lovely little laos

from chiang mai our next destination was laos, the one that started it all, so to speak. that is to say, when i began planning this trip i had envisioned an exploration of laos itself. that somehow turned into a whirlwind trip to four countries in two weeks. hmm. point being, i was particularly excited to see what laos had to offer.

we arrived in luang prabang, what we have since been told is the nicest (presumably nicest tourist-frequented) town in laos. driving along the tiny road to our hotel we had quaint dark-roofed architecture to our left and the mekong down below on our right. when we stopped at our hotel the sun was just going down so we stopped to admire the light reflecting on the water in the adirondack chairs (in sand - 'the only beach in luang prabang!') across the street as we enjoyed the croissants we brought from c.m. a wonderful introduction to the city, i must say.

sundown at the market

we checked into our hotel - like all the others there, entirely paneled dark wood, one of the things that makes luang prabang somewhat reminiscent of a swiss chalet town - and headed out into the dusky evening. we walked up to the main street, running parallel to ours and the river. here the night market was just getting started. i must say, i really like this night market tradition they've got going here. we walked through the rows, tarps lit with big bulbs above blankets laden with all sorts of crafts - most covered with elephants. slippers, coin purses, t-shirts, keychains. you name it. if it had a surface of more than two inches, there was probably an elephant on it. but hey, who doesn't love elephants? and laos is named for them, after all. (literally: land of a million elephants. sadly, not so anymore.) we browsed as we wound our way through the tented street and, a few jewelry purchases later, finally made our way to the end. and dinner! the food was distinctly less flavorful than in laos, but the beer lao was cold and sitting down felt good. our crêpe afterwards was similarly underwhelming. but, hey, when's the last time i had a crêpe?

the next day we started out fairly early after a nice night's sleep and a vaguely traditional lao breakfast at the hotel. we walked down along the river to set up a boat trip for later. some haggling took place but my mom reminded me that the lao (according to the almighty guidebook) are typically gentle people who like to save face, and aggressive bargaining is not the way to go. (i should say the guidebook seems to be right about this one.) i let go of my indian side and agreed on a boat for probably a little more than i thought we should have. but, hey, i'm not footing the bill, anyway, right?

roofs like rolling waves

that settled, we continued on, checking out temples and cool architecture (the french center was very quaint) as we went along. here, again, there were no shortage of temples. but as compared to thailand there seemed to be less emphasis on the gold and more subtle decoration, which i appreciated. the temple in the center of town, though, was entirely red and gold inside. others had lovely paintings - some with very nice details. and of course to make the picture complete there were the orange-clad monks who seemed to be all over town. we followed our wandering with a lunch along the river - half french-inspired (baguette sandwich) and half lao (red curry with buffalo meat, much more flavorful this time!) before our scheduled boat ride.

said view.

we made our way onto the long narrow boat (one row of seats on each side) and made our way down the mekong. i like being so low to the water - it's lovely to be able to reach down and splash if you get the urge. we knew this boat ride would likely be better for the ride itself than the destination - the underwhelming pak ou cave. so we enjoyed the scenery - small green hills, fishermen in pointed sampan hats, and eventually mountains rising up out of the water. after a quick stop at 'whisky village' (very much like the 'hill tribe village' visit, but with local whisky also) we arrived at the cave. the gangplank that led to shore seemed to be made of giant old plastic gasoline containers that tessellated perfectly, which i thought was very clever. the cave itself was little more than a few small chambers filled with thousands of buddha statuettes of varying sizes. we explored it sufficiently in about 10 minutes, the biggest selling point being the silhouetted view of the mountains across the river (see left). the ride back was more of the same, a low lazy float along the river. once we got back it was another meal along the river - fish from the mekong this time - and watching the sun set.

glowing green fields

the next day we did more of the same in a lot of ways.. different yet semi-traditional breakfast at the hotel (brown noodles with fried eggs?), meandering around different parts of the city, including the morning market - full of things like black chickens' feet, giant hacked-up fish, and small birds in bamboo cages (more on that later). we made our way up to the temple atop phou si hill - all 328 steps. we stopped along the way at a charming little wat (temple) with some beautiful paintings inside. then trudged on. we wound our way up the criss-crossing steps and made it to the top with little trouble. we saw more caged birds for sale up there - presumably to be let free atop the hill. sort of poetic, i suppose. the view from there was pretty nice - for once we could see both the khan and the mekong (you didn't even know there were two rivers, did you?). after the trek down, we had another pretty delicious curry lunch and then headed toward kwang-si, the famed waterfall. the ride itself was quite lovely (albeit slightly bumpy in our songtheaw with the not-quite-wide-enough benches), passing stepped green fields and rice paddies.

really does it no justice at all

about thirty minutes later we arrived at the waterfall. well, actually we arrived at the little area of food stands and shops just before the waterfall trail. the walk was quite short, punctuated only by a stop through the free the bears reserve. the bears looked pretty comfy, lounging in hammocks and whatnot. a quick look and then onward to the waterfall. it was, in a word, unbelievable! the water was a perfect bluish green - i'm not sure any picture will do it justice. once i had scampered all around on the rocks, in the water, on the bridge, behind the trees taking pictures i figured i should get in. the water wasn't quite warm, but it wasn't too cold either. once you got used to it you could just completely enjoy the sensation of swimming under a waterfall - although this proved difficult since the water is essentially trying to push you away with a constant barrage of gallons and gallons of water. on one of the upper plateaus there was a rope from which you could swing and jump into the water. i worked up my nerve and finally went up on the tree to do it. what i did was less of a swing and jump, really more of a fall and flop. still, i did it. it probably wouldn't have been so bad if there hadn't been dozens of people standing around watching. don't they have better things to do? like, you know, swim under waterfalls? well that's what i did anyway. stick with what you know, right?

