India Day 20: "Another Adventure Comes to a close"

India Day 20: "Another Adventure Comes to a close"

It's hott. Ben and I wake up to a sweaty, dirty, and angry Calcutta. It's our last day and I only have 2 items on my agenda relax and shop. Unfortunately, this is the hottest day of our trip. Within minutes of being outside Ben and I are saturated in sweat and struggling to breath in the hot and humid air. I prodded Ben out because I have a few items I want to buy that I passed on while traveling thinking, "I've seen these in every city. They're bound to have them at our final destination." And oh, how I was wrong. It turns out that Calcutta isn't exactly a tourist spot as much as true Indian city peppered in deprevity and decadence. All of the bazaars, shops, and venders we visited only sold useful items for everyday Indian living. Damn! And to top it off, I believe as the mercury rises so does the propensity to swindle foreigners as all of our taxi drivers charged 3 times the regular rate. Luckily I had Ben who pointed out that this bad experience seems to occur on the last day of any long journey. With that we retired to an A/C restaurant and enjoyed some good food as we watched the cities salutary chaos occur outside. We then fled back to our hotel for some beers and TV. Ahh, relaxation. After an uneventful cab ride to the airport we had a hiccup. Ben could come in the same door as me because we're taking to different flights. So I gave him a quick hug and sent him down the way towards his door with the promise that we'd find each other after we get our tickets. I checked in and was all set to go to my gate (I leave 4 hour ahead of Ben). So I wondered down to his counter and didn't see him. I then caught sight if h still outside! He was having issues because you cannot get into the actual airport without a ticket. I had mine on an email on my iPod. Ben was trying to show the guards his but it wasn't working. He looked frustrated. I asked if there was anything I could do and he waved me off and told me that he would meet me at my gate if he could. He then stormed off in search of a printer and I went to my gate. I'm about to get on my 24 hour flight and I haven't seen him. I'm not too worried because he has 6 hours to fix any issues before his flight. I'm now in Germany and I will write one last post about India in a few days. Thanks for reading!

India 18 & 19: "Our Calcutta from another motha"

India 18 & 19: "Our Calcutta from another motha"

Yesterday was a lazy day. Ben and I relaxed at our hotel for most of the morning. The only way out of these mountains is via a shared jeep (12 people)

and Ben and I had sat in the miserable backseat for too long, so this trip we claimed the front seat. The only problem was that Ben had to straddle the gear shift.

This meant that everytime we shifted into 2nd or 4th Ben got a little 'helping hand' (I think he REALLY enjoyed our 3 hour trip down the mountain). We then raced to the train station to find out that  our tickets weren't valid. Ugh! So we cross the city to the bus station and book an A/C sleeper bus instead. Whew! 

Well, a relative 'whew', it was a 15 hour ordeal that involved Ben and I sharing a 3' wide sleeper mattress

in the cramped upper segment of the bus. It was a restless night, imagine tryin to sleep inside a pinball at the national pinball competition during an earthquake. Side to side, sudden and hard stops, accelerating (most likely 2 wheeled) turns around unseen obstecles, all miserable but the worst were the bumps, sometimes sending us a full foot into the air before slamming down again on the not-so-soft mat. Every time it happened, though our sleepless hysteria, we couldn't help but laugh. They were tight quarters, Ben and I avoiding spooning at all costs and missing our partners back at home with every waking moment. Just when we thought our bladders would burst and after the 3rd late hour we arrived in Calcutta. Exhausted and hot we barely managed enough energy to get to the hotel to crash. Then we woke up I time for our nicest Indian dinner yet. Only 1 day left in this trip. If anyone needs anything from India let us know now!

