E-Shoe Travel Blog

Zanzibar pizza, and other culinary delights

2013-03-02T13:04:00.000+09:00

Anyone that's been through Africa will tell you that local food is usually nothing much to write home about... with the welcome exception of Zanzibar. After a month or two of injera and sima/ugali, Zanzibar will make your taste buds sing!

Here's a little taste of what visitors to Zanzibar are in treat for.

Spices and seafood. Most of the local cuisine in the restaurants here is a big 'ol seaside Swahili mix. They serve up plenty of seafood with delightfully spiced rice and curries featuring coconut and a host of local spices. With the large Indian population, I hear the Indian food isn't too bad either. No wonder.

Zanzibari spiced rice

Forodhani. For a real treat though, you need to take a trip to Forodhani Market at night. I don't think it's possible to go wrong with anything here: it's all great, but priced well for even the stingiest of budget travelers.

Forodhani Market stalls

Pizza? The highlight of Forodhari Market has to be Zanzibar pizza, although they use the term 'pizza' quite loosely. Seeing how it's one of the most delicious things on the island (and thus the continent), I'll forgive them though. You really can't just stop at one with these!

More like a crepe or chapati than a pizza, it has no cheese or tomato sauce, instead stuffing your choice of meats and veggies in between a ball of dough and an egg. There are also dessert options including chocolate, banana, honey and other treats.

For those interested in trying their hand at it, I found a recipe. As the author points out though, even a good copy made at home just isn't quite the same as experiencing the real thing in all its glory.

Zanzibar pizza

Sugar Cane. Wash down your pizza with another Zanzibari treat, sugar cane juice. It basically involves them squeezing every bit of pulp out of a piece of sugar cane and adding a bit of fresh ginger. Watching them go to town on the sugar cane is pretty fun in itself. It's hard to describe just how refreshing this is in the sweltering Zanzibar heat: you just have to try it for yourself!

Squishing sugar cane into a delectable juice

Beach food. The food out on the beach is fairly similar to the local offerings in Stone Town. You'll see plenty of spiced rice and seafood, notably octopus. We also tried some King Fish, a white fish I'd never heard of that was quite tasty.

King fish

If you can find some local fishermen, try asking them to buy their fish directly out of the ocean and cook it for you for the freshest catch in town. Even at restaurants it can take them a good hour or so from ordering to get around to serving your food though, so just remember: patience is a virtue.

More on the rest of Zanzibar to come!

*All pictures taken from Google images

Turkey: Visiting a Hamam

2013-02-21T11:46:00.001+09:00

For most people who have been through Asia, when someone mentions a "Turkish bath," their thoughts automatically race to the red light attractions of Japan and Bangkok (and apparently South Korea and China, too) under the thinly-veiled guise of "bath houses." While they now call them soaplands in Japan and massage parlors in Thailand, they were all originally known as Turkish baths (abbreviated as "Toruko," or basically Turkey, in Japanese) until 1984 when Turkish residents of Japan led by Nusret Sancakli raised a stink about the public besmirching of their homeland and traditions. I don't blame them.

With that interesting aside out of the way, we come from the country of onsens and super sentos—we're not squeamish about getting naked in front of others. As such, whenever we hear about some form of public bathing as an attraction when on vacation, we want to give it a try. So we did.

Hamam what?

Now for starters, what is a hamam is really supposed to be? Basically, it's you paying someone to scrub you down, then give you a massage. It's not sexual at all, which is a good thing since you'll probably wind up with a jovially plump and hairy Turk scrubbing you down. Or at least I did. In normal situations, the hamam will be divided for men and women. Men wash men and women wash women. We did find at least one place we asked though offering mixed baths, in which case a man will be washing you both.

For a brief historical explanation, Turkish baths started popping up circa the 15th century, carrying on the tradition of the Greco-Roman baths of the past. Traditional bath houses are usually quite aesthetically pleasing, complete with a big dome on the inside.

I have to admit that this experience isn't going to be for everyone—after all, it involves getting mostly naked and letting someone else touch your body. If you can stop being such a baby and just get over those little points though, it really is an interesting cultural experience that you're not really going to find in many places. Think of it as a little taste regal extravagance that most of us forego in our pedestrian lives. Now how could you pass that up?

Bath Procedure

Like their Greek and Roman predecessors, hamams are broken into three rooms: a warm room, a hot room and a cold room.

You'll start off by disrobing and fitting yourself with a snazzy plaid bathing towel. You keep this on for the duration, except for the bathing part where it is used to cover up your wedding tackle. Guys will normally not wear anything but the towel, while women may choose to keep their underwear on, usually without the bra.

From here, you'll head into the warm room. This room is designed to be dry and hot for you to just relax for a bit and build up a bit of a sweat. Think of it as a sauna, but bigger and not as hot. We showed up a bit late and were pressed for time, but if you're taking your time then this would be a good time to have a look around and enjoy the architecture.

Fancy-schmancy hot room at some place above our budget, but the concept is the same*

Next, you'll move on to the hot room. You'll notice immediately that there's a big dome overhead and a round marble platform in the middle of the room, flanked on all sides with a bunch of fountains and niches.

You'll normally have to wait your turn here, so grab a seat and sweat another bead or two. When the hairy Turk calls, it's showtime. He'll first don a rough mitt for the scrub massage to remove all that deep-down dirt you were blissfully ignorant of just moments before, along with a few layers of skin. From what I hear, you don't want to come after just getting a tan. It's actually quite a nice massage.

Female hamamist sporting traditional towel*

Next comes the bath portion. He'll first douse you in hot water, then lay you down on the marble slab. Next, he dips a towel in soapy water and then waves it around to collect air like an open pillow case, finally squeezing the contents onto your body for your own personal bubble bath (see picture above). You then get your second massage in the form of a full-body scrub down, minus the nether regions (thank God). This cycle repeats twice—once on the front, then the back—after which you get another liberal dousing of first hot water, then cold water.

From here, they give you a fresh towel and move you onto the cold room, which in our case was basically the reception area. They'll normally serve you tea and snacks while you just relax. Some people will choose to linger a little longer in the hot room or even take a shower or nap before moving onto the cold room, but we didn't bother.

The place we went also offered an oil massage in our package, so we took turns waiting in the cold room while the other person got massaged. The whole thing for us took about an hour.

Prices

Down to the brass tacks, you may be wondering what this little slice of heaven set us back. We paid 45 TL at the hamam we chose in Antalya for a package including the scrub massage, soap massage, oil massage and light snack.

You may hear vastly different prices depending on where you ask—I hear Istanbul and Cappadocia are especially pricey if doing the more touristy hamams. Some hotels will also offer Turkish baths, but from what I've heard these will also cost you more.

Our Hamam

Tarihi Balik Pazari Hamami
Address: Tuzcular Mah. Balk Pazari Sk. Kaleici Antalya

Phone: +90 242 243 61 75

Note: pictures courtesy of Google images

Turkey: Saffron and more in Safronbolu

2013-02-15T19:54:00.000+09:00

In the northern reaches of Turkey about 100 kilometers from the Black Sea coast lies a little town that I never knew existed before visiting Turkey: Safronbolu. We added it to the end of our itinerary on the suggestion of a few people, and I'm glad we did.

Safronbolu does have its share of notoriety as a destination, but it gets far more domestic visitors than international. While it doesn't seem to get that much attention from Westerners, we found that it is somewhat known by Japanese travelers... or at least was in its day. Imagine our surprise when we found that the owner of our guesthouse spoke better Japanese than English! There were a handful of others around town that were eager to greet and speak to us in Japanese as well.

This sleepy little town has a real small town feel to it, especially in Old Town. We thought Turkish people were nice before we came, but it's almost hard to believe how nice the people we found here in Safronbolu were. Once when we asked directions, the guy got up and walked us all the way to the place we were looking for. We were treated to multiple cups of tea by shopkeepers—including the local specialty, saffron tea—without even buying anything. At one turn, a shop owner who spoke maybe five words of English invited us into his workshop just to show us his work and awards, then sent us off with a hug and kiss in true Turkish style. Salt of the earth.

So what draws Turks and others to Safronbolu besides the people? Well, a few things.

Classic Architecture in Old Town. The entirety of this town within a town is a living UNESCO World Heritage Site, registered for its classic Ottoman buildings. You can go into the old Cinci Hani inn and a few of the houses and view some truly freakish mock displays of ye olde tyme Ottoman lifestyles if you want a laugh, but I'd say it's more enjoyable just to stroll up and down the hills on the cobblestone streets. Actually no, on second though you should pay the two Lira to go see the displays—they're like a train wreck, you just can't turn your eyes away from them. The bath is a hoot as well, but I won't ruin it for you.

As seen through a glory hole in Cinci Hani

Saffron. It's in the name of the town, so I'm sure you saw this one coming. They do have a number of inventive uses for it though which I enjoyed: tea and lokum. Saffron tea comes in that same Turkish tulip teacup we all love, but is served with honey instead of sugar. Delish! You can buy your own saffron tea as well, and I definitely would have if we wouldn't still be on the road for another nine months.

We had our first cup up at the top of the hill, where there is a clearing past a gate with a little cafe and some other things. It's a great place to stare down at the entire town and take it all in.

But what's lokum, you ask? Well...

Saffron tea

Lokum. You probably know it as Turkish Delight. That's right, this place specializes in it, making all types of flavors. They even make saffron-flavored lokum if you're the two-birds-one-stone type. This is the kind of town that they will offer to load you up with free samples if you even pause for a second in front of the lokum store. My advice: don't fight it. It's delicious, it's sumptuous, it's... downright delightful. Akemi wasn't a fan of the stuff we had found to this point, but even she liked the lokum here. If you're a fan, this is the place to be.

Those are the main draws here. It would only really take you a day to tour the entire Old Town, but the people here make you want to stay a week. We compromised on three days and were quite happy we did.

We can highly recommend our guesthouse, the Efe (Facebook here), even if your English is better than your Japanese. It's family-run, and the mother will help you find everything you could want to see in Safronbolu. The rooms were surprisingly cozy for the price we paid, but more than that was the view. I'll leave you with that view until next time.

View from our guesthouse room

Bethlehem, Palestine: The church where it all started

2013-02-13T11:01:00.000+09:00

In a continuation of our Bethlehem series, I'll talk about the church. The other posts are here and here.

No trip to Bethlehem would be complete without a stop by the attraction that really puts it on the map: the Church of the Nativity. While thousands of Christians visit Bethlehem on pilgrimage every day, the birthplace of Christ is worth a look for believers and non-believers alike. Bethlehem is also home to one of the highest ratios of Christian Arabs around the world.

As with the Holy Church of the Sepulcher in Jerusalem, this "church" is actually a collection of chapels sitting atop the grotto as no one denomination of Christianity can really stake their sole claim to this holiest of holy sites. It is currently jointly administered by the Roman Catholics, Greek Orthodox and Armenian Apostolic churches with several other chapels from other denominations.

Site Layout

The building itself is quite aesthetically pleasing, even if you're an Ebeneezer Scrooge and don't believe in all this Jesus mumbo-jumbo. (It's OK, he still forgives you.)

Church of St. Catherine

You'll enter through Manger Square, a large paved courtyard in front of the church which basically forms the center of town. Entrance to the church itself is free. When entering the church grounds, you'll have your choice of which area to enter first, the main basilica on the right or the Church of St. Catherine on the left. There are also a few other little chapels hidden around, so be sure to look—I particularly enjoyed the cave section below St. Catherine.

Underneath the basilica is the main attraction: the Grotto. If you thought Jesus was born in a barn, you'd be wrong; it's a little, dinky cave, which is where you would have parked your donkey (let's call him Horace) if you lived 2,000 some odd years ago in this part of the world.

In the cave below St. Catherine's

One of the small pleasures of your visit will be the serenading from other visitors singing hymns. Religious people get really emotional at these kinds of sites, and for good reason. There was a nice rendition of "Oh Little Town of Bethlehem" here in the Grotto, but the real show was at the Garden Tomb in Jerusalem. Hoo boy—all I'll say is that if you ever see an African group touring in Israel, FOLLOW THEM AND WAIT FOR AWESOMENESS. When they sing and worship it is a sight to behold, and they will sing and worship. Often.

All in all, this place is definitely a must-see for any visit to Bethlehem, even for non-Christians.

Other Religious Sites

For those wishing to bask even more in the religious aspects, you can also take a Christmassy tour down to the Shepherd's Fields, where Gabriel and a host of angels were supposed to have visited shepherds to proclaim the birth of Jesus.

While not as important, the Milk Grotto Chapel is another easily accessible religious site. Here, legend has that Mary spilled a few drops of breast milk when fleeing for Egypt, turning the whole cavern milky white.

The tomb of Rachel, wife to Jacob, is supposed to be the second most sacred site in Bethlehem to Christians. Unfortunately, that damn wall is now in the way. Rachel's Tomb is now only accessible from Jerusalem via Egget bus, making it virtually inaccessible from Bethlehem.

Israel (Palestine): Oh Little Town of Bethlehem - Banksy's Wall

2013-02-07T00:00:00.000+09:00

Last time around, I talked a little about the whole Israel-Palestine situation that casts its shadow over poor little Bethlehem, not to mention all the other Palestinian towns out there. I hear Hebron in particular is interesting.

Other than the obvious religious connections in Bethlehem, there is a new attraction that everyone seems eager to cash in on: Banksy tours. For those not in the know, Banksy is a British graffiti artist whose art almost always has some sort of message, politically-charged or otherwise. In two trips in 2005 and 2007, he and his crew put up 12 images on the wall and about town in his form of support for the Palestinian cause. (view video here) He's done plenty of work not only in the UK and Palestine, but also New Orleans, San Francisco, Melbourne and other locations.

We saw this Japanese tag in addition to tags in Korean, Spanish and many other languages

Since the wall went up in 2002, there have been plenty of artists from all over the world as well as right around the corner who tag their messages here in protest of the wall's mere existence. The Israeli government hates the art and destroys it at every opportunity, but they know very well that every bit covered up will just be tagged again by someone else in no time—there's nary a place left bare on the entire wall at this point. Banksy wasn't the first to etch something here and definitely wasn't the last, but he is probably the most famous, lending legitimacy and a spotlight to the cause.