boats at sundown

i grudgingly removed myself from the beautiful water, dried off as best i could without a towel, and made my way back onto the trail. another sunny, sleepy ride and we were back in luang prabang just in time to watch the sun go down over the many boats in the river. the river seems to really define the city well - monks and people from various islands cross it every day and long boats take people up and down the mighty mekong. after taking that in, all that was left was another dinner and a stroll through the night market (i bought a fun paper lantern/lamp! and possibly some more jewelry..) before hitting the hay.

river of orange

we were up early the next morning - even before the sun - to catch the daily monks' alms walk. we were confused as to where exactly this event took place but we ambled somewhere in the semi-darkness until we reached the spot where most tourists seemed to be gathered. a few people were milling around, some had chairs. there was even a makeshift coffee stand. we waited in for some sort of order to arise and eventually we saw the monks approach, easily visible in their distinctive bright orange robes. the walk was simple but still an interesting sight - all the monks shuffling forward, accepting their small offering of rice from each person assembled, dropping it into their pots. one elderly couple looked particularly sweet as they doled out the portion to each successive brother. and then just as the light was almost total, the walk ended and the monks scattered into the town, each to their respective temple, i suppose.

just elephants walking through a river

we headed back to the hotel for a quick breakfast before our next excursion: the elephant village. (side note: not that this is always a good measure, but on tripadvisor it's the #1 thing to do in laos. not this city. all of laos.) it ended up being one of our favorite parts of the trip. i suppose we booked it initially because we hadn't felt satisfied with our last elephant ride. besides, you can't come to the land of a million elephants without at least seeing one, right? another bumpy ride and we found ourselves in elephant country. it was a lovely camp, and just from the way it's set up you can tell they have the elephant's interest at heart. our half-day adventure started with an elephant ride, naturally. we were on a little saddle, as before, but this one was bamboo instead of metal. our mahout led him to the water, down a narrow slope that this giant creature somehow navigated. we waded through the river and came to a small embankment. there the mahout gestured, asking if i wanted to switch and ride on his shoulder. let me think about that.. um, YES! i was so excited; it was exactly what i had been hoping for. it took a little while to get used to; if you don't sway your body with his you could easily topple off. but i got the hang of it. it even seemed like he was wrapping his big floppy ears around my legs to keep them in place. i patted his hairy head in return. i assumed before we reached the end of the rocks the mahout and i would switch back. but the elephant had other plans. he kept on trucking - through the water, up a small hill and up to some delicious sugar cane. i'm happy to say i managed to stay on top throughout and had a fantastic time doing so.

after that we had a chance to feed the elephants - we bought a bunch of bananas and had a grand time feeding him whole ones that he would curl up into his trunk and devour. then we fed ourselves - a lunch provided by the village. then it was a pleasant boat ride to a place that i'm sure is very beautiful when there is a waterfall but in the dry season, less so. and then back to luang prabang where we wandered to the other side of the river and got some chocolate croissants for the road.

i'm not sure i've ever said this before, but i think we did luang prabang about perfectly. though it's a small town we spread our visit over several days so we could take our time, breaking up days of temple-visiting with little jaunts out of the area. altogether a completely lovely visit. no complaints at all!

tourist traipse

as i said, we took the night train to chiang mai. in general i love train travel and night trains are always exciting for some reason. our compartment was quite nice and we had the 4 berths to ourselves for several hours (until more tourists arrived around 10pm - i've never seen so many foreigners on a train!). the ride overall was good - we have a rather expensive meal brought to us along with 'wine' (actually a wine cooler), and it was a tad jerky, sort of a side-to-side rocking. but i slept soundly as i always do (i like to think the train rocks you to sleep, even if it does inhibit reading at times) and woke up in the thai countryside. lush green scenery and trees on either side.

chiang mai itself wasn't quite what i expected. on the drive into the old town i realized the shops were filled with t-shirts (the tired 'same same but different' and a variety of local beer logos) and restaurants offered cuisines of various countries (personal favorite: loco elvis' tex mex). it was clear this town was going to be a bit more touristy than expected.

green leafies at the market

we checked into our pleasant room inside the old city (surrounded by what was once a moat but is now really a series of water-filled medians dividing the road) and went out in search of a traditional lunch. something of a challenge, as it turns out. on the way we passed italian, middle eastern, and 'continental' cuisines but no thai. finally once we reached the market (and had passed approximately 8 dozen massage parlors) we found a small stall just opposite that served up tasty, authentic dishes cooked to order in the giant wok? (pan?) out front. everything is fresh, naturally since all the fruits and vegetables come from the market that's literally steps away. the market itself is full of crazy-looking giant fruits, fish in little baskets and of course all manners of green vegetables.

