Deb and Dan's Trip

Elliot Chester Zysman

2009-12-18T18:16:00.000-08:00

Hi everybody! Elliot (we just liked the name, though we do like the E.T. connection) Chester (named after Deb's maternal grandfather) was born at 2:38 a.m. on 12/16 (his due date, and my pick in Deb's office's baby pool!), 19 3/4 inches. Deb delivered at home, in a birthing tub, with our amazing midwife Dr. Madeleine Portuondo and doula (and midwife-in-training) Tammy Uva.

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2008-12-09T18:52:00.001-08:00

Deb & Dan's Next African Adventure

2008-09-24T01:12:00.000-07:00

Dear all,

We would like your help: we are trying to raise $10,000 to build a girls’ high school in rural Kenya, and we’d like your support.

As you all know, we traveled through Kenya for three months last year. Early in our travels, we ended up in Lifunga, in the middle of nowhere in western Kenya. The Kenyan government provides education through the eighth grade only, and the few private high schools for miles around are restricted to boys. Girls, therefore, have no access to educational services after age 14 – even though it would cost less than $250 per student per year to allow these young women to continue their education.

We met many school and community leaders who wanted to start a girls’ high school. So, when we returned to Hawaii, we planned to start our own foundation to raise money for a school. Fortunately, we met Bart Abbott, the Director of Emerging Humanity here in Honolulu. Bart started Emerging Humanity a few years ago to do education and health related work in western Kenya; rather than spend the time and effort to set up our own nonprofit, we decided to team up with Bart.

Bart is actually in Kenya right now, installing toilet, sanitation and water catchment systems in several schools and meeting with community leaders in Lifunga to begin the process to build and run a girls’ high school. We are doing everything possible to ensure that the school is community-based and, long-term, economically self-sufficient

Now, however, we need money to get things going. On the Lifunga Primary School campus, there are already two partially built classrooms; we need approximately $10,000 to build walls, install doors, build desks, and begin purchasing books and supplies for 100 students and their teachers.

We would love whatever you can afford to donate. $20 will pay for books for one student. $30 will build a desk (we need 100 of them!). All donations of $250 or more will be matched by one of Emerging Humanity’s existing donors. Something very small will make a huge difference in the lives of these young women. Your tax deductible donations can be made at http://www.emerginghumanity.com/donate.html (and if you’d prefer to send a check, just let us know).

For those of you who want to receive something in exchange for your donation, read on: we’re trying to think of a creative reward system to encourage donations (for example, a few months ago, Dan got Deb’s dad to do my laundry in exchange for a donation to Roswell Park Cancer Institute). So, in that spirit, perhaps you need someone to do yard work at your house? Or you’d like some homemade chocolate chip cookies? Need a babysitter? Would you like to see photos of Deb & me in drag (from when we went to go see Rocky Horror recently, or, for a higher price, from college)? Seriously, we have no shame. Name your price and we’ll name ours.

Thank you, thank you, thank you!!

With love and aloha,

Deb & Dan

2008-02-13T16:24:00.000-08:00

Hey Blog Readers!

I am playing with some new fund-raising tools for work. Plus the Beautiful Big island is trying to make beaches tobacco-free. I'm helping them to try to get some funds for simple things like signs, buttons and covering gas to get people to the county council meetings.

Every penny counts and of course it is tax deductible so make a contribution today!

February Rain

2008-02-03T12:31:00.000-08:00

January was an insane month.

Dan and I both felt like we were being punished for taking a long sabbatical....we've been working nights and weekends and doing not much else other than work, eat and sleep.

Plus, we're dismayed by the violence in Kenya.
A lot of the turmoil and killings are in towns that we spent a lot of time in. We've tried to get in touch with a number of people to see if they are ok, but so far have only heard that one family is all right.

On a happy note. We're getting a new housemate at the end of February. Her name is Sarah and she's an engineer who's moving out from San Fransisco to open a new branch of her company in Honolulu.

Welcome to 2008

2008-01-01T19:45:00.000-08:00

After a night of insane fireworks in our neighborhood (it sounded like being in a war-zone), we decided to go to yoga on New Year's morning.

Our studio was holding free classes all day to bring in new people filled with good intentions and New Year's hangovers. Normally our class has about 6 or 7 people. Today there were 26.

And the best part was the guy behind me. I'll paint a picture of him: in his early 50s; loudly chants mantras; does very deep serious breathing; has clearly smoked a bit too much pakalolo and the cherry on top......he did the whole class wearing only a bright blue speedo.

I giggled the whole class.

Hope 2008 bring you lots of dudes in speedos!

New Year's resolutions

2007-12-28T13:42:00.000-08:00

It's that time of year again.

My friend Robin and I were talking about creating New Year's resolutions that are actually attainable. Small things, no major personality renovations (cause it never works anyway). Being the public health dorks that we are, we even considered making them "SMART" (specific, measurable, attainable, realistic and timebound). Oh, yes, we've written a few too many grants.

So, what are your resolutions?

Here's a few I'm considering.
1) No more plastic bags. Zero. I need to figure out what to do with my garbage since I now use the plastic grocery bags-- any suggestions?

2) Take an art class.

3) Every time I go to the beach I will pick up 1 bag of garbage (I guess a paper bag if I'm doing #1). I started this in 2007, but I forgot lots of the time.

4) Take re-useable containers to restaurants (for left overs) and take out places.

Here's a few cool sites to consider as you make your own resolutions.

If you live in Hawaii and want to think of small things to improve the community -- Join Kanu

To reduce the amount of stuff you buy, check out Swaptree -- you get to trade books, music and movies. I just signed up and it seems pretty cool.

The cats and I are moving back into the house tomorrow. Hopefully, the toxic, termite killing fumes will have dissipated.

Fame and Fortune?

2007-12-24T11:00:00.000-08:00

Ok.....no fortune.

But how about this for a little end-of-the year fame? http://starbulletin.com/2007/12/24/news/story04.html

Somehow, I made the list even after being out of the country for 6 months. Crazy huh?

For those of you still reading this blog (hi mom). Here is the news from this part of the world.

1) I'm back to battling the powers that be for funding for tobacco control efforts -- some things never change

2) Our house is being tented for termites (preventativly) on Wednesday. This means that they pump the whole house full of toxic chemicals. Which also means that we spent the whole weekend moving plants and food out of the house. Dan is heading to Florida tonight and the cats and I will move out to a friends house for a few days.
I have nightmares about the long term effects of toxic termite killing gases. But if you don't tent here termites can take down a house in about 7.2 seconds.

3) Worms. Dan and I started worm composting since we've come home. They are cool to watch -- like having your own ant farm in the kitchen.
**don't worry the worms are leaving the house for the tenting too.

4) The first box we shipped from our trip finally arrived in Hawaii. The box was sent airmail and was supposed to take 15 days. 8 weeks later it arrived.... Here is a picture so you can see the way we shipped boxes....a miracle anything will make it.

And as a bonus, here is a shot of my adorable nephew Zach helping me cook over Thanksgiving. The kid makes a mean cranberry sauce!

Hope everyone has a Merry Christmas. For all the Jews -- enjoy your Chinese Food and let me know what movies you went to see.

The fun of reality

2007-12-06T20:34:00.000-08:00

We are totally back in the thick of things. Some great, some.....just ugh......

Dan started his new job on Monday and already left this morning for a 3 day business trip to Maui and the Big Island. I know...boo hoo...it's rough being Dan.

I'm back at work where there is just a lot of WORK!!!! My desk is already mile high and I haven't even been back a week. Somehow, Kathy, the fabulous interim director who was filling in for me while I was away simply didn't finish all of the crap I left for her to do. Can you believe it?

It has been raining a TON here this week (we are talking flooding, high winds, no power for some people.) But I gotta say, it's still a warm rain and beats the Buffalo snow storm any day of the week.

Lots of people have been asking if I'm somehow "different" since the trip. I don't really think so, but I have noticed one odd phenomenon (and no I don't think it is a weird parasite). Since returning to America, I want to buy everything. I've become this bizarre obsessed consumer. It's like there are so many choices and I've been deprived for so long that I feel like I deserve things. Last year, I bought all my clothes at Goodwill. Last week, I bought a George Foreman Grill..... I mean my Grandma did say that it makes the best sandwiches ever, but the old me would never have purchased such a thing. I need to be stopped.

Maybe it's the glow of the Christmas lights at the mall, but right now I'm seriously shopping for some high-quality speakers for my iPod (anyone like to make a recommendation?)

Home....sort of

2007-11-29T22:56:00.000-08:00

We're back in Honolulu.

There's a little bit of post-trip let down, but coming home to sunny Honolulu after the freezing rain of Buffalo is helping to ease the pain. Now it's back to reality: work, a new roof on the house etc.

For the next few weeks, Dan and I are in a weird, gray, re-entry zone. We're back... but our tenants Bob and Nadine are still in our house for a few weeks. We'll be couch surfing with various friends and just get to continue living out of suitcases for a bit longer. We've already run into half the population of Honolulu and it feels like we never left. Yesterday, I got a much needed haircut and went to my favorite Korean spa with my friend Robin --- we both got these full body scrubs and you would be appalled if you saw how much filth came out of my pores.

Dan has big news that he is now able to announce. On Monday (yup, tomorrow) he is starting a new job as the Senior Staff Attorney at the ACLU. He wasn't really planning to leave the the law firm, but the ACLU here is pretty small and job openings are rare.

We've had a great time writing the blog and we're trying to decide if blogging about "normal life" would be nearly as much fun (or remotely interesting to read). So....stay tuned for the next adventure and thanks for reading about our travels!

God Bless the USA

2007-11-23T04:05:00.000-08:00

We made it safely home with a minimum of problems. Our flight from Delhi was late so we missed our connection to Buffalo. Thankfully, we had passes to the President's Club, so we spent our 6 hours in Newark gorging on free bagels and cheese.

Then we got to Buffalo and and we've been spending all our time "living on the edge" drinking tap water and eating raw cookie dough. Yup, we're back to the good life.

As promised, here are a few photos from our last week in India.

These are a few from Khajuraho -- these carvings are all from around 950AD:
Here is a disco version of Ganesh

While Khajuraho is famous for the erotic carvings, the majority are of people and gods and are pretty PG rated. Lots, like this one are of dancing girls.

Here are some of the infamous ones...

The Palace in Orchha

Here is the happy wedding couple in Orchha

Rock Hard Porn

2007-11-15T22:02:00.000-08:00

Sorry it's been such a long time since our last post. We left the land of yoga (and no we didn't swim in the Ganges) and headed to Orchha and Kajuraho. We were back in the mood for temples, forts and palaces and these are some of the most spectacular in India.

Kajuraho is infamous for the carvings of erotica.....and come on, how could I come to India and NOT see ancient porn? You know you would if you were here!

The temples are spectacular. I promise to post a few pictures when we are back in the states.

In Orchha we went to our first Indian/Irish wedding. We were shopping in a bangle shop when a white woman came in and started talking with the owner. Over a cup of chai we learned that Denise -- the Irish woman -- had just married Loyal -- the Indian guy. Anyway, long story short, their wedding party was a few days later and we rangled ourselves an invitation. Not really a traditional Indian wedding by any stretch of the imagination, but we had a good time!

Now we are back in Delhi for a few days of last minute shopping. We head back to the good ol' U.S. of A. tomorrow evening so that we can eat some cranberries and stuffing with the family.

Dan and I are still in a bit of denial that we are at the END of our trip!
We'll do a few more posts from Buffalo with a whole bunch of pictures....so stay tuned for more blogging.

Happy Diwali

2007-11-10T01:55:00.001-08:00

Happy Diwali!

Diwali appears to be every Indian's favorite holiday. It seems like Christmas, New Years and your birthday rolled into one. For the Hindus, Diwali celebrates the homecoming of King Rama after 14 years in exile. It is also celebrates the time when Krishna defeated a demon. Everyone here decorates their home with twinkle lights, small oil lamps, candles and a fresh coat of paint. Rishikesh is filled with women in their finest saris, sporting glittery new jewlery and carrying boxes of sweets for everyone they know.

We are still in Rishikesh, and we've been doing some serious relaxation in this beautiful town. We've done a bunch of different yoga classes (Mary's class at Open Space in Honolulu are still the best we've found however.) We are spending the rest of our days shopping, getting kick-ass massages and reading by the Ganges.

Neither of us has been brave enough to go for a swim in the Ganges yet.... The river is MUCH cleaner here than in Varanasi, but I'm still worried that "swimming in the Ganges" = "Bacterial Infection."

Here's a photo of the Ganges. Would you go for a dip?

Last night, for Diwali, everyone was lighting candles and setting bowls of flowers adrift on the river.

To join in the festivities we set off some fireworks on our balcony and Mara, Klara and I all got new henna on our hands.

P.S. Since Dan's run-in with the monkey, he hasn't been taking any chances. He's adopted Hannuman (the Hindu Monkey God) as his new best friend. In this photo we were pretending to be Hannuman....just thought you'd like to see a silly one.

Mom & Dad Return to America

2007-11-08T12:48:00.000-08:00

Dad writing-

We left Deb and Dan so they could recover from our hectic days and headed to Kerala, a State in Southern India. for several days. We have since left India and are now home trying to adjust to the cold weather and gloomy skies.

I want to provide several comments. First, thanks to Deb and Dan for playing tour guide. We owe you! Second, thanks for trying to keep up with us. Lastly, thanks for putting up with us.

When we arrived in Delhi, it was a really rude awakening. People every where; cows, dogs, goats and pigs roaming the streets. No cats, since cats that cross your path are bad luck. They are a very superstitious people. I was told that they take the cats into the woods. Also strong obnoxious odors! Cars, motorcycles, bicycles, trucks, buses and people all trying to maneuver on the road. Below is a typical street in the city. See all the food for the cows and goats. There is plenty more! The biggest problem is plastic bags and bottles. These animals don't eat them.

Early in a.m. pic from our hotel in Delhi.

I did notice that there must be few building codes that are followed.

Wires crossing everywhere.

We went to a Sikh temple in New Delhi. They feed lots of people for free. People volunteer to make sure there is food for everyone. Here we are making chipote. I'm sure Daniel will be making these when he returns to Hawaii.

Sweating while making chipote.

Sweating while eating Tali. (not at the Sikh temple). Hmmm, delicious!

Look ma, no utensils!

Ready for more excitement

We often used the auto-rickshaw for transportation over short distances (1-5km).

Deb would like to be transported in one of these. Dan needs to find another job to support her in the manner she would like to become accustomed to.

Typical street scene. This is in New Delhi.

