India - We’re Here
January 20, 2009
Day 4 in India and one word says it all - Overwhelming!
I’ll do my best in the near future to explain more about what that word means to us, but Internet access has been scarce and I want to post a brief update for now. Suffice it to say that India is unlike any other place we’ve been.
During our first walk down a street in Delhi all of the kids were truly scared. (It was a lot for Kelli and me too.) The sights, sounds, smells, people, cars, animals, bikes, trucks, smoke, etc. were just overpowering. They grasped our hands tightly and were visibly shaken by the experience. Thankfully, we have all found our footing a bit, but it there is still too much to process as we drive in our little “bubble” of a tourist car through the streets of Northern India.
Everyone does love the food here, even more than in Thailand. That came as a bit of surprise, although we’ve shared so much Indian food with Prasad, Susan and Anna over the years. Well, maybe Eliot doesn’t love it, but he hasn’t loved much food anywhere in Asia. Everyone is healthy outside of Kelli’s lungs that just don’t do well with the air in Asia and my first bout of food borne illness of the trip last night.
For now here are some pictures. First some select pictures of the streets and people of India and second some of us at tourist sites along the way.
Outside our hotel.
Typical street scene in Delhi.
Everyone rides bikes!
The site of our first walk.
One of many, many sheep in the streets.
An elephant on the streets of Delhi loading up food for himself.
Workers with a bike "wheelbarrow"
The first Animal Ambulance we've ever seen.
In case there was any doubt, we are Tourists!
Firewood.
Family on a motorbike.
Loaded with paper boxes.
More street scenes.
Playing cricket in the early AM.
A full rickshaw going to school.
Yes, a camel cart!
Taking grass to a brick factory.
Fruits and vegetables.
Private taxi.
India Accommodations - Week 1
January 15, 2009
We spent three weeks in India and spent no more than 2 nights in one place, so I’m going to summarize our accommodations by week. Along with hiring a driver/car this was the first time in our travels that we ceded control over our hostel/hotel accommodations. We felt a bit uneasy about it and the first few nights in India didn’t give us much comfort.
Week 1 of course started in New Delhi and, as luck would have it after a tiring flight, in one of our least favorite hotels. Frankly it was a bit creepy, a bit reminiscent of the hostel in Commodoro Rivadavia in Argentina which was not a highlight.
The second hotel was in Agra, which was a bit of a step up. It did however have a number of blackouts during our stay which we learned was not unusual. In the lobby on our way out a number of people had Eliot pose with them for pictures, something that would become a daily occurrence. Two of them are included in the pictures below.
Our third stop was a small town named Bharatpur, near a beautiful bird sanctuary. Nothing to write home about here either.
Ankur Resort near Ranthambore National Park was a marginal step up and didn’t do much to quell our wishes for something just a bit better.
We arrived next at Suryaa Villas in Jaipur and finally found a small sanctuary of quiet, calm, clean and rest. We spent two nights there, met a fascinating older couple from Israel among others, and for the first time in India felt a bit relaxed. It may have been a combination of a nicer place our our adjusting to India.
Now, we haven’t been staying in anything luxurious during our travels, instead sticking mostly to backpacker hostels and guesthouses. Our experience so far in India was different staying in lower end budget hotels. We started to miss some of the more personal and comfortable hostels of South America.
In summary, WGGSH (Would GG Stay Here) - a no for each of these, WWSHA (Would We Stay Here Again) - a no for all except Suryaa Villas.
Our first hotel in India - Le Heritage in New Delhi.
Not our favorite during our visit.
Hotel Royal Residency in Agra.
Lobby of Agra hotel, site of a number of blackouts one morning.
Eliot and bellman.
Eliot and guest.
Hotel Pratap Palace in Bharatpur.
Garden in Bharatpur hotel.
Hotel Ankur Resort near Ranthambore National Park.
Dining room in Ankur Resort.
Suryaa Villa in Jaipur. Our favorite place so far.
A great view of Jaipur in the morning from the hotel roof.
