Sunday, June 24, 2012

Tempting Altitude Sickness

Hunder Valley


The Himalayas boasts the highest mountains in the world, but also the highest motorable roads in the world, and what better place than the Northern Indian state of Kashmir to explore these mountain passes.

First stop Pangong Lake. At an elevation of 4,350 m (14,270 ft) and lies in both India and Tibet. Its emerald blue color and backdrop of high elevation desert mountains brings visitors from all over the world. The lake is accessed by crossing Snow covered Changla Pass 5,360 m or 17,590 ft of elevation. The road between the Leh and Pangong Lake is mainly paved with a few dirt road shortcuts and segments.

Top of the highest motorable road in the world
Nubra Valley. This two day trip from Leh takes.  you over what India claims is the highest motorable road in the world Khardung La. Although its has been proved that Tibet has the highest road based on GPS information. Khardung La is at 5,359 m (17,582 ft) even though the sign says 5,682 m (18,640 feet). At the pass is the "Highest Cafeteria", where we enjoyed our highest Chai tea ever. It was snowing and very cold at the pass. The bathrooms are a mess and many of them are inaccessible due to large piles of snow in front of the doors.

After the pass we descended into Nubra Valley a high desert valley. In Hunder, a small village, we mounted Bactrian Camels to walk about 15 mins into a small dune dessert. It was entertaining but the walk was not too exciting. After the camel ride we headed to a small guest house in Hunder.

Disket Monastary

From the guest house we decided to explore the small village. We were not sure which way to go so we just followed a small creek heading toward the local monastery perched up on a mountain top. We ended up arriving at a bunch of gompas near the main road. From here we had an amazing view of the valley and the surrounding mountains.

We woke up early the next day to visit the Disket Monastery which boasts a 32 meter tall Buddha statue. Here we climbed the steps to the many small temples at the top of the mountain and visited the local lama elementary school. At the school we distributed coloring books, crayons and pencils.

We headed back to Leh over Khardung La once more back to Leh.

Working with Mother Teresa


My phone alarm rang at 5 AM in the morning Saturday. I hurriedly got dressed and headed to the Mother Teresa House, a 20 minute walk from my hotel on Sudder St. I sat down in the small chapel to listen to mass that the sisters of the house attend every day. After a quick breakfast of bread, banana and chai tea I headed with a group of girls to Shishu Bhavan House. This house only accepts female volunteers.

Shishu Bhavan is a location for neglected toddlers and disabled children. We started the day with a prayer and donned aprons. The room was filled with cribs and small beds. All the children were already awake, the ones that could walk and sit upright were singing prayers while the ones that lacked mobility were sprawled out onto a mat on the floor.

The group of girl volunteers, who were mainly new, and I sat down on the mat to hold and play with the children. Many of them could move without assistance, some did not react to the attention, most could not talk, and half could not even eat by themselves. Many of the children were not potty trained and wore cloth diapers, which we changed often throughout the day.

We placed the children in small chairs with restraints to feed them their breakfast. It was a struggle to get the children to open their mouths, and when they finally did, they often spit the food back out. Many cried and fought as we fed them, other just sat silently.

After breakfast we took the children out to play in the small playground outside the house. Some of the children excitedly played with the equipment, others you must hold upright as they sat on the swings, and many seemed oblivious to what was happening around them.

Mother Teresa's Grave
As I carried a young boy in my arms around the playground he seemed to take interest in certain activities. He would begin to cry when put in the swing by himself, but would smile as he swung on my lap. He liked to grasp the leaves and throw them and he loved to feel the rain on his face. He could not walk so I carried him to different activities. He must have been at least four years old.

After outside playtime we fed the kids and afternoon snack and water from a metal spoon. We sang songs and played with the children. We took a break to drink tea and eat crackers.

