From Bangkok to Chiang Mai

I had originally planned to spend the ten days between my volunteer stint in Cambodia and my trip to Australia hanging out in Bangkok with my friend Kyle, who I first traveled with in Europe. However, after doing some research, it seemed like I really needed to make time to visit Chiang Mai. I had heard about the region’s beautiful mountains and lush greenery, the laid-back vibe, and the cooler weather. The best way to travel to Chiang Mai from Bangkok is by train, but since we booked so late, all of the trains were full. We wanted to avoid paying for air travel, so the only remaining option was to take the overnight 9-hr bus, which actually ended up not being so bad. But first back to my arrival in BKK from Siem Reap.
I stayed in a beautiful B&B for the one night I had in Bangkok before leaving for the north. The place had spa, and I opted for a traditional hour-long Thai massage the morning after I arrived. I was greeted by the burliest Asian woman I have ever seen and led into a curtained off area where I let myself be prodded, stretched, and massaged to the point of tears for one hour. Thai massage is not like a normal western massage: it uses high levels of pressure on specific parts of the body to release muscles one by one. Many of these muscles are only reachable by manipulating limbs into various stretching poses… It felt much like passive yoga, in that my legs and arms would be moved to create a stretching pose, and then the muscles would be kneaded (more like jabbed) to tense and relax them. It was wonderful in that I knew she was really getting the muscles to release, but it was not gentle by any means, and I was writhing and moaning for most of it. I have had a massage in each Asian country I’ve been to so far, and I have never felt the effects of a massage so greatly. Maybe it’s a bit masochistic, but knowing I suffered for that level of relaxation made it that much better.
Anyways, I met up with Kyle later that day and had some delicious noodles from the restaurant he had been working at, cooked up by a wonderful ladyboy named Jenny. We then bought some snacks and boarded the bus to Chiang Mai. The bus itself was quite nice, with decently comfortable reclining seats, air-con, and a bathroom, and the road was smooth for the most part. So, it was a better sleep than may have been expected for a bus ride. We arrived in Chiang Mai at around 7 AM and caught a tuk-tuk to the hostel, where we set our stuff down and showered and then headed out to see some temples. The main temple, Wat Chedi Luang, was definitely worth a visit, but I must admit I am a bit templed out after Siem Reap. I spent the rest of the day cleaning out my backpack because it got so incredibly heavy whilst in Cambodia (blame it on the night markets) and I needed to get my bag down to 15 kg before getting on another plane.
The “thing to do” in Chiang Mai is pre-planned treks up into the mountains. The itineraries typically include some form of hiking, visiting a village, and elephant riding, and can range from 1 to 2 nights spent camping. Kyle and I were skeptical – pre-planned tourist gigs like this aren’t really my thing, and I hate the idea of riding an elephant who is kept at a camp solely for that purpose. But, we heard great things about one particular touring agency and decided to go for it. We left at 9 AM the next morning to meet the rest of the group and head out. Our first stop was an orchid and butterfly farm – a total tourist trap, but nice all the same. Then it was off to a local market, where we were encouraged to buy meat to barbeque that night at the camp. We were not brave enough to take a chance on the meat at the market, especially since it would be sitting in our guide’s backpack for the duration of the long, hot journey, and the idea of eating said meat was not particularly appealing. Next, finally, was the hiking portion. It was all uphill and I was dying. Like, I do a lot of yoga, but that obviously does not prepare you for an hour of climbing in the heat with a 20 lb backpack. It was quite embarrassing, and a stern reminder that I probably need to start working on my cardio. Halfway through the trek, the guides let us take a break and proceeded to show us how to make bongs (yes, I spelt that correctly) out of sticks of bamboo for a little while. They were experts at the craft of bamboo-bong making and could whip one up in about 3 minutes. They even gave one of the guys a bong as a souvenir. This was foreshadowing of what to come that night at camp….

Trekking uphill in Chiang Mai

We finally reached the elephant camp, saw our accommodations for the night – mats on bamboo floors – and check out the camp. It was nothing but a few wooden cottages in the midst of the most beautiful Thai mountain landscape, with dogs and chickens running everywhere. We were also able to meet and hang out with the elephants. These were the first elephants I had been up close and personal with since arriving in Asia, and my heart broke a bit to see them. Each one was chained to a pole with about a 5 foot circle of walking space, and they paced back and forth all day and night, obviously restless. Kyle and I opted out of the rides in favor of a small hike around the campgrounds, and the scenery was breathtaking. We saw elephants bathing and the sun go down, and then headed back to camp for a delicious dinner of curried chicken and rice. Then, the party began. We broke out the cheap Thai rum and bamboo bongs, and played “Who Am I?” (where you have to guess whose name is stuck on your forehead) until the wee hours of the morning. We were also offered fried dog skin, and informed that many of the dogs around us would soon be turned into food for the village. Talk about a conflict of emotion: one not wanting to seem shocked or offend the guides, and two actually being shocked and offended myself. The poor, cute little puppies….
We then walked out by the river to gaze at the stars for a while before meandering back to sleep in our bamboo huts. The next morning, we got up to go white water rafting (very mild compared with the rafting I experienced in India) and bamboo rafting. My rafting group consisted of myself, Kyle, and three strong German guys, and our bamboo raft sank into the water as soon as we all boarded it. So we spent the bamboo rafting portion of our trek immersed waist-deep in the river. It was quite comical. We emerged from the river soaking wet to hike to a natural “waterslide”, which was basically a waterfall with attributes that made it perfect for sliding down! We headed back to Chiang Mai after that, and endured a painful 2 hour drive (holiday traffic) in the back of a pick-up truck. I will be happy if I never have to ride in the back of one of those things ever again!

Sliding down the “waterfall”

That night, Kyle and I headed to downtown Chiang Mai where they were hosting an “alcohol-free, smoke-free” food and music festival to countdown the new year. It was literally Thai street-food heaven. You could find everything from grilled squid to whole fried fish to chicken feet to mochi ice cream, and of course we took complete advantage and made our own feast. My personal favorite was also the creepiest looking: the whole grilled squid, street calamari if you will, served with super spicy cilantro chili sauce. The music, however, was not so heavenly. We ate our meal to the sounds of a preteen Asian pop band that sounded like bad Japanese karaoke, and then made our to our favorite bar in Chiang Mai: THC Bar. It’s situated on a rooftop with cheap drinks, good classic rock music, and blacklight paint all over the walls. It was a weird mix of psychedelic ambiance, but it worked. And the low tables and floor seats on bamboo mats reminded me a lot of the cafes I went to in India, which brought on a lot of nostalgia. If you haven’t figured it out yet: Chiang Mai seems to boast a huge marijuana culture. In Bangkok, you will be thrown in prison for carrying weed, but in Chiang Mai it’s one of the top tourist attractions. Maybe that’s what everyone meant when they said Chiang Mai was so laid back…
The next day, we headed back to Bangkok for NYE. We managed to score some super cheap ($35!) plane tickets, which saved tons of time and hassle travel-wise. I had stayed in Bangkok for a few days in between India and Cambodia, so I was already a bit familiar with the city. I knew it was big and lively, and that the food was amazing. There’s also a huge nightlife scene, though I didn’t get to experience it my first time through because I was on antibiotics.
People seem to have a lot of negative things to say about Bangkok, notably that the people are unfriendly and pushy. My experience, however, has been the opposite. I’ve had people go out of their way to help me get a cab, for example, (hardly any cab drivers speak English), and all of the servers in restaurants and bars have been super friendly. Of course there will be scammers, especially around the party areas of BKK. But it’s like that in every big city, and I’ve encountered more friendliness in Bangkok than in many, many other cities I’ve visited.
For New Year’s festivities, we decided to stay in a hotel within walking distance of Royal City Avenue, the more upscale bar street in Bangkok. We spent NYE night at Route 66, one of the most famous clubs on RCA. There was a 400 baht cover to get in, but we didn’t have to pay for drinks all night. Not because they were on the house, mind you, but because there were tables everywhere set up with bottle service and their patrons were more than generous with their booze. The crowd was pretty much all local, which was a cool experience, and they played house music until 6 in the morning. It was strange though, because the music was pumping and there was a live DJ, but hardly anyone was dancing. People preferred to stay around their tables, drink, and people-watch. But that didn’t stop us from dancing! We even got to get on stage with the DJ! That is, before security escorted us away… Oh, and random side note, the bathroom was amazing. It was huge with a mirrored sitting room and decorated beautifully. Leave it to me to find the bathroom decor to be one of the most notable parts of the night…
We walked home at about 3 AM and got some ridiculously overpriced pizza, and spent the whole next day recovering and watching movies.

The only photo recovered from NYE on Royal City Avenue.

