Bodgayr
We made it to the place where Buddah achieved enlightenment--Bodgayr under the Bodhi tree. So far, this is our favorite place--not as dirty, less crowded, much more relaxed. There are many temples here--Thai, Tibeten, Japanese, ect.--so it is quite nice. We were upset that we couldn't go to the caves where Buddah hung out for 6 years because it's the monsoon season, but what can you do?
This afternoon, we head back to Varanasi for the night and catch a train tomorrow for Dehli. The long part of our stint in India is drawing to an end. We're all excited to go to Nepal and Tibet, we're a bit jaded on this whole India thing.
I guess that India is just so depressing, at least in the cities, because it's just downright dirty, nasty, and disgusting. The holiest river, the Ganges, is gross. It's this brown color and when you hear that 30 sewers dump into it, you just wonder. On the boat ride, we did get to see one dead person float by, that made it worthwhile. I was seriously afraid that I was gonna rock the boat and take a header into the river. But, I didn't! We saw people bathing in the river too. Interesting to see life along the river. It's just so much different than life in the West.
Things you can see from the street:
+ people bathing, usually they're wearing some sort of clothing
+ people getting a shave
+ men pissing (nice!!)
+ sometimes half-naked or naked children
+ note that most of the people on the streets are 99%+ men (are the women at home?)
+ note that I have only seen 2 women driving and both times they were on scooters
+ ad's for places that don't seem to exist
+ people sleeping on the street or on a "bed" on the side of the road
+ cow poop everywhere
+ cows, chickens, and goats hanging out inside houses, on the sidewalk, really almost anywhere you can imagine
Anyways, I'm not sure what else to say. I hope that Nepal and Tibet are more enjoyable, but I really like it here in Bodgayr. It's really chill and peaceful.
Taxi Time
Can't take too long, my friends want to use the internet cafe as well and there are only 2 computers...and only one is available.
We're in India now. Arrived in Dehli on Sunday night and managed to get a hotel room pretty late at night. 2nd day we spent making arrangements for the rest of the week.
Mostly, we've been in a cab driving around. Quick re-cap:
Day 1: flew into Dehli and crashed at a hotel
Day 2: made arrangements for the week and drove to Jaipur (aka the "Pink City")
Day 3: Amber Fort and some other misc. stuff
Day 4: Jaipur to Agra via car
Day 5: Taj Mahal, etc. and took the night train to Varanasi
Day 6: kicked it in a cab driving around Varanasi
Things of interest:
shanty towns--I keep noticing that the shanties change depending on the city
beggars--everyone wants your money
food--loving the curry
hotels--have been quite decent
taxi--lots of crazy-ass traffic: bikes, cars, taxis, rickshaws, horses, cows in the streets, pedestrians, anything you can think of is in the street
Okay, time is up. Try to check in later.
Off to India!
Well, I've told a few of you that I'm going on vacation. I don't think it seemed very real until the past day or two. And today it felt the most real because I woke up feeling really sick and still having errands to do. But, per usual, I persevered. It's like 9:30 pm, I only hope that I've gotten everything I need.
Basic itinerary:
July 23rd: fly to Dehli, we get in late, so we're just gonna crash for the night
day 2: arrange all other flights to Nepal and Tibet
day 3: go to Agra (Taj Mahal)
day 5: go to Varanasi for a few days (Ganges River)
total of 10-12 days in India
Aug 4 or 5th-ish: fly to Kathmandu, Nepal. Spend about 4-5 days there probably trekking and rafting
go to Lhasa, Tibet (Potala Palace) spend 2-3 days there
go to Mount Everest base camp
fly to Dehli spending a couple of more days there
total of 4 weeks
I don't know all the details, as you can see, but that's the rough idea. Think positive thoughs for me, especially since I got sick BEFORE the trip as it were. Oh well, whatever. I'll live. No worries.
So, I may not be posting for like a month. I don't know what the internet situation will be like over there.
Fried Dinner
I have to say that there is nothing like all-you-can-eat fried dinner. I did it two Saturdays in a row. I think I could die any second now.
It costs about $25 or ($35 for all-you-can-drink alcohol if you`d like) for 1 1/2 hours. You saddle up next to the mini-fridge full of skewered items. Hot dogs, sausages, daikon, potatoes, fish, shrimp, cheese, azuki filled desserts, jalapenos, okra, chicken, bacon (how could I forget?), beef,　and I can`t remember what else. Grab as much as you can. Batter it. Dip it in the crumbs. Then proceed to stick it into the vat of oil that`s at your table. Self-serve fried dinner. I felt my arteries restrict after that 1st 10,000 calorie meal.
But, to go to the same restaurant 2 weeks in a row? That`s a form of suicide, I think. Honestly, it wasn`t my idea to go the 2nd time. But, in each case, it was one of the last times I would see 2 different friends and they each wanted to go to that same place.
Of course, I had to top it off with ice cream. All right, I didn`t have ice cream this last time. But one of my friends had 3 ice cream cones and I figured that made up for my deficit.
Almost there....
Really, I only have a few more classes and two more lessons to write and then, I`ll be home free for summer vacay. I`m writing those lessons as we speak, but am finding it hard to make the lessons interesting. It`s been really hot and I can`t think straight lately anyways.
I feel like I`ve mostly been living in a sauna. Hot, sweaty, steamy. Too bad I haven`t lost any weight! Hahaha. Well, what can you do? Besides exercising and eating right, of course. But, where`s the fun in that?
No classes for me today. I`m supposed to attend some sort of play, but I`m not too excited about going because it`s all in Japanese. Too much for me to handle sometimes. I often sleep through such things.
Trying to stay on task is difficult in this weather. My kids have been sleeping more than usual in class too. It probably doesn`t help that my classroom doesn`t have ac. We all get to suffer together. Fortunately, my kids don`t usually smell too much, unlike what I remember from when I was in high school. Yeah, it kind of sucks.
But, I`m almost there. The end is in site.
Saturday Class
I`m here at school, on a Saturday (>_<) I had 2 classes already and I have an open campus class to teach. The junior high students that are considering my high school are able to sit in on regular classes and also participate during the open campus ones. I have two students signed up for my class this afternoon. That`s it. Two. How sad is that? Last year, there were 5....Ugg.
I`ve been really busy lately. I have friends leaving, people visiting. Chaos is abound. There was Canada Day, then 4th of July, World Cup, and more World Cup. I have 2 more lessons to plan for before summer vacation. Special lessons because some of the kids are going to Thailand this summer on a school trip. So, I was asked to do those lessons on top of everything else. And I swear all I`ve been doing is lesson planning. It sucks.
Anyway, gotta make sure everthing`s set for the jr. high students. Ciao!