We then put the children to bed, changing their diapers if needed and covering them with talc powder to keep them dry in the hot humid Calcutta weather. I noticed a small girl in a bed near the window, she was not mobile and did not have the opportunity to go outside like the other children. She was wide awake and her eyes were shifting around. Her head was as large as a soccer ball but her body was so small. Her swollen head was supported by pillows and bandaged. I took her small hand as I sat by her bed. She squeezed my fingers as her eyes shifted around the room. She did not seem in pain but it was definitely painful to see her in her condition. I sat with her for a while just holding her hand.

The sisters asked us to leave for a lunch break. I was reluctant to leave the young girls side and let go of her small hand.

I joined a couple volunteers from Mexico at a small restaurant on Sudder Street before heading back to Shishu Bhavan.

We first changed diapers then sat with the children on the mat to play. Many of them could barely move their arms or legs and would just lay on the mat. We would help them move their arms and sit them up. A physical therapist who specialised in Cerebral Palsy came to help some of the children.

After play-time, we again struggled to feed the children. The young boy I was feeding did not like to open his mouth but with some patience and some coaxing I was able to feed him everything that was on the plate.

Again we played with the children. I realized how much the children wanted to be loved. They would grasp at me and as I held them in my lap they hugged me. I helped a little girl stand up, she enjoyed standing and when I lied her back on the mat to leave she began to cry. It was hard to to leave the children but I am sure to visit again.

Please visit http://www.motherteresa.org/ to learn more about the services offered at the centers in Calcutta and http://www.motherteresa.org/07_family/Volunteering/v_cal.html to see how to volunteer.

Friday, June 22, 2012

Gods in Cars and Giant Trees


Giant Banyan trees are the largest trees in the world

I am sorry that I have not blogged for a while. I have been without Internet for a long time, and I have been a bit lazy.


I landed in Calcutta yesterday in the early morning off a train from Varanasi. Howrah Station is a large busy train terminal. When you step out of the station a line of yellow 50's style taxis are waiting for passengers. I decided to change it up a bit, ignoring all the pushy taxi drivers, I crossed the street to the ferry terminal. I hopped on a ferry and crossed the Ganga river for just 4 INR (8 cents). From the ferry terminal I hired a taxi to Sudder St.

Carts with small Jagannatha
  
Sudder St is the tourist hub of Calcutta. Near the New Market its a great place to buy cheap jewelry, cloths and souvenirs, but beware of the many sales agents that will literally follow you around the market trying to help you find what you need, but really be taking you to their friends shops.

Belur Math
After freshening up I hopped on the ferry back to Howrah Station to take a local bus (number 54) to Belur Math. When I arrived the temple ground was closed and I had 3 hours to kill. I started walking down the village streets when I was approached by a young high school girl named Speeta and her friend Subham. They invited me to their home where we had lunch and her father read my palm. Supposedly I will have two kids, one boy and one girl, and I will be getting married in the next 3-4 years. We will see....

Flower Market
We then together headed to Belur Math. Belur Math is famous temple where the founder, Swami Vivekananda, respected all religions and promoted the unity of all faiths. The gardens around the main temple are immaculate, they even provide rubbish bins, unfortunately they do not allow photography.

From Belur Math we jumped on a ferry to another Hindu temple called Dakshineshwar Temple further down the Ganga river. We arrived in the middle of the Aarti Ceremony during the Ratha Yatr (car festival) were they celebrate the god Jagannatha. All the little kids where dragging around little carts (all different sizes) with small Jagannatha statues inside. In return for a rupee coin the kid would give you an offering from their small cart and the chance to pull the cart along the street for a couple of feet.

Mud sculptures
Today I took a motorcycle tour where we visited many famous Calcutta locations including a huge mountain made of trash, Victoria Memorial, Flower Market, mud sculpture makers, botanical gardens, old china town and Mother Teresa's House.

At three I was dropped back at Mother Teresa's House to sign up for volunteering. Tomorrow I wake up at 5am to go volunteer at the Children's Home called Shishu Bhavan. I am very excited to be helping out such an amazing organization even if it is just for one day.



