What happened to our Wanderlust?

Tuk Tuk to the Train for One Hour

As we've now passed the midpoint on our journey through various (if not always carefully) selected areas of Southern Asia, the desire to travel has been numbed by long hours spent in transit: pushy agents and overzealous touts accosting you like pollution as despicable children tug at your sleeve for money... along with the everyday risks of the road (no traffic laws, no child seats). It comes to mind that its actually the holidays back there. You make a few phone calls to family--which makes the homesick worse. The question rises to the surface: have we reached burnout or is this just normal travel fatigue? And yea, its difficult to travel with a lone four year old.

Backpack Backpack!

At the Train Station in Haridwar

So there we were in Northern India--a country of endless travel opportunities. Although we had found respite in the peaceful surroundings of Rishikesh, it was time to move on. Winter was coming early to the Himalayas and it was raining on us in the foothills. You may recall that Amaya had DEMANDED an immediate return to the beaches of Thailand!

Another Long Roadtrip in the Life of Amaya

So we returned to Delhi and found a cheap hotel at midnight. We decided that we "just had to" see the Taj Mahal before leaving India. Unable to secure a return train ticket we missed an early morning departure; so we payed a small fortune to a race-car driver from Agra. We were whisked at high speeds through crowded bumper to bumper to cart, cow, or camel traffic more than four hours in order to make it to the Taj gate before closing... Was it worth it? After all we had seen so many monuments, temples and architectural wonders...

But then, there it was: The Taj Mahal! Built to symbolize LOVE! Unbelievable: Composition. Balance. Grandeur. Beauty. Tragedy. History... okay photos don't do it--you've got to see it to believe it. It took our breath away.

Amaya makes a few false starts in the gardens.

Dusk on the Taj



Unfortunately for the viewers at home, our funk (and the hour spent in line) meant we missed sunset and the quality photographic lighting that you've come to expect from busbyfreyblog... HA. You could feel the light fade off the incredible marble.





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Want to hear a long irrational rant? You may want to take our advice and never EVER fly on Royal Nepal Airlines. Although they set us up pretty good when they cancelled our flight for 3 days in Bangkok last summer, we still think they suck. We should have been tipped off when the BBC reported that they had sacrificed goats to deal with technical problems last August. We spent days dealing with them over a very simple itinerary. So I'll skip the full tale of woe and just mention that instead of simply flying straight from Bombay to Bangkok, we were forced to return to Kathmandu for a 36 hour layover; new visas, new currency, hotel, taxis, departure taxes, long lines etc etc & c.


Amaya Gets Pushy after Five hours of Waiting

We woke up to CNN reporting that fog had delayed most morning flights out of Delhi; our evening departure time came and went. We had no information on what was going on. We finally met an Indian couple with the same tickets and suddenly followed them, cutting in front on long lines, rushing down corridors, and onto the jet which took off moments later. Kathmandu was unrecognizable when we arrived. All the trekkers were gone and the place seemed empty. We woke up to read in the local paper that Royal Nepal Airlines had cancelled all of their flights for the next two weeks. Their office was closed for a holiday. There was a side article about the King "borrowing" one of the company's two Boeings on a "jont to Africa" and still owing some 46 million Nepalese Rupees for the trip... We later figured that the odd food service from our flight was making us sick.

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Okay, back to the lonleyplanet approved hype about travel. We had already done so much. Amaya was still enjoying herself thanks to good ol' fashioned sweet related bribery. So it is said, there are Up and Downs to travel. Amazing things happen in the middle too.

From the window: Mt. Everest is the tall dark triangular peak on the left; its hiding behind the Lhotse-Nuptse massif; Makalu is the taller peak to the right.

We took off from Kathmandu on a cold clear frosty morning (the perfect kind for climbing!) and what do ya know but the Top of the World--The Third Pole--Sagamartha, aka Chomolungma aka EVEREST was just outside of our window.

