Anne's Trip to India, Jan-Feb 2009

Here are three photo albums from India that were taken by our friend, Anne. She went to Nepal next to visit friends she made there last year and is now on a 9-day trek, north of Kathmandu in a region called Langtang.

Feb 9, 2009
India Feb-09
Yesterday I arrived in a town called Bharatpur, and today visited Keoladeo National Park, which is considered one of the world's premier birding sites. No, I'm not really a birder, but happy to be near the forest. I hired an old Sikh bicycle rickshaw guy to take me through the park and he pointed out and named the birds for me. The number of birds was impressive! Literally thousands and thousands of herons, ibises, egrets, storks, ducks geese, etc, and multiple varieties of each species. Also antelope, deer, monkeys, turtles, and even a python and a monitor lizard. India is getting better at each stop, or maybe it's just me. The people are kinder the farther I get from Delhi. The food has been good, but not spectacular. I stayed for 2 nights in a cute town called Bundi and will stay here another, then head towards Agra and the Taj. Have been meeting some interesting travelers. There are animals everywhere! Bundi was crawling with monkeys, and yesterday morning one came climbing down the tree in the courtyard of the guesthouse while I was eating breakfast. The other night they raided the kitchen, opened the fridge, and stole a big bunch of bananas. The streets are full of cows, goats, buffalo, and pigs, not to mention dogs. And it's not uncommon to see people driving a herd of camels as you're driving around, though they're not in the towns!

Feb 14
Jodhpur, Udaipur, Bundi
I've decided to take a safari in Corbett National Park, which is a tiger refuge. It's expensive, but I met some people who did one and loved it. I'll stay 2 nights in some tent built on a platform and do 2 1/2 days of safari.

Feb 17
Jaisalmer, India
Jaisalmer is a desert city in western India, not far from the Pakistan border. It's famous for its fort, which looks pretty amazing springing out of the flat desert. Because there is still a large population of people living inside the fort, it is in danger of collapsing from overuse. Lonely Planet advises tourists to choose a hotel outside the fort so as not to place any additional burden on the drainage systems.

This city is very different from other places where i've been, in India, in a good way. There are still people who hassle you a bit to buy their stuff, they still stare, but they don't follow you until you practically have to yell at them to leave you alone, as it was in Delhi. It's also interesting because it's in the desert and the buildings are very old and beautiful.

Yesterday I went on a camel safari for a half day. most people camp in the desert on these safaris for a night or 2, but i can camp in Oregon, right? We left at 2 pm with 2 young German girls and a young Swiss guy also and took a jeep about 60 k into the desert, stopping at a village on the way where one of the guides lived. He was a very amiable guy named Ramadan, and had about 8 kids who swarmed around us asking for "pen, rupee, chocolate" like all the kids here do (and as they often do in Nepal also). They enjoyed having their pictures taken, and I'm looking forward to seeing how they turned out. We ended up having to doctor a little 2-3 year old girl's forehead which had an enormous goose egg and gash where she had fallen earlier that morning. They had washed the blood off and plastered a piece of paper from a cigarette pack on it, and it had dried on. I had some baby wipes, and the girls had some antiseptic spray and bandaids, so we gently got the paper off and fixed her up as well as we could, shooing the swarming flies away as we worked. Then they tied a headband around it to hold it in place. They offered us tea, and the girls accepted, but the young guy and I declined--I am not taking any chances anymore after having spent about 4 days being sick when i first arrived here.

Then we continued on and stopped a bit further down the road where the camels were waiting for us. We each had our own camel, and we rode them about an hour and a half or two (with one stop in a village to buy camel food) until we came to some sand dunes, where they were going to camp. We climbed up the dunes to enjoy the sunset and returned to the camp. The same tour co. had another group there that was on a 3 day safari, so we joined with them for dinner--the camel drivers had even brought some beer along, and I totally enjoyed my warm Kingfisher beer with dal baht (rice with lentil stew) and a chappati. Then one of the guys threw some sweet potatoes into the fire to roast for dessert, the camel drivers sang, using the water jugs as drums with the belching camel noises in the background. The sky was full of stars and it was fun to talk and joke around with the group until we left to come back about 9. They had a jeep to take the swiss guy and me back but the girls stayed for one night. We saw deer in the desert on the way back, and after we got onto the highway we had to dodge donkeys and cattle but got back around 10. It was a highlight of the trip so far. Nice and peaceful in the desert--a welcome change.

