Notes from the Road: 3 August, 2007

Hi all,

Today marks 3 weeks away for me, so I thought it was time for another installment of travel notes.

I think my last note had me about to hop a ferry from Santorini to Naxos in the Greek Isles. Well, Naxos was fantastic, and just what I needed. I had plans to take day trips to Mykonos or Paros, but the farthest I got in 4 days was the beach, about 50 meters from the hostel. For those of you who saw me in the weeks leading up to my departure, you might recall a slightly stressed-out, frenetic Dina. You'll all be glad to know that I left most, if not all, of that stress on the beach in Naxos. I have, in fact, fully adopted the traveller's mindset. For example, I have no idea what day of the week it is. I decide if my clothes are clean enough by smelling them, not by knowing if I've worn them before or not. I don't know what's happening in the world. And fnally, I have NO idea what I used to do for a living. Life is good. :)

So anyway, I spent 4 really relaxing days on Naxos, hung out with 2 cool single female travellers like me, and worked hard on my tan. Then I caught the ferry back to Athens. Unbeknownst to me (I never check the weather), there was a heatwave in parts of Europe, and I stepped off the ferry to a temperature of 45C. With high humidity. I think I actually melted. I spent a quick night with my UCB Boston mate Florence and her fiance Alex, and got to meet Florence's family, which was fun. Then I was off to Delhi (via Frankfurt - don't ask) early the next morning (left at 4am).

I could try to describe Delhi, but it was such a shock to the system that I'm a bit at a loss for words. Delhi is loud, frenetic chaotic, dirty, lively. I arrived quite late, and it was nearly 2:30 in the morning by the time I arrived at the hotel. I bunked with Andy Johnson and his friend Jess for the night, who were in Delhi already. I met Andy at UCB UK a few years ago, and we just happened to be in Delhi at
the same time. What a coincidence! Sadly, we saw each other for a minutes before we went to sleep, and that was it. Schedules didn't coincide - what can you do? They're somewhere in the south right now (they left for Bangalore soon after I arrived), and I decided I didn't have time to make it that far in only 2 weeks.

I had thought about doing India on my own, trains/buses/hostels. But, to be honest, I was a bit intimidated by it all after I arrived. So I went to a travel agent, and went with something a bit more planned out. After spendind a day driving around New Delhi, I hopped a flight to Srinagar, in Kashmir. Yes, Kashmir. It was 40C+ in Delhi and very humid, and Kashmir weather sounded lovely - it seemed like one of those opportunities along this trip that I should just take advantage of. So I spent 4 days in Kashmir, which was culture shock all over again. First, it's 90% Muslim, which turned out to be so interesting – I learned a lot while I was there. Second, you probably think of India/Pakistan conflict when you hear Kashmir. Things are quieter now, but in part that's because there are military police posted every 100 meters, literally EVERYWHERE you go. It was my first experience in a police state, and started with the double-layered razor wire and the men with guns at the airport.

Once I got past that, Kashmir is lovely. It's truly beautiful – no monsoons, nice weather, beautiful mountains. I took 2 day treks with a great guide, Shocat. One day, we walked up onto a glacier - I'll try to send (or post on facebook - if you don't facebook, you should! – email me, and I can let you know how to do it) the photo he took of me standing in the snow on a glacier in July.

While in Kashmir, I stayed on a houseboat on Dal lake; coming and going is accomplished only by shikara (low row boat with a cover and big banquette seating). There were a few issues on the boat (hawkers came onto the boat to hassle me about buying a carpet I didn't want to buy, and one of the staff TOLD me I was going to tip her - you can imagine how I responded ...), but it was, all in all, nice and relaxing, and a great experence I hadn't anticipated having. Amusingly enough, I met two guys on the boat from Cambridge, UK, one of whom went to university at Bristol, where I'm heading in January. The world is so small!

After Kashmir, I flew back to Delhi, and left immediately for Agra (the Taj Mahal is amazing, just like everyone says it is - wow doesn't cover it). I'm on a driving tour of Rajasthan now (just me and a driver - it's surprisingly affordable here, though I'm splashing out even more than I figured I would in India). Dhiru, my driver/guide, is super-knowledgeable, and has taken me out for great spicy Indian food, once I convinced him that I didn't want to eat the tourist fare.

Our itinerary is Agra-Jaipur-Udaipur-Pushkar-Delhi. Basically, we do 2 days in each, with short stops along the way from one to the other. I'm in Udaipur now, a beautiful lake city. Pushkar will be the most relaxing - it's a small village that happens to be the home of a huge camel festival in India. No festival now, but I'm planning on a sunset camel tour while I'm there, weather permitting. Again, money I hadn't planned to spend, but I think it has to be done. When will I be back
here again? Oh, and for those of you who were wondering, I have thus far avoided
Delhi belly AND I'm eating the local's food. I must have a strong constitution. :)

The monsoons, which are almost over in Rajasthan, haven't been so bad. Today was the first day (after 3 weeks away) that I saw any major rain. Even so, we were in the car, so it hasn't gotten in my way yet. Summer rain here is impressive. As non-sensical as it sounds, the rain here seems wetter than in other places ...

As you can tell, I'm having a terrific time. India has been the most different place I've ever been, and might be the furthest off the beaten track I get on my world tour. I'm so glad I've come here, but I don't think I'd come back alone - it's too much for me. I would like to come back, though - someday, once my senses have returned to normal. :)

Oh, one side note about toilets, a theme which I won't belabor. Greek toilets - you can't put toilet paper in them, so there are bins next to the toilet for disposal. Odd - the inventors of democracy haven't quite gotten a handle on plumbing (sorry Florence!). Indian toilets - quite a bit of variation here. Some great. Some reminiscent of the Moroccan toilets a few of you experienced with me. If you haven't experience the hole-in-the-ground toilet, be thankful.

Well, that's enough for now (I'm STILL long-winded). I'm in India until next Wednesday, when I leave for Bangkok. I'm planning to catch a train/bus/flight to Cambodia to see Angkor Wat and maybe Phnom Penh, then head south to the beach/island for some well-deserved R&R.

I hope you're all well, and I'd love to hear what's going on with each other you - news feeds from home are always appreciated!