We arrived in Jaisalmer at the end of January after a long 9 hour drive from Pushkar (all 9 hours were spent listening to a 5 minute ‘Om’ to Shiva….on repeat…) and were greeted by a truly unique city. Located only 120 kilometers from Pakistan, Jaisalmer is a desert city, existing mostly as a base for people wanting to go on camel safaris in India’s Thar Desert.
There are countless desert camps to choose from and many hotels in Jaisalmer offer discounted rooms for anyone booking a desert tour through them. Our tour guide had booked ours ahead of time and I have to say that this was something he did right! The camp where we stayed was very well run and the owner puts a lot of care into the quality of the experience he offers. From beginning to end we loved our stay in the Thar desert!
The Thar Desert
Camel rides to the desert camps are a quintessential part of the experience, and we met our camels (and their owners) on the side of the highway about 40 minutes away from the Pakistan border. My camel’s name was Michael Jackson (probably because of his awesome hair!) and he was the sweetest thing! Dave’s camel was a bit grumpy, but MJ loved being pet and he was very careful when letting me on and off, which is the most harrowing part of a camel-riding experience!
Best desert picture, EVER!!!
We got to watch the sun set over the desert, while our guides laid in the sand. It really was a beautiful way to spend some time and it exceeded my expectations. Dave explored a bit and I hung out with Michael Jackson (I was worried I’d turn over a rock and a scorpion would try murdering me….Irrational? Perhaps…)
Hanging out while the sun set
Our camels taking a rest
Me and MJ, hitting it off 🙂
Even the desert is dirty in India 🙁
We arrived at the camp and were very happy with our accommodations. The tents were in better shape than a lot of the hotel rooms we’d seen. It’s obvious that the owner of this camp takes a lot of pride in what he does. He told us a few times how he built things a certain way so that they’d be made to last…he values quality and that was evident in all aspects of our camp experience!
The bed was SO comfortable!!!!
There was even a little area where we coud sit and sip masala chai
A clean bathroom with a seperate area for showering! They even had hot water!
Our evening was spent watching some traditional dances and listening to traditional Rajesthani music. Once more, we were impressed! I expected 2 or 3 songs and then for the musicians to move onto another camp…but they stayed the whole night! We had hours of entertainment around a bonfire, under the desert sky! Dinner was served and it was also traditional Rajesthani. The whole experience felt very cultural, and although a lot of these types of things can sometimes feel a little kitsch, somehow, this didn’t.
The dancers were lovely
I also got to put my photography skills to good use! When they saw that I had a decent camera and that I liked taking photos, they asked if I wouldn’t mind taking some pictures of the camp for their future website. These guys were so great, I gladly agreed to help out. I just hope my photos do them justice!
We were sad to go the following morning, but before we left we were served some very tasty Aloo Parantha (a traditional Indian breakfast) and we learned later that the owner had even picked up some fresh fruit for Dave and I, in case we didn’t like the Indian breakfast! So thoughtful!
We had such a great time in Jaisalmer! I recommend the trip to anyone visiting Rajesthan! It might be a bit of a drive but it is WELL worth it!!
Unlike at the end of many holidays, where I’ve been a little depressed to return to ‘real life’, I am totally thrilled to be back in Suzhou. I’m only one week into the new semester and I’m already finding work challenging, rewarding and fun. The number of students who greeted me by jumping out of their seat and cheering blew me away. How did I end up working for a school with students this cool? I don’t remember ever loving teachers enough to cheer for them!? These kids are just so great…and it helps that I love teaching Drama and writing…and even Food and Nutrition (when I’m in the classroom!!!).
My 7th grade all-girls class. They have improved so much in the kitchen, learning how to clean properly and how to make safe food
One of the girls was looking for extra point on their final exam at the end of last term. It says ‘Love Marie’ in Honey Dill sauce!!
Anyway…after 30 days away from home, Poe and Hugo are very pleased to have us back! Poor Poe was very anxious from us being away, I think, and our first few nights back were sleepless. She needs constant reassurance and is always worried that we’ve left. She wakes us up in the middle of the night…seemingly just to see if we’re there. I wonder what she went through at that shelter to have so much to worry about! Hugo, on the other hand, could not be more relaxed. Although he’s the one missing a leg, you’d never guess that he’s seen a moment of trauma in his life. Nothing phases him…I guess cats are like people in that way…some handle stress better than others.
Hugo, cuddled up and purring like a mad-man
You better not be thinking about leaving me!!!!
I have such a derpy cat!!! lol!!! If this isn’t total relaxation…what is!?!?!?
Hey Guys…where are we going!?!?!?
The following few posts I’ll be putting up will be about some of the most incredible parts of our trip. It felt as though writing about these things from my tablet wouldn’t do them justice…not only because the internet was constantly a struggle and my photo editing tools are all on my laptop (which we didn’t bring along), but I wanted to be able to write about these things with some distance from India. Our trip had a lot of ups and even more downs, but I know that with some distance, things won’t seem as though they were so bad. The following two posts will be about our time in Agra and our time in the Thar desert…and they are both stories that deserve to be to told without residual frustrations tainting otherwise beautiful experiences.
Suzhou’s most iconic building: The Pants
Goodness, I missed Chinese food!!!
I hope you enjoy reading about these adventures as much as I’ve enjoyed documenting them through both writing and photography.
Varanasi (also called Banaras or Benares), is easily the craziest place I have ever experienced. If you take regular India, which is already astoundingly crazy, and add another factor of about 10, you have Banaras!