Lovely courtyard in Jaipur hotel.
Kelli from the roof.
One of our two rooms.
The biggest bathroom in India?!
Bicycles and Headed to India
January 14, 2009
First, India. Today is a day we’ve been looking forward to for quite some time. At 6:05 PM local time we leave Bangkok for Delhi, India. Everyone is really excited and daunted at the same time. So many travelers speak with such love for their visit to India with one breath and then the assault the country makes on all of their senses in the next one. Our stay will be only 21 days, hardly enough to do justice, but hopefully enough to get to know at least one part of the country. We decided to concentrate our travels in Rajasthan. Maybe, just maybe we will be fortunate enough to return some day and explore others.
Prasad, my friend Abhi from RTI and Leslie/Ken from Durham Friends Meeting have all been really helpful in getting us all setup. Thanks so much! In the end we hired a driver to help us navigate the country, which will mark the first time during our travels that we aren’t completely in control and in charge of our day to day transportation needs. We also hope to reunite with the Masske family (with 4 kids! traveling around the world) from Canada who we serendipitously met in a restaurant in Arequipa, Peru. We’ve kept up with each other through our respective blogs and e-mails. They arrived in India on the 12th and it would be great fun to see them again. Here is our basic itinerary.
15-Jan Delhi
16-Jan Delhi
17-Jan Agra
18-Jan Agra
19-Jan Ranthambhore National Park
20-Jan Ranthambhore National Park
21-Jan Jaipur
22-Jan Jaipur
23-Jan Pushkar
24-Jan Udaipur
25-Jan Udaipur
26-Jan Ranakpur
27-Jan Jodhpur
28-Jan Jodhpur
29-Jan Khuri Village
30-Jan Jaisalmer
31-Jan Bikaner
1-Feb Bikaner
2-Feb Mandawa
3-Feb Delhi
Now, on to bicycles. I really miss my bikes as do the kids. We’ve ridden a few times (Japan and Laos), but not nearly enough. As a weak replacement for riding we have been fascinated to observe the common and creative use of bicycles. From hard core cyclists on adventures beyond our wildest dreams (think 10,000 km from Turkey to Vietnam through Iran, Afghanistan and Pakistan) to everyday people using them for transport (grandmothers, parents with babies, hauling wood, etc.) Here are a few of my favorite pictures along the way.
Riding the Pan-American Hwy in Ecuador.
"Trike" in Peru.
Long distance cycler in Cusco, Peru.
Kids riding with Moritz in Buenos Aires.
Elderly woman in Buenos Aires.
Baby traveling in style in Tokyo.
School kids in Cambodia.
Children in Cambodia.
Traffic in Cambodia.
More school kids in Cambodia.
Hauling wood in Cambodia.
Little boy on a big bike in Cambodia.
A German finishing his trip from Turkey to SE Asia. Wow!
"Green Bikes" in Bangkok, Thailand.
Little boy in Kyoto, Japan.
Fisherman in Kyoto, Japan.
Elliebum - Chiang Mai, Thailand
January 11, 2009
This was where we stayed after leaving the amazing Secret Garden which was located fairly far out of town. We wanted to spend a few nights in Chiang Mai itself so that we could more easily wander the night market, visit some other Temples and just be closer to the action. I found this again with Trip Advisor and the reviews were all spot on. It was a very small guesthouse with only two rooms and a recently opened sister guesthouse with eight rooms about 500 yards down the street. Gade the young owner was gracious, extremely helpful and very hardworking. She also cooked the best crispy bacon on our trip so far as judged by the kids. OK, I agreed with them. Why does most of the world prefer soggy, chewy bacon anyways?!
Of course the other fun thing about this place was the play on words in the name. Elliebum is short for elephant buttocks and the logo and other similar decorations are scattered about. We thought not of wild animals but our niece Ellie, which provided the kids more than a few good chuckles and many good thoughts about her. Everyone misses her a lot!