We visited Soi Cowboy on our last night in BKK, which many would call the “red light district” of Bangkok. The street is lined with girls and ladyboys in the scantiest attire you can imagine, and a myriad of neon lights glow overhead. It’s pretty overwhelming in itself, and drinks can be ridiculously overpriced. We hung out for a bit to people-watch, and headed back after a few beers.
Kyle continued on to the Thai islands the next day, and I’m off to Melbourne to see and stay with my favorite family, the Parkers! I really loved Thailand and feel like I didn’t get enough time there. I have a feeling I will be returning for a longer period of time in the future. But for now, I’m preparing for the culture shock of being back in the Western world after so many months.
Thanks to the experiences I had and the people I met in India, Cambodia, and Thailand, I see magic in things I once saw as ordinary, appreciate things I once took for granted, and have an overall newfound appreciation for all that makes up my life. I am beyond grateful for my time in Asia and can’t believe it has come to a close!

Last Post from Cambodia

Well, it has been an eye-opening month here in Siem Reap. So much has happened, and yet it feels like I was on the bus from Phnom Penh only yesterday. A lot of time has passed since my last entry, so I’m going to try to sum up my experience here.
I am extremely upset that I have to leave the kids at KSEDO… They have taught me so much about life and happiness, and it hurts to leave knowing that I may never see some of them again. I also feel sad, because it seems that I am leaving just at the point when we are getting comfortable with one another. I can’t imagine how they feel being left by each one of the volunteers who comes through to teach for a few weeks… The constant coming and going surely can’t be good for the kids. However, it has been incredible to see the bond that these kids have with each other. They have grown up together and are like the closest of brothers and sisters, with the older kids taking care of the younger ones. Ms. Sophorn has really given, and keeps giving, everything she has to create a safe haven in which these can heal and grow, and her method has worked! I haven’t met a happier, more well-behaved group of kids anywhere in the world. Working at KSEDO reminded me of what happiness truly is, and what matters most in life: the people you love and who love you unconditionally.
It has been such a blessing to have the opportunity to work with KSEDO, and to be able to give them something in the form of donations has just been the icing on the cake! All in all, we raised $1700 and were able to build a new water system for the girls’ bathroom, build new stairs for the boys and girls dorms, replace the siding on the boys dorm, buy all new kitchenware and laundry supplies, buy a new water pump and pipes for the main water tap on site, buy a new (second-hand) motorbike for the organization, and finally, to buy the kids new clothes for Christmas. There is no way I could have given close to that much without everyone who donated, and to you I give so much gratitude. Thank you.

Jacqui, fellow KSEDO volunteer, Sokly, and Prye.

Biggest purchase: a new motorbike!

The people I’ve met while volunteering have all taught me so much as well. Without them, I don’t know if I would have been able to relax and enjoy all that Siem Reap had to offer. I was so worn out by the time I got to Cambodia that I honestly just wanted to sit in bed all day and watch Downton Abbey. Now, I did do a lot of that, but I enjoyed the company of my new friends so much that I forced myself to get out and make the most of my time here. And I’m so glad I did.

New friends 🙂

Siem Reap is most famous for hosting Angkor Wat and the surrounding temples. Most of these temples are within a 20 minute tuk-tuk ride of one another about 15 minutes outside the center of Siem Reap. My favorite temple was the Bayon, more commonly referred to by tourists as “the temple with faces on it”.

Angkor Wat at sunrise.

Ta Prohm

Bayon, with the faces.

Second place went to Ta Prohm, the jungle temple, where Tomb Raider and one of the Indiana Jones movies were filmed. The temple is huge and overrun with trees, the roots gobbling up the ancient architecture and making for a beautiful contrast between nature and civilization. In all honesty though, the temples had basically the

same feeling and architecture and seemed to all be built by the same few ancient king guys. So if you find yourself in Siem Reap, don’t kill yourself trying to see all of every temple in S.R. Angkor Wat was beautiful at sunrise though, and the picture you get of the sun rising out from behind the temple is worth facing the giant throngs of tourists. But I’m honestly not sure why it is so much more famous than the others… It is smaller in size and doesn’t have the unique features found at Bayon and Ta Prohm. Maybe I should research that instead of watching the season 3 finale of Downton Abbey tonight. Or maybe not.
I also visited the waterfall outside of Siem Reap with the kids from the orphanage one day. As it turns out, the most cost-effective means of transportation to get 35 people from one place to another in Cambodia is in the back of an oversized pick-up truck. So, this is how we travelled the incredibly bumpy two hours to the waterfall from KSEDO, and I have the butt bruises to show for it! The kids had so much fun splashing around in the water and I don’t remember the last time I laughed so hard for so long. Their smiles are just so contagious. The waterfall made a really beautiful backdrop for a refreshing swim. One thing to note: swimsuits aren’t really a thing here, people swim in their clothes. It’s been interesting seeing the contrast between the modest attire of the locals versus the tank tops and shorts donned by tourists. I would love to be able to assimilate to the local clothing norm like I did in India, but the humidity here makes a pair of shorts way too tempting. And people are much more accepting of the tourist antics here than they were in North India….
Another very cool experience I had was horseback riding through the countryside of Siem Reap (think lots of rice paddies with lilies galore) courtesy of the Happy Ranch. I was taken on a private tour with a young Cambodian girl, Sophea, who had grown up on the ranch. We went out for 1.5 hrs and got to see the quieter, more natural side of Siem Reap, which I really appreciated, and I also hadn’t ridden a horse since I was about 12, so that was really nice. It was a bit of a splurge at $38, but I would say it was definitely worth it.
Siem Reap can seem expensive at times, especially since locals are not shy about overcharging foreigners. They will literally tell you “You pay foreigner price” if you try to haggle too much, like it’s just a fact that we should be treated differently. But, it is a cheap place to have a night out. Draft beers usually cost anywhere from 75 cents-$2.00, and Pub Street is like a cheap, international version of 6th Street back home in Austin.

The volunteer coordinator, Phorn, and I during a night on Pub Street. Yay for $1 drafts!

The pub crawl hosted by X-Bar will literally leave you crawling home, and it only costed $10 including an awesome tank top and free shot at each bar! It was interesting to get back into the nightlife scene after not drinking for two months in India. I was hesitant to go out at first, but I somehow managed to overcome that and have some great, hazy nights out, usually ending with some $1 street noodles from a tuk-tuk food stand.
For the night of Christmas Eve, a few volunteers and I had planned to go on a Christmas-themed pub crawl. I was going to dress up in Christmas pajamas and everything. But, I ended up getting food poisoning that day (the “Siem Reap Shits”, as they are called here) and was out of commission for all of Christmas eve and the morning of Christmas day. The rest of Christmas was spent sleeping and visiting a Cambodian clinic to stock up on 2 different kinds of antibiotic and antiparasite medicines, and then forcing myself out of bed to go to the KSEDO Christmas Party that two fellow volunteers had organised. They made Nutella sandwiches and Fairy bread (white bread with butter and sprinkles, it’s an Aussie thing) and the kids went nuts over it! We played a blend of Justin Beiber and Mariah Carey Christmas songs, and then handed out the pants that I bought for each child using the GoFundMe donations. They were so happy – I don’t think many of the kids had ever owned a new pair of pants before. It was the kind of Christmas that reminds you what Christmas is all about – love, generosity, and joy.

The kids, Jacqui, Kristy, and I on Christmas day.

I am heading to Bangkok today and then up to Chiang Mai for a few days. A few of the kids and Ms. Sophorn insisted on riding with me to the airport, and gave me the most amazing parting gift: a traditional Cambodian dress! I couldn’t believe their generosity, and tried it on to take some final photos with everyone at KSEDO. Then, it was off to the airport for a hug-and-tear-filled goodbye. Once again, it is a bittersweet departure… I am happy to be in a country that offers a few more creature comforts, but so sad to leave the kids at KSEDO. I will always keep them in my heart, and remember the lessons they taught me about life, love, and family.

Tearful goodbyes outside Siem Reap airport.

The kids and me in my new traditional Cambodian dress!

