A few photos to fill the gap

From this last week alone, I have about 700 photos to sift through and decide which ones to keep.  I have another hour of video to edit into bite-sized bits to post.  The task seems daunting.  So, rather than try to be all organized about it, I figure I'll post a few (somewhat at random) and comment on them.  Later, I'll see about writing some more linear blog entries to make sense of it all.

This is a picture from last Saturday, in Delhi.  I stopped by a Pan Shop in Connaught Place to buy a few sweet pan.  You've seen my sweet pan video demonstration from a previous post?  Well, this is the shop where I bought that.  Notice the leaves lined up with brown goo?  There's also beetle nut spread out upon each.

In the next picture the man making the pans has his many pots and jars full of various ingredients that he'll add to each.

Our little tour group (from Expore UK and AdventureWorks):

Now for some pictures of some Moghul architecture and vistas I've seen over the last week.

The Maharaja's historical palace in Kaurali:

I tried to get that guy in the sweaty t-shirt to stop ruining the views, but he kept insinuating himself on the scenery.

There's really a lot to say about the architecture I witnessed this week.  I'll have to re-post it later, because at the moment, I just really don't feel like talking about it.  I'd much rather post more pictures.  So, here you go...

Don't pet the monkey!

Our bus broke down about 30 minutes outside of Kaurali.  The Maharaja's own personal driver drove up from the town to help our driver troubleshoot the issue.  (Why not a mechanic? An unsolved mystery.)  It was sweltering, so naturally I stepped away from the shaded shelter and went for a walk to take some pictures.  After about 45 minutes, I settled down in the shade (soaked through).  We got underway again, and broke down about 30 minutes later.  This time, our fearless leader made the executive decision to call up a caravan of Jeeps from town to scoop us up and drive us the 128 km to Jaipur, while the bus driver stayed behind to sort out the issue.  It all worked out nicely, and somehow added to the adventure of traveling in India.

More to come...

Mind the gap

Well, it's been a few days since I updated my blog. There are a few a very good reasons.

1) On Sunday I joined my tour group and we rushed off to jam in as much sight seeing as possible. I found it far more exhausting than I expected.

2) On Monday afternoon, we left the relatively sophisticated Delhi for Agra. It was a 6 hour bus ride in Monsoon rains on the eve of the brother-sister holiday (everyone and their brother was on the road to get home to visit their sisters.) In Agra, the hotel's Internet wifi was broken.

3) Wednesday, we drove across the state border into Rajathstan. The hotel is in a small rural town without ATMs let alone Internet.

In the meanwhile, Monday I began with a full body ache (my typical precursor to a cold). By Wednesday night I ended up staying back from the wildlife preserve visit to shake and bake in my room with a fever. Today is Thursday, and I've had 13 hours sleep and I'm feeling mostly better.

As for my problem with Internet access, I'm finding that 70% of the time, I can get my iPhone data to flow (depending on the town and the roaming carrier.) AT&Ts international data plan isn't cheap ($25 for 20mb + $5/mb overage.) So, I'm rationing my cell data. I can also communicate with the outside world via text messages ( free to receive, and $0.40 to send).

I understand that I can buy a SIM card from vodaphone or Reliance and get a much better data rate. Still trying to find a mud hut that sells them...

Now, enough about Internet challenges, and more about the trip.

My tour is made up of two parts. Part one is called Moghul Highlights (9 days). Part two is Little Tibet (14 days). The focus of part one is on seeing Moghul architecture (1400-1700 AD) built for the Moghul emperors. The architecture is quite breathtaking. We've seen at least one mosque per day, climbed up minarets for breathtaking city views, seen where each mogul emperor reigned, visited the houses of the emperors' many wives and concubines, and all the while pressed past numerous aggressive hawkers and beggars targeting the white visitors.