This is the closest I got to the river. I originally had plans to either go in, or to at least touch the water….those plans changed once I arrived and smelled the Ganges…
Located in the North Eastern state of Uttar Pradesh, Varanasi is the holiest sight in all of India. 3 million Indians and 200,000 foreigners flock there every year to see the holy Ganges and the many ceremonies celebrated there. And it isn’t only the Hindus that find this place holy. Jainism, Buddhism and Shiekism are all linked to Varanasi as well, and about 25% of the city’s residents are Muslim, so there is a great deal of cultural diversity. Best of all, is that all these cultures seem to come together in a peaceful way. That, in of itself, might be a miracle!
Preparing to bathe in the holy river
Our first time walking down the Ghats, I spotted this bit of grafitti. Sadly, during our second trip down this way, I noticed that it had been covered by flyers advertising a sale…
Cows and boats…typical sights in the ghats
There were plenty of boats being fixed as well
We walked along the River Ganges several times, people watching, animal watching and enjoying the old buildings and colourful scenery. Hindus believe that to die in Varanasi is very auspicious (lucky/holy) because it means that you will no longer have to reincarnate, and instead you will find Nirvana. Many people die and are cremated here and certain Ghats (areas of the river with steps leading into the water) are specifically reserved for that purpose. We saw several cremations taking place, which was both fascinating and a little horrifying for our sheltered western eyes. To the locals, this was business as usual, and there were children playing cricket in the neighboring ghat, where the smoke from the cremations blew into…
Cremation costs are based on the type of wood and the amount of wood that is used in the process. Salesmen in the area will urge you to come up onto a big alter for a ‘better view’ of the cremations, and then request that you help fund the funeral once you go to leave. Frankly…watching a body be cremated wasn’t something I wanted to experience, so the idea of ‘getting a better view’ wasn’t exactly on my list of priorities…
One of several cremation sights
Walking along the river at night was especially interesting. In addition to the cremations, there is a ceremony every night where people send out little floating candle offerings. This year hasn’t been great for tourism in India, so when we were there, there were probably more salesmen than tourists. The big seller on the banks of the Ganges: boat rides. Everywhere you go, people will be asking you a 1 word question: “boat?”. Depending who you speak to, a boat ride along the Ganges can cost anywhere from 100 rupees to 1000 rupees. The official price is suppose to be around 250 (according to government regulations), but just like everywhere else in India, the salesmen in Banaras just can’t help but try and soak you for that extra money…
Boats sit on the Ganges while spectators watch the ‘special’ ceremony that is done every night…
On the banks of the Ganges
Plenty of people also tried selling us hash, opium and even Colombian cocaine (doubtful). And of course, there were always beggars around, with various ailments..some real…some badly faked. It is considered specially good to give money to beggars in Varanasi, but it’s very unwise to do so as a foreigner. If you give to one…not only are you encouraging a practice that the government condemns, but you’re also opening yourself up to being mobbed by 30 other beggars in the area. I had it happen to me in China, and it was scary! It is very hard to give in when you are being asked by children…so hard…but it’s much better that they take on jobs instead of relying on begging. Especially with India’s growing tourism industry and the jobs that are being created with further focus on sanitation in the country, there will be more and more jobs opening up for these people in the future.
See here: urinals. Of course, nobody uses them. Instead you see people peeing up against the walls everywhere…the smell is terrible in some places…
There is hope for Varanasi though…trash bins are being placed all along the ghats. Now the struggle the government faces: getting people to USE them…
There is also life away from the Ganges’ Ghats. This densely populated city has a population of about 1.2 million residents. When you add in tourism, there are some very full roads. Varanasi is also quite poor, so the infrastructure leaves something to be desired. In an alley barely wide enough to fit 1 car, you’ll find Tuk Tuk’s, rickshaws and cars all weaving around each other, while pedestrians and people on bikes try to get out of the way. And of course, there is livestock everywhere as well. We saw plenty of cows, goats, pigs, chickens and even a few horses walking the roads of Banaras. Considering that the holy city is larger than the capital of my home province (Winnipeg, Manitoba), the variety of animals in the streets is surprising to anyone just arriving in India.
And if you think I must be exaggerating about the state of Varanasi’s roads, I will provide proof of the mayhem. This is a combinations of several videos I took while visiting the holy city.
A picture of the ‘back seat’ mentioned by the tuk tuk driver. He insisted that he could fit all 3 of our suitcases…us…and him (plus 2 back packs). Something tells me that wouldn’t have been a pleasant ride…
If markets and the River aren’t what you seek in Varanasi, there are also plenty of temples to see. According to Wikipedia, there are an estimated 23,000 temples in Varanasi, ranging from small shrines to massive stone structures. We didn’t go into any this time around because we’ve seen enough to last us a lifetime. Instead, we walked the busy streets and spent an afternoon at a small cafe near Assi Ghat. Open Hand Cafe was wonderful…playing English music (the Dixie Chicks!!) and serving excellent coffee. Best of all, they sell items made by disabled women and children, who are unable to otherwise create income on their own. With fixed and fair prices, it’s an excellent place to make purchases.
Although this pack seems well fed, there were way too many skinny dogs in this city! I saw one with a rat in its mouth and I caught myself cheering for the pup! My joy that he was getting a meal trumped my disgust at the dead thing it his mouth…
A beautiful building down by the river
Varanasi is thought to be one of the world’s oldest continuously lived-in places. Some of the buildings sure look old….
In short, in Banares you will experience everything from fully visible cremations to near death experiences on the road to people claiming to be selling Colombian cocaine. No matter what your interests are…Varanasi has something for you!!!
