Nepal

I arrived here almost one week ago now and am happy to say, I'm glad! It has a nice feel to it and so far, am having a great time taking it all in.

I am staying in a Tibetan refugee area just outside of kathmandu called, Bodhnath, or Boudha near the Boudha stupa (hemispherical Buddhist religious structure). This stupa is apparently the largest stupa in Nepal and one of the largest in the world. It's an amazing place as one can come here and see Tibetan life vibrant, successful and virutally unfettered. Its a fairly clean place and actually mostly paved with either slate or brick - wow, what a luxury to not have to walk in dirt or mud!

Since I have a Canadian acquaintance here that I met in France, I have been able to take advantage of locating activities that are not necessarily obvious to the average traveller. One example of this is attending Buddhism classes at a local monastery here called, Ka-Nying Sheldrup Ling Gompa through Rangjung Yeshe Institute for Buddhist Studies which is also the location of Chokyi Nyima Rinpoche (http://www.rangjung.com/authors/chokyi_nyima_rinpoche.htm) who founded the organization. So far I have been able to sit in on a Scriptures & Buddhist Philosphy classes for a week, all of which are quite interesting and deep! it is not uncommon to listen to lectures by various highly attained monks and teachers. Always seems like something is happening and life is never boring or dull.

The weather has finally cleared up from the monsoon season and I believe, we should have warm to hot clear days with cool evenings. it is said that this is the best time of year to come to nepal. (forgive the typing - terrible keyboards)

Shipping gigs

Mailing stuff home is part of my travel world. As you can imagine, it is only human to gather stuff while you run around a country for a month and then need to unload before the next place. Although it is a bit pricey, it is all part of the cost of travelling.

We all might not think about these kind of things since in our western worlds we are familiar with the protocol. However, mailing a package overseas from another country can prove to be quite an adventure.

I had one such experience in Delhi, India. I had roughly 3.5 kgs which consisted mainly of one book, a few pieces of clothing, my customary CD with photos and some bracelets. Its definitely risky mailing anything home from a foreign country. I'll be surprised if my package from Egypt containing amongst other things, jewelry, will make it all intact but we'll see. However I have a feeling that this package will not be disturbed. Here's why:

• First, you bring the package to the post office open.
• After filling out the customs forms, in duplicate, you find a representative (or he finds you!) to package your package for you - you aren't allowed to do it yourself!
• As you watch, he proceeds to cut down the box especially if the box is larger than the contents.
• Next he seals the box with tape - pretty normal
• But then he takes a full peice of beige- colored, cotton cloth and wraps your package up
• He then takes a large needle and heavy duty sewing string and proceeds to stitch up your package - similar to how you wrap a xmas present! This takes a few minutes and at this point I was kicking myself for not bringing my large, overdue for a chuck, upcoming ebay sale, camera!
• The to and from address is then applied by marker by myself.
• Done? Nope!
• Next, he takes out a red wax candle and a large, what looked like to me, bolt with a hexagon shaped head. Know what he does next? You guessed it - he melts the wax on various places where he had stitched and drips wax on them. Then he mashed the head of the bolt into the wax to give it an *India* seal.
• Finally you pay him 150Rp (about $3.50) and take your masterpiece back over to the postmaster for delivery. My 3.5 kg cost me about 1100 Rp (about $30) for Sal = by sea and air which should take roughly 1-2 months. Unless they chuck it over the boat, I think it'll make it, complete.

Silly girl, tricks are for monkeys

Ok, so yet another story about monkeys. . .

I was walking one day in mcLeod Ganj (I know, I'm still behind on my posts as I'm already in Nepal) to a local healing center run by an American girl and a kiwi girl. The location is nice and a just a short walk just above town. As I walked inside the gate I noticed a monkey walking in my direction and on a 2 foot wall. Feeling a bit bold I decided to stop and see if he would notice me or take interest. Yes, I know you are prolly thinking, bad move, Lora. Anyway, I stopped, probably smiled, and said something to the monkey in a nice voice - kind of like I would a dog. The monkey stopped and actually made eye contact (which is something I notice they don't do much of with people). He looked away again as I continued to stand there, then looked at me again. Curious, I was. Then all of the sudden out of no where he lunged towards me one step with his mouth and teeth open like a growling wolf, hands up as if he'd seen one too many scary movies while stomping his foot at me and proceeded to fake as if he were going to attack me! i quickly got the picture (and understatement) as he did it twice within the course of a second, but without really moving from his position - just pretending to scare me as if knew I needed a monkey lesson. Yes folks, I got trained by a monkey.