This afternoon I'm taking a train to Jodphur for a day or two, where I'll be staying in a homestay.

Anne wrote to us not to go running off to India without talking to her first as she had mixed results on her trip.

Phra-Dhatu Chedi Luang - Grand Pagoda

This chedi or pagoda (religious shrine) is in a large wat, Wat Chedi Luang, in the old city. It is the tallest one in Thailand and was constructed in 1391 AD. The top of it is what we see from our guesthouse balcony. It lost the top thirty meters of its height in due to damage from a mammoth earthquake in the 17th century.

Beautiful Wat

Here are some recent photos Jim took of another impressive wat on the edge of the old city.

Hare Krisha Hare Rama

I mean no disrespect to these folks, but couldn't resist injecting some humor. I believe everyone is entitled to believe in whatever they want, as long it doesn't hurt others. I go to the local Hare Krishna Temple on Tuesday nights for a [free] chant and [free] meal. Here are a few photos I took at the temple.


"Dear family, these folks treat me really well. Have made a lot of new friends here. If I sign over everything I own, they promise to take care of me for the rest of my life. The boss guru is a nice guy. He wants to give me a new name, shave my head, give me a white robe, and send me to India. Will let you know what I decide to do. Jimmy"

Later. . .
Still negotiating with the guru. Don't have much hair left anyway, so shaving my head is no big deal. I'm ok with wearing a robe. However, I want the saffron one. He is offering white. Also, am asking guru to pay expenses for trip to India. Have never been there. Will go on a trial basis only. Guru is suggesting I collect money at the local airport to finance my trip. We have a few other things to iron out, before it's a done deal.

Our Day with Daeng

Feb 13, 2009
Jim wrotes about our day with Daeng and included three photo albums.


Part 1. The Feast

Daeng calls us Uncle and Auntie. She and her mother invited us to their home recently. Daeng's mother prepared a delicious Thai meal. We had rice, stir-fried vegetables, and tom ka gai soup, which is tom yum (but not as HOT!) with coconut milk added to the broth. She included prawns in the soup. Great idea. Tom yum is characterized by its distinct hot and sour flavors, with fragrant herbs generously used. The basic broth is made of stock and fresh ingredients such as lemon grass, kaffir lime leaves, galangal, shallots, lime juice, fish sauce, tamarind, and crushed chili peppers. It was an incredible feast!


Part 2. Darapirom Palace Museum

After lunch, Daeng invited us to go with her to visit the palace of Chiang Mai Royal Princess Dararasmee in Mae Rim in the next town. She took us in her car and served as tour guide. It was well worth seeing. Unfortunately, we could only take photos outside. "This Lanna-style mansion was the last home of Jao Dararasamee, daughter of a late-19th-century ruler of Chiang Mai and the favorite wife of King Chulalongkorn. The low-eaved and galleried building has been restored and furnished with many of the princess's antiques, including clothes she designed herself. It's a living museum of 19th-century Lanna culture and design, well worth the 8 mi journey from Chiang Mai."

Part 3. Royal Wat, Mae Rim

After touring the palace, Daeng showed us the royal wat nearby. These are always much more elaborate than a "regular" wat, probably because they are financed at least in part by the Royal Family. The temple had features and statues I had not seen.

The Moat

Here are some photos that Jim took while cycling around the moat yesterday.

Liam's Suan Dok Mai

Plus Jim's Japanese Film Debut

Jim and I took a bike ride several miles outside of town last week and discovered SuanDokMai, a lovely, quiet, quite expensive GuestHouse, run by a Belgian family serving genuine Belgian food - about which, other than waffles, we are still clueless. We were invited to come out anytime to swim or just hang out for the day with no obligation to have a meal there. The GH has only been open a few months with few guests yet - it's a bit isolated and I think the family is looking for some activity out there.

I soon emailed them that a friend (Trudi) and I wanted to come out on the next Sunday for a swim and lunch and they said, "Great - but how about coming out Saturday also to be in a promo (not porno) film that is being made that day?" We said sure, so Jim and I biked out there again and ate some complimentary Belgian waffles for the benefit of the film crew. This could be our big film comeback (after the disastrous Alexander) - especially since Jim was also asked to be an extra in a new Japanese movie, The Pool, in which a few scenes were being shot the next day at the Chiang Mai airport. So for five hours of work, a free lunch, all the bottled water he could drink plus 1000 Baht (about $30), Jim has made his debut in Japanese film.