I could make out Mera, a smaller summit on the far left which I had to myself one April afternoon as storm clouds moved in and blocked the Makalu to Everest view... memories. I thought about all of those days we had just spent wondering through so many ecological niches of the subcontinent... the lush rice paddys, the 4000 foot waterfalls, 15 grand of near vertical ice, and then dragging Amaya up to near 18,0000 feet after a snowstorm. We had had a nice taste of Southern Nepal and Northern India too: elephants, camels, sandunes, sunsets to yoga on the Ganges and so many ghats and religous pilgrams. We had now come full circle...

Back in our Bangkok Hideout

And we still have three months for... anything, like: me to perfect the beachbum-dad image; learn to cook thai; backpack Laos, wats in Cambodia, trains in Viet Nam... who knows?

Things might get delayed as we head for the beach, so if we don't get to you before: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR!

as always, thanks for tuning in... hope to hear from you soon.

Stuff We Read

Okay here is your chance to geek-out a bit.

We've been relaxing for a couple weeks before our next wurl-wind of transit which will bounce us about Asia before we get situated for the holidays.. so I put together a nice "treat" if you were ever so inclined...

This one goes out to all-ya-all whom talk books whenever we get together... AS IF you're still reading right? Just click on the link at the right or:

http://busbyfreybooks.blogspot.com/

cheers,
mwf

Chanting "OM" in Rishikesh

We are in Rishikesh---at the point where the sacred Ganges River emerges from the Himalayas and flows out over the plains of northern India. Rishikesh translates as "One who has Conquered their senses" ...and there is definitely a multitude of meditation and yoga classes; numerous ashrams abound. As ever, we are preoccupied with all things Amaya and cannot be bothered to delve too deeply into the study of various Hindu philosophies... or the full on ayurvedic lifestyle (although some yoga and massages were in order).

Shiva Temple

Trayambakeshwar Temple and River Ganges

Hmm

A day hike to some waterfalls...

Okay, besides all the cultural stuff and Rishikesh being known as the "yoga center of the world," I really wanted to take advantage of Rishikesh as "the gateway to the Indian Himalayas." I had investigated several trekking ops--and ever eager to check out Nanda Devi and other monumental peaks, I could almost taste it. However, we've been deterred. The driving sounded ugly and I feared an early winter at altitude ...with the kid. Perhaps its the season, or just travel burnout, but Amaya quickly vetoed any suggestion of more trekking in cold wind (after 2 months in Nepal). She has demanded an immediate return to Thailand's warm beach fronts for a kinder, softer holiday. So we are making arrangements along these lines.

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Oh yea, we recently had the opportunity to attend a traditional Hindu wedding with about 2,000 other guests. Although it was difficult to interpret what was going on by western standards; we were treated to an amazing feast of epic proportions...

Just one of several food lines; this one with a live mannequin on the table

At first, Amaya was terrified by this clown; after witnessing him break dance like a pro and an exchange of candy, she LOVED him.

The Bride

The Groom



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After carrying Amaya on my back, this beast decided to just jump on...




Sunset on the River Ganges

Jaisalmer Camel Safari

Getty-Up! Self-portrait from the top of a camel.

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We reluctantly left Pushkar and headed further west to Jaisalmer, an ancient city which marks the traditional camel-train routes between India and Central Asia. A giant "sandcastle," Jaisalmer Fort, was built in 1156 along with outlaying Havelis, amazing mansions intricately carved from wood and sandstone.

The view from the rooftop of the 300+ year old Haveli where we stayed. You can see why the its called the Golden City. A portion of the fort is vi sable in the upper background.

Amaya poses from a lofty window inside the fort

Puppy Love--Amaya discovers a litter of nine pups outside of the fort...

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We were driven by jeep approximately 60 kilometers outside of Jaisalmer where we met Janu and Rosan along with three camels ready to carry us further out into the Thar desert. The remote nature of our position immediately kicked in--a very quiet and peaceful landscape bordering Pakistan.

Our Loyal Crew

Amaya and I shared a camel named "Rocket"whom already knew the way to all of the good camps.

One of our Desert Camps

We slept in the sand dunes under an open, star studded sky. We could see satellites and falling stars through the clean quiet atmosphere. After the moon set, I tried to count the stars just within Orion but was soon lost in the milky way...