As I walked to the center I chuckled to myself knowing that I was pretty fortunate. I told the story to the American, Elyse. She educated me that there are 2 things you should never do to a monkey,
1. make eye contact
2. smile at them (shows your teeth and they think you are acting agressive)

Duly noted. No pic.

Beggars - take 2

(note: having technical difficulties with story. This is the correct version - sorry for repeat)

This is a subject not easy to talk about and certainly, most do not want to listen. But if you want to travel anywhere, you will find them everywhere - the beggar. Of course in the states we also have this person but certainly not as poor as what I've seen here. Well what I should say is it's all relative, isn't it?

Country to country I've seen these people sitting on street corners in the mud, filth, walking - no, better yet, hobbling at you focused at heart to get your attention no matter what the risk. Children - some of them walking right at you full-well intending to walk into you with eye contact. The worse yet are those that are severely handicapped, deformed, bandaged hands with blood showing through, missing toes, limbs or some missing all limbs and/or lost all sense of reality. And I know I haven't even seen the worse yet in countries such as Cambodia, Viet Nam, etc. Some of these people's suffering goes beyond what we can see. Some have lost their families, their homes. Some lost their country.

How do you react when you come across these poor, helpless individuals? Do you even have the heart to look at them, feel their pain, smile, speak to them? I didn't - until recently. I was reading a Buddhism book by Edward Conze (sp?) which made me think a bit more about handling poor people. I thought it was interesting how he pointed out that even though we try to filter or ignore situations like this, we still observe some shame associated with it for not acknowledging the person, even if at a subconscious level. I'll save you the full explanation (especially since I ended up loosing the book) but after this and talking to another traveller from Michigan, and listening to his thoughts on it, I decided that the least I could do is acknowledge their presence in addition to contributing to charities. (Money is not recommended as it contributes to them begging by reinforcing their goal - this is yet another topic.)

With most of these people, they still manage to smile. I didn't notice this until I started smiling back - they smile and look happy. Even the poor people working hard and carrying heavy loads, they smile too. They look so happy to me. No watch. No cell phone ringing crazy ringtones. No car or bike. Barely a hay or grass roof over their heads and enough food to make it through winter. But they still smile and help you if you need it.

It's interesting to watch other foreigners pass them by, straining to look the other way and never make eye contact hoping that lower being will think they didn't see them - despite their efforts of calling out, singing "Namaste" or "hello, hello, hello". That must feel terrible.

For those that have no roof or family, what is a solution? Outside of charity organizations, I don't know but what I can say and feel is that if I were in their shoes it would make me feel even worse seeing able-walking people passing me by suddenly looking the other way after viewing my poor state hoping I won't notice that they saw me. Just a smile, nod and acknowledgement would make me feel more like a person. After contemplating this, I feel a little better in hopes that this may help. No filter, just compassion.

Bazaar

The word bazaar comes full circle when you encounter such places as Cairo and Delhi. The area of Paharganj in Delhi has a bazaar (row of markets) similar to that of Cairo but with one major difference - the addition of many transportation vehicles! Yes, Cairo's bazaar area has an occasional vehicle or human pulled cart but nothing like what I experienced here. This place is mad in the daytime up until at least 11 p.m. At 6 a.m. its hardly recognizable. Sometimes you can't walk through and caution must be exercised when cutting through between tires.

Every kind of person, animal & vehicle is found here. Westerners, locals, the poor, the very young, the very elderly, severly wounded or handicapped Indians, dogs (most of which have a hurt back leg), a few cats, mice, large Oxen, cows, apparently elephants (although I didn't see them), auto rickshaw, bicycle rickshaw, car, trucks, van, taxi, regular bike - oh, and did I mention this place is more like an alley rather than a large wide street? Chaos takes place every day and the noise is deafening at the least.

Why did I stay in this area if its like this, you ask? Well, many times travellers have mentioned this place especially since it is where most of them stay. Cheap accommodations with a central location is probably one reason as well as the fact that most other places in Delhi are much more expensive. I had to try it out for one night. I'd have to say it's not all that - just an experience. Its crazy to walk through - reminds me of trying to walk through a packed night club in the states and you're trying to get to the bar which you can see but nearly takes a half hour to walk 20 feet. Of course, the journey itself means meeting new people and if it weren't for that fact, you'd prolly just stand around all night milking the same drink wishing you had someone to talk to, right?

Further East (and a bit North)

Just a quick status. . .
I must leave India due to expiration of my visa - no need getting friendly with the police while I'm here although I'm sure they're nice people. Not sure what happened in Cairo with not giving me a longer visa but I think I may have check-marked the wrong box. Silly me.

