Broken!

Howdy!

We got back yesterday tired but ecstatic from our trip.  I had forgotten just how far away we really were and how damn long it takes to get back!

Was very eye-opening to see where Thailand has come over the past 10 years (flat to negatve - more on that later), the state of Cambodia and it's relationship with tourists (incredible people and places), and a couple of other interesting points I'll be posting soon with pictures (India, What's the Deal?)...

The reason why it's been rather dry up here on the blog is because MY COMPUTER BROKE ON THE TRIP!  I had been writing blogs offline ready to post when I got back to the States and my computer fell from the ticket booth at the airport and landed on it's head!  The screen cracked wide open - BUT - 10 minutes ago I hooked it up to the TV at home and it works!  Phew.  I should be able to get the screen replaced in the next couple of weeks and the family will be intact.

Traveling to Chicago in the next week but will find time to work on the blog.  Looking forward to it!

R

ANGKOR WAT!!!

I know, I know.  I have too much to update you all on.  It will all come in due time, unfortunately we've been traveling so much and having too much fun I haven't been able to upload anything.  Have great stories to share from our trip to the village in India, Parag and Purva’s royal wedding at a Rajasthani palace, and our stay so far in Cambodia!  Will get to writing and should have some posts in the next couple of days…

In the meantime, wanted to share a sunrise picture from ANGKOR WAT this morning!  Me, Sap, and Vans spent 6 hours there (up at 4:30AM!) and are still in awe at the technical engineering and detail of this monstrosity!

Have to run for now, Khmer curries await!  Catch up soon.

R

Mumbai Flurry

Howdy,

It's 5:30AM.  I'm not sure whether to embrace or reject the jet lag - we have been able to accomplish a great deal in the past few mornings (running at 7AM!), however, in the afternoon our bodies become awash with delirium and by nightfall we fall asleep as soon as we hit the bed.  Getting older certainly does not help the situation!  We've arrived Ahmedabad last night at 9:45PM (2 hours late for no apparent reason at all - I guess when you pay $40 for a one-way ticket on SpiceJet (India's #1 Low Cost Airline!) you're not exactly paying for on time departures). 

Mumbai, as always, was a charm.  What blows me away about the city is the sheer diversity across myriad dimensions: people, cultures, histories, religions, architecture, eras, neighborhoods, old vs. new, social statuses, etc.  It’s a true melting pot – albeit I feel it’s one where the mixture has been set a long time ago and it’s an adventure to discover the different ingredients.

This picture I found in an Indian snack shop in Queen’s but I’m always reminded of this when thinking of the people in Mumbai…

On this trip to Mumbai we certainly were taken care of by an important diaspora of Mumbai, and India: the Parsis.  The Parsis are descendants of Persian Zoroastrians (one faith which is missing in the picture above) who first migrated to India (modern day Iran) after persecution by Muslims in the 7^th century, and began settling in Mumbai in the 17^th and 18^th centuries.  Astute businesspeople, the Parsis have established flourishing markets, companies, and legacies in India (ever heard of Tata?).  The Taj Mahal Palace and Tower hotel, built over 100 years ago across from the Gateway of India and a historic Mumbai landmark, was built by Parsi industrialist JN Tata after he was refused entry into a “European hotel” in the 1900’s for being a “native”.  Today the Taj is one of the leading hotel groups in the world, and Tata’s company is one of the leading corporations in the world playing in industrial production all the way to management consulting.  From my conversations, the Parsis have gained due respect in Mumbai and India.  The community actively donates back to its home country and are respectful and non-confrontational.  My Uncle told me a great story about their relationship to India.  When they showed up to Surat, Gujarat, the local king gave them a glass of milk filled to the brim and said, “our city is full – how can we accommodate you?”.  The Parsis, clever as they are, stirred sugar into the cup and gave it back to the king, showing him that their relationship with the community will only add sweetness to the mix.

I’ve found the best way to explain the geography of Mumbai is to compare it to an expanded Manhattan: our home base (Usha Masi’s house in Vile Parle (“Masi” is one’s Mom’s sister in our language)) is Spanish Harlem.  South Bombay – where the British Raj built their government buildings and location of most of the tourist sites spans from the South Street Seaport (Colaba, Gateway of India, Taj Hotel) to TriBeCa (Nariman Point).  As you move north through Mumbai’s dense neighborhoods and clogged roads, you pass many historic places – Chowpatty Beach (don’t go in the water – it’s toxic (think Chelsea Piers on the map)), Haji Ali mosque (when the tide rises, the footbridge to the mosque is covered and it looks like the structure is floating in the ocean (think 72^nd Street Boat Basin). 