This leads us to what has become one of the most common Bethlehem attraction in recent years, the tour. Just about any taxi driver in town will gladly drive you around town in search of the remaining Banksy images in town. A good tour should also include a tour of the local refugee camp, another interesting site that requires explanation to really appreciate.

If pressed for time, you can make your contribution to the local economy by either taking a taxi driver up on their offers for an unofficial tour or soliciting one of several companies who is taking this up as their business. The official tours will probably run about 50 USD/person; if you take an unofficial tour, be sure that both you and the driver are clear on exactly what is included. If you have the time or are just too cheap to pay someone, walking or biking would be another option. As we found out, taking time to talk to local shop owners can be just as if not more informative than a tour guide.

Some locals have also opened a store now close to the checkpoint called Banksy's shop that sells copies of the Banksy originals in several forms along with other choice art pieces and some kitschy souvenirs. We stopped in and bought some postcards while chatting with the owner, who definitely had a bunch to say about the state of things (note: so does just about Palestinian you find that can speak English well).

As for the original Banksy pieces, we saw three of the five that currently remain, all within easily walkable distance from the center of town. I knew where another was, but it wasn't as accessible without a driver.

Here are the locations of the pieces that I know:

Girl with balloons: right in front of the Banksy Shop. I think this is actually a copy of the original though.

Girl frisking a soldier: opposite the Intercontinental Hotel, which is only a block or two straight down the street from the end of the wall.

Armored dove: right outside the Palestinian Heritage Center. I hear the center itself is not a bad way to spend some time if have some to spare.

Flower thrower (not pictured): it's supposed to be in Beit Sahour on the way to the Shepherd's Fields.

The art here at the wall is constantly changing as artists write over one another, but I enjoyed just taking my time to view the whole thing. Banksy wasn't the only one with something to say, and some of the work here is excellent. A simple walk up to the wall is rather awe-inspiring if you're not the tour type.

Here's some more non-Banksy pieces we saw:

Palestine: Another Brick in the Wall

2013-02-04T22:46:00.001+09:00

It's been a while!

We're now well along with our trip, currently in Sao Paulo, Brazil, and I have quite a bit of catching up to do. Mostly in an attempt to keep myself from getting bored writing only about stuff from fully three months past at this point, I'll be doing a bunch of hopping around. Variety is the spice of life and all that.

What better place to start than Bethlehem? We spent a couple days here back in mid-November—my how time flies. Anyway, it was quite the eye opener into the daily goings of a society effectively silenced by the media and their ruling counterparts in Israel. Travelling the world really is the best education there is for some things. You're not likely to meet a Palestinian abroad with all the restrictions they face, so really the best way to learn about the situation is to just go there.

First, some background for those not aware as this stuff doesn't exactly make the mainstream news, especially in the US. It really is an incredibly complex situation when you break it down.

Let's start off simple. Israel is actually two states, Israel and Palestine, neither of which recognize each other. The Palestinian territories have been slowly whittled down through the years through the expansion of Israeli settlements and various other events.

Israel and Palestinian territories through the years

Palestine IDs and Travel Documents

Israelis aren't normally allowed into the Palestinian areas and vice versa. Doing so requires either a special ID or special permission. We got a breakdown of what this means to Palestinians from our hosts at the guesthouse we stayed at and shop owners around town.

First, Palestinians will have one of two types of IDs: Jerusalem ID or Palestine ID. Those with Jerusalem IDs are allowed free passage between borders at any time, but they are only permitted to sleep in Palestine one night a week. Jerusalem IDs also get spiffy yellow license plates for their cars so the guards at the checkpoints can distinguish from the white Palestinian plates and whisk them through.

Those with Palestine IDs are only permitted entry into Israel with special permission, and even then they have to be back by sundown or face strict questioning and general harassment. This special permission is apparently not so easy to come by; there are no work permits, so this severely limits work opportunities, in addition to limiting access to proper medical care and other things.

Now here's where it really gets complex: what happens when a Jerusalem ID and Palestine ID get married? The family at the guesthouse was in just such a situation. The wife, a Jerusalem ID, comes into Bethlehem everyday but returns to a house on the Israeli side on all but one night a week with her daughter, also a Jerusalem ID. The husband has to stay in Palestine for the duration, although he was never home due to work.

The children born into this arrangement get divided: half get Jerusalem IDs, half get Palestine IDs. They had four children, with the youngest daughter still in high school. The daughter has a Jerusalem ID, so she has to return with her mother everyday to Jerusalem where she goes to school.

While many Palestinians simply don't have the means, those that do want to travel are presented with another headache: passports. The Palestinian Authority does issue passports, but they require pre-arranged visas for all countries but Jordan. Most Palestinians that travel thus have Jordanian passports for travelling, although they aren't issued national ID numbers. Some countries thus have restrictions on Jordanian passports without national ID numbers, effectively meaning Palestinians.

The Wall: Apartheid Alive and Well

Eight meters of love

Between Jerusalem and Bethlehem, we found an 8m-high separation wall (the Berlin Wall was only four meters, for reference), which spanned 486 of a planned 760 kilometers in 2009. This wall was built in 2002 in response to the Second Intifada, which if you're anything like me probably got lost in your memory banks amidst the myriad of endless conflicts in this area. The particular incident that lead to the wall concluded in a standoff with Palestinians in the Church of Nativity in which eight were killed and 40 wounded, some of them civilians and priests. The Hague ruled the wall illegal in 2004, and yet here it stands.

Besides simply casting a dark shadow of general malaise and bad mojo, this wall affects every Palestinian within its confines in a number of ways. First, it was all built in Palestinian territory, closing off Palestinians from 16,000 acres of land that was formerly theirs in the Bethlehem district alone. This separated villagers from their orchards, fields, water supplies, and even stores in some cases. We heard a story of one family who had a store right next to their house: their store is now on the Israeli side while their home still sits in Palestine, effectively killing their livelihood.

Given how voiceless they are on in world forum, Palestinians are very eager to let the outside world in on their plights. In Bethlehem just outside the Church of the Nativity, there's plenty of information on their side of the whole Israel-Palestine situation awaiting the curious at the tourist information center. There are two sides to every story, but most of the time we hear only the Israeli side.

Visiting Bethlehem

Considering all the difficulties Palestinians are subjected to, the hassles you'll experience visiting Palestine are trivial. First, if you plan on visiting Palestine on your trip to Israel, do not say anything about it at the border. Best to save yourself that headache—it'll just mean more questions.

For self-guided tours, only Arab buses are permitted to travel from Israel to Palestine—in our case, Jerusalem to Bethlehem—but even these are limited to daytime hours. No buses will run directly into town after about 6 PM, instead dropping you on the Israeli side of the checkpoint. You'll have to cross the border yourself and find your own transport on the other side. Taxis are lined up just waiting to overcharge you. The bus from Jerusalem to Bethlehem only takes about 30 minutes, so it's best to just leave in time to avoid this situation.

Safety was a non-issue compared to other places we've been, but I'd take care walking around aimlessly at night. Most Palestinians are very welcoming to visitors though and will gladly guide you around. We stayed a good 10-15 minutes walk from the main area centered on the Church of the Nativity, but there are plenty of places to stay closer in.

Given its proximity, there are also day tours visiting from Jerusalem. We didn't take this option, but I'm sure if you ask any hotel in Jerusalem they'll tell you all about it. We ran across at least one guy who rented a bicycle in Jerusalem for a self tour. He seemed to be getting around well enough.

Compared to Israel, you'll experience a noted degradation in quality standards of life as soon as you cross the checkpoint. There's less sanitation, poor access to hospitals, and less upkeep in general. It's like a third world Arab country in the middle of a first world Israel. You also may have trouble finding a bank that'll let you withdraw shekels, so bring enough with you if possible. Some ATMs there even tried to issue us Jordanian Dinars! I'm guessing this means that JD are accepted in Palestine, but I haven't tested that theory.

More on what there is to see in Bethlehem in our next episode.

Happy Holidays from E-Shoe!

2012-12-26T17:04:00.000+09:00

How are you spending your holidays this year? For us, it's been quite the eventful year.

Over the last almost five months, we've already passed through 10 countries, most of which were totally new to us. While it's mostly been a pleasure, we've also had our share of obstacles, setbacks and lessons in travel. It may be surprising to hear, but traveling can be tiring, especially if you're working along the way.

Thus, we are currently taking a little vacation from the vacation, so to speak--after migrating south of the equator to evade the winter for the year, we're taking four days on the sunny beaches of Zanzibar to bask under the unrelenting African sun and recharge.

Quite a nontraditional Christmas for us! Here, instead of the Christmas trees and wreaths in the West, or the "illuminations" of Tokyo, they hang arches made of palm leaves with tropical flowers. In place of snow, we have white sands. The closest we've come to Santa red is the unhealthy pink glow coming from my sunburn.

We'll hopefully be back in no time to posting more of the small mountain of travel accounts and stories we've accumulated to this point, but in the meantime we'd just like to wish all our friends, family and readers a happy holiday season, wherever you're spending it.

Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year's!

Turkey: Blue Cruising on the Turkish Riviera

2012-12-06T23:50:00.001+09:00

Turkish gulet on the Mediterranean

While Pammukale was fabulous and Fethiye was no slouch itself, one of, if not the highlight of Turkey for both of us was our four-day cruise through the Mediterranean. They sure don’t call it the Blue Cruise for nothing!

Turkey really does have a little bit of everything: friendly people, fine cuisine, a storied history, and beautiful natural features.

When we first put Turkey on our list of destinations, my expectations were to see a bunch of mosques and gorge myself on doner kebabs in Istanbul, then maybe check out some Biblical ruins spotted across vast swathes of dry land. Japanese input from Akemi added Pamukkale and Cappadocia to the list—two fine destinations in their own right, to be sure. While I was aware of Turkey’s position sandwiched between the Black Sea and Mediterranean, neither of us really had any expectations for the Turkish coastline. What a huge oversight that was!

Çalış Beach in Fethiye

The truth is, Turkey has over 8,333 kilometers of coastline in total and is a perennial beach destination for Europeans. While things certainly get warm enough to swim along the Black Sea coastline to the north, the real draw is down south.

Turkey has the Aegean Sea to the west between it and Greece and the Mediterranean to the south. Just south of Selcuk in Kuşadası is where things really start to get interesting—the area from Bodrum to Alanya draws enough European visitors to earn it the title “Turkish Riviera.” This section was the focus of our Blue Cruise: Fethiye to Demre, with stops at St. Nicholas Island, Firnaz Bay (near Kalkan), Kaş, and Kekova, to name a few.

Sunset on St. Nicholas Island

A modest crew accompanied us along with 18 other travelers of all ages and creeds on our gulet, the traditional mode of ocean transport in these parts. We were originally a little concerned about things being too crowded and getting along with everyone, but this soon proved to be no concern at all. The crew was wonderful, and everyone got along swimmingly... quite literally, in fact. There was plenty of space for everyone and then some, and they provided us with enough snorkeling equipment to get by.

While our quarters below were a little tighter than we’re accustomed—and this coming from someone who’s lived in some rather tiny Japanese apartments—they snugly provided all the necessities: a bed, just enough room for our two bags, and a fully equipped bathroom with shower.

Most of our time on the boat, however, was spent up on the deck. The hammocks were perfect for reading or just taking in the sea breezes while the boat took us from place to place.

There were also a bunch of day beds on deck which were a great alternative to the cozy rooms below, especially during the hotter summer months from what I hear. We were fine in October with a blanket or two. Imagine if you will dozing off while gazing at the stars, then waking to see the sunrise over the horizon.

Sunrise on the deck

Another highlight of the trip was the meals—the entire trip is fully catered with three meals of delightful Mediterranean cuisine a day. Being Turkey, there is of course a tea break in the mid afternoon for a light snack as well.

We spent plenty of time between meals working up an appetite hiking through the Butterfly Valley and around St. Nicholas Island, swimming and snorkeling through clear blue waters and exploring small fishing villages along the coast.

Kaş from above

Akemi takes the plunge

Ready to sign up? While our cruise left from Fethiye, other options sail from Bodrum, Marmaris, Kemer and Demre, the terminus of our voyage. The company we used has 2-day, 4-day and 8-day packages with various destinations and itineraries, so check their homepage and see what works for you!

Cruise info

V-GO Yachting and Travel: http://www.bluecruisesturkey.com/

Season: March to November (weather permitting)
Fethiye-Olympos cruise:

Starts from: Fethiye
Finishes at: Olympos
Duration: 4 Days/3 Nights
Places you will visit: Fethiye, Oludeniz(The Blue Lagoon), St.Nicholas Island, Kalkan, Kas, Kekova, Gokkaya Bay, Andriace, Myra, Demre, St.Nicholas Church, Olympos
Official prices: €165-209/person

Last but not least, did I mention how great the people were? I will not soon forget the great times we spent with crazy Brazilians (and one Brit) on this boat. Also, goats now hold a special place in my heart. Vai Brasil!

Turkey: Saklikent Gorgeous!

2012-11-30T06:00:00.000+09:00

When we originally arrived in Fethiye after a lovely visit to Pamukkale, we had but one thing on our minds: the Mediterranean. This was our first sea or ocean on this trip, and we were there to take the Blue Cruise. Everything else was just gravy.

After purchasing our cruise tickets, we had four days to see what was going on in and around Fethiye itself. Luckily for us, there’s quite a bit. Probably our favorite destination in the area was a place called Saklikent.

Saklikent Gorge

Saklikent, which means "hidden city," is home to a quite sizable gorge. Even the widest of lenses won't capture the dwarfing height of the cliffs or the roaring of the currents coursing below. The scale of things really puts you in your place.

The gorge is 18 kilometers long, four of which are traversable by foot. This is no walk in the park though.

It’s starts off easily enough—upon paying the 5 TL entry, you go through turnstiles and enter the gorge along a raised walkway for the first 100 meters or so with the cool stream bubbling below. That’s the extent of the man-made paths though; from here, you just have to wade into the water. The majority of the time it only covers your feet, but it does get waist-high in sections.

