washed over it so the 2 most expensive pieces of equipment were saved. I'm sure the locals sitting around us had a good laugh at us, "the stupid tourists", as they watched us scramble to gather up our stuff and dragged all the wet stuff around looking for some place to rinse off the sand. It took about 3 days for everything to dry up, and even longer to get all the sand out of my backpack and Ashok's camera bag. While this was not one of our favorite moments, it was certainly one of the memorable ones!

Copacabana Beach, a short while before we got washed out:

In Rio we stayed in a comfy B&B called Casa 579 in the Santa Teresa neighborhood, an "artsy" area on top of the hill of the same name in the center of Rio (which served a great breakfast - fresh fruit juice and cake baked every morning... yummm). Maybe it's because we had a view of the famous Christ the Redeemer statue (the other iconic landmark) from our window, we didn't make it up to Corcovado mountain to see the statue until the last day.

View of Corcovado with Christ the Redeemer from our window (ok, our bathroom window):

Christ the Redeemer up close (we were the first ones there so no tourists!):

By the way, in case you're thinking of watching the sunrise from there, it's not possible. The park opens at 8am so it is way bright by then.

One other highlight for us was the tour of the Maracana stadium. After all, when one thinks of soccer, Brazil and Pele immediately comes to mind, so it was really cool to walk the grounds where so many famous players have competed:

We also learned an interesting fact: The stadium was built in 1950 for the fourth World Cup, between Brazil and Uruguay. Brazil was so confident they were going to win that they announced that the stadium would be painted with the colors of the winning team. Well, as we know now, Uruguay shocked the world by beating Brazil at the last minute, which is why the stadium is blue and not green.

The only places we had left after Rio were Cordoba and Mendoza (which I talked about in my last post), and thus ended our time in South America, and pretty much our trip. All we had left was a week in Aruba before going back to New York. More on that and some final thoughts next time.

At the start of our 1.5 month in South America, our feelings were bittersweet. On one hand, it's a whole new continent to explore. On the other hand, it also meant the beginning of the end (of our trip). Culturally, I also felt that we were closer to home. In many ways, Latin America is, well, a Latin version of North America. Don't get me wrong, there is a very distinct Latin culture (which we love, by the way). But it's definitely a western culture and very different from where we had been for the last 6 months. The fact that we started off in Buenos Aires probably had something to do with it since it reminded us a lot of New York City (I think the city was planned based on a combination of New York and Paris).

There was definitely a culture shock after being in Asia, Middle East and Africa for so long. To name a few: once again we saw couples hugging and making out in public whereas it was a big deal for couples to even hold hands; there's no longer any haggling (even street vendors will only give a 5% discount) - a good and a bad thing; and after months of no pork and hardly any beef, it is now all beef all the time (not that I'm complaining).

One of our first (second, third, fourth.... meals in Buenos Aires):

It's near impossible to write about everything that happened over 1.5 months (nor do I think anyone would have the patience to read it), so I will keep this post to only the highlights on Argentina and follow up shortly with another one on Uruguay and Rio, Brazil:

By far our favorite in South America, and one of the top 3 on this trip, is the Glaciers of Patagonia (Perito Moreno and Upsala Glaciers, El Calafate, Argentina). It's simply breathtaking to see the Perito Moreno Glacier - whether it's the view of the jagged top sloping down the mountain to stop abruptly at the edge of Lago Argentina, or the view from the lake which makes one appreciate the grand scale of the glacier. We were even lucky enough to see a part of the face of the glacier crash into the lake (just like in those Discovery shows)!


And some of the icebergs floating around the Upsala glaciers were the bluest blue I've ever seen. I think the blue is because the ice absorbs all the colors of the spectrum except blue.

The people we met only added to our fond memories of El Calafate. Carolina, one of the owners of the Hotel Puerto San Julian where we stayed, is one of the nicest proprietors we've ever met. She made us feel like we were staying with friends instead of at a hotel, and one night we even went with her to watch her and her friends dance Tango, which Ashok loved for the photo opps.

Another afternoon we ran into Jim and Wendy, a couple from Canada whom we had met briefly in Buenos Aires a few days prior, and next thing you know we had chatted away the afternoon like we're old friends. I'm not sure how or why, but at some point in the afternoon, while we were still with Jim and Wendy, Ashok somehow decided to talk his way into this restaurant's smoking room to photograph the meat, at which point a random tourist stopped and took a picture. It's unexpected moments like these that make traveling so much fun.

Besides steak, El Calafate has another specialty - grilled lamb. Carolina sent us to a local restaurant nearby where we ordered one portion, and this is what we got!

We had to check twice with the waitress to make sure they didn't confuse our order (they didn't). Needless to say, we were very satisfied after this meal, and highly recommend the lamb!