There are many small shops in the various cities. Each has a specialty. This one sells clothe. The fancy silks are really worth seeing. When you enter most shops, you remove your shoes. I wore sandals everyday.

And another street in Bundi. Auto-rickshaw, bicycle, donkey and people. All moving around without crashing into each other.

From Delhi, we took a train to Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. We had reservation for an air conditioned car, nice! Passenger trains are a common mode of transportation. You should have a reservation for the AC or sleeper cars. We also took an overnight train from Agra to Bundi. Just our luck, our car had the smelliest toilet. Every time we stopped at a station, the obnoxious odor penetrated into the car. The other trains we took were during the day.

Below are pictures of us at the Taj.

Bernie & Sharon at the Taj

Sunrise at the Taj

D&D at the Taj at Sunrise

We headed to the fort near the Taj, and saw many monkeys. Better stay away from them if you have food.

"Goldsmith's" parade, Bundi

Holy cow, batman. Watch where you are going!

As Deb said, we celebrated Sharon's birthday at Jodhpur. It started out with a typical breakfast of masala eggs, juice, toast, fruit, etc. And a birthday cake. We sang Happy Birthday. We were really not hungry, so Sharon cut the cake and we decided to eat it with lunch. Lunch was after our jeep ride.

After eating the B-day cake we sat around and chatted before going out.

Note the fledgling.

Sharon and I left Deb and Dan in Jodhpur and headed south to Allepey. Allepey, the Venice of India, is in the State of Kerala. We flew to Mumbai then hired a taxi to Allepey. Our plane which was suppose to leave Jodhpur at 2pm was late. We got to Allepey around 11pm, which was about 1-hour later than we thought. Below are pictures from Allepey. Note all the plants. It rained a bit every day. It was also around 90F and humid.

This is where we stayed for 2-nights.

We stayed on a house boat (not this one) for one night.

This is a typical houseboat.

Rice patty

Rice being shipped for processing

People travel by boat. This is a boat stop

And, I was able to skipper our house boat!

The White Album

2007-11-08T04:19:00.000-08:00

We're in Rishikesh, the yoga capital of the world. It's where the Beatles came to get away from the press, meet the Maharishi, and write most of the songs on the White Album.

Now, Rishikesh is full of Israelis. The upside is that we can get pretty good falafel. The downside, as you might expect, is a town full of stoned Jews.

The other great part of Rishikesh is that we've reconnected with Mara and Klara -- our Mukti co-fans from Darjeeling/Sikkim. Klara was in the hospital in Agra for six days. Six days. The doctors there said it had something to do with her gall bladder. In theory, she should have surgery. Instead, she and Mara are going to Thailand next week. Why ruin a perfectly good trip by worrying about your gall bladder? I mean, what does your gall bladder do, anyway? I think it's like your appendix -- totally useless.

Diwali begins tonight, so we're heading out to watch fireworks. We'll try not to lose a hand or food in the explosive mayhem.

And then there were two...

2007-11-01T00:34:00.000-07:00

Sharon and Bernie have just left us, and after 11 days of whirlwind touring, we're ready for a vacation. And some heavy drinking.

We had a fabulous time with FB and Sharon, but we're tired from going at a much faster pace than we normally do. Deb and I usually try to do about one thing a day (e.g., seeing a fort, going to a market, or napping -- any one of those things would normally constitute a full day). But not with Sharon and Bernie. Oh no. We sometimes saw two or three things a day. Did you hear that? Two or three things every day!!! Plus we ate up to three meals every single day. Can you believe it?

As Bernie mentioned, we've been touring Rajasthan, which is known for it's forts and palaces (and places called "toilets"). They are spectacular buildings that have been turned into museums and hotels since India became a united country. Here's a few photos

This is the fort in Jodhpur:

Here is the palace/fort in Udaipur:

The roof top of our hotel in Udaipur

Sharon on a camel.

For Sharon's birthday we went on a village jeep safari. Bernie LOVES jeeps (almost as much as motorcycles), so everyone thought this was a great plan. We stopped in various villages in the desert and watched them make crafts.

In one, we learned how they make pottery and then got to try it:

Here is what Deb made:
Here is Bernie's creation:

And here is mine -- I think I'll keep my day job.

In another, we watched them making phenomenal rugs. So nice, that we were swayed to buy one each--- they claim that Prince Charles bought a rug from them, and if it's good enough for royalty, it's good enough for us, damn it!

The high point of the tour (pun intended) was participating in a traditional opium ceremony.

This is the guy making our opium.

After the opium look how happy everyone is!!!!

Sharon and Bernie have headed south to the backwaters of Kerela. We are heading back north to the mountains to Haridwar/Rishikesh.

Kentertainment

2007-10-27T00:45:00.000-07:00

In setting up this blog a few months ago, we included links to some of our favorite blogs. I'm sorry to say that, until now, we've forgotten one: kentertainment.org. If you understand a third of what D.J. Ken is ranting about, you're a better man than me.

Dad posts to the blog

2007-10-27T00:39:00.000-07:00

Well we've been here almost just over one week. The food has been excellent, it you like Indian food: all vegetarian. Prices of stuff are very cheap, and you can always do better. Deb and Dan have gotten good at negotiations. Our accommodations have been good: all had western toilets and showers. Some of the showers were better than others.

We stayed in Bundi for three nights. Very friendly city. We visited the place where Kipling wrote Kim. Its just outside the city on a small lake with lilly pads. I would like to buy it for a winter get-away. Also rent out rooms. We visited a temple where the Goldsmiths (related to the Goldbergs?) were having a three day fest. The Goldsmiths fabricate jewellery out of gold. Hmmm, maybe there is a relationship...Goldsmith, Goldstein not too far off. We stayed and watched the dancing which continued for many hours after we left. We were invited for dinner the next night. We went and everyone was interested in talking to the Americans. We were very popular.

Our next big city was Udepair. A very beautiful city on a lake. The hotels are located around one end of the lake. So we saw many Europeans (England, France and Germany), Canadians and a few Americans (USA). There is a castle on the lake and also on the mainland. We had our meals on roof tops overlooking the lake. I made our travel arrangements to the South and decided to pay with cash, since all establishments are required to charge 3% for using a credit card. I did not have enough cash, so the travel agent took me to the ATM on his motorcycle. My first motorcycle ride, ever! And I lived to tell about it.

On the way to Jodpur, we stopped about half way to vi st a magnificent temple and spend the night. I'd have to look up the spelling of the town. But I must report the funniest thing I saw or heard. We walking along a river/stream and several men were peeing into the water. Well, one gent (?) let out the biggest and longest fart. By the way, it is common for men to relieve themselves most anywhere and anytime.

Mom & Dad Arrive

2007-10-25T04:31:00.001-07:00

Yes, we're here in India, not Indiana! Our flight is worth blogging. We left Buffalo late and were not allowed on our flight to Delhi, because they closed the doors. Continental Airlines put us up at Howard Johnson's near the Newark airport. The accommodations left something to be desired.

After 16+hrs in the air we finally touched down in Delhi at 8:30pm local time. I needed to go to the bathroom, which are called toilets in India. The urinals were built for someone like Michael Jordan. I decided to try the India toilet, just a hole in the ground. Hey gravity works great.

We waited for our luggage, but it was not on the carousel. I went to the baggage questions area and asked about our bags. I was told to speak to the guy with a grey coat and a turban. Yeah, right! Sharon spotted him and we asked. He said that our bags arrived the previous day, on the flight we "missed". Now for the fun part. We had to go to one window and were told to wait for a worker to help us. He took us to the "Baggage Questions" window where we filled out the form. Then off we ran to the original window, where the guy filled out two more forms. Now our helper person had three forms in his hands. He said he could now get our bags. 15-mins later he arrived with our bags. He also got bags for another family of 5 from Mexico who had also missed the flight. Now all 7 of us went to have the bags x-rayed. One person loaded them onto the machine, one person viewed our bags and another person put them back on the cart. Almost out of there! We had to go back to the original window where all the paper work was stamped. We then had to leave the paperwork with the last guy. Out of the airport at 10:00pm.

We were supposed to have a cab pick us up, but never found anyone holding a sign for us. When we left the airport we became familiar with the sights, sounds and smells of India. There is garbage everywhere! Motor vehicles beeped all the time. And, the smell of urine and burning garbage was prominent. The air was sweet and fragrant! We bought a prepaid cab fare for 250 rupees, about $6. After a 30-min drive, we arrived at the hotel. On our trip I discovered that everyone drives without rules. Nobody stops, they just beep and go. Cows and bigger vehicles have the right of way. Yes, we did see our first cows in the streets in Delhi.

We were tired and wanted to go to sleep. The problem with our room was the noise outside. Cars and auto-rickshaws beeping & dogs barking!But we were tired so we slept anyway!

After an Indian breakfast ranging from vegetables to sweets we were off to explore Delhi. It is a constant crush of rushing humanity! We wandered through streets full of stalls selling everything from wrapping paper to clothing & the stalls went on endlessly for what seemed to be miles. We saw a huge fort called the Red Fort & a famous mosque.

Next morning we took a luxury train to Agra.The sights from the window were daunting. Village after village of people living in conditions most of us have not seen in the US.
Agra was amazing! The Taj Mahal was amazingly beautiful & our favorite sight of it was at sunrise. yes, we were there at 6:30 after hiring a guy to trek us across the river in his boat which was pushed by a pole.

Next was my only unpleasant experience thus far in India. The sleeper train to Bundi- my own personal view of Hell on Wheels! I couldn't sleep due to noise, lights, smoking & best of all the gagging stench of urine.And I had to pee so bad that I finally forced myself to go in the stinky room & use the hole in the floor! A really fun night that I will never forget!
The people in Bundi are extremely friendly, have parades & funky temples everywhere(300) & we bought some nice Art. Last night we saw a festival the Goldsmiths were having with dancing & singing & we are invited back for dinner tonight. Bernie thinks we must be related!

The saris are sooo beautiful, the food great, the sight unbelievable & we are having a great time with Deb & Dan & hopefully haven't driven them too crazy yet. More next time!
Bernie & Sharon

Taj-alicious

2007-10-25T04:31:00.000-07:00

**This entry is co-authored by Deb and Mom.

The Taj Mahal clearly deserves to be on the list of wonders of the world. The thing is freakin' spectacular.

After a hectic day in Delhi shopping the markets and sightseeing we caught a luxury train to Agra (Dan and I were trying to ease my mom and dad into India) to see the most famous mausaleum in the world.

For those of you who don't know the history of the Taj, Shah Jahan built it when his beloved wife died giving birth to their 14th child. They are both buried inside and much about the way the Taj was built is taken from the Koran to look like heaven. I loved the building enough that I asked Dan for one for my birthday -- he said when I pop out child number 14 he'll consider it. I'm already looking for my interior decorator.

The white marble is intricatly inlaid with gems. The whole thing took 21 years to build with 20,000 men working round the clock

The photo above was taken at sunrise across the river from where we were staying. To get there we hired a random dude at the side of the river who completely gauged us for a lift in his tiny boat. The whole ride took 5 minutes. Dan tried to bargain him down a bit but as the dude said "only 1 boat, only 1 boat" -- it's tough to negotiate when there is no competition.

The local people like to do crazy photos with the Taj so we had to join the fun.....here's one of Dan (tee hee)

The Parents Have Landed

2007-10-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

After a one day delay due to fog in Newark (but who doesn't love 24 hours in the loveliest part of the Garden State?!), Sharon and Frugal Bernie - a.k.a. my parents - arrived in Delhi.

They survived day one of sightseeing and Delhi markets. We're heading to Agra tomorrow to see the Taj Mahal so we'll update from there.

And stay tuned for some possible guest blogging...........

Busy, Busy, Busy

2007-10-16T09:36:00.000-07:00

Lots of you have inquired "so what exactly do you do all day?"

Well, here in Varanasi we have been super busy. Not just avoiding cow poop either...we've got a schedule.

We've been getting up every day to watch the sun rise a bit before 6am. It's the best time of day to wander around, watch all the crazy stuff happening on the river and drink chai. This morning we took a boat ride and saw both a cow and pig carcass. (gross) There is also great light here, beautiful old buildings, tons of cool colors, sights and sounds. There are temples everywhere and people doing pujas (prayers and offerings) with flowers, fire and tons of music. Hindus believe that if you die in Varanasi you won't be reborn again, so lots of people come here to die and be liberated from reincarnation.

Here's the kind of cool stuff you see on the river....fascinating. Note...he's wearing a little man thong, so you don't have to shield your eyes.

At 9am we had our first cooking class of the day. Dan and I have been taking cooking classes from 2 different women here in their homes. Now, I'm not saying that I'm now a fabulous chef or anything, but we're having fun. So far, we've learned to make samosas, palak paneer, alu gobi, alu subsie, vegetable curry, parathas, rice pudding and several chutneys.

Here is the lunch we made today -- pretty good huh?!?!??!

Noon- 3pm -- Cooking class number 2.

4pm- 6pm -- On a far too full stomach, roll into our yoga class. We found this hilarious teacher here named Sunil Kumar and we've been taking private lessons. The dude is on crack. He's into laughing yoga. I mean look at him...he's nuts!

Yesterday, there was a mosquito biting me during class. I was trying to kill it while holding my yoga pose. Sunil came over to help and said:

"Some Buddists believe that it is wrong to kill any living creature. I don't. Plus, if it is killed here in Varanasi it will be liberated from the cycle of life." Followed by hysterical laughter.

7pm - Random astrological reading done by a guy named Guru-ji. Not much on the mark.
He said:

I have stomach problems -- nope
I'm a writer -- nope
10 years ago I had a major problem -- nope
When I'm 38 years old I'll be really fast -- cool

Dan was going to get a reading too. After hearing mine, he faked a stomach illness and we left.

We leave tomorrow evening on the train to Delhi to meet up with my mom and dad -- so stay tuned for tales of Sharon and Frugal Bernie in India!

Varanasi

2007-10-14T01:12:00.000-07:00

First off, I just posted some photos and comments from Mamallapuram -- they're dated 10/3/07 and you'll find them below the post about Mukti. (Sorry, I'm having some blogger technical difficulties today.)

We're in Varanasi. Here's a photo of sunrise over the Ganges:

We arrived here after a 6-hour jeep ride and a 19-hour train ride out of the Himalayas. We're now back in "real" India (after spending about 2 weeks in a place that was a fascinating mix of Nepal and Tibet).

Anyway, here are some new experiences we've had here in Varanasi. This is from today alone, and it's only 1:30 p.m.:

A dog urinated on Dan's leg.

We watched a public cremation.