India Day 17: "Himalayan trek"

India Day 17: "Himalayan trek"

It's 2:30am and my alarm sounds. I reach and hit snooze. Ben groans and asks what the time was and then "is your clock still set at Katmandu time (15mins later than India)?" We're elated to have an extra 15 mins to sleep. Today we set out on our 16 mile Himalayan trek. Next we met our taxi driver, who seems to excited to be up this early and we set out towards the trailhead picking up our guides along the way. Ben was upset that we had to hire a required guide to takes us up the mountains, we aptly named them 'Furpas' (as in the other products found in India such as foakles and Folex). As we ascended there were still worrisome clouds in the sky but a radiant sunrise lit the sky in a tie-dye of purples, reds, blues, and oranges. We kept ascending.  Ben "mountain goat" Rosenfeld climbed around nimbly up the first part of the trail which entailed nearly 1000ft in just under 2km. I, on the other hand, sweatily huffed and puffed like a pregnant woman in her 20th hour of labor (though, to my credit I out hiked both our guides!). We were able to hike above the first set of clouds to a heavenly site were we witnessed clouds pouring like water over mountains and through valleys. Again, The most beautiful place on earth. As we cleared the pine forest the scenery changed to low cut grasslands comparable to what I picture the Highlands of Scotland to be. Rolling green hills terminating violently over steep mountain faces that give way to profound valleys, were again splayed before us. After our initial leg the trail softened and the views started melting away in to the rolling cloud banks until we found ourselves hiking through the clouds themselves. We stopped at a few rural houses for tea and checked out some colorful Hindu/Buddhist shrines along the way. For lunch we stopped at a local's house and Ben and I sampled some homemade items such as fermented liquor,

 some sort of easy gum, and some other foods that are hard to describe. We out-hiked our guides, when they would ask to stop and rest Ben and I would

exchange proud smirks. We were able to catch a glimpse of the world's 4th highest peak through the clouds. On the way down it started raining. Our guides didn't want to hike but Ben and I pressed on. Serene views all around.  Oh! I forgot to mention the leeches! Apparently in this region there are 'grass leeches'. We were told to be weary and in fact we saw many! Mostly on cows but our guide found one on his pants. Anyways, we made it back down squished in the 12 other people into a land rover and bounced uncomfortably back to Darjeeling. After returning to our hotel famished and exhausted we crashed. Tomorrow we take off for Calcutta so you may miss the next blog.  

India Day 16: "The most beautiful place on earth"

India Day 16: "The most beautiful place on earth"

Wow. And, wow again.

This is the most beautiful place I have ever seen and we can't even see half of it because of the clouds. Ben and I slept in this morning then walked around to find a guide to take us up the mountains tomorrow. We were able to secure a guide for a 20 mile hike tomorrow. We're a bit nervous because the weather here has been cloudy and rainy but supposedly we are going to hike above the clouds at 3 am to watch the sunrise over Everest! After setting up our trek we set out to hike through the misty tea fields. Gorgeous! Rolling hills of green as far as the eye can see. The weather is perfect. These fields are spectacular as they dive off 100 ft faces and tea gatherers can be seen stooped over plucking leaves and tossing them in baskets behind them.

We also toured a tea factory and learned that all the different kinds of tea green, white, and black are all made from the same tea plant. They only differ in there oxidation/fermentation processes. Crazy righ?! We then walked back through the lower villages receiving stares and "hellos" to our hotel. But before we could get there we were forced in doors by a downpour. Yes, the Rosenfeld brothers forced in by a little rain. The coffee shop we ran into was perched high over a cliff and we got to watch the whole storm reek havoc on the valley below. Cool. Well off to bed for our 3am hike. Wish us luck.   

India Day 15: "Domestic Traveling"

India Day 15: "Domestic Traveling"

Today we are bound for India. We got to the airport early and were astounded by what we saw. Goats, cows, chickens, all prodding around a half build building. After a quick security massage we're in. There were no electronic billboards and most of the announcements were in Nepalese. We manage obtain our boarding tickets which are little slips with advertisements on them. We pick our own seats when we board, apparently. Security to the gate consisted of a nod from a very bored looking uniformed person. They DID have Wifi routers but no internet connected to them. We the filed on to old busses to be ferried out to our aircraft. No safety coddling here, I almost ran into the stationary prop after ducking under the wing. Yikes. Ben and I scurried because we wanted seats on the left side of the plane to catch a glimpse of Mt. Everest. We were all settled into our small flyin mobile and we started to taxi to the runway when we noticed that we were turning around. "Ladies and gentlemen" chimed a barely distinguishable voice over the intercom, "we have just learned that our destination airport is still closed. Please exit the plane for 10 minutes before we resume takeoff."  The incredulous look on Bens face made the whole ordeal worth it. We all exited the plane and walked back to the bus, but before the last person climbed in they called us back to the plane. I guess someone called and reminded our airport that their 1 of 2 daily flights would be landing as scheduled, daily... Sadly the small Nalepese airlines was more customer friendly than most US airlines. While we flew we saw it!! Everest! A