After the overnight bus experience in Egypt I swore we were done with buses, so I was not happy when we realized we had to take buses in South America to stay within budget. My mom's friend tried to assuage our fears by telling us how great the buses were, that they were better than first class seats on planes, that they served food, etc. They were right! Argentinian buses are the BEST (so good that it is one of the highlights )! The seats are roomy and plush and recline 180 degrees to be completely flat. The bathroom is pretty much like airplane bathrooms (so much better than having to get off the bus in the middle of the night to use questionable toilets or the side of the road!). There's even someone on the bus to serve us dinner and wine, and champagne with breakfast. The best buses are the ones between Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, but other routes within Argentina are almost as good.

Iguazu Falls itself would be worthy of any type of bus rides. I love waterfalls in general, so I was very excited about going there. It is different from Niagra Falls in that it is made up of over 275 falls spread out over approximately 2 miles. Unfortunately, as it was late fall, the water level was at its lowest (about 1/3 of average daily water levels) so most of the 275+ falls were dry. On the other hand, there weren't too many tourists so it was nice to be able to wander around at our leisure. Even with the low water level, the biggest fall, Garganta del Diablo, was still impressive.

Normally, this whole side would have been covered with waterfalls

Another highlight was going to the Boca Juniors football (i.e., soccer) game in Buenos Aires. We had wanted to go on the day we got into Buenos Aires. However, the immediate neighborhood around La Boca, where the stadium is located, is pretty rough despite its increasing popularity with tourists. My mom's friend was so worried about our safety - even his friend who worked as a security guard at the stadium said it's too rough for foreigners - that we ended up not going. Later we were able to go via someone who organizes trips to Boca games for foreigners (apparently a thriving business - goes to show you that where there's an opportunity, someone will be there to take advantage of it). And of course once we got there, it was not nearly as scary as everyone makes it out to be (probably similar to going to an USC game in downtown LA, but not like going into South Central LA). It was Ashok's first football game outside of India and the energy and enthusiasm of the crowd was definitely different. We also got to witness Palermo, a well known player, kick his 200th career goal during the game, AND got these Boca jerseys for free!

Our last stops in South America were Cordoba and Mendoza. Mendoza is the Napa Valley of Argentina, so of course wine tasting was in order. We decided to join a slightly more expensive day tour (a sign of being on the road for too long as we were starting to get lazy about finding our own way). Then again, the spread we got at the end of the tour (lunch was included as was all-you-can-drink wine) made the tour completely worth it!

What you see were only the appetizers! Afterwards we went straight back to the hostel and took a 3 hour nap.

In Cordoba, though, was where we had the best steak! I don't know about the nicer restaurants in Buenos Aires (couldn't afford to go), but the Cordoban steak was superior to what I've had at some of the expensive steak joints in NY!

Throughout our trip, I was always joking with Ashok that he has some unexplained fascination with communism/ socialism that manifested itself in China, Vietnam, and Eastern Europe. When we realized that the Che Guevara House is in nearby Alta Gracia (in addition to the Jesuit Estancias), of course we had to make a stop. Ashok got very excited when he found out that he shares the same birthday as Che (hmmm... is that the connection?). Whether or not one agrees with Che, it was very inspiring to see the passion and dedication he had for his ideals. Of course it was all the more interesting to me because I loved the movie Motorcycle Diaries (and Gael Garcia Bernal).

Maybe because it was slow, or because Ashok and I were the most foreign looking of the tourists there, we got stopped by a TV crew from Buenos Aires there to do a piece on Che.... I think they wanted to interview us at first (difficult to tell with all that Spanish coming at us), but we ended up doing the promo for the station (you know, the "live from channel 4" type things), in Spanish. Except that we didn't know at first that the guy was telling us what to say (was he asking us a question that we were then supposed to answer? was he telling us to do something?), so I'm pretty sure we looked pretty stupid.... This was not the first time we got on foreign TV: in Istanbul we got interviewed because there was an upcoming election and they wanted to get the foreigners' perspective. I don't think I was all that brilliant either....

(Ashok with the TV producer guy in front of the Che Guevara House)

During our time in South America, we used Buenos Aires as our "base" and took trips from there. It was great since it allowed us to coordinate our "side trips" so that we could meet up with my mom & sister for a few days. It was also nice to be able to leave some of our stuff with my mom's friend and not have to lug everything everywhere. For one reason or another, we ended up spending most of our time in Argentina, leaving us only 1 week in Uruguay (turned out to be one of our favorite countries) and 1 week in Brazil. For more on that, stayed tuned for "South America Highlights, Part 2"!