As the fire from a previous cremation was being extinguished nearby, ashes flew all over us. Meaning that we were covered with a dead person's ashes.

We learned to cook stuffed paratha (a pan-cooked bread stuffed with potatoes) and a kind of fried dough filled with potatoes.

We watched an old sadhu (a holy man who wanders around in orange robes) defecating on the sidewalk.

Varanasi is really great, but incredibly filthy. I mean really, really, really dirty. You know I have low standards for cleanliness, but this place is nasty. All manner of cow, goat, monkey, dog, and human excrement lines the streets (along with all kinds of garbage).

Then there's the Ganges. It's so heavily polluted that the water is septic. This if from our guidebook: "Samples from the river show the water has 1.5 million fecal coliform bacteria per 100 ml of water. In water that is safe for bathing this figure should be less than 500." We're not even talking about drinking here -- we're just talking about water that's safe to dip your toe in.

The river is holy, though, so people are diving right in, splashing around, dunking themselves under, and, yes, drinking it.

We, on the other hand, are glad to have brought along our wide array of antibacterial products.

Mukti Rules!

2007-10-09T00:24:00.000-07:00

Sorry for being out of touch for a few days, but after searching for a week, we've finally found a place with both internet access and electricity at the same time. Unfortunately, the computer we're using was built in 1845, so I apologize if this post doesn't have all the fancy web links and photos that you, our loyal readers, have come to expect.

We're in Sikkim -- http://encarta.msn.com/map_701516543/Sikkim.html -- a tiny nubbin of India wedged between Nepal, China (Tibet), and Bhutan. We're in the Himalayas, and we look out every morning to the third-highest mountain in the world (a mere 800 feet shy of Everest).

We came here from the south -- we flew from Chennai to Kolkatta (Calcutta), then on to Bagdogra, followed by a 3-hour jeep ride to the town of Darjeeling (land o' tea). Oh, and the 3-hour jeep ride? It was a total of about 50 miles. For those of you on O'ahu, it was just like the road up Tantalus (winding, steep, and with uncleared landslides). But only one lane. For three hours.

Darjeeling was a wonderful change from the south, since in Darjeeling it's very cool (highs of around 75 degrees, lows around 50). Our first stop? "The Buzz," a restaurant/bar where we saw the legendary rock band "Mukti" from Gangtok. They opened with "Take it Easy" by The Eagles and closed with -- wait for it -- "Sweet Child Of Mine" by GnR. Best cover band in the Himalayas -- ever.

After four days of relishing in the cool mountain air and drinking tea by the gallon, we traveled another 6 hours by jeep (down the mountain, up the mountain, down the mountain, up the mountain) to Pelling, Sikkim. We had to get a special permit to come up here, and we had to promise not to try to sneak into China or Nepal. You can get millet beer in a wooden barrel (tastes like sake) and whiskey in a bottle shaped like a dagger.

After a few days of lounging around our fancy hotel ($10/night), ordering room service and watching cable TV (too bad we missed the ending of "John Tucker Must Die"), we headed north with two other Mukti fans (these German girls we met at the concert in Darjeeling a few days before). The first day we hiked for almost 8 hours to a small town by a lake, and the second day we hiked another 6 hours to a small town by another lake. Each hike involved several hours of steep downhill followed by several hours back up. We've met a bunch of people doing 9-day hikes up to 5,000 meters -- we've made it through 2 days and we want to cut off our legs. Tomorrow, we may return to Pelling -- depends on whether the landslide over the road has been cleared -- since all of our clean clothes are there. Or we may continue to sit around here and smell like yaks.

But there is a reason for us to move on: Mukti. They're from Gangtok, about 90 km from here. We wanted to know when they might be playing, and we were trying to figure out how to get this information. At our hotel last night there was a guy from Gangtok who was getting ready to lead a group of Israelis on a 4-day trek. We said, "Hey, have you ever heard of a band called Mukti?" And of course, he said, "Yes, my friend is the guitarist." He called his friend -- apparently, they'll play whenever they have an audience. So Deb, the Germans, and I are planning to go to Gangtok in a day or two (just as soon as we get our t-shirts -- saying "Mukti 4ever" -- finished).

We'll post our beautiful photos soon. In the meantime, for anyone who cares, our cell phone number is as follows (sorry, meant to post this ages ago): 00919846947753.

Carvings and Culture

2007-10-03T05:48:00.000-07:00

Continuing with our catch up from the South. Here are a few shots from Mamallapuram. This town has crazy stone carvings. There are whole temples carved out of one rock. It's also where Dan got scratched by the monkey (a tiny scratch that is totally healed I might add).

This is a "Shiva Lingum" (a representation of the god Shiva's penis).

Some carvings:

A full-scale carving of an elephant (carved out of one rock):

This is me pushing "Krishna's Butter Ball" up the hill. I've been working out a lot on this trip. Also, please note my tres cool lime green pants.

I also want to add a few interesting Indian cultural phenomenon that we've noticed.

1) Hangin' out with whitey

For some odd reason, Indian tourists like to take our picture. Most of the time they want to be in the photo with us. Now these are not people that we have gotten to know in some way....just random tourists who come up and say "photo please." One theory is that they get to go home and say to their friends "look how cool it was where we were! there were even white people." But we've also been told that Indians like to talk to foreigners to prove that they're able to speak English well.

That doesn't mean, however, that it's not really weird for us. This girl was so excited about having her picture taken with me that, immediately before Dan snapped the photo, she kissed me on the cheek (that's why I'm laughing so hard).

This dude ... shit if I know.

2) Man Love

Here in India, it is completely taboo for men and women to touch in public. No holding hands and definitely no PDA. And I have to admit, I'm clearly used to the American male culture of homophobia -- the empty seat between men at the movies, confusing urinal ettiquette and clearly, CLEARLY, no touching aside from a hearty handshake or perhaps a slap on the back.

Indian men....they are all over one another! Walking hand in hand, with arms draped around one another, frolicking in the sea, laying and sitting in each other's laps -- it's some serious man-on-man action.

Homosexuality, however, is illegal.

3) Spitting, urinating, and snot rockets.

It's considered very rude here to blow your nose into a handkerchief. Launching all manner of mucus out your nose onto the ground, however, is perfectly appropriate, as is any kind of hacking, spitting, and ground-shaking throat cleansing needed to loosen up your phlegm.

Public urination (for men only) is also totally appropriate. Anywhere. At any time.

Here in Varanasi, male public defecation is also totally legit.

Full Moon Walk

2007-10-03T05:43:00.000-07:00

Dan and I have now left South India, but I want to finish up a few hanging blog posts. I thought I'd fill you in on our "Full Moon Temple Walk" even though it was more than a week ago (sorry, we've been too busy having fun to blog).

So....a few hours from Aruroville is a mountain, where legend has it, Shiva appeared as fire (or something like that.) Each month, on the full moon, thousands of Hindu pilgrams show up from all over the place to walk 14k around the mountain and do pujas (offerings) at tons of tiny temples along the way. Most of the temples have Shiva Lingams...basically translated as "Shiva's Penis." You can picture the whole phalic nature of things. Each temple has huge fires burning in front.

The walk was fabulous! We did it in about 5 and a half hours and Dan and I were the only people wearing shoes. It was like a huge parade with music, fried food, weird and wonderful swamis and fortune tellers.

Here's a few of the swamis. These three were playing music and singing Hare Krishna mantras.

It's kind of dark, but you can see the number of people and one of the fires. Note, that I'm the only white person around.

This was one of many "Robot Fortune Teller" machines....Sadly, we couldn't find one in English.
Here's another weird swami. He was my favorite...he'd hold people's hands, chant and his eyes would rolll back in his head.

Towards the end of the walk, people were literally laying on the street taking naps. At the full moon in December they take a 100 foot wick, soak it in butter, hang it at the top of the mountain and light the thing on fire....we're thinking of going back just to see that! I met a guy who travels about 4 hours (each way) by bus every month to do the walk....crazy!

In case you weren't already jealous....

2007-09-29T00:25:00.000-07:00

Have we written yet about the food in southern India?

Well, as Joy Kobayashi would say: Delicious.

Most "Indian food" we eat in the U.S. is northern Indian food (things like Aloo Palak, naan bread, samosas, etc.). I'm a big fan, and I look forward to chowing down when we head up north.
(I should pause to note that I'm generally wrong about most things, so I fully anticipate that I have irked someone out there by referring to naan as northern Indian food, or by saying that most Indian joints in the U.S. serve northern Indian food. In case I haven't done this already on this blog, I am hereby issuing a generic apology and mea culpa for virtually everything espoused on this site. But since I'm on vacation, I'll leave it to y'all to Wikipedia it yourself if you don't like my sweeping pronouncements.)

Okay, so southern India food. Delicious. Usually we eat "set meals" for lunch consisting of rice and several different kinds of curries, yogurts, and other culinary concoctions. They're all-you-can-eat. They're most often vegetarian (and I love the fact that they refer to things as "veg" and "non-veg," like vegetarianism is the standard and a meat-based diet is deviant).

Here is one version:

Version 2 served on a banana leaf

They're also super-cheap. Yesterday, Deb and I had an absolutely incredible all-we-could-eat lunch for 55 cents each. Throw in a Pepsi each and the whole meal for both of us was $1.70.

Then there are dosas -- the standard version, eaten for breakfast (or dinner), is a pancake-like thing made out of lentil flour, filled with mashed potatoes and onions (and some other veggies) and served with a few side sauces (like coconut chutney and a spicy tomato sauce). You might not think that mashed potatoes inside a fried pancake sounds tasty for breakfast, but you'd be wrong. They're incredible.

Then there are the sweets:

The only thing really lacking is good ice cream (we can only get it in the big cities). That, and the fact that "milkshake" means "milk with flavoring."

Unfortunately, we're leaving the south tomorrow morning, flying way up north to Darjeeling (land of tea and British toy trains). Ta-ta!

Stop touching me, monkey!

2007-09-28T06:20:00.000-07:00

Yes, you read that right. I did not say "Stop touching my monkey!" Instead, I said "Stop touching me, monkey!"

Why? Because I was attacked by a monkey. Yes, attacked. Viciously assaulted. Violently violated. Traumatically terrorized.

In other words, it scratched me.

(A brief interlude for those of you -- namely, my dear Mother -- who won't be able to read the rest of this post without knowing the following immediately: yes, I went to the doctor, and no, I don't have rabies, and yes, I'll live.)

We're in Mamallapuram, a town renowned for its stone carvings and ancient temples. We were visiting the Siva Temple, perched high on a hilltop with just a small walkway between the stone temple walls and the fence preventing us tourists from plummeting to the rocks below. All around the temple are rhesus monkeys (or something similar), who seem relatively unconcerned with all the tourists. So far, so good.

Two of the monkeys decided they wanted the sugary drink in the possession of a small Indian child nearby. They climbed up the rocks and came towards us all, blocking the stairs down and coming much closer than we would like. If you look at the photo in the link above, you'll see that there's not a lot of room to maneuver. We tried to get to the stairs, but then one of the monkeys jumped up on the fence railing right next to me.

Deborah, unconcerned about the welfare of the small child, climbed through the fence and on to the rocks below. I, of course, was far more brave (and by "brave," I mean "too slow to think to crawl through the fence"). I ducked and tried not to wet myself.

The monkey seemed upset that I was blocking its way to sugary bliss, and it scratched me on the back of my neck.

In case you're wondering, monkeys have sharp claws.

(Another pause for those who may be concerned with my well-being: I had two very superficial scratches. It's not like I was getting lightheaded from the blood loss.)

In the meantime, the child's father gave the monkey the orange soda, and we all ran down the stairs. I wiped my bleeding neck with an antibacterial cloth while the other tourists said, "injection, injection!" So, naturally, the next thing we did was to go and visit some of the other temple sights. And then go to a travel agent to book some plane tickets. And then to the ATM. And then to get some candy.

I was debating whether to go to the clinic. Would you have gone? I mean, do you really want to get a shot from some clinic in a small town in India? It's not like the monkey bit me or anything ('cause then I would've gone a little more quickly -- I probably would've skipped the travel agent and gone to the clinic right after the candy store). Plus going to the clinic would probably take, oh, four hours, and I really had other things I wanted to do today (like eating lunch. And dinner. And more candy).

Anyway, the clinic was nearby, so we decided to pop in. I was immediately told that I needed an injection. I asked what the injection was for, and was immediately taken in to see the doctor (since the first woman's English wasn't so great). The doctor asked if my Tetanus shots were up to date (they are), and then said that I didn't need anything. She said they give a rabies shot if you get a bite, but for a scratch, it's just a Tetanus booster. Then the nurse scrubbed down my neck with alcohol (ow!), and we were sent on our way. Total time: 3 minutes. And it was free. And, after such a traumatizing experience, I declared that I was entitled to all the candy and ice cream I wanted. I got a Cadbury bar, and Indian sweets, and an ice cream bar. Though I do have a hankering for a banana and some grubs....

French masseurs, snakes, and Napoleon Dynamite

2007-09-25T01:44:00.000-07:00

Sorry our blog posts have been a bit Deb-centric as of late, but I now have a little time to blog a bit (and this will be a G-rated post revolving around something other than excrement, I promise). This post is a bit longer than normal, though, so if you bill by the hour, make sure you're doing some "work" for a client with deep pockets for the next few minutes.

Why do I have some free time, do you ask? Well, it's because Deb is currently getting a "free" massage from some young French man we met yesterday.

Now some of you may think, "Dan, shouldn't you be concerned that some French dude is giving Deb a rub-down (and, let's face it, Deb probably isn't wearing much clothing) while you're off checking your e-mail?"

My answer, of course, is "no." He may be a professional masseur, plus he's French (and we all know how much Deb loves a good brie), but I have lavender pants. Take that, Frenchie!

Okay, moving on.

We're leaving tomorrow morning for Thiruvannamalai, where there are a whole bunch of temples and where, every full moon (that's tomorrow), thousands of pilgrims come and walk a 14-km loop around this mountain. And there are people selling tasty treats. So I'm told. Sorry if I'm a little fuzzy on the details -- after we go, I'll let you know how things turn out.

In the meantime, we're still hanging out in Auroville. One curious reader has asked why Deb and I seem to be spending a lot of time in Ashrams, intentional communities, and other cult-like places. The reason is simple: we get to see a whole lotta crazies. I mean, stuff you couldn't make up. Like this:

Last Friday was "International Peace Day." Lucky for us, we arrived in Auroville just in time. Friday evening, as Deb was busy soiling herself (whoops -- sorry, won't mention it again!), I left her and went to the Peace Day party down the road. (Don't look at me like that - she was sick, and therefore no fun to be around, and there was a party -- what was I supposed to do?)