At the end of the path is a small opening where you will no doubt be approached by a guide. They’ll tell you that it’s dangerous to go ahead alone and offer to chaperon, but we did just fine alone. To be fair, the water does get deep in some areas, especially after rain, and currents can be dangerous. They close the gorge to visitors during the rainy winter months for this reason.

When we were there though, they had one person posted just the other side of the first deeper section. I heard that there were more such guides strategically placed throughout the gorge, but we didn't see any. This might only be true in the months with more foot traffic. In any case, the able-bodied should be able to wing it, but guides are available for those not too sure of themselves. If you’re not comfortable climbing up wet rocks in what amounts to a shallow river, better safe than sorry.

Knee deep in giddy awesomeness

Walking through the gorge is sheer joy. Remember when you were a kid and went to go play in the creek in those woods at the edge of the neighborhood? It’s just like that, except this time the creek is deeper and flanked by 300-meter high sheer cliffs. And the water is a milky shade of blue thanks to sand deposits reminiscent of the travertine in Pamukkale. On second thought, maybe it isn’t so much like that creek back home.

Not your run-of-the-mill creek

The water is also quite chilly—thanks to the towering natural walls of the gorge, sunlight rarely reaches the waters, if ever. I’m sure it’s quite a delightful break from the heat of summer months, but it can take a little getting used to when we went, at the end of the season in October. It was by no means unbearable though, even at this time of year.

Here's some info to assist on your visit.

Saklikent Details

Entrance fee: 5 TL/person
Season: Roughly April to September, depending on weather and water levels. We went in early October and were fine. Going late in the season will be much less crowded, we hear.
How to get there: Saklikent is about an hour by dolmuş from Fethiye for 8 TL/person. Be sure to confirm the schedule for the bus back if going by dolmuş—it was 6 pm when we visited. Renting a car will be more comfortable if you have the budget, but at 50 km, it's a bit far for scooters. Other than Fethiye, it can also be accessed from nearby Antalya, Kaş, or Kalkan.

Precautions: You will get wet here, and the rocks are slippery. Wear a swimsuit, or at least pants that can get wet. Water shoes or some form of shoe with good grip that you don’t mind getting wet are recommended—absolutely DO NOT wear flip-flops! Rental shoes available if needed.

Also, be mindful of any electronics you bring. Even if you don’t slip, anything in your pants pockets will get wet. There was also a waterfall that we saw, maybe 1.5 kilometers or so into the hike, that you would have to pass under in order to go any further. We turned back here as we didn’t want to risk ruining the camera, but you might be able to get further with a waterproof backpack.

River Restaurants

Saklikent has the perfect remedy for the hungry stomachs of adventurers fresh back from their river treks. The riverside restaurants here aren’t just beside the river, they have tables sitting on top of the river flowing out of the gorge.

You know you want to sip some fresh-squeezed pom juice here

For those more interested in the food than the views, they have you covered, too. Those able to stave off hunger for another 200 meters or so can head past these restaurants to the right upon exiting the gorge to another set of restaurants. These serve up generous portions with all-you-can-eat salad bars for a low 10 TL.

Eat here for 10 TL!!

And there you have it. If you make it down to the Turkish Riviera, don't forget to make time for Saklikent!

Turkey: The Cotton Castles of Pamukkale

2012-11-27T06:00:00.000+09:00

Have I mentioned yet how much we loved Turkey? Because it really is quite a wonderful place. One of Turkey’s more well known attractions is Pamukkale. As the saying goes, a picture is worth a thousand words. This is definitely one of those moments.

See what I mean? Stuff like this really does put the “wonder” in natural wonders. How exactly does a place like this come to be? The name Pamukkale itself means "cotton castle" in Turkish, but that doesn't really explain it. Long story short, the travertine pools of Pamukkale are the result of calcium carbonate minerals. The minerals are deposited by the flow of water surfacing through a series of natural hot springs.

You can see this carbonate in the form of soft silt that packs almost like white mud at the bottom of the terraced pools all the way up the slope. It feels strange squishing between your toes, but many seem to think it’s good for the skin. The minerals also give the water a mystical light blue tinge during daylight hours.

The water in the travertine pools is lukewarm at best, getting progressively hotter the higher up the hill you get. While admission permits you to dive in if you want, I’d say the pools accessible along the path climbing up the hill are more aptly described as deep foot baths suitable for wading. Whatever you decide, dress accordingly; also keep in mind that you will be asked to walk barefoot through the entire area to preserve the surfaces.

The Ancient Pool

At the hill’s crest is a separate resort called the Ancient Pool, reminding us that this area has been a tourist attraction since Roman times. Made famous as Cleopatra’s bath, this pool supposedly gives you a true opportunity to bathe in between Roman columns and ruins which fell into the pool during an earthquake in the 7th century.

I say supposedly because with our meager budget, we were too cheap to pony up the additional 30 TL it costs to gain entry. We learned afterward that if you ask, you can view the pools for free as long as you don't get in. This is secondhand information though, so I haven't confirmed it directly.

Heiropolis

It doesn’t stop here though—Cleopatra’s bath is merely the beginning of the ruins of the ancient Roman city of Heiropolis. Perched above the natural pools, Heiropolis served as a popular spa in Roman days. Unlike the baths, they don’t charge extra here, so view to your heart’s content. It’s nice, but nowhere near as impressive as Ephesus or Aprodisias.

Entry to Pamukkale and Heiropolis will set you back 20 TL. The optional Ancient Pool will run an additional 30 TL. At least one couple that did pay told us they enjoyed themselves, so you judge for yourselves whether the additional expense is worth it.

Whether you decide to take a dip in the pool or not, Pamukkale is a travertine wonderland for photogs, especially around sunset. The raw beauty of the place is stunning, and this goes double once the sun gets lower in the sky. While buses do make it more than possible to visit Pamukkale as a daytrip from either Selcuk, Fethiye or other regional cities, we recommend staying for the sunset and staying the night. The grounds don’t close at night, so stick around as late as you want.

Pamukkale at sunset

Dissenting opinions—is it worth it?

Talking with others that visited Pamukkale, opinions were worryingly divided. I think this has to do with expectations. Some were disappointed that many of the pools were now dry, which is unfortunately true. I believe this damage is a result of hotels that were built over Heiropolis in the mid-20th century. The hotels and roads up to the top were removed when Pamukkale was declared a World Heritage Site. Still others were probably expecting to go for a swim, then faced with a steep 30 TL price tag on top of the normal admission and decided against it.

If you appreciate natural beauty and are just going for the view, however, you will most definitely enjoy yourself, especially if you’re camera-happy. While it’s a shame that the far section of pools is totally drained, the near side pools are the epitome of natural beauty and more than worth the price of admission.

Pamukkale is on the short list of most every traveler going to Turkey, and with good reason. Don’t leave it out of yours!

Good Restaurant: Lamuko’s Lokanta

First, there are plenty of budget meal options in town for those on a budget. We chose to splurge a bit for dinner though and were glad we did! For the first time in our then three months on the road, we opted for a little taste from our home, Japan.

While there are plenty of imitators in town, Lamuko’s Lokanta offers authentic Japanese food made by its Japanese owner with ingredients imported from the homeland. If you’re hankering for some good, home-cooked Japanese food, this is the place for you. And if all you really know of Japanese food is sushi and Benihana's, this is a great place to broaden your horizons. If you're not sure what to order, you can't go wrong with the oyako donburi (chicken and egg, mixed over rice).

Daytrip Option: Aphrodisias

For those of you that want to see Ephesus but don't like the crowds, Aphrodisias may just be the option you're looking for. We researched it and in the end decided it wasn't for us, but a few friends that did go spoke very highly of it. The ruins are well preserved and a bit cheaper than its more famous counterpart in Ephesus, but it's a bit out of the way and thus often overlooked. This means more open views over largely uncrowded ruins for those that do choose to put in the effort to get there.

Temples, mosques, churches, castles, ruins—in any of these cases, we've found that you can only see so many before you start getting burnt out. For this reason, unless you're a big history buff, limiting yourself to just Ephesus or just Aphrodisias might be enough for you if done properly.

While accessible by dolmuş via Denizli, renting a car or even guide might be an option worth looking into for those interested in visiting Aphrodisias.

One last Pamukkale picture for the road!

Now Entering Africa

2012-11-24T15:52:00.002+09:00

Here we are, back from a short work-induced blogging hiatus, extended a day or two by an unexpected medical pitstop. We’ve also hit a milestone—a new continent! We’ve both been to Egypt, but that’s north of the Sahara. This time we’re diving head first into the world’s final wild frontier: Africa. Akemi's been to South Africa at least, but for me, this is totally uncharted territory.

And what better introduction to a new continent could there be than Ethiopia? Right off the plane, you can just feel that this quirky little country is different... but more about that when we get to it.

Last time with Turkey, we posted our plans and asked for suggestions. While we did come up with a fairly good route through Turkey, all the suggestions we had made it that much better. Safranbolu? Loved it!

We try not to look at guidebooks, so people are our best source of info. Locals and fellow travelers alike, the best way to find out what there is to do somewhere is to ask someone who’s already been there. This is doubly true when in Africa, where it seems a lion fart can knock out internet connections.

So we’re going to try this again—who’s got some good advice on Africa? [Andy, Dave, Steve, we're looking at you!] Again, we have a basic idea of what we want to see, especially for our first stop, Ethiopia, but are looking for a few out-of-the-way twists to keep things interesting. We’ll break this up by country, giving our basic plan and ideas.

Ethiopia

As mentioned previously, Ethiopia is our first country in Africa and my first time going Sub-Saharan.

Checking out the map, you can see that our focus is on the north. We fly into and again out of Addis Ababa, avoiding what I hear can be a rather hairy southern border with Kenya, complete with bandits (which may or may not be hairy). I also hear that overland transport in this area is... shall we say less than optimal—two days in a bus from Addis Ababa to Bahir Dar to cover 550 kilometers doesn’t sound like my cup of Ethiopian coffee—so we’ll be utilizing some surprisingly cheap domestic air routes for this part of the world.

The basic route of Addis Ababa, Bahir Dar, Gondar, Aksum and Lalibela are all interconnected rather well with air routes, basically making them interchangeable in terms of order. We’ll play it by ear, but will probably use land transport between Bahir Dar and Gondar, and possibly to Lalibela if the rumors I hear of vastly improved roads in that neck of the woods are true.

Our wild card for Ethiopia was whether or not to add a few days and another stop to the list: Shashemene or Harar, maybe? We now have a few days to kill before we can fly as we're waiting for our Brazilian visas, and those are our ideas. Being the home of Rastafarianism, Shashemene sounds just zany enough to be a fun distraction, mon.

And here's the rest of the African leg of the trip:

Kenya

From Ethiopia, we fly from Addis Ababa into Nairobi, Kenya to start the overland portion of our African expedition.

As you might have suspected, one of the biggest questions we had on Africa was what to do about a safari. I’ll go into more detail when we recap later, but we've decided that despite the added costs, we’re destined for Tanzania and the Serengeti due to the migration patterns and our timing.

The disappointing thing is that that leaves us with little to do in Kenya. Nairobi doesn't exactly sound like the most inviting place in the world, and if we’re not looking around for a safari guide then I’m not sure it’s worth it. I hear it’s a likely place for tourists to get targeted by thieves, and that they don't play around. Maybe that assessment is unfair, but I’m just going by what I've heard.

Is Lake Nakuru with its flamingos worth a daytrip without going on a full-blown safari? Are the lazy beaches of Lamu worth a stop with the Almighty Zanzibar looming just around the corner in Tanzania? Am I missing some other hidden gem here? I’m thinking it might be better to give Kenya a pass this time and focus our attention on Tanzania in the absence of good suggestions to the contrary.

Tanzania

Even if you don’t know Africa, you've probably heard of a few of the attractions in Tanzania. Serengeti. Kilimanjaro. Zanzibar. I mean seriously, how could you not want to go to a place called Zanzibar? It sounds like a magician’s name or something. I think I might just name my next pet after it. THE AMAZING ZANZIBAR.

As noted above, if you’re plans are to safari and hit the beach all in one sitting, Tanzania wins. Our safari will be a total of 5-6 days, first touring through the Serengeti and Arusha park, then over to Ngorogoro crater and Lake Manyara. This will be followed by... Zanzibar the Magnificent.

We’re also thinking that a train ride from Dar Es Salaam to our next planned stop, Zambia, sounds like a lovely way to jet across the countryside. I’d love to add something less touristy in there, whether it be Kenya or Tanzania, and will be keeping my ears wide open for suggestions along the way. I hear that anything south of Dar Es Salaam is a good bet.

Zambia

The train from Dar Es Salaam just so happens to terminate in Lusaka, Zambia. Serendipitously, we just so happen to have a friend who moved to Lusaka earlier this year, so this stop is a no-brainer! After a short recharge here, our new party of three will venture south to Victoria Falls before heading into...

Botswana

Botswana makes the list here for one simple reason: it’s easy. The easiest, in fact. Zimbabwe is a disaster waiting to happen—besides an African traveler advising us to steer clear, I think Monopoly money is worth more than their currency at this point. And northern Mozambique is a mine field of problems—literally. In some areas north, there are mines left over from wars past. I’ve thus heard that the best path into Mozambique would be to first go south, then enter from South Africa. That doesn't really help, for our purposes.

Other than transit, what will we do here? Well, our newly implanted Zambian host tells us there are some nice national parks, so we’ll discuss that one with her and get back to you.

South Africa

Our African terminus, South Africa. So much to see, but how much time will we have at this point to see it? Between reuniting with Akemi’s host families in Durban after too many years and flying out of Johannesburg to our next continent, will we even have time to get out to Cape Town on the other side of the country? I certainly hope so. We also hope to meet a few people we know in Pretoria if there’s time.

And there you have it. Enough to fill two and a half months? Probably. Would we consider other options along the way? Definitely. Or are we underestimating how long it takes to get around in Africa? You tell us.

Nepal pictures up!