WGGSH - Yes
WWSHA - Yes, but it would be hard to stay here over The Secret Garden
Flight of the Gibbon
January 11, 2009
The 45 minute mini bus ride and the non-English speaking welcome committee/driver did not make the Flight of the Gibbon seem very good at first. When we got dropped off at the trail head for what was supposed to be an hour and a half hike without a guide, we thought, “Way to welcome us!” Finally, we went to the little hut where they suited us up for our zip lining adventure.
Our first platform was on a very steep hill so we could walk on to it, but zip off the other side. The zip lining was incredible! There were 13 zip lines, 2 walking wooden bridges, and 3 ropes where you get lowered straight down. I found the bridges a little boring because all you do is walk across, nothing exciting. The ropes were fun, but all that you do is get lowered down and it took a long time to get all 8 people down. My favorite part was the actual zipping. I loved going backward upside down. The guide would help you by holding your harness while you “sit down”, then they let go. You grab your harness and pull yourself upside down. Then you can look at the people at the other platform while you are zipping.
All in all, the experience was incredible, and I would definitely do it again.
The Secret Garden, Chiang Mai, Thailand
January 9, 2009
This place ranks up there as one of the 2 or 3 most enjoyable stays during our 5 months so far. It is located fairly far outside of Chiang Mai city and it truly is a secret garden hidden down a few side streets past the small town of Bo Sang (famous for making decorative umbrellas). Peter and Pai have lived there for 25 years and only in the last year opened up their home and former artist studios (they made marionettes shipped the world over along with sculptures and other art forms.) The grounds are really lovely, the rooms spacious and comfortable and the service that they provide is really remarkable. They truly give their guests everything they have to make sure their stay is beyond enjoyable. While it looks expensive it is quite reasonable. If you every visit Chiang Mai, you need to stay here.
We arrived on a Sunday after a grueling 11 hour local bus ride from Chum Phae to Chiang Mai. No bathroom (a bit reminiscent of Ecuador) and stops for only a few minutes every 2 hours or so. We all rushed off the bus, pushing by the crowd of standing room only passengers to use the facilities as needed. I usually stayed behind to make sure that the bus didn’t leave without us, which it almost did on Kelli one time were it not for my shouting from the back of the bus to “STOP”. Anyway, we arrived at the Secret Garden and immediately sank down in our chairs taking in the peace and tranquility. It was if we were suddenly transported to another planet.
WGGSH - Most Definitely
WWSHA - Absolutely (This and Peuma Hue in Argentina are the only two places for which we posted our own Trip Advisor review.)
Orchids are everywhere in Thailand.
Heading to the dining sala; lanterns are lit at night.
Small garden pond with frogs and fish.
The path leading to some rooms and towards the entry.
The sala at night. We met some great folks here over great food.
Kelli and our new friend Helen, an American living in Rome.
The kitchen where great Thai food is created.
Our kids with Giada and Hunter. We hope to visit them in Rome.
Out on the very small craft in the very small pond.
The kids loved the billiard table. Jack is pretty good!
Ainsley reading in the swing chair near the billiard table.
The swimming pool at Secret Grarden.
Our villa, named Tamarind.
The bedroom inside Tamarind.
The living room inside Tamarind.
The kitchen area.
The outside sitting area.
Cows (by Jack) & Christmas 2008 (by Eliot)
January 6, 2009
Cows in Thailand
“Oom,” yelled Jack Gargan as the cows pass by. “She’s my favorite. She comes when I call her.” “Oom,” he yelled again.” Finally Oom, a beautiful cow, changed direction from the stream of cows and headed towards Jack. “Oom,” he yelled again and she followed the sound of her name. Oom came to the painted steel fence as all the other cows passed by to the feeding area.
Oom had mostly a gray color, but a beautiful orange color between the horns and some on the hind legs. No question also, she had 2 foot long ears.
Now the second time I saw the cows go past Jack said ,”Oh, here comes Oom.” Oom stopped and Jack said “You come to get your picture taken?” As Oom walked on, Jack said, “Where’s Namphu? Oh, here she comes. Namphu, I see you,” as a younger cow approached, the granddaughter of Boya Boon, a famous cow in Thailand. She was a younger cow than Oom, without horns, but she only had 1 1/2 foot ears and was a beautiful white color.
