I Cannot Emphasize Enough How Amazing Kashmir Is

Final place in Kashmir has been Leh in Ledakh and just like Srinigar it has been amazing. I honestly have never been anywhere this amazing in my entire life- and remember I am incredibly worldly and well traveled. Anyway, Leh is the first place in all of India where we have seen more than 3-4 whiteys ever. And now there are tons of them! Leh is a huge hub of outdoor activities like trekking, fishing, rafting as well as volunteering (lots of Tibetan refugees) as well as yoga and mediation. So pretty much its got it all and the people that are here are all interesting and not just looking for the next party (Thailand and all the 18 year olds). The town is nice and small with tons of awesome food and good shopping (too much good shopping). The altitude here is 3500 meters and thinking I was super tough and cool I did not expect it to effect me. Boy was I wrong as I spent the first two days here being dizzy and nauseous (I may have thrown up once). So our first two days were pretty mild as we got adjusted, mostly just cruising around town and eating delicious Tibetan food (see facebook for some photos of momos, Tibetan dumplings that were amazing). It is also way colder here than we expected so we had to buy some warm clothes- especially Danielle.
On our third day we were able to have an activity day! We didn't have enough time to do a full trek but instead we hired a jeep to take us up to the highest motorable pass in the WORLD! It was 34 km north of Leh and it took us about two and half hours to get up. The road was pretty much single lane with tons of crazy switchbacks. I have seen some pretty big mountains before but nothing compares to the mountains here. We went from a green valley, through desert mountains all the way to full on snowstorm! The last 10 km took us the longest as the road is pretty miserable but we got to get out a bunch and Danielle got to play (fall) in the snow. The top was at 18,380 feet and even being up there for only about an hour made me super dizzy. When we reached the top the weather was beautiful but about 15 min later a storm blew in and we were in a total white out snow storm! Luckily we had an excellent driver that didn't speak a word of English and we made it down nice and safely. Once we got below the storm the sun was beautiful and we had amazing views all around us. I have never seen such incredible scenery.
Today we had quite the shopping day as there is an amazing Tibetan Refugee market with lots of cool trinkets and whatnot. Tonight we get to hop in a jeep around midnight for a 22 hour drive through the mountains down to Manali. We are going to stock up on some delicious yak cheese to make the journey less painful. We will be passing through the Himalayas for the second time so that should be exciting.
So once again I have taken hours of my time and tons of rupees to upload some photos to facebook. Mother, may I suggest you visit your darling god daughter and have Elaine show them to you?

Longest Drive Ever

So travel in Kashmir only consists of jeeps or buses because the terrain is so crazy. Yesterday we took a jeep from Srinigar to Leh in Ledakh and it was both amazing and horrible. Pretty much there are seven people total in the jeep which is quite cozy, yesterday I was next to a man that was way too large for the car and kept squishing me. Anyway the entire drive has the most amazing scenery. First we drove through huge mountains all covered with snow and ice. In some parts the road was perfectly paved and in other places water would be washing away the gravel road form melting snow. We were driving along a rive that was just rushing with what looked like freezing water. I can imagine it would be quite exciting for someone to raft or kayak down. Not so much for me but it was exciting to look at. As we kept driving we left the crazy snow covered mountains behind and the mountains began to all be tan and just massive piles of rocks, it looked kinda like Colorado or somewhere out west? So pretty much the whole time you are driving you are just staring out the window looking at the most amazing scenery ever but also being bounced all around and super uncomfortable. Sleeping is pretty much impossible. Yesterdays trip was maybe about 400 km but it took us about 16 hours. It was pretty cool to drive through the tiny villages all along the road. In some places it was freezing cold and I can't even imagine how hard life would be there. While driving we would stop every couple of hours for a chai break which is always delicious and a good chance to stretch broken limbs. When we leave Leh in a few days the trip down to Manali will be a total of about 25 hours of driving...we will probably break that into two days if its not too expensive but it should be pretty intense.