Actually, I hadn't meant to go to the party at all. I had some work I wanted to do on the computer, so I left my hotel, got to the main road, and turned toward the computer center. A Dutch couple and their grown son started following me, assuming I was going to the party. I told them it was in the other direction, and they turned and walked away.

This was around 8:00 p.m. We're in a pretty rural area, so not many lights (and not much traffic). Dirt roads, lots of trees. Got a good mental image? It's dark. No people around. Quiet, except for the bugs and the bats. Okay, bats don't make much noise, but they're still creepy. It's dark and creepy.

The Dutch people walk away. I walk about 30 yards when I see something on the road in front of me. I shine my flashlight on it. It's a snake. A big snake. About 3 feet long (and though I am prone to exaggeration from time to time, I promise you that there is no herpetological hyperbole at work here).

I stop and stare for a minute. Then I realize that the snake doesn't seem to care that I'm near it. In other words, it's not picking up the pace -- it's just crossing the road at its own leisurely pace. That can't be good.

Naturally, I turn around and run in the other direction.

(A temporal interruption -- the following day, I saw a book in the Visitors' Center entitled "Common Snakes of Auroville." I am not certain, but I am fairly sure that I saw the Common Krait. "Common Snakes of Auroville" notes that the Common Krait is "six to eight times as poisonous as the Common Cobra." Fantastic.)

I catch up with the Dutch folks, and we proceed to the party. The main event at the party is a musical performance by Jivan (this guy from Kauai), along with some other guy, playing some mellow peace-themed songs on acoustic guitar. But that's not the truly entertaining part.

For the show, the performers had set up a big white screen along a wall, and there was a projector casting abstract images up on the screen (just colors and lines and stars and things like that -- just background images). A woman, covered in a sheet, stood between the projector and the screen. This meant that the woman's shadow was cast up onto the screen. For several songs, the woman just swayed back and forth.

So you've got a few hundred people in the audience, listening to two dudes playing acoustic guitar and signing peace-themed songs, fronted by a woman wearing a sheet swaying back and forth.

But it gets better.

During "Let it Be," a spotlight shines into the audience. A man stands up. The man begins to hand out plumeria flowers to audience members.

The man is wearing nothing but a pair of powder-blue tights. Plus body paint -- a whole bunch of colored lines running from his head to his waist. And he's got blue glitter on his shaved head. His scalp shimmers in the spotlight. He's thin, really built, but his skin is all leathery. Imagine a Slim-Jim training for a triathlon. A free-range goat turned pro surfer. A skinny, sinewy Schwarzenegger.

Blue-headed, wearing only powder-blue tights and body paint, the guy empties his flower basket and makes his way on stage. He and swaying-lady then start dancing. Free form dance. They probably didn't rehearse on their own. They certainly didn't rehearse together. But then again, why bother? That's why they call it "free-form dance" -- there are no steps to learn, no need to be embarrassed by making a wrong move. Man and woman dance. Sometimes they use candles to help spread their message of peace and love. Sometimes they use various pieces of fabric as they twirl.

I really, really, really wish I'd brought the camera.

After a while, I sat down to chat with the Dutch folks. They asked how I liked the performance. I said it was "very interesting." They agreed. I then said, "It makes me happy, though, to think that Auroville is the kind of place where people feel safe and comfortable enough to do ... whatever it was that they're doing."

Amazingly enough, this was not the most entertaining dance performance Deb and I have seen in India. Not by a long shot. And again, we had the misfortune of leaving our camera in our room, so you'll have to trust my description of the event.

Our last night at the Sivananda Ashram (the first Ashram we went to -- the place we did yoga for a week and a half), there was a talent show. And my, what talent! A few people read poems they'd written, a few more sang some songs (one girl sang in Polish), and a group of people did the Hokey Pokey.

But then, up stepped Praveen.

Praveen is from India, and he's like Gumbi on meth. He's very flexible and bendy, but crazy. He's got this electricity in his eyes, but you're always afraid he's going to fall down a flight of stairs. He's like that.

Praveen puts his cell phone next to a microphone and mutters something about the song being called "Something Something." The song starts to play on the cell phone, but it's not too loud and the quality's pretty bad (because, as I said, he'd miked his cell phone).

Have you ever seen the movie "Napoleon Dynamite"? It's exactly like that.

He jumps, he slides, he grooves. Waves of rhythm cascade down his rubbery exterior. He throws in a yoga pose here and there for good measure. He almost runs into the Swami (the guy who runs the ashram). He plows into a microphone stand. He makes himself so dizzy that he nearly falls over.

He's fantastic.

I mean, Deb and I think he's fantastic. We can't stop laughing. The other dozen or so audience members don't know what to think at all. But I'm transfixed, thinking only that I wish I had a videocamera.

Afterwards, one of the audience members said to me, "Well, I guess that's the kind of performance you get when you have no inhibitions whatsoever."

It was, with all sincerity, one of the best things I've seen on this trip. And that, my friends, is why Deb and I seek out these nutjobs.

Gotta run -- we have a meditation appointment at the big gold ball.

102 degrees by a big gold golf ball.

2007-09-24T07:44:00.000-07:00

WARNING! There are many details of a disgusting personal nature in this blog post. You should clearly stop reading now.

On Thursday afternoon, I felt a cold coming on. No big deal--I bought some orange juice and decided to flush out the sinuses with my new netti pot. Dan and I had a fabulous French/Indian dinner and I went to bed early. On Friday morning, I was feeling better enough that we decided to head the few miles to Auroville where we planned to spend a few days. Auroville is this unusual intentional community....but I'll get to that soon.

By the time we got to Auroville, I was feeling miserable....
In hindsight, I think the big mistake was that I'd used regular old tap water in the netti pot, not filtered. I mean who knew all those systems were connected? (please now all sing 'the knee bone's connected to the thigh bone' la la la)

So, now on top of the head cold and menstrual cramps I'd started the day with, I also had explosive diarrhea and a temperature that spiked at 102 degrees. (thanks Nancy Fleming for the suggestion to bring the thermometer.) At which point I started taking the heavy duty antibiotics.

Dan and I have both skillfully picked times on this trip to get sick when we were staying at places with bathrooms relatively far from our room. I should give snaps to Dan since in Kenya, he not only had a long walk to the bathroom, but it was a long drop outhouse.

Check out how cute the place we are staying is however...
We are staying on the second floor. You can't see it in the picture, but you have to go up some spiral stairs and then in a trap door in the floor.

The guesthouse buildings are all centered around this beautiful banyan tree.

OK. So, the trap door, the spiral stairs, needing to find shoes and a flashlight to go outside, a walk to the toilet where there might be snakes. Needless to say, I pooped my pants. Twice. And Dan is making me tell you this. Plus I have no shame and think it's funny.

Thankfully, the place we are staying also has free laundry.

Antibiotics are a miracle and I'm feeling back to perfect health.

We'll blog more about Auroville soon. To whet your appitites -- It's got this huge gold thing in the center with a white meditation chamber inside, with an enourmous crystal that they beam sunlight onto. You just can't make up stuff that good.

And people REALLY like the gold ball...

A bonus picture of Dan a few minutes ago since I feel that we should both suffer public humiliation on the same day (misery loves company right) I highlight this photo to show you, our dear readers that he has devolved to wearing pyjamas pretty much all the time. In public. Please also note that these particular pants are lavender. Pretty, huh?

The Mother....

2007-09-20T01:15:00.000-07:00

So first a few pictures from the last few days.

This was the view of rice fields on our marathon train trip a couple days ago.
Here's a few shots from the parade to go and wash Ganesha....At first I thought it was a military coup...then I noticed the Karaoke machine :-)

We are staying at our 3rd ashram now. For some background, an ashram is a place that centers around some sort of guru (maybe alive, maybe dead) and all the people who come to study that person's teachings. Some are more religious than others. All have loads of character and even more "characters." Plus the guest houses are cheap and clean. They generally have a bunch of rules you have to follow (i.e. no drugs or alcohol and certain hours of quiet.)

Here in Pondicherry we are staying at the Sri Aurobindo Ashram. Aurobindo (dead for a long time) taught and wrote about the blend of yoga and science. When he died, his philosophy was taken over by "The Mother" a French woman who has now also been dead for over 30 years.
Here's the view from the lanai off our room.

Each room features the lovely decor of a photo of Aurobindo and "The Mother." I think their eyes follow me as I move around the room...

Houseboat photos and luxury massage

2007-09-19T00:46:00.000-07:00

Now that I have comfortably gecko free pants on, I can upload a few photos.

This is an Indian taxi. From what century you might ask?

Here's a few photos of what we floated by on our houseboat trip

Dan was concerned that you might think that we
are getting spoiled here in the lap of luxury. With free cruises and
massages and all Just in case...this is the room he got massaged in.

No soft lighting, new age music or aromatherapy here. The Kerela Ayurvedic massage involves a copious amount of oil with herbs in it (they literally pour it on you.)
The
women aren't even given a sheet (Dan got a little paper loin cloth.) I
gotta tell you, in general, I'm quite comfortable being naked, but
sitting completely nude on a plastic stool and having a large Indian
woman rub oil all over your breasts is a bit disconcerting even for me.

Bus trips and things in Deb's pants

2007-09-18T07:55:00.000-07:00

Deb and I made it to Pondicherry (which, as of last October, is now called "Puducherry") after a 16.5 hour train ride, 1 hour bus journey, and 10-minute rickshaw ride. The best part was waiting for the bus, when we got to see a parade for Ganesh's birthday. Will post a photo tomorrow.

The bus trip was ... great. We were on a huge luxury bus, with about 120 other people. It was PACKED. (The fact that I stank after our long train journey did not, however, persuade my fellow passengers to give me a little more breathing room.)

Since the bus was big, the bus had the right of way on the road. Which meant that the driver leaned on the horn the whole time, overtook other, slower-moving vehicles at will (regardless of whether there was something coming the other way), and drove at speeds appropriate for an empty stretch of the I-90 (not a winding, narrow, road filled with bicyclists, motorcycles, pedestrians, rickshaws, cars, trucks, tractors, oxen, and more). We didn't die (though I did have visions of being catapulted out the front window, since I was standing near the front), but I am a little deaf from the horn-blowing.

***

As I'm sitting here typing (and Deb's next to me), Deb keeps saying, "I think there's a bug in my pants. It feels like there's an ant or something." At which point she rolls down her pants slightly from the waist and sees something. We're sitting in a coffee shop surrounded by other tourists, and she's pulling down her pants. She keeps rolling. The "ant or something" turns out to be a 3-inch long gecko, which jumps out of her pants and onto the floor. Deb, naturally, screams and knocks over her chair. I start laughing. The poor gecko runs away.

A tragedy of epic proportions

2007-09-15T04:32:00.000-07:00

Perhaps my mother was right: perhaps my Tanzanian assailant should have kept my iPod. Perhaps I have bad luck. Or perhaps I shouldn't have been using my iPod while washing my clothes by hand. Regardless, my iPod is now toast. Such a cruel twist of fate.

Oh well. Either I'll get it fixed at home (restoring the iPod through iTunes didn't work, for those of you who will immediately jump in with a proposed solution), or I'll have an excuse to upgrade to a new one (hmmm, what color Nano should I buy? Or should I get a shuffle? Good thing we have a 15 hour train ride tomorrow, so I'll have time to think about it...).

Our first step toward Bollywood stardom!

2007-09-14T22:35:00.000-07:00

First the long awaited answer to the poll.

The only t-shirt we haven't seen is "I heart ass." I'm still losing sleep over the memory of the old woman wearing the "I'd rather be masturbating" shirt in Kenya. The one about bird flu, I found quite hysterical, and I think the guy wearing it actually understood English :-)

Dan and I left Amma's Ashram after they yelled at him for slicing onions too thickly. Literally. For a volunteer job. When she said "If you couldn't slice them 'thin' you should have let me know and I would have found someone else to do it." Dan's response was "we're out of this loony bin."

I must say, we met tons of interesting people at the Ashram. For example:

1) The couple in their later 50s from Seattle who recently put their house on the market, picked up and moved to the Ashram sight unseen (they had never even been to India before.) They'd been there are few days and were having second doubts due to the humidity and chaos.

2) The french woman who'd lived at the Ashram for several years who explained that sometimes if you sit on the stage with Amma, you can actually kiss her feet! This was supposed to make everyone gasp with glee.

3) The woman from New Mexico who traveled 72 hours to get to the Ashram, was so tired and hungry that she was literally weeping on Dan's shoulder, but decided that no, before going to sleep or having food, she was going to wait in line to see Amma. P.S. The next day we saw her about 5pm (she'd been asleep for about 17 hours). Dan started telling her where to get dinner and she said "isn't it early in the morning?"

Needless to say, we are now in the beautiful town of Alleppey. The heart of the backwaters.

Yesterday, we went to the tourist information office to get some info about hiring a houseboat. It's the thing to do here, but it aint cheap. One day is a minimum of $100 for 2 people. That might not sound like a lot, but at the crazy ashram all food and lodging was abut $10/day.

As we were discussing options, a guy came in and said "do you want to go on a houseboat for free?" Free?!?!?!?! Our frugal ears perked up. Of course we were interested! But what was the catch? Well.....they had a brand new luxury house boat and needed some white people to be in the photos for the brochure and website......finally being white and fabulously good looking has paid off!!!!

So we cruised around for about 7 hours, posing in the various rooms, gazing serenly at the fishermen and the birds with a 5 person camera crew snapping away, pretending to eat and watch the flat screen tv. Actually eating food made by the top chef they have. The boat we were on is going to rent for about $400/night in the high season...that's about double the price of the Hilton in Delhi. It was an odd and fabulous experience. Dan and I are planning to enter the next round of America's Top Model.

The owner of the boat is supposed to send us a few of the professional shots and we'll post them ASAP.

Photos

2007-09-12T23:43:00.001-07:00

Okay, here goes. For any of you Jewtown doubters:

This is home of the Paradesi Synagogue, a 450-year-old synagogue with incredible lamps and tiles (each one of the several thousand floor tiles is hand-painted and unique). We couldn't take pictures inside, so click on the link above to see more.

Here is a photo from the Sivananda Ashram (the first Ashram we visited, where we did yoga until we fell apart) -- there's a photo of the late Swami Sivananda behind the Krishna statue:

Here are the few intrepid souls who made it to the top of the mountain on our leisurely day off (still doing yoga -- notice I'm the one taking the photo, refusing to stretch any more):

Here's a photo of our "driver" from our canoe trip in the backwaters of Kerala a few days ago. Shortly after I took this photo, he got clocked by a tree and fell in the water.