After taking Vanisha to meet family in suburb called Borivali (think Inwood), we threw on our day bags and hopped on the train to head to South Bombay.  Little over an hour later we were in the heart of it all – walking around the Colaba markets almost being run over by the frenzy which is Mumbai.  We walked by the Oval Maidan (think Union Square), a HUGE park filled with hundreds of impromptu cricket and football games).  Meandering through traffic, tourists, hawkers, and the rest of Mumbai, we arrived at the Gateway of India and the Taj Hotel – and walked in!

Hello my little friend (Hridai with his NYC taxi toy! and Van)

 I love this picture – the train ride down to South Bombay..

I decided to splurge a little bit and get a room at the Taj (we’re going to be staying in guesthouses in Cambodia – let’s treat ourselves at some point). 

The 100 year old hotel and one of the sights of the graphic terrorist attacks in Mumbai is simply an oasis in the hustle and bustle of Colaba and downtown Mumbai.  Brilliantly designed in a combination of old British Raj and Islamic architecture, it’s plush with modern day amenities and a courtyard pool which leaves you in serenity.  We were upgraded to one of the top floors in the tower (the Palace itself is closed for renovations until May, but the tower is still open and has beautiful rooms) where we had sweeping views overlooking the Arabian Sea and the Gateway of India down below.  I think we may just be the only guests rolling in with backpacks!

Sunrise from our balcony – simply brilliant views of the Gateway and the Sea

We got ready really quick and set out to tackle the night – straight to Leopold’s.  The tourist must-see bar/restaurant in the heart of Colaba is an old backpacker and native fallback replete with cheap Kingfishers, succulent curries, and long tales.  On our way over we stopped by Bade Miya – a popular street vendor cooking up paneeer tikkas and meat snacks on a fire grill combined with 12-inch roti breads (I wish you could have seen this boy making these rotis).  After snacking on delicious paneer cooked in curry, we made it to Leopold’s for a quick draught and admired the longstanding institution and searched out the many bullet holes which now adorn the walls after the terrorist attacks from a few years back.  Yes, even Leopold’s was targeted and a mad gunman ran in and started spraying bullets at patrons.  Interestingly enough, they’ve decided to keep the bullet holes through the walls, pillars, and glass – adding a touch of mystique and one more layer of legacy.  From Leopold’s we hopped in a taxi for the 10 minute, 14 rupee (28 cents – more on the price parity later) ride to Kala Ghoda (think SoHo, but don’t think fancy) and Trishna – most probably the best seafood institution in Mumbai.  We devoured chili garlic prawns (WOW), butter/garlic/pepper King Crab (delicious but almost too rich for my blood), hot parathas and a bottle of Indian wine (unfortunately, it too tasted like seafood).

By this time it was 9:30PM and we were delirious.  We decided to call it a night and head back to the Taj.  On our way in we ran into Sunil Shetty (Bollywood actor) hopping into his 750IL and taking Van’s heart with him (“I challenge you to a duel”).  I think I fell asleep within 3 minutes of hitting the plush linens…

Aaaaaand we’re up at 5AM!  Not being able to find the Super Bowl on TV, we watched Bollywood music videos for a bit, got our score updates from the States, and decided to hit the gym and pool – truly brilliant.  Next we took advantage of the ridiculous breakfast buffet – serving everything from beans and toast to kati rolls to idli/sambar to poha to pita/hummus - the breakfast foods of every major culture was represented.  The service was immaculate – we sat on a plush poolside table and were brought our omelettes, pancakes, toast, juices, caffeines, etc.  You get what you pay for – it was truly the way to live!  At some point the dream has to live on – so we left the hotel around 10AM and began our shopping spree.  The Colaba markets are a tourist heaven – pashmina scarves (well, let’s just say they’re soft because they’re most probably not pashmina) negotiated down to $3 a pop, sunglasses for the same price, an Indian cricket jersey for $5 – it was a fun morning haggling and filling our shopping bag with goodies. 

Taj Courtyard – this is the view from the pool!