mazingly, poking up from the clouds and level with our plane.

 After landing we bused to the border and were the only ones to walk across the mile long bridge, separating both countries. It was a fun experience and we felt like backpackers crossing a remote mountainous border. 

Our drive up to Dargiling is one of the most beautiful trips I've ever taken. Pictures don't do it justice. 

We start going through a huge mountain pass though we don't go through it we start ascending the mountains. Up and up, three hours in fact, all up hill. We are going OVER the mountains only they don't end. Several false peaks, roads along ridges, and entire towns built on the steep slopes. We are again awestruck. It is cool and green up here and as we continue to climb we are above the rain storm that had been following us. Mountain faces appear and disappear amongst the floating heavens.

The moist air begins to thin noticeably up here at 7,500ft. Up and up we go, our jaws open the whole way. In the history of me, I've never seen a place so beautiful. Breathtaking, absolutely breathtaking. We arrive at our destination late, it's an Indian resort town with steep and narrow streets. The town is situated on a ridge that drops off precipitously on both side. If one miss stepped, they could literally fall for an eternity. It's raining and foggy, no, we're in the clouds, a welcomed change from the stifling heat. We are able to find a nice hotel and pray for clear weather tomorrow to see the sights.   I wish everyone could experience this place. 

Nepal Day 14: "Raging Rivers"

Nepal Day 14: "Raging Rivers"

What a great day! Ben and I awoke after a great hard sleep last night and we were picked up at our hotel by our rafting group. This would be our 20+ rafting trip but this one would be much different then the rest. For starters, Ben and I would be the only foreigners on the trip. While everyone is conversing and giving/receiving instructions, Ben and I would remain gleefully ignorant of what was happening. We left at 7am and the "3 hour trip" took almost 5 hours (given Nepalese time), but we finally were able to sample some of Nepal's beautiful scenery.

As we drove through steep mountainous twists and turns, still avoiding paired

semis racing in the opposite direction, the mountain-scape blasted into sight. It was almost perfectly reminiscent of Avatar's Pandora, with terraced farming, clouds both above and below, and lush green forest blanketing everything.   It was misting which enhanced sense of magic in the air. We arrived at our site and waited around for another hour as our disorganized group inflated 1950s rafts that looked as though they had been used in a previous war. I must admit that Ben and I were skeptical as our guides dropped us off at the wrong location and had to reload everyone (plus gear) on the bus to head out to the correct spot. We were the only experienced rafters as well as the only swimmers in our group. Nonetheless Ben and I made it fun by splashing other boats and inciting a competitive spirit between the groups. We had a young group which made the trip very fun. We kept playfully hassling the guides and eventually our own guide decided to flip our boat!! Ben and I were calm about it, even excited but the other 7 passengers thought they were all going to die. So Ben "Mr. Bean!" became the hero of the day by helping the girls out from under the raft and pulling them back into it. I swam out and collected paddles and panicked breakaway non-swimmers. Another thing I love about this country, zero concern for safety. No one in this boat can swim? Sweet let's flip the damn thing. We all managed to get back into the boat with our paddles and everyone cheered. From then on we were a tight-nit group. We flew courageously through treacherous rapids, laugh in the face of widow-maker eddies, and cheered as we careened over waterfalls. Phenomenal and I even impressed the whole group by being the first to jump from the "tall rock". By the end of the excursion we were all taking photos and laughing about people who tumbled out, clobbering each other with paddle handles, and genuinely enjoying each other's company.   We left just as the sun was setting over the mountains.. It's times like this that I feel the Universe is truly conspiring in my favor, unrelenting serenity. We got back late this evening and crashed. Flight back to India tomorrow. On Yeti air.... Fitting. 