Here's Amma's Ashram, where we're staying now. It's a pretty industrial place -- thousands of people -- though Deb and I did manage to get a hug each from Amma yesterday afternoon (man, she is one happy lady!). She started at around 11:00 in the morning, and we got our hug around 8:00 p.m. I don't think she ever got up to go to the bathroom or eat or anything, and she was still smiling -- and gave us a very vigorous hug -- when we got to see her.

Publish Post

We have decided, however, that we are not going to sell everything we own and devote our lives to Amma (as many other westerners here have done). In other words, don't worry Moms and Dads, we're not drinking the Kool-Aid. We're leaving today, as soon as our laundry is dry. Will post more soon.

Jewtown and Ashram, parts 1 and 2

2007-09-11T23:42:00.000-07:00

Okay folks, sorry for the long delay between blog posts, but we've found that those seeking spiritual enlightenment don't necessarily place great emphasis on high-speed internet access. We were at the Sivananda Ashram for 9 days before we collapsed from exhaustion (wake up at 5:20, 4-5 hours of yoga a day, 3 hours of meditation/chanting, and an hour of manual labor. Yowzaa. Oh, and on our day off we hiked up a mountain. Not kidding). The Sivananda Ashram was pretty great, though -- food was fantastic (all organic, vegetarian, Ayurvedic, all-you-can-eat), our fellow ashramites were really nice, and the yoga classes were challenging (there were several yoga instructors from other countries who were staying at the Ashram, and even they were taking the beginner classes).

Prior to coming to the Ashram, we visited Cochin (on the ocean, in the far southwest). Cochin wasn't anything special, except for Jewtown. Happy Rosh Hashanah!

In case you think we're making this up -- we'll post a photo tomorrow (internet is about to close).

In Kenya and Tanzania, whenever we registered at a hotel, we had to write down our names, addresses, occupations, and "tribes." We got much enjoyment out of making up our occupations, which was always some variant on something we'd done that day (if we'd taken a boat, we wrote down "captain" or "pirate." One day, Deb was a professional swimmer, and on another, an actress). But we consistently listed our tribe as "Jew," so we were excited to see a place that is actually called "Jewtown."

Ashram, Part 2:

We decided that we needed more spiritual guidance, so, after spending two days relaxing in Kollam (underneath a rather interesting statue), we arrived at Amma's Ashram. This place is fabulous. Thousands of people, literally worshiping Amma ("Mother") -- one of India's few female gurus (people believe she's a saint and frequently burst into tears when near her). I have never seen so many men with Jesus hair (you know, long hair, long beard) and so many people wearing white billowy outfits. In theory, photography is prohibited here, but I'll do my best to take some surreptitious shots for y'all. You won't believe it until you see it.

More to come....

Om Shanti

2007-09-05T00:13:00.000-07:00

Om shanti, shanti, shanti

We've been at the Sivananda Ashram in Kerala for several days now... long enough to not really remember what day of the week it is.

We are both in an odd state of relaxation combined with extreme fatigue. There are fabulously few decisions to make here, and it's quiet and beautiful. The big decision today -- to swim in the gorgeous lake since there may be crocodiles or simply take a nap....There is an exacting routine we follow each day beginning at 5:20 am and going until about 10pm. This includes two sessions of yoga each 2 (or 2 1/2) hours long, several meditation sessions, chanting and meals we eat in silence. Right now Dan is off getting an Ayurvedic massage (don't feel too bad for poor me...I'm getting one tomorrow).

There is a line for the one computer, so I'll update you more in a few days.

Namaste

On the lam with Tibetian Buddhist monks

2007-08-28T04:18:00.000-07:00

We decided to spend a few days at a Tibetan Buddhist Monastery a couple hours from Mysore because it sounded cool in our travel book.

The place is called Bylekuppe and it is currently home to over 5000 monks.

We came to see the Golden Temple (an incredibly beautiful building with three enormous golden Buddhas). Here's a shot of one:

When we got here late last night, though, we learned that foreigners need a special permit to come here (hmmmmm interesting...) and that any foreigner found without a permit faces five years in jail and a large fine (never been to an Indian jail before...). The locals told us that the cops purposely hang out around the temple to bust foreigners.

Dan and I actually had a conversation that went something like this:

So, if a cop finds us, how much do you think is an appropriate bribe? Five dollars? Ten? Do you think they would let us make a stop at an ATM?
If we did get sent to jail who could we call with connections? (you'll have to guess if you made the list)

I convinced Dan to stay since I think the likelihood of jail time for Americans visiting a monastery is slim....it would just be bad PR. I mean, it's not like we're smuggling crack...we're hanging with holy men.

Last night we watched monks "debate." I know several of you reading are Tibetan Buddhists, so perhaps you can explain what was going on to the rest of us. There were about a thousand robed monks in the courtyard of the temple in pairs. In each pair the "debater" yelled, stamped his feet and clapped his hands at the other guy. The whole thing was fascinatingly bizarre. And then all at once, they all stopped and lined up to eat.

Here's a monk in an awesome hat!

We're leaving tomorrow, and we're keeping a low profile until then. The people here have been very nice at advising us when it's safe to go out and when we should just hang out at the Monastery.

So while we are avoiding the "po-po", here are some more pictures from Mysore:

Flowers for sale at the market

The colored dyes

Dirty Clothes and Palaces

2007-08-26T05:58:00.000-07:00

We've hightailed it out of the big city of Mumbai and are now spending a few days in Mysore.

One of the cool things we did in Mumbai was check out the "Dhobi Wallahs" which are the dudes who wash ridiculous amounts of clothing for pennies (ok rupees). There are hundreds of men washing clothes at these concrete vats.

They beat the sh*t out of the clothes on concrete slabs, pour bleach on things and dip the whites in lovely blue chemicals. We are still amazed, that both here and in Africa, there are hundreds of jobs that have been eliminated in the West by the use of machines like, oh a traffic light, washing machine, lawn mower (in Africa, a common job is hacking grass with a machete).

Mysore is a pretty cool town. Today we went to Mysore Palace which was spectacular. Plus...note my cool new Indian outfit in the picture (I'm trying to blend....hahahahahahahah)

The food here is great, we've been gorging on thalis, dosas and chai. Dan has discovered "barfi" a milk and sugar sweet that he's eating by the pound. We are staying at a hotel that costs a grand total of $6 a night -- I think it's a step above the now infamous "19 bars of soap" hotel that my brother Mike and his girlfriend Jackie stayed at a few weeks ago in Central America (If you haven't checked out their blog about the bike trip there is a link on the right).

The other big news is that my parents have decided that since 2 out of 3 kids are out of the country, that they should join the fun. They just booked a flight to India to join us for a while at the end of October.

Finally, I know that many of you have been to India before. Please post comments with your favorite places, hotels etc. We love travel advice.

P.S. Dan and I have both now finished reading Harry Potter... so let the on-line discussion begin. Will there be another book? Are all the people who are dead, really dead? Who would name a child Hugo?

Keep on Scrollin'

2007-08-21T08:16:00.000-07:00

I started a post in Africa and finished posting pictures from a much quicker internet connection here in India. My blogging skills are limited, so I can't figure out how to move it to the top.

Scroll down if you want to read it. The title is "Round and Round the Merry-Go Round."

Mumbai (Bombay)

2007-08-21T07:12:00.000-07:00

Mumbai is not at all like we expected. We thought we would be crushed by people, that it would be unbearably hot and humid, and that it would be dirty and hectic. It's actually pretty relaxed, the heat/humidity isn't that bad, and no one's hassling us at all. Maybe we're just jaded after being in Tanzania, where touts were very aggressive and we couldn't walk more than 5 feet without someone trying to sell us a safari or a painting of giraffes. There's beautiful architecture here (lots of European/gothic style buildings with grand facades), good shopping, and nice people. Plus the food is great: today we had thalis (an all you can eat lunch for two -- all vegetarian -- with several different dishes, breads, rice, etc.) in a nice, air conditioned restaurant for about $11. I was so stuffed we had to wait a few hours before getting our gelatto next door. In the meantime, I got my hair cut -- for $1.50 ($2.25 with a nice tip). Oh yeah -- we also went to court today. (Stop laughing -- it's a beautiful building. Though this does mean I've been to court in Kenya, Tanzania, and India (oh, and Ireland, too, just not on this trip).)

It's pretty expensive here by India standards, though -- about $26 for our air conditioned hotel room -- and we still have not been "discovered" by Bollywood scouts (even though we're trying to look as pretty as possible -- hence, the haircut), so we will probably be moving on at the end of the week.

Kwaheri and Namaste

2007-08-20T03:06:00.000-07:00

Just a quick note to let y'all know that we've made it safely to India. We flew from Kenya to Addis Ababa and then on to Mumbai on Ethiopian Airlines. The airline was fantastic -- our first flight was only an hour and forty minutes long, but we got a full meal (and they remembered our vegetarian requests); plus, we got to watch Everybody Hates Chris. We got a second dinner on the flight to India. The plane could've crashed and it still would've been better than Continental.

We arrived in Mumbai a little after 5 a.m. local time. Our taxi ride to the city center, which normally takes an hour and a half, took about 30 minutes because today happens to be a minor holiday (yea for no traffic!). We've just eaten a huge meal, and we're heading out to shop for designer clothes and to try to find a way to get ourselves into a Bollywood movie.

And in case you're wondering, we're now 9.5 hours ahead of east coast time. That's right, nine and a half.

Who says the romance is gone?

2007-08-18T08:28:00.000-07:00

Y'all might think that, after Deb and I have been together for more than 11 years, the romance
is gone.

Not true, my friends.

On Monday, August 13, Deb and I celebrated our 1-year GetDown-iversary.

We forgot. (Thanks, Mike L. -- aka Shaggy -- for sending a congratulatory e-mail reminding us.)

Instead, here's how we spent our anniversary:

We woke up and ate breakfast (included in the $13 we paid for our hotel room).

So far, so good.

We then attended court proceedings for an hour and a half.

Romantic, right?

We were in Arusha, Tanzania, where the International Criminal Tribunal Rwanda (prosecutions of those responsible for the 1994 genocide) is located. We attended the trial of the former Minister of External Affairs (accused of conspiring with other government officials and media outlets to perpetuate the genocide). We saw the defendant's attorney give opening remarks (in French, with a translation in English via headsets) for about 90 minutes, at which point there was a recess and we left. Here's a brief summary of what happened, though: the former Minister did nothing wrong. In fact, the defendant is a saint: he worked tirelessly to ensure democracy and human rights; every time something bad happened or some decision was made to execute people, the defendant was making speeches before the UN Security Council for food aid. But the most convincing arguments were those about the prosecution's lack of evidence. According to the defense attorney, the prosecution's witnesses were, by and large, illiterate. Therefore, not credible. Case dismissed.

We ate lunch, then got in a "shared taxi" (a beat-up old station wagon carrying 8 people, with about a dozen live chickens in a basket strapped to the roof) and hurled towards the Kenyan border. For some strange reason, the strong smell of gasoline did not dissipate the entire time, so we arrived at the border a little lightheaded.

We made it through immigration and arrived back in Kenya.

On the other side of the border, we took a matatu (shared minibus) to Kajiado -- about 65 miles away (which, naturally, took us close to 3 hours). When we got just to the edge of town, there was a loud "clang" and the brakes no longer worked. Everyone else got out, but the driver told us he'd take us to a hotel. We drove slowly. Luckily, the town was pretty flat.

We arrived at the recommended hotel. It was full. Walked to a nearby hotel. Also full. Walked a little over a mile, with our bags, to another hotel on the outskirts of town (escorted by an employee of hotel #2, who wanted to make sure we found a place).

I'll pause for a moment to describe this hotel. We walked in, and there were a few people at the bar. We found some guy with keys, and he told us that the price was 1700 shillings (about $26) -- very expensive. Then he said the price for Kenya residents was 1100 shillings. Here's how the conversation went:

Him: "Are you Kenya residents?"
Me: "No, not yet."
Him: "Because I can give you the residents' price if you are."
Me: "Okay."
Him: "So are you a resident?"
Me: "No, not yet."
Him: "Okay, I'll give you the residents' price."

We paid, and he showed us to the room. Then he said there's no water in the room (he then brought a 5-gallon bucket for us). When we got there, it seemed like no one had stayed in this room in quite some time: there were cobwebs in the sink, ceiling panels were missing, paint was peeling, etc. Whatever. We've stayed in worse.

We went out to find dinner, but since it was dark and we were more than a mile from the center of town, we tried to find something close. We made it to a little restaurant a few hundred yards away and ordered ourselves some beans, cabbage, sukumo wiki (kale cooked with salt and onion), lentils, and chapatti (a kind of bread, like Indian naan but greasier). The meal cost about $2.50. And that included entertainment: a DVD involving a Kenyan man, on a quest in the wilderness, who's attacked by snakes and nagged by his wife.

We went to sleep.

But wait, there's more.

The next morning, I wasn't feeling so well. Not well at all. I spent the next three days sleeping, communing with various squat toilets, and doing my best to force one or two bites of food into my mouth. But I'm getting ahead of myself.

When we left our room at the hotel, we went to find breakfast (which, according to signs in the hotel, was included with the room rate). Unfortunately, there was not a soul in sight. No one at the restaurant. No one at the bar. No one at reception. No one anywhere. Remember "The Shining?" Kind of like that. We started wondering whether the hotel existed at all and whether the people we thought we saw were, in fact, ghosts.

So in case you're wondering how we keep the romance alive: an anniversary with court, a five hour fume-filled drive, a cholera-filled meal, and a ghost hotel.

Round and Round the Merry-Go-Round

2007-08-18T03:47:00.000-07:00

As you are well aware, we are now in India. However, I wanted to let you know what I was up to last week in Africa while Dan was lying, sick with a stomach bug, moaning in pain. I went to a party! I know that you are all shocked that I didn't sit around and nurse him back to health. (LOL)

We decided to spend our last few days in Africa in a remote part of southern Kenya at a community environmental project called Kudu Hills. We learned about Kudu hills bout from another traveler.

Kudu Hills is about an hour in the back of a pickup from the nearest town. It's in Masai land and the kind of place where you schlep out all your food and water. And yes....be shocked people.....since Dan was sick, I cooked for 3 days....over firewood and a little propane stove.

While out in Kudu Hills, we got invited to attend a community ceremony for a 17 year old Masai boy who had "graduated" to his next level. The Masai boys go through a series of stages where you have to prove yourself in various ways. This boy had recently been circumcised etc.