Senegal - our first time in an African country. We didn't know what to expect, other than that French is spoken (it used to be a French colony), it's on the northwestern coast of the continent and it has good music. We arrived into Yoff, a fishing village between the airport and Dakar, late at night so we couldn't see much. All we experienced was a very strong salty smell as we got out in front of the hostel. The next morning we found the source of the smell – the hostel is literally right on the beach where the fish market is located.

It seemed that all activities happen on the beach – fish is unloaded and displayed right next to the pirogue (wooden fishing boats). They are also scaled and cleaned right there on the sand while other vendors walk around to sell coffee or tea. Horse-drawn carts act as taxis on the beach to take people who have finished their shopping or fish mongers that are done for the day. Without any trash cans, everything is left for the sand to absorb.



Next to the pirogues, boys run around the sand playing soccer barefooted. I'm surprised no one's hurt by the bottle caps and other sharp objects in the sand. Everyone is passionate about football (soccer) here. A nearby beach is crowded with men running or doing push-ups in the sand - all training for soccer. A local man started talking to us, and tried to invite us to eat with him and to watch him play soccer (which I was able to decline and hold a short conversation in my broken French). He told us his name was Diouf, which we later learned was the most popular football player in Senegal. Of course this guy that we met in the narrow alleyway of the village right off the beach could not possibly have been Diouf. We met a few other people, each with a different story (one guy tried to get us to watch a "Pelican Ceremony", and another just came right out and asked for money). I guess there are some similarities between the people of Senegal and Egypt. In fact, one tourist we met said the touts are like "flies - harmless but will not leave you alone", a very apt description.

Seeing the living conditions one can understand why people behave that way. Like Asia, there's a huge disparity between the rich and the poor. Unlike Asia where things were cheap as a result, everything was expensive in Senegal. As an example, for $45 a night, our room only had 2 twin beds and didn't even have hot water. I'm not sure how the locals manage since I'm sure their wages are not on par with the prices. Of course, Senegal also has a side with high end hotels & fancy restaurants for those with money. Makes me wonder if we weren't traveling on a budget whether or not we would see this side of Senegal. I'm glad we did.

As I mentioned before, Senegalese are known for their music and moves. So when one of the local guys at the hostel told us about his friend's concert that night we went along with him. His friend turned out to be one of the newest sensations of Senegal, Yoro - for real this time - and we even got to meet him. The concert was great and it was one of the highlights of our time in Senegal.

The next day, April 4th, was Senegal's Independence Day (Josh, it's the same birthday as you!) so we got up early and waited with the crowds for the parade. It was more of a military inspection by the President, who was almost 2 hours late (tells you something about how much they care about the people). We did get a glimpse of the famous dancing troupe although we didn't get to see the actual routine - that's reserved for the guests of honor sitting in the grand stand.

We finally got to see local dancing on Ile de Goree, a pretty, small island about 30 min from Dakar by ferry. It's such a small island that there are no cars and it takes less than an hour to walk around the whole island. It's a popular tourist destination and one can see why with the colorful, charming old colonial buildings, surrounded by the beautiful blue Atlantic Ocean.

The first afternoon as we explored the island we heard music being played and followed it to a local festival. It was great! Everyone was dressed in pure white, rich gold or sky blue outfits, and groups would take turns getting up and dancing spontaneously. And they sure can dance. One woman told me that dancing is in their blood, and even the little kids know the moves. Judging by what I saw, that is definitely true.

There's some controversy about the island's role as a major trading center for slavery during the 18th & 19th centuries. However, what is true is that huge numbers of slaves were shipped from the western coast of Africa to North and South America, and the Caribbeans. The history and the plight of the slaves are documented at the La Maison des Esclaves (Slave House). The exhibit is in French so I didn't understand most of it, but I did learn that more slaves were sent to the Caribbean Islands and Brazil (for the plantation work) than to North America, but most perished under the horrible working conditions since the plantation owners believed that it was cheaper to get new workers every 3-5 years than to keep the existing ones healthy.

This wouldn't be my blog if I didn't mention the food. Apparently Senegalese food is one of the best in Africa. There are a couple of popular dishes, but our two favorites are Tiebou dienne (herb stuffed fish steak with seasoned rice & vegetables) and Yassa (fish or chicken in lemon and onion sauce). We pretty much had one or both dishes every day during our week there, but never got sick of it.

Finally, just a picture of the local minivan bus - the Car Rapide - because I love how colorful it is:

The check-in process when we left Dakar was THE longest one I've ever experienced. It took a good two hours even though we were flying Delta. I think it's because they've never seen a RTW ticket, so the security guy asked us questions ranging from what we did and how we paid for the RTW ticket, to where we lived in Cairo and how we paid for the hotel (please tell me why that's relevant?!)! Not to mention the many forms of IDs he asked for! Even though we got to the airport way early, we were the last 2 people to board the plane.

We only had 6 days in Senegal due to scheduling limitations of our Delta RTW ticket, but we definitely want to see more of Africa in the future.