I fly to Kathmandu on the 20th of October. Looking forward to continuing some good things that I started here including accupuncture, as well as starting some meditation which I did not have time for here. Have heard marvelous things about Nepal including a much more relaxed environment. In fact, haven't heard a bad thing about the place - I'm optimistic and looking forward to a new country and a happy place - and learning more about Buddhism! Looking forward to Nepal!

What McLeod Ganj has to offer

In my opinion, McLeod Ganj (just up the hill from Dharamsala) gives an overwhelming appeal to those interested in learning something about Buddhism or some of the other Eastern customary healing processes. In fact, it takes about a week to sort through it all and have some idea as to what and when you'd like to participate. Of course, the real draw here is the central availability to all of this at a cheap price. Albeit, a bit touristy but hey, you can't have it all!

Massage is abundant with such types as Ayurvedic, Tibetan & Thai leading the pack. Although I haven't had my Thai massage yet, I can give some comments about the other two.

Ayurvedic uses hot massage oils and comes from the Hindu culture. For about 350 ruppies ($1 = 43 rp), you can have a nice oily one hour massage from neck to toe. I liked it but I think my favorite thus far is Tibetan.

There is a Tibetan family here providing massage needs - the wife is (from what I've heard) the better of the two. It's a much more physical massage with little use of oil. Not only does she massage but she also provides some stretching and working of the joints. To my surprise, she gets right up on the table with you pushing and pressing out any balls of tension you might have. I fancied the belt trick! You lay on your back while she gets on top and straddles you. She then takes a wide, long belt and pulls it under your lower back and then wraps it around her back all in one go. Carefully positioning the belt around the very bottom of your back she then leans backwards in order to pull your lower back down. Amazing and felt fantastic! I loved it.

Reflexology is another product of this place. For those that are unfamiliar, this is based on the notion that all parts of your body are mapped on the bottom of your feet. Lungs, kidneys, heart, etc! You can really get a sense about what's going on with a person just by rubbing their feet. Although I don't think we had any great discoveries yesterday, it still felt amazing.

There are a few meditation centers, Reiki, astrology. . . Then you have language and cooking classes, palm readings! Just all sorts of things to get into.

My latest discovery is a breathing session and some accupuncture I just received. Still have a few more sessions to experience and hoping to get to the bottom of this crazy knee problem which I fully believe is non-physical related.

Yoga styles and a teacher I irritated!

I reflect on today's acheivements and can only laugh. My goal today was to seek out only a few of the many courses that McLeod Ganj has to offer. Of those, yoga was one of my stops.

As per the advertisement, I showed up at the Iyengar Yoga center to learn more information and possibly register for a 5 day yoga beginner's course. As I sat among a whole 4 other people including the teacher, I listened assuming that the teacher would give a brief introduction and explanation of the course followed by a possible Q&A - sounds reasonable? Nah, seemed the dog in his lap got more attention than we did for a moment. I heard nothing from the teacher but brief, quick answers. I continued to listen. As a few more questions were flailed at him and somewhat answered I decided I had a few questions of my own :) The first few were obvious - when, where, how much - he hadn't covered these yet! After this set I reflected on the fact that he learned from BKS Iyengar himself and asked how many years had he studied under him. A sharp reply came back at me, "Six and a half years - it's in the brochure"! (Breathe in and smile inserted here) My next question got even worse. As I asked him to educate me with some kind of explanation about the differences between the more popular styles of yoga such as Iyengar and Hatha, I was quickly and fiercly met with criticism. "You should never ask a teacher to tell you the difference between the different styles of Yoga. . ." Clearly, the teacher/student relationship was in question and for me, I was disheartened and a bit shocked at his defensive reaction. Although I offered to reword my question and did so with a smile, he lost me on "never". Do you think he knew the answer? Com'mon, now really.

Being the little analyst that i am, I decided I could try to look the answer up myself and here's what I found. A nice little website that gives a fairly good explanation for each of the more popular styles - or maybe this is all of them. http://yogasite.com/yogastyles.html

Enjoy, in case you were also interested. Don't ask this guy.

Monkeys & Earthquakes

I had two crazy experiences today - Monkeys & Earthquakes! Fortunately, not at the same time.

