Holy Cows

Okay, so we've all heard the story about how cows are considered holy in India. That's a given. Yet the impact of this simple truth needs to be experienced to be appreciated. Not only considered Holy, the Indian bovine has been granted divine authority to do as it pleases throughout India. They strut across India with the arrogance of someone born into the supreme race. It's as if the cows think they're British.

Outside of the comic value they provide to everyday life in India (lets face it, a Cow crapping in a storefront while the owner watches is pretty high on the humor scale) the bovine serve as the globe's most ineffiecient street sweeper. We've witnessed these guys down just about everything under the sun, with my personal favorite being a plastic bag! Seriously! A plastic bag just like the ones you're collecting in your kitchen because it makes you feel like an environmentalist (when we all know you'll never use them).

While we didn't catch the plastic bag on film (Film used loosly because I'm shooting digital pictures after all), here are some other staples of the Indian heifer diet.

The Shoebox - Indian Daily recommended allowance is 2 boxes. 1 in the event the box is red because that makes the impact greater - kinda like sports cars.

Banana Peels - They're "black tounge lickin' good!"

And other "uncaptured" foodstuffs: Plastic Bags, Candy Wrappers, Shoes, Newspapers, T-shirts, Bedspread (Ingrid has a shot of that below) and just about anything else you throw at them.

We used to feel guilty using the Indian trash can (A.K.A. throwing any and all garbage on the ground) but have since come to realize we're simply "feeding the cows". I guess it helps us to sleep at night, but I wonder what those plastic water bottles do to their digestive track???? Maybe that's where packaged milk comes from.....

Kui nyyd "Holy cowd" tolkida, siis otses mottes on see "pyhalik lehm" kui ytlusena seda tolkkida siis voiks oelda kas "issver-sussver" voi "ossa mu meie".

Kuid lehma peatakse siin pyhalikuks kyll ja kuigi neid kasutatakse piima saamiseks ei tule kone allagi, et sa lehma soogi jaoks tapaksid. Yldjuhul on Indialased taimetoitlased, kuid turistidele ikka pakutakse osades kohtades mingisugust liha.

Lehmad siin, lehmad seal, lehmad iga nurga peal.
Kui New Yorgis jooksevad rongi roobastel rotid, siis siin teevad seda tood jarjekordselt lehmad.

Soogiks on neil koikvoimalik praht mida inimesed paeva jooksul on tanavatele visanud. Ja lehmade onneks on siin seda kovasti. Kui mul alguses oli probleem prygi maha viskamisega, siis nyyd tunnen ma end lausa hasti teades, et ma jalle kitsesid ja lehmi toidan.
Lehmad siin ei ole pirtsud!
Lisaks heinale, lehtedele jm taolisele meeldib neile ka narida pabeit ja vahel ka riide hilpe.

Moni ime siis et nad siin nii jamedad on.
Ja ma saan ka aru, miks Indialaste jaoks lehmad nii pyhad on. Lisaks piimale, annavad lehmad neile ka tasuta kytte materjali. Yhesonaga, lehmade pannkoogid korjatakse yles ja kuivatatakse ara, et siis oleks millega loket teha soogi valmistamiseks.

Agra

Wow, the Taj Mahal. We made it. An official Wonder of the World. I actually laid in bed the night before thinking, "wow, I'll be seeing the Taj Mahal tomorrow, that's crazy!" What would David Lee Roth do at a time like this?............

JUMP! Might as welllll, Jump! (We haven't been sleeping a lot...)

Okay, so we weren't thinking about DLR at the time but it sure seems appropriate now.

The "Taj" (as those who have been there can call it) is pretty much just what you expect. After seeing 7000 discovery channel specials on Shah Jahan's masterpiece there's not much left to the imagination. Still, seeing it first hand the scale is breathtaking and there were a few details that got lost in the broadcasts. I was a big fan of the monster Arabic. The black detail on both the interior and exterior of the "Taj" (black marble on the outside and onyx on the inside) is actually the entire Quran is surprisingly large text.

Other detail work that overwhelmed was the floral inlay work inside the mausoleum. 68 pieces comprise a single flower and the look is sublime (can you tell I've been reading the travel books?). It looks more like a painting than anything else and a very good painting at that.

We spent several hours taking in the grounds and watching the color change as the sun rose; That's right, rose. We were there at 6:30am. Here's a shot of it in Pink - taken about 15 min before the opening shot of this post.