Like most people, we originally planned Petra, Jordan as a side trip from Egypt, but it turned out to be one of our favorite countries. It's got incredible landscape, very traveler-friendly infrastructure, and the people are genuinely nice.

View of Jordan landscape from side of the road, near Petra:

On the other hand, going from Egypt to Jordan was not such a great experience. Due to cost and visa reasons, our only alternative was to take the “fast” ferry between Nuwiba, Egypt, and Aquaba, Jordan. The entire ferry experience was one of the most mismanaged and inefficient processes I've ever seen. There was such a huge delay that what should have taken 4 hours took over 10 hours so instead of getting to Petra and the comforts of the Marriott by 5pm, we arrived into Petra haggard and hungry at midnight at a hostel. The only good thing I can say about the experience is that we met some cool people to commiserate with:

Nevertheless, we still got up at the crack of dawn to beat the crowds (definitely worth it to have the place to ourselves). Petra was even more incredible than in the pictures and movies – as in Egypt, it's hard to capture the scale of the place in a photo. For me, it's the combination of the natural landscape and man-made structures that makes it so memorable. The rock formations, the deep gorges and canyons themselves would've been a top attraction in itself, but add to that an ancient city cut into the rocks about 2000 years ago and no wonder it's one of the new 7 Wonders of the World.

Al Siq, the pathway which is the entrance to the city, and to the famous Treasury:

Here's the shot everyone has of the Treasury, made more famous by the movie Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade, but of course I have to take one for myself:

The incredible rock-cut structures and the patterns of the rock formations:

We were so enthralled by Petra we walked through the site 3 times over 2 days (that's about 7 miles of walking each day!). On our last afternoon, we decided to ride mules up to the Monastery at the top of mountain (and with that, I think I'm done riding animals - horse, elephant, camel, mule....):

With all that walking and the ordeal to get to Jordan, it was a good thing we were staying at the Marriott (I cashed in some points). We've never been so happy to be in a Marriott... nice clean bathroom, and the oh so comfortable bed. There was even a theater where movies are shown every night. Not many people take advantage of it so Ashok and I had a private screening of Lawrence of Arabia (only the second half – part 1 was broken) to get us psyched for our day trip to Wadi Rum (the movie was shot there).

At first I thought Wadi Rum would be more of the same as Petra, but I was wrong. It was cool to ride through the open desert on the back of a "jeep" (Toyota Truck) and see the rock formations jutting out of nowhere:


The man on the camel in this picture gives a sense for how big they are:

It was while driving through Wadi Rum that it really hit me how glad I am we did this trip. If not I don't know when we'd ever get to see this.

We liked Jordan more because the people are so friendly and genuine. It was a refreshing change after Egypt, although initially we doubted everyone's sincerity. The Bedouins are known for their hospitality and we really experienced it. One guy offered for us to stay with them inside Petra for free (since the land belonged to the Bedouins, they are allowed to live inside the national park). Our driver at Wadi Rum stopped during the day to gather some sticks and we had a nice chat over tea at sunset:

Ashok was especially popular with the Bedouins. One girl actually stopped me as we were walking on a trail to tell me she “LOVED his coloring”. On the other hand, I was more popular in Egypt as Ashok was offered camels in exchange for me..... so I suppose he got the better end of this deal.

On our last day we drove past the Dead Sea on our way to Amman. Surprisingly, the Dead Sea is not that big – we drove from one end to the other in about 2 hours. It's weird to think that there's no aquatic life in all that water (due to the high saline content). One can, however, float on the water. On the northern end towards Amman, there are some nice resorts and public pools set up for people to enjoy a day on the beach. The idea of floating in the Dead Sea sounded good, but after putting my hands in and feeling the slimy water I decided it's one of those that sounds better in theory. Instead we just sat by the pool where Ashok enjoyed another sheesha and watched the sunset.



The surreal part is that the West Bank is right on the other side of the Dead Sea, basically the hills where the sun is setting in this picture.

Thus ended our 5 short days in Jordan, and on to Turkey.

Ashok has to be the first Indian citizen to attempt a Round-the-World trip. I don't see how it's possible given all the idiosyncratic rules of all the countries. Ashok had to get visas for all 24 countries on our trip except for India and Aruba (only because he has a US green card). In comparison, I only needed to get 5. We got most of the visas in the US, and figured we'd get the rest in India since it's a midway stop for us. Luckily it worked out that way as most countries only take visa applications from country of citizenship or residency (something we found out later at the expense of not going to Morocco). Otherwise we would've been really screwed and would have had to end our trip a lot earlier.