Siem Reap

I have been in Siem Reap for about a week. I was experiencing a bit of travel burnout when I first got to Cambodia, and I’m still in the midst of it now – struggling with a bit of loneliness and homesickness. I don’t know how people travel for years! Maybe this is the “hump” I have to get over, and then it will be smooth sailing. But, unfortunately, I wouldn’t say Cambodia is the most restorative place for reflecting on and recovering from such things. When I got here, I craved comfort and friendly faces, but instead got dealt the reality of another third world country. But, ultimately, I didn’t come to Cambodia to restore and reflect… This part of my trip isn’t about me – it’s about giving back and helping those in need, no matter how uncomfortable it may be for me.
What have I been doing since my last post? Well, I arrived in Siem Reap from Phnom Penh on December 2 after the bumpiest 8-hour bus ride ever. Keep in mind, my ability to stay positive was very strained at this point. I’m pretty sure the other volunteers (most fresh off the plane from home!) were pretty skeptical of me as I sat with my headphones on for 90% of the journey, staring out the window with a grumpy expression on my face as I tried to prepare for another month without the basic comforts of home.
For example: Due to an unbearable humidity in the air in the Cambodian wet season, you are covered in moisture each time you step out the door. This moisture acts as an adhesive for the dust in the air, creating a layer of brown grime on your skin that is, needless to say, quite uncomfortable! Our volunteer house has no hot water or air conditioning, so escaping the humidity is not an option. However, we are just entering the dry season now, and the humidity isn’t as thick as it was when I first arrived. I’m thankful to be catching a break on that front! On top of being soaked in sweat while trying to sleep, the neighbor’s dogs bark unbelievably loudly at various points in the night, making a solid sleep pretty unattainable. In India, there was enough of a constant dull roar sounding at all times that you could sort of block out the commotion. Cambodia is much quieter, and so the sounds slice through the silence and are much more disruptive. Basically, my stay so far has been less than comfortable. But it’s amazing how the human body adjusts, both physically and mentally, once it realizes it can survive in a new environment. And the people around me have made the transition easier! The other volunteers are so cool, and our volunteer coordinator, Phorn, is awesome and so kind. He even gave my roommate and I a new standing fan for our room after overhearing me complain about the lack of AC!
A few things I did not expect in Cambodia (I like lists. This is a short one. Bear with me.):
1. Strangely, people also seem to be getting more sick here than the people I met in India. In India, people got sick for maybe a day or two, and then took some antibiotics and were fine. But in Cambodia, even just since I’ve been here, quite a few people have had to be hospitalized for days for serious food-related illnesses, including dysentery. So far, I have remained unaffected. The worst thing I’ve gotten so far is a mild case of what could have been giardiasis in India, which I self treated with some antibiotics that I bought in the Delhi airport for 12 rupees. If I said that I had a sensitive stomach before coming on this trip, I wouldn’t say that now!
2. The currency situation here is less than ideal. 1000 Cambodian riel is equivalent to 25 cents US, and so it’s basically worthless when trying to get around. So, people deal in both riel and US dollars at the same time. For example, if you pay for a $3 shirt with a $5 bill, you can either receive $2 back or receive 8,000 riel, which is 8 separate 1,000 riel notes: a lot of paper bills to carry around. It’s quite irritating at the end of the day when you started off with one $20 bill and end up with your wallet overflowing with riel bills. And no one takes credit cards, so you are basically forced to deal with this system – and with the ridiculously high (minimum $4) ATM fees.
3. It is hard to comprehend the incredible amount of corruption in Cambodia. Desperation, lack of organization, and lack of a sturdy law system have left the Cambodian people unable to trust one another, their government, or those who are supposed to protect them. After talking with a flew Cambodians, I get the impression vicious cycle of bribery, dishonesty, and blackmail are keeping Cambodia from really progressing.
A month before my arrival, a Siem Reap nightclub experienced an electrical fire that left about 45 people dead, presumably. I say presumably because it is local knowledge that the owner of the nightclub paid the police to cover up the actual number of casualties, and to report that only 5 people had died, including one Australian man. I have heard reports that the rest of the bodies were carted away on a truck to avoid discovery. The legitimacy of this story and the corruption of the Cambodia police is upheld by the experience of one of my friends here – also a volunteer – when he went in to a station to report that his phone had been stolen. The police interrogated him about the situation, accused him of making up the story, and held him in the station until he gave them $45 and wrote an apology letter for “wasting the police’s time”. I can’t seem to wrap my head around what it must feel like to live in a society where you cannot even report a stolen iPhone to the police, or where the government does not investigate widespread allegations of hiding 40 wrongful deaths from the public.
I spoke about the tough, hard affect of the Cambodian people in my last post. It is becoming more and more obvious that being tough is needed to survive in Cambodia, and it’s been a good test of mental and physical strength for me to be here for a month. But, I am up for the challenge if it means experiencing this culture to the fullest, and being able to help the kids at the orphanage I am volunteering at. I have even learned a bit of the Khmer language! It is probably the hardest language I have ever tried to learn in my life – the sounds are so, so different from English. I am blown away by how quick the kids at the orphanage I’m working at have learnt to read, write, and speak in English, especially with an endless cycle of inexperienced volunteers like myself being their only source of English classes.
So about my placement: I have been teaching English and trying to make myself generally useful for 4 hours, Monday through Friday, at a local orphanage called KSEDO. There are currently 31 boys and girls, ages 2-18, living in the orphanage. KSEDO, being an NGO, does not accept government handouts and relies solely on private donations to feed, clothe, and house the children, which means that they often only have enough money for rent, food, and electricity, nothing else. The orphanage was started and is currently overseen by a single mother named Mrs. Sophorn, and the amount of time and energy this woman gives to run KSEDO is truly incredible. I have started a GoFundMe to raise money for various things around the orphanage, and if you would like to help out or learn more, I encourage you to check it out: Cambodian Orphanage Fundraising.
Though I will never comprehend what it feels like to live in extreme poverty or have no family or resources to fall back on, I have learned these past few months that all humans really are the same at the core. These children were born into situations so completely different from my own, and yet I can see myself in each of them. This has been such a gift, and I know that I am able to foster a deeper connection with these kids than I would have been able to 3 months ago thanks to the experiences, both good and bad, that have shaped me up to this point in my travels.
10 days in, I am finally learning the names of the kids by heart (Khmer names are so different from what I know!), and the discomfort I first felt when in Cambodia is becoming a memory. There is no grey cloud that doesn’t have a silver lining, and I am grateful for my challenges over the past few months for bringing me to the point I’m at now.

Greetings from Cambodia

Hi all,
I am writing you from a hotel down the street from CVF (Cambodia Volunteer Foundation) headquarters in Phnom Penh. I will be volunteering with CVF in Siem Reap starting tomorrow, doing something under the vague title of “Orphanage Childcare”. I can’t wait to get up to Siem Reap because Phnom Penh has been a little bit of a disappointment, as there is not too much to do here. The local people I’ve met (excluding the volunteer leaders!) haven’t as friendly as I guess I hoped they would be, and it’s been very humid these last few days. However, one tourist highlight was the hostel I stayed in for my first two nights here: Envoy. The place was like a modern, comfy hotel with a huge kitchen and marble floors, and at only $7, I literally can’t find anything bad to say! Highly recommended for backpackers to Phnom Penh who miss comfort and want a deal.
I think I actually miss India. I miss the colors and how excited everyone always was about literally everything they did (India seems to have a pension for living completely in the moment). Phnom Penh’s exterior reminds me a lot of the cities I visited there, except the jovial, high energy is replaced by something a bit more like sadness. There are still the tin-roof shop fronts lining roads filled with tuk-tuks and motorbikes… But the tuk-tuk drivers seem less innocent in their haggling for a ride price. I had heard people say that they felt less at ease in Cambodia versus all South Asian countries, and I didn’t get why. I knew a bit about Cambodia’s history and socioeconomic struggles, but I imagined it couldn’t be more uncomfortable than India. Now, I understand more clearly what they were talking about.
In India, the poverty seems like a fact of life to many people. Not saying that it’s a good thing, because once you get used to something and brush it aside, it’s hard to change. The locals I’ve seen here seem much more aware of the danger in the world. I have had two separate women approach me to tell me to keep my bags safe. People never did that in India, it was much more carefree. That being said, it’s a different kind of friendliness. Not warmth, per say, just a want to make sure you know what’s up. People are just more cold overall than those in India, though I can say India is extremely friendly to the point of crossing personal barriers.
Most locals I’ve met have the affect of people who have seen and lived through more than anyone ever should. Even as a tourist just passing through, the lingering effect Phnom Penh’s dark history is very much palpable.
Three fellow hostel dwellers and I took a tuk-tuk to visit the Killing Fields and Tul Sleung (S21) during my first day here. I am still reeling from the experience I think, and it has painted the scenery very differently in my eyes. The Killing Fields museum is outside and really well put together, with an audio guide that lets you experience and learn about your surroundings with minimum distraction. You can walk along the excavated mass graves and see bones emerging from the site, and touch the tree that had been used to crack innocents’ skulls during the Khmer Rouge genocide. Needless to say, it was very real, and raw, but also informative and done in a tasteful manner. The fact that it was outside also made it less suffocating to be faced with such terrifying information.
Touring S21 was much harder for me to experience because nature had not had an opportunity to soften the building. You could still see blood stains on the floors of the rooms used for torture and smell the human excrement in the narrow hall of prison cells. These parts of the museum were claustrophobic and revolting, and the fact that the building used to be a high school gave the whole scene a horror-movie feel. However, I think that this aspect of the museum was valuable in understanding the magnitude of the atrocities that occurred there. I left very moved and sad, but also impressed at the lengths that Phnom Penh had come in the last 40 years in overcoming the damage left by the Khmer Rouge. The young adults who lived through the genocide are my parents’ age now, and my tuk-tuk drivers were likely children at the time. It is probable that almost all the locals I have met were seriously affected, as 1/4th of the Cambodian population was wiped out in a short period of time. I’m not sure if the shadow of this event is what is giving me an “off” feeling here, but I have the utmost respect for the Khmer people after learning the depth of their story.
I believe the atmosphere of Siem Reap will be a lighter, if not simply because of the amount of tourists that flock to Angkor Wat and energize the city. I’m excited to visit the region and to get the chance to give back to the new generation of a community that has been through so much.