dark wood with flowers, nice touch

next up: what else? temples. we began the trek as laid out by the guest house owner on our map. this walk took us outside the city 'walls' (that moat thing) and back in. the temples all vary but usually have some-lots of gold ornament and the typical pointy roofs. the one at right was more in the lao-style, which i suppose means dark wood and less gold. understated is refreshing at this point. finally about 4 temples and lots of walking later we found ourselves back in the middle of town. off one of the main streets i spotted a vintage clothing store where i scored some cute wedges (no small feat finding shoes that fit in asia! pun intended!) and a polka-dot dress. pleased with my find and tired from all our walking, we made our way back towards the guesthouse for a quick rest.

why mess with a good thing

and after our rest, a massage! we stopped at one of the many parlors we saw. the prices are all about the same, so might as well stop at a place that looks pleasant, right? that logic seemed to work out pretty well for us. the place we chose had bamboo walls, dim lighting, soft new age music - the works. the massages themselves were pretty good too. i was certainly relaxed. from there it was just a short walk back down the street to our lunch spot. can't be good food with fresh ingredients right?

the next day was the day we chose to do a day trip/tour of sorts. my mom and i aren't 'tour people' as such, but in this case it seemed to be the best way to do a variety of things in the area we wanted to do. the guesthouse proprietor advised us to choose the cheapest package as they all end up being more or less the same anyway. we took his advice and in the midst of breakfast (they had to box it up) we were whisked away into the back of the songthaew (song means two, which i assume refers to the benches that line either side of the back area). we stopped at several more guesthouses picking up new people along the way. we ended up with a fun group - a young australian girl, a very blond, very tall belgian flight attendant, an outdoorsy american couple, a french couple and a gaggle of czechs who didn't speak much english (side note: how do you get by traveling in asia without knowing english..?). it was a bumpy ride but our young, energetic guide remained peppy throughout (at least she seemed peppy; we rarely knew what she was saying), despite having to sit on the floor.

just look at all those butterflies

the first destination was an orchid/butterfly farm, which sounded neat enough. well, something must have been a little off, because the number of butterflies i saw was exactly zero. unless, of course, you count the dozens of dead ones in the gift shop. including earrings made out of those beautifully iridescent wings (cool or creepy, i can't decide). at any rate there were orchids, which i suppose is still pretty nice.

the downhill portion

a bumpy ride later, we arrived somewhere out of the city amidst greenery and hills. glad to be out of the songthaew we walked quickly over to the where the elephants were kept, where we were instructed to read the information about their place (and why it's not inhumane to ride them, keep them chained up, etc. etc. which i'm sure is true, i'm not trying to be flip, though i'm sure every such place has the same information). we climbed up the platform as the elephants sidled up and then shimmied on to the metal baskets above. it was something akin to what you would get inside to ride a roller coaster at a small carnival. perhaps for that reason, the ride itself was somewhat underwhelming. the elephant was led around a prescribed, circuitous path, taking us through a small stream and past a view of an elephant that seemed to be sipping from the stream in an idyllic setting (upon closer inspection, we realized he was chained there. oof.) i couldn't put my finger on it, but it just wasn't as exciting as i had anticipated. once we came to the end (our elephant was easily distracted by sugar cane/grass/anything) we dismounted and sat down to a lunch of rice and vegetable curry.

supposed 'long neck' tribe member

my mom and i were then informed that we had to make a choice between staying with the elephants to learn.. well, something, it wasn't clear what, or going to visit the nearby 'hill tribe' for an extra 300 baht. (remember how i said all the tours are essentially the same? evidently everyone on our tour paid a different price; this one we hadn't paid for yet.) we opted for the hill tribe, which was a rather short drive, considering one would expect them to be, well, in the 'hills'. this should have been the first clue that something was awry. when we reached there we saw a lovely (man-made?) waterfall and situated around it, dozens of stilted wooden structures. these were essentially shops, staffed by 'authentic hill tribe members' in traditional garb. of course the fact that they represented a number of different tribes in such a small area indicated that they were brought to that area for this specific purpose. who knows where they were actually from. it seemed like a big sham, and everyone was pretty universally disappointed. as it turns out, though, our belgian friend who stayed with the elephants didn't fare much better. she was made to put on a denim shirt and then wait for her elephant ride as the mahout smoked a cigarett and, apparently, forgot about her.

ah, well. onwards! this time a longer drive to take our 'jungle hike'. mom opted out of this one, which was for the best since, as she suspected, the trail was full of steep slopes and rock scrambles. the scenery was nice - quite green and well, jungley. we spotted a few giant spiders and crazy looking centipedes along the way. eventually we reached the waterfall below where we were meant to swim. the water was freezing though so i opted to sit out and take photos for the others. it was not terrible picturesque but it did fit all the requirements of a waterfall as it had water flowing vertically over some rocks. a short hike back uphill and we were back at our vehicle.

best view of the ride was before we began

at this point we were all pretty exhausted - i think more from the bumpy, cramped drives than the actual walking (of which we hadn't done that much) but we still had the last leg of our day to go. this section was to be either white water rafting or a bamboo raft ride. i had hoped for the former but the group chose the latter. although, in hindsight, it was likely better that way since we were all so pooped. we began our rafting trip with mild anticipation; it quickly waned from there. the views from the boat were.. fine. a house here, a patch of trees there. by 10 minutes in, we were rafted out. but the ride.. it just went on and on and on. we were all going slightly stir-crazy, wondering if each successive port would be our final stop. no? maybe this one..? what's that? oh.. sigh.