Srinigar

After our wonderfully relaxing couple of days on our luxurious boat we were met by our Khajuraho connection who goes by Super Mario for the foreigners because he looks just like Super Mario. Anyway, he said that he would take us sightseeing and invited us to lunch at his house! He walked us around the old town of Srinigar and we got to see so much that we never would have on our own. I loved looking into the little shops and seeing people making food, smoking hookah or running their tiny shops. Unlike the rest of India people do not stare at you in Kashmir, we got lots of friendly smiles but no one stalking us with their camera or anything else gross. We happened to pass a Muslim wedding and everyone insisted that we go behind the tent and see the food being prepared. There must have been at least 50 men cooking tons of food in huge black cauldrons over big fires. There is tons of good meat in Kashmir and we were given a taste of everything. More of those lamb kebabs that we had had the night before and some other kind of lamb meatball that was amazing. All of the food was amazingly flavored and there was soooo much of it! All the men doing to the cooking were so nice and not at all creepy. The entire day I waited for someone to do something creepy or for Mario to start taking us to his friends shops but not once did I feel like anyone was trying to get something from us. When we got back to Mario's house we had to beg him to show us some of his rugs and scarves. His family has sold Kashmiri goods since like 1840 or something and we had seen his shop in Khajuraho and knew that if we were going to buy anything in Kashmir we wanted to buy it from him. The rugs were all handmade and absolutely beautiful. We looked at tons and each found a perfect one. After going through the rugs we went to a room filled with pashminas and I got a little carried away. They all were so beautiful I couldn't resist.
After all our shopping we were served a traditional Kashmiri lunch by one of his nieces (he lives with both his brothers and all their kids). First the girl came around with water and a dish for us to wash our right hand. She then served out rice, two dishes of lamb and one of chicken. We ate the meal with our right hands which for Danielle and I was definitely a new skill. The food was delicious and all the meat was really good. In the rest of India meat has been hard to find and the little bit of chicken we have had has not been good. We were totally stuffed after lunch and were then served like our fifth cup of kashmiri tea and then Mario insisted that we would stay with him and his family for the next two nights! His family was about to move into a new house out in the country and it was huge and amazing. All our meals were prepared and we were treated just like family. It was really amazing to experience such hospitality from someone that we had just met and to truly not feel like they wanted anything from us. We got to play with all the little kids and eat way too much amazing food.
Being in Srinigar, which is pretty much entirely Muslim, I wasn't sure how it would be different from the rest of India. Frankly I haven't spent any amount of time with Muslims and wasn't sure how I would be viewed or treated both as a woman and as an American. In Srinigar for the first time both Danielle and I felt totally comfortable talking with people. People seemed truly honest and it didn't feel like everyone was out to get money from you. While I was still bothered by the position of women in society- we barely got a chance to interact with the women in Mario's family as they were never invited to eat with us- but Danielle and I were treated wonderfully.
Staying with a family was a really amazing opportunity and I am so thankful that we were able to meet such generous and wonderful people in Srinigar.

On A Boat!

So after a huge amount of travel Danielle and I have made it to Kashmir! Our first stop was Srinigar and I absolutely loved it. I don't know if it was just being in a place where the temperature wasn't melting my insides or what but Srinigar was an amazing place. To get there we took a 9-10 hour jeep ride to go about 300 km which was insanely bumpy but had the most incredible scenery.
Anyway, first place we stayed in Srinigar was on a houseboat because thats what you do there. Most tourists stay on Dal Lake which is right in town but due to a super sweet hook up from some guys we met in Khajuraho we knew to stay on the much more peaceful and beautiful Nageen Lake. They set us up with a hosueboat that was wayyyyy too nice for us but because it turns out Kashmiris are the nicest people in the world we were allowed to name our price and it turned out to be such a fraction of the real price that I can't even write it out! The boat was beautiful, all carved pine wood and tons of carpets everywhere. We spent two nights there and it was like heaven. For the first time since being in India I really felt like I could relax. It was nice and warm during the day and cool at night so no more dying of the heat. There was a beautiful deck on the back of the boat and we would sit there, be served delicious tea and read. We also had a little canoe that we took out a couple of times, once for the sunset and once during the day. We were some of the only people out on the lake when we did and we watched huge Kingfisher birds flying all around and great herons. At night we would sit on top of the boat and there were amazing stars.
Meals were included on the boat and we were given the best food that I have had in India. First night was fresh brook trout that was just perfect along with veggies and rice and fruit. Next night we had the most amazing lamb kebab things where the lamb had been minced up with amazing spices and then cooked around a metal spike. It was amazing. Our time on the boat was a very needed break from the craziness of India. It was wonderful to just do nothing but read and look at beautiful scenery.