Amritsar, Agra, Jaipur…. India, good riddance!

Leaving Rishikesh after two months, I thought I could say I was at least a little familiar with Indian culture. What I didn’t realize was that India’s borders contain such a wide spectrum of culture that it is silly to say that you “know” India after visiting one city, or two, or even four in my case. I guess it’s similar in the U.S., in that each state has its own customs, culture, and people. However, I would venture to say that the differences between states in India is much more drastic.

The bridge out of Rishikesh.

My tour of India was the kind of experience where you exit having more questions than when you entered. The more places I visited and things I learned, the more I realized that I really didn’t know about India at all. That being said, I am going to write about some of my impressions as a foreigner visiting for the first time, but I don’t think I’ve even scratched the surface of understanding what makes India, India.
Sitting at the airport in Delhi, still with so many places in India that I want to explore someday, I feel like I am ready to move on to the next place (BKK, Phnom Penh). My dad, who commutes to Pune for work, put it this way: being in India as a North American is like eating spicy food. It’s different, intense, and exciting at first, albeit challenging. This mix makes it addicting, and soon you find yourself craving it. But, it is also taxing on the body, and sometimes you need a break. Unlike with spicy food, however, once you’re in India you can’t just take a break and eat bland for a few days. There were many a day when I just wanted, in vain of course, to “turn India off” so that I could get some real rest. When I finally got to my hotel  (Radisson Blu) near the airport in Jaipur two days ago, I realized that I had forgotten what it felt like to get into bed without worrying about putting earplugs in so I wouldn’t get woken up by fellow hostel dwellers or firecrackers or dogs fighting or random people throwing up at 5 AM (Yog Peethers know what I’m talking about). I could get under the blanket without worrying about it getting too close to my skin. It was magical.
So, maybe I had become a bit used to the conditions in India… at least much more so than when I arrived in the taxi on my first day at RYP. I definitely feel like it will take a lot more to make me uncomfortable, mentally or physically, after this trip. But I don’t really think it’s because I’ve been hardened… just more awakened to the nature of discomfort: I am in control of what makes me uncomfortable, and I will survive it. This increase in mental adaptability is I think the most valuable thing I’ve gained from being in India.

What have I been doing this past week or so? Well, I left Rishikesh with two friends from RYP, Katelyn and Jessica, to visit three cities before leaving India: Amritsar in Punjab, Agra to see the Taj Mahal, and Jaipur in Rajasthan.

Amritsar

I had heard a lot about Amritsar, the capital city of Sikhism, before I came to India, and it was at the top of my tourism list. We took the overnight train from Haridwar (closest to Rishikesh), and it was not a good experience. The train platform was so dodgy at night, with the men staring longer and more intensely at you than usual. We had no idea what we were doing as far as getting on the train, and when we finally got in our cabin, we bolted the door and wouldn’t open it for anyone. Even the guy passing out blankets and pillows (we didn’t know they were provided). So we ended up freezing our asses off in this super loud, bumpy train car all night… It made me have a new respect for what the homeless must go through in the winter.

Katelyn and Jessica nervously awaiting the train to Amritsar…

After 15 hrs on the train, we finally arrived in Amritsar. Cows aren’t considered holy in the Sikh religion, and it was very refreshing for the city not to be not full of cows! It’s unbelievable how much of a difference this made in terms of how it felt vs Delhi or Rishikesh. It seemed less chaotic and dirty without the cows ruling the roads, and you don’t have to worry about stepping in cow poop to everywhere you go!
Sikhism, above all, promotes equality and generosity for all people. In accordance to this belief, anyone can board and/or eat for free in any of their temples, and many backpackers take advantage of this cultural bonus while visiting Amritsar. We, however, opted out of staying in the temples in favor of Jugaadus’ Eco Hostel, which many say is the best hostel they have ever stayed in. I am now echoing this opinion: Jugaadus’ and it’s owner, Sanjay, are the shit. The hostel really felt like a home away from home, and the tours you can organize through Sanjay are cheap and well worth the time. We did the Golden Temple tour the first night we were in Amritsar, and this temple is one of the most beautiful, spiritual places I’ve been to in my life. I very much appreciate the core philosophies of Sikhism, and I felt very humbled while touring the temple.

One of the highlights for me was seeing (and eating at) the the huge community dining hall where around 70,000 people are fed a decent Ayurveda-friendly meal of veggie dishes, chapati (form of Indian bread), a milky dessert, and chai each day. The high capacity, high efficiency kitchen is beyond description… People come from all over India to volunteer to cook the food in the kitchen’s massive cauldrons and serve it, super speed style, to the lines of people waiting in the dining area. Watching the whole thing work was honestly the most amazing thing… I wonder how such a place, where the poor and rich sit together to eat as equals, supported solely by volunteer efforts and with very little security in place, continues to function so smoothly. Especially in a developing country like India, where so many are barely able to survive.

 

Making chipati in the kitchen.

This is one thing I found especially interesting here: while people can seem extremely abrupt, brash, and careless 90% of the time, there is a palpable undercurrent of respect from the Indian people both between one another and for things that really matter (i.e. human suffering, health, compassion, justice, religion, family). Even strangers seem to interact with one another like family…. I witnessed this many times between the tuk-tuk drivers and random shop owners on the side of the road who would invite them in for chai like they had known each other for years. Maybe it is living in such a harsh environment, or maybe because they are united under a strong sense of Indian pride, but there just seems to be such a sense of camaraderie here, as well as a continuous awareness of what really matters. The sort of thing where, if you’re lacking a few rupees for toilet paper, a shopkeeper will say, “Come and pay me back tomorrow. It is the fact that you’re happy that matters, money doesn’t mean anything.”

Part of the family?

 

The next day, we attended the recession ceremony at the India/Pakistan border. There is a small fee to get in (I think 250 IR?) and lots of security precautions, for obvious reasons. It was cool to be able to look over the gates from our seats in the stands and see Pakistan on the other side… Though it was so close, it was a different world, with signs in a different language, different music playing, and men and women sitting in separate areas in traditional Muslim dress. The event is promoted as a display of pride for each country, kind of like a “which side can cheer louder?!” competition at a football game. This was a little tense and confusing for me given the history of India/Pakistan relations, but people got really into it.
The ceremony opened with a running of the flags and a big women-only dance party on the Indian side to contemporary Indian music (so catchy, one of my favorite parts of Indian culture).

Proudly displaying the flag on the India side of the border.

This was the most exciting part of the ceremony for me, even though I didn’t get down and dance (I wish I had!). The rest of it was pretty slow, especially since we were sitting pretty high up and were kind of confused as to what was going on. The ceremony sort of seemed like an attempt to make light of India/Pakistan relations, beginning with the border guards from each side opening their gates and displaying mock aggression towards each other in a series of march maneuvers. Then, the guards cross over to each other’s territory and shake hands, and their flags are lowered in unison. The whole concept behind the ceremony was really interesting, but the ceremony itself was pretty drawn out. I was happy to head back.

 

Eating some kind of deliciousness with Sanjay on the food tour.

The next day, we took a food tour of the city that included many of the most famous dishes from local restaurants. Punjab cuisine seems to be most famous for butter, bread, and sweets, and this was definitely the theme of the food tour.I think that whatever I cleansed out during the Panchakarma was replaced that day, but it was worth it! The next day, we headed out to Agra to see the Taj.

Agra

So, Agra was the place I was the least excited to visit in India. By far. Like my expectations were really, really low.
I think that helped though, because I ended up having a much better time than expected! We only made Agra a part of the trip because, of course, we had to see the Taj Mahal. We had heard that the city itself was an awful place and so we only planned to spend one Thursday night there, get up for sunrise at the Taj on Friday, and leave the next day to Jaipur. But, as our travel agent neglected to inform us, the Taj is closed on Fridays, so we had to stay an extra night (the horror!). This ended up being a blessing in disguise though, because we got to see Agra fort, the Baby Taj Mahal, and the sunset from the moon garden across the river from the Taj. It was a really majestic city actually, when looked at in terms of the main attractions, because they were all built in opulence by the Islamic royalty of India and the architecture is really incredible.

