Wondering where I have been the last week??? Well, I was trekking in the Himalayas of course. To be more specific I was trekking in the Himalayas walking through grassy nulls and across frozen rivers and up steep mountain terrain hyperventilating the whole way through.
The crew: Jessica from NY
Sara from California – I am traveling with her after the hike around India
Matt, Clayton, and Jen- all from Mississippi- they all go to med school together there
Alia- Roommate from the program from Vermont
Day -2: My CFHI group left aside from Alia, my self and Kate. We headed back to Dehradun and picked up some snacks for the following days.
Day -1: Leave Dehradun and go to Missouri to meet Sara so we can all take a 6 hour ride to the trail head.
Day 0: Meet the Mississippi kids in Uttarkachi and stay at a really nice hostel along with some English guys. We all had a roof top dinner.
Hike Day 1: 2 hour hike mostly uphill- Turns out I have asthma (well not really but I may as well).
Lunch- soggy white bread with cucumbers, tomato and black pepper, juice box (like I was 5) and a squished banana ( same lunch for the rest of the days and secretly I liked it)
Camped a top a mountain overlooking some gorgeous scenery. Played a lot of cards as we had hours before it got dark. The porters (there are 4 of them and 3ish donkeys who carry our stuff) made a scrumptious snack of friend pakora and a delicious dinner of daal, rice, and chapatti ( well the porters made it not the donkeys). I tented with Sara and it stormed like I have never experienced before. Thunder, lighting and rain ahhhhhhh and I could have sworn that we were going to get washed off the mountain top by a flash flood.
Day 2: 6 hour hike. I was in better shape today probably because my lungs were no longer in shock and because it was a much flatter hike. Camped next to a holy lake called Doti Tal. During our free time we played cards, sat by the camp fire, ate food, laughed. Good time had by all
Day 3: 4 hour hike. Camped on top of the most magnificent green mountain covered with yellow flowers. Oh yeah there were plenty of cows and goats and the mountain too. The mountain looked out at even larger snowcapped mountains. It was almost ridiculous when the guide told us to stop hiking that we were sleeping on that mountain because it looked like it was out of a movie and should be illegal. Thankfully it was legal. The porters set up an extra tent for us because of the rain and because it was going to be cold. They also set up a latrine tent for us to go to the bathroom in- akward. So, aside from a short hike which I struggled through (damn altitude) to see some more mountains we spent most of our time in the tent bonding and playing cards. However, for dinner the porters set up a camp fire which was great and quit helpful with drying our shoes.
Day 4: Today’s hike was a lot of up and a medium amount of down. However, we hiked through really beautiful pastures with some crazy looking mammals (cows who were looking at me funny- because their irises are sideways, mountain men who would show up out of nowhere and would scamper by me in sandals, whole families of pilgrims who seemed to be going right past me too). Oh yes I almost forgot. I fell and my knee is purple and bumpy (very attractive). Really though the whole thing was quite dramatic as the grass was wet because it was drizzling and chilly and had I not been so limber and agile I would have for sure slid down the mountain. For this final night we camped on a mountain next to a babbling brook and a home of some nomadic families who had brought their cows to the area to eat some grass. Some of the younger girls tried to befriend us but once again the Hindi/ English barrier was juts too great.
Day 5: The final day yahooooo. Today’s hike would have been steep and slippery if it had not rained. But since it did pour for an hour in the morning it was extremely slippery and steep. Basically we hiked down a dry river bed/ hilly river/ waterfall with minor falls. By the end of the 4.5 hours my knees were poooooping out and I was starting to hallucinate the jeep that was coming to pick us up. But really once we stopped walking though the rocks there were nice organized rocks almost step like that went through towns and past drunk men coming back from a wedding. The day ended with a 5 hour drive to Dehradun and then a 2 hour search for the bus station so we could buy our tickets for the next day.