finally the boat ride came to an end and we were loaded back into the songthaew for the long drive back. at some point i was comparing the ride to driving in india. there's just something about driving in india that's unlike anywhere else. oh boy, four days out of india and i'm getting nostalgic. eesh. by the time we had re-entered the old town and dropped off several of the passengers, including ourselves, it was far past dark. we were, as i said, pretty tired. but we had one more destination:

business at the night market

the saturday market. we had heard it was not as big as the sunday market, but no matter. we were not to be disappointed. it was enormous! it stretched way, way down one main street. in fact we never actually came to the end of it. at some point we figured we'd done all we could and about-faced. the market itself was great though. i came expecting handicrafts and scarves but instead found more trendy, local-made crafts that seemed more typical of richmond than southeast asia. (i counted no less than 11 stalls with bicycles on t-shirts) no complaints here though! the market, of course, also included a wide array of foodstuffs, ranging from snow cones to noodles to spiders (no, we didn't sample the latter). and it was packed! especially considering this happens once, well twice including sundays, a week. it must just be where everybody goes. we even saw our exhausted tour guide out eating with her friends after spending the better part of her day on a bumpy truck floor.

overall a chaotic ending to a crazy full day. and a fitting end to a very full trip to chiang mai

my thai-land

once again we found ourselves at the bombay airport (i think that makes 4 times in 5 days or something obscene) and - after being mistakenly dropped at the domestic terminal - were on our way to bangkok. in less than five hours we were in bangkok. i have to admit, it was a little weird to be out of india. the language of course i knew nothing of (but i will say the alphabet looked something like malayalam or tamil). at first it was a little stressful leaving the airport with no idea how the transportation works, how much something should cost, etc. etc. but once i realized i was just a tourist and there was no expectation (from myself, more than anything) to know any of these things i relaxed and just braced myself to get somewhat ripped off. something that's always hard for me to accept.

we got in a thai version of an auto rickshaw (each country seems to have its own) - he took us a bit farther then realized he either didn't know where we were going or for some reason no longer wanted to take us there. he dropped us off and fortunately we were able to find a nice taxi driver who even went by the meter.

we arrived at our hotel which was perfectly situated in the old part of town along the river and, as it turned out, had an unbeatable view of wat arun, the temple across the water. the hotel - sorry, residence - has only a few rooms and ours was just lovely. a living area and bathroom with a loft bedroom area above. the shape of the space and the look of the stairs (and, i suppose, the presence of water) made it seem somehow boat-like and fun. we briefly enjoyed our surroundings and then rushed out to find some food. it was now past 2pm and the cookies we'd had on our 6 am flight were a distant memory.

fortunately on the corner of our little street was an unassuming outdoor eatery of plastic tables and chairs (this seems to be a wide trend among southeast asia). we sat down and had two bowls of delicious noodles/rice with pork and a few sodas. i made note of the accoutrements on the table - we had a set of various spices, vinegar and chilis - sort of like the typical indian lemon, onion and pickle combo. we devoured everything in front of us and paid our bill (about $3) and were on our way fully satisfied.

from there it was a short walk to one of the ports. along the way we saw all manners of dried seafood, fruits, nuts. at one point i took a picture of a basket of shrimp and was immediately accosted by the shopkeeper and unwittingly dragged into a 10-minute conversation in which he showed me every photo he had of the members of his family and all the countries he'd visited (which was quite impressive). he was nice, but it was still very odd, and ended with him giving us an envelope and enlisting us to send him something from america. lesson learned.

nightly boat traffic on the river at wat arun

we reached the dock and decided to take a trip on the water taxi as an intro to the city. we quickly hopped on a boat - they seemed to be arriving every few minutes - and wobbly found a seat on the long, low narrow boat. we saw a few temples.. then fewer, as we headed into the more hotel/corporate end of the city.. then an interesting expansion bridge.. then the sun began to set and we figured we should turn around. we got off at one stop, easy enough, then waited for another going the opposite direction, and suddenly realized that we hadn't really seen any. it only ended up being about a 10-minute wait, though, and we arrived back at our stop just as it was getting dark and the temples were being lit up. we hurried back to our hotel where we enjoyed both the spectacular view of the opposite temple lit up and our complimentary welcome drinks. it happened to be valentine's day, as well, so on our way down we passed several couples dressed fancily (when was the last time i saw so many miniskirts and heels??) for a dinner at the hotel's classy restaurant.

street food/night life

we walked the other direction this time, in search of a cheaper option. on the way i was excited/dismayed to learn that there was a french movie playing outdoors nearby - very cool, but unfortunately we were too hungry/late to catch it. we walked on and soon came upon the beginnings of a street market (produce and sweets mostly) where we saw another corner restaurant. same plastic chairs, same table garnishes, slightly different but delicious food. this time noodles with pork balls (which can also be seen roasting on every street corner). we got and paid for our food mainly through pointing and gesturing, then enjoyed it as we watched a few cars zip by along the street.

the next day we set out early since we had so little time in the city. hoping to do the royal palace first, we headed in that direction. on the sidewalk we were intercepted by a man who told us we weren't properly dressed for the palace (half-true) and that it wouldn't be open for foreigners until the afternoon (not true). instead he recommended we visit several other temples in the rickshaw that just, hey, happened to be nearby. in retrospect, we quickly realized this was a scam. still, the ride was dirt cheap and we were only taken to a few jewelry/silk emporiums - at one of which we bought something, the others we extricated ourselves as quickly as possible. apparently the drivers get a cut when they bring us there. pretty sneaky. at any rate we saw a few temples, tried a tempting chicken-on-a-stick (full of fat, bleah) and had a wonderfully spicy lunch (fiery shrimp paired with a thai iced tea with milk) before being dropped off back at the royal palace.