2012-11-02T07:09:00.000+09:00

I finally took some time to go through all these pictures that are piling up! I've gotten through the Nepal batch, including everything from our time in Pokhara, Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Nagarkot. Now I can move onto the almost 3,000 pictures I've taken in Turkey over the last month!

Here's a little preview: click on the links for more.

Pokhara: (blog) (pictures)

Amitabha Monastery: (blog) (pictures)

Boudhanath Stupa: (pictures)

Basantapur Durbar Square: (blog) (pictures)

Swambhunath Stupa: (blog) (pictures)

Downtown Kathmandu: (blog) (pictures)

Bhaktapur: (blog) (pictures)

Nagarkot: (blog) (pictures)

Selcuk, Turkey: more than just Ephesus

2012-11-01T20:00:00.000+09:00

So long Nepal, hello Turkey! We are seriously loving us some Turkey—the food is fabulous, the culture is rich, and the waters are a robust mix of just about every shade in the spectrum between blue and green. Just what the doctor ordered.

We flew into Istanbul; you'll have to forgive me for saving the biggest city in Turkey for last as it is both our first and last stop on the Turkey circuit. With that, we'll start off with our second stop: the small town of Selçuk (pronounced "sell-chook").

Library of Celsus in Ephesus

Ephesus

There's really no question what the main draw in town is: the ruins of Ephesus (Efes to the locals). Ephesus lays claim to the largest, most well preserved Roman ruins in Turkey and draws crowds commensurate with such distinction—for those who only see one set of ruins in Turkey, this is the most likely candidate.

While most package tours will make a day trip out of Ephesus from God knows where, the independent traveler's consensus is to stay in the nearest town: Selçuk.

The sheer scale of Ephesus is remarkable. It was a city, after all, and not a small one at that. The estimated population of Ephesus in its prime is 250,000, a full five times that of the current population of Selçuk. And to think, they've only uncovered about 25% of it!

Streets of Ephesus

This fact is even more astonishing once you actually see the place for yourself—as-is, it will take you at least a good hour for even a quick run through, although that might require some actual running. I'd recommend 3-4 hours to do it justice.

One of the most amazing things here is that the overall city is already intact to the point that you can actually imagine it in its heyday. There are vestiges of homes, main roads, public toilets... even proper drainage facilities! That's right, this means that ancient Romans mastered what still eludes Indian engineers to this day. (I kid, but it's true)

Library entrance

The two most well-preserved edifices unearthed here have to be the library and the theater.

The library facade is just massive, supposedly designed to appear as if it could hold even more than its original 13,500 scroll capacity. Sounds like the architect was a tad bit insecure.

There are two theaters, the larger of which is supposed to be the biggest still standing. It is also used for performances to this day, as signaled by the modern flooring laid over the original stone.

Perched atop the smaller of two theaters

As we soon found out, Turkey has mastered the art of nickel-and-diming for add-ons. Ephesus is no different—in addition to the 25 TL entrance fee, they try to squeeze another 15 TL out of you for the audio guide and then 15 TL more to see the terraced housing. We got neither and were satisfied. If you leave really thirsting for more, the Ephesus museum in town is supposed to be nice for 10 TL.

Ephesus was also a city of biblical importance. Unless you believe Dan Brown, this is where the apostle John took Mary to live out their final days and write his Gospel of John.

If all this interests you, check out St. John's Basilica in Selçuk. The house of Mary is also up the hill, but is quite the hike coming from town.

But wait, there's more!

The cozy streets of Şirince

Şirince

If you have an afternoon to spare, I'd highly recommend hopping a short 20-minute ride up to the wine village of Şirince. Take the dolmuş ("dull mush," Turkish for minibus) from the Selçuk otogar (bus station).

Along with the standard red, white and rose varietals, Şirince wineries offer a wide selection of fruit wines. We sampled strawberry, kiwi, apple an blackberry, to name a few, and even took a free tour of the factory. In all honesty, Turkish wine isn't the world's greatest, but free samples always taste better!

More free samples? How can you say 'no' to this guy??

Other than the wine, this quaint little village has excellent views with which it attempts to foist its overpriced boutique hotels upon unsuspecting tourists. Looking beyond this and the endless knickknack booths, we enjoyed just taking in the picturesque views while walking the steep streets up to the church near the top (for those that care, this one belongs to John the Baptist).

The virgin Mary: making tea taste better since 0 A.D.

We spent a good half day here, but it might be a little too close to home if you're used to European wine country. Spending a morning in Selçuk and the afternoon in Şirince sounds about right to me.

Other than that, Pamukkale is close enough to reach in three hours and thus day-trippable, but we opted to stay a night so we could see the sunset.

Recommended accommodation: Atilla's Getaway

We could not recommend Atilla's Getaway enough! Both the dorms and private rooms looked nice, and an extra 5 euro gets you a fabulous home-cooked breakfast and dinner every day. It is here that my love affair with menemen began. (I hope Akemi understands!)

Mmmenemen!

It's a little out of town, but they offer free shuttles from the otogar. This minor inconvenience conveniently places Atilla's within walkable distance of Ephesus—there's a quite pleasant path that cuts right behind the rear gate and drops you at the ruins in about 40 minutes. Just ask the staff for directions.

Also, if you were interested in Mary's house, this might be the easiest way to see it. Just turn left instead of right when you hit the main road.

Yes, this is what it looks like every night

Atilla's Getaway

Phone: +90 (0) 232 892 3847
E-mail: info@atillasgetaway.com
HP: http://www.atillasgetaway.com

And there you have it! from Selçuk, we hopped the train over to Pamukkale via Denizli. More on that next time.

Now all I need to do is catch up on photos! More on Flickr to come soon.

A hidden Kathmandu delight: Amitabha monastery

2012-10-30T08:04:00.000+09:00

There are a handful of sites which make the mandatory check list for any visit to Kathmandu. You've probably run across the names Durbar Square, Swayambhunath, Boudhanath, Bhaktapur, and maybe even Nagarkot... even if you can't quite pronounce them all.

One gem of a site that often gets overlooked is Amitabha monastery, also affectionately referred to by locals as the White Gumba (Gumba means 'temple' in Nepalese, not these). We were fortunate enough to have our local hosts escort us out to Amitabha one sunny Saturday afternoon and were pleasantly surprised with what we found.

Main hall of Amitabha

A few fun facts

Amitabha gets overlooked by many for a few reasons.

First, it's only open to the public on Saturday. If your schedule doesn't have you in Kathmandu on Saturday, a trip here would really only give you a nice view of the gate, and maybe some irritated monks (note: these are nowhere near as amusing as irritated monkeys).

Second, it's not exactly the easiest place to get to. It's quite a hike if you're coming from Thamel, like most travelers are; from Thamel, it's more than twice the distance of Swayambhunath and is up in a quite hilly area. That, along with the often confusing bus system means that a taxi or private car is probably your best bet here.

Still, hiking would not be the worst option in the world for those up to the challenge. The area is quite scenic once you get outside Ring Road, and the hills could even serve as a warm-up for your upcoming treks. Just be sure to bring a comfortable pair of shoes!

The hills are alive with the sound of Buddhist chanting music

The payoff

So why should this be on your list of places to see in Kathmandu?

Well first, it's far enough out of town that the surrounding area is quite pleasant, and Amitabha's elevated position gives it quite the good view.

A Buddha's eye view of Kathmandu

The grounds themselves are also quite expansive and highly elaborate. The giant golden Buddha atop the hill is preceded by cascading statues all the way up the grounds. The entire hike up the giant staircase, you'll pass by numerous murals, fountains and statues, each more ornate than the last.

The front gate of White Gumba—not so white

The true draw here for me though was the interior of the main temple hall itself. This is the most elegant, colorful Buddhist temple I have ever laid eyes on, and I've seen quite a few. The overload of colors is simply amazing; it is a feast for the eyes that truly has to be seen to be appreciated. The monks must agree with me as they have unfortunately forbidden photography. Tis a shame that I cannot share its beauty, but luckily there's enough else going on here to keep the photogs happy.

So for the traveler that has seen it all in Kathmandu, I offer up the White Gumba. You won't be disappointed!

Have any hidden gems of your own you'd like to share? Let us know!

Having learned our lesson, we chose to forgo the 3-day overland transit this time and just fly to make our transfer from Delhi to Istanbul. Look forward to reports from Turkey in the near future.

For more pictures of Amitabha, check out the folder on my Flickr account.

A trip through the Kathmandu Valley: Bhaktapur and Nagarkot

2012-10-26T08:00:00.000+09:00

Sunrise over Nagarkot

While there's plenty going on in Kathmandu, any trip here would be remiss without venturing a little further outside the city limits. While there are certainly other options out there, two popular destinations that fit together in a nice little package are Bhaktapur and Nagarkot. Here's our experience.

Bhaktapur

Statues and Jain temples in Bhaktapur Durbar Square

Bhaktapur is located a deceptively long 13 km away from Kathmandu—with the road conditions, the trip will easily take an hour.

If you take the bus, they'll drop you off in front of a gate just a few minutes walk from yet another Durbar Square. As I mentioned last time, however, if I had to pick one then this one is the most impressive; it was damaged in an earthquake in 1934, making it more spacious than its Kathmandu and Patan counterparts. No worries though, there are still many temples, statues and gates-o-plenty for your ogling pleasure.

Intricate wood carvings in Durbar Square

If you choose to go through the main gate and pay, the entrance fee is 1,100 rupees.

The streets of Bhaktapur

Other than Durbar Square, Bhaktapur is a good place to just wander the streets. The aforementioned tremor also means that a good portion of the homes and buildings here are newer, giving a different look than the age of Kathmandu.

Juju-dhau sighted!

Along the way, be sure to wander by a stand for some juju-dhau—literally, the "king of all yogurt." I'm not so sure about that assertion after some of the damn fine lassis we had in India, but it's still pretty good and worth a try. It's basically local honey poured over chilled yogurt and served in a ceramic container. Make sure to fit this princely treat into your pauper's budget.

Nagarkot

A hazy sunrise over the Himalayas

Nagarkot's claim to fame is its views—at 2,195 meters, it commands a spectacular view of both the Himalayas to the northeast—including Mt. Everest—and the valley to the southwest, making it a great spot for both sunrises and sunsets on clear days.

Being caught in the tail end of a lingering rainy season, we weren't so lucky in that regard; even so, the views were great. As with the rest of Nepal, I'd recommend coming in the winter if possible.

Lookout! This tower is missing its ladder

There's a lookout tower about 3-4 km outside of town at the very top of the hill Nagarkot finds itself on. While this is arguably the best place to get that picture-perfect view of things and shouldn't be missed, it does get a little crowded up there. The tower itself is a little hard (but not impossible) to climb as the ladder is severed from overuse.

Walking there from town will take around 40-60 minutes, so plan accordingly. If you don't want to walk in the dark for sunrise, your hotel will be more than happy to offer you a shuttle, for a fee.

If you're not into crowds, the views are still good from the road to the tower for sunset and from many of the hotels for sunrise.

There are a few options to get to Nagarkot from Kathmandu, but most of them involve you first getting to none other than Bhaktapur. First, there's the bus. Just take the bus from Kathmandu to Bhaktapur and transfer. For a little more than the bus, you could also rent a private car or hail a taxi for the most convenient trip up the 17-km road.

Lastly, you could hoof it. There's a 13-km trail connecting Bhaktapur and Nagarkot, allowing you to take in the spectacular views of the Nepal countryside at your own pace. I don't know that I'd want to hike both ways, but it looks like it'd be a pleasant enough 3-4 hour hike for at least one way.

If you have a smartphone or iProduct, you can probably get away without having a map. A quick search on Google Maps outlined the hike on my iPhone (4), and the GPS locator will work even without wi-fi access.

Overlooking terraced fields from my perch

Plenty of shorter treks are also available departing from Kathmandu and going through Nagarkot. Check with tourist offices in Kathmandu or your hotel for more info.

And there you have it! As usual, stay tuned for the rest of my pictures to come on Flickr.

A one-day tour of downtown Kathmandu

2012-10-23T06:43:00.000+09:00

Durbar Square in Kathmandu

While Nepal is probably best known for it's majestic natural beauty, and rightly so, it does have at least one urban area: Kathmandu. Once thought to be the mythical Shangri-la, Kathmandu has plenty to hold your interest for a few days before or after a nice trek through to the Himalayas or one of many other outdoor activities in Nepal.

First off, Kathmandu is more than just an overcrowded city—it's a valley with plenty of history spread across three major cities: Kathmandu, Bhaktapur and Patan (Lalitpur). Kathmandu Valley is the heart of Nepal culture with plenty of colorful temples and stupas, bustling streets with charming cityscapes and yes, beautiful terraced landscapes and mountain views.

As with the rest of Nepal, the general road conditions can make moving between the sites slow going... but if you've been following along, you already knew that.

The roads are in various stages of disrepair, resulting in a haze of smoke and dust which one source told us cuts the life expectancy of traffic police down to their 40's. I haven't confirmed the veracity of this claim, but you will notice quite a few people about town wearing masks. If you're squeamish, you might also want to cover your eyes as Nepali drivers don't exactly leave much room for margin.

Not to fret though—for those short on time, you can cover a lot of ground in Kathmandu in a day without contributing to the pollution. There are several sites worth a look which are within walking distance of the main traveler's haunt, Thamel. Here's what we saw our first day.

Walking the streets of Kathmandu

The streets of Kathmandu

One of the more pleasant surprises awaiting us in Kathmandu was right on our doorsteps—the town itself.

Thamel and its inhabitants are all aimed squarely at your pocket. I've heard it described as "Khaosan-esque." I won't disagree. It does have some reasonable shopping though, whether you're looking to stock up on supplies before a trek or pick up some trinket for back home. The prices we saw here for local clothing were cheaper than in Pokhara, but I'm sure there's still plenty of margin for bargaining.

The stretch of roads between Thamel and Durbar Square has loads of character. Take a turn or two off the main route between the two points or get lost a bit, you won't regret it.