The idea of spending a couple of weeks in New Delhi just for the visas was not very appealing (Ashok had no friends or family in Delhi, and there's only so much there to see), so we devised this plan to see sights that were within an easy train ride from Delhi. It also turned into a big family trip as both my mom & sister and Ashok's parents flew in to join us. It was nice to have this extra time with them, and made these side trips and our time in Delhi more fun.

The gang at Agra Fort (with Jean, mom & sis trying to look like locals):

Our first stop was Amritsar, north of Delhi, known for the Golden Temple. The style of northern Indian temples is different than that of the southern ones, but ornate nonetheless.

Amritsar is also less than 40 Km from the Pakistan border, and probably one of the friendliest borders between the 2 countries judging by the Border Closing ceremony we witnessed. This “Beating the Retreat” ceremony is by far the most entertaining military ceremony I've ever seen, involving traditional uniforms with high head dresses, over-the-head high kicks, and friendly screaming contest between the MCs and audiences of each country.

This is one instance where the video gives a much better taste for what it's like:

After a short trip back to Delhi to pick up and drop off another visa application, we went south to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. Nowadays considered the greatest monument dedicated to love, it was a very appropriate way to spend Valentine's Day. The dinner with the whole family was very romantic too.

It's my second time there, but it's just as impressive to see the grand structure and the intricate patterns filled in with various precious and semi-precious stones. It's one of those places where you can't stop taking pictures so I had close to 100 before you know it. Here are just 2 of them:

early morning view from across the river:

We also had a “Slumdog” moment outside the Taj when this little boy came up to try to sweet talk us into going to his shop... oh and we did take our shoes off and they did not get stolen. Actually for the foreigners now they give you these shoe covers so it's not necessary to take them off.

It was good we had these breaks because getting the visas in India was a huge pain. There's a lot more paperwork involved than if we had applied in the US (seriously, why do they need the employment letter notarized for a 10 day trip, or a letter from the company to say you have their approval for going to that country for vacation? I can't imagine people putting up with that in the US!).

Here's the place in Delhi for notory services - it looks more like a farmer's market:

There are 8 stamps total on this document!

The funny thing is, no one actually checked any paperwork - no proof of identity, nothing - before notorizing the document.

In the US, the embassies gave you an idea for what the country is like. In India, the person that takes the application is Indian, so instead, we got to experience Indian bureaucracy and class-ism at its worst. As soon as an Indian person gets an uniform or sits behind a desk, he feels like he's better than others and starts to get an attitude and expects others to kiss his ass. It's wrong, but the common Indian citizen is usually treated like shit. You have to be a foreigner or an Indian with money or power to be treated with respect. At the Argentine embassy, we actually ended up calling the Consular General, who is Argentine (extremely friendly) to get Ashok's visa application processed.

Somehow we managed to get all except for Morocco in the 2 weeks there, then off we went to Leh in Kashmir state for the Tibetan New Year festival. Leh is in the Himalayas, at an altitude of 3500 meters (11483 ft). After my experience in Cuzco, we planned an extra day to rest and get acclimated. Even with that, I still got extremely sick, and spent most of the 4 days in bed with the oxygen machine running. The bronchitis I got while in Delhi (from all the open air auto rickshaws, I'm sure) probably didn't help.

The hotel staff was extremely nice and went out of their way to take care of me. The Omasila was one of the few hotels that stays open year round, and even Brad Pitt stayed there during a movie shoot, but only for one night... is it because he couldn't handle the altitude also?

I did manage to crawl out of bed long enough to witness the Dosmoche festival (ritual to ward off evil spirits and natural calamities), and to take a drive along the Indus River valley. There's a special significance because it's the 50 year anniversary of the Tibetan resistance.

People gathered at the base of the Leh Palace to watch the ceremony:

Masked dances performed by monks:

Himalayan peaks surrounding Leh:

Overlooking the Indus River outside of Leh:

It's too bad that, due to the altitude sickness, I will not be going back to Leh because it's so beautiful, and the people so warm and helpful. One of the organizers at the festival took Ashok to the back where they were getting ready so he could take pictures, and offered us soup afterwards. Even the manager at Kingfisher Airlines checked on me a couple of times to make sure I was doing ok and assured us that we would be on the first fight out (all flights had been canceled the prior 3 days - all flights since we arrived - due to weather). I've never been so happy to land at sea level. The pounding headache, however, stuck around for another week.

The next day, we picked up Ashok's final visa and flew to Egypt... and just like that we were done with Asia.

Some final funny signs in Delhi... one of things I love about India:

The left turn is free, but how much is a right turn?