all that gold must be heavy

entering the grounds feels very much like entering disneyworld. there's a big crowd, cheesy music piped in and a recording that repeats a welcome message and the opening hours for visitors. once inside we found out i had to cover my shins (seems like vital information for a guide book, no?) so we had to wait in line to borrow a wrap-around fabric. it was actually quite pretty but also very hot in the rather stifling heat. the grounds of the palace are, of course, massive. we wandered around the vast set of temples - all covered in ceramic mosaics or gold. actually there's just a lot of gold here, period. and here i thought india was super-decorated. every inch is covered with something - either a guardian figure, some sort of stylized flames, or just tiny tiles. after exhausting our bodies and cameras we left in search of a respite. we got some water and street food (crab wrapped in dough and dipped in some sort of mango butter, i think) and walked through an informal street market that had wares ranging from food to old coins to plenty of tiny buddha figurines.

baskets and bouquets - thousands of roses

in need of a rest, we headed back to the hotel to relax before dinner. by the time we headed back out it was dark (it does get dark early) and we set out in search of the night market. after a short, overpriced rickshaw ride we realized it was just a bit past where we'd walked for dinner the night before. live and learn. we wandered through the market - first flowers. thousands and thousands of flowers of all kinds. but mainly marigolds (yellower than the indian counterparts), roses, carnations, and orchids (so cheap you almost just want to buy one for the novelty!) an amazing site. i stopped for an iced coffee (so delicious - like south indian filter coffee but with condensed milk) and we walked on through the food sections with produce, sweets, all sorts of fruit, meat, just about anything. we crossed a big intersection and entered the other part of the night market, that is, mostly retail. all kinds of clothes, shoes, cosmetics and accessories. there were some pretty good tees and sneakers - definitely a step above fashion street (sorry, bombay). i had my eye on some sneakers but in the end only walked away with some nail polish. oh and a tiny blueberry waffle which was delightful. we ended up hungry and wandering to the nearest restaurant we could find - over a little bridge right on the river (which i recognized later in a scene of the hangover 2, on tv the next day). they had tom yum soup - exactly what we'd been searching for. it's a delicious tomato-based soup with shrimp, lemongrass, lime leaves, basil, and other subtle citrusy spices and herbs. perfectly accompanied with a cold singha beer. one of our favorite meals of the trip.

gaudi, before gaudi

the next day it was up early to head to the temple across the street. you gotta break up these temple visits; there are so many and it's easy to get 'templed out'. we were there a little after 8 and found a pretty peaceful temple, with just a group of schoolchildren in formation reciting some kind of pledge. we wandered around, watching as people fed the one or two puppies and went about their morning routines. it was more of the same decoration - lots of ceramic of all kinds and a few golden spires. the interior, here, though, was the main attraction. in one of the temples resided the sleeping buddha, a reclining buddha that's over 45 feet tall (god only knows how long) and takes up almost the entire space. the buddha himself is covered in gold - all but the bottoms of his feet, which are mesmerizing swirls of mother-of-pearl. pretty amazing.

we decided we had time so we'd head across the river to wat arun, that temple we'd been gazing at from our hotel every night. a quick ferry ride and we were right there. it turned out this temple was worth a closer look. it was, like others, entirely covered in ceramic and gold, but the ceramic of this temple came mostly from broken cups and saucers of all different designs. very gaudi-esque. you were able to climb up the (incredibly steep) steps up part of the stupa which i did, clinging to the flimsy metal handrail.

then back across the river and out of the sun for a somewhat unremarkable lunch (our first) before checking out of the hotel and heading to the train station to leave our things. this ended up being almost hassle-free, and a nice service to have. from there we went to the jim thompson house (after some minor difficulty finding a cab), which is the residence of a WWII soldier/architect who moved to thailand after the war. i was skeptical as everything was very overpriced and chi-chi (the store prices were ludicrous). but actually the house itself was quite innovative. he incorporated indigenous design elements with clever ideas of his own. he even incorporated antique asian pieces (like doors) in interesting ways - as room dividers or tables.

from there we took the metro to a shopping area in the newer part of town - somewhere we hadn't really explored yet. the metro itself was quite nice - user-friendly and clean, with TVs everywhere. but it was rather expensive. and with all the line-switching (there are two separate lines with separate payment systems for some reason) it ended up being probably more than taxis would have cost us. seems counter-productive to me.

another quick stop for a market (again mostly retail - cute but very small clothes and shoes) and another ill-advised chicken-on-a-stick (same result) and then back to the train station. there we hoped to enjoy a massage as we waited. there was only one staff member on the job so mom got a foot massage while i explored what little the train station convenience store had to offer (ice cream flavored oreo? crab flavored chips?)

then pretty soon it was time to board. next stop: chiang mai

caves of wonders

after giving my mom a whirlwind two-day tour of bombay we headed out for aurangabad. we ended up flying which seems a little ludicrous given that it's in the same state. buses and trains run regularly but we were short on time so for us this was the way to go. why go to aurangabad? well it has the advantage of being a small city between the cities of ajanta and ellora, both of which have ancient caves with sculptures and paintings.