We (Mom, Eliot and I) were sitting on the bed lounging, when Ainsley ran in the door saying, “They have a new cow!” “No way,” said mom.
A little later we were walking out to see New, the new calf. We had to walk all the way across the rice fields with the remains of plants, almost like hay. When we reached the calf it was less than one hour old. The calf was sitting with shorter ears than prized cows (Nampu), but a white body (that was wet). A little later the calf finally stood and went on a mission to find the udder. Two things I thought were cool, the afterbirth and the umbilical cord. The calf was a little bit taller than most calfs so she took a very long time to find the udder, so I did not see the first drink. 
Thailand has cows for pets. How would you feel? Moo!
Jack
Christmas 2008
Koh Phagnan, Thailand
It is Christmas Eve and my mom said to me, “Don’t get mad if you do not get any presents that you want because you are only going to get small presents.” So, we had just a regular, relaxing day there. We brushed our teeth as usual, and got ready for bed. So, the next morning, I woke up, nobody was awake and it was dark in the room. It felt like I waited for an hour before somebody woke up, and that was Jack. We had to wait another hour until another person woke up, and we just waited until a parent woke up. Then we all got out of bed and we opened our presents. A surprising thing is that my brother and I have always been wishing for a Nintendo DS and Santa put all of the presents at the end of our beds and my brother and I each found a Nintendo DS!
P.S. My sister hasn’t wished for any electronic, but at the end of her bed, she found laying there an ipod touch!
Eliot
Jack Gargan and Oom.
Jack feeding Oom.
New and her mommy.
New looking for the udder.
Christmas presents - note the stockings hung by the vanity with care.
Rural Thailand, Christmas and New Year (in Lao)
January 5, 2009
Happy New Year everyone! Albeit six days into it. We celebrated New Year’s Eve in Vientiane, Lao, and enjoyed that city for a few days. It was actually quite peaceful and relaxed, especially when compared to Phnom Penh and some of our other travels in South East Asia.
We have a lot of recent stories to share about our travels and many pictures. We most recently spent 3 days in Rural Thailand with the father of a work colleague of mine and are now in Chiang Mai in the Northwestern part of Thailand. Let’s start with the best first, our visit with Jack, Pan, Som-o and friends.
When my work colleague Becky heard about our trip she immediately said that her father lived in Thailand and that we should consider visiting him there. So, from early 2008 on we received weekly “Thai Reports” from Jack about their rice farm, his wife Pan, her daughter Som-o, the animals and the many wonders and challenges of life in rural Thailand. As we were captivated by his updates and really wanted to experience new cultures in a non-touristy way during our travels, a visit with them was high on our list of must-dos.
Jack and I stayed in pretty regular communication about our travels and he was an invaluable resource about what was really going on in the country when the protesters took over the two airports in Bangkok. He remained flexible to our ever changing travel plans and finally on New Year’s Day we arrived, all five of us who were most certainly quite a spectacle, in tiny Ban Wong Phoem, Thailand. (A town of just one or two thousand people.) We took the Lao-Thai cooperative bus from Vientiane across the Friendship Bridge over the Mekong River to Udon Thani, Thailand. The bus ride was only three hours or so, complete with stops at both sides of the river and came with the extra bonus of some friends along for the ride. Cockroaches in the seats! Thankfully, time in the jungles of South America and even some tasting of bugs helped us not be alarmed by their companionship. We then called Jack from the bus station to let him know about our timing and hopped on the next bus towards Chum Phae. Two hours or so later we arrived at the “Blue Market” in Ban Wong Phoem and Jack quickly spotted us in the crowd of locals.