Here's the young warrior.

Since the men were going to get together and shoot the shit and hold this ceremony, the "mamas" (everyone over the age of 15 is "mama" 'cause presumably you have at least one baby on your back) decided to hold a "Merry-Go-Round."

A Merry-Go-Round is when all the women get together, cook a big lunch and raise some money to help with the school expenses. Each time it is at a different woman's home and she gets the money.

I spent the day cooking with all the women, while the men sat in the shade and drank tea. Hardly any of the women spoke English, but they had no problem bossing me around in Masai telling me to peel potatoes with a machete, (I should note I got pretty good and I think even my grandma Bella would be proud of my peeling abilities with a knife), chop onions, hold babies and stir huge pots cooking on the wood fires.

The men's job was to kill 3 goats. Then the old women hacked the goats to pieces with a machete...nothing like being splattered with goat in the middle of the bush.

Here is the goat (yum)

A few photos of some of the women.

I drank a lot of chai, ate a whole bunch of goat and had my hair played with by about 40 little girls.

Here's one more picture of me and Choo the dog at Kudu Hills (Dan tried to steal the dog and take it with us)

Hippos and Cheetah and Gnu....oh my!

2007-08-12T08:02:00.000-07:00

We just got back from our 2 day safari to Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. We went with a couple of teachers from Belgium and a professor from Germany who we met in Arusha.

Despite having possibly the worst guide ever --- he was hung over, and acted like he was annoyed that he had to drive us around all day --- we had a great time!

In Lake Manyara, the elephants were practically in our car. One time, I shut my window because a tusk was getting a little too close for comfort.

We also saw a lion charge at some zebra heading to a water hole. We're still not sure if the lion wanted to eat the zebra or just scare it away from its nice water...but it was cool.

Ngorongoro Crater was also spectacular! We saw a cheetah eating something, hyena and lions having a feast, baby hippos and tons and tons of Gnu. (Gnu is capitalized in honor of Gary Gnu from Great Space Coaster)

Unfortunately, our trip to see the ladies making cheese today didn't happen. Today was not the luckiest of days. Everything we tried to do was closed, not happening or not quite right. Dan got pickpocketed (only a few dollars, so no big deal) and even our attempt to see a movie failed since they were only playing Shrek 3. So tomorrow we head back up to Kenya.

The good news is that we got some great photos that I'll post soon and I scored a copy of Harry Potter 7!

A quick update...

2007-08-09T10:17:00.000-07:00

Deb and I are in Arusha, Tanzania, after spending 2 days not seeing Mt. Kilimanjaro in Moshi (it's cloudy). We were hoping to see some of the Rwanda Genocide War Crimes Tribunal, but they're in recess until Monday. So we got gelato instead (it was fantastic).

Tomorrow morning, we head out on a two-day safari to Lake Manyara and Ngorongoro Crater. We hope to see tree-climbing lions at Lake Manyara and lions, cheetah, and black rhinos at Ngorongoro. The day we return we're heading to a nearby village for an overnight stay; we (meaning Deb) are particularly excited because the village residents make cheese....

We hope to post some more photos in a few days.

Hard Core

2007-08-07T07:32:00.000-07:00

Ever see "School of Rock"? If you haven't, you should. If you have, then you'll remember Jack Black's super-awesome song, with the following lyrics:

No you're not hard core
Unless you live hard core.

This is the theme song for this post.

After our Zanzibar adventures, I convinced Deb it'd be a fun idea to (a) spend two days traveling to the middle of nowhere in order to (b) take a 3 day, 2 night camping/hiking trip in the mountains. So after a ferry ride from Zanzibar to Dar es Salaam, then a bus trip from Dar to Kilombero, then a daladala (mini-bus) ride to Mang'ula, we arrived at Udzungwa Mountains National Park. We signed up for the hike, then went grocery shopping with the guy who'd guide us for the next three days. We stocked up on beans, rice, eggs, vegetables, tea, cooking oil, and enough other food to sustain four of us (Deb, our guide, our armed ranger, and me) for three days. (We had to buy all the groceries, which were relatively cheap. But park fees ($20/day per person, plus $30/day per person to camp, plus $10 a day each for the guide and the ranger) meant that "roughing it" was considerably more expensive than staying at a nice hotel, getting a massage, and eating gourmet meals. Deb's skepticism began to grow.) Luckily, we didn't have to carry water, because our trail followed a river the whole way (mmm, iodine tablets are tasty!).

Our first day, we hiked 13 kilometers (a little over 8 miles) -- uphill (an elevation gain of about 1500'), carrying all our things (tent, sleeping bags, clothes, and -- oh yes -- beans, rice, raw eggs, etc.). My bag weighed over 40 pounds, and Deb's wasn't far behind. We also had to walk an additional 2 kilometers (with our things) from our hotel to the park gate. Deb and I spent most of our six-hour hike just putting one foot in front of the other and trying to avoid the elephant dung all over the trail.

(This last comment is not further evidence that I am obsessed with poo. It is an essential detail, for it shows you, the reader, that we were surrounded by elephants. Now you may ask, "Why doesn't he just say, 'We were surrounded by elephants'?" Well, that's because we didn't actually see any elephants. But the people we saw coming out of the forest told us that, the previous day, the ranger actually had to fire his gun to scare away an elephant because the elephant was getting too close to them. So you see, my dung-filled prose has purpose and is not included for the sole purpose of making Zysmans giggle.)

We arrived at camp and unpacked. Of the 16 eggs we'd purchased, 11 made it intact. The other 5 showed how entropy works in the real world (luckily, the plastic bag holding the eggs kept most of the goo in one place). We set up our tent, then "bathed" in the river next to the campsite. (See Deb's post for more photos.)

It was chilly.

Deb reminded me that, for less money, we could be at the spa.

I told her she's hard core.

The hiking was pretty nice, but we saw almost no wildlife and we were exhausted from carrying all our things. We were sure the next day would be better, since we wouldn't have to carry our things.

Nope.

The next day was a day hike to the peak of one of the mountains -- somewhere around 8000 feet (we started somewhere around 3000 feet). We were told that the hike was 5km (3.1 miles) to the top, then back to the campsite.

Usually, Deb and I hike at around 2 miles an hour. But after 2 hours of hiking straight up, our guide informed us that we were still "very, very far" from the top.

Deb: "What's at the top?"

Guide: "A nice view."

Deb: "Is it that much different than the view we have right here?"

Guide: "No."

Both of us: "Well then, I think we've had about enough for today -- down we go!"

So we turned around and hiked back down. This actually took almost the same amount of time as hiking up -- hiking straight downhill is really, really difficult, and Deb and I were both incredibly sore.

End of day two: still no wildlife. Very sore legs. Cold river bathing. Beans and rice for dinner, PB&J for lunch.

Day three: we pack up camp and hike back, this time minus 20 pounds of food. Plus it's downhill. Plus it's sunny. Plus we finally see some wildlife: five different kinds of primates (including the Sanje Mangabey, found nowhere else in the world), brilliant butterflies, and the bizarre buffalo spider). We also stopped to swim in a waterfall pool. It was absolutely beautiful, and (at least for me) made the whole trip worthwhile.

Still, Deb says I have to pay. In India, she's going to make me do some three-day spiritual centering meditation workshop. Yikes.

We made it back to the hotel at around 3pm, utterly exhausted and hungry. But our next destination was Moshi (at the base of Mt. Kilimanjaro), and Moshi is very far from where we were, but we heard that if we made it to the next town over (about 15 miles away), we could get a bus very early the next morning that would take us directly to Moshi.

We ate, packed up our things (we'd left a bunch of our stuff at the hotel), and tried to find a daladala to take us from Mang'ula to Kilombero (the next town over). We went out to the road and sat down. An hour passed, and only one very full daladala went by (luckily, we were entertained by yellow baboons in the trees and a very chatty lady who wanted to be Deb's friend).

At about 5pm, along came a lorry -- a large truck (maybe 20' long in back, about 12' tall), open in the back, carrying a whole lot of cargo and about a dozen men. We decided to get in -- Deb and her chatty friend in the cab, me in the back. To get in the back, I had to climb up the side of the lorry -- luckily, the driver waited until I was most of the way up the side before driving off.

The lorry, as I quickly discovered, was carrying several hundred cow hides, along with the aforementioned dozen men -- none of whom spoke English, and none of whom seemed willing to recognize that I didn't speak Swahili (just like in America: if someone doesn't seem to understand your language, just speak more slowly and louder, and they'll be sure to get it...).

I made friends in the back by showing everyone our digital camera -- these are very novel little gadgets here, and people love having their pictures taken and seeing the results immediately.

That was fun until the batteries ran out, about five minutes later.

Then my new friends tried talking to me, telling me that Osama Bin Laden lives in the Udzungwa Mountains.

Then my new friends said something in Swahili, and I didn't understand, but they pointed towards the front of the truck. I was standing in the back, and I turned around just in time to see some tree branches dangerously close to my face. I ducked.

Did I mention that we were only going 15 miles? Yeah, well, lorries don't go that fast. We finally made it about 2 hours later. Not exaggerating: 2 hours. Deb and I stumbled into a guest house, dirty, exhausted, and prepared for an all-day bus ride the next day.

But wait, there's more.

We went to go buy bus tickets. The direct bus, however, was sold out. So we bought tickets for 6:00 a.m. for a town several hours down the road, where we could get a bus to Moshi.

We went back to the guest house, took cold showers, and went to sleep.

We got on our 6 a.m. bus no problem. The first few hours, we drove through Mikumi National Park. Lots of giraffes and zebra (and various gazelle-like things, collectively referred to as "meat" or "prey" by Deborah and me) by the side of the road.

As we're admiring the wildlife, half-asleep, the driver slams on the brakes and swerves off the road. Why? Because we almost hit a giraffe.

We carry on.

We make it to our first stop and buy tickets for Moshi from "SuperFeo"; Deb and I giggle. (For those of you who didn't take Spanish in high school, "feo" means "ugly.")

The ticket agent points us in the general direction of about 100 buses, all painted various shades of every-color-there-is. We try to find the correct bus, and a group of men tells us to get on one of them. This bus, of course, says neither "SuperFeo" nor "Moshi." We start talking to a woman who speaks some English, who explains to us that this bus is not going where we want it to go. We get our bags and get off the bus, which severely confuses the men who told us to get on in the first place. They tell us to get back on, and since the bus is leaving, we do. We're then told (in Swahili, of course), that we're on the correct bus, but we have to change again. Okay, no problem. Deb and I settle into our seats and enjoy our breakfast (all of which could be purchased out the bus window -- 4 hardboiled eggs (60 cents), two packages of roasted cashews (80 cents), an orange that's been cut open (8 cents), and some bananas (8 cents for a small bunch)).

Two hours later, we're instructed to get off the bus by Dennis, our new friend from the bus company. A moment later, another bus pulls up, and Dennis tells us to get on that bus. He gives us his cell phone number in case we have any problems. And no, he doesn't speak any English. But here's what he had tried to explain to us: the third bus -- the one we'd just gotten on -- was the "Islam" bus comany. Although we'd purchased tickets with "SuperFeo," "SuperFeo" is actually owned by "Hood," which is pronounced "who-dee." Hood and Islam are affiliated with each other as well.

Deb and I thought that Dennis was trying to have a religious discussion with us, telling us that Jews and Muslims share the same past. We are trying to mime this in broken English and Swahili. Instead, he was trying to tell us that Hood and Islam are the same bus company and that we should get on the damn bus.

We arrived in Moshi at 5pm -- 11 hours on 3 different buses. We then did what anyone else would've done: took a cold shower and went for pizza.

Women in East Africa

2007-08-07T07:17:00.000-07:00

All ye women in the Western world, kiss the ground you are standing on and thank your good karma for where you were born.

I've been meaning to write for a while about the status of women here. I should note that many people say that things are "improving."

So, here's a few reasons why I'm glad to live where I do:

Female circumcision is still very common here.
Most places it is illegal for women to inherit property.... even where they are legally allowed to, the custom is that the first born son inherits everything.
Brides are still purchased. The minimum price for a women is 2 cows and 2 goats. Price is set based on beauty and "how many men she has known." People we talk to here, don't seem to understand how you could get away with not paying for a good woman?!?!?
Polygamy is still common. It's becoming less so, but not because people think that it's not a good idea to have several wives, but rather because with the economic situation here, most men can only afford one.
Abortion is 100% illegal.
It is far more common for a boy to be sent to school than a girl.
Most people believe that it's ok to beat a woman for a wide variety of offenses.
We have heard of at least one incident where a European medical student doing an internship here for the summer witnessed a doctor performing a tubal ligation on a women while doing a C-Section with no consent. The doctor didn't even inform the women because "she has 7 children and is HIV positive....it's for the best"
Even the day to day things ---- Women cut and carry all the firewood for cooking, then they cook the meal. Then the men eat first and anything left over is given to the women and children.

Photos From the Beach to the Bush

2007-08-07T01:47:00.000-07:00

Lamu Town -- note the donkeys

Our favorite chai shop in Lamu....we miss the caffeine buzz already.

Dan and the owner of our favorite chai shop in Lamu. He insisted on putting on his watch to pose for this photo.

Me at the beautiful white sand beach in Zanzibar....this is the beach where Dan briefly had his iPod stolen :-)

Zanzibar Red Colobus Monkeys --- these aren't found anywhere else in the world.

Relaxing in a "refreshing" Udzungwa mountain waterfall (fun but freezing cold)

Treking in the Udzungwa Mountains

Don't fu@k with big daddy

2007-07-30T11:11:00.000-07:00

That's right -- you heard what I said.

Ordinarily, I wouldn't use such language. But it's no longer considered profane (thanks, Dubya!), and besides, as you'll see in a moment, this post is deserving of some testosterone-laden bravado.

I will do my best to relay this morning's activities as objectively as possible; the short version is, "I kick ass."

Deb and I were on the east coast of Zanzibar, a beautiful stretch of white-sand beach that's almost as nice as Kailua Beach in Hawaii. We'd been there for two days, and we were leaving that day, so I decided to go for a run along the beach at around 7:00 a.m.

The tide was on its way out, and I was keeping an eye out for shells for Deb. About 3/4 of a mile out, I saw one I thought would be nice, so I stopped to check it out.