And always remember…you may think you’re cool…but you’ll never be as cool as these guys!! (they were probably about 14 years old…)
We’re home now…but don’t worry! I’m not done writing about India just yet! Stay tuned for my posts about the Taj Mahal, our night in the desert and our final days in Delhi!
We are sitting at The Mark Cafe, a 2 minute walk from the River Ganges, and it’s Valentine’s day. Dave and I have a habit of spending the most romantic day of the year in foreign countries, and although this Valentines day has probably been the furthest thing from Romance that we’ve seen, it’s been interesting in its own right. I’ll be writing about Varanasi, or Banares, next time though. For now, I’ll be writing about the mayhem that is Mumbai.
The Mumbai Skyline
Mumbai, formerly called Bombay (during the Brittish rule of India), is a port city on India’s west coast. It’s the home of Bollywood, the world’s largest open-air street food market and is also India’s most populous city. There isn’t a whole lot to do in Mumbai, so we didn’t stay very long, but a day and a half was ample time to see the sights that deserve to be seen.
Like this really cool McDonalds!
Their Big Macs here don’t have beef in them (because…well…India), so instead they have jalepeno peppers and chicken
What makes Mumbai so remarkable, as far as I’m concerned anyway, is its architecture. Because the city has been under both Portuguese and British rule in addition to its Hindu and Muslim history, there are so many interesting buildings to see!
This old Colonial-era building has been turned into a train station
There isn’t a lot to see inside…
but the constant flow of people coming in and out of the station is really something to see! Mumbai is one of the most densly populated cities in the world…and at this station, that is not surprising…
One of the difficulties of being in Bombay though, is the security…
There’s some ugly history here. Some fundamentalist Hindu groups have caused problems for the Muslim population (killing over 1000 Muslims in 1992 and 1993 during riots) and in return, Muslim fundamentalist groups have bombed popular tourist sights and other places of interest in Mumbai. There has been peace in the city now since 2011, but as precaution, there are metal detectors going into every shopping mall and every tourist sight. Even going to Starbucks, means having your bag searched, being patted down and walking through a metal detector. Scary stuff…
This is the Taj Mahal Palace Hotel. It was one of the places that was bombed during one of the bigger attacks in Mumbai
Security going into Starbucks…
But not all of Mumbai was scary…like every city in India, they have an abundance of farm animals running through the streets….Also, the taxis here all have funny designs on their ceilings. They’re quite nice actually, as far as taxis go. And everyone uses their meters so HAZZAA!!! No arguing required!!
Funky ceilings
A crow sitting on a cow. He was originally sitting on the cow’s head, but he flew away before I could get a good shot…
A cow in the middle of a sidewalk in Mumbai…
My next post will be about the most insane city I have ever visited…stay tuned for my post on Varanasi – Home of the River Ganges.
I have fallen very behind in my writing because although Goa is beautiful and relaxing, the internet there is the worst we’ve seen. Still, tonight it was behaving for a while so I began the process of uploading pictures into wordpress…whether or not the internet holds out well enough for me to actually finish my post tonight, is another affair entirely… (it didn’t…I’m now in Mumbai, finishing the post!)
We finished our time in Rajesthan in the city of Jodpur. Nicknamed ‘The Blue City”, Jodpur is famous for the massive fort that sits above the city. We stayed in a gorgeous old Haveli-turned-hotel and had a stunning view of it. As I wrote my last post (Jaisalmer), this was the view I had to admire while I worked.
We were pretty shopped-out by the time we reached Jodpur, so the markets were of no interest to us. Still, we wound up in one, only to buy some water and be asked at least 20 times where we’re from. We’ve realized, over the course of our stay in India, that people here think Canada is made up of 2 parts: The French Part and The English Part. They’re always very confused when I say that we live in the ‘English Part where many people also speak French…and German…’.
The salesmen here were EXTREMELY pushy! Several tried grabbing us by the arms. One convinced me to ‘follow him upstairs…where he had the kind of shirts I was looking for’. He didn’t. He had button up t-shirts…They were for men…
The clock tower, where all the action is at in Jodpur proper
Someone following Dave around, telling him which stores to go to (his) and which ones not to go to (the ones that weren’t his)
I’ve realized, since we left our driver behind, that Prama is like wine…he got better as the trip progressed (not a lot better…but better…). Because the fort was so far from our hotel, we weren’t able to get around on foot and were sort of at Prama’s mercy when it came to what we would see. But, instead of bringing us to Emporiums (where he’d make commission off of any of our purchases)…he brought us to a lovely (free!) park! We saw monkeys, beautiful gardens and eventually stumbled upon some beautiful old temples that reminded me of Ayuttaya in Thailand.
It was such a nice walk. We saw countless dogs and lots of monkeys 🙂
A garden of temples in Jodpur
There were also some very beautiful flowers in the park. I made use of my new camera and got some really pretty shots.
I feel like Jamie, my bff, is really going to like this picture!
This is where I’m going to make note of something I realized while walking along the temples in this park. In many temples (especially active ones), you must remove your shoes if you wish to enter. In warmer places this isn’t an issue, but in Delhi it drove me nuts because the stone was so cold under my feet that my legs were cramping. We missed out on a lot of temples because I just couldn’t deal with the pain in my leg (my leg is doing much better these days…but it still has its limits). In Rajesthan it wasn’t too bad so we took off our shoes and toured the old buildings. When we were on our way back through the park though, we saw this….