I'm not sure which is more tiring, climbing a 162 step minaret, or pushing through the 162 hawkers waiting at the bottom. I've become quite good at evading them. Here are a few tips in case you ever find yourself accosted by mob of hawkers:

1) Never make eye contact

2) Keep walking with a purpose

3) Do not, do not , do not engage in conversation. This is their main gambit... Asking where you are from, or if you like the building, or whatever. They are not being nice to you, they are trying to draw you in. If you speak one word to them it should only be "no" or in Hindi, "nahi". I had a friendly local tell me to say "chowda sir", as a polite and local way of saying please leave me alone. I've tried it and it works very well.

4) Project dominant, aggressive energy (almost like pushing them away with your spirit, heart or will.) If you've ever watched The Dog Whisperer project dominant energy to a dog, this is the same principal. Push them away in spirit. It's surprising how well it works. They just fall away and seek an easier target.
Unfortunately, I don't have pictures to share from my iPhone (from which I've authored this entry.) I do have quite a backlog of videos and photos on my other cameras, and I'll post them as soon as I can juice up my laptop with some Internet service.

Perhaps by Sunday or Monday I'll have worked out the Internet issue.

-Phil

(ps: on Monday we rode the metro in Delhi to get to the bazaar. The recording that played at each stop said "mind the gap". A British thing I'm sure. It did remind me of a strange little indy film called "Mind The Gap." Just a random thought I decided to foist upon you.)

Catching up a bit - Trip to Delhi

Alright, today is the day I try to catch up on the blog...  It's Sunday (Day 3 in Delhi) and I am waiting to join my tour group around 2:00 PM.  So, I have all morning to edit video, post pictures and write about all of it.  Here goes...

Now, where did I leave off?  In the linear progression I mean.  Ah, yes.  Landing in Singapore.

Picking up where I left off:

So, around 2 AM (Singapore time), we land.  I have about 1 hour to connect to my next flight on Singapore Airlines.  I walk about a half mile or more to the connecting gate, and wait in line to go through a security checkpoint to get to my gate.  Once I get to the front of the line, they ask for my boarding pass.  Guess what?  I didn't get checked in all the way through to Delhi by the rep in Los Angeles.  So, I had no boarding pass from Singapore to Delhi.  Bummer.  They directed me to "Transfer F" where I could get a transfer boarding pass.  There was nobody on duty at "Transfer F".  I wandered around looking for a worker (at 2:30 AM)...  Finally, the coffee shop attendant directed me to another transfer station.  They told me that my flight was already "closed" and it was too late to get on.  I turned on the charm (beaming smile, puppy dog eyes, naive American tourist, blue steel -- I think that last look works for me), and they took pity on me.  The two nice gentlemen worked the phones together to push the bureaucrats of their airlines to make things happen.  They were able to get me on the flight (sans bags), and even arranged an electric cart to rush me back to my gate.  I was on the plane in like 5 minutes, and even had an aisle seat.  Thanks Random Indian Transfer E Station Airline Guys!  You Rule!!!

Avoiding Jet Lag:

It was getting close to 3 AM Singapore time, and 11 PM India time.  Time to start sleeping.  I had been holding out until now (napping for maybe 1-2 hours in the last 18 hours).  Now, it would be time to firmly inform my body that it was going to be living on India time, and there would be no arguments.  I slept for nearly the entire 6 hour flight.  Tip to travelers...  I brought a fantastic little inflatable pillow (thank you REI), and a black-out mask.  Both are essential in the anti-jet lag game.   The trick is to stay awake as much as possible (keeping lights on, watching movies, reading, drinking coffee, etc), until the time aligns with my destination's night-time.  In my case, this was the last 8 hours of my journey, since I would land around 5:30 AM India time.  At the right moment, put on the U-shaped pillow (aka neck brace) to keep the head from lolling around, lean the seat back, put on the black-out mask, and settle down for a "night" of sleep. 

Ever since, I've been sleeping like a baby (9:30 - 10:30 PM and waking around 5:30 AM).  Worked like a charm...

Landing in Delhi:

We landed in Delhi, India.  The moment I walked off the plane, I could smell the familiar smell of Delhi.  It's not a bad smell (to my thinking).  It kind of smells rich like a camp fire.  I'm sure that the air is filled with pollution, but I must say that I actually like the smell.  It's kind of endearing and welcoming. 

and the first order of business was to figure out what would happen with my bags.  There was a woman from Singapore Airlines waiting for me by baggage claim, ready to help me file the right paperwork to get my bags.  Fantastic customer service from Singapore Air, I must say.  I have been very impressed with them.  About 30 minutes later, I was ready to figure out how to get to my hotel.