This morning I woke up at 5:15 to make a 7:30 bus that was to take 6 hours to Chandigarh. The bus was of the local variety and was quite packed by the time we hit hour #3. Thankfully I had a window seat because there was no A/C and it was really quite warm. By the time I got to Chandigarh I pretty much had black streaks all over me from dust that was flying in the window. My contacts were so dry that I may as well have taken them out because things were so blurry. But, I made it (well sort of we did miss our stop and some small English speaking India boy had to help us out) and I did it India style- like a local. I think the most fantastic part of the trip was when some older man started freaking out about our bags being on the seat and got the conductor to make us put our bags on the roof of the bus. Yes, he wanted us to launch our huge bags over our heads and put them on the roof for the remaining 3 hours. So, being the easy going girl I am I sat quietly in my seat and let Sara lift my 300 pound bag on the roof while I pretended that I could not get out of my window seat. Dear Sarah, Thanks. Love, Jessica
Upon arrival in Chandigarh we found our selves surrounded by 15 men all who thought they could help us best to find our hotel. Dear 15 men, Please go away. Love, Jessica and Sarah
Well, we found our hotel and the room is juts fine, TV, A/C … they even gave us towels which is quite rare :O)
We spent the afternoon eating huge amounts of India food and walking around a famous rock garden which was quite beautiful. I think my time at the rock garden may go down as the most famous I will ever be. Basically, there were 10 school girls who wanted to be our BFF and talk about life and take pictures. Also, the guys in the class would constantly flash pictures of us like paparazzi. Little did they know I would have struck a pose if they asked. We also, spent some time at a lake looking at the India families paddle boating and India men trying to ride a mechanical bull. So, that brings you up to date. I am sitting in a really really hot internet café dreaming of going back to my A/C room and getting good nights sleep before I have to wake up at 5 to take another 6 hour train ride. Oh the joys of India!!!!
Friday, June 29, 2007
Friday, June 22, 2007
The Joys of the head lamp
Week in review in Than Goan Village
*Lived in hut with 3 friends and 2 small mice. The hut was cottage like and there were mosquito nets around all the beds (sort of looks like my room at home with the princess bed). The mouse was small and annoying but by the end he was my friend and as we left he sat in the corner of my closet like a scared little mouse- I think he was sad to see us go.
*Went to two villages to see patients with Doctor Paul ( looks like frank castanza from seinfeld)- The trips to the villages were very fun. Dr. Paul let us listen to the patinets hearts and lungs but for the most part played with the kids- gave out stickers and taught the hokey pokey ( the chiken dance did not go over very well- I think I lost them at put your backside in ( too racey))
*Sat in the Thank Goan village clinic for 6 hours a day seeing patientes with the good doctor and learning about rural medicine.
*Learned to take blood pressure (I am usally about 10 off-give me time I am still learning)
*Ate my weight in daal ( lentil goulash)- they fed it to us at every meal
*Ate 130 chipatti
*Played volleyball- yes there wa a sand volleyball court and I am so good that I may enter myself in the tournament at jones beach- who wil join me?
*Ate a peach with a worm in it then proceeded to puke it up in front of an old man (ok there was no puke but there was an old man)
*Feared for my life that a snake was going to bite me as I walked to the bathroom in the dark at night- supposedly there are snakes and leopards in the area but I did not see any and my headlamp proved to be quite useful.
*Went on a nature walk to look at the plants used as herbs( note: I once wrote a paper about healing herbs in 8th grade. I then proceeded to translate it into Spanish for spanish class and then used it agin for health class- this nature walk was a tribute to this healing herbs paper which I affectionalty referd to as "herbshea" ( because that is the way it was saved on my computer)- Hershea for eva!