That’s all garbage…
I took this picture about 5 minutes away from the temple where we took off our shoes to show respect and to avoid tracking dirt into Hindu sacred space. Seeing yet more garbage in a beautiful park made me wish that Indians treated their country the way they treat their temples. For people who are so profoundly religious and deligent in their duties to the gods (not eating beef, treating animals with respect, the most devout are vegetarian or vegan), they completely ignore their duties to nature. The number of times we’ve seen garbage like this has been depressing! India’s current president, Narendra Modi, is putting a lot of effort into cleaning up the country, but he has a long road ahead. It’s a good thing he works 18 hours a day, because I can’t imagine how he’d get anything done if he didn’t!! (Jay, from Jaisalmer, is a big Modi fan. We learned all sorts of things about him! I have hope for this president!).
Ok…I digress…
A worthy digression if ever there was one…
Our next stop was to the big site to see in Jodpur: The fort! We’ve seen several in Rajesthan and it seems like every city has both a fortress and a palace to tour, but Lonely Planet spoke especially well of this one, so we paid the 500 rupees each (50 for locals) and the extra 100 rupees for our camera (free for locals) and we took the tour. It was honestly worth the money…There was lots to see and the audio tour was very well done. My only complaint was the hoards of Indian tour guides that all insisted on shouting above one another and pushing anyone who wasn’t paying them out of the way…I was nearly knocked over at one exibit, while looking at the ornate elephant seats from Jodpur’s history.
Like most of the beautiful things we’ve seen in Asia, the fort was built over the course of many years…being added onto every time a new king took power
the different colours seen here are because these two areas were built in different times and of different materials
one of the innner rooms in the palace
Ornate rooms where Kings met with royalty from other parts of the country
The audio tour was awesome…it told us the history of the fort. I learned that it has never been taken by an enemy and I even heard the stories behind the cannon holes in the walls. There was a lot of battling between the Kings of the different Rajesthani settlements back in the day. It was neat learning their history.
The red circle is around a hole caused by Jaipur canons. The king of Jodpur had been offended by the neighboring royalty, so he ordered a carivan of wedding gifts to be seized on its way to Jaipur. Jaipur retaliated by (unsuccessfully) trying to take Jodpur fort.
Also interesting were some of the artifacts in the museum part of the fort. In addition to the elephant seats, there were also carriages that carried the kings and queens of Jodpur. You can tell which carriages were womens’ because they hid the women away behind curtains and stained glass. In the past, women in India lived in Purdah…only to be seen by their immediate family. Women often hid in seperate rooms when guests came to the house, to keep themselves from the ‘prying and lustful eyes of men’ (my favorite line from the audio tour). This particular carriage was of significance, because it belonged to the queen that was alive during the Brittish take-over of the country. The Brittish were very interested in the royal families and wanted to know what the women looked like, but all they ever got to see was a flash of the queen’s ankle as she walked up the steps of her carriage.
This carriage
A photographer managed to get a picture of that ankle and a story was suppose to be published the following day in Brittish newspapers but the royal family intereceded and the pictures never went to print. A little different from our culture, where Kim Kardashian can ‘break the internet’
The only picture in the shoot where she was still wearing any clothes….
Our final stop in Jodpur was at the ‘mini Taj Mahal of Jodpur’. A king had it built for his queen, when he heard of the Taj Mahal being built. He thought it was a beautiful act, so he wished to do the same. It isn’t as grand or as semetrical as the Taj Mahal (more on that in the future!), but it was beautiful in its own way!
I’ll leave you now with some pictures of our hotel/Palace! This was probably our favorite hotel in all of Rajesthan, not only because of the great restaurant, but also because of the gorgeous view and the beautiful rooms. For anyone reading this and looking for a great place to stay…Krishna Prakash Heritage Hevali is where it’s at!
Ornate walls in our Jodpur hotel
our little balcony
we had to go up a little set of stairs to get to our bathroom. it was so cute!
And the grounds were beautiful too!!
The grounds at these hotels were also beautiful
Next up will be Goa! We seem to have better internet in Mumbai, so I should be able to post again tomorrow! (Unless we are out exploring…)
Thanks for stopping by!! Anyone visiting my blog with questions regarding any of the places we have been can feel free to leave me comments in the questions section! I will do my best to answer any and all that are asked!
Before I begin writing about Jaisalmer, I should explain why I have not yet written about the Taj Mahal or about our night in the desert. I have realized that keeping up with writing everything is extremely difficult, so I’m saving my very specaial posts (such as the ones listed above) for when we’re back in China, and I have access to my laptop for proper editing and such…
Discalaimer: If you do not enjoy pictures of camels, my post about the desert may not be your cup of tea…
But until then, I have plenty of other things to write about! So don’t worry, I haven’t given up yet!!
We spent 3 nights in Jaisalmer, making it the longest stay of our trip so far. This is fortunate, because it happened to be the highlight of our Rajesthan tour! In addition to our fabulous night in the desert, we also got to tour the city itself, and Jaisalmer Fort, which were both spectacular places to tour!
A view of the Golden City rom its famed fort
The city of Jaisalmer is nicknamed ‘The Golden City’. The reason: most of the buildings there are built of sandstone. So, like the desert surrounding it, Jaisalmer has a golden glow for tourists to admire.
A view of his Haveli from down below
A stable in Jaisalmer
Sandstone is also quite soft, as far as stones are concerned, so artists are able to carve intricate patterns into the walls of all the buildings.