Nepal Day 12 & 13: "Nepal"

Nepal Day 12 & 13: "Nepal"

Sorry for skipping a day but Ben and I were enjoying the  fun filled world of chicken buses. We had decided to go north to Nepal and enjoy some cooler weather and beautiful mountain ranges. Only, because Nepal is just recently out of turmoil they do not have good transportation. We opted for an advertised 16 hour bus trip up to Kathmandu which turned out to be a 24 hour chicken bus with 20 min stops every 30mins. There was no A/C, the roads were horrendous (I will never complain about road construction again).

The pot holes were as broad and deep as canyons, giant semis everywhere and when they broke down, they did so in the center of the roads. There were remnants of old catastrophic crashes, again left in the middle of the road way, probably as a casual reminder to those currently alive and driving.   This topped my list of worst bus rides ever. The seats were designed for 5 foot people, everyone on the bus wanted to play their own music and did so with there cell phones, all of the cars on the road had air horns. When we would stop they flipped on high beam overhead lights and made sure everyone was up. I had no place to rest my head and at one point dozed off while seat and almost broke my nose on the chair in front of me when we slammed on the breaks to avoid a semi and not skid off the side of the mountain. It was a common occurrence to suddenly jolt awake and elbow someone in the face or ribs. I cannot stress enough how "fun" 24 hours on one of these buses is. Also it rained and soaked us halfway through. Ugh. But! And far more importantly! We are in freak'n Nepal!!! Cool weather, nice people, and white water rafting awaits. 

Today we arrived at 4 am very groggily made our way to the hotel area and woke up some poor inn keeper by shouting through a gate. He was very kind, as all the ATMs were still closed and he told us to "go to sleep, we'll handle all this in the morning." Ben and I nearly cried. We slept in till 11am had some lunch and booked our rafting trip for tomorrow.   So excited. Sadly, Kathmandu doesn't have much to offer other than good lassi and the cool ex-pat Indian staying at our hotel. We did climb up to enjoy Mt. Everest (see photo).

Also, our hotel is in this little  sanctuary or eye-of-the-Kathmandu-hurricane.   Tomorrow we raft, then "reggae Saturdays"  downtown, then we fly back to India for some more outdoor adventures. See you out there!

India Day 11: "The Ganga"

India Day 11: "The Ganga"

The train was smooth. Ben and I slept more or less like babies. Finally we came across someone chatty, a cute newly graduated Indian girl on her way to work at Tommy Hilfiger. This was significant for two reasons, the first is that not many Indians freely chat in English with us and second she appeared to be modernized in dress and manner. It was refreshing to chat with a young person and get their perspective on India. We also became friends with a group of traveling Spaniards. We had chatted with them at our last hotel and we ended up at the same hotel In Varanassi. We arrived 2 hours late but welcome to Indian time. As we stepped off the 80 degree train we were greeted by a balmy 118 degrees and 1 million bustling commuters. There was something magical about navigating through the streets of the oldest (longest inhabited, ~1200 BC)

city in the world. Streets ranging in sizes from 4 lanes to barely wide enough for my shoulders. It was a whirling blender of people, animals, vehicles, sounds, smells, and dust/smoke. It had been described to us as "one of the most blindingly colorful, unrelentingly chaotic and unapologetically indiscreet places on earth."  I don't know how, but we managed to find our hotel through the intricate city labyrinth that would leave even a lab rat scratching his head.