About 10 yards behind me (the direction I'd just come from), a man waved and said hello. I turned off my iPod, and he came over and started chatting. (Again, you have to realize that people come up and talk to us all the time. Most of the time they're trying to sell us something, but we still try to be polite.) He asked my name, said his name was Ibrahim, and asked what I was listening to. I showed him my iPod, and he asked to see it. Again, this isn't odd -- people here are usually very interested in our gadgets (camera, watch, iPod, etc.). He started listening to it, bopping along to the music. He was maybe 25-30 years old, a little shorter than me (maybe 5'7"), and quite a bit stockier than me (maybe 160 pounds -- I'm about 135), and he was wearing a grey Quicksilver t-shirt.

He asked a couple times if I had a cell phone. I said no (mostly because, whenever I give out the number, people keep calling and calling). Plus I didn't have the phone with me.

He then looked down at the rings on my hand (right hand: $10 ring with design I got in Laos; left hand: GetDown ring, white gold, worth a little more...). He said, "Oh, silver, nice, where from? Can I see?" He bypassed the GetDown ring but started grabbing the other one (it's a little bigger), trying to pull it off.

I said, "Oh, no, it won't come off," and curled up my fingers and pulled my hand away.

(Inside voice: "Hmm. Something's not quite right here.")

He then asked how much an iPod costs, and I said, "Oh, mine's old and not very nice, so maybe $50."

(Inside voice: "Giveitbackgiveitbackgiveitbackgiveitback.")

He then asked if I would give him the iPod. I said no.

He then looked at me, looked at the iPod, then looked at me again. He disconnected the headphones, turn around, and ran off with my iPod.

(Inside voice: "Shit.")

Naturally, I ran after him. I threw down the headphones and my sunglasses (I was afraid they'd fall off or get broken in the melee that was surely to ensue). I called out, "Don't do this, man!" (Why the "man" at the end? Don't judge me.)

He then yelled, "I have a knife!"

(Inside voice: "Bullshit.")

He then started to run up a little escarpment, away from the water. (Here's a tip to all you would-be robbers: running uphill, through sand, is not the best way to make a quick getaway.)

I caught up to him and grabbed the back of his t-shirt. I then through my left arm around his neck and tackled him to the ground.

That's right. I chased down the robber and tackled him to the ground. Boo-yah.

He immediately handed over the iPod, so I didn't have to bruise my delicate hands. I was actually a little surprised, but hey, that's all I wanted, so I got up and left. I went back to get my things, and the guy just kept standing on the little escarpment. He started pointing and saying, "My phone"; not sure if he was trying to point me in the direction of my headphones (I actually walked past them at first), or if he'd dropped his phone while fleeing in terror.

I tried reporting this to the police, but two hotels -- including the one where we were staying -- claimed not to have the phone number for the police. But they assured me they'd report the incident for me.

(Inside voice: "Bullshit.")

***

We're off to the jungle for a few days to swing from vines, kill animals with our bare hands, and eat raw meat.

Belated Photos

2007-07-28T00:17:00.000-07:00

We've finally been able to post a few more pictures -- here's one from Lake Baringo:

Biking around Hell's Gate National Park

When our Masai hosts "made" us try on their clothes -- they thought it was hysterical and who wouldn't want to play dress up?

We're in Zanzibar at the moment (one of the "spice islands" off the coast of Tanzania). Turquoise water, white sand beaches, and lots of cardamom. More photos to come soon.

We'll be at the beach for the next few days, probably without internet, but we'll check in again next week.

On our way to Zanzibar

2007-07-25T04:48:00.001-07:00

We're leaving Kenya tomorrow on a short flight to the Island of Zanzibar. After a 7 hour bus ride yesterday down the coast of Kenya to Mombasa, we just couldn't face another 10 hours of bumpy roads with blaring Indian music (yes, they love Indian music here, and I'm very, VERY afraid for our India leg.)

Last night we stayed with a woman named Salama from Global Freeloaders.
Salama was great, (a social worker at a children's home). She made us a wonderful dinner and we had a nice time talking.

However, Salama's house was less than ideal, by our wimpy, spoiled, western standards.
Her house was one room (about the size of an average American bedroom) that she shares with her sister. The house was neat and clean with a bed, a few chairs, a coffee table and a tv. The bathroom is shared by about 25 people who live in the complex and consists of a squat toilet (this is also the shower room --- just grab a bucket and go). Outside her door is a small ditch where all the sewage/garbage goes and eventually finds its way to the ocean.
The "kitchen" is a small propane stove they use inside the room. Dan and I got to share a single mattress on the floor, while our heads pounded with propane fumes, we roasted with heat and we could hear at least one rat munching something near our heads.

Needless to say, this morning we said, "thanks so much for hosting us!" and promptly checked into a cheap hotel.

For Kenya, Salama lives in a pretty nice place. It was safe, dry, had electricity and water and was mostly quiet (except for the rat, and the neighbor who kept playing "the Gambler," followed by Dolly Parton).

Hardly anyone here has a single modern appliance like a refrigerator, microwave or washing machine. It's rare to find a western type of stove. Most houses are still built with sticks, rock, thatch and cow dung... maybe, if the family is wealthy they have a tin roof. I entirely expected to see some houses like this...but I'm still shocked that it is the norm.

We'll talk to you from Tanzania -- perhaps the internet will be faster and we can upload photos.

P.S. For all of you reading Harry Potter -- I want NO hints until I can get my hands on a copy.
P.P.S. I'm fully stocked with a variety of secondhand books again -- thanks to everyone for the recommendations.

Lovely Lamu

2007-07-22T04:51:00.000-07:00

We've been in Lamu about a week now and may never leave.

Lamu is an island near the border of Somalia with tons of donkeys, no cars (except for 1 tuk tuk which serves as the ambulance), loads of dhows (a kind of sailboat), beautiful beaches and great, I mean GREAT food. We've been gorging ourselves on garlic crab, coconut fish and chai......we literally schedule our day around the next feeding frenzy.

We've become odd, white regulars at a chai house where the proprietor speaks only swahili, acts like a Muslim Nathan Lane and calls everyone "boss." Dan has become a chai junkie -- it think it's all the milk and pound of sugar they add to every cup.

Lamu also feels like another country from the other parts of Kenya we've been to. It's almost entirely Muslim. Picture women in burkas and men in printed kikoi skirt (like a sarong or lava lava). The swahili people who live here are a mix of black and arab. The town feels like someplace in the middle east more than in africa with maze like, narrow winding streets.

P.S. for all of your who voted in our first poll. The answer is that we have been in a 14 passenger with as many as 23 people crammed in....we'll let you know if we hit 36.

Several quick notes of thanks...

2007-07-17T09:23:00.000-07:00

To Shellie Park-Hoapili, who bought Deb and me a bunch of travel goodies, most notably a travel-size roll of toilet paper in a hard plastic container. We've since used up the paper, but we've repeatedly refilled the container it came in (because you don't want to carry a whole roll of TP with you all the time). Thanks, Shellie!!

--and--

To Alison Kunishige, who bought me my hat (the only baseball-type hat in the entire world that fits my unusually small head). My hat nearly became the first casualty* (lost, stolen, broken) of our trip: I came perilously close to leaving the hat behind, but luckily we hadn't gone too far from where I'd left it. As Deb will surely explain, the hat is the only thing (apart from my (sadly) thinning hair) protecting my scalp from sure solar annihilation. Thanks again, Alison!

--and--

James, Staci, and my brother Mike for providing us with a whole heap 'o podcasts and tunage. Our favorites so far: Stephen Colbert at the White House Correspondents' Dinner (I have more nerve endings in my gut than in my head. It's true. Look it up.) and Bonnie Tyler's "Total Eclipse of the Heart." Thanks, kids!

Many more thanks to come when we have some more 'net time with slightly less sticky keyboards (like to Robin, who's currently shopping for a washing machine for us, and to Blaine&Becky for the snacks and baby poop, and Joy for the travel games and KAC gossip...).

*Deb's green pants are on track to become the first true casualty: the unfortunately placed hole is growing too large for even Deborah's limited sense of modesty, and the pants will be discarded soon.

I am NOT an 8-year-old girl

2007-07-17T09:07:00.000-07:00

Deb and I decided to splurge for a night, staying at a fancy Italian resort (I say "Italian" because the place is owned by Italians and because 95% of the guests are Italian) in Watamu (on the coast of the Indian Ocean). We ate at the hotel restaurant the night before (pretty good pizza), and figured we could spend $100 for a night (dinner and breakfast included) after spending $9 on accommodation the night before (mosquitoes and cockroaches included).

Deb and I were very excited about getting our lounge on. But we were rather disappointed -- the food was mediocre (different food for hotel guests), there wasn't enough hot water, and loads of Kenyan staff perplexed at our inability to speak Italian (beyond "gelatto").

After lounging by the pool today, things seemed a bit brighter, but I was still a little unsatisfied. I said to Deb, "Maybe it's just because my expectations were too high. Kind of like the time Ramona's older sister saved up all that money for her fancy haircut, but then it came out all wrong, whereas Ramona had no expectations at all -- she wasn't even planning on getting a haircut -- and so she was really happy with her new 'do."

Deb's response: "What are you, an eight-year-old girl?" Like most 31-year-old men don't go around referencing Beverly Cleary novels or something....

A cheeky monkey stole my juice

2007-07-14T08:37:00.000-07:00

But I saved my honey.

They monkeys here are pretty brazen. They will unzip your tent, rifle through your stuff and steal any food they find. Thankfully my brother mike gave me some little padlocks which I thought we'd use to keep pickpockets out of our things....

I have discovered that honey bought on the side of the road is best drunk straight from the bottle.

I Slept in a Masai Warrior's Bed

2007-07-14T07:21:00.000-07:00

Dan and I spent the last week far away from internet camping on beautiful Lake Naivasha.

Our first day there we cycled into Hell's Gate National Park on a pair of crappy rented bikes. My butt hurt for days.....
This park is really cool because you are not in a car. The giraffes, zebras, warthogs etc. are really really close to you, but there isn't too much that will eat you aside from the leopards --- so it is pretty safe.
In the park there is a huge gorge with hot springs and you can hike around it with a Masai guide. We had a great time in the gorge and even got to see where some parts of Tomb Raider 2 were shot (they love Angelina around here.)

At the end of our hike, one of the other guides invited us to stay a while and have some food he was making and that would be ready in "5 minutes." Our answer was simple because of the improv rule. Dan and I decided at the beginning of the trip to use the "improv rule." In good improv, one is never allowed to say "no" to a suggestion. If someone says "look at that huge purple crocodile" you can't say "I don't see any bloody croc!" You have to say "it's at least 30 feet tall and it's coming to eat us."

So, of course we said "sure we'll eat."

I'm not sure we've mentioned the sense of time in Kenya. Generally, we triple the amount of time that someone says something will take. But after 30 minutes, I went to check on the status of the food. Needless to say, the food was going to take 2-3 hours, so I tried to politely say how about we just have some tea since it will be dark soon.

Over our sweet milky tea, our guide Seret invited us back to spend a night in his village and see how Masai live.....Improv rule applied again here.

A few days later we were back on another pair of crappy bikes with our bags filled with gifts of sugar, salt, and school supplies heading to the village. Seret's wife came down several hours from the Highlands just to cook for us. We didn't get to eat many Masai dishes because the village elders specifically decided that we should eat Kenyan food so we wouldn't get sick.

We stayed in Seret's house....and by house I mean hut made with sticks and cow dung. The houses are really dark inside and have a bed and a place to cook on an open fire. It's hard to be in the houses for too long because they are so smoky. The cows and goats sleep in the middle of the compound.

The Masai really live integrated with nature.
The night before we arrived, Seret fixed a leopards injured paw.....The leopard just came up to him and held his paw out to show him it was injured....I would have crapped my pants!!!!
The night we were there a hyena was near the village trying to eat a goat. The dogs went crazy and woke us up and the Masai boys all went out to chase away the hyena.

Plus we got to play dress up. PS Dan wants you to know that the Masai outfits were NOT our idea...the Masai insisted that we try on their clothes. photos will be posted ASAP

The joys of transportation

2007-07-07T06:29:00.000-07:00

Folks, with limited email access, it appears that you'll get blog posts in spurts.

When in developing countries, getting there is half the fun.

I have never been a big fan of organized tours -- in my opinion, the best and weirdest things happen on the way. Not much happens on an air conditioned bus with comfy seats and a movie.

So, a few of my favorite things to happen en route so far.

An old lady with no fingers sat on my lap and ate grilled corn on the cob
We had a 2 hour journey by "boda-boda" as we left Kakamega Forest-- guys with bicycles with a seat on the back through tea plantations. The trip was supposed to be "20 minutes" and Dan and I had to walk a lot of the way uphill.
A Matatu -- mini bus/other vehicle crammed with people. Matatus are the reincarnation of cars that should be dead --- and we were in one that got stuck in some serious mud...Dan got to push.
From Iten we had a Matatu journey that we both thought would end in death. We reached speeds i didn't think possible. The whole thing felt like a roller coaster. Plus an old guy with stretched out Masai earlobes elbowed me in the ribs the whole time.
See dan's story about running out of gas yesterday.

Lake Nakuru

2007-07-07T05:35:00.000-07:00

Deb and I visited Lake Nakuru today, where we (unfortunately) didn't see many good animal poops (we did, however, witness a rhino farting). We also saw some fine baboon copulation (according to our driver/guide, the baboons go at it "every five minutes"), along with millions of pink flamingos. Literally millions. You can see a swath of pink along the lake shore from miles away.

Getting here was a bit of a hassle, though -- we left Lake Baringo for Nakuru yesterday morning at about 10:30; the 70-mile journey took us about seven hours. Our matatu ran out of gas after about 10 minutes, and no one who drove by wanted to spare any. So the matatu guy (not the driver, but the guy who takes the money) ran off to get petrol. He returned with about a gallon roughly 2 hours later. We then drove by numerous gas stations, until (surprise!) we ran out again. Luckily, we were able to coast downhill for awhile until we got to a station (actually, we coasted until we reached the fourth station. Apparently, when you're out of gas in Kenya and you've delayed your passengers by about 3 hours, you're still allowed to be choosy about where you shop).

After we coasted in, the driver put in a whopping 3 liters (about 3/4 of a gallon). Deb and I got out.

Getting High with Runners

2007-07-07T05:19:00.000-07:00

After we left Eldoret land of cheesy goodness, we decided to head to Iten. Iten is a tiny town in the middle of no where, but it is the home of the High Altitude Training Center (HATC.) HATC is where many of the super-crazy Kenyan runners train -- and it's at 8,000 feet elevation. I was convinced to go for 1 reason......they have a sauna.