Many of the houses downtown sport classically-designed facades with an architectural heritage which has evolved over centuries of craftsmanship, influenced by Buddhist and Hindu practices. Keep your eyes peeled for one of numerous courtyards hidden down the side streets or through tiny doorways with the ever-present Buddhist stupa—some glaring, some with lazy stares reminiscent of something out of Garfield, but all with the iconic Buddha eyes. Gems like these are everywhere.

Stupa-fied

I could walk the streets with my camera for hours and not get bored.

Durbar Square and Freak Street

Wood carvings in Durbar Square

When you finally arrive at Durbar Square, a bunch of wooden temples with detailed carvings await. It's a good 15-minute walk due south if you don't stop along the way (not happening, I know).

Next to Durbar Square is Freak Street, an older area which once served as the traveler's district when hippies roamed the earth. Today, it acts as a smaller, quieter and often cheaper alternative to Thamel which still appears to be a bed of counterculture. Whether shopping or looking for a bite, you can certainly find anything in Thamel, but in our experience the lodging and food was cheaper on Freak Street.

For our personal favorite, look for Surya Moon Bistro. It's located in an alleyway hidden just off Freak Street. The food and atmosphere are great, all without the Thamel prices.

It is important to note here that while Durbar Square is definitely a tourist attraction, it is also a central town gathering point that locals can and do traverse daily. As such, while it does have an entrance fee, they aren't exactly that strict about enforcement on all the entrances. This is true for all three Durbar Squares. We walked through several times in our jaunts about town without paying the 750 rupee fee.

Also note that there are actually three Durbar Squares: one each in Kathmandu (Basantapur), Bhaktapur and Patan (Lalitpur). If you're a temple nut then by all means see them all, but I'd say one is probably enough.

Of the three, Bhaktapur is the nicest (and most expensive at 1,100 rupees, if you pay); the town itself certainly has its own charm as well. For those in a rush though, Basantapur in Kathmandu is no slouch itself. Unfortunately, this leaves Patan as the odd one out. If it's any consolation, it looked like a nice place to live!

Swayambhunath Temple

Stupa prayer flags

Swayambhunath is within walking distance of the Thamel and Durbar Square areas. Allow at least 20-30 minutes for the slightly uphill hike.

When you arrive at the base of the steep hill, no dabbling—your hike isn't done yet! You still have to scale a staircase heading straight up. It's pretty tiring—it could probably serve as a good penance for delinquent monks or something.

Before climbing the stairs, it might be good to catch a breather here while watching the loitering monkeys which have earned Swayambhunath its other title: Monkey Temple. They'd probably like you to feed them with treats sold by one of many vendors here, but we were fine with just watching them frolic about the way only monkeys can.

Once you make it to the summit, the stupa itself is rivaled by a panoramic overlook of the city. Especially on a clear day, this place has one of, if not the, best views in Kathmandu.

View of Kathmandu from atop Swayambhunath

As for the stupa itself, while not as big as Boudhanath, we actually enjoyed Swayambhunath better. Both courts are picturesque and come with a free serenade of a famous Buddhist mantra set to surprisingly pleasant music, which is a much better song than this to have stuck in your head.

If you're out of shape or have knee problems, I'd suggest going around the back side to look for the shorter climb through the parking lot. This entrance is on the west side, which will be a left if coming up the street from Durbar Square.

And that's it! If you're anything like us, these stops should be more than enough to keep you busy for a day or more. If it's Saturday and you're feeling ambitious, you might consider adding in Amitabha Monastery, the White Gumba.

Next time, we'll move outside Kathmandu but keep in the valley with Bhaktapur and more.

Paragliding: The clouds above Pokhara

2012-10-16T18:00:00.000+09:00

Pokhara Paragliders

When we arrived in Nepal, we weren’t sure what exactly to expect, quite frankly. We hadn’t done much research, so we had no real expectations outside of meeting lots of Buddhists and trekking the countryside in search of Himalaya views.

After the bus ride from hell, I was out of commission with a high fever requiring us to stay put for at least five days. Our original idea of trekking was out, at least for the moment. Once safely in Pokhara though, we were pleasantly surprised to find that there is much more to do in Nepal than just trek from tea house to tea house and circumambulate stupas until dizzy.

Pokhara is a lake town best known for its proximity to the Annapurna trail and a host of other epic treks—if you want to trek, this is the place to do it. Besides hiking, however, it offers a host of other outdoor activities, including paragliding, white water rafting and canyoning. Now being sick doesn’t mean I was dead—surrounded by all this was making me a bit antsy. After a few days, we thus decided to get a better view of the lake and go paragliding. Totally worth it.

What fever?

For those not familiar with it, paragliding is a rather young sport—imagine what would happen if a parachute and hang glider had babies. Yeah, it’s something like that. You basically strap a parachute-looking glider on and run down a hill until the wind gives enough lift to glide away.

Akemi in flight

For the non-thrill seekers, the takeoff isn’t scary at all, and you even have a nice little seat for the whole ride. Like with skydiving, they will normally make you ride tandem with an experienced pilot the first few times, so no training necessary. Skilled pilots good at catching the slipstreams can get higher and stay up for hours, but rides here lasted about 30 minutes.

For the thrill seekers, they got you covered, too. Pilots will often do some funky little tricks on the way down if you ask. Akemi’s pilot was way better than mine though, so it may pay to be picky with your pilot.

Bird's eye view of terraced fields

While the tricks are nice as a side attraction, the real draw here is the spectacular views you get from thousands of meters off the ground. This was easily the best view in town—our senses were overloaded with an epic 360-degree bird’s eye view of the lake, rivers, hills and mountains.

Pokhara views, as nature intended them

Paragliding is more common in places with steep hills—we’ve now seen it in Pamukkale and Fethiye in Turkey in addition to Pokhara—so you’re guaranteed some once-in-a-lifetime views which are more than worth the price of admission.

Speaking of prices, a ride on a paraglider will normally run you around $60-80 for a 30-minute ride in Nepal (for Turkey, change that $ to a €). You might be able to negotiate yourself better rates in the off-season; we wound up flying for $50 a pop. There are plenty of companies in Pokhara, so shop around.

We opted out of it, but they’ll tack on a video and picture package for an additional $10-15 I think. If you don’t have a good camera, it’s definitely worth it.

And there you have it—Nepal is definitely one of the cheaper locations to offer paragliding, so if you’re there then definitely give it a look!

If you too choose to go dancing with the clouds above Pokhara, be sure to make a stop by our favorite restaurant in town, Pokhara Beach Club. Pokhara Beach Club is run by a rather interesting Canadian and Indian couple who cook everything themselves with nothing but fresh, organic ingredients. Best salad in town, guaranteed. It’s a little bit out of the way when coming from town, but is located just a short walk down the hill from the glider landing zone.

After jumping off a mountain and recovering a bit more, our next stop was the Nepali capital, Kathmandu. More on that next time, and check the Flickr account for more Pokhara pics!

Pokhara Paragliding Pvt. Ltd.

+977 61-460260

pkrparagliding@hotmail.com

Pokhara Beach Club

+977 98-1515-5343

info@pokharabeachclub.com

India-Nepal Border crossing: a harrowing bus journey

2012-10-13T05:19:00.003+09:00

Nepal border

The border crossing from India to Nepal is a rather involved trip—I only recommend it for those that have the time and/or can’t afford to fly. Flights between Delhi and Kathmandu are plentiful and cheap, so if that will work into your schedule then just do it. Believe me. Don’t get me wrong—the Nepal countryside is beautiful with spectacular views, but it is a trying two days. Especially during the monsoon season, you don’t want to be on those roads.

There are also flights from Varanasi to Kathmandu and possibly Pokhara, but these are pricier and less frequent. Faced with the choice of $200+ plane tickets or a 2-day land border crossing, we went with the latter; in hindsight though, that $200 keeps sounding better and better.

Logistically, expect things to take 2 days for a land crossing. You may get lucky and fly through the border crossing in time to catch the last buses onward from Sunauli to Pokhara and Kathmandu by 11 am, but don’t count on it. And especially in rain, do not trust your life to a local bus here as the drivers certainly do not leave much margin for error. In any case, our time was unpleasant enough breaking it into two days, so I can only imagine that being miserable trying to rush through it.

I should state up front that while slow, this is a halfway pleasant journey with breathtaking views in nice weather. Our bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu a week later was exemplary of this. Do not take weather here lightly though, and do be careful, especially in monsoon season.

Here’s our story.

The route

First off, here’s the route:

Varanasi > Gorakpur (overnight train)
Gorakpur > Sunauli (local bus, 3 hrs.)
Sunauli > Lumbini hotel (local bus, 1 hr.)
Lumbini > Pokhara via Sunauli (...it’s complicated)

This course took us a full two days—as in 48 hours—including an overnight train, followed by a series of local buses culminating in Lumbini close to the border for a one-night stay, and then a 6-hour bus ride to Pokhara that wound up being a 15-hour nightmare bus marathon. More on that below.

The train

Our journey was cursed from the onset. Maybe Kumar secretly jinxed us with some kind of Hindu curse or something, who knows. Ok probably not, but it wasn’t pleasant.

While waiting at the Varanasi station for our 12:30 departure, it started to rain. Now let’s be clear—when I say rain, I don’t mean a light rain; I believe Forrest Gump referred to it as “big ‘ol fat rain.” For a second there, I saw flashbacks to the flooding streets of Delhi and Jodhpur, thinking of the disarray downtown Varanasi must be with all this. This torrential downpour would be our travel companion for the next two days.

This of course meant that our train was delayed. We waited with another traveler until the train finally arrived some hour or so later than scheduled.

While waiting, we noticed a more-than-small wrinkle in our plans—our tickets were actually for the day before!! [Traveler’s note: when buying tickets for trains departing after midnight, be mindful of the dates.]

In our case, luckily this was a train that departed every day. Upon debating how to handle the situation, we decided to throw the dice by pulling the tourist card and feigning ignorance. As long as we board the train, we’ll at least get to our destination and everything will work out, we think.

We cautiously boarded the train—was someone already sitting in our “assigned” berth? We decided to nonchalantly walk by and check, then run and hide somewhere as stowaways until the train departed if the seat was taken. Luckily, no one was there... or were our tickets actually for the proper day? I’m still not sure, to be honest.

Relieved for the moment, we take our seats and wait for the train to depart. It’s already almost 2 am at this point, so we’re ready to crash. Just our luck though, the ticket master decides to make his rounds BEFORE the train pulls out. Great. Apprehensively, I hand the tickets over, prepared to act surprised when he tells us that we have the wrong tickets.

To our pleasant surprise, that moment never came! Whether we had the right tickets or he simply couldn’t be bothered to deal with the situation properly I don’t know, but he simply handed the tickets back and went on his way. Maybe the berth occupants had just gotten off and he was feeling nice. At this point, we didn’t care—we just wanted to sleep, and sleep we did.

The best momos EVER in Lumbini

We awake just before arriving in Gorakpur. There was a short, but relatively painless scramble to find the now familiar cramped minibus to Sunauli. Three hours later, we arrive in Sunauli and walk to the border. A little paperwork and $40/person later, we're in Nepal. It’s still raining, but we feel liberated. Gone are the pushy salesmen of India! Gone are the scams!

A friendly local directs us to the bus to nearby Lumbini. Before departing, we decided that Lumbini would be a more pleasant place to crash for the night than Sunauli. Now having done it, I'd stick with this assessment. I even half wish we had stayed there for the day as Lumbini is a small destination in its own right, being the birthplace of Buddha and all. A day should be more than enough for most people though.

A harrowing bus ride

In the morning, it was still raining. At 6 am, we board a bus to Pokhara that we booked through the hotel—as we would find out shortly, however, this would not be our last bus of the day.

The non-local tourist buses onward depart from Sunauli, so we first take a connecting bus ride there. An hour later, we board the bus for Pokhara in Sunauli. The ride was bumpy, but that was that was the least of our troubles.

A few hours into the (supposedly) 6-hour trip, we hit our first snag. Traffic lined up as far as the eye could see—a bridge was out apparently. After waiting for what seemed like about an hour, the bus owner waves us all off the bus and herds us onto a smaller local bus. I don’t think he wanted to put his bus through what he had planned for us.

Now on our third bus, we turned down a small road into a valley. The cramped bus drives down an even bumpier road until it dead ends at a river... or so we thought. THE BUS DRIVES RIGHT THROUGH THE RIVER AND KEEPS GOING!! On a particularly bad bump in the road, someone sitting on the rear bench seat is bounced hard enough to hit the ceiling. At this point in the journey, we were still highly amused by it all.

The bus plods on slowly, going back to the main drag and eventually on through Chitwan event-free. Our lunch stop was less than desirable, most likely a consequence of being switched to a local bus.

Obstacle #3: river fording

After lunch, we come to our second obstacle on this course: an overflowing river. At least one truck got stuck, requiring the locals to get out and push across some rather swift and treacherous-looking currents. Amazingly, they all sported shit-eating grins from ear to ear. This sort of thing is a regular occurrence to them; maybe it’s their only source of entertainment. Once our turn comes, of course our super bus has no problem powering its way across, although I did feel the bus being forced down current maybe 50 cm.

Given stories I’ve heard, I’m sure that more than one bus has capsized here. The locals seem almost proud to regale us with tales of overturned buses, or buses tumbling down the mountainside in a landslide. Mother Nature can be a real bitch before she’s had her coffee, it appears.

We weren't out of the proverbial water just yet. Further down the road, we hit our next roadblock: this time a landslide. We waited for at least an hour or two. Then, just when it seemed like we’d either have to either stay the night or walk across and take our chances finding a new bus, the road gets cleared. We had actually chosen the latter and walked towards the damage when things started moving. Not entirely enamored with our local bus, we elect to hitch a ride in a tourist bus for the remainder of the trip.

Now in our fourth bus, it’s already dinnertime. After a brief stop at a much nicer place than lunch, we hit our final obstacle in the outskirts of Pokhara. As a recurring theme it took us quite a while to find out exactly what was happening, but we finally piece together that there was a fatal accident up ahead involving a motorcycle and a bus. Remember to wear your helmet, people!