*Learned that I am a slow and sweaty hiker
*Swam in a deliciously cold watering hole with wierd water bugs that everyone swore were harmless
*Played with my very fun groupmates
Now I am back in Dehradun, Half of my group left-stacey-austin and jeff-yesterday to go to Delhi before heading home-tear. Three of us rema- myself- alia and kate- and we are spending the night here before Alia and I head to Missouri to meet up with others to go hiking in uttarkashi area ( you can google it or google Har-Ki-Dun) to see what the hike will look like. So. I will be out of contact untill the 28th unless for some reason there is a computer in the Har- Ki-Dun valley. :O)
*Lived in hut with 3 friends and 2 small mice. The hut was cottage like and there were mosquito nets around all the beds (sort of looks like my room at home with the princess bed). The mouse was small and annoying but by the end he was my friend and as we left he sat in the corner of my closet like a scared little mouse- I think he was sad to see us go.
*Went to two villages to see patients with Doctor Paul ( looks like frank castanza from seinfeld)- The trips to the villages were very fun. Dr. Paul let us listen to the patinets hearts and lungs but for the most part played with the kids- gave out stickers and taught the hokey pokey ( the chiken dance did not go over very well- I think I lost them at put your backside in ( too racey))
*Sat in the Thank Goan village clinic for 6 hours a day seeing patientes with the good doctor and learning about rural medicine.
*Learned to take blood pressure (I am usally about 10 off-give me time I am still learning)
*Ate my weight in daal ( lentil goulash)- they fed it to us at every meal
*Ate 130 chipatti
*Played volleyball- yes there wa a sand volleyball court and I am so good that I may enter myself in the tournament at jones beach- who wil join me?
*Ate a peach with a worm in it then proceeded to puke it up in front of an old man (ok there was no puke but there was an old man)
*Feared for my life that a snake was going to bite me as I walked to the bathroom in the dark at night- supposedly there are snakes and leopards in the area but I did not see any and my headlamp proved to be quite useful.
*Went on a nature walk to look at the plants used as herbs( note: I once wrote a paper about healing herbs in 8th grade. I then proceeded to translate it into Spanish for spanish class and then used it agin for health class- this nature walk was a tribute to this healing herbs paper which I affectionalty referd to as "herbshea" ( because that is the way it was saved on my computer)- Hershea for eva!
*Learned that I am a slow and sweaty hiker
*Swam in a deliciously cold watering hole with wierd water bugs that everyone swore were harmless
*Played with my very fun groupmates
Now I am back in Dehradun, Half of my group left-stacey-austin and jeff-yesterday to go to Delhi before heading home-tear. Three of us rema- myself- alia and kate- and we are spending the night here before Alia and I head to Missouri to meet up with others to go hiking in uttarkashi area ( you can google it or google Har-Ki-Dun) to see what the hike will look like. So. I will be out of contact untill the 28th unless for some reason there is a computer in the Har- Ki-Dun valley. :O)
Saturday, June 16, 2007
Q. What do elephants, typhoid fever and mice all have in common? A. Me
Hey party people so are you wondering why you have not heard from me in ages? well, its because I was sick and well just lazy. But its true I was sick for two days bed ridden and sleepy eating white rice and hoping for the best. Now I am back and better than ever.
Let us review the last week. I spent the weekend In Hardiwar a very holy city. The first day I went on an elephant safari and saw a few elephants doing their elephant thing in the wild. A very fun and dusty duty trip ( open air jeep) but there were really not many animals aside from deer. You know your safari is lacking when they start to show you bee hives and termite hills. The next day I shopped around and got followed by a 3 year old begger girl for 3o minutes. It got so intense that I had to go into a store and sneak out the back to loose this persistant 3 year old. Had I come out the front door she would have tailed me again and would still probably be following me 1 week later (actually this story is a lie and she is sitting next to me now in the internet cafe- I have grown quite attached to her and we have become good friends). A
After Hardiwar I was in Dehra Dun staying with a different family than the first time in Dehra Dub- a lady named Miss Setty and her daughter who is our age. The home stay was very nice and the rotation we did to a cardiologist, neuologist and natropath were interesting ( although I missed most of them because of my illness).