This was by far my most comfortable hotel. It had a very bohemian hostel feeling that overlooked the infamous Ganges River. The spirituality of this place is palpable. For how horrifying it was to see how unclean the river was it was much more gut wrenching to see thousands bathing, washing clothes, and yes, drinking straight from the river! Ben and I were teeming with excitement to get started so we headed out at the hotter portion of the day to walk the Ghats (long stretches of steps leading down to the water. Many are used for bathing and washing clothes but several are "burning Ghats" where bodies are cremated in public*). Pilgrims come to the Ghats to wash away a lifetime of sins of cremate their loved ones. It is a particularly auspicious place to die, since expiring here offers 'moksha', liberation from the cycle of birth and death, making this city the beating heart of the Hindu universe*.  Sadly, nothing was happening and the Ghats were all empty as we walked the main 2 Km stretch. Along the way I dipped my feet in and Ben and I debated swimming.  We were told (of course at the end of our trek) that nothing happens until around sunset which was starting now. We decided to head back towards our hotel which was located near one of the main 'burning Ghats'. What a sight..  Wood venders

with 3 story stacks of split lumber, smoke, and finally as we approached the rivers edge, burning bodies. It is too hard to describe this surreal scene and I didn't feel right photographing it so I ask that you do and internet search because it is jaw dropping. We were told that they burn up to 130 bodies daily. 

Ben and I needed something a little less heavy so we sought out the "best lassi place in town", the Blue Lassi.

Lassis are like fruit milkshakes but made with sour yogurt instead. This place, owned and operated by the same family for 80 years, blew out gustatory minds. 

We then set out for attempt number 2 along the Ghats. Every book, traveler, and Indian who told is to see the city at sunset was right. Magical. The banks transform from baron to a whir of colors, sounds, and incense. Due to the heavy pollution the sun becomes a giant looming globe of yellow to red bathing the city's banks in gold. Ben and I wondered awestruck along the waters edge attempting to ignore the dozens of hawkers, beggars, and the occasional snapping/hissing cobras. Finally as the sun

settled below the hazy horizon and we were admiring the craftsmanship of some boat builders we managed to haggle a neat price to be ferried up and down the

Ganges to see the evenings offerings. This was perhaps one of the best happenstance excursions we stumbled upon. We pushed off from the shore and floated along with hundreds of other boats and floating candles down to one of the main Ghats where a spectacle unlike anything we've seen before was taking place.

10 colorfully decorated priests were main-staged near the rivers edge performing a synchronized fire dance ritual in front of an enormous crowd. There was drumming, bells, chimes, and Hindu chanting saturating the air.  The sensational part was that Ben and I watched this entire production from our boat, tied up with 100s of other boats floating just off the shore filled to the brim with onlookers (because we obtained our boat late Ben and I had a barge-of-a-boat to ourselves). 1000s of onlookers everyone in bright colors ignited by the ritual candles and flames and enveloped in deafening drumming and bells. This whole experience made my head swim and nearly converted me to Hinduism. So beautiful and spiritual. Afterwards we walked back in the dark to our hotel listening the he roar of the city from the quiet banks. We had a cool beer atop our hotel and prepared for our next leg. Speaking of which, I forgot to mention that we are taking a detour up through Nepal!! By the time you read this we will already be crossing the border via 24H chicken buses. Ugh. Wish us luck. 

India Day 10: "Villages and Vacations"

India Day 10: "Villages and Vacations"

Last night Ben and I decided to take a brief intermission from our Indian dining and went to the popular local Italian restaurant. We we're given a very romantic candle lit rooftop seat overlooking the bustling street below. Two observations; this little remote village erupts at night. Where there once stood a desolate and dusty road beneath and unforgiving sun, now is over run with cars, motos, venders, and villagers. My second observation was quite spectacular. While dining on our naan pizza, we noticed a significant increase in bird sounds. As we look up to the tree(s) behind us we noticed thousands of parrots crowding the branches and hundreds flying in droves to join the already saturated trees. Our waiter explained that at 8am and 8pm everyday "we have the sound of birds." It was fun seeing schools of birds flocking to this set of three trees. There must have been about 10,000 parrots!

Today we were woken by our morning yoga instructor. "Too young to sleep so late!"he chimed through the door as we scrambled to see that the time was 7am (we had requested a 9am session). We groggily followed this 61-year-young gentleman to the large terrace of our hotel and rolled out some mats. It was a funny and productive session. Let me just state that what the Rosenfeld brothers lack in flexibility we certainly make up in tenacity. 