By this point, I felt the onset of sickness, starting to develop a fever. The 14 hours now in four buses were taking their toll. With all the weather we had seen to this point, I was starting to think we were cursed or something.

A fellow rider put things in perspective a bit though. His words of wisdom: we all have the same luck. True enough—we were all stuck in this together. We even all have the same chance of getting sick. I should have expected such sagely advice from the country that gave us Buddhism.

Another hour of waiting and possibly even a bribe to the policemen later, we finally enter the home stretch of our voyage. Through torrential rains, two rivers, a landslide and an accident, 15 hours and four buses is what it took to get to Pokhara.

As I mentioned in the opening, Nepal can and will show you the harsh and unforgiving nature of... nature. Shortly after our arrival in Pokhara, a group of tourists died in an avalanche climbing nearby Mount Annapurna in the opening thralls of climbing season. As we found out, monsoons are not to be taken lightly, especially on poorly-maintained roads. Accidents can and do happen. If it is raining, it might be worth staying put for another day to wait for things to subside.

On the flip side, the natural beauty of Nepal is truly a sight to behold. In clear weather, a ride from Pokhara to Sunauli or Kathmandu will take you up on jaw-dropping cliffs along mountain rivers and through undulating hills. Behind what would pass as the mountains in any other country, the Himalayas add yet another snowy layer to the backdrop.

I was sick for 3-4 days in Pokhara following this trip, but I couldn't think of a more pleasant place to veg out. Very nice little town. More on that next time.

On the bus ride from Pokhara to Kathmandu

Visa details

The visa process for Nepal is straightforward. Visas are available upon arrival at $25 for 15 days, $40 for 30 days and $100 for 90 days. You’ll need a passport photo.

Also, be mindful that if you plan on returning to India, a multiple stay visa for India requires you to give them your detailed itinerary back home when you apply for the visa. Others have told us that refraining from doing so requires you to spend 2 months out of India before returning.

We think we would've been ok as we gave our itinerary in Tokyo and our visas didn't have any language to that effect. We flew from Kathmandu directly to our connecting flight from Delhi to Istanbul on the way out though, so didn't get a chance to find out. Note that we are American and Japanese, and we applied for our Indian visas in Japan.

Turkey: the other other white meat

2012-10-10T01:14:00.000+09:00

Ok, I'm going to try something a little bit different. After India and Nepal, we've arrived here in Turkey. Before giving any kind of recap on things, we'll start you off the same way we start our travels: with the plan.

With such a long trip, it's hard for us to really plan things too far in advance. We don't carry guidebooks as they take up too much space; we tend to rely more on word of mouth and the internet. As such, we do essentially no research on locations until we arrive in a country.

For instance, upon arriving in Turkey, we spent the first day wandering the streets of Istanbul chasing down accommodations from a list compiled before departing Kathmandu, then the second day planning a basic itinerary for our month here. We don't really make any hard plans, and we don't make reservations for anything more than one step ahead of where we are to maintain flexibility.

With that, here's what we came up with for Turkey:

Istanbul

The city with a foot in Europe and Asia, Istanbul was my first (!) time stepping foot in Europe. Istanbul is a great introduction to Turkey and the center of modern Turkish culture. A charming city, it combines old treasures from the days of Constantinople and the Byzantines with the bustling vigor of a modern metropolis. Here, you can see treasures such as the Blue Mosque and Hagia Sophia in Sultanahmet, then hop a tram and cross the bridge up to Beyoglu and Taksim Square for shopping, bars and fine cuisine along cobblestone streets branching from the main drag of Istiklal. We stayed in Karakoy, just across the bridge from Sultanahmet, but downhill from Beyoglu.

A budget-buster to be sure, but a worthwhile one. How can you worry about money when washing down kebabs and baklava with Turkish tea in those cute little tulip glasses?

Selcuk

Located at the northern edge of the Turkish Riviera, the small town of Selcuk is home to the well-preserved ruins of the Roman city of Ephasus (Efes in Turkish) and plenty of other sites of Biblical significance. It's also a short hop away from the hot springs of Pamukkale and ruins of Aphrodisias. Selcuk is supposed to have a lot more character than nearby Izmir and seems more centrally located for what we want to see, so we decided to give it a shot.

Fethiye

Situated directly on Turkey's Mediterranean coast, Fethiye is at the heart of the Turkish Riviera and the start of the ancient Lycian Way. Upon viewing the Lycian tombs here, sampling the local Mediterranean cuisine and taking a dip in the pristine waters of Olu Deniz, we plan to board a heavenly four-day cruise on a gulet tracing the Lycian Way down the coast.

Antalya

Antalya is the final destination of our planned cruise. Akemi loves beaches and we have yet to break out the swimsuits, so these last two stops should hopefully help us get our fix of water fun in the sun. We're at the tail end of the summer season here so don't know if it'll be warm enough for a dip, but expect phenomenal views regardless.

Cappadocia

The fairy chimneys of Cappadocia are one of the only attractions that we knew for sure we wanted to see before stepping foot in Turkey. This volcanic region is pocked with small caves which sheltered early Christians fleeing persecution. It still holds early churches and other relics of antiquity amidst the rocky backdrops. We look forward to going stone age and maybe taking a trip in a hot air balloon if our wallet isn't burning by that time.

From Cappadocia, we'll stop back in Istanbul for another night or two before moving on to our next destination. We have a month set aside for this part of the trip.

Have you been to any of our stops in Turkey and have any tips to make our trip better? Appalled that we left off your favorite stop? Let us know in the comments!

Khajuraho: Mr. Nice Guy?

2012-10-05T17:38:00.002+09:00

After letting things settle in my head for a few weeks, I have decided to post this. I wrote the majority of this post right after it happened, but I have removed the personal details and added some observations in retrospect. Enjoy.

September 12, 2012, 12:49 am.
On the train from Khajuraho to Varanasi.

Indians continue to be utterly baffling—as soon as we think we’re starting to figure them out somewhat, they go and do something that throws us off, or we just meet someone that changes our whole conception of what to expect.

First, we meet nothing but crooks in Delhi and think we need to just keep our heads down and avoid everyone. Then we meet people like Badal out in Khuri, and our hope in the Indian race is restored.

Streets of Jaisalmer

Next, in Jaisalmer, we met Kuku, the first guy to approach us on the street and offer us chai without trying to sell us anything. We had a great conversation with him about a great deal of things, but his most revealing quote as it relates to this topic basically boiled down to it all being about “putting food in mouths”—basically, he meant that it’s all about the money.

The more we get around, I think he might be onto something. The more people we talk to, the more we find that the poorest people tend to be the pushiest about trying to get you to buy something you don’t want or to get you into their shops, while many of the relaxed conversations—including that with Kuku—were with the relatively more affluent (middle class). This adage held true in Jodhpur when talking to the family that ran the guest house we used.

Probably our most confusing encounter to date, however, was a guy we met at a cafe in Khajuraho. We’ll call him Kumar. Kumar was our waiter and gave us some good information, so we left a good tip and went on our way. We came back the next day for lunch and talked to Kumar again, and he invited us to dinner in his village. After having an excellent experience when invited into someone’s home in Egypt a few years back, I figured this might be our best chance to see some of the kindness of Indian village people I hear others raving about so much. We exchanged numbers.

Sunset at the Khajuraho western temples

Kumar met us later in front of our hotel and took us back to his home. We had a traditional Indian dinner with him and his family; afterward, his wife and sisters showered Akemi with gifts of jewelry, dressing her up in Hindi fashion. He asks our plans for the next day, so we wind up making plans to go to nearby Raneh Falls with him and his wife. At this point, we felt we had found a truly kind soul.

The next day, Kumar arranges the rickshaw and we head to the falls. We had a great time—I planned on paying for everything to make up for the gifts the night before, and he seemed fine with that, almost as if he took it as granted.

In hindsight, I think his feeling may have stemmed from my response during a conversation the previous night in which he shared his meager salary and asked about mine. [Note to self: avoid this question like the plague as money can only obstruct friendship.]

On the way back, he told us we had to pay for the rickshaw too—400 rupees, a bit steep. “He’s taking a commission,” I think, but he’s a nice guy, so I just chalk it up to him doing his job and pay. After all, with all the beggars and sad kids out there looking for a handout, my conclusion has been that, short of volunteering, paying people to do their job and tipping when appropriate is the best way I can contribute to the local economy. Besides, getting an authentic glimpse into the household and everyday lives of a local family is easily worth a few hundred rupees.

Us at Raneh Falls

Back to our story, Kumar insists we come to dinner again; we accept, thinking this was the end.

At dinner, Kumar again asks our plans for the next day. We just wanted to relax for our last day, so we say we might get a massage. He insists we come to dinner again the third night, which I thought I politely refused, but told him it was ok to call the next day (to say goodbye). The nice guy is starting to overstep his boundaries. [Note to self: be firm in refusals with Indians, leaving no room for misunderstanding.]

The next day, things just got weird. We wake up and check out of the hotel, then go set up what turned out to be a rather pleasant Ayurvedic massage across the street from our hotel at one Ayur Arogyam. As I’m running to the ATM, Kumar calls and I tell him our plans. He again seems hellbent on setting something up for us himself. I tell him that we had already paid and will call him when we’re done.

After starting the massage he starts blowing up my phone, calling at least five times in the space of as many minutes. I shut off my phone as he was killing the battery—besides, talking to him then would just kill the massage vibes. When I finally do call Kumar back, he insists on dinner again. I refuse and turn the phone off a second time.

From that point on—all through dinner and until we left for the station—Kumar permeated my every thought. We arrive at the train station, ready to leave Khajuraho and put some space between us and Kumar, still wondering what this guy’s deal is... THEN HE SHOWS UP AT THE STATION!!! Not only that, but bearing more gifts!!! Let me tell you—that was an awkward hour, sitting with him waiting for the train.

He kept us guessing until the very end whether he was just being nice with this final visit or making one last push for more money. In the end, however, he just left us with a handshake and a farewell. A pleasantly confusing ending to a confusing story.

So I sat on the train, wondering. Was he just a nice guy, or was the whole thing a low-pressure ruse to get some commission out of us from the get-go? Did he just want to play the generous host, or was Kuku right and this low-wage guy was just being blinded by the prospect of rupees? Should I have just totally ducked the money talk when it started aiming my way, or was his preoccupation with money in the first place to blame? (I’m going with yes on both counts to that last one.)

I don’t think there has to be a clear-cut answer to these questions. My current guess is that like so many other things in life, the answers are not black and white, but rather shades of gray. Kumar is a nice guy with an interest in the world outside Khajuraho who is trying to put food on the table for him and his fledgling family. Maybe he’s also a bit of a salesman—hell, everyone else in India is—but no one just out for the money would go through all the trouble of inviting you into their home and introducing you to their wife and mother. With Kuku in the back of my head, I also can’t help but think that Kumar would be more pleasant if he weren’t making just 2,000 rupees a month (plus my tips and commission).

I also want to shake some sense into him to let him know when he just needs to back off. While I do realize how much a tip of 50 rupees here and a 100-rupee commission there can mean to someone in such a situation, it’s truly a shame that the prospect of a few rupees can corrupt such a nice guy.

On the flip side, I think other Indians could take a lesson from young Kumar in giving tourists an experience they’re willing to pay for. This requires more effort and a bit of interest on their part, but it pays off. I’m sure he got something out of it as well, or else he wouldn’t have gone through the trouble. We got to learn more about each other’s cultures, and I don’t mind paying a commission for the experience.

I’m not sure if our experience with Kumar has changed my impression of Indians for better or worse. After all, at the end of the day he’s just one guy out of 1.2 billion in a country wide enough to take 36 hours to traverse east to west by train. He did somewhat shape our impression of Khajuraho though.

I guess if there’s anything to take away from this experience, it would be how much people shape our impression of the places we go. Seeing the highlights and attractions somewhere takes a few days at most; seeing the people can take a lifetime if you let it. I don’t think I’ll ever go back to Delhi after our experiences there, but I’d go back to Jodhpur in a heartbeat and regret not spending more time in Jaisalmer. The jury is still out on Khajuraho, but it would be interesting to see if Kumar grows any with more experience. Live and learn.

Random Indian observations

2012-09-30T21:17:00.000+09:00

So after spending a month in India, you'd think I'd have formed some kind of opinion of the place, right? Not even close! I still have absolutely no idea what to think of this sometimes backwards but never boring country, and Indian people are even more of a mystery to me than India itself. I think I'm more confused now than before we came, actually. In the end, I guess it just goes to show that one month is a mere drop in the bucket when faced with such a huge place.

One thing's for sure though, and that's that India is nothing like any place I've been before. Here are a few of the things we witnessed that really had us scratching our heads:

Waking up on overnight trains to witness both men and women popping a squat on the tracks beside moving trains to take a dump.
Open air public urinals literally on the sidewalks and streets in Delhi. Wondrous!
Speaking of toilets, the mind-boggling porcelain squatter. I'll be damned if I'm sitting on it, and standing on it just looks dangerous. Best to just steer clear.

Squat or sit?

The words "thank you" are apparently not in the Indian vocabulary.
Neither is "I'm sorry."
Neither is "I don't know."
The adventure that is asking for directions with people that refuse to tell you if they don't know. You can ask 5 people and get 5 different responses sometimes!
Everything is "no problem"! (Even when there is most certainly a problem.)
The infamous Indian head bobble. Does it mean yes? Does it mean no?? Does it mean... maybe!?!? I don't think Indian people even know what it means.
Indians sticking to their story or opinion, even in the face of resolute evidence to the contrary.

The staring, oh my the staring! We even had some people walking by turn their heads to continue staring after passing us. The only thing I found to be effective at combating this was to stare back.
You will rarely see Indians laugh, even if prompted. Lots of pan face pictures!
There are apparently no litter laws in India—people will throw anything away absolutely anywhere. Picking up trash after them will be met by quizzical looks and may be the only way to get them to laugh.