The color changing effect is assisted by the overwhelming pollution in Agra - (Okay, Okay, so I know I complained about the pollution in Delhi and I'll probably complain about the pollution elsewhere, but this place is like the Himalaya of industrial pollution - 6 out of 10 of the biggest peaks are here!). Apparently after losing it's position as the capital of the region (when power shifter to Delhi) Agra decided to fight back by becoming the industrial capital of the region. Great Choice. World's greatest building in an industrial waste land. In a way, it adds to the contrast and impact of the entire experience. Greatest Building in India, filthiest town in India.

Recently, the Indian government shut down the roads within 1Km of the "Taj" due to concerns that Acid Rain was destroying the monument. They figured reducing auto traffic would help alleviate the harmful effects..... Perhaps someone needs to re-explain the concept of Acid Rain to the Indian Government.

Ultimately, the best part of the whole experience is that I have now joined the ranks of those who can say they have touched the "Taj", and there's something to be said about that.

Rajasthan - Part Deux (Take two)

So where was I? Oh yeah, I had just finished this post when a powersurge wiped out all my work. Now you all have to suffer through the short, short version.

We departed Jodhpur and headed South to the Lake city of Udaipur. Enroute we came across the largest extravagant temple that we've seen so far, the Jain temple of Ranakpur. This place was frigging huge and full of goodies. Five infant bodies connected to a single head, serpent ladies, and seriously freaky buddha types - this is a diety schmorgusborgh.

We had loads of fun playing hide and seek amongst the pillars, though I'm pretty sure a few Gods smited us for childish behavior.

From the temple we pushed on to Udaipur and took in the lake city and it's glorious palaces (google "Udaipur lake palace" for details). It was only after we departed the city that I realized this was the only photo I "technically" took inside the palaces. Might have had something to do with the camera charges.

Now might be a good time to explain camera charges. The Indians have come up with a dynamic pricing system for tourists and it's brilliant!

Admission: Indian = 20Rs, Foreigner = 750Rs

Camera Fee: 100Rs (Foreigner)

Video Camera Fee: 250Rs (Foreigner)

Person to watch the shoes you'll inevitably have to take off: 20Rs (Foreigner)

Oxygen Usage Charge: 50Rs (Foreigner)

Okay, I made up the oxygen usage charge, but you get my drift. They get you coming and going, brilliant.

Beyond the palaces, Udaipur was where I witnessed my first Elejam. That's what occurs when more than one elephant converge on an intersection and they battle to determine who proceeds. And it's Awesome! Don't believe me? Check out the photo, that's a bonefide elephant sauntering down the street (and saunter they do).

Okay, so "Hey, grab the camera" probably should have gone through my mind two minutes earlier but you try to think straight when you come around a bend and find three elephants standing there! One I could have handled, maybe even two, but THREE! Come on.

From Udaipur we headed NorthEast and decended on Pushkar like Shiva (but without the blue skin and snakes). Pushkar is a religious center of Hindu, built around a lake created by the tears of the Gods.

Pushkar is also home to India's largest concentration of PotsmokingBellyshowingLonghairhavingWesternHippies. When people go to India to "find themselves", this is where they find themselves. Half the population is still on a bad acid trip that started during a Doors concert.

Even the incense has been made "blacklight friendly" to suit the market.

Leaving Pushkar in a cloud of dust, or something else, we made our way to Jaipur "the Pink City" (By now readers should realize that the Indians had the concept of Branding down centuries ago).

The ruler of Jaipur was so impressed with the Lake Palace in Udaipur that he constructed one of his own. He had fantastic palace engineers, shame the same can't be said about his lake engineers.

Jaipur is a textile hub of India and we spent days shopping. (Joy.) Here I am making my own textile prints. (Elation.)

And we witnessed carpet weaving. (Stop it, you're killing me!)

Jaipur is also known for its three massive forts with the cherry on top being the largest cannon in the world (Adam's wounds from shopping are begining to heal).

We rode an elephant up the mountain to view the forts and the cannon.

Cast in 1720, this cannon is 20ft long, weights 50 tonnes, and fires, now get this, 22 miles! Sweet! (The grafitti is aftermarket, circa 2006)

We left Jaipur and visited the Ranthambor Tiger reserve where we froze our tails off and proceeded to view no tigers. Poaching thinned the number of tigers here from 1000+ to 26. Bummer. No Pictures.

Today we arrived safe and sound in Agra and have officially ended our tour of Rajasthan. For the next week it will be busses and trains as we finish crossing India and head to Nepal. Should be good times and I look forward to sending out one more post before trekking into the Himalaya.

