Month: September 2009

We got up early this morning to take a boat ride up the Ganges River. This is a picture of Raul and his friend… Raul is the son of the boat owner. His uncle  was taking us on the tour with 2 other people from New York. Raul told me his other uncle owned a silk shop and if I would like he would take me there after. He has grown up on the bank of the Ganges. Over tea we talked about all the garbage thrown into the river. He told me he did not think it was good for the river but that everyone does it. There is a lot of praying going on in Varanasi. I pray for the life of the river.

We are here! Staying at the Ganpati Guest House by the River Ganges. The Durga festival was in full swing last night with the dumping of iconic statues, of all sizes, into the river, lots of music, dance, sweets and ceremonies. If you want to read more about it check out www.durga-puja.org

We are back in Delhi. We have to wait 2 days to catch the train to Varanasi so here we go again. We have to say that we like it better this time but we still have to deal with the touts and the endless schemes to rip us off. Today when we arrived at the train station we were told by “official agent” (he had a badge and everything) that we were at the wrong place had that we had to go to this other office to get tickets. When we arrived at office they told us no tickets were available for a week but they could sell us a packaged deal to another destination of our choice, private driver, hotels, etc.. After much consideration and some argument between Jon and I, we decided to pass and return to the hotel we stayed at when we first arrived. We checked with the agent there about tickets and sure enough we were able to book a train ticket to Varanasi.

Over dinner Jon and I  discussed our travel plans plans for the remainder of our trip. He was thinking that the organized tour sounded not so bad and perhaps we wouldn’t have to deal with all the hassles from people trying to rip us off and that having things organized for us would leave more time for relaxation and contemplation. I disagreed and said that I felt that the magic of travel is entirely about the journey and this can only be done on your own, not led to from safe point A to safe point B.  For me it is about who you meet along the way, the element of surprise and spontaneity, the faith and freedom of choice.

So here we sit, slightly divided on our thoughts and plans for the future, and wonder what you think about this matter… I know everyone travels differently (mom) so we put the question out there?

Day one of our trek was pretty easy other than the walking in the hot desert sun and getting a bit of heat stroke on the way. We really enjoyed our stay at the Guest House and wished we could stay longer. The family exuded friendliness and even though they spoke very little English, we felt very comfortable. Day 2 started with a very beautiful walk down a river to the Rizong Monastery and then a long walk up, up up and over a mountain to Hemis Shukpa Chan for our 2nd night. Our guide and Jon were really fast on the way up but I took my time and when I finally made it to the summit, I was very happy!

“I am getting stronger, every step of the way”

On our journey on the Sham Trek we had the great honor to experience Ladakhi hospitality at our guest house in Yangtang. Our wonderful hostess prepared for us the most amazing meals on her wood and cow dung stove. We also had the pleasure of trying “Chang”, a locally made alcohol from barley.

We have visited a few Monasteries since arriving in Ladakh. Although we find the them charming with their winding stairways and endless narrow alleys and friendly monks, we always feel a little out of place as we know very little about Buddhism and this way of life. As well, as Jon noted everything is built very small… watch the head. We tread lightly. The monks are always friendly and we have been invited for tea occasion.

When we arrived at the Likir Monastery we were awestruck/inspired with the larger than life golden statue of Buddha and had to sit for quite awhile in his presence.

Poster created by Teacher at Secmol

While in Secmol, we harvested Sea Buckthorn which grows wild everywhere around here. It is quite thorny and the berries small so the best way to get the berries off the bush is to beat it with a stick and let the berries fall to to ground. We placed plastic underneath to catch them. Upon returning to the campus we washed and separated the leaves/stalks from the berries. After cleaning, we left them in the sun to dry. They will use these to make juice in the spring.

Yesterday I taught an English class and I am also working on a new design for the campus newsletter with some of the students. Each day, we also take part in daily conversation classes. Jon has been cooking almost daily with the camp cook and he is learning to make delicious food with minimal tools and ingredients. Tomorrow the main cook is taking the day off and Jon will be cooking for everyone … breakfast, lunch and dinner plus tea x 2, I will help with another volunteer from Germany. Life is pretty basic but nice and the days float by with a peaceful rhythm. Now that we have figured out how to have a warmish shower/bath by putting a bucket of water out in the sun each morning, we are a just that much more happy.

We have arrived at Secmol where we will volunteer for the next 3 weeks. The internet is slow and the power goes out a lot so we will post more later : )