I called my friend Ashish and he advised me to go to the "prepaid taxi" counter in the Delhi terminal.  This would help me to avoid haggling for a taxi fare (and getting ripped off) as well as potential scams (where the driver tries to take you shopping or to a new hotel so he can make commissions).  I paid 300 Rs (about $7.50) for a cab ride from the Delhi airport to my hotel in Connaught Place (downtown Delhi).  The taxi was a micro-bus, with one bench seat in the back, and no seat belts.  Somehow, I eased right back into my happy place, relaxing in the back seat while my driver took risks with both our lives about ever 5-10 seconds for the next 20 minutes.  Driving in India is rather mad, in a beautiful and poetic way.  As dangerous as it appears, it just seems to work.  It seems to work better than the 405/5 fwy interchange in Orange County, CA.  Well, he got me to my hotel safely, and for only 300 Rs. 

My hotel room is very nice (by western standards), and has proven to be a comfortable and clean sanctuary for me to seek refuge from the muddy, crazy, chaos that is Delhi.

So, here it was Friday morning in Delhi.  Two days to myself before joining my tour group for 3 weeks.  I decided to have some breakfast in my hotel and step out into the streets of Delhi for a bit of "I don't know what, but I'm sure I'll figure it out.".  Or as Christopher Robin says to Pooh, "Doing nothing is when your parents see you going out the door and ask you what you're going to do, and you say 'Nothing', and then you go out and do it."  Yeah, that's what I decided to do -- Nothing.

Breakfast under my belt (literally), I found myself armed with only an iPhone for a camera and one set of clothing (which I'd been wearing for over 40 hours), and a pair of worn flip-flops.  I decided I needed to find some toothpaste, deodorant, a cheap pair of shoes and a change of clothes.  I ended up making a 6 hour adventure out of it.  I basically stepped out onto the street in the middle of a muddy downpour in my flip flops, jeans and light tee-shirt, and started to wander around.

By the way, if you haven't noticed, there are a few themes here.  (1) It's wet.  That's because I chose to go to India during the rainy season (monsoon).  (2) The dogs roam the streets.  They are not pets.  They are feral.  But, they seem pretty nice so long as you don't try to pet them.  (3) Everything is under construction.  This just seems to be generally true of India.  However, Delhi has been under renovation for the last few years, and the entire district of Connaught Place (where I'm staying) is definitely under major construction.

After finding some toothpaste and deodorant, I continued to wander around and got lost.  That's fine by me.  Getting lost in a foreign country without knowing the local language, and having no reasonable cell phone service is a kind of cheap thrill.  I knew that I'd eventually find my way back to the hotel.  I just wasn't sure if my flip flops would withstand the mud and the rocky terrain long enough.  I wandered into the government district where there are embassies from all over the world.  There was a political speech going on in the street.  It was kind of fun, but then I got thirsty and hungry (1 PM or so).  So, I stopped in at the first hygenic place that I could find.  "Coffee Day"  It's kind of a mix between a Starbucks and a Dairy Queen.  They have great shakes, chicken curry sandwiches and lattes.  I had an apple soda and a Chicken Curry Pita.  Once fed and refreshed, I stopped in next door at an Indian fashions store and bought a shirt called a Kurta (as my tee-shirt had seen better days, and was smelling and looking like it was very cross with me).  I was to wander about for another hour until I finally paid a Truk-Truk driver to take me back to my hotel (which was 1 block away).  See... I would have found my way back eventually.  I was hot on the trail of my hotel, but just didn't know it.

Okay, that's enough writing for now.  That was part 1 of day 1.  I'll write next about the latter half of my day, and post some more pictures...  Right now, off to enjoy a sweet pan and meet up with my tour group leader for lunch.  Cheers,

    Phil

Sweet Pan Anyone?