Absolutely everyone is trying to sell something. Everyone is a salesman.
The concept of service with a smile is completely lost here. People will do their jobs and whatever is asked of them, all the while voicing total disdain and annoyance with their every motion.
Negotiations are not complete until the money has changed hands. We've agreed upon a price for a rickshaw ride and hopped in, only to have the driver try to negotiate for more or quibble about the destination en route.
People on trains and buses will listen to music on their phones, without headphones. No one around seems to mind.
At tourist attractions, Indian people will come up and ask to take pictures... of you! You also catch some people too scared to ask snapping pictures when they think you aren't looking.

Couples do not hold hands or show affection in public, but you see guys holding hands everywhere.
The Indian concept of love is something dreamt up by some Bollywood director. Love as we imagine it doesn't really exist, or at the least has almost nothing to do with marriage.

Lines generally have no semblance of order to them—people will often cut in front of you if you let them. This is apparently socially acceptable for women in particular.
As you would expect, their driving manners are much the same. If you leave even an inch, someone will cut in front of or around you.
Lanes on the road are merely guidelines. Oncoming lanes are fair game if there's room, or if say a herd of cows is camped out on your side of the road.
There are only two rules in driving: 1) don't hit anything, and 2) don't get hit.

If you are a cow in India, you can pretty much do whatever you want. Cows can do no wrong.

You too can experience all this and more in lovely India! Did I miss anything? Let me know!

Varanasi: India's religious capital

2012-09-27T01:56:00.000+09:00

From Agra and the Taj Mahal, we made a stop in Khajuraho to see the Jain temples of love (pictures here) before winding up in our last stop in India: Varanasi. Like Agra, Varanasi has a reputation for being quite busy with a relentless onslaught of pushy touts. We were warned by many who went before us that it would be a trying experience. When we arrived though, we found it to be one of our more pleasant destinations in India. Two factors go into that: 1) we had already been in India for going on a month at this point, so we were largely immune to pushy guys peddling their wares, and 2) we stayed in Assi Ghat, well to the south of Old Town, where all the pushiness is centered.

Besides that, Varanasi has quite a bit going for it, whether you're just passing through, like us, or looking for a place to stick around in India long-term.

Boating down the Ganga

The Ganga

The big draw to Varanasi is indirectly the same for us as it is for Indians: the Ganges River. Indians flock like holy cows to the river, and we in turn come more or less to watch them. The Ganges, or Ganga as the locals call it, is simultaneously both the holiest river and the unholiest mess in all of India. It is the source of everything, the holiest of holies, the... bath for the local cows and buffalo, the repository for dead bodies and body parts, the emptying point for an overloaded sewerage system, and the dumping point for industrial waste, all in one river. Wow.

It's mind-boggling to us, but Indians have no moral dilemma with the most sacred of rivers being so polluted. How bad is it? Well, Lonely Planet seems to think that it has about 3,000 times the fecal coliform bacteria safe for bathing water. This doesn't keep thousands from coming to the ghats of Varanasi daily to not only wash their clothes and bathe in, but also brush their teeth with, and even drink and bottle the holy waters. To them, a holy river is holy no matter what gets put into it, and they nonchalantly toss spare wrappers and trash into their holy Ganga just as if it were a common toilet. (I think common toilets are actually cleaner, but I digress.)

Varanasi: the religious capital

Praise Shiva for this filth!

Varanasi is like a Hindu Mecca, denoted as one of the seven sacred cities due to its auspicious (Indians love this word) location along the Ganga, the source of life and gods in the Hindu dogma. To Hindus, to die here and have your body or ashes dumped into the sacred Ganga ensures the soul a release from the cycle of its transmigrations.

As if that weren't enough, Varanasi is also the birthplace of Buddhism. It is the last of four sites which Gautama Buddha traversed on his path to enlightenment and home of the site where he gave his first sermon.

The ghats

Dashashwamedh Ghat

The riverfront in Varanasi is lined with 80+ ghats, which are basically stone steps leading down into the river where people gather. There are basically two main kinds of ghats: bathing ghats and burning ghats.

At the bathing ghats, you'll find people on pilgrimages swarming the ghat steps to bathe in the holy waters. It doesn't matter who—men and women, young and old, rich and poor—everyone gets in the mix. The biggest crowds will come out at dawn, usually offering up some kind of prayer and sometimes an offering to the mighty Ganga. The biggest ghat, Dashashwamedh, has a ceremony called Agni Pooja at sundown where Hindu priests make offerings.

The two burning ghats house a much more solemn scene. These are the places where people send their dead for cremation so that their ashes can become one with the river. Anyone is allowed to view as they delicately place the bodies on the pyres to burn. According to Hindu teachings, small children do not need to have their bodies purified by the flames; their bodies are simply weighed down with stones and put out on the river, ironically further polluting the waters while washing away the sins of mankind. Besides children, other groups which are not burned for various reasons are pregnant women, holy men, snake bite victims, lepers and small pox/chicken pox victims.

The city maze

Woman makes an offering at the ghat

As mentioned previously, the draw in Varanasi is largely centered around the river. I highly recommend not visiting Varanasi in the monsoon season as you will not be able to traverse the city as it was meant—down the river, from ghat to ghat. We only really got to see about 4-5 of the ghats, but if it were the dry season this is how I would've liked to see things.

If you visit in monsoon season like we did, you will be faced with an entirely different challenge: navigating through the maze of small back streets and alleyways of Old Town to get to the ghats. As a word of forewarning though, maps here are just about worthless; even Google throws its hands up at this place. This certainly does have its own charm to it, and even in the dry season I would recommend getting lost here at least once. Take a moment to sit down and smell the roses, or masala chai as it were. Chat up a monk, chase a cow or just have a seat and take it all in—whatever your thing is.

The third option is by river boat, of which there are quite a few. You can't spit without hitting a boat or driver at Dashashwamedh, but given the currents I'd recommend hiring someone down by Assi Ghat to just drop you up by Manikarnika, the main burning ghat. Depending on your haggling skill and patience, you shouldn't pay more than 100Rp/person per hour for the boats.

Varanasi: the learning center

For the long-termers, Varanasi is also home to a major university, which just so happens to find itself near to Assi Ghat. There’s also supposed to be quite a large Jewish population. Unlike other cities we visited, Varanasi seems to have bunches of foreigners who come here to study Hindi, practice yoga, or simply do some soul searching. It's quite a spiritual place for some—we saw our fair portion of hippie peeps, or whatever they want to be called. (In case you didn't notice, this is not why we were there.)

Whatever your druthers, the presence of longer-term travelers down around Assi Ghat makes for a much more relaxed area with plenty of options for quality food. If you decide to stay up in the Old City, at least take the time to wander around here and hit up a restaurant or cafe.

Our experience

As touched on before, we came to Varanasi at the tail end of the monsoon season and stayed in the Assi Ghat area, a bit removed from the Old City area of twisting roads. The water levels were still too high to walk along the river as we planned, but the boat ride we took at dawn from Assi up to Manikarnika gave a nice view of the ghats.

Dawn is a great time to just sit there and watch the people at the ghats. Everyone that comes to bathe seems to have their own little ritual, and dawn is probably the most crowded time. Each ghat is supposed to have its own thing going, but if you're pressed for time then I'd suggest Assi and Dashashwamedh as the main two not to be missed. Ending the day at Dashashwamedh offers the chance to watch the Agni Pooja ritual as well.

Also be sure to make the time to stop by one of the burning ghats, either the main one up at Manikarnika or the smaller one down at Harishchandra, closer to Assi Ghat. At the burning ghats, there will be priests there which offer to explain things to you or guide you up to a higher point to get a good view, but be certain that they’re not doing so out of the goodness of their hearts. Explanations will be of varying quality, but expect them to look for a donation of at least 100-200Rp for firewood for those families who can’t afford enough for their troubles.

Recommended shops

Blue Lassi

Blueberry lassi

First and foremost: if you only go to one shop in Varanasi, make it Blue Lassi up in front of Manikarnika Ghat. If you don’t know what a lassi is, it’s a usually sweet yogurt drink flavored with your choice of fruits or other flavoring.

Blue Lassi serve up the best lassi either of us have ever had. Now in their third generation since opening, the family that runs Blue Lassi makes their reasonably-priced lassis the traditional way, right before your eyes with fresh ingredients. As they are made to order, expect it to take 10-15 minutes for them to mix it right before your eyes. They have all kinds of flavors. My favorite was chocolate and banana, and Akemi’s was the plain, which the owner topped with a bit of pomegranate. If you ask, he’ll even make you his secret bhang lassi, a traditional flavor laced with bits of marijuana.

All wet and ready for lassis

I think he took pity on us as we arrived there at about 7:30 am—a full hour before they open—as our tour of the ghats got cut short by the rains, which started shortly after we boarded a boat a little after dawn. He put out stools so we could have somewhere to sit out of the rain as he went through his daily rituals to pray for a good day of business. We chatted with him for a while after ordering, and he even gave us some complimentary chai.

The store isn’t much to look at, but they have wi-fi to go with ample seating and big hearts.

Aum Cafe

There were several options present in the Assi Ghat area that are worth stopping by, but if I had to pick one then this would be it. Aum Cafe is a hippie's dream come true—a fully vegetarian menu with nothing but fresh ingredients.

Everything we had there, from the tea to a rather sizable veggie burrito, was fresh and fabulous. With a nice, bright setting and free wi-fi, the only drawback here was that limited seating and tons of foot traffic may make it hard to stay if you're looking for a place to camp out for the afternoon. Oh yeah, and they close around 4:30 pm or so, so no dinner.

Aum Cafe sits a little out of the way from the main path, but is well worth the trouble to find. From Assi Ghat, go up the steps and past Pizzeria Vaatika Cafe (also a decent option, by the way), and Aum Cafe will be on the right. Alternately, look for signs on the road leading to Assi Ghat, turning right at the big banner hanging over the road.

And there you have it—Varanasi in a nutshell. This was our last stop in India before making the arduous 2-day trek up into Nepal. For more Varanasi pictures, check the Flickr account, and stay tuned for more!

Views of the Taj Mahal: Sunrise and Sunset

2012-09-23T04:18:00.000+09:00

Taj Mahal, all alone at sunrise

Agra is a town that lives in infamy—it’s one of the pushiest tourist traps in an already obnoxiously over-the-top nation. I’m convinced they named it Agra because it’s so aggravating. Despite this, it remains a necessary evil for many as it houses arguably the most majestic piece of architecture in the world: the Taj Mahal. A popular destination with Indians and foreigners alike, even the nationals see Agra as a hassle; this goes double—maybe even more—for the rest of us. Regardless, the view is truly magnificent and worth the effort, attestable by the millions who make the trip every year in spite of the hassles.

While some argue that there is no bad view of the Taj, there are a few choice locations that will make for some spectacular views at sunrise and sunset. These are my tips based on our recent trip to Agra.

Accommodations

First off, I wouldn’t slight anyone who decided that one day of Agra was enough and chose not to even stay a night. We actually considered doing this—sandwiching a day at the Taj in between two overnight trains—but in the end, decided to stay one night. This gave us the time to see the Taj Mahal at sunrise and another day, which we spent on a daytrip 40 km down the road to Fatehpur Sikri to see the Mughal ruins there (pictures).

Many will recommend you stay in the Taj Ganj area just south of the Taj Mahal. This isn’t a bad option. A few of the hotels here have rooftop restaurants with impeccable views of the Taj. The best view that we saw was the Saniya Palace Hotel. We watched the sunset here our first night, but I could imagine that the sunrise might even be more spectacular. The hotel next door also has a rooftop restaurant, but is just east enough to have an obstructed view.

As you’ll want to enter the Taj grounds right as the gates open in the morning, personally I recommend staying near the east gate to make things easier. We chose the Hotel Sheela (NOT the Sheela Inn), just a stone’s throw from the east gate, but also considered the Friends Paying Guest House based on location.

Sunrise in the Taj Grounds

Along the riverside

Use the East Gate. Entering the Taj Mahal grounds first thing at the crack of dawn is both the best view for sunrise and the only way to have an unobstructed view of the Taj. First, some logistics. The Taj Mahal has 3 gates: east, south and west. The south gate is open from 8 am to 5 pm, so it isn’t an option for sunrise. Most people use the west gate in the morning—this is because most people are lazy and apparently like standing in line longer than necessary. The ticket booths are easily accessible on the west side, but the ticket booth for the east gate is a good 1 km down the road. I know, you’re going to have to wake up at like 4:30 am if you want to go get tickets before the gates open at sunrise, but this is the Taj-fricking-Mahal! Sometimes, you just gotta man up.

The eastern ticket booth is a straight shot down the road from the east gate on the right-hand side. They even have an electric shuttle to give you a ride back to the edge of the vehicle-friendly zone, so you only have to walk one way. The gates will open at 6 am for sunrise; I bought our tickets at 5:30 am and wasn’t the first in line, so you might even be able to show up at 5 or 5:15 am. Alternately, you could be smart enough to just buy your tickets beforehand and leisurely saunter over to the gates, snickering at suckers like me. Either way, it’s a good idea to be at the gates and in line before 5:45 am at the East Gate if you want to be at or close to the front of the line, or probably even earlier if you choose the West Gate.

Don’t take unnecessary baggage. When the gates do open—and they’ll take their time, believe me—you’ll have to pass through security after getting your ticket stamped. They’re looking for things like tripods and flashlights. Again, do not bother bringing a flashlight, which is a no-no here despite Lonely Planet and other guidebooks recommending you bring one.

If you have a red flag item, they’ll either slow you down or stop you from entering, so only bring what you need. Your hotel will probably have a full list of things you can’t bring in, so either check with them or online. They say that they’re especially strict with women for whatever reason, so have the guy take things in if it’s an option for you.

First shot!!

Being one of the first ones there in the morning is about the only way to get an unobstructed picture of the Taj Mahal, so strike while the iron is hot. You’ll probably have at least 5-15 minutes before people start trickling down too far past the main gate. You may not appreciate how magical it is to have this place all to yourself until you see the droves of people swarming around later in the day. By 9 am, good luck getting any pictures without other people in them, and more and more Indian tourists will pile in later in the day.