The markets here are similar to all the others we’ve seen in India so far. Here though, we were able to see the highly prestigious ‘National Egg Center’ and view a handicraft that has made Jaisalmer famous: camel-leather bags. The leather comes from camels that have died of natural causes, and there were a wide range of them to see. Some were quite pretty. I don’t know why I never thought to take any pictures…
See here: The National Egg Center
The fort was my favourite part of the city though, because it’s different from many others that we’ve seen. This towering fortress is home to about 4000 people who own livestock (we saw cows goats and chickens…all within the fort walls) and set up all sorts of shops and restaurants for the tourists who visit. One local business owner told us that Jaisalmer’s tourism industry is vital for about 70% of the population. This fort is a big part of that industry.
A view of the fort from the city
citizens set up shop
We met some really fantastic people in Jaisalmer. One man asked us if we needed directions and before we knew it, we were up in his inherited Haveli, which is a sort of mini-palace where royalty once lived. For 6 generations, his family has had this haveli, and instead of charging tourists to come see it (which many locals do), he offers free tours and shows us the handicrafts that he sells for the women in small villages that surround Jaisalmer. He sells everything at such a great price we bought some things we hadn’t planned on both for ourselves and as gifts.
A view of his Haveli from down below
When the fort was built 850 years ago, there weren’t any pain killers to help the workers get through the day…so they used opium instead. This opium box was found in this man’s Haveli. He offered to sell it to us. We declined.
A view of the alley from inside the haveli
Another woman was a true inspiration…
Many women in India lead difficult lives. Traditionally, women were expected to throw themselves on their deceased husbands’ cremation fires because they could not be expected to live without them. Today, this practice is banned, but widows are still very badly treated. Because women are expected to stay home with children and to cook and clean, when their husbands (who are typically older than they are) die, they are left without the means to survive. Bellisima is a company that helps those women as well as many other womens’ groups.
They sell textiles, jewelery, scarves, trinkets and other souvenires to help women who are in need. They also empower women to make their own income…even if that means using their limited free time to do so.
And widows are not the only group of women who need help. Women aren’t throwing themselves on funeral pyres anymore, but rape victims are often blamed for the crimes committed against them, and family shunning is common. The woman we spoke to here had been disowned by her husband’s family because she wanted to use her education to help women in India. Luckily, she married a man who supports her decision, allowing her to work hard and begin to change the mindset that women are second class citizens.
I purchased a scarf and Dave and I chose a beautiful table cloth that was hand stitched by local women. It was more than we intended to spend that day, but this is the type of place that I want to support. I can buy a scarf in any bazaar of any city, but to support a movement that is helping change India for the better…that’s a scarf I will wear with pride!
Why not buy something beautiful and support a good cause all at once? Above is one of many wall hangings you can purchase at Bellisima. I didn’t get any photos of my scarf yet because it is still packed up…
This is our last night in Rajesthan, and tomorrow we’ll be heading to the beautiful beaches of Goa! Before I go though, here’s a funny picture to finish my post with: there was a cricket match playing in this shop…
Today was a much better day for my relationship with India.
We are currently in the town of Udaipur. With a tiny population of only half a million, Udaipur has a small town feel…by Indian standards, anway. It sits alongside a gorgeous lake and the buildings are well maintained and clean, unlike New Delhi. The pollution is so much better here and it was actually warm enough for shorts today, so it was bound to be an improvement from our experiences 2 days ago!
The lake is surprisingly clean in some areas
However, the biggiest differentiating factor was neither weather nor pollution related. As is so often the case, our attitudes made all the difference. Today, instead of lamenting over the price we paid for our tour, and complaining about the cost of every attraction, we walked around absorbing local art and the winding streets of Udaipur. We stopped in little shops and spoke to artists and even took a time out from the crowds to enjoy some coffees at a cafe. It gave me time to write in my journal, which is excellent therapy in of itself.
The pie was delish!
The cafe where we spent a few hours this afternoon. This shot was taken from the water, later on
Of course, we weren’t able to escape all of the unpleasant aspects of India. Poverty is aparent here too and we saw far too many skinny dogs on the streets. And, as was the case in Jaipur and Delhi, we were always given very inflated prices at the shops. The difference today, however, was that we weren’t afraid to bargain hard. We purchased a beautiful painting and got it for less than half the price he originally asked.
One of a hundred shops in Udaipur
A homeless dog napping in an old Tuk Tuk
A dog rummaging through garbage in the lake, looking for something to eat
Life is harder here. Women wash their family’s clothing by hand in the river.
Of course, on the other hand, there is also enormous wealth in this city, as is obvious when you see the hotels in the area…
Such contrast..
After days of sight seeing, we decided to skip the city palace (which, we were later told, was a good idea!). At this point, we’ve seen palaces in several countries and I saw enough Hindu temples in Cambodia to last me a lifetime. Instead of spending our money on those sites, we took a sunset cruise which provided me with infinite opportunities for photographing the beautiful city.
Tomorrow we head to a small, sleepy little city named Pushkar. I’m excited to see it; we’ve heard from several other tourists that it’s a quiet little place, with set prices and friendly people.
The world is a funny place. All I have wanted to do, for as long as I can remember, is to travel. And I have. In the 29 years I’ve lived so far, I’ve seen 6 Canadian provinces, 5 US states and 9 Chinese Provinces (plus Hong Kong and Macao, which don’t actually count as Chinese provinces but sort of are…). I’ve also visited Cuba, Thailand, Cambodia and now India and I’ve gotta say…everywhere I go, people are pretty much the same.
We all basically have the same needs, no matter what our religion, ideology or race may be. We all want to feel safe and to have a place that we can call a home. We all suffer defeats and achieve our goals and feel defiance and pride and a great deal of other emotions. We all have families and loved ones and we all want what’s best for them. Everyone you meet is looking for the same basic things you are…but it’s hard to remember that when you are in the face of a strange culture where you are ‘the other’.