the first day we checked into our fabulous hotel (i'd forgotten what it's like to have a room with a tv, much less a refrigerator or a hotel pool - traveling with your mother has definite advantages), got ready and set out to find an auto to take us to ellora. mom was ready to agree to the price our cab driver had quoted (to be fair, less than the hotel's prices, yes, but those were ludicrous) but i wasn't having it. in
the end we got an auto and payed a modest but ample sum for the 2 hour round-trip drive.

to contextualize this a bit, i should add that ajanta and ellora were two of the earliest discoveries of ancient indian sculpture, made by early british 'orientalists' (to oversimplify: the good kind, not the edward said kind). it was also some of the earliest indian art i was exposed to (along with the stupas at sanchi), in asian and indian art classes so they have something a sentimental/nerdy, art historical appeal for me as well.

notice the faux-wooden ceiling beams

when we reached ellora we of course had to fend off the inevitable book peddlers and would-be guides before buying our tickets (10 rs, for me, thank you very much). once inside the path led to the middle of the set of caves; we chose to visit the latter half first. there are over 30 caves (mostly hindu and buddhist, but a few jain), some only separated by a few meters, others quite a bit farther. the guidebooks like to choose their favorites to highlight so we kept that in mind but also stopped wherever we felt like it. the first few caves we stopped in had minimal, but quite excellent, carvings of larger-than-life bodhisatvas and guardian figures. i had to remind myself there was much more to see. we continued on, exploring caves with, usually, a central buddha figure in the back niche and other figures flanking it. there were some lovely carvings of scenes like 'shiva and parvati playing dice' and 'ravana shaking the mountain' (ravana proved hard to find though, as he didn't appear to have 10 heads). at one point we came to an impasse, the narrow path, which followed some steps down and then edged along the curve of a small cliff, was blocked, presumably because the steps were a little worn. this was probably the dumbest thing anyone could have done - since the scaffolding they placed over it didn't preclude anyone from climbing around the side of it along the border of the stairs. which is exactly what people did. surely edging along the side of a staircase (and cliff, as it were) clinging to some bamboo scaffolding is much more unsafe than some worn-down steps. i was convinced we could get across - as we watched many people do the same, but mom was unsure (rightly so) so we had to turn back. one of the authorities - who would sporadically yell at people not to climb around (to no avail) - told us there was a path above. somewhere. perhaps there was, but if so we never found it.

we came back to the middle, where had begun, and continued on, skipping the central cave, which we knew was by far the largest and most elaborate. we walked on and saw some fantastic structures - caves with arches and beams that mirrored those in wooden architecture at the time (it's amazing how many cultures have done that), and of course humbling, reverent buddha figures at the far end. it was quite a sight, and the crowds were such that if you waited a few minutes you'd probably have any of the particular caves to yourself. we made our way onward, exploring some caves and not others, stopping for a sit in the shade and a snack of oranges.

not sure this does cave 16 justice.. it was massive

finally we arrived at cave 16, the main attraction. this cave blows all the others out of the water, in terms of both scale and sheer amount of sculpture. it can't even be called a cave, really, except that it was underground until it was discovered in the 19th century. it's actually a series of multi-storied temple structures surrounded by a covered arcade. the structures themselves have fabulous heavy relief sculptures, from goddesses (these are largely hindu) hybrid animals to giant, almost freestanding elephants (who sadly had a lot of broken trunks). there were even some traces of paint on some of the sculptures. what an amazing sight, and a good note to end on.

we had a long leisurely auto ride back punctuated by a stop for chai and pagodas. back at the hotel we relaxed by the pool, enjoyed a lovely hotel dinner and ordered a movie to our room. this is more like it!

the next day was ajanta, a longer (about 3 times longer) ride that my mom didn't relish taking in an auto. instead we hopped an auto to the bus station where, indeed, we were approached by someone offering us a cab. there was apparently a dearth of cabs that day due to a local election but we still got a pretty decent price and were able to travel alone. one long nap later and we arrived at ajanta to the same fanfare of perspective guides and all sorts of vendors. cold drink? ice cream? book? postcard? we bypassed them all - including one very insistent man who was convinced my mom needed to be carried on a chair over the site's various steps. no thanks, bud.

entering ajanta

a bit like ellora, the caves at ajanta are arranged around a small sort of valley. they follow a horseshoe shape, so you walk around the curve of the hill. evidently in the rainy season there are waterfalls to be seen but of course, being february we saw none of those. no matter, the main attraction was the caves themselves.

we walked into the first cave and i was astounded to see one of the most famous paintings there, right off the bat. if you've perused any books on indian art you may have seen this image - of a sinuous figure whose torso seems to follow the curves of the lotus vine he holds. the cave walls and ceiling are all covered with detailed paintings such as this, some in better repair than others. there were quite a few people there but once again, with some patience, and a tripod, i was able to get a few worthwhile shots.