The Internet Is Slower Than Death Here

The internet is the worst in India, I didn't know how good I had it in SEA with free wifi at every restaurant and speedy internet cafes on every corner. Anyway, heres a recap of my last two cities:
Khajuraho was a tiny town with pretty much nothing to do but we had a nice relaxing time there. Pretty much the only  reason people go there are to see a bunch of temple built around 900 AD that have become know as the Karma Sutra temples due to a few erotic carvings. The temples were quiet beautiful, very reminiscent of Angkor Wat in some of their imagery and shape. They were all carved out of sandstone which made them look like they would crumble if you touched them but all the carvings had help up incredibly well. Frankly the erotic carvings were not such a big deal as people make it out to be. They are only a fraction of the carvings of people and animals and only a couple are actually dirty (beasteality). Anyway, since Danielle and I are now expert tourists we got the audio guide which we have discovered is pretty much the best way to learn a ton without putting any effort in. Its also ideal when its a million degrees out and trying to read anything makes you just want to go back to your room and curl up with the AC. So our visit to the temples was quite nice. Our second day there we hopped a fence into a lovely little garden and spent the day reading and hanging out.
We have also now ridden on two trains! As our first train from Agra to Khujaraho pulled into the station the first section you see is the lowest class and I am not kidding when I say that people were literally falling out the windows and doors. People were piled on top of each other and there didn't look like there was even enough room to breath. There is literally no way I could spend an entire night in that position. Just looking at it almost gave me a panic attack. Luckily we, along with all the other white people, get to ride in the princes section where we have AC, sheets, blankets and pillows. Sleeping on the train is no problem, the only problem is that you cant sit up in your tiny little bed but it could be worse.
So now we are in Varanasi which has been awesome. Pretty quiet city and lots of good people watching. Yesterday we walked all along the ghats (where people bath in the Ganges) and it was wonderful. We past one of the two burning ghats where people are cremated. When we were there there was one body that had been burning for a couple of hours and two bodies waiting to be burned. The waiting bodies were wrapped tightly in cloth and lying on bamboo stretchers. The bodies burn for 24 hours and then the ashes are scattered in the river. Pregnant women, children, holy men, and lepers are not burned because their bodies are already pure. Instead they are tied to a rock and dropped into the middle of the river. Last night we watch a ceremony that they do every night involving a lot of chanting and fire that was very beautiful. Many people take boats out and light candles so the river is beautiful. This morning we got up at 5 to take a boat ride on the river. We didn't see much that was new but it was beautiful light and very peaceful.
Next up is Bodhigaya which should be pretty chill as it is tiny. After that we will be done with our tour and head up to Kashmir!

Rowdy Rathore!

The one good thing about Jaipur was that we got to see a Bollywood movie! It was absolutely rediculous. I don't know how people think they are cool. Pretty much it was two and a half hours long which is a long time to sit in a movie theater when you aren't really sure whats going on. It was a bit of action, a bit comedy (i think) and a bit romance. The best part was the very enthusiastic crowd. Whenever something exciting happened the whole auditorium would start shouting and clapping. The main character, which I guess was supposed to be some babe(?), was not a babe. He looked like a cross between Peter Sellers and Sasha Baron Cohen and acted just as foolishly. The women were babes and all the dance scenes were awesome but I just couldn't take it seriously. But maybe that was the point? I'm really not sure but it was fun and a nice way to spend the afternoon. Even better, afterwards we went to a McDonalds and got McFlurries and fries and they were SO GOOD. So good that I was a super fat American and refused to give my half finished McFlurry to a poor little street urchin. Can't take the American out of me!