Hanging at the Baby Taj.

The city of Agra besides that is kind of a dump, but we were able to have a really great day just seeing the attractions. We couldn’t find many budget places to stay with good reviews, but we chose Zostel (one of a chain of hostels in India) and had a pretty good stay.
People complained about the locals being really pushy about wanting you to buy things in Agra, but I did not think it was that bad. I was actually much more uncomfortable in Jaipur, and even Paris, when it came to that sort of thing. But, then again, not sure how my super low expectations played in to my perception of how bad/good things actually were. But, my advice with places like Agra that don’t have great reputations with tourists: go in with low expectations, and you’ll either be satisfied or pleasantly surprised!
We heard that seeing the Taj at sunrise was a must. It was great, but there were still tons of people there, and it was cold, and I don’t know how much we gained from getting up early to see it rather than just going whenever was most convenient for us. I think sunset would be just as, if not more, beautiful.

Taj at sunrise… Still completely, utterly breathtaking.

We missed our train due to our prolonged stay in Agra and decided to hire a car to take us into Jaipur. If you don’t want to pay plane price but have the budget for a car, this is definitely the way to travel. You can leave whenever you want right from your door, you can stop for food or toilet

Looking out the window in the taxi from Agra to Jaipur.

whenever, and get to see the landscape up close. It’s usually much faster than the train, but some routes are pretty bad when it comes to traffic and road conditions (Delhi-Rishikesh!!!) and are better with the train, so do your research to snag the most comfortable trip for your dollar.

 

 

Jaipur

So, we arrived in Jaipur, The Pink City, from Agra after about 5 hours. The first thing I noticed was the amount of color (mostly pink!) around, and how civilized the city seemed compared to the other places I had been in India. It just felt more… Cosmopolitan. The bustling, traffic, and energy overall was less chaotic, less Indian, and more just like a middle-sized western city. But the city itself was so beautiful! As I mentioned, it is so colorful, and the old-style architecture still remains around the old city, making it feel historic and well lived-in. And the bazaars, overflowing with fresh fruits, veggies, spices, and colorful clothing, are breathtaking.

I stayed at Zostel Jaipur with Katelyn and Jessica for the first two nights and met some really incredible people. This hostel was another winner: delicious breakfast served in the morning, a bright, welcoming communal area, and comfy private rooms. I moved to the Radisson near the airport on my third day in Jaipur once Katelyn and Jessica moved on to Kochi, but luckily I met some great people at Zostel to keep me company after they left.
Our first night in Jaipur, we decided to go see a Bollywood film at the famous Graj Mandir cinema. The inside of the theatre was designed with lots of blue and pink swirls and was really quite grand. The movie we saw was named “Happy Ending”, and it was a strange mix of a romcom in Hindi and English set in Hollywood.

My first Bollywood movie in a theatre…

The movie was okay, but the funniest part was how animated the crowd was while watching. Every time a romance scene came on (there were quite a few, contrasting with the fairly strict conservatism & modesty I had seen in India so far), the theatre would erupt in “Ooooooohhhh!!!” and giggles. It was pretty entertaining.

The next day, we did a lot of strolling the bazaars while in Jaipur, and then decided to treat ourselves and get mani-pedis at a beauty salon across the street from the cinema. It included the best foot massage I’ve had with a pedicure, and costed about $8 total. So great.

All polished up and ready to go!

Afterwards, we went to catch the light and sound show at Amer fort. This is what I was most excited for in Jaipur, but with my expectations high, I would say it was only okay.
The fort was much more enjoyable when I visited it the next day in the afternoon. It was built as a palace for a Raja using Islamic architecture, just like Agra fort. Agra fort was bigger and more grand, while Amer fort sported much more beautiful views of the hills of Rajasthan and had many more interior passageways open to the public. Definitely worth a visit.

It seemed the photo opps were endless when we were spotted by locals or Indian tourists!

View from Amer (Amber) fort.

That night, I came back to the Radisson, took a bath, and ordered buttered chicken (my first meat in India!) and chocolate cake. Then I slept for 10 hours. It was divine.
The next day, I met up with a friend I had made at Zostel, Stephen, and we hit a few sights together. The view from the monkey temple was nice, though the fact that it is overrun with monkeys, pigs, and cows was a little unnerving. Stephen wanted to visit the village area around Amer fort, and it turned out to be one of my favorite sights in Jaipur. There are little ruins of temples scattered throughout the area, and seeing the locale is always a nice break from the tourist regime. My favorite part was this little sunken area adorned with stairs and filled with water. Fun fact: it was a stop on the Amazing Race, which I thought was pretty cool! Went home that night to another fancy-filled night at the Radisson Blu, and grabbed an Uber the next morning to catch my flight out of India.

So that concludes the India portion of my journey! Sorry for the super long post, I just had such a multifaceted experience and I wanted to share/remember it all. And happy Thanksgiving to everyone in the States! Wish I could be eating turkey and pumpkin pie with you all. xx

5 Things I Thought I Would Never Do in India and Then Did.

1. Eat at Chotiwala.

In my last two posts, I have chronicled my experience with eating food outside of Yog Peeth. I am so glad that I took the opportunity to eat out in Rishikesh because it led me to taste some of the best food I’ve ever eaten! Notably, the best dairy products. I tend to avoid dairy back home, but they must be doing something right with the cows over here, because the yogurt (curd), cheese (paneer), and milk are the bomb. The veggies and fruit (no meat here!) are also fresh and amazing. A few food winners around the area of the ashram: the best hummus and Israeli dishes at Oasis cafe, the best yogurt/fruit/muesli parfait and chai at the Office cafe, the best chocolate ball and ice cream at Omkar, rich chocolate brownie cake at the German bakery, and the most delicious cashew sweets and potato curry lunch (homemade and prepacked) served by an ultra friendly shopkeeper while browsing his shop.

Chai & Curd/Honey/Muesli at the Office in Ram Jhula

Amit, the shopkeeper from Jaipur, with our lunch

Oasis Cafe in Swarg Ashram

Food is one of my big loves in life, and the list of tasty rendezvous I have had while in Rishikesh could go on and on.
However, I feel like all of this food venturing culminated in my dinner at Chotiwala restaurant the night before my graduation from RYP. When I first walked past Chotiwala 6 weeks ago, I said aloud “That place looks like somewhere I never, ever want to eat.” Its entrance is situated in a dark alleyway in Ram Jhula that is always bustling with people. Outside of the restaurant are two statue representations of the restaurant’s mascot: a chubby clown-like character painted pink, with a unicorn-like spike of black hair pointing out of the back of his head. Alongside the statues sits a man also dressed up as the mascot. It was the same man in said position every time I walked by (every day), and I often wondered what he had time to do besides sit in front of Chotiwala looking unimpressed with life and taking pictures with tourists.

Outside of Chotiwala (Courtesy of Google Images)

I verbally stated my distaste for this restaurant multiple times for reasons that can be summed up in one phrase: “that place looks super sketchy”. So, imagine my amusement when, after hearing many times about the delicious Indian cuisine served in the secluded back dining area, I found myself agreeing to dinner at Chotiwala! And the food lived up to the hype. For 200 rupees (the equivalent of about $3.50), I had out-of-this-world garlic naan and a full Bengali Thali – a platter of 10 small dishes ranging from curries to rice to pickles to dessert. It was a yummy way to demonstrate how far I had come in terms of adjusting to Indian culture since my arrival in Rishikesh.

Thali at Chotiwala (Courtesy of Google Images)

2. Ride on public transport.

Upon arrival to India, one of the first things you notice is the extreme resourcefulness of the locals, particularly when it comes to getting from one place to another. It is hard not to be concerned the first time you see 4 people and a baby packed on to a motorbike, or a taxi or train car packed until the point of overflowing with bodies. “That can’t be safe,” you think. “I would never subject myself to such road conditions by travelling like a local,” you think. From the time I was picked up by a taxi from my hotel on my first day, however, I realized there really was no way to travel “Western style” here. The lack of road regulation makes it literally impossible. I have a fear of long and/or treacherous rides in vehicles (I get claustrophobic and motion-sick) even in the west, and I clung to the idea that I would avoid doing so unless completely necessary.
So when my Indian friend Deepak suggested taking a taxi into town from Yog Peeth and the rest of our group agreed, I was worried. The streets in Ram Jhula are packed, the roads are bumpy, and the taxis are not built for comfort. Alas, I got there alive, with only minor psychological trauma as the car wildly dodged the cars and cows and people in our narrow path. And, it really was so much faster and more convenient than walking the distance. My feet were satisfied, and my resolve to avoid “travelling like a local” was dwindling.
During my last week at RYP, I ended up with irritated, red eyes and a stuffy nose (more on that in #3). When the staff insisted that I go to the eye doctor, I obliged, even if it meant riding there on a motorbike! Remember, I was in a very go-with-the-flow mentality here. On the day of my appointment, one of the front desk guys picked me up one morning and away we went. It was surprisingly easy to balance on the back of the motorbike, and I felt so free being whisked through the streets in the open air! I was actually a part of the constant “beep BEEP beep!!!” noise on the streets rather than just listening to it. It was maybe a bit unsafe, but it was wonderful. I am now addicted to the feeling of riding on a motorbike, and I will jump at the opportunity if it is presented again!