Wednesday, June 13, 2012

Mountains are More Magnificent on a Motorcycle



Ledak, Kashmir is surrounded by the Himalayan Mountain Range. As our plane drew closer to the Leh Airport we could see the snow capped mountains extend past our eyes could see.

Sankar Gompa
Leh is a beautiful old town set into a dessert valley surrounded by Himalayan mountains. Its best know for its royal palace perched on the top of a small mountain in the middle of the city. Its narrow windy streets are crowded with markets, donkeys and many cars.

Trying out the magnetic field

To better explore the area my friends and I rented three motor bikes. Its very cost efficient to rent a bike. Its only 1100 INR ($20) a day for a two person road bike. In Leh we visited the Sankar Gompa, which has an amazing view of the city of Leh. A gompa is a Buddhist monuments usually white and geometrical in design. They range in size and usually dot the mountains near spiritual places or monasteries. It was evening and very cold on the top of the hill. To climb up into the gompa you must remove your shoes, the marble beneath your feet is cold with just socks.

Prayer wheels in Alchi
The next day we set off on a day trip from Leh to Alchi (70km). On the way we passed Magnetic Hill which is said to be a place that "defies all laws of gravity". The sign instructs the driver to put his vehicle in the box marked on the street. It is literally in the middle of the highway where cars are zooming by.

We hopped on the bike and stopped in the box to see what would happen ... nothing. We sat three on one motorcycle in the middle of a dangerous mountain road for nothing.


We drove on toward Alchi, passing though many small towns, dirt roads, wooden bridges and monasteries on rocky hills. It took three grueling hours on bumpy dirt roads to reach the small monastery town of Alchi.

Alchi is known for its many small temples and long lines of prayer wheels. We arrived just in time for a Buddhist festival. We took off and put on our shoes multiple times to enter the small dark temples. To enter you must not only remove your shoes, but also duck into a small passageway and wait to allow your eyes to adjust to the dark chamber. The walls were lined with Buddha paintings and in the center was a statue where one could make offerings and pray.


Close to the temples is a small river that is fed by the large glaciers perched up on the mountains. The river was a beautiful green-blue color.

After exploring the town we headed back to Leh, trying the magnetic fields once again... still nothing.

Exploring the Leh Royal Palace
Upon arrival to Leh we visited the Leh Royal Palace which is a large deterioration empty stone building perched up on the mountain top. It was built by King Sengge Namgyal in the 17th century. When the Ledakhi royals were un-throned they left the nine-story building abandoned. Currently its a maze of empty rooms, wooden ladders, and dusty floors. Its fun to explore all the rooms and climb the many rickety old ladders. Its like a maze and the views from the balconies of the surrounding Leh city are amazing.


I recommend eating at Il Forno rooftop restaurant. Its a bitty chilly so bring a coat but their curries are amazing.

Shops and markets are much more expensive than Delhi but everything is said to be "Hand Made".

View from the Leh Royal Palace

Saturday, June 2, 2012

How to Beat the Heat - New Delhi

Currently its 43C (109F) in Dehli. It feels like you are walking into a sauna when you step outside. Restaurants, malls, and families have their AC units on full blast. How do you enjoy India in this heat? Most say go North, but even in hot weather there are ways to enjoy Delhi, just don't forget the water.

Open auto-rickshaw are cheap ways of traveling but the
wind is hot on your face. Bring a scarf to cover your mouth.
1. Enjoy a Bollywood movie at the local theater. Before noon its as cheap as 200 INR ($4) and a small popcorn is only 70 INR ($1.50). Beats American theater prices. Remember that the movies are in Hindi and theaters rarely offer subtitles so read up on the story before you go.

2. Go to the mall. The mall has great AC. Its free to window-shop and there are often good food courts where you can enjoy a bunch of different Indian and international cuisines.


3. Go out at night. Its much cooler in the evenings (90F) but also much more crowded. Be aware that prices go up at night so if you are looking for good deals then you might want to face the heat in the open markets.

4. Join a friends for dinner or lunch at home.