Review----
We made 1 trip to Opal lounge a "swanky" indian club
There was a mouse in my rom ( that no one seemed to mind but me)
I had my chakra doused - apparently my head chakra is a smidge weak as well as my belly charkra ( probably explans my illness)
I mailed a package home and they have a silly custom of sewing the package into a makeshift sleeping bag and sealing it with wax- it looks more like a bomb now that I could have ever imagined
Now, I am in Missouri a gorgous hill station 7,000 feet high. It is quiet cool and foggy here which I am thoroughly enjoying as the heat was quite overbearing for the first 3 weeks. We are staying at a nice hotel on a cliff that over looks the rolling hills and terraced farming. There is awesome shopping here and I have already done some serious damage in the jewlery department with only one night under my belt. Tomorrow we will hike to a water fall and then return to Dehra Dun ( boooooo) and then head off to the village of Than Goan to visit a rural clinic and take medical trips to villages to set up day clinics. I am very excited ( you know I love that stuff) but I will not have access to a computer for the week so stay tuned.......... But wait don't go yet. There will only be a few hour span when I may or may not be able to get to the internet to blog after that week. Then, I am heading off into the Himalays for a 6 days hike. So, if you don't hear from me just know that I am alive and well and probably stumbling on some rock high in the mountains. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer!!!!!
Let us review the last week. I spent the weekend In Hardiwar a very holy city. The first day I went on an elephant safari and saw a few elephants doing their elephant thing in the wild. A very fun and dusty duty trip ( open air jeep) but there were really not many animals aside from deer. You know your safari is lacking when they start to show you bee hives and termite hills. The next day I shopped around and got followed by a 3 year old begger girl for 3o minutes. It got so intense that I had to go into a store and sneak out the back to loose this persistant 3 year old. Had I come out the front door she would have tailed me again and would still probably be following me 1 week later (actually this story is a lie and she is sitting next to me now in the internet cafe- I have grown quite attached to her and we have become good friends). A
After Hardiwar I was in Dehra Dun staying with a different family than the first time in Dehra Dub- a lady named Miss Setty and her daughter who is our age. The home stay was very nice and the rotation we did to a cardiologist, neuologist and natropath were interesting ( although I missed most of them because of my illness).
Review----
We made 1 trip to Opal lounge a "swanky" indian club
There was a mouse in my rom ( that no one seemed to mind but me)
I had my chakra doused - apparently my head chakra is a smidge weak as well as my belly charkra ( probably explans my illness)
I mailed a package home and they have a silly custom of sewing the package into a makeshift sleeping bag and sealing it with wax- it looks more like a bomb now that I could have ever imagined
Now, I am in Missouri a gorgous hill station 7,000 feet high. It is quiet cool and foggy here which I am thoroughly enjoying as the heat was quite overbearing for the first 3 weeks. We are staying at a nice hotel on a cliff that over looks the rolling hills and terraced farming. There is awesome shopping here and I have already done some serious damage in the jewlery department with only one night under my belt. Tomorrow we will hike to a water fall and then return to Dehra Dun ( boooooo) and then head off to the village of Than Goan to visit a rural clinic and take medical trips to villages to set up day clinics. I am very excited ( you know I love that stuff) but I will not have access to a computer for the week so stay tuned.......... But wait don't go yet. There will only be a few hour span when I may or may not be able to get to the internet to blog after that week. Then, I am heading off into the Himalays for a 6 days hike. So, if you don't hear from me just know that I am alive and well and probably stumbling on some rock high in the mountains. Hope everyone is enjoying the summer!!!!!
Friday, June 8, 2007
I heart Rishikesh
Went for a dip in the Ganges today it was real fun and real refreshing considering the 115 degree heat- no joking. While in the Ganges we played Frisbees and warded off beggars and cows quite a good time. I got some good pictures with religious men/ beggars that you can put up next to the picture of me with the African men. Also, in the last few days I have taken yoga classes and natropathy classes about acupuncture, ayurveda, magnet therapy, yoga breathing and meditation. I have learned that according to Ayurveda I am a Pitta as opposed to being Vatta or Kapha. Pitta Pride!!!!