I stopped back at my hotel for an hour to rest and to record a quick video.  I'm about to go meet my driver to go back out to a "Haldiramf" (chain of restaurant / Indian deli), where they have Indian sweets and my favorite "water balls" (aka golgappas or panipuri).  Yes, water balls sounds like an unfortunate male condition.  But, I assure you that it is a delight for men and women alike (provided you find a nice hygenic place like Haldiramf to get them).

So, hopefully I'll have time tonight after I get water balls, to do some more blogging and catch up on the pictures from my trip so far.  So many pictures.  So many stories.  It's only day 2...  How will I keep up?

Well, here's the video I made on "sweet pan".  Enjoy.  I sure did.

Until next time...  Horn please!

    Phil

Day 2 in Delhi - a brief breakfast tangent

Good morning.  It's now 7 AM Delhi time on Saturday (6:30 PM Friday for your average or even sub-average Californian).  I woke up at 5:30 AM, ready to face the day.  I guess a 9PM bed time can do that.

I've already made a few calls to loved ones back home, using my new found Skype skills.  What a fantastic service.  My cell company (thanks AT&T) wants to charge me $2.29/min to call anyone while I'm here; and that's after paying them $15 for the "international calling plan".  Phone hand-cuffs.  Psah I say, psah.  But, with Skype I can call free to anyone who has Skype and I can call for $0.021/minute to anyone else!  I surprised a few folks calling their cell phones from Delhi (via Skype).  I've even set up a direct line through Skype so that people can call me directly.  If you want that number, shoot me an email (phils949 at live.com) and I'll send it to you.

At the moment, I'm enjoying my hotel's breakfast buffet.  (Here's a picture of my plate - Ms. Linda Oakes would not forgive me if I failed to post a few food pics.) 

On my plate is an assortment of the best fruit and melon I've tasted, some strange looking bacon, a nice coriander idli with coconut and tamarind chutneys, breakfast pudding, watermelon juice and coffee "with milk".  Of all of these delights, I must comment on two of them.

First, idli.  (Yes Mickey, I'm thinking of you as I ingest this delicate Indian delight.)  These little flying saucers of love are probably hell on my new-found girlish figure.  I simply cannot resist them.  Made from lentil and rice, steamed into heavenly little disks, and garnished with whatever chutney you like (I prefer coconut and tamarind), they go down very easy and leave me wanting more.  Today, I will limit myself to two of them (such restraint).

Second, coffee "with milk".  The "with milk" is said like a joyous surprise.  Like a little boy saying to his mother, "and candy!"  I agree with my Indian friends.  The way they make their coffee "with milk" is definitely a joyous surprise.  They heat the milk, and make their coffee strong.  So, about 2/3 of the cup is strong coffee, and 1/3 warm milk (and I don't mean skim milk).  Needless to say, it is one of the first ideas to penetrate my mind when I sit upright in bed... "I must get some coffee 'with milk'".  (As a random aside, I did a search on "coffee with milk india" on google to see if anyone else was as taken by this phenomenon.  Alas, it seems I may be alone on this one.  However, I did find a rather comical post about the mystery of the disappearing milk in this man's coffee:  Click here to go tangential.)

But, I digress.

Please allow me to continue (albeit mundanely linear) the story of my trip to Delhi.  In my next post...  ;-P

 (Re-edit post:  So, I've been sitting in the restaurant since 7 AM -- it's now 9:15.  My bags have arrived, and my friend Ashish has made arrangements for a driver to take me around Delhi all day today.  The driver is picking me up at 10 AM, and I already have a full itinerary.  Jeez... I'm getting backlogged on my blogging.  I promise to catch up tonight and post more pictures.  My nice camera should be in my bags too, so I'll have something better than a bunch of iPhone pictures to share with you. Stay tuned...)