It was a great place. The athletes training there make Dan look obese. These are the men and women who do the NYC Marathon and plan to win -- they train for a living. There were also 4 American teens staying there for the summer (1 spent a day video taping what goes on at the local butcher...but more about him later), one marathoner from Wisconsin and a crazy dude from Holland who didn't seem to run all that much but wandered the town meeting people.

There was a phenomenal gym and the sauna was amazing. Dan and I got to teach the Kenyan trainers some basic yoga to fold into their afternoon stretching/strength class.

We were at the HATC for the 4th of July -- and this is where Hugh comes into play....

Hugh just finished his Sophomore Year in High School in New York.
Hugh also decided to read the entire syllabus for AP History while simultaneously running many miles at high elevation each day....

That gives you an idea what this guy was like, and we had the privilege of seeing

Hugh's 4th of July production extraordinare........

Highlights included:

Select readings of the Declaration of Independence to enthralled Kenyans.
The unveiling of the Thomas Jefferson Memorial Henhouse, which he and the Chef constructed and painted.
The slaughter of 3 traitors. The Traitors were roosters that he named "King George," "The Duke of York" and something else. (yes, Hugh himself killed one chicken, and yes, the chef then prepared them for dinner.)
The singing of the national anthem -- where only Hugh, Dan and I sang since the rest of the audience consisted of teenagers who wouldn't be caught dead singing and Kenyans who thought the whole thing was insane.

God Bless America

puzzling puzzles

2007-07-01T22:41:00.000-07:00

So in my last post, I wrote how I'm enjoying the puzzles in the newspaper. I neglected to mention the mystery of the crossword puzzles here. At home, I enjoy a good crossword. I'm not spectacular at them or anything -- the Honolulu Advertiser is about my speed, the NY Times is far beyond my intellectual capabilities.

The Kenyan crossword puzzles make no sense. Here are a few recent clues...perhaps those of you word geniuses can help...maybe someone can call my grandma jackie who is the crossword queen.

1) Father returns to a small French woman as he had a strong desire to please (8 letters)
**I swear I'm not making this up
2) Three dimensional reproduction of sound obtainable when you steer zero maybe. (6 letters)
3) What happens after we ploughed the field? Disappear quickly. (7 letters)
4) Sort of string following us at sea in an uncertain manner. (3 words 2,1,5)

Huh?????? If I ever have a band, I'm calling it whatever #4 is.

Momma needs some good books to read

2007-06-30T09:09:00.001-07:00

So, we've encountered our first major travel problem. No, it's not gastro-intestinal in nature -- it is far, far worse......at least for Dan. Deborah is out of reading material.

I have already read all of the books I brought with me from the US. I've tried to read the local papers. The papers are all written in English (yes, everyone speaks English here) but they are written like a dumbed down version of USA today -- the one saving grace is that they do have Sudoku and some other fun puzzles. I've also learned a lot about the "Mungiki" - the Kenyan Mafia currently beheading a lot of people....every day new heads and genitals are found and the police kill a few more people "suspected" of being "mungiki." Burden of proof is not quite the same as is in the US.

Anyway, my lack of anything to read has led to the invention of several new games to keep me occupied:
1) "What am I touching?" -- fun for Deb, not so fun for Dan
2) "What do you think my finger smells like" -- ditto
3) "Dan -- sing me a song!!!" -- the worst of the three.

So...please post your favorite books that I should read when I can next find a bookstore. I particular, I'm hoping to read some good African/Indian authors and/or books about Africa/India.

In return, I highly recommend "White Teeth" by Zadie smith

Bats, ants, monkeys, mattresses, and cheese

2007-06-30T08:58:00.000-07:00

A bunch of things to report from the last few days. There's no theme here and nothing really connecting the different paragraphs -- it's kind of like an article in the Nation (the major Kenyan paper -- see Deb's post). Anyway, here goes:

A.

I took a hike to a bat cave this morning (insert Batman joke here). Here's what I learned about bats:

1. Bats don't like visitors
2. Bats don't like flash photography
3. Bats don't appreciate being on the receiving end of a flashlight
4. If you're in a cave with bats, and the bats are about 3 feet above your head, and one of the bats decides to let go of the ceiling and start flying around, you will instinctively (a) duck, (b) cover your head, and (c) squeal like a small child.

I'll post a photo tomorrow.

B.

Deb and I spent the last two days in Kakamega Forest (Zysmans, stop chuckling at "Kakamega"). We saw three different kinds of monkeys, dozens of kinds of butterflies, dung beetles, and approximately 300 different kinds of birds (I counted. Okay I didn't count, but the book says there are 300 kinds in Kakamega -- tee hee -- Forest, and I'm sure I saw them all).

C.

You know the phrase "ants in your pants"? Well, it's taken on a whole new meaning for us. The forest has these large black ants that, with frightening speed, would crawl up our shoes and up our pant legs; once there, they'd clamp down on whatever fleshy bits they could find. Trust me when I tell you that a burning sensation on your upper thigh -- and the knowledge that there's really nothing stopping the bearer of that burning sensation from heading further north -- is unpleasant.

D.

Deb and I used our tent for the first time while in the forest. To make a very long story (involving a rain storm, rocky ground, and non-punctual Christians**), the mattress is a really really really really wonderful invention.

E.

We've just arrived in Eldoret. We came to this town for one reason: it has a cheese factory (and ice cream too!). Biting into a half-pound brick of gruyere is pretty great (crackers? bread? what?) (Oh, quick question for y'all: Deb and I seem to remember a Seinfeld episode where George expounds on the joys of eating a block of cheese (and nothing else). Does anyone else out there remember this?)

Tomorrow (unless Deb and I are busy getting a massage for $7):

Kenyans are really bad at telling time.

**like I said, it's a really long story

Take us to the land of the white people

2007-06-30T08:40:00.000-07:00

On our last day in Ukwala, Dan and I spent they day at a boma (family group of homes) near Lifunga school. The people in the area have started a project together to raise and sell trees. They hope to use the money they earn to send some of their children to secondary school.

We saw their tree project and gave them a very small amount of money to help them buy more seeds and a watering can. They fed us a huge amount of food -- fresh fish, greens, mushrooms and of course several kinds of ugali :-)

Then came the music and dancing. One song was just praising Dan, since he was the one who handed them the money. Dan's ego is now huge, having had 25 women sing and dance his praises. Another song -- my favorite -- was literally "take us to the land of the white people." We danced and we sang until we were exhausted. They even let me play a drum and taught me to do this cool part of their song where in a high pitched voice you go "Aiyayayayayayyayaya."

Sigh....still having technical problems so we can't upload photos/video. A cd burner is still too high tech for Kenya as we have yet to find one. Computers are slow and photos are large. Stay tuned for the video of Dan dancing like a maniac in lifunga....it's a classic

2007-06-27T02:09:00.000-07:00

Photos...

2007-06-27T01:50:00.001-07:00

Since our internet connection is still rather slow, I had to be very choosy as to which picture to post. Here's a classic: cheetah peeing on a tree....

Dull knives and lion poop

2007-06-26T10:19:00.000-07:00

Okay, sorry I haven't been posting much lately, but finding a good internet connection in rural Kenya is not as easy as one might think. Anyway, here are a few highlights from our first few weeks in Africa:

1. Going on a lion hunt, gonna catch a big one*

We did a three-day Safari to the Masai Mara National Reserve. We saw elephants, zebras, giraffes, cheetahs, hippos, gazelles, wildebeest, water buffalo, ostriches, vultures, wild dogs, warthogs, crocodiles, and, yes, lions. We saw two lions hanging out by the side of the road. One of them pooped. It was awesome. (I didn't get a good picture, but one of the other guys on our trip got a fabulous video. Hopefully I'll get it soon and post it for your viewing enjoyment.)

Actually, that wasn't the highlight of the safari. The highlight was the giraffe poop. Why, you ask? Because as the giraffe was doing its business, a bird landed on the giraffe and started to eat the giraffe poop -- as it was coming out!!! Come on, it just doesn't get any better than that.

2. Not quite a Wustof

Deb and I spent the last 10 days in rural western Kenya. Somehow, our host found out that I had never slaughtered a chicken before. He thought it would be a good idea if I crossed that off my life's "to-do" list. I wasn't so sure. But I went to our host's mother's house, got the chicken, removed its neck feathers, and held it down. What I didn't realize is that cutlery in rural western Kenya, like internet connectivity, is not necessarily the same as in America. Oh well: dull, wobbly knife --> tasty lunch!!

(And I am truly sorry for any unnecessary pain/suffering caused to the chicken. Poor little thing....)

* Deborah insists that this is a camp song of some kind. If anyone out there can confirm this (besides Sharon Z. -- she doesn't count), please let me know.

Ugali

2007-06-26T08:23:00.000-07:00

Dan and I just left Ukwala this morning and headed to Kisumu on Lake Victoria.

The primary reason for our departure was that we were searching for 2 things:
1) ANYTHING to eat that is not Ugali
2) A hot shower

Ugali is the staple food here. You mix cornmeal with water, heat, and stir until it becomes solid. Then you form it into a doughy loaf. Sometimes if it is a very special day they also mix in some cassava or millet.

You then eat hunks of ugali with your hands with very salty meat and greens.
Finally the ugali sits in your stomach like a rock....for hours on end.

We just ate really bad pizza in Kisumu...it was the most delicious meal I think I have every had.

Rural Western Kenya

2007-06-21T08:48:00.000-07:00

No our friendly blog reader, we haven't been ignoring you....we are just in western Kenya, where there is limited electricity and high speed internet is unheard of.

We've definitely become "dirty people" (this is also the land of cold water bucket bathing) but I'm resisting the temptation to change my hair style to the "weird white girl with African braids" look. Everything we do here is hilariously funny to the people here (especially when Dan goes running!).

Right now we are in Ukwala, as small town in the Ugenya District of rural western Kenya (the province where Barack Obama's father came from -- he was Lu'o, like the vast majority of the people who live here). How we got here is a long story.

On our second day in Nairobi, we decided to take a
tour of Kibera Slum (home to 1 million people) with Daniel Ogala. Dan Ogala -- is unbelievable -- he reminds me of an African James Koshiba....At the old age of 30 he runs Community Support Group (an NGO) and the Matibabu Foundation (Kenya and California)(matibabu.com). He is also the School Patron (a title
given to a distinguished member of the community) for his former school, Lifunga Primary School. He runs programs both in the Urban slum as well as in the poor community he is from.

So, as you can guess Dan Ogala easily convinced us to come and check out the health programs, school and HIV prevention programs he is running in his hometown of Ukwala.

For you public health dorks -- the HIV+ rate is 40%. Malaria rates are very high and most of the community is unable to meet basic food needs. A bunch of Califonia Kaiser Perm. docs helped to set up a clinic here. Check out http://www.matibabu.com. I've been helping with some program planning and evaluation (can't escape logic models. And we've both been helping train staff on computer skills like powerpoint.

We have been staying at the Doctor's house (he sounds just like James Earl Jones) and even he doesn't have running water.

I have a bunch of great photos (which I'll upload once I have a better internet connection).

Here's some of Dan's thoughts on the primary school here.
Out of 350 students, I saw about 4 with shoes. The school has just started a feeding program to offer lunch (corn and beans) to 7th and 8th graders (because they have to take exams to determine whether they can attend
secondary school, so the school has focused on those students to help them succeed on those exams) -- the rest of the kids don't eat at all during the school
day (or before or after school, for that matter).

There are many children in the community who don't attend school at all because they can't afford school uniforms, books, etc. (something less than $60/year).
Tuition is free for primary school (paid for by the government), but tuition for secondary school --is around $200/year

Next post -- our safari and on-going journey to sample Kenyan food

Oh, and if you're looking for some good airplane reading, I'd recommend this month's issue of Vanity Fair, which is all about Africa (there's a great
article by a Harvard economist regarding the eradication of poverty worldwide -- he argues that with $250 billion a year (half what we're spending
annually on Iraq) for five years the world could end poverty in developing nations (hunger, malaria,cholera, etc.).

Arrival in Nairobi

2007-06-09T06:44:00.000-07:00

Deb says:

Dan and I made it to Nairobi in one piece. It is one hell of a flight even from the East Coast (16 hours) so we are really glad that we made the decision to break up the trip with some stops to see family and friends.

We had an awesome long layover in Boston and were able to have lunch with Steph, Janson, Renny and Will who are all great friends from different parts of our lives.

So far, Nairobi has been pretty nice. It's a big city, but the people are very friendly (even when not trying to sell us safari trips).

But MAN are we white.....

Dan says:

Highlight of the trip so far: JP Licks ice cream in Boston for my birthday. A close second -- getting to see Will, Janson, Steph, and Renny (JP Licks makes some FINE ice cream). Christine -- thanks for letting Will miss your graduation to come play with us (and we hope to meet you soon!).

Nairobi's pretty fun -- in a busy, dirty, congested, city kind of way. We've been dropping food on the sidewalk then eating it in an attempt to build up our immunity (just kidding, Mom).

tons of nippple rings but no luggage

2007-05-30T16:21:00.000-07:00

Our last day in Hawaii was frantic. Somehow we made it on the plane with a ridiculous amount of luggage, filled primarily with snacks. Packing started off as a thoughtful affair since we are traveling as light as possible. However, towards the end things devolved...

Deb: "Which one of these 3 virtually identical black scoop neck shirts from the Gap do you think I should take?"

Dan: "They all look the same"

Deb: [in a much higher pitched voice] "But they aren't...there are nuances...should I try them all on for you again?"

It got ugly.

In the end, I decided "not to decide" and threw everything in a suitcase. I'll leave the tough choices until buffalo, and leave things at my parents. Luckily, my luggage is currently lost, so my choice of outfit is still what I wore on the plane. Fate always helps with the hard decisions :-)

Our first stop of the trip before the trip is to visit our brothers. Dan is spending one day in vegas gambling and hitting the strip joints with David. I'm in Phoenix with my brother Mike and his girlfriend Jackie for a couple days.

For those of you who don't know, my brother runs a crazy body jewelry business. http://www.deserttrends.com To earn my keep, I'm helping him sort and pack nipple rings, tounge rings and things with french ticklers that I can't even identify.

So far, on this journey I've learned that counting lots of small objects is not in my future career path.....

2007-04-26T20:01:00.000-07:00

Pre-Trip Planning

2007-04-06T13:41:00.000-07:00

Dan and I are starting this blog (our first) so that friends and family can check out what we are doing on our 6 month trip to Africa and India. This way, you won't have to read long boring emails if you don't want to, you can see photos, and keep in touch. Right now we're just getting all our Hawaii affairs in order, making packing lists, getting vaccinated and figuring out how to leave our normal lives behind for 6 months.........stay tuned.