Ahvid

Siiani oleme maanteedel ja linna tanavatel kokku porganud punaste ja valgete ahvidega. Esimest korda elus nagin kuidas ahv yhelt katuselt teisele (yle mu pea) lendas, mille vahemaa (maa ei tea kui kauge), tundus voimatuna.
Siis oppisin ka et kui ahv poolel teel hypates taipab, et ta ei suuda siiski sellist hypet teha, voib ta ohus 180 kraadi ymber poorata et maanduda tagasi kust ta alustas. Uskumatu, kuid tosi.




Kuigi ahvid on toredad ja naljakad, tuleb nende juuresolekul siiski olla ettevaatlik, kuna ei voi iial teada kui nad tahavad sind rynnata voi lihtsalt su koti voi fotoka ara varastada.

Carpets

Esimest korda elus oskan ma nyyd hinnata vaipu ja naha,et see ei ole mitte ainult ese maas mis kylma porandat katab,vaid kogemus ja armastus kunsti vastu.
Poodi sisse astudes avaneb ruum kus iga sein on kaetud vaipadega. Parast graatisliselt vaiba lahti rullimist palutakse sul sellele istuda ja juba tuuakse India teed, et sa siis end mugavalt sisse seaksid ja oleksid valmis oma esimese elu koige kallima vaiba ostma. Koigepealt vaiksed odavamad vaibad ja siis suuremad siit vaibad mille hinnad algavad $6000.-
Kuid selleks ajaks oled sa juba nii palju teed endale sisse ajanud ja erinevatel vaipadel istunud, vaadanud nende solmede suurust ja tihedust, et sa oled oppinud hindama vaipu ja leidnud enda lemmiku. Yhed kliendid olid oma reisi lopetanud selle poega, et siis uue vaibaga kodu poole asuda. Mul oli ausalt sama tunne, et akki jataks kuhugi minemata ja ostaks vaiba, kuid siis tuli meelde kui palju vaeva ja kui kaua on Adam seda reisi plaaninud, et pidin vagise motte peast viskama. Kuid nyyd tean milline mu unelmate vaip valja naeb.

Rajasthan - Part 1

So, after a few days of taking in the sights of Delhi, we hired a car and with a full tank of confidence, headed West to explore Rajasthan.

Our first stop was the "painted city" of Mandawa. Mandawa (and basically the next 3 cities we visited) was a stop on the trading routes between the Middle East and the Far East. Lots of Opium passed through here back in the day along with silks, spices, and all those other things people fought and died for. The Mandawan elite chose to express their wealth through elaborate painting of their homes interior and exterior. We thought this was amazing, until we visited some other places and realized that painting was the cheapskate's way of demonstrating wealth (just wait till you see Jaisalmer). We were still warming up to India when we pulled into this place, and things started to look up. For anyone considering visiting India, I would suggest allowing several weeks and getting out of the cities as fast as you can. Everyone we've spoken with, ourselves included (not that I talk to myself (Quiet, don't say things like that. They'll think we're crazy) Oh, right. Forgot for a minute), anyway, has had the same Indian experience.

Day 1 - "What have I done. How long until I leave?"

Day 3 - "Getting warmer, not loving it, but I guess it's okay."

Day 5 - "India's fantastic. I will totally be back here, there's SOOOO much to see!"

Back to the wandering.

From Mandawa we headed to Bikaner, a city with a giant fort that I'll spare readers the details of (to learn more please visit Google). The real action is 30km outside of Bikaner at the Rat Temple. That's right - Rat temple.

Now, it wasn't originally designed for the rats when it was constructed in the 14th century, but somewhere between then and now the rats moved in and the people just figured "what the heck?". To anyone else, this place is madness. The temple is an intricate carving of white marble, with 20 ft. Silver doors and - well there's just no justifying it, it's full of rats. To add to the experience, and because it is a holy site, we had to take our shoes off when we entered!
Yup, that's me, barefoot in rat crap. Proudest day of your life Ma?

I can honestly say this was an experience I never foresaw in all the years of planning that went into this trip.

Ingrid nearly hit the roof when a rat ran across her foot. But we later learned this was a sign of good luck. Other signs of good luck that we've discovered include:

-Stepping in Cow Dung

-Getting Spit on by a Camel

-Having a bird nail you on the shoulder

-Just about anything that you wouldn't want to have happen to you becomes good luck in India. Love it!

From Bikaner we continued West to Jaisalmer, the desert city of Gold. This place was Sweet!

Another stop on the Opium route, I mean "trading route", Jaisalmer is an imposing fortress rising out of the desert. It's called the Golden City because the yellow color of the local construction blocks gives the city a golden hue - It was also wicked rich back in the day.

The rich people in this town put the people of Mandawa to shame, SHAME! Here's an example of the detail work that's found on just about every structure in the city. It's just incredible.