Instructions on how to take the escalator:

The first one reads: "While climbing escalators put right leg on moving stairs and hold handrail and put other leg immediately on moving stairs while climbing down put right leg on stationary plate and leave the handrail put other leg on stationary plate"

We extended our stay in India by 2 wks so that we can catch the Tibetan New Year celebration in Leh, Ladakh, India (in the Himalayas). To take a break from India, we decided to backtrack and head to Koh Lanta, Thailand, to enjoy its white sand beaches and good food. Have I mentioned how much I LOVE the beach, especially a white sand beach? By the first afternoon, lounging in the bar on the beach with a nice cold beer, we had decided that somehow we have to own property on a beach somewhere.

6 days of lazing around on the beach and swimming in the calm cool waters of the Andaman Sea... oh and let's not forget the $8 per hour Thai massage everyday.... Pure bliss!

We did get our butts out of the lounge chairs to explore the island one day.... on a scooter.

It was Ashok's first time and talk about trial by fire - it looked easy enough except that the one road around the island was hilly and unpaved and filled with potholes. We saw one couple turn back half way through, but we fearlessly plowed on.

We also took an excursion to a nearby island, Koh Ngai (pronouced Hi), which is even prettier than Koh Lanta. It looks like it's straight out of a postcard. We only wish we had more time to spend a few days there.

The Thais has got tourism down. They make it so easy to go and relax there: information about accommodation/ transportation is easily available on line, people are friendly, and the price-value relationship is great. Our simple but clean beach front bungalow was only $23 a night, and I've already mentioned the $8 massage! In comparison, a similar room in India would cost around $50, with no wi-fi.

The first night at the hotel the beachfront bungalows were not available, so they put us in this RV-converted room parked next to the pool on the street side. This has to be one of the most unusual rooms we've ever stayed in:

Given what we had to go through the next couple of weeks, it was a good thing we got this week of rest.

The beaches I wrote about last time provided a nice break from visiting the temple towns, which are not places where one wants to stay any longer than necessary. They have all the noise, filth, and crowds typical of India cities, but non of the charm. The temples, however, make it worthwhile to spend at least a night.

The South Indian temples reflect Indians' love for ornate decoration and bright colors. All the buildings, including the entrances, have high towers that are completely covered with ornate sculptures and carvings of the presiding deity, and are oftentimes painted with bright colors.

The inside of the temples vary, depending on the level of maintenance. Regardless, shoes and socks are not allowed once inside the courtyard. Cows, on the other hand, are sacred to the Hindus, and thus are free to roam inside, as are bats in some of the more ancient ones. So, in some cases we found ourselves walking barefoot around the courtyard carefully sidestepping holy shit, literally.

Elephants, on the other hand, have the honor of giving blessing to anyone willing to pay a tip (either in cash or bananas):

We also went to a temple to see the Pongal (new year) celebrations. For this auspicious occasion, the horns of the cows are painted bright red and yellow. Then at some point in the night, there was an Indian version of the running of the (very unhappy looking) bulls through the courtyard, without any barriers for people to hide behind (I read in the papers that, in another town, one person was killed and several injured during one of these bull races).

Kids joining the revelry on the back of a tractor-converted truck:

The temple we really wanted to see was the iconic Meenakshi temple in Madurai. Of course, given our luck, we were there just in time for the once-every-12-year-repainting of the temple so everything was covered up.

A small tower that's not covered up to give an idea of what's under the brown bamboo and leaf covers:

Being inside, though, was quite an experience... seeing the devout Hindus stand in jam-packed lines for hours just to get a distant glimpse of the Goddess shrouded in incense smoke, hearing the chants of the Brahmins (the priests) as they perform puja (ceremony for the God/ Goddess). The Brahmins are the only ones that can access the inner sanctum where the sacred idols sit, but anyone who has money can pay for them to perform the puja (it felt like a big money making scheme for them). We got pulled into doing a few pujas. In one temple in Chidanbaram, Ashok even had to take his shirt off and follow the Brahmin around (sorry no pictures allowed).

Besides temples & beaches, we also went to a couple of unique cities. One of them, Pondicherry (about 4 hrs south of Chennai) ended up being our place to meet up with friends. Josh traveled with us there where we hung out for a few days. We then extended our stay so we can meet up with Ashok's childhood friend, JoJo, and his family. Pondicherry was a French colony for a brief period in history, long enough to leave behind a nicely planned out, clean and relatively quiet French quarter that's unlike the rest of India. And good coffee. In fact, Tamil Nadu is the only state in India where one can find a good cup of Indian coffee.

Besides wandering around the streets, we also spent a lot of time in the charming, breezy courtyard of the Hotel du Pondicherry where the decor makes one feel transported back in time to the 1920's, and where one can just sit back and relax for hours (yes, it's the exact same spot in both pictures).
Hanging out with Josh:

JoJo, Deepa, and Kabir sleeping soundly in his stroller:

Our last stop in South India was in Cochin, Kerala, known for its “backwaters”. This is another place where people go to get away from the noise and chaos of India, and a boat ride through its various tributaries was indeed very peaceful.