A store selling Indian rugs. None of them can fly…
I made a new friend in Suzhou recently. He found a good job as a chemist in China and is currently dealing with Culture Shock. When he was at our place a few weekends ago with his girlfriend, he mentioned that nobody ever writes about that stuff in blogs. Everyone writes about how lovely travel is; how rewarding it is to learn about other cultures. I laughed and said that although some of my posts can be downers, most of the time, i try to put a positive spin on my experiences. Mostly I do this because I find it helpful to look for a positive when I’m in a negative situation. But if I’m being perfectly honest with myself, part of me really wants to hang onto that idea that travel is all lollipops and rainbows…
Nobody talks about the line ups you wait in so that you can go see an overpriced attraction. And nobody wants to talk about the traveller’s diareha! It’s real and it’s awful!!!
So let’s be honest for a moment…
Today was one of those rotten travel days. We’re beginning to realize how much we overpaid for our tour and we’re both getting tired of being treated like walking piggy banks. We had a group of children follow us through the bazaar today, trying to sell us something (we aren’t sure what) and we’ve had countless people grab our arms and try to bring us into their stores to sell us their goods for 10x the price they’d charge a local. It’s exhausting knowing that you can’t really trust anyone when you are travelling….being a tourist can really jade you in that way…
Can you spot the difference? This isn’t actually very surprising or unfair. We don’t pay taxes to keep up these beautiful places so it’s only fair that we pay more than the locals. What’s unfair is that we had been told by our tour operator that all the sights we’d be seeing were free. This one was the cheapest one we could find today…
Of course, we do have some coping mechanisms. Sometimes it’s an inappropriate joke (every tourist makes them). I recognize that it can be culturally inappropriateive or offensive to laugh at Chinese medicine or to make a joke about Ganesh and his giant elephant head, but it’s sort of like laughing at a funeral…sometimes an inappropriate joke is the only thing you can do to relieve the tension that has built up with every encounter you’ve had throughout the day.
Because really, at the end of the day….people suck! We are a sefish group, we really are! We are destroying the earth because we are too lazy to recycle plastic bags or to walk to the store. We allow corporations to treat their employees like garbage because it saves us money on our groceries. We use animals for entertainment when we go to Swim With the Dolphin programs or when we go on an elephant ride.
Disclaimer: This animal was tortured for months so that you can ride on its back!!
And for some reason…we (and I’m referring to all of human kind) think that people from other countries are somehow ‘less’ than we are. Canadians have the resources and space and jobs (yes jobs!) to take in refugees but many are against it, because they think Canadian lives somehow matter more. Somehow we have to fix ALL our problems before we can hep anyone else…why should we all have to be living at 100% happiness before starving children and families fleeing war can be helped? How are they less important??
It’s the same on this side of the planet. I’ve been taken advantage of in nearly every country I’ve visited because of my white skin and my accent. Somehow, because I’m Canadian, it’s ok to take advantage of me because I have ‘so much money’ and I can always make more. I came here with a budget that I need to stick with….so all our tour guide did by charging us 30% more than he needed to, was to take away from what we would have spent on the second half of our trip.
This also means that we have less money to tip musicians and artists who are trying to make a living without begging. These are people I like to support.
And yes, these are trivial problems. I’m sure some of you at home are rolling your eyes and hating me for ranting about my ‘first world problems’…but there are bigger issues too…
I did a lot of research before coming to India because I knew it would be very easy to get sick here Disentary is something many travelers suffer from while in India and I did not want to be one of those unlucky travelers. Basically, the water in India is very contaminated and dirty. So dirty, in fact, that you are told to brush your teeth with mineral water and not tap water.
This means that all raw fruits and vegetables are off limits to us…because if they were washed with tap water (and they probably were), we will get sick. And I’m not talking about a tummy ache….many people need to be hospitalized and are on medications for months if they catch something from the water here. It’s no laughing matter.
We are also on a vegetarian diet while we’re here, because meat is often unsafe. We’re only ordering it in top notch restaurants, and even then, I find myself sticking with Dhal (lentils and chickpeas)
So when I learned that you are suppose to crush your empty water bottle when it’s finished, so that scam artists can’t refill it with TAP WATER and resell it in the market place, I wanted to scream. These aren’t just people who are trying to make an extra buck off of me…I can understand why those people resent me. I am no better than them…i was just lucky enough to have been born in Canada. I can forgive them for taking as much as they can… After all, many of them are supporting extended families as well as their own children.
But there are actually people here who are knowingly getting people sick to make a few extra rupees…. That’s a completely new level of behavior. That goes so far beyond ‘doing what you have to go get by’.
So that’s how it is. That’s what it can be like to travel in foreign countries. Tourists aren’t protected by the same laws we have in Canada here, because let’s face it….their government has bigger fish to fry. The number of homeless people in India is astounding and my tourism dollars can go a very long way to help those people…I just wish so much of that money wasn’t in our tour operator’s pocket…
The number of stray dogs is astounding…you see them curled up in the boulevard between lanes, trying to sleep like this
But I will leave you on a happy note..
We had a lovely walk today through Old Jaipur. We set out early and were walking through as everyone was just getting set up for the day. The crowds weren’t out yet, and we were able to walk along slowly, taking in the Pink City. And the most wonderful thing, was all the smiling. We had several people give us the warmest, most genuinely beautiful smiles. They couldn’t communicate with us verbally (now that we’re out of the capital, fewer people speak English), but they spoke in a way that they could. Indian people, as a whole, are so wonderfully inviting. It’s a shame that the bad apples all flock to the tourist industry, where they tarnish the name of a country that is otherwise, welcoming and vibrant.