----------- A few books on Indian cooking & Coffee -------


Okay, so I work in advertising.  Do you really think I'd post a blog without playing with ads?  If they bother you, please, please, please do me a favor: Don't click on them.  Clicking on them only encourages people like me.  And, in case you were rudely curious why I would do such a thing, I really need the $0.10/mo I'll get from this...  No, really.  The web is a playground, and I would be sadly remiss if I did something on the web and failed to use it as an opportunity to experiment and learn something more about my trade.  Now, stop reading this paragraph, as it should have lost your interest at least 3 sentences ago.  Delhi and coffee "with milk!" is far more interesting than advertising.  Go on.  Read a different post, or go pay some bills or something useful.

First full day in Delhi, India

Wow, it has been a long couple of days!  Travel really can take it out of you.  From Wednesday at 5:30 AM until now (Friday 8:00 AM PST or Friday 8:30 PM IND)  I have slept about 8 hours.  I intentionally did this to try and get my body to adjust to a sleep schedule that is 12.5 hours off-base from what it's used to.  Now, at 8:30 PM I'm falling asleep at the keyboard.  It's worth it though, if I can avoid the brunt of jet lag.

First, a few words about the adventures of flying internationally.

The short story is that my luggage and I have become separated, and I lost my favorite jacket.  Here's the longer version...  I was booked on two flights, three legs.  The first flight ran from LA to Tokyo Japan, then Singapore.  The second flight ran from Singapore to Delhi.  When I checked in at LAX, I told them my final destination was Delhi, but they only gave me a boarding ticket through to Singapore.  I thought nothing of it, and went about my business relaxing in the Business Class lounge in LAX.  See photo?

When it was time to board, I skipped past everyone and went directly onto the plane (nice to fly Business Class internationally!!!)  The staff for Singapore Airlines were overwhelmingly nice and very attentive.  And of course, the seats were spacious, versatile and comfortable.  It made the journey to Tokyo and then Singapore so much  easier.

The stop in Tokyo wasn't too bad.  We had to deplane, which was a great excuse to stretch my legs.  Getting back on the plane for Singapore was uneventful, and more wonderful meals came with the journey.  The fun and games really did not start until we landed in Singapore.

Well, I'm dozing, but I have a bunch of photos to share all about my first whole day in Delhi.  Perhaps if I wake up in the middle of my night, I'll post the rest of the photos and the stories that go with.

Good night (good day) for now...


  Phil

Itinerary & tour

So, I'm killing a little time at the airport, waiting to leave LA.  I figure I might as well do a little writing.

What the heck will I do with myself for 5 weeks in India?  This whole thing started in a conversation with my good friend Srini Reddy.  I mentioned to him back in February that I loved my last trip to India, and that I'm waiting for an excuse to return.  He asked, "what excuse are you waiting for?"  I didn't have a good answer.  Next thing I knew, I was looking at airfare and destinations.  But, I didn't just want to go see landmarks and tourist destinations.  I wanted to see the rural parts of India and get a more authentic experience. 

Srini highly recommended Explore UK  (http://www.explore.co.uk/) for their authentic tours, as several of his friend had used them and raved.  What was originally an idea to go for 10-14 days became a "what's stopping me from going longer?"  I found a tour for 22 days in Northern India (see dossier here:  http://www.explore.co.uk/Explore/UI/Dossier/2010Dossiers/MG-L.pdf).  At the time, they were also offering an 84 day tour of the entire country.  I thought that might be going a bit too far.  In contrast, 22 days didn't seem too much.

Next, I mentioned to my friend and associate Ashish Agarwal (Neudesic India LTD) that I would be in India and would be happy to stop by the Neudesic India office for a few days after my tour to deliver some Agile training to our consultants in Hyderabad and Bangalore.  He took me up on the offer, and I extended my trip another week and a half.  So, when I finish with my tour, in week #4, I'll be meeting Ashish (and our mutual friend Sanjay) in Delhi.  We'll make our way down to Hyderabad and probably to Bangalore to deliver some training sessions, and then we plan to spend a few days in Goa (beautiful tropical destination in India).


So, you see, an innocent little comment like "I'm just waiting for an excuse to return to India" has turned into a 5-week adventure.  Interesting how these things come about.

Well, time to board my flight now.  Cheers.