Wheres the snowboard? Amaya lands another huge aerial off of the dunes.

Thanksgiving: Dhal Bat and Chapati

Janu and Rosan cooked all of our meals over an open fire for six days. For dinner and lunch we were served the staple of Indian and Nepalese dishes: Dhal (lentils or pulses) with variations for different veggies and spices along with rice. Each meal, they kneaded flour dough and cooked the Chapatis on a hot plate over the fire. We were also provided with really sweet Chai Tea for every meal. You wouldn't believe it but we did not realize that it was Thanksgiving back home until we ran into an American Tourist on a separate camel trek. He surprised us by exclaiming, "Hello Amaya" and something to the effect of "Happy Thanksgiving!" We then realized that we had met him earlier in Nepal and that it was in fact a holiday. Our guide then explained that it was also an important Muslim holiday. So we accordingly enjoyed a very special dahl bat that evening ...so far away from everything.

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During our six days in the saddle travelling from dune to dune, it was difficult to imagine that we were in a country of over a billion people. While most of the time we were just a single group, we did encounter local villagers apparently making their living from small crops and the trade of goats and sheep.

The Plastic Bottle Collectors

One night when we made camp near a village, we were invaded by very curious boys who walked a long way to watch us. They were competing for our empty water bottles; an asset in that very dry desert.

Goat Herder; you can hear the goat's bells from miles away.

Traditional Village Hut and Family

Currious Girl

Dunes overtaking farm land; the obvious affect of historical drought

The Thousand Mile Stare

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We are now back in Delhi ...trying to determine what to do next. We do not have dates to fly out yet, but plan on getting back to Thailand sometime after the holiday madness subsides. The train system here is a terrific way to criss-cross the country; its friendly, affordable and relatively comfortable. We took a 20 hour train with a sleeper car from Jaisalmer back to Delhi; so we were just lounging around talking with people, or laying down reading or sleeping while we bumped along through the desert. Hollidaze: We are really going to miss everybody back home during the season of holly jollies... but somehow we have managed to really "get away from it all" for once. Thanks for tuning into our blog; we wish the best for you and yours! Much love from Mick, Tierra and Amaya.

More from Pushkar

Holy Smokes!

This holy man tokes a chillum to kick off the morning festivities; hundreds of these guys wearing saffron robes, following a life of renunciation, walk out of the mountains and into Pushkar for the festival. And yes, I was able to confirm that they know how to party!

Even the camels were smiling...

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Amaya hitches a ride through the crowded market of Pushkar

Monica

A local girl adopted Tierra one day while she was hiking. Her entire family insisted on providing us with seemingly endless traditional lunches, dinners and very warm loving hospitality in their humble home. She lives with her four sisters, brother and parents in a single room apartment. Something like 40% of Indian families live this way.

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Cobra Man

The snake struck him right after this photo; he swears that it is not poisonous...

Like others, this sadhu walks around with a sacred cow. Note that the cow sports an inexplicable fifth leg out of his spine???

Gypsies!

These ladies will greet you with a wicked smile and a warm handshake. Before you know it they will then begin drawing henna on your hand or force some jewelry upon you--which can prove a tricky marketing strategy by entrapment.

camels, camels, camels everywhere

The desert sun sets over the fair

A few more of Pushkar from our hotel at dusk

Pushkar Camel Fair

Amaya and Mick prepare for the upcoming Camel Fair

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We traveled West of Delhi (about 6 hours by train) into the desert dunes of Rajasthan. We are staying in Pushkar which has a lake at its center, ringed by five hundred beautiful whitewashed temples connected to the water by 52 ghats. This week, two major events coincide: thousands of Hindus visit Pushkar to bathe in the lake to relieve themselves of their sins; also camel herders from all over gather in the dunes west of town to race, parade, and trade over 25,000 animals.

Sunset from our hotel above Pushkar Lake

Pushkar Lake from Gayitri temple

We were told that these camels go for a month or more without eating or drinking...

Amaya can go for an hour or more without eating and drinking...

Monkeys the size of Amaya roam all over the town, checking out the action

Stay tuned, More to come!