The Pink City, where citizens paint their homes pink to honour a special historical visit of kings
selling peas in the market
And we finished our day at Tiger Fort, where we watched the sun go down over the Pink City.
Tiger Fort
And while today i do feel that people suck….my love for animals remains…
Our second day in New Delhi was one of cultural discovery. The day began with some very heavy smog, but that cleared up in the afternoon, so we considered ourselves grateful. We also didn’t spend the first few hours of the day in a tuk tuk (which are open and very windy), so we were able to watch the city fly by fro the comfort of our hired car instead of huddling together for warmth.
These were taken at Qutb Minar, one of India’s National Treasures
There are wild parots in this strange city!
After visiting this beautiful UNESCO world heritage site, we were brought to some shops where retailers tried to sell us Pashminas, paintings and Saris. I left with a Kashmir scarf and some tea, which didn’t leave the salesman very happy, but I felt pretty good about my purchases!
This is a piece of petrified wood that was used to support the building!
After a tasty Indian lunch, our driver took us to the Mahatma Gandhi Memorial. There, we learned about this national hero’s life and death, and visited the place where he was assassinatedIndian. The country owes a lot to Gandhi, and it’s apparent from the time you enter the country. His face is printed on all of their money and many buildings are named after the man.
His final steps were taken on this path
A newspaper announcing India’s Freedom
Gandhi’s worldly posessions (on the top right, you can see his iconic glasses)
Where Gandhi was killed
Our final stop was at the National Museum, where we were able to see art that dated back to 3000BCE! Having studied classical history in University, I was so excited to see some of the artwork, pottery, jewellery and weapons that have been found across India. The artifacts provide crucial clues regarding the lives of our ancestors and without them we would know very little about the people who lived before written records were kept. Through studying classical Greek history at the University of Winnipeg, I learned that what may seem like a pot to you, can actually tell an archaeologist a lot about the people who made it.
Some of the beautiful jewellery we saw today
A carving of Shiva and Parvatti, two of the Hindu gods. In it, they are crushing the head of ignorance
Ganesha…the son of Shiva and Parvatti
This carving is 4000 years old! It depicts a foreigner and it is one of the earliest discovered pieces of art using this specific technique. The artist began to polish the stones in a different way to give it a shine and make the art more life like
Tomorrow we head to Agra, the home of the famous Taj Mahal!!! I can’t wait to tell you all about it!
Although my next post was going to be about our trip to Hong Kong, I thought that writing about the Holidays might be a little more relevant. The holiday season can be awful or amazing when you are a foreigner in another country. It’s easy to feel homesick and marginalized when you live in a country where Christmas is important on a superficial level alone, but it helps a lot when you work with awesome people and have good friends to celebrate with. Dave and I were fortunate enough to be part of several events with the great friends we’ve made over the last 4 months. And although our Christmas definitely had some ‘downs’, it was, for the most part, an excellent holiday!
The biggest Christmas tree we’ve seen in China. This is right near Xinghai Square; the metro stop we live near
Some polar bear Christmas decorations outside of a restaurant. They made me feel a little closer to Manitoba
The school held several events around the holidays that definitely helped encourage the Christmas Spirit. In addition to the Lao Wai Holiday supper, there was also a spelling bee the week before Christmas and then on Thursday we had the IGCSE New Year’s Gala. All 3 events were great fun and big successes.
I was asked to present the IG1 and Elite Girls 1 with their awards at the spelling bee. I’m lucky enough to teach in both departments, so it was great being there cheering on these awesome kids I get to teach!!!
The Christmas dinner was both delicious and delightful 🙂 I had a bit of a rough time at the dinner because Poe was in surgury that evening, but it was good to have good friends there to distract me.
My boss, one of the greatet people I’ve met in China, singing his speach. Although he is incredibly humble and wouldn’t brag about it, he does a tonne of charity work here in Suzhou and recently won an award given by the city of Suzhou, for being the city’s most important philanthropist. This is the guy I get to work for. It’s so great having a boss I have so much respect for!
One of the dearest friends I’ve made in Suzhou: Alecia. She teaches Spanish at the school (she’s from Spain).
My favorite of the holiday parties though, was the IGCSE New Year’s Eve gala. IGCSE is the department of the school where I work. Suzhou Foreign Language school is huge and there are actually 3 middle schools within the one larger school. IGCSE is the ‘English’ department because when the students graduate middle school, they receive a bilingual diploma from the University of Cambridge. We have some of the brightest students I’ve met in China in this program and I’m proud to be their teacher 🙂
3 of my best IG1 students. I teach these girls English Writing and they always blow me away with their effort and their participation in class. I couldn’t ask for a better group of 13 year olds!!!
The IG2 (grade 8) clas singing a Taylor Swift Song
Some students did a special dance for ‘Ms. Fang’, the middle school’s main administrator. She’s an incredible teacher and person and the students and teachers all love her to bits. The kids decided to put on a special dance for her (they’re all wearing masks with her face on them) and then they presented her with flowers. It was probably my favorite part of the night
I also got to perform at the gala. My boss, Nathan, plays the Ukulele, so he and I chose a couple of songs and performed them for the kids and parents. It went over really well, and when it was done, one of the IG2 students presented me with a bouquet of roses. It was so sweet!