The next day, Trudi and I went back to the GH and spent the day swimming, reading, talking, having lunch and just generally enjoying the peace and quiet of the birds in the countryside.

And this, just in, is the promotional video at SuanDokMai. Several shots of Jim and me are near the end.

Coffee? Coconut Shake?

Here's just a small sample of what I'm up against each morning when I leave our GH and head out for the day. The photos here are all on just one small block and they all serve great coffee, thai food, Thai beer, and/or fruit shakes, etc.


Some of the best places to eat a meal are the food cart vendors on the street or the small mom-and-pop noodle shops where we usually go, but for capuccino? pineapple shakes? beer? These places are great! It is early - 9ish - so most of these places don't have many customers yet.


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ร้านาหาร พียวโอชา

The Kindness of Strangers

Jim has been going to a favorite restaurant of his for years in Chiang Mai that used to be outside the old city near Chiang Mai University. Last year they moved to a new place that is a little further away and very difficult to find.

Rahn Ahaan Pure Ochaa (see title) used to be located near Chiang Mai University, about 2 miles away and easy to find. Last year they moved to a new location that is a little further away and very difficult to find. We decided to bike out to see if we could locate them for the first time this year. After several wrong turns and going the wrong way down one-way highway (it seemed like the only choice at the time) - we finally found them and had a great meal. I got to practice my Thai and Jim was welcomed like an old friend. We decided that it was worth it to bike out some evening and have dinner there. They said their hours were 9 to 9. Perfect.

So a few nights ago, we had a beer at home and then hopped on our bikes a little after 7 pm, setting out to find them but coming from a different direction. Having been there just a few days before, we expected it would be a piece o' cake to locate their place, but it proved way more difficult to find them in the dark and coming via a new "shortcut."

We finally stumbled on to them around 8 and they were closed! It was Magha Puja Day -a big Bhuddist holiday, commemorating the time that Bhudda attained Enlightenment. The family was sitting in their outdoor restaurant having a Korean BBQ. They were very apologetic, kawtotkaraobpitkuhnglapmaaprungni (so-sorry-we-are-closed-you-can-come-back-tomorrow), but we were so thirsty (hyewNAHM) after our long bike ride up and down sidestreets in vain that Jim asked politely if we could we just sit for a minute and get a beer. Well, that was fine with them. We sat down with our liter of beer, and they brought us a bowl of BBQ'd pork with hot sauce and then chips and then kept bringing us more meat and so we bought another beer and they brought us a plate of cashews and we finally realized that as long as we finished the snacks they were giving us, they would continue to replenish them. So we forced ourselves to leave a little food in the dishes they'd served us and bid adieu.

We haven't been back but plan to this week.

Chiang Mai Flower Festival 2009

Here are Jim's photos this year of Chiang Mai's Annual Flower Festival.

Wat Umong - The Temple of Tunnels in the Forest

One day in Janurary when Anne was here (from Oregon) she and I biked outside of the city to a wat in the forest Wat Umong, which is built into the foothills of Suthep mountain and is heavily forested. One unique feature of the temple is the network of tunnels which give the wat its name - umong is the Thai word for "tunnel."

The temple and its tunnels were built in the late 1300s. The temples were built for a highly regarded monk who was nonetheless a little crazy. The somewhat maze-like tunnels kept the mad monk from wandering off.

The monastery was later abandoned and wasn't used again until the 1940s. The brick walls of the mound are covered with moss and small plants. Other stone works are covered in moss and vines.

Just beyond the far edge of the mound is a rather ghastly, very emaciated seated Buddha image. This style of Buddha image was in style for a short time hundreds of years ago, but today there are very few examples of it still in existence.

There's a path near the main tunnel entrance is a curious collection of Buddha heads and other relics from various temples. This odd collection started when one of the temple's supporters rescued some broken images from an abandoned temple in a nearby province and bought them here. Now, apparently, when people run across such relics or have a broken Buddha they want to replace, they bring them here.

Flowers in Chiang Mai

The shots above I took at the Celadon Tea House

Follow the link below to see photos Jim took today.
He writes:
On one of my bike routes, I pass behind a large medical complex. There are flower beds everywhere. With the annual Chiang Mai Flower Festival coming up this weekend, decided to stop and take some shots and thought I would share with friends and family, especially those of you in New England. Hang in there. Spring is on the way.