Pretending to be a local motorbiker in Ram Jhula after the eye doctor (my driver just asked me to watch his motorbike while he went into the ATM – I didn’t actually get to drive!)

Travelling by train, the method of transportation I was least worried about, actually turned out to be the most challenging. But I will talk about that more in my next post about Amritsar, Agra, and Jaipur, when I have more experience with the train system!

3. Get an enema.

If I had to name the most unusual and impulsive thing I have done in India, it would be undertaking a panchakarma at an Ayurvedic doctor’s office near Swarg Ashram. Panchakarma literally means five actions and refers to a body cleansing process in Ayurvedic medicine.
I wrote briefly before about my first experience visiting an Ayurvedic doctor, which was rather disappointing. I learned that my favorite massage place in Ram Jhula, AELIS, also had a resident Ayurvedic doctor and decided to get another consultation. This doctor, a woman, was much more knowledgeable, patient, and willing to explain the ins and outs of Ayurvedic medicine in relation to my body. In Ayurveda, body types are described in terms of their individual balance of earth (kapha), fire (pitta), and air (vata) energies, and ailments are thought to arise from an imbalance in these energies.
The first doctor I went to told me that my pitta energy was too high, but wouldn’t tell me why or what to do about it. This diagnosis of a “deranged pitta” was confirmed by the AELIS doctor, but only after a much more thorough investigation. She named a few of my continuing health problems that were being caused by this imbalance, and gave me a customized regime for my individual dosha (the one I was born with: Vata Kapha) designed to maintain health.
If you want to find out what dosha you are or find out more about the theory behind doshas, take this quiz!
Anyways, thanks to a combination of genuine interest, post-massage delirium, and a craving for something new in my life, I agreed to a dosha-balancing panchakarma when it was recommended by the doctor. I want to state here that I have a degree in biology and do not accept scientific claims, especially when it comes to health, without a lot of critical thinking. But, with this in mind, I decided to undergo the treatment because I am in India on a quest to connect with my inner yogi and, why not? I thought: best case scenario, I discover the cause behind various minor ailments and am restored to perfect health. Worst case, nothing happens and I get a massage every day… Right?

AELIS Ayurveda – where I spent many hours cleansing my body during a panchakarma.

Well, sort of. I did receive amazing full body massages every day and, as a result, was very relaxed. However, the treatments got a bit more invasive over time and I faced a few uncomfortable moments. I received two enemas, one with warm sesame oil and one with medicated tea, performed by a woman whose name I can’t even remember. It was more of a test for my ego and personal boundaries than for my body… I don’t think I’ve ever felt so vulnerable in my life! The last cleanse for my digestive tract (on day 7) involved drinking a concoction of medicated herbs, boiled water, and some kind of oil formulated to evacuate the entire contents of my bowels in a matter of 5 hours. Yes, I willfully subjected myself to a case of Delhi Belly in the name of cleansing!
Anyways, I survived these treatments without harm. I took the enemas and liver cleanse like a champ. But the one thing I couldn’t handle: having to open my eyes under a pool of ghee (Indian clarified butter) to “clear out dust and debris”. After a massage on the fifth day of panchakarma, still lying naked on the massage table, I felt cups being placed over my eyes and then being filled with a warm liquid. Upon inquiry, I discovered that this liquid was, in fact, ghee, and that I was supposed to open my eyes and let the ghee cleanse my eyeballs. As you can imagine, this was not a pleasant sensation. So unpleasant, in fact, that after my second attempt at opening my eyes I asked to have the ghee removed so that I could open my eyes in peace!
For the next week, my eyes were inflamed and red, and people kept asking what I had been crying about. But, I soldiered on without Western medicine, because I wanted to keep up my faith in Ayurveda and the women at AELIS insisted that it could not be their specially formalized ghee causing the problem! Eventually, on the seventh day of this nonsense (I had never had eye problems before) I went to an optometrist in town who told me that I had had an allergic reaction to the ghee. I was prescribed eye drops and the redness stopped in a day.
Thus, my experience with panchakarma, and Ayurvedic medicine overall, was bittersweet. I learned about an ancient form of holistic medicine and dove head first into a big element of yogic philosophy. However, subjecting my body to these treatments left me with an allergic reaction, and ultimately could have done a lot more harm if not administered correctly. But, I am happy that I underwent the experience and acquired an interesting story to tell!

4. Have a serious conversation about doshas, crystal healing, etc.

I believe that I am predominantly left-brained. I overanalyze, value logic over intuition in making decisions, and only take information with a lot of critical thinking. This has proved beneficial growing up in the West, where the left brain is of utmost importance in STEM careers and thus highly valued from a career standpoint. I feel as though, growing up in the States, I lost touch with a lot of the functioning of my right brain: the ability to experience full acceptance, fluidity of thought, and creativity were among those negatively affected. My writing ability, always a natural talent, has been compromised by writing only research papers and lab reports for the last four years (this blog has been helping!). Needless to say, I think I have been neglecting my right brain for a while now.

I have never been one to just “have faith in things” and didn’t know how to react when I was thrust into an environment where having faith was part of the experience. I was very conflicted in the philosophy lectures at RYP. I couldn’t understand how the people around me were willing to believe in something that had very little, in most cases no, scientific backing. However, I decided to try to give my left brain a break and see what I could get out of trying this whole “having faith” thing.

By the middle of my time at RYP, I found myself having serious conversations about how the full moon was affecting my personality. Ideas that I would have brushed aside as pseudoscience were refreshed with new curiosity. I was genuinely curious in how Reiki and astrology worked, and let myself be swept away in the romantic world of yogic philosophy. This led me to experiences like the Panchakarma, and also to an outpouring of intimacy and trust that I did not know that I was capable of. It was the first time in a while that I was in an environment where high sensitivity, intuition, and unguarded self-expression were valued over logic and self-control. It was freeing for me, being a highly sensitive person (psychology term), to be surrounded by people who not only were highly sensitive as well, but were completely comfortable expressing it. I will talk more about this in #5.

Sharing session (basically group theraphy) to wrap up teacher training at RYP

I now know what people mean when they say that they have gotten in touch with their spiritual side, and I truly believe that I was lacking for not having experienced this side of myself sooner. I know that I will revert to my left-brained ways when I return to the states, but I hope to maintain a stronger relationship with my right brain from this point forward.

5. Fall in love.
The owner of a jewelry shop I was particularly fond of told me one day that chai’s name originated from the Hindi word for “desire” – chaha. He explained that meeting and spending time with people was the ultimate desire, and that everything else – including chai tea – was simply an accessory to facilitate this want for connecting with others. I have found this statement to ring true in my own life, and the interpersonal connections I had while in Rishikesh were by far the highlights of my time there. I met friends that I felt I had known forever, and for the first time I really felt what it means to have someone come into your life for a reason. Getting in touch with different aspects of myself, mostly spiritual, through my interactions with people in Rishikesh has awakened a sense of belonging and meaning in me. It just seems as though the stars keep aligning in series of coincidences me to show me that I am indeed on the right path. Through my relationships with my Yog Peeth family, I felt as though I fell in love not only with them and with myself, but with the wonderfully unfathomable mystery that is life again.