Still Hot

So in the past week or so we have covered Udaipur, Pushkar, Jaipur and Agra! Tonight we leave Agra and have finally left our grumpy grandpa driver. Of all of those places Pushkar was by far my favorite. It was nice and small, and there was lots of good food and shopping and the hasseling wasn't too bad. My least favorite was Jaipur. I disliked Jaipur for the number one thing that I hate about India: constant sexual harassment. Its a huge bummer and I hate to generalize because we have met many very nice Indian men but overall our experiences have been pretty negative. It ranges from the minor (constant rude staring that is clearly not just out of curiosity) to the totally upsetting (being felt up in a temple). Mostly young men will follow us, take pictures without permission and my favorite is to follow us and film us! My tolerance for this kind of treatment is pretty fucking low. Its clear that they don't see us as people that deserve their respect and coming from a country where gender equality is about as good as it gets it is very hard to take. In Jaipur it was so constant that we didn't even want to leave our hotel rooms. Now let me be clear, neither of us is dressing like western whores, we are both tending more toward the mormon look despite the raging heat and we aren't going out drinking late into the night. There doesn't really seem to be anything to do about it but it is frustrating that I have such a negative impression of such a large portion of the population. I wish we were able to interact with women more but they seem super shy and are never working in restaurants or shops. I knew this was the reputation of India when I came but I didn't realize that it would be so constant and overwhelming. I think it would be really awesome to travel here as a guy, you would be able to interact with people with so much more confidence and trust.
In other less depressing news, we saw the Taj Mahal today!!! We went at sunrise because we hate other people and it was just as pretty as it looks in pictures (huge relief). It was nice and quiet when we were there and there wasn't anyone bugging us for money (yay!). As we were leaving lots of tour groups began to arrive so I am glad we got out before it got too crowded. Another highlight was all the monkeys and monkey babies we saw on the walk there. I may have taken more pictures of the monkeys than the Taj but we all know what the Taj looks like and not everyone knows how cute it is when a baby monkey clings to its parents tummy.
Next up is the Karma Sutra temples so that should be weird. 

And the Emotional Rollercoaster continues

This time on an upswing luckily. We have spent a wonderful two days in Jodhpur and have done quite a bit of shopping. Today we were dropped off in town at a spice shop and the owner of the shop fell completely in love with Danielle (it wasn't creepy he was old). Less of a fan of me probably because I was a bit grumpy in the morning. Anyway he took us to a wholesale textile shop where we ended up spending around two hours! They showed us some of the most beautiful fabrics I have ever seen! We both got some major purchases which made us feel very grown up. Pretty much everything that I have bought in SEA was cheap random stuff but it is nice to buy things that are actually things that I will keep for ever. I keep thinking of the rug my mother has from Iran in her bedroom to remind myself that I should invest in some quality things. While we were there we were given chai, lassis and told all about Jodhpur. Overall it was a great experience and I feel like the things that I bought from them were not only of good quality but came from a positive experience. 

HOT

Did I mention that for the last week it has been between 115 and 120 degrees? I am literally melting. You can barely eat any food cause it just sits in you and makes you feel ill. I can't wait to go North anything will feel cool after this.

Two Glasses of Lemonade!

So Danielle and I are currently on a "tour" or Rajasthan which pretty much just means that we have a driver between all the cities and our hotels are all booked for us. Conveniently there are two British girls doing the same thing so we have some other people to hang out with (its low season so there aren't a lot of other tourists to befriend). Anyhoo, we've all seen Lawrence of Arabia right? Good, I'm glad I am writing to such a sophisticated audience. Well two nights ago I got to live out all of my Lawrence of Arabia fantasies on a camel safari in the desert of Jaiselmer (I have no Lawrence of Arabia fantasies that movie makes the desert look horrible). We spent one afternoon riding camels and a night in the desert. First of all, camels are amazing. They are both super cute and super weird looking. They have big eyes with really long eyelashes and they always look very relaxed. On the other hand, their lips are super stretchy and they stretch them about a lot in weird faces. Their feet are crazy- they look like slippers and kinda smoosh down with each step. Getting on and off is the most exciting as they get up in stages, first the back almost dumping your forward, then the front. Riding them is pretty uneventful as people were leading them and all around us was just sand so all I thought about was Lawrence and him ordering lemonade after crossing that crazy desert. It was funny at first but after two hours when my water had run out it got less and less funny. We watched the sunrise from a dune and then were sent back to the base for dinner. After dinner we were put in carts drawn by the camels and taken out to the desert to sleep. When we went to sleep the moon was super bright so we couldn't see too many stars but it was beautiful. When I woke up in the middle of the night the moon had gone down and the stars were amazing. While no stars are better than Vermont stars these were some of the brightest I have ever seen. The next morning we watched the sunrise and then rode back for breakfast.