Tomorrow we are going to Hardwar ( one of the 7 holy cities in India- also on the Ganges yeahhh!!!) and then to an elephant reserve. Sunday we will probably go white water rafting or to some caves that have a temple in it. I got to say that I am not so excited to leave rishikesh and move on.
Aside from the cow poo it is really quite nice here and yesterday we saw the ashram where the beatles stayed when they were here (or at least I think it was their ashram as every beggar pointed to a different ashram and said it was that of the beatles- then they would return to their drug induced sleep or turn to the man sized monkeys and fed them bananas.) Hmmmm what else. I have bought out the whole town and there is not a tee shirt or necklace left in sight and I have eaten every bit of tika masala in the place. I guess in that case it is best that I leave my Indian home away from home.
Tomorrow we are going to Hardwar ( one of the 7 holy cities in India- also on the Ganges yeahhh!!!) and then to an elephant reserve. Sunday we will probably go white water rafting or to some caves that have a temple in it. I got to say that I am not so excited to leave rishikesh and move on.
Aside from the cow poo it is really quite nice here and yesterday we saw the ashram where the beatles stayed when they were here (or at least I think it was their ashram as every beggar pointed to a different ashram and said it was that of the beatles- then they would return to their drug induced sleep or turn to the man sized monkeys and fed them bananas.) Hmmmm what else. I have bought out the whole town and there is not a tee shirt or necklace left in sight and I have eaten every bit of tika masala in the place. I guess in that case it is best that I leave my Indian home away from home.
Tuesday, June 5, 2007
My Life in an Ashram: The Chronicles of a Jewish Girl from Long Island in India
It has been brought to my attention by my own mother that I indeed still have massive amounts of typos. Please accept my sincerest apologies for the misspelling of the words meditation (medication) and rations (rassions) as well as anything else I may have misspelled.
Ashram Life: Schedule
6:45 Morning walk to nearby exciting sight (the bridge, the Ganges, temples)
8:00 Yoga with the most soothing man on earth
9:00 Breakfast aka rice with nuts in it
10:00 Morning session where we learn about naturopathy. Today we learned about mud baths and massage
3:30 Afternoon practical session- today we got a mud bath which was much better than going to look at different types of bathtubs for the hydrotherapy session
5:00 Mediation aka sleep and alternate nostril breathing
7:30 Dinner
10:00 Sleep
In between my exciting class schedule I do fun activities such as playing UNO and going to a beach on the Ganges. I also shop like a crazy woman, sweat because it is really hot and eat weird crackers and chips. Today was particularly exciting because there were cows walking on the beach eating marigolds that were lying on the side of the Ganges. We had some mango skins and decided hat it was a great idea to feed them to the cows. So, we threw the skins at the cows and they became a little too friendly and started walking over to us. AHHHHHHH so, I threw some rice on the sand which diverted them long enough for us to make our escape.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Oh yeah, there are millions of monkeys living on my ashram which are ridiculously cute and human like.
Final note on the day: I wore a bindi around town on my forehead – yes I said Bindi.-
Ashram Life: Schedule
6:45 Morning walk to nearby exciting sight (the bridge, the Ganges, temples)
8:00 Yoga with the most soothing man on earth
9:00 Breakfast aka rice with nuts in it
10:00 Morning session where we learn about naturopathy. Today we learned about mud baths and massage
3:30 Afternoon practical session- today we got a mud bath which was much better than going to look at different types of bathtubs for the hydrotherapy session
5:00 Mediation aka sleep and alternate nostril breathing
7:30 Dinner
10:00 Sleep
In between my exciting class schedule I do fun activities such as playing UNO and going to a beach on the Ganges. I also shop like a crazy woman, sweat because it is really hot and eat weird crackers and chips. Today was particularly exciting because there were cows walking on the beach eating marigolds that were lying on the side of the Ganges. We had some mango skins and decided hat it was a great idea to feed them to the cows. So, we threw the skins at the cows and they became a little too friendly and started walking over to us. AHHHHHHH so, I threw some rice on the sand which diverted them long enough for us to make our escape.