Around lunchtime we hopped in a cab and took the ride to Ballard Estate (think East Village) and entered one of my favorite culinary establishments in Mumbai: Britannia.  A recommendation from friends I met while in the mountains, Britannia is a café managed by an almost 90 year old Parsi man with the carnivore in mind – mutton and chicken pulav’s with berries imported from Iran, kheemas, fried fish sticks, and other Parsi/Persian/Iranian dishes brought over from Mesopotamia hundreds of years ago and tweaked through the centuries combining it with Indian spices.  It was truly a meal to savor – washed down with an ice cold lime soda (“to beat the Mumbai heat” as Mr. Kohinoor would say – he still takes every patron’s order!). 

Van, where are we again?  Oh, thanks for pointing it out!!!

After filling up on a ridiculous lunch mere hours after filling up on a ridiculous breakfast, the snobs in us loathed the trip back to Churchgate Station on the train ride up to Masi’s house.  So, we did as any spoiled brats would do – called up a Meru cab!

To explain the Meru, I think it makes sense to explain the regular taxi in India.  What I like to call “Bumblebees”, the Indian taxi is an old, loud, and uncomfortable car usually driven by a tobacco chewing, bidi smoking driver.  It works, but it’s not necessarily the best for longer trips.  Meru is a newish company provided taxi services in new, air conditioned, spacious cars with drivers who, by customer’s bill of rights, are not allowed to: smoke or chew tobacco or smell bad.  You can schedule a taxi to arrive anytime at any location, and for a small premium – basically be chauffeured in style to where you want to go.  I’m sure Meru can push their prices 50 – 100% and would not lose much market share.  The difference between the service model is so vast that Meru drivers are physically accosted at traditional bumblebee locations such as the airport because they are stealing market share left and right.  Traveling short distances is fine in a bumblebee by me – I actually like it.  But for the 1.5 hour trip back to Masi’s house (traffic is THAT bad), we decided to Meru it!

The driver was super pleasant and helpful.  I asked him to drive up Marine Drive (call it West Side Highway) and pass by all of the tourist spots we missed to complete the trip to South Bombay – Chowpatty Beach, Mahalaxmi Temple, Haji Ali, the new Bandra/Worli sealink, etc.  (The sealink is a brand new bridge which essentially connects Midtown Manhattan to the Upper West Side, bypassing hours of traffic). 

 Haji Ali mosque floating in the sea – looks very Alcatraz like…

We reached home, took a nap (the siesta is a permanent fixture in the Indian culture and one that I love), repacked our bags and hopped in a rickshaw to the airport for our flight to Ahmedabad.   Being a few hours delayed, Vans and I had to find something to laugh about, so we took a couple pictures of a few patrons that were at the gate with interesting footwear (coincidentally, they sat in the same seat):

 This dude is wearing SOCCER CLEATS!  His friend caught us spying…

  

Dada decided to take off his shoes AND his socks…I wonder if he’s related to Nitin Uncle?

We reached Ahmedabad late last night.  We’ll spend a few days here with family and then off to Jaipur for Parag and Purva’s wedding!  It’s now 7:15AM and I hear the house stirring – time to get up!  Catch up soon…

R

And we're off!

Taking off in a few minutes and we're super excited for the trip. Raisa (friend from college) and her boyfriend are randomly on our flight and randomly going a wedding in India as well! She was giving us some proper advice on getting a guide in Siem Reap and various sites to visit. (If anyone has any recommendations for Siem Reap and/or Bangkok please let me know).

in a recent revelation - SAPAN is going to be meeting us in Bangkok next week for the 2nd half of our trip! It's going to be you, me, and Dupree all over again - can't wait!

See you in Mumbai!

R
Sent via BlackBerry by AT&T

South East Asia!!!

After 5 months of hibernating, I'll be back on the trail with Vans, my lovely partner in crime, spending 2 exhilarating weeks in India, Thailand, and Cambodia. We leave on Friday, February 5 and arrive back to US soil (unless we find Utopia) near the end of the month.

On the list for exploration:

1. Food Frenzy in Mumbai - an immaculate culinary route of my favorite downtown Mumbai eateries

2. Parag and Purva's Wedding in Jaipur - a royal wedding at a Rajasthani palace (think elephant polo)

3. Thailand to Cambodia - overland! (I guess we like walking across borders)

4. Ankgor Wat, Cambodia - 2 full days exploring the ancient wonder of the world

5. Bangkok, Thailand - energetic weekend in the premier Thai city where new meets old

Looking forward to writing entertaining, illustrative, and educational pieces for everyone to follow. In the meantime, want to pass along a blog I'm following from a friend of a friend currently working on projects in Africa. It's very well written and I'm hoping that I can explain the sights and sounds as well as Alastair does!