    -Phil

Parting is such sweet sorrow

 Well, it's travel day.  My bags are packed.  Of course, I had to juggle the weight of the bags a bit to get my main bag down to 45 pounds.  It was the running shoes and hiking boots that did me in.  (I continue to ask myself if I seriously believe that I'm going to make the time to go running every morning before joining my tour group.  Crazy.)

I didn't realize just how extreme my organizational skills had become until I finished checking off the last item on a seven page list I had made last week.  If I've forgotten something, I'm just going to have to live without it, or buy it in India.  No worries.  (Strangest items in bag:  water tablets, emergency blanket, toilet paper.)  By the way, REI had a fantastic line-up of items for travel.  I was able to find a fully collapsible 1 liter water bottle with a locking bite-tip (very compact, and very strong).  Go REI!!!

Now, it's time to rush out and see if I can find a spare battery for my Nikon.  (That camera sucks up the juice like nothing I've seen before.  I've got to learn how to use it better without the LiveView mode.)  Then, a quick Starbucks run and then cool out while waiting for my ride.  A friend (thanks Michael) is taking me to LAX later this morning.  I hope to have plenty of time to check in and relax in the business class lounge before departing.  

I won't be landing in Delhi until about 5:30 AM India time on Friday.  For those of you trying to do the math on that, it's easy.  Just take Pacific Time and add 12.5 hours to get India time.  Or in this case, take Friday 5:30 AM and subtract 12.5 hours to get 5:00 PM Thursday PSD.  (Yes, that's 12.5 not 12.  Strange, huh?)  Oh, and even though India falls in multiple longtitudes, it only uses one time zone.  Again, I find this strange.

So, perhaps by later on Thursday night (US time), I'll have a chance to post some early pictures of Delhi.

All the best,

    -Phil

Return to India

Since I was about 16, I've had a fascination with India.  I longed to visit the country, and spend time on the streets, witnessing the bizarre and mysterious.  Stories of snake charmers, sword swallower, gurus, fortune tellers, hot coal walkers, and mystical healers enticed my young mind.  More than any other country, I wanted to visit India.  Strange, I know.  Most Americans want to visit somewhere tropical with cold drinks to sip on the beach, or touring Europe.  Not me.  Give me a ride on an elephant or a chat with a guru any day.

A couple years ago, I was fortunate enough to travel to India on business with a few friends and work mates.  We were able to visit the Taj Mahal and spend a little time with our friend Sanjay and his family.  If anything, this visit (short though it was) only served as a teaser, beckoning me to return.

The Taj Mahal was breathtaking.  Pictures absolutely do not do it justice.  It must simply be seen in person, up close and personal.

We also toured through Delhi, and really found the local traffic to be a shock and a hoot.  Here's a picture of our little group in front of India Gate (in a capital park in Delhi).

The oxen, carts, auto-rickshaw, trucks, buses and nano cars were such a novelty to our American group.

We saw so much, and my pictures here are such a small sample of the experience.

Here's a link to my old blog, where I posted a few notes and videos of our adventures in 2008:  http://philthescott.blogspot.com/


So, now, I have finally made plans to return.  In about a week, I'll be departing for a nice long vacation in India, visiting about 16 cities.  I'll post more information about my trip and preparations leading up to it...

Innaugural post

Okay, so this picture has nothing at all to do with the thrust of this blog. Well, other than the fact that it was taken while traveling to New Orleans for the first time, and generally having a laugh at myself for being such a techno-geek.

The real thrust of this blog is to talk about adventure (at home, abroad, down the street, or in my mind).

For too many of my years, I have put off travel, fitness, personal goals and various other categories of aspirations that so often are referred to collectively as "living life to the fullest."  I find myself (as many my age apparently do) turning up the volume and adjusting the pitch on my personal life.  Seeking to do the things that scare me and stretch my limits (kayaking in the open sea, sky diving, solo world travel).  Yet, one of the challenges I'm finding is to learn when to step away from the buffet of life and moderate.  Seek balance.

So, as broad as the topic may seem, I plan to write here about my ponderings and experiences while attempting to improve at the game of "living life to the fullest."