and now a moment on the state of the sites. i, and perhaps you too, have been reading lately about UNESCO world heritage sites and the effects of that label on their security and protection. in theory that status is meant to protect the sites from destruction and provide funds for their preservation. however funding seems uneven at best and often sites are left with few resources and a lot of extra attention (thanks to this new label). what i witnessed at each of these sites was some sporadic conservation and even more sporadic security. at the entrance of some caves guards were stationed, warning people against using flash and ensuring they removed their shoes. of course for every group of 50 that went in there were inevitably 1 or 2 who ended up using the flash either in ignorance or blatant disregard for the posted rules. at one point i was reprimanded for using a tripod (which, with its round plastic bottoms, surely did less damage than the feet of the 30 people who shuffle in there every other minute). as i was asking why this policy was in place, a buddhist family had gone up to the main idol to touch and take pictures with it. as the guard realized what was going on, he went (belatedly) to stop them, but as i pointed out to him - surely that's a more important problem than my 8 oz. tripod. then later at one of the more famous caves i was horrified to see scores of people going up and touching the reclining buddha figure. surely if my tripod's not allowed, that shouldn't be either. so, i suppose my final conclusion is that security is uneven and haphazard at best.

paintings everywhere

alright, back to the caves. we continued on admiring the impressive paintings (sadly few remain in good condition) and more buddhas figures. the final cave was that with the large reclining buddha. it was as impressive as the cave was crowded, including a japanese group that seemed bent on standing in front of the statue, taking pictures, and touching it as long as possible. not quite as quiet as the day before had been, but we still enjoyed the spectacular sites.

we hiked back, this time down through the small valley, past the vendors and back to our cab with a fanta for the road. one more night at our fabulous hotel and it was back to bombay the next day. from there it was just a quick stop in the city and then back to the airport. this time, bangkok-bound…

joa jao jaisalmer

i was barely back in bombay for two days before i was on the road again. (it seems to be my style of late, for better or worse. i miss you bombay, i really do.) this time it was a train to delhi and i traveled in style. rajdhani style. a fancy 3rd AC train ride (with meals) and i woke up after just 15 short hours in delhi once again.

a day well-spent at the surajkund craft mela (oops, didn't know there would be textiles. bye bye, rupees) and an evening with my friend's family. our other two travel companions arrived in the night (and i was rudely not awoken for midnight biryani. straight from hyderabad, i should add. humph!) and we were off early in the morning.

our destination was jaisalmer, for the 'desert festival', whatever that might entail. i had visions of the so-called camel dances of the pushkar fair in my head. i had been told variously that jaisalmer was 'beautiful, the golden city!' and 'completely over-hyped, with nothing there'. guess i figured i'd find out for myself. our route took us through bikaner, with plenty of stops for the essentials - chai, dhaba fare, and cigarettes (not for me, mom. don't worry) after we left the delhi radio stations behind we realized we had little in the way of musical entertainment, but we made do. (and when that got repetitive we bought some blank CDs for some variety.)

after a full day of driving we arrived in bikaner and managed to get a great price on a lovely haveli, thanks to our friend who the manager remembered from three years ago. our rooms had cushioned window seats, tvs, and room service. everything we needed. we even managed to catch (read: join in) the last bit of the rajasthani 'folk dance' in the restaurant.

snack time

the next day we were on a mission. do a little sightseeing, get some provisions, and get out of town. all of this somehow took us until 2pm. first it was a little jaunt to the 'rat temple'. yes, it's what it sounds like. you enter the temple and dozens and dozens of rats scurry past you towards the bits of food or giant bowls of milk. you try not to think of all the diseases you're probably walking through as you traverse the marble floor barefoot. certainly a unique experience though.

car snacks. must for any road trip

rooftop view

from there we headed back to jaisalmer. or so we thought. about 12 kilometers out we realized we were heading the wrong direction. once we turned ourselves around and got back into town we set out to accomplish our aims: the girls would acquire the all-important bikaner namkeen (they don't call it bikanerwala for nothing), and the boys were to get the proper dinner fixin's for the evening. hours later, we were in the car enjoying the fruits of our labor - snacking on namkeen as our chicken and paneer marinated in the trunk (the marinade, by the way, we prepared at a dhaba, and the local puppies were all too happy to have us.)

finally around 9:00 we arrived in jaisalmer. our hotel was supremely located with a gorgeous rooftop view of the fort. by night, fully illuminated, the sight is unbeatable. the hotel graciously let us use their rooftop space to cook. but man was it cold! we bundled ourselves as we waited impatiently for the coals to get hot or the whiskey to warm us up. we were rewarded with a delicious meal and some post-dinner dancing.

the next morning we took it slow as, frankly, there's not a lot to do in jaisalmer. we walked about the area outside the fort and spent a good deal of time at various leather shops. it was worth the time though, because we all walked away with something and got a pretty good price at that. next was lunch at a place recommended by our leather guy. dal bati churma and some other rajasthani dishes made for a good meal. from there it was into the fort. it's known as a 'living fort' because for some reason the government has decided to allow people to live and operate businesses inside the fort. this means that the fort is full of hotels, restaurants, and vendors as well as local families. it also means a lot of waste, both in and around the fort area. as my friend put it, 'it's not a living fort; it's a dying fort.' sad but true.

rippling and golden

that evening we drove out the 25 or so kilometers to the edge of the desert. we had made a deal for a camel ride package at one of the many resorts. we got there and mounted our camels (only 2 so we had to share) and walked about 1000 meters into the very beginning of the dunes. we could still see the road and the row of resorts. there, our guides let us down and told us that was it. unless, of course, we wanted to pay more to go to a nearby village. we were a little annoyed and declined, choosing instead to sit in the dunes, buy some overpriced snacks (because, yes, even in the desert there are peddlers), and wait for the sun to set. the dunes were nice, being sand dunes, but i guess i've been spoiled by the great expanses of the sahara i've seen in morocco and tunisia. it was enjoyable, but i wasn't blown away.