Cuddling up with the Rishikesh Yog Peeth family one cold morning after class

The events of my last day in Rishikesh exemplified this sort of meaningful flow that has occurred in my life lately. I was on my way to buy some last minute souvenirs, primarily spices for people back home, and to visit Swami Sirvananda’s ashram in Ram Jhula (I had heard of people having great spiritual experiences while visiting). I stopped to ask a tuk-tuk driver for directions because I was wandering a bit aimlessly in the general area of the ashram but could not find it. I found out later that the man had no idea what ashram I was talking about, but offered to take me on a drive anyhow. I ended up about 20 minutes from where I was supposed to be, but decided to ask the driver to stop because I saw a beautiful embroidered red tunic hanging in a shop we had passed. I made my way into the shop and voila: the shop owner’s wife mixed and packaged Indian spices and sold them in the store! It was the first time I had been shown spices without inquiring about them, and just so happened to be the day I had left in search of spices to purchase. I talked with the shopkeeper, his name is Amit, for a while and found out that he was an international ambassador for Couch Surfers at his family home in Jaipur. It was a valuable meeting, because I will be in Jaipur in a week with some friends from RYP and had no set plans for the trip. He offered to house us, show us around, and even take us to an Indian wedding! I am obsessed with weddings and could hardly contain my excitement. Afterward, Amit insisted I sit and have lunch/chai with him and another woman visiting the shop. We had great conversation (the shopkeepers around Rishikesh always seem to have a wealth of wisdom they are waiting to share), and I ended up buying some beautiful items (and a myriad of spices) from the shop. However, I found the best thing I took away was meeting the other visitor in the store: an Australian woman named Natasha. We became quick friends after talking about our experiences with yoga up to that point. We realized that we had been dealing with a lot of the same life events as of late, and bonded over talking about our experiences with spirituality and adjusting to the environment in Rishikesh. This is what I mean by things lining up: I hadn’t meant to go anywhere near Amit’s shop that day, but I believe something was guiding me there to meet these people and have that particular experience. I had never felt something like that before visiting India, and it sounds bizarre coming from me if you know me from back home. But having the genuine sensation that life is being guided by something larger than myself for the first time has been magical.

All the people we have met and all the people we are yet to meet are meant to exist so we could find them, so we both can exchange a set of directions which will guide us to the next place we are meant to go. And as we go we must always believe that maybe this could be our last stop, that maybe the next person we meet will not have a set of directions. That maybe they will have more, and maybe they will offer us something beautiful enough to inspire us to stay.

– quote scribbled on the bottom of my hostel bunk bed in Amritsar…

Ashrams, Diwali, & Rafting the Mother Ganga

Namaste!

I thought an update was about due on my time in Rishikesh. Our daily schedule for the YTT course has remained the same, but as time has gone on, new daily happenings have obviously occurred and people are straying a bit more from ashram life and out into exploring the surrounding area.

There are some great cafés nearby (Oasis, Yogi Health Cafe, and Omkar) are literally steps from the ashram, and I have overcome my fear of eating anything outside of Yog Peeth that is not cooked to the extreme. This morning, I even had a muesli, fruit and yogurt parfait at Oasis! Not to say that I will be doing it every day without caution, because quite a few people have gotten sick and I’m not naive to the idea that pretty much any food here *could* put me in the same position. But I’ve let my guard down a bit, and it’s let me branch out from the same curry veggies and rice/chapati meals that are served in the ashram day after day. Not to say they’re not delicious, because the quality of the food really is great. My only complaint is that the Ayurvedic diet consists of very easily digestible foods, like boiled veggies, soups, carbs, and low amounts of protein, to allow for optimum diaphragmatic breathing (I think that’s why?). Thus, it’s hard to stay full for long. I finally discovered that they served eggs at surrounding cafés about a week in and satisfied my craving for protein with an omelet, and I was full from that for the rest of the day! It’s amazing how fast the body adjusts to your diet.

They don’t serve meat or alcohol anywhere in Rishikesh, so my one vice here has been sugary treats. I usually grab some form of cake or cookie once a day. They’re just so cheap and yummy… For example can get an incredible Nutella pancake and a cup of the best chai around for 80 rupees (a little over $1) at the Office cafe. How could you resist?

As far as happenings within Yog Peeth… It’s funny, because being here is a bit like being at summer camp when you’re a kid. Everyone knows each other and is living in such close proximity, doing the same activities day after day, that our lives are inevitably going to get intertwined. This has led to the blossoming of some really incredible friendships for me, as well as provides the opportunity to learn how to interact positively and productively with others. It has also led to some very tense situations and Real World-style “drama”. But, as someone reminded us in class the other day during a particularly tense moment, we are all here for the same reason: to learn and grow and improve ourselves. It takes a special kind of person to come to India to learn to teach yoga, and I think we’ve all been brought together for a reason. I know that I have learned some very important things about myself through my reactions and interactions with the people here. My experience from a social aspect has been extremely eye opening and rekindled my love for meeting new people, as well as my faith in the innate goodness of people in general. I feel like I have a family here so far away from home, and that is an amazing feeling.

Now for a few noteworthy experiences. Yog Peeth paid for us to go white water rafting on the Ganges and it was incredible. We are close to the river’s mountain source, so the water is pretty safe to swim in and is quite cold. I’ve rafted a few times in my life and was expecting the Ganges to be tame compared to my other experiences, so of course I took the front seat of the boat. However, the rapids were much higher and faster than I expected and I got soaked, not to mention a great workout! The scenery was beautiful… Green hills and soft sand beaches lined the river. I was starting to believe that untouched natural peace didn’t exist in India! But I was exhausted between the paddling, sun, and multiple dunks in cold water courtesy of the raft guides, and I think one time was enough for me.

Diwali, one of the biggest Hindu holidays, was celebrated last week and Yog Peeth threw the students and staff a party in one of the courts of the ashram. There was a DJ, buffet, and delicious holiday sweets, and the string lights adorning the buildings and trees made for a magical atmosphere. The staff really love dancing and kept the party going until the incredibly late hour (ashram time) of 11:30 PM. It was such a great time. Oh, and I got some henna.

Quick stop for henna

Fast forward to this past Sunday (our only break day of the week). My friend Niamh and I decided to visit the infamous Maharishi Mahesh Ashram, about a 10 minute walk from Swarg Ashram (where Yog Peeth is located). The ashram is celebrated because it is where the Beatles stayed during a meditation retreat with Maharishi Mahesh, a guru they originally met in London. They wrote many songs during their stay, including one called “Happy Rishikesh Song”. Rumor has it that John Lennon had a falling out with Maharishi and deemed him a fraud before returning to London and beginning some of his wildest years, including those spent with Yoko Ono. The ashram is now completely abandoned, inhabited only by creepy big spiders and yellow hornet nests. It is such a beautiful setting though… I can only imagine how breathtaking it must have been while it was up and running. It was apparently shut down because it was located in the middle of a national park and they wanted to keep it “natural”, though I’m not sure what leaving the ruins to be visited by tourists for 100 rupees a day is really doing to improve the park. Now, all the buildings are pretty much in shambles. It is really a shame it was not maintained as a functioning ashram because I’m sure people would pay big money to stay there.

<a href=”http://youtu.be/ylEckICwU2w“>Here’s a short Video Compilation of the Beatles at Maharishi Ashram.</a>

Niamh and I on the same shaded path that the Beatles walked on 40 years ago…

One of many meditation “beehive” huts found around the Beatles ashram

Stretching out and tuning in to history in the main meeting hall

Entrance to the Beatles ashram

Anyways, I never thought I would say this, but I’m about to go join a singing and music circle on the roof of my dorm…. so I will end this post here.

All my love to everyone back home! xx

First week of YTT

My first week at Rishikesh Yog Peeth was….. Well, amazing. I feel much healthier than I have in a long time and I’m starting to really love India.
Days consist of lots of tea and easily digestible foods, a strict and consistent schedule, and minimal time staring at a screen. It sounds pretty uncomfortable, actually, when I put it like that. But I think the fact that it is all based around the goal of relaxation really takes the edge off and makes it a much more pleasurable experience. That’s how it’s been for me, at least. I think a lot of the people here have found it difficult to adjust to simplifying life so much and hard to accept this foreign philosophy of what a yogic lifestyle should be. It seems to be especially difficult when coming from a western society where a person’s freedom of choice is often valued above what is ultimately “better” for that person. There’s good and bad sides to both values, but I’ve tried to keep my mind as open as possible to fully experiencing this foreign way of life before accepting or rejecting it. But everyone is going to experience these things differently, and I think that adds a lot of beauty and color to the journey.
Rather than having to have coffee in the morning to wake up and a glass of wine I’m the evening to unwind, I find my body clock to be working much more regularly and effortlessly in my favor. Granted, this is a completely idealized environment with everything set up to make the yogi lifestyle as easy as possible, and I’m not sure I would be able to keep it up under my normal circumstances. But, it has shown me the difference that cutting out bad habits (for me mostly alcohol, overeating, and oversleeping) can make, and I really hope to take that back into my life at home.
Some unique experiences I’ve had this week: consultation with an Ayurvedic doctor, receiving an Ayurvedic massage, and attending an aarti ceremony on the bank of the Ganga (Ganges).

Parmarth Niketan Temple (where the aarti took place)

Alicia and I at the aarti ceremony

The Ayurvedic doctor experience was somewhat lacking for me… He told me that I am in horrible health for my age (I was unaware of this fact) but couldn’t pinpoint what was wrong, and ultimately have me the same advice that he gave to a girl he considered to be in great health. I’m considering seeking another consultation because I’ve heard of people having really good experiences, but at the moment I am unconvinced. The Ayurvedic massage was great, though. Two women worked on me at one time and it was a lot more strong rubbing of the muscles with warm oil rather than deep tissue massage. Afterwards they let you take a (hot!) shower to get the oil off of your body. The massage atmosphere was not nearly as nice as spas back home, but it was 500 rupees (around $8) per hour so I really have no room to complain! Also, I’m heading for another massage appointment in about an hour at in the nearby town of Laksmanjula so maybe I will have an even better experience.