Cochin, a Portuguese influenced city, is also known for the Chinese fishing nets right off of the harbor, which have been used for centuries to catch fish. There are plenty of stalls selling fresh, “you buy, we cook” seafood next to the nets. However, one look at the trash on those beaches, and we decided to pass.

Not to worry - we did find good food in Cochin - but were too busy enjoying it to take pictures. Here is a picture of the colorful & tempting spices for sale on the streets... just think of the possibilities:

January turned out to be a whirlwind tour of Southern India (the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala), and a mixture of temple towns and beaches. It was also the month to meet up with friends. I'm splitting it into a couple posts, and will jump around in terms of the places we visited, but here's a map of the route we took:

We started out in Chennai (formerly known as Madras) where Josh met up with us. There's not much in Chennai – even the guidebooks say to get out as quickly as possible – but we did spend an interesting afternoon at one of it's beaches. Everything happens here: horseback riding, photo studios, mini hand-cranked merry-go-rounds, fresh (I think) grilled fish, fishermen mending their nets, kids jumping into the waves (near naked), families wading in the water (fully clothed)..... talk about life is a beach!


Take a picture with a Bollywood star or the Royal Bengal Tiger... your choice:

Hand-cranked merry-go-round:

However, our first real beach time (since we arrived in Asia) wasn't until we arrived in Mahaballipuram (about 2 hrs away from Chennai) the next day. The waves were pretty rough but Ashok & Josh liked it, and the beach was quiet and nobody bothered us.

Of all the beaches we went to in India, the best one is in Varkala, on the western coast in Kerala. Here, the sand was soft and the beach was clean (a rarity in India). One look at the blue waters of the Arabian Sea and you can't help but be relaxed.

In the early mornings, the water is the smoothest I've ever seen with gentle rolling waves. By late morning, the wind picks up but just enough to offset the heat from the sun. Perfect hammock weather, especially with the addition of a glass of ice cold beer. There must be some weird law with regards to serving alcohol in restaurants because they can't do it openly. Instead, beer comes in a teapot (chilled), and shows up as a dish called Mallabar Fish on the check.

Varkala was just what we needed after a very long 9 hour train ride in 2nd class (no AC). Normally I like train rides, but in this case we had to put up with people with no reserved seats trying to squeeze into our bench, and getting indignant because there are only 3 people sitting when clearly you can fit in another 1-2 people. At night the train really fills up, with people sleeping anywhere they can: in the aisles, under the seat, and up on the small luggage rack above the seats which is probably the cleanest part of the train.

Traveling around on a budget in India gives you a completely different experience and view of India. Going one step up doesn't even require a lot more money (the train ticket would have been $20 for 1st class AC sleeper vs. the $2 we paid), but the experience is almost like seeing 2 different countries. One is not more authentic or real than the other. Rather, it just provides a glimpse into the lives of the different classes of people. On this trip, I realized that the Indian governmen may make it affordable for everyone to travel. However, there's no thought given to how the people are treated during the trip... it's literally "cattle class". The bar is set extremely low when it comes to the quality of the goods/services.

Next up: the temples of South India

I read somewhere that Luang Prabang is the prettiest town in Asia, and I'd have to agree. The streets are clean and the buildings are nice French colonial style buildings that are well maintained and well lit (not fluorescent lighting!), and no shacks that are crammed into every possible open space. We were pleasantly surprised by the peaceful, calm and serene atmosphere. The Laotians are very laid back too so there are no touts or tuk-tuk drivers constantly badgering you to buy stuff. It's just such a nice break from the constant assault on your senses that happens in all the other Asian towns.

My camera's really gone by now and only 1 in 10 are coming out so here's all I have of LP:

We didn't do any research on LP, so we didn't realize that it's set in the midst of mountains and that it gets chilly at night. I know it's pretty silly of me, but I just never thought it got cold anywhere in Southeast Asia. I ended up catching a cold but it's such a laid back town, it was a good place to rest and recover. We did catch the early morning procession of monks receiving alms from the locals. That's the main tourist attraction, and is what made Luang Prabang so popular.

A psychedelic version (thanks to the broken camera):

Mist on the Mekong River in the early morning after the procession:

However, it's gotten so popular that some tourists forget that it is a religious event which should be respected, and instead will walk right up to the monks (you're supposed to only observe from across the street), sometimes even getting in their way, to take pictures. It's like walking into a church during a service and getting right up to the minister to take pictures. We saw more ugly tourist behavior around town – at a Buddhist monument people were climbing up onto the stupa just to get a better sunset picture, backpackers brought beer and were treating the place like a bar during happy hour. The lack of respect for the locals is just so wrong! It makes you wonder if ugly tourists are the ones that teach the locals to become rude and cunning, and ruin it for the rest of us.