Sunset at Mehtab Bagh

Taj Mahal from Mehtab Bagh

Mehtab Bagh is a park directly across the Yamuna River from the Taj Mahal that was part of the original designs. It is thus perfectly aligned with the Taj and symmetrical, just as with the garden found inside the Taj grounds.

It’s actually quite a haul to get out to Megtab Bagh at some 12 km from the East Gate, so allow at least 30 minutes from the Taj Ganj area. You can get a cycle rickshaw to take you out there for cheap, but most everyone we talked to that did so felt bad for the guy by the end of the trip and wound up paying just as much if not more than we paid for an auto-rickshaw out there. It’s one hellacious trip to cycle with 2 people in tow. Pay the driver for the roundtrip, and don’t let them try to charge you extra to wait. We paid 300 Rs for an auto-rickshaw for the latter half of the day, combining stops at Itimad-ud-Daulah, or Baby Taj (pictures), and Chini-ka-Rauza. You could probably skip on the latter, but the Baby Taj is worth seeing.

Park entrance at Mehtab Bagh is a cool 100 Rs/person. If you’re stingy, you can just walk down the edge of the park and have basically the same view, albeit from a limited angle. Really though, I know this is sacrilegious to the traveler mentality, but at the end of the day it’s only $2. Just cough it up, the view’s worth it. Being on the other side makes it good for sunsets.

Other options

The best morning view is from inside the Taj grounds, but I can think of two possible alternatives that could look nice at sunrise or sunset. They won’t be as up close and personal, but they will certainly be more leisurely. First would be the rooftop restaurants mentioned before. Instead of worrying about why the guard can't just hurry up and open the damn gate, you can enjoy your Taj over tea and strumpets (ok, so maybe they're not that kind of restaurant). The other would be from Agra Fort; if you have a nice zoom lens, the angles should be great. For another sunset option, you could walk out the East Gate and down to the riverside and rent a boat. I hear it should cost about 100 Rs, but we didn't try.

Agra can be a bit overwhelming, especially If this is your first time to India. I wouldn’t really suggest hitting it up first thing after flying into Delhi, for example. We did it after roaming around Rajasthan for a couple weeks, which gave us the time to get a little acclimated to the Indian way of doing things. Don’t let the touts get to you as they can be relentless—if you’re playful and upbeat enough, it can make turning them away amicably and gracefully that much easier. As one pointer, kids don’t like it when you ask them for pens and rupees.

So for Agra, basically just get in, get out, and enjoy the rest of the country! I'll close with a few more of my own shots of the Taj Mahal. For the full album, go here.

Minarets and spires just before dusk sets

Inside of one of the mosque domes

The 3 themes of the Taj: spires, Sanskrit and floral patterns

Jodhpur: The Blue City

2012-09-17T02:29:00.000+09:00

The Blue City

After staying an unplanned extra night in Khuri writhing in pain, our time in Jaisalmer was curtailed to a mere afternoon—this was really a shame as it seemed worth at least a night’s stay. We had already bought train tickets though, so we chose to stay on schedule and move on to Jodhpur, the Blue City.
Note to prospective India travelers: don’t buy train tickets anymore than 2-3 days in advance if you can help it as shit will happen... quite literally sometimes, in India’s case.

Once in Jodhpur, we decided to slow down the pace of our schedule a bit to catch our breath, extending our planned 2-night stop into a whole 6 nights. Our first impressions were that, much unlike any place we had experienced to date (certainly in stark contrast to Delhi), some people here would actually just say “hello” without asking for anything or trying to drag you into their shop! In our time, we also ran across several people who were more than willing to treat you to a cup of chai or something and offer up advice, even if it didn’t benefit them. The touts for the most part also knew the meaning of the word “no,” another novelty to us at this point. You felt like you could actually trust people here.

In all honesty, you could probably see all the sights in both Jaisalmer and Jodhpur given a full day in each, but we found people in both that could justify staying longer. Jodhpur is a little bigger though, and had a little better variety in terms of restaurants from what we saw.

The Blue City

First, some info on Jodhpur. It’s nicknamed the Blue City for a reason: half the houses are blue! Blue is the color of the Brahmin, the priest caste in the caste system. Once upon a time, the priests of Jodhpur all painted their houses blue to distinguish themselves, but then slowly others started to follow suit. Pretty soon, we had what you see today—a sea of blue houses with bits of pink, yellow and other colors spackled in between.

The indigo paint used to achieve this affect is also supposed to help keep the houses cool and fend off mosquitoes, but one look at my legs after a week here tell a different story. Either way, it makes for a truly spectacular view from the rooftops or the fort.

Many of the guest houses and hotels in town have their own rooftop restaurants, giving great views overlooking both the blue cityscape and Jodhpur’s iconic Mehrangarh Fort, coincidentally used in filming the Dark Knight Rises.

Now, without further ado, our highlights and recommendations.

Pushp Paying Guest House

View from Pushp
rooftop restaurant

This small, family-owned establishment served as our base of operations for 6 nights. It currently has 5 rooms, but the owner did speak of possible future expansion given their recent success. Looking back on it, I would still say that this was our nicest room in our month’s time in India, even at a modest 400Rp/night (standard price of 450Rp, discounted for the extended stay).

Very clean, great facilities, and decorum matching the blue theme of the town. With a lounge area on the 3rd floor and a sizeable rooftop restaurant, there was plenty of space to relax and chat with other travelers, an activity which we did quite a bit of. And best of all, the owner is easy to talk to and honest to a fault; his whole family is rather down to earth as well. The restaurant menu is decent, and they’ll even serve up non-veg dishes or beer upon request.

You really can’t go wrong with this place—as long as they have a room open, that is. Pushp is not exactly the easiest place to find—if your rickshaw driver feigns ignorance, tell them to aim for the Discovery Guest House, then take the next left. From here, watch the walls for "Pushp" written in blue with arrows to direct you. When we were there, one of the signs only had a big “PU” with the rest smudged out—go right here.

If Pushp is full, another couple recommended the Blue House Guest House, although they warned that it was a bit pricey.

Jharokha Restaurant

The fort at night from Jharokha

One of the many rooftop restaurants in town, Jharokha gets our nod of approval for offering more than just a great view. First, they have a Rajasthani specialty that we had been on the lookout for ever since hearing about it: dal baati churma. In place of naan or roti, this dish offers hard little wheat rolls called baati and a sweet concoction called churma to dip and mix with the standard dal (bean) curry. After 2 weeks of mostly curry, churma tasted enough like cornbread to put me into a gastronomical bliss.

Not on the menu is Jharokha’s great ambiance. The lighting is romantically dim, and they were the only place in town we saw to come with live entertainment, including a band and traditional dancers.

To find Jharokha, start at the clock tower and take a left from the north market exit, then a right at the first main street. You’ll see signs for Jharokha on the right.

On the Rocks

Meat!!

On the Rocks is well-known amongst locals as a bastion of meat and alcohol. While a little pricey and not the most convenient place in town—you’ll need to pay about 60Rp for an auto-rickshaw from the south of the clock tower halfway to the pink palace—a trip to On the Rocks will reward you with some delicious dishes and a good (for India) selection of beers and liquors.

Still, the draw to me has to be that this place also runs a bar and mini club! Show up on the weekends, and you’ll be given the chance to dance it up Indian style with some of the more well-to-do about town. I was mildly disappointed that there were no Bollywood-style line dances, but oh well.

Our guest house suggested getting a ride back by 11 pm, as this is about the time the auto-rickshaws for the ride back start getting scarce.

If you’re hankering for some classy meat and beer but don’t feel like taking a ride, you can head over to Indique, just north of the clock tower at the Hotel Pal Haveli instead.

Chouhan Omelette

Vicky, the omelette guy

Just north of the clock tower in the center of town, there are two dueling omelette shops. One is in Lonely Planet, while the other is listed in Chikyu no Arukikata, its Japanese counterpart. While I’m sure they’re both worth a visit, we stopped by the one on the west side of the north gate, run by one Vicky Chouhan.

Vicky’s meager stand can hardly be called a restaurant. Upon taking your order, he’ll give you plastic stools to sit on and serve as a table. The omelettes themselves, usually served up as sandwiches, make a great snack or breakfast.

Upon perusing the menu, however, the immediate oddball to me was his fried boiled egg. How can it be both, you ask? Well, first he boils the egg, then he cuts it in half and fries it, finally topping it with a generous serving of everyone’s favorite mystery spice: masala. Delish!

While I feel I must preface this statement by saying it might be a seasonal thing, there was one drawback of these stands for us: flies. They’re everywhere and don’t exactly make you want to stick around for very long. There are supposedly much fewer flies in the dry months, but during monsoon season it bears noting.

Mehrangarh Fort

Jaswant Thada from the fort

If you only have one day in Jodhpur, or even only a few hours, this is the one sight that can’t be missed—literally. Located up on a bluff towering some 400 feet (122 meters) above town, you can see it from just about any point in Jodhpur. I’d also go as far to say that if you only have the time to see one fort in India, this wouldn’t be a bad choice. A walk up the hill from town to the fort gates will serve to likely demonstrate why this is the only fort in India never to be taken by force.

While the fort provides the backdrop for all the rooftop restaurants—both night and day thanks to a bit of strategic lighting on the hill—the best view in town is without a doubt from the top of the fort itself. From this vantage point, you have panoramic views of the Blue City and Jaswant Thada—that white mausoleum off to the right that looks like a fairy tale palace.

Besides the view, the fort itself is worth a few hours to take in. I recommend getting the audio guide, which comes free with your entry pass and a deposit of either you passport, a credit card or 2000Rps. An affordable and informative alternative to paid guides, we found similar audio guides either for free or 100 rupees in Jaisalmer, Agra and Kajuraho. Keep an eye out for them at any main attraction.

Just a short 1 km walk down the road from the fort is the aforementioned Jaswant Thada. It’s close, cheap and worth a visit after seeing the fort if you have the time.

To get to Mehranghar Fort you have two options: by foot or by auto-rickshaw. By foot, just walk towards the fort, asking people along the way if you get lost. It’s a 1 km hike, but up a steep hill. The auto-rickshaw ride will wind around the hill on a 4-km road.

And there you have it! Jodhpur in a nutshell. While walking around town, do take the time to talk to the people. Talking to both locals and travelers alike was the real highlight of the town to us. From Jodhpur, we set off on yet another overnight train to Agra, home of the magnificent Taj Mahal.

An Indian ride on the wild side: Khuri→Jaisalmer

2012-09-02T17:54:00.000+09:00

The one constant when traveling is that every day is full of new experiences, whether good or bad. After having a run-in with a serious case of Delhi Belly, followed by a sandstorm ruining our dinner in the desert (sand = not so tasty), we were due for some good times. Our return trip from Khuri was just what the doctor ordered.

It was a day full of those adventures that India seems to be so good at providing. We woke up in the desert 5 km outside of Khuri and enjoyed some tea and delightful chapati before heading back into town on our camels. Once back in town, we packed our bags and said our goodbyes to Badal and the other guest before heading to the bus stop.

When the bus finally came, the sight was surreal. As it pulled up, I noticed a few people sitting on the roof. In a country with a population of 1.2 billion, somehow that actually makes sense. I snap a picture or two with the iPhone and snicker to Akemi. Hoping to squeeze into the bus as a few people get off, we look to the ticket master for direction. He looks at us and points... up.

I feel a little background on Indian buses is in order. We were eased into the mayhem of Indian buses a few days prior on our ride into Khuri. First, they're hard to find. There are no signs for the bus stop, so you just need to know where to stand. Your best bet for finding the bus stop is to ask the locals, but that in and of itself can be a harrowing experience. As with anything in India, this will normally require asking 3-5 people, at least one of whom will inevitably tell you that there is no bus stop or the buses don't run anymore. This is the Indian equivalent of "I don't know."

The bus stop in Jaisalmer was nothing more than people standing in front of a few street stalls. Not only that, but the buses aren't marked and are rarely on time, so you again just have to ask and hope someone knows which bus is the one you're looking for.

When you do find your bus, it will inevitably be crowded to at least twice what the Western sense of "full" would be. When we boarded our first bus, all the seats were taken, and the aisle was full to the brim... or so we thought. The ticket master directed everyone to sit three abreast on every two-seat chair, and we squeezed at least eight onto the rear five-person bench. Even after this, there was no room to walk the aisle with all those standing. I'm so, so glad our packs are small.

So back to our tale, the ticket master points up. Incredulous, at first Akemi sat there hoping it was a joke, but I could tell that this was the only way we were getting back to Jaisalmer on this bus. We head to the back, and I'm the first to climb the ladder. Akemi follows suit.

Can you tell we enjoyed the ride?

Up on top of the bus, it looked every bit as crowded as our first bus was inside. There was a small railing along the outside to keep people from falling, maybe six inches high (15 cm or so). We push as far forward as we can and squeeze out enough room to sit down for the 90-minute ride. Along the way, a few more people amazingly piled in behind us at each stop.

So here we are, sitting on top of a bus, scrunched in between a guestimate of at least 30-35 people. Everyone is chattering away, and just as with our previous journey, someone pulls out their cell phone to blast Hindi tunes to the very limits of his tiny phone speaker. Anytime the bus comes across an overhanging tree, everyone on that side of the bus leans back into us sitting in the middle to avoid getting smacked in the face by branches and thorns. The bus has to stop several times to shoo a cow or goat out of the street. The view is panoramic. This is India.

Ticket master and bus ninja

Topping off our experience, halfway through the trip, we see the ticket master come up the ladder. Rooftop tickets are full price! He somehow manages to make his way all the way to the front and collect everyone's money. Then comes the real kicker—after getting his money, he climbs down the side of the still-moving bus and into the cabin through a window! I glanced down and noticed that there were also passengers hanging out the bus door—THIS time, the bus really is full.

By this time, we were getting pretty chummy with our fellow rooftop riders. Indian people love having their picture taken, so I bust out the iPhone again and snap away, showing them all the pictures and meeting pleased faces of approval. We may have gotten a little more sun than advisable up there, but all in all, I wouldn't trade that experience for the world.

Oh, and Jaisalmer wasn't too bad either. Great little town with great people.

Any other good Indian experiences out there? If so, share!