Monkeys are everywhere here in Dharamsala. Furry little creatures; I know nothing about them. Certainly can't compare to dogs or cats or horses, can you? I had no idea how they might react to me as I walked up this mountainous, wooded road. There must have been at least 20-30 of them including babies and mammas and pappas. As I approached the first one I thought to myself, well, I haven't heard of anyone speak about getting hurt by them so I just see what happens. No problem - the bloke didn't even pay me any attention. That's no fun. The second, third, fourth, 20th - no change - they paid me no mind. I was within a few feet of them watching them pick each other's butts and arms and legs for probably bugs or whatever else leaches on to them. Cute little things. No, I did not go over to pet them - still not sure about them and their behavior yet. But it WAS tempting!

Earlier today I was sitting having breakfast when I felt my bench move. Was someone shaking my bench? Bench? I'm not sitting on a bench; I'm on a chair. How could someone shake my chair? Man, I must be a bit light-headed cuz now it feels like the floor is moving but when I looked down, I couldn't see the floor move. As my eyes got bigger, a Tibetan guy across from me was laughing at my facial reactions for he knew what was happening. And then, we all looked at each other and got the heck out of the place - Earthquake! It wasn't much but enough to feel weird and strange to me. Nothing major happened here but apparently it came from Pakistan and apparently alot of people died there.

Mother Nature - why isn't she a God?

Manali, Finally!

I sit here, before you, right now having just arrived in Manali, India after a bruttal (Brian, if I may borrow) jeep ride from Leh to Manali, 475 km. The LP does not even touch on the condition of this road only to mention, "they're working on paving the road the entire way". Sounds nice, doesn't it esp. coming from my book dated, 2003. Let me explain something to you, this road deserves at least a paragraph - at least a few lines of description of what one is getting themselves into upon booking this journey!

For one thing, you MUST have 4 wheel drive with room to stretch (I recommend hiring a driver with a jeep - forget bus); shocks in good condition are a ticket to a "possible" headache-free journey. Why, you ask? Well, I found the gravel sections just as bumpy as the paved. Having just read that statement, I think it isn't bold enough - how's this: I have never in my life been tossed, bumped, thrown, scrambled and jolted in a nice SUV for this amount of time on a road in this poor of condition. How can this be? How can a paved road be so bumpy? These poor Indians slave over this road, covered in what remains of burnt tar, just as black as an African, in order for us nice travelers and delivery trucks to journey from point A to point B. With a few exceptions, they have no special machinery that we know in the U.S. It seemed to me that they just carve out a road, remove some of the rocks and pave it! That's the best they can do. Amazing to watch them work knowing the fumes they breathe are not helping them live to 80. They definitely do it the hard way, the slow way, not to mention they sleep right there on the road overnight in bone-chilling temperatures!

The other difficulty with this road is really it's blessing - the terrain and views you see are spectacular, in my opinion. Who wants to travel through Kansas when you can venture through and over the Rocky Mountains at a quarter of the speed? As a matter of fact, this place puts our rockies to shame. Passes at 17,000 feet and peaks even higher, this is a mountain lover's dream paradise with views that your camera will scream over. Everything from Sinai-like desert mountain landscapes with purple and green colors to pure Colorado-feeling peaks and valleys including pine trees. The smell today of sweet pine trees alone brought a tear to my eye. "Are we in Switzerland?", someone in the jeep asked, as we laughed over the stunning outlooks while jostling around like lottery balls on TV. Curve after curve and sign after sign stating, "Please be kind to my curves" - we tread through this far away land like a snail glides through his forest - slowly and with caution. Dangerous, treacherous, mind-boggling, prestine, untouched are words that come to my mind. This land is something I didn't expect from India!

Joo-Leh

I've now arrived in Leh, India - sucking wind, no less. At 3,500 meters, I'm feeble and not accustomed to the cooler weather although I must admit, it feels good! Such a beautiful place - a wonderland of freedom. Many cultures and civilizations live here including Tibetan, Buddhists, and Muslims. Mountains and peacefulness envelopes the secluded area.

I love it here. However, this place deserves a serious look when you arrive as there is so much to see and do. Mountain trekking, climbing, camel rides, horseback/mule, rafting - this doesn't include the other aspect - Buddhism. I just missed the summertime availability of classes for yoga, meditation, message, etc. also including classes on how to train you how to teach these aspects. Poor timing on my part but I believe I missed all this by about a week or so. They all pull out for the winter since it's pretty harsh here.

Anyway, this whole region of Ladakh as well as other neighboring regions are breathtaking. BTW, the 3 highest motorable passes in the world lie within this region with the highest around 5,800 meters (need to verify exactly). Tibet, China, Pakistan and Russia are nearby - wow! Hard to believe I'm here with a balcony view of it all!