Alastair Green's Blog: tanzlines.blogspot.com

Take care,

R

Day 5, 6 - Jerusalem – A Confluence of History, Religion, and Time

Bright eyed, relaxed, and soft as a baby’s butt, we left the Dead Sea and made our way to the King Hussein / Allenby border. This is a much more intense border crossing as it’s the main route from Amman to Jerusalem and is essentially in the West Bank – a hotbed of activity for the past thousands of years.

At the border crossing we are placed on a bus which takes us to a bag check and passport control warehouse – I would say office or depot but it is much bigger than that. We’re mostly joined by Palestinians making their way from Jordan to homes in the West Bank and north to the Golan Heights. You can smell the tension here. As you make your way through the bag check and onto the Israeli border guards, you pass scores of Palestinians being questioned, sitting in waiting areas, etc. The guard certainly asked more questions to us than I’ve ever witnessed – why, when, where, how, who, etc. We made it through the entire ordeal after about half an hour and on the other side hopped on a sherut, a shared shuttle bus type vehicle with 8 others, for our trip into Jerusalem. Our entire sherut were Palestinians. There were two young kids sitting near us which through our guide book Arabic and their broken English were able to communicate our names, where we were going, and whether we loved Mohammed and Muslims!

Looking out the window at the West Bank was an eerie experience. I couldn’t imagine the lives which the people in the Palestinian villages we passed by had been like. Not only on the Palestinian side but also the Jewish side – the West Bank was full of Jewish settlers which through dozens of years of “peace plans” and “roadmaps” had lost homes and forced to move. Obviously a sensitive topic, and certainly one which is not the crux of my writing, is to think about what is considered “fair and just” for both Palestinians and Jewish people.

Near Jerusalem we passed a checkpoint where a heavily armed Israeli soldier hopped on our sherut and checked identification – finding our visas, checking Palestinian identity cards, and letting us go ahead. Fifteen minutes later as we rode around a bend we were blessed with our first glimpse of Jerusalem – the gilded Dome of the Rock in the distance showing us the location of Temple Mount in the Old City. Dome of the Rock! We couldn’t believe we were seeing this with our own eyes…

By way of background, Jerusalem has been a city raised, razed, and raised over and over for the past three thousand years. The holiest site for the Jewish people is the Western (or “Wailing”) Wall, which is the only remaining foundation of The First and Second Temples which were destroyed by invaders in the early first century. Directly above the Western Wall is Temple Mount, or in Arabic, Haram-es-Sharif, which is the location of the third holiest site in Islam after Mecca and Medina. On Temple Mount is Dome of the Rock – a brilliantly gilded structure covering a revered set of rocks (these rocks is where Mohammed ascended to heaven, and is also the sale location where Abraham prepared Isaac for sacrifice to God, making it a revered site for Jews). Across Dome of the Rock is Al Aqsa mosque, together these two Muslim places of worship make up Temple Mount. If my history is correct, before the Six Day War in 1967, Jerusalem was divided into East Jerusalem for Palestinians and West Jerusalem for Jews. After the war, Jews took control of all Jerusalem, and in an effort to pacify Palestinians, offered the Temple Mount back to Muslims to control (this still remains a point of contention amongst the Jewish). Temple Mount is now controlled by Jordan, and requires a completely separate security check to enter. The area is controlled by Muslim law, including dress, who can enter the Dome and the Mosque, and what time non-Muslims are to leave the area during prayer. This is completely separate from the Wailing Wall, which is directly below Temple Mount and is controlled by the Israeli state. Confusing, yes - fascinating, even more.

Not only is there an East and West Jerusalem, roughly, the entire Old City (within the ancient walls) there are Jewish, Muslim, Armenian, and Christian Quarters – where you will find shops, restaurants, markets, souks, and religious buildings catering towards their respective people. It’s one of the most incredible places in the world.