Oh, and the search for the best chai in town continues. So far, my favorite has been served at The Office Cafe in Ram Jhula. The little cafe has a patio in the back that overlooks the Ganga and is a great place to read, study, and/or chat.

I injured my lower back yesterday in class, which was not fun. It’s hard, because you want to push yourself into these different asanas (poses) but there is such a fine line between pushing yourself just enough to gradually improve and pushing yourself to overexertion. This is one of the main differences between yoga and other forms of exercise: yoga is gradual and relaxation is mandatory in every position. If you are unable to breath comfortably, you are pushing yourself too far. I know from my experience playing soccer that in competitive sports, you are often not doing enough unless you are breathing uncomfortably and pushing yourself to the utmost limit, and often beyond. In one of our lectures the other day a teacher put it this way: the final pose can be looked at like a faraway destination that you are travelling to by car. In order to reach your destination, you have to obey the stoplights and signals to slow down if you want to reach your destination safely. If you don’t obey these warnings, you will get into an accident (injure yourself), and you may never reach the destination at all. Luckily, my good friend Niamh is a physical therapist and was able to assure me that it was only a soft tissue sprain that should heal in a day or two! I definitely will be paying more attention to little tweaks in my body while practicing from now on.

Anyways, for those who are wondering, the days are passing fast and I’m still having a great time! Hope all is well wherever you are. x

Monkey mom shielding her baby from the scary yoga people.

Katelyn, Niamh, and I. We bonded over hardship when we shared a taxi on the way to Rishikesh.

India: First Impressions

Oh, India. Where to begin.
I didn’t really understand why it was so difficult to get my visa to enter India. The appropriate documents for its pickup travelled through 5 sets of hands and two countries before they were finally delivered to the Indian Application Centre in London. The final pickup was made by my amazingly generous father on a side trip on his way to meet me in India, and was not without a few hiccups of its own. I didn’t have the visa in my hand until 2 hours before the plane for Delhi from Istanbul was taking off. Oh, and that flu I thought I was coming down with in my last post? It turned out to be my first encounter with food poisoning while traveling. So I also had that to deal with on the journey to Rishikesh. The struggle to get here was so, so real.
But, that being said, I now think I understand why said visa process is such a painful process. Simply, because pretty much every process once you get to India is similar in its disorganized, nonsensical, and often unnecessarily drawn-out nature. It’s just the way things seem to work here. And everyone living here seems to be pretty content with just going with the flow of it. But for a first-timer like me, the adjustment to never ending chaos has been challenging.
I arrived at the New Delhi airport with my dad at 4:30 AM on Sunday morning. We went through customs, grabbed a local SIM card (a much more strenuous process than in Europe, continuing the theme), and stepped out into the air. I have heard that the heat and smell can be very overwhelming when you exit the airport, but to me, it kind of just felt like exiting the airport in Houston in summertime. Hot and very, very humid. The smell was noticeable but not really overwhelming. So that was pretty anticlimactic.
We went to the very fancy Radisson Blu Hotel near the airport for a nap before I was to be picked up at 10 AM and brought to Rishikesh. I shared the taxi with two other girls who were also going to Rishikesh Yog Peeth for the 200 hr teacher training, and we really clicked right off the bat. Which was great, considering the taxi ride turned out to be quite the experience in itself. The 8 1/2 hour ride took us through a part of Delhi, a few small towns and cities, and then finally through Rishikesh on our way to the ashram where the yoga course takes place. I have never seen a population so dense and so continuous! We did not once travel along a road that did not have people walking alongside it, that is, we did not pass through any uninhabited land in an 8 hour drive. The driving conditions are horrendous: the “lanes” are completely ignored and the whole road is shared by cars, tuk-tuks, cows, tractors, and pretty much any other vehicle imaginable. The interaction between drivers is like a game of chicken… whoever flinches first yields to the oncoming car, and we came within inches of a head on collision so many times.

Cows crossing the road. They always have the right of way… Moreso than people!

A car (truck?) filled to the absolute brim with people. Sorry for the bad picture quality, this was taken through the front window of the car.

The very poor condition of the roads themselves is an afterthought compared with all of the other concerns we had as passengers. It was absolute insanity, and I can’t imagine that anyone could really “learn” to drive there by following any set rules. It seems to be second nature for the drivers, they are unphased and skilled at pushing the risk to the extreme when it comes to getting where they are going fast. My iPod died 2 hours into the journey and there was no chance of sleep on that ride, so I was forced to face the trip head on. But hey, I survived! And it was a very bonding experience for everyone in the ashram to talk about the suffering they endured on the way here. However, I will be taking the train back to Delhi. Once was more than enough.
I’ve been here at Rishikesh Yog Peeth for 3 days now and it has been an awesome experience. The ashram environment resembles the rest of India and is not very closed off from outside towns which is kind of nice. It is like a miniature town with its own system of alleys and local shops and houses not related to the school, and of course, its own population of cows, dogs, cats, and monkeys (they are literally everywhere in the streets). There are about 60 people in the same program as me, and we are divided among 3 dorm-style halls. Each student has their own room with a bathroom, which has been really great in easing the adjustment to life here.

The ashram locals.

They look friendly, but don’t be fooled…

Monkeys, cows, Ganges.

Our daily schedule as yoga students starts at 5:30 AM. We wake up, drink herbal tea, and then clean our sinuses with a Neti-pot. After that is our first yoga class of the day, and you can watch the sun rise through the windows. Then it’s breakfast, anatomy and philosophy class, self-practice, and lunch. We have 3 hours of free time after lunch and then meet again for another 2 hour yoga and meditation session. Then, it’s dinner and bedtime.
The food is all traditional vegetarian Indian cuisine, and it has been really great so far! They also offer services like massage (!!!) and consultations with an Ayurvedic doctor. The staff is really friendly and attentive, and the teachers are incredible.

Walking around the Ashram

The view from the rooftop yoga studio in the evening. Absolutely breathtaking!

I had trouble adjusting my first night and day as I was still reeling from my bout with food poisoning and was really aching for some good sleep and comfort. But I’ve settled in now for the most part and my health has gotten better, and I’m starting to see the potential for an amazing life-changing experience here.

Some light yoga reading and chai by the river.

Turkey 2

It is my last day in Turkey and I am sad to go. I feel like I have gained a lot of perspective during my time here simply because I was so alien to everything about it and had to really try to adjust to feel comfortable. I started the trip to Istanbul in sort of a culture-shock and was surprised by my own ability to adapt. The local people I was meeting seemed somewhat cold at first, but I felt a strong desire to be able to successfully interact with them and understand how the people in the community interacted with each other (this is the psychology need in me). After a while, what came across first as cold began to add to the genuineness of people’s behavior. I guess what I’m trying to say is: most of the people I’ve met (besides those in the service industry) don’t seem overly concerned with being polite. If you are respectful or give something to them, however, they are incredibly generous and kind. I appreciate this more than feigned politeness in hopes of avoiding hurt feelings, and a cup of tea given out of genuine generosity tastes much better than one given just as a custom.
I have only been here 10 days and I’m sure that naivety and lack of experience with Middle Eastern cultures influences my interpretation of the way I have been treated. But there is something raw and unapologetic about Istanbul that intrigues me and makes me want to stay and learn more!
As far as what I have been doing… My mom and I flew to the southern coastal town of Cirali for 4 nights and had an incredibly relaxing time resting on the beach and visiting local sights, including lots of ancient Grecian ruins!

Chimaera – eternal natural flame burning near Cirali. Named for a mythical fire breathing monster believed to have been slain here.

One (very) small section of the Olympos ruins near Cirali… simply amazing!

More ancient Grecian ruins.

Tequila sunrise on the Turkish coast

She left for home yesterday morning and I have been in Istanbul by myself since then! My flight to India was originally supposed to leave tonight, but more visa delays (the UK application center was closed for Gandhi’s birthday and my dad was unable to pick up my visa) has pushed my trip to tomorrow night. It is for the better, I guess, because this morning I came down with some sort of flu and have been bedridden all day. It’s really just been one challenge after another! I am excited to get to Rishikesh, India and be settled in one place for 5 weeks, and I miss doing yoga so much.
I would also like to state how incredibly grateful I am for everyone who has helped make this India visa nightmare come to a close (hopefully). I didn’t anticipate running into anything this difficult, and I would be a lot worse off right now without the people who have supported me 🙂