That’s all I have to say about that.
Oh yeah, there are millions of monkeys living on my ashram which are ridiculously cute and human like.
Final note on the day: I wore a bindi around town on my forehead – yes I said Bindi.-
Monday, June 4, 2007
The joys of India
The last few days have been very fun-filled and very very hot. I have left Dehra Dun Dun but not before I attended an hour and a half medication and chanting session of joy!! It was really very interesting. There were about 15 people and there were pictures of their Guru in front of the room decorated with flowers and beads. The chanting was led by some community women on a microphone. Of course the tunes were in Hindi but the medication was in English and I took advantage of the experience by going into a very deep meditative state also known as sleep.
So, now I am in Rishikesh which is a very holy town (not meat, eggs of alcohol in the town). I got here on Saturday morning and met up with the rest of the large group to go white water rafting down the Ganges River. The rafting was really fun and the rapids were about class 2 which means that we were not going to tip and for that I was thankful. I also did cliff diving which was quite scary and very reminiscent of jumping of the high diving board at the Newbridge pool in Bellmore. That night we shopped around and had dinner. The food here is good there are Pizza and pancakes as well as Chinese food and Israeli!!! We also went to an aaarti which is a spiritual gathering on the shore of the Ganges. Basically people sit around and chant to a hug floating statue of Krishna. The next morning we got up at 4 am to watch the sunrise atop a mountain and take a hike. The hike was really nice. We walked through beautiful green mountains and got to see local farmers and families and streams running down the mountain. There was also a water fall and watering hole where we were able to cool off fro the extreme heat. The whole hike was down hill and I am super sore today. Everything was great about the hike except that many people did not have any water with them because we left so early in the morning. Basically we had to rashion of the water or risk death in the 115 degree heat during a 7 hour hike. That after noon was spent napping and swimming in the Ganges. Although the Ganges gets a bad rap it’s quite cool and aside from the clothing that we found laying on the bottom and the matchsticks and cucumbers floating it is a nice retreat from the heat.
This morning we moved to our new ashram called Parmath Niketan and had our 1st naturopathy class. I will give you more scoop on the classes and ashram experience but for now it is a time for an ice-cream brake.
So, now I am in Rishikesh which is a very holy town (not meat, eggs of alcohol in the town). I got here on Saturday morning and met up with the rest of the large group to go white water rafting down the Ganges River. The rafting was really fun and the rapids were about class 2 which means that we were not going to tip and for that I was thankful. I also did cliff diving which was quite scary and very reminiscent of jumping of the high diving board at the Newbridge pool in Bellmore. That night we shopped around and had dinner. The food here is good there are Pizza and pancakes as well as Chinese food and Israeli!!! We also went to an aaarti which is a spiritual gathering on the shore of the Ganges. Basically people sit around and chant to a hug floating statue of Krishna. The next morning we got up at 4 am to watch the sunrise atop a mountain and take a hike. The hike was really nice. We walked through beautiful green mountains and got to see local farmers and families and streams running down the mountain. There was also a water fall and watering hole where we were able to cool off fro the extreme heat. The whole hike was down hill and I am super sore today. Everything was great about the hike except that many people did not have any water with them because we left so early in the morning. Basically we had to rashion of the water or risk death in the 115 degree heat during a 7 hour hike. That after noon was spent napping and swimming in the Ganges. Although the Ganges gets a bad rap it’s quite cool and aside from the clothing that we found laying on the bottom and the matchsticks and cucumbers floating it is a nice retreat from the heat.
This morning we moved to our new ashram called Parmath Niketan and had our 1st naturopathy class. I will give you more scoop on the classes and ashram experience but for now it is a time for an ice-cream brake.
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