Varanasi

I've spent three days here in Varanasi. It's a holy city with the Ganges running through, which means no alcohol, though you can still find a few barred shops selling 'fruit beer', 'strong soda', and 'solid punch'. I've spent the few days mainly walking around the city, visiting the Hindu University one afternoon, relaxing in the shade near the river trying to stay cool, and taking a few flute lessons (!) in a music store nearby. Last night I walked from my hotel along the river, mouth closed and head down to avoid getting hit by bugs, to where they have a Hindu ceremony every night. The lights reflecting off of the river, and the boats full of tourists and locals going to view the ceremony from the water were incredible.









This one's for mom. I woke up before dawn this morning to take a boat ride on the river. People wake up so early and get to work here. The sunrise was great. Today it's off to Agra by train. This afternoon is the Cricket World Cup Semifinal, India vs. Pakistan, which I'll be missing the end of unfortunately. Everyone is crazy about it here, I think somebody on the train will bring a radio aboard. I thought I heard Vin Scully's voice coming out of a radio the other day, must be Dodger season too. Good time of year to be a sports fan. (VCU what the heck?)

My Last Week in Kathmandu

This past week has been very similar to my first week here in Nepal. I've been waiting for my visa for India to come through, so I've had a few extra days more than I would have liked here in Kathmandu, but I've enjoyed them more than I thought I would. I was taken around on motorbike, scary, to many of the temples that I didn't make it to during my first visit. The days I was on my own I walked from one side of the city to the other and back again, immersed in the chaos that floods the senses to the point of exhaustion. I'm staying with a family a little bit outside of the city, and my favorite hobby with them has been to get demolished in chess by the 8, 9, and 10 year old boys. There's 17 kids total, most of them taken in or adopted. Last the father and I stayed up late watching India barely beat Australia in the Cricket World Cup quarterfinals. It's been nice staying with them.










Today was pleasant. During the time I had to wait for my visa, I walked around Durbar Square in Kathmandu City, through many narrow streets lined with merchants and overcrowded with motorbikes, rickshaws, taxis, and people. I picked up a few souvenirs that I'd been planning on, which really made me feel like I was preparing to come home. I leave on a bus tomorrow for India, where I'll train around for a little less than three weeks, then stop off in Kathmandu to pick up a few things and America jane (I go to America in Nepali).

Chitwan

Wednesday morning started with a two hour canoe ride down the Rapti River in Chitwan National Park. We had three guides and two other tourists besides myself, the edges of the canoe were only a few inches out of the water the entire ride. We saw over twenty crocodiles, and a lot of cool birds, my favorites being the Ruby Shelduck and White-Throated Kingfisher. They were all extremely vibrant.

After the canoe trip was the jungle walk. We started about ten o'clock and walked through the national park, resting at lookout towers and tracking animals until after sun down. An hour into the trip we saw our first rhinoceros. A short while later we were able to watch another one bathe in a small lake, and saw one more in the evening from a lookout post.

During one of our rest breaks there were monkeys playing in the trees above us. This langur monkey was nestling it's baby in one arm as it swung from branches with its other, all while keeping a close eye on us trespassers.

Next up were Sloth Bears. After we startled one in the early afternoon, I received my first lesson in tracking a sloth bear. First, wait a few minutes after it runs away to see if it reappears somewhere. When it doesn't follow its path to try to startle it into moving again. When that doesn't work, start a fire with the dry grass in the area to try to scare it into moving again, then circle back to your original vantage point and wait for a few more minutes. I was fairly certain the bear was long gone, and it turned out it was. The brush fire grew bigger and louder as we sat and watched nothing happen, then left after a few minutes, leaving the fire to burn out on its own. It was strange to say the least. We did get lucky again and saw four or five more late in the evening. One cub even riding on her mom's back as they curiously spied at us.

The sunsets and sunrises were incredible, and the moon at night was full enough to light up the river and surrounding grasslands. As soon as we got back after the two day hike, it was time for the daily elephant baths. I was in desperate need of a shower, and so was the elephant. It rolled around in the water for a while, me always failing to hang on to its back. It sprayed me with the river water, which probably wasn't too clean but felt great in the moment. The rest of the afternoon I sat on the beach, reading and writing, only moving to walk into the river and splash myself with water to stay cool. It was a great few days in the jungle.

Celebrating Holy Days

A few friends from our organization, who we refer to as the Dutchies, came up to visit our village on Monday.


Wednesday night we celebrated Shivaratri in the village. They do bonfire right here. Some music, some dancing, and a whole lot of sugar cane.




Thursday was the Buddhist New Year, so we went down to the Monastery in town and watched the dances being performed. It was so hot, and they danced in these heavy costumes for so long. One of the coolest things I've seen here so far.

From the Journal

A few excerpts from the week...

March 2- Shivaratri (Holy Day)
Warm, blue, breezy, and free. The energy of everyone here and celebratory is strong. Sister is aimless, but it is refreshing after watching her everyday toil through her chores from before we rise until after we go to sleep. To witness Ama sprawled out on the straw mat, half asleep but to tease me in Nepali and occasionally pass me grapes, compared to her usually tireless labor. And Baa, the unresting soul that he is, granted time to relax only to fill it with making making more bamboo baskets. As other men of the village wander lazily and purposelessly, he fills the day productively, while never ceasing to be an attentive host to the others. A day to spend with family, to appreciate and enjoy.

March 3-
Every morning here is like camping. Wake up at 6, lie in your sleeping bag until 7, sometimes 8, pretty much until you can't put off going pee any longer. A bit chilly when you first walk outside, but it is refreshing, and it will warm up quickly with the ascending sun. Splashing your face awake from the cold tap, brushing your teeth without the use of a sink or clean water. Walking around the clay yard barefoot, feeling the skin directly in contact with the natural, something that can goes days without occurring sometimes at home. Taking in the weather of the morning, gazing up at the white mountains, and listening to the abundance of birds. Larger animals just as present, but more hesitant to boast of their presence so freely. Their positions, though desirable, better left unknown. It is a life entwined in nature, a life lived dependent on the earth in the most direct and earnest way. It is not poor, it only cannot afford the complications of the West, of the city. If I were smart, I would claim it as my own, this life, but the conditioning of my past has enforced the belief that simple is not better or more efficient. That depending on the manufactured goods which I'm accustomed to is a superior form of life that only a moron would give up. It would be a step backward, an insult to evolution.