Our bus stopped off in East Jerusalem, close to the Damascus Gate, in the Palestinian / Arab area of Jerusalem. As we were staying in West Jerusalem, the “New City” with modern hotels and restaurants, we asked a few cabs in the area if they would take us, and were denied a few times until one agreed. I think it had to do with the fact that East Jerusalem drivers just did not want to travel to West Jerusalem.

We settled into our hotel and hit the streets of the New City for a meal – famous and bustling Jaffa Road. It was hoppin’! There were thousands of people out and some sort of propaganda van which was blaring what seemed to be religious songs with Hassidic Jews dancing along – quite a spectacular scene. We wolfed down a street falafel and a Gold Star, delicious, and walked around for a bit before crashing for our big day tomorrow.

Our entire vacation’s itinerary revolved around Thursday because Temple Mount was only open to visitors from Monday – Thursday. We woke up early and made the 15 minute walk to the Jaffa Gate of the Old City, and walked right in – after taking a few snaps of Mt. Zion which is directly west of Jaffa Gate. Instantly you are transported to an ancient city. Walking through the souks on our way to Temple Mount was a past time we never got tired of that day. Vans and her scarves shopping, me hopping into spice stores, eating fresh baklava – these were just several of the millions of things to do in the souks. We reached the Western Wall first after passing security and were blown away by the number of people there, but planned on saving it for the next day, so continued onto the security checkpoint for Temple Mount. From the checkpoint there is a wooden ramp which climbs up to Temple Mount and provides a great vantage point looking over the Western Wall. Upon reaching the top of Temple Mount, you’re really transported to another world. Finally seeing Dome of the Rock up close and personal, its magical blue color and beautiful gold, and the sanctity of Al Aqsa mosque, combined with what we just saw in the Western Wall, is truly a once in a lifetime experience. Although we weren’t let into the Muslim structures, we did get to spend a few hours walking around Temple Mount and taking in the sites, overlooking Mt. of Olives and the several Christian churches which are there.

We were kicked out of Temple Mount at around 11:30AM for afternoon prayers and made our way walking around the Muslim Quarter, walking back east to the Damascus Gate and the Palestinian hub where we munched on an unreal lunch shwarma. From there we made our way through the Christian Quarter, following the 12 places Jesus supposedly stopped on his way from condemnation to death, and finally to resurrection at the Church of the Holy Sepulcher. It’s an incredible church with various Christian sects and factions claiming their areas in the church and building various shrines respective to their faiths – Holy Roman Catholic, Greek Orthodox, Armenian, even Ethiopian, to name a few. Many Christian pilgrims carry a large cross through the streets of the Christian Quarter following the footsteps of Jesus.

It was late afternoon and the sun was getting to us, so we decided to head back to the hotel and rest up – we did have one more full day in Jerusalem where we planned to visit the Jewish quarter and attend Shabbat on Friday evening, another crux of our trip. But then…

Something hit us! Not sure if it was the afternoon shwarma or the Moroccan dinner that night, but we woke up in the morning with severe gastro issues. Medicines and 5 hours later, we tried our best to wake up and make it to the Old City for Shabbat, but as soon as we walked to Jaffa Road I turned around, ran back to the hotel, and vamsied. There went Friday – down the toilet. At least we got a few Netflix movies in!

I found Jerusalem to be one of the most fascinating places I’ve ever been to. The amount of religious convergence, history, and different people in one place is awesome to witness. Vans and I found ourselves scouring Wikipedia and our guidebooks trying to learn as much as we could about Islam and Judaism crossroads and beliefs, two religions with such large similarities and differences. What amazes me about the city is that 3 of the world’s most influential religions all have a claim inside the walls of a 3,000 year old city which all in all is a few square miles in area. As an outsider, I feel the best way to experience it is to read as much as possible into the history of both religions with regards to the city and go with an open mind.

A few of the pictures below, more to come...

Welcome to Atlanta

Back on US soil - and obviously the first thing I take down is a McDonald's breakfast...

I have a few hours to kill before my flight to NYC, hopefully I'll be able to finish up the rest of my posts and get them up before the flight. For those of you looking for pictures of Tel Aviv and Jordan, please flip back a few pages and you'll find pictures there. I'll post pictures of Jerusalem and onwards directly in the writing when I'm done typing it up.

These will probably be the last of my dictations, it's been real. What started as a journal for myself has turned into a way for me to tell everyone who reads this about the things I saw and felt, and I hope you enjoyed it.

See you soon,

R