Next, our friendly tuk tuk driver picked us up for a private excision through the outlying temples and his village. Now this gentleman spoke 5 languages and is a home owner (more on this in a bit). We saw a few more delicately carve temples and listened to some very-excited-to-have-anyone-out-this-far guides talk about their little temples (even if only 10% was understandable English). But the capstone of this tour was when Raj took us to his parent's home and we got to look a family pictures and meet his parents while sipping traditional chai tea. Raj was awesome! We were able to ask all manner of questions about Indian/Hindu culture. We learned that there are 4 classes in India/Hinduism from the most elite (Ramans) to the untouchables (), and most rural marriages are still arranged by the families, and that one cannot marry outside of one's class. This meant that you were born into your class and can never change nor can your children. We were taught a great deal more on these cultural intricacies but I do not want to bore my already limited audience. Raj the took us around his village, "the oldest village in the state". He took us to his "own personal house. Not parent's. Not brother's. Mine." He was very proud to have saved enough money to by and build a house on his own. Needless to say, our touring around with Raj was a great interlude into day-to-day rural Indian life.

Next Ben and I, somewhat delirious from the extensive heat, decided to take an intermission at the pool located in the luxurious Radissan Hotel.

Wow! So this is how the other half lives. Ben and I enjoyed the guilty pleasures of a cool pool and curbside beer delivery during the hottest portion of the day.

Now this is a vacation (as Ben states, "all for the price of an American dive bar."). We were pleasantly surprised by a cohort of large monkeys, about 10-15, who swept the grounds in search of food. Ben attempted to get close and was violently warded off by the larger of the group, an impressive 4' angry looking male bearing his pearly vicious whites. I must admit that when they saw me charge forward, shirtless with arms raised they must have recognized one of their own (and a dominant one) and grumpily meandered away. 

India Day 9:"Erotica"

India Day 9:"Erotica"

Sorry about missing yesterday but not much occurred in Delhi. We walked for a good 5-10 miles visiting the famous spice and cloth bazaars as well as India's largest mosque but all were closed😒. But as per Ben's adventurous spirit we tried our hand at the New Delhi metro. To tell the truth, for all of the rot in the city, for all of the buildings toppling into shambles, their metro was lovely! Spacious, cool, clean, efficient (well minus the 50 person deep lines to obtain oneway passes) and cheap. We milled around the streets and happened upon a golf bar that served hookah.

We stretched out our legs, relaxed with our double apple hookah and tried to understand the not-so-subtle complexities of cricket (we're still clueless). We the. Caught the train to Khajuraho (place of erotic statues). The train was again not our favorite part of the trip. Ben and I were separated and I got to sleep between a screaming baby, a snoring woman, and Chatty Cathy couple of men. Ben had a small child jumping up and down on this metaphoric head all night. We pulled in to our destination which was quite clean and nice. Our tuk tuk driver was friendly and offered (for a price) to take us around tomorrow. 

After settling into our hotel we set out for the ancient temples of erotica. Again, we were not disappointed. There were over 7 pristine Mayan-like temples spread strategically over a broad well maintained garden space. As we neared our first temple, the extravagant architecture and minute sculpture detail became vividly apparent. Majestic and ardently erotic sculptures depicting raging orgies and ferociously tantric figures in passionate, yet impossibly acrobatic positions.

Noteworthy, literally. Other statues depicted beastiality  with curious Hindu gods/goddesses looking on. Believe it or not this is not the birthplace of Kama Sutra.

These statuses were created under the Tantra belief, that "intense static sexual connection is the true path to God". In fact, this sculpture does not suggest a new and fun sexual position but rather a form of mantra to "come" closer to God. We wondered around this incredible place taking in the scenery (and notes). We left feeling quite satisfied and exhausted. 

After traversing the dusty streets under boiling heat. We retired to our hotel where we found solis in cool beers and even cooler A/C. I opted for another massage. Who can turn a $7 hour massage.  Funny, this guys mentioned that he also does haircuts and shaves😒....  What a great day. Stay tuned for more.