A local village nearby was celebrating their new year so we went to check it out. It's like a very simple, local fair. As we strolled around we saw locals forming 2 lines facing each other, tossing tennis balls back-and-forth. I found out later that it's a way for guys to court girls, so he can get a chance to talk to the girl while the ball is tossed back and forth.

Other than that, we didn't do much else. We had local Laotian BBQ by the river which is a combo grill & hot pot so you can grill your own meat AND cook veggies in the soup, but the dipping sauce is the best part. We also met up with our friends Tim & Anna, whom we met in Mongolia, for the 3rd time and found out they got engaged! It's a nice coincidence that our paths kept crossing and we happened to be in the same place at the same time.

The trip back to Bangkok was an adventure in itself, and involved almost every mode of ground transportation: 11-hour bus ride to Vientiane where they played Casino Royale but every time we hit a bump the video would go out and only the sound stayed on, but we did get to see the beautiful Laotian mountains; taxi-autorickshaw-bus-autorickshaw to cross the border into Thailand; 6 hour wait for the train where we filled up on good Thai food at the Tesco foodcourt; and then an overnight train to Bangkok. 48 hours total travel time. The flight would have taken 1.5 hours. Not sure it was worth the $200 savings. At least we got to see the beautiful Laotian landscape.

And so ended the Southeast Asia portion of our travels....

It's hard to decide which country has the better food – Thailand or Vietnam. Compared to Saigon, Hanoi is slightly less crazy, more charming with the French-influenced architecture,

but the touts are everywhere trying to sell you things (we found the best way to get them to stop is to completely ignore them)... but no matter, it is worth going just for the food. In fact, we did not have a bad meal in Hanoi... well, except the Vietnamese sandwiches which were no comparison to the ones in Saigon, but that's more like a snack.

This is Bunh Cuon, a thin rice crepe that is popular for breakfast (but really it's good anytime):

And here's the woman making it at a well known place (Bánh Cuốn Thanh Vân):

I didn't know this before, but the Vietnamese food we have in the US is more southern style, from Saigon. The food in Hanoi is slightly different – instead of fish sauce, they use a dipping sauce that is more soup-like. Pho and summer rolls are more specialties of Saigon but Hanoi has its own delicious versions.

This is Bun Cha (rice noodles with grilled pork & dipping sauce):

I'm missing the food as I look at these pictures.

We were walking around Hanoi, and saw the infamous Hanoi Hilton, the POW prison during the Vietnamese war. It's weird to see this nondescript building right in the middle of the city, next to all these modern high-rises. Not a great shot but my camera's not working properly by now:

Thanksgiving was spent cruising around Ha Long Bay, famous for all the limestone karsts that jut out from the water. We had a nice fresh seafood dinner instead of the big turkey meal. After much searching and reading a lot of horror stories about bad cruises, we found one where we can get our own boat and be on our own schedule instead of going with a large group cruise (CatBa Ventures). The boat was on the rustic side, and the “western toilet” used the “eastern” method of flushing (i.e. pour water from a pail into the toilet to flush it), but the captain was extremely nice and bent over backwards to make sure we were happy. And it was definitely worth it to be able to relax on our lounge chairs all day and enjoy the beautiful scenery without being disturbed by other tourist boats. The captain also took us kayaking into these caves that lead to hidden lagoons.

Pictures of Ha Long Bay karsts:

This is one of the fishing villages that dot Ha Long Bay. Imagine living your daily life on the water:

Our boat (the deck on top is where we hung out all day):

and Ashok relaxing on our boat:

At night we would dock in these quiet coves where there's maybe a fishing family or another boat, that's all, and all you see are the karsts and the stars. One of the nights was a bit harrowing as the captain miscalculated the time it would take to get to the docking place so we had to cross the bay in the dark. Our boat didn't have any lights (no life jackets either, I noticed), and it was a moonless night. You know something's wrong when the captain gives you free beers. There were, luckily, 2 very bright stars that lit up the water and provided us with direction. We were never so happy to get to the cove that night.

Incidentally, we saw the same 2 stars a few nights later side by side with an upward new moon underneath.... looking like a smiley face! We found out later that the 2 stars were actually Jupiter and Venus, and I think you can only see it in the southern hemisphere (but don't quote me on that). If I had know, I would've tried to take a picture of it... but here're a couple of links if you're curious:
http://www.flickr.com/photos/75974977@N00/3128441229/
http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=7-HkgmRKmDs

We would have liked to stay in Vietnam longer to enjoy the food, but our visa was running out so we had to move on to Laos. I did not hear anything positive about the 30+ hour bus ride to Luang Prabang, Laos, so we bit the bullet and paid for the 1-hour flight instead. It was a good decision.