The roses I received when our performance was done 🙂
One of my students, Ken, took some shots of Nathan and I with his Iphone and edited them. I think he did a pretty nice job!
The school hired a photographer for the event, and she caught this picture of me as I walked in. The reason I look so happy is because when I walked through the door all the IG1 kids got all excited and started shouting “Ms Marie’s here!!!!!” They know how to make me feel loved!!!
We look far more professional than we actually were!
The gala finished with Abba’s ‘Happy New Year’, which I may now never get out of my head! They asked Nathan and I at the last minute if we would sing the first 8 lines of the song solo, so I had to learn it over night. I was so stressed about the whole thing (Abba is WAY out of my range) that I lost my voice! Luckily, I found it the next morning, but it was still a bit of a scare!
Nathan and I with all of the IGCSE students! It’s unfortunate that none of the other IG teachers could make it to the event (they all work in multiple departments and couldn’t get their classes changed). I’m glad I was able to attend, though!
But the school was not the only place where I was able to celebrate the holidays (don’t worry, Dave and I DID see each other!!). We were invited to, and organized, several events with friends. Just like we would back home, we ate FAR too much and spent great time with great people 🙂
Isaac and Adam making friends at Bei Jiang; one of our favorite restaurants in Suzhou
Our new friend Amanda ADORED Hugo. He was pretty happy to curl up with her all evening!
Dave and I, while being told to stop being mushy in front of the others at dinner lol
Our Christmas Eve dinner party 🙂
IG Life 🙂
Me with Ivy and Sherry! I work with these lovely ladies. They are both fantastic teachers and some of my closest Chinese friends.
Christmas Day was a lot of fun as well. Dave and I got dressed up and had dinner at the Kempinski Hotel in Suzhou. We ate far too much (again) and then head out to The Camel (a bar in SIP) to meet some friends that I met in Shanghai.
Presley, Sarah, Zoe and I 🙂
The Kempinski. It was great, but we definitely missed the one in Guiyang.
New Year’s Eve was also a nice evening out, though I didn’t take any pictures. We hung out with my favorite Suzhou-Canadian: Jeff. Whenever I miss home, I hang out with Jeff…he is basically every Canadian stereotype personified!
This is basically Jeff
Of course, I can’t exactly say that our holiday season was everything I had hoped it would be. The pollution from Beijing made its way down to Suzhou and Dave and I both got pretty sick from it. My skin was very irritated by the smog and dust and both of our lungs suffered. We really do love our life in Suzhou, but when we decide to move home, it will probably be because of the smog. Coming from small town Canada has left me with high standards as far as air is concerned, and Suzhou doesn’t cut it.
The first of these pictures was taken over the summer, when the pollution was very low. The second was taken when it was at it’s worst. We base the air quality each day on whether or not we can see the ‘Pants Building from our apartment.
We bought PM2.5 masks on Tao bao , as well as an air purifier for the apartment. Of course, neither arrived until the smog cloud had passed, but atleast we’re prepared for the next attack on oxygen!!
But the smog was the least of our holiday worries. We had Poe scheduled to be spayed on December 23rd, and although she was in heat at the time, we needed to get the surgery done so that she’d be healed in time for our departure for India. We read about it online and everything seemed like it would be fine. The surgery is a little more complicated when a cat is in heat, but vets do the surgery out west all the time. So we went ahead with the surgery.
Our Sweet Poe
A few hours after her surgery was over, we got a call from the vet telling us that she had to go back under because she had internal bleeding. 2 hours later, we found out that the vet had accidentally damaged her spleen during the original surgery (he has apologized profusely for his mistake and has admitted that it was due to his inexperience…inexperience we weren’t actually aware of…). As a result, Poe lost her spleen and we came pretty close to losing her.
They had her on an IV drip. She spent her first day there hiding in the litter box.
She become much more alert when she saw us there
She was so swollen! The stitches look much better now
Now, anyone who is not an animal lover may not understand where I’m coming from here, but Dave and I have really fallen in love with that cat over the last month and a half. She’s such a little ray of sunshine…very affectionate and always purring. She became part of our little family so quickly and we were so terribly worried we’d lose her.
She really is my little sunshine!
The veterinarian did come through for us though, and he saved our little Poe. She spent 3 nights at the hospital and we visited her between our holiday parties whenever we had the chance. The nurse there commented on how much higher her spirits were when we were there, which made us feel like there was SOMETHING we could actually do for her.
Visiting her at the vet
Poe came home on Boxing Day and is still recovering. We try to keep her out of the cone as much as possible so she can get some good rest and feel comfortable, but she’s a cat…so bathing is inevitable. Her spirit is slowly returning and she’s becoming playful again, which is wonderful to see. Hugo rather enjoyed being an ‘only cat’ for the 4 days she was gone, but he’s adjusting to her return. And as much as he tries to pretend he hates that little black ball of fur, he was worried and searching for her the entire time she was gone.
Hugo, unimpressed that the ‘black one’ has returned
Poe, unimpressed that she has been ‘coned’
Poe, trying to block out all the ‘human’ around her.
So I guess our Christmas story had a happy ending. 🙂
The best present I got this Christmas was to have Poe back home safe and sound, but I did score some other shwag as well! The beautiful wallet and book were from Dave (he also got wii controls so we can play on his computer) and the painting is an original from my boss, Nathan, who is quite a talented artist! I also received a lot of chocolate and other goodies from my students. The cat key chain was given to me by Ken…one of the coolest 13 year olds I’ve ever met. My whole class was worried sick about Poe. It was very sweet that they cared so much!
I’ll be back soon with some stories about Hong Kong!