I'm standing before this house, giving my tribute to the drug that built it, so you can appreciate the scale of their construction and detail. If their running the "Priceless" MasterCard commercial in the States that depicts a 25th wedding anniversary trip to India, it's shot here.

(Photo Absent due to time constraints - takes 8 minutes to load each picture)

From Jaisalmer we ditched our V2 Tata (yeah, two valves, just like the WRX back home - No wait, I meant my lawnmower) and took camels into the desert. About this time it dawned on me that we were headed to Pakistan! We camped about 25km from the boarder (450km to Afghanistan) and again I thought "didn't see this coming".

We slept out in the desert with these rather imposing natives. The one on the left (with the headgear) can't read or write, but speaks Hindi, English, French, Spanish, German, and a few other tongues. He signs his documents with a black X.

Camels have fast become Ingrid's second favorite animal behind cats, and with a face like that can you blame her? But she'll go on about that in her section. And on, and on, and on, and on.....

We emerged from the desert and continued to the last of the major fortress towns for this week, Jodhpor a.k.a. "The Blue City". Again, an amazing place. Right in the middle of town is a MASSIVE 13 story fortress sitting atop a mountain. The place was never conquered despite Umpteen attemps and from the top some long dead, semi-famous English chap was quoted as saying "this is what the Gods must hear when sitting atop Mount Olympus." I though he summed the feeling up quite well.

Apparently, when you purchase a house in the city along with the deed comes a free bucket of paint. Can you guess which color?

The views breathtaking, the sounds delightful, and the people warm. If you can ever get here, make a go of it. You won't be disappointed.

Oih, nii palju on vahepeal jalle juhtunud, et ei teagi kuidas juttu jatkata.

Onneks on enamused teist inlise keele valdajad ja saate Adami yksikasjalikest komentaaridest aru.

Lyhidalt aga nii palju, et nyyd-10 paeva hiljem, oleme me lopuks Indiaga ara harjunud ja naudime igat paeva teades, et siia voiks ykspaev tagasi tulla.

Kui info punkti joudsime, oppisime, et siin ei ole voimalust miskit saada ilma et nad sulle midagi pahe maarivad. Isegi info punkt oli tegelikkuses turismi punkt, kus meile igasugu asju hakati pakkuma. Nagu paljud teisedki loksu kukkunud turistid, jalutasime sealt valja planeeritud reisiga mis laks enam maksma kui oli plaanis. Kuid selle sees on meil autojuht 14 ks paevaks koos hotellide, kaamli, elevandi, tiigri reiside ja isegi rongi ja bussi piletitega parast juhi lahkumist. Yhesonaga meie rahulolu et me ei pea muretsema ja hirmu tundma nagu ool, kui Indiasse joudsime.

Praeguseks oleme kainud labi igasugu erinevaid linnu, nagu varvitud-, kulla-, sinise-, jarve- ja pyha-linn ning homme laheme roosa-linna. Minu lemmikuks on siiani aga olnud Jaisalmer oma maja detailide tottu, mida on kerge yleval pildilt ara tunda. Ja loomulikult vaated kindluste varemetelt linnadele on fantastilised.

Unustamatuks malestuseks jai aga rottide palee, kus nende ja pyhalikkuse auks tuli isegi jalatsid ara votta, et siis monusalt nende valjaheidete peal libistada.

Rotikestel oli isegi oma voodid ja toad, mida nad olid nous valvuritega jagama ning toidu puudusest ei tule seal kunagi puudust. See aga ei tahenda, et neil omavahel selle parast kaklusi ei oleks. Indialastel on nii palju jumalaid, et ega nad vist isegi ei tea enam kui palju neid on. Koik asjad ja olevused tunduvad ka siin olevat pyhalikud. (kivid, puud, ussid, lehmad, ahvid ja ka loomulikult rotid). Meie juht lausa tanas meid et me talle onne toime, kuna ta ei olnud oma 5a. toopostil eales nainud valget rotti ja nyyd oli neid terve kari. Nende uskumus on et valge rott edastab su palve jumalale ja see saab taidetud. Mitte et ma tingimata jumalasse usuks, kuid siiski laksin soov mottes veel kord tagasi et siis veel kord valget rotti vaadata.

Teine tore elamus oli oobimine korbes, kuhu meid kaamlite otsas soidutati. Koikumine kaamli otsas oli iseenesest vahva, kuid kaamli yles tousmise ja maha lamamisega oli kyll hirm, et voib alla kukkuda.

Lopuks ometi joudsime kohta Indias, kus oli oiste tahtede all(lageda taeva all) voimalik varsket ohku hingata.