after sunset, we were hurried onto our camels for a quick, bumpy ride back to the resort. here we were seated on mattresses laid around a giant cement circle. we were served chai and snacks as the show began. rajasthani performers of various kinds.. music, dance, fire breathing and some balancing acts. it was entertaining, but not quite as much as the obscenely drunk man who insisted on butting in on every part of the show. why they didn't ask him to leave i'm not sure (but i suspect the amount of expensive drinks he was buying had something to do with it.) we declined the resort's expensive dinner option and headed back into town for another local-recommended place. this time non-veg and it was delicious!

the next morning it was up early for a breakfast of kachori near the fort and one last tool around the old town. then it was back on the road to jodhpur. there's just something about driving in india that's so wonderful. the roads we had in rajasthan were all great, and there was hardly anyone on them. it just feels very relaxed. and then the dhabas. well, you just can't compare that to a US rest stop. you just can't. even with several chai stops we arrived at jodhpur a little early so we stopped at a nearby lake for a quick boat ride. it's crazy to think that there are so many little attractions like this all over india. sometimes i just step back and think 'where am i?' and have to remind myself that i'm in the middle of one state or another in india. it's a good feeling.

and with that (and another stop for street food) i was on my way. my friends waited with me on the platform for the train and saw me off. they continued on the road to jaipur. and i rode the rails back to bombay, only to leave again after two days. (see what i meant?)

hampi.. history, hippies, hummus

from pondicherry we hopped on a bus back to chennai, then took a train to bangalore, and from there an overnight to hospet. from hospet it was an auto ride to hampi, where we cross the river jammed into a tiny boat and walk the remaining kilometer along the path lined with guest houses. easy as pie.

where's dino?

hampi, as expected, was pretty much filled with white people. which for some reasons means that 'german bakeries' and restaurants with menus that feature israeli food or pizza seem to pop up all over. so, as i said, i was expecting the abundance of absurdly clothed and hairstyled (or should i say non-styled) foreigners. what i wasn't expecting was how beautiful it was there! everywhere we went we were surrounded by gorgeous green rice paddies, palm trees, and crazy rock formations that look like something out of the flintstones.

climbing to the top

one evening we were wandering around, taking in the scenery in the glowing orange light. an auto rickshaw passed by and two spanish girls yelled out with an invitation to go to the monkey temple. in a few minutes we found ourselves climbing the hundreds of white washed stairs that lead up the side of a mountain. it was a long hike so we made sure to stop plenty of times to take in the gradually changing view. the panorama, bathed in the golden light was really quite remarkable. and then we reached the top and arrived at the so called 'monkey temple' which apparently is thought to be the birthplace of hanuman. no wonder there were so many aunties climbing all the way up there. the view was beautiful as we watched the sun go down over the rocks. the unexpected discoveries are so often the best ones.

the next day we set out to explore the ruins of hampi, the remnants from the vijayanagar empire. evidently most of the remaining structures are only from the 16th century, which begs the question why are they in such lousy shape?

after crossing the river again we found a place to rent some bicycles - old and rickety as usual - and made our way towards the first set of ruins. we biked all around and still, i'm sure, only saw a fraction of the sites which span acres upon acres. we ended up making a pretty big circuit, in the end probably biking across 15 kilometers or so. but we had lots of breaks to enjoy the temples, scenery, and occasional popsicle.

exquisite carvings

the last temple on our must-see list was the vitthala temple. a long trek, but we figured we could finish the circuit on bike and head back to bazaar road and make the last-boat 6.00 deadline. the temple was pretty spectacular, especially in that gorgeous amber light of early dusk. the carvings on the pillars and exteriors were in fantastic shape. it was certainly worth the trek.

the ride back however... i should say i'm using the word 'ride' very loosely here. the first few minutes we did ride our bikes away from the temple complex. then we hit the rocks. at first pretty flat, nothing we couldn't walk our bikes over. then they got bigger. and craggier. and finally there were out and out hills. pretty much everyone walking by commented on the four strange white girls who seemed to think you could bike across a kilometer of craggy granite hillside. some favorites were 'mountain biking?' and 'power lifting?' eventually we had to carry the bikes part of the way - principally up the stairs and over the larger chasms.

but somehow we made it back to the main road, returned our bikes, and - yes! - made it back to the boat launch site with 25 minutes to spare. a hampi success. the rest of the night was spent relaxing over dinner and enjoying a few well-deserved beers as we watched one of the movies offered at the local restaurants (they know there's little to do in hampi at night and seem to know their audience pretty well, at least based on the movie selection).

the next day we spent visiting the nearby town of anegundi (this time by rickshaw/walking), just 7 kilometers away. the kishkinda trust has come in to encourage sustainable tourism and integrating the locals so that they can benefit from the economy. we wandered around and saw what there was to see, although it was pretty sleepy on a sunday.

the rest of our time in hampi was spent relaxing. with little internet connection and little else to do, we enjoyed our remaining hours sipping lassis and reading or napping in the sun on the swings outside our cottage. not bad, hampi. not bad.