The rest of our days with them were spent at a traditional Thai barbecue at a local restaurant, learning about rice farming, the kids playing with Som-o and Palm, seeing a calf just minutes after being born, learning about “High Society” cows in Thailand, walking through the rice paddies, eating a traditional lunch with Farmer Laap and his family (he farms all of the fields for Jack and Pan), visiting the nearby Buddhist sacred grounds, hearing about Jack’s incredible life of third party politics and life during the Great Depression and just relaxing in the countryside.
Jack and Pan were such gracious and welcoming hosts. Pan was so accommodating with all of her cooking, recognizing that the kids are experiencing a bit of Asian food fatigue. Grilled cheese, precious chicken noodle soup from the grocery store 2 hours away and eggs for breakfast. They even woke up with us at 3AM to take us the one hour to the bus station in Chum Phae.
Our stay with Jack, Pan, Som-o and friends really was everything we could have asked for. One important goal of our trip has been to step off the tourist track and experience different cultures through interaction with local people. We were really able to do that in rural Thailand and we will hold very fond memories and great lessons from our short three day stay. Thank you!
And Jack, yes you definitely get “YES” for both WGGSH (Would GG stay here?) and WWSHA (Would we stay here again?)
Jack and Pan Gargan's house.
Beautiful landscaping.
Farmer Laap's house.
Cows headed to pasture.
Cow's grazing.
What long ears!
Jack Gargan's favorite cow - Oom. He calls Oom from across the field, and she comes right to him!
E & J feeding Oom.
More fun feeding Oom.
Shade in the rice paddy.
Learning about growing rice.
Rubix cubing in the paddy.
Toto and cow.
Duke and Toto playing.
Jack and Toto.
Jack and Palm playing swords.
Raised swords!
Sparring.
Just born calf named new, for the new year.
Calf and momma.
Barbecue upon arrival at a restaurant in Ban Wong Phoem.
Kids are ready to eat.
Putting down the hot coals. Notice the bracelet - the king is revered all over Thailand.
Ready to cook the pork.
Pork and soup.
Serving up some noodles.
Everyone digging in.
Headed out into the rice paddies.
Jack teaching us about growing rice.
Duke being Duke.
Duke running around.
Duke swimming.
Ainsley and Duke.
The hay barn.
The "High So" Barn. (Concrete floor)
The "Low So" Barn. (Dirt floor)
Kids going by Farmer Laap's.
Cows in the pasture.
Ridge line in the distance.
Farmer Laap helping hour-old New to her feet for the first time.
Farmer Laap waits patiently for New to take her first drink.
Sunset on PJ Ranch.
1000 year old sacred buddhist ground on the PJ Ranch.
Jack walking around the PJ Ranch with his trusty walking stick.
John, Jack and Jack on a stroll.
Small shrines on the road to the PJ Ranch.
A large herd of "pets" - these cows eat and are loved, and that's all.
Jack climbing the huge tamarind tree next to Farmer Laap's house.
Farmer Laap's fish, caught in the river, ready to eat.
Now, Farmer Laap's wife, cooking some lunch.
Eating lunch at Farmer Laap's house.
Jack and Ainsley getting ready to fish with Farmer Laap.
Farmer Laap's House.
Walking out to the fish pond in the rice field.
Farmer Laap fishing.
Pulling the net in.
Throwing the net (the same kind of net we used in the Ecuadorian jungle with Luis!)
Jack and Palm - they did not need words to communicate the language of play.
Palm in the tamarind tree.
Mostly to fix our Thai visa issue we headed to Vientiane, Lao PDR (Laos is the more common pronunciation in the US, but here it is Lao) for New Years, although it was a destination we wanted to visit anyways. Outside of Hong Kong (and maybe Jean-Christian’s house) this is the only socialist country we have visited. We had a really enjoyable visit. Funny what little things mean to us at this point in our travels. Vientiane, one of the smallest capital cities in the world, had a number of them - good French bread and bagels, navigable, quiet, ordered streets, inexpensive and good french food, and one of the most lovely temples we have visited thus far (and believe me, we have seen many temples). Yet, a relaxed Lao garners only a ranking of 156 out of 167 from Reporters Without Borders’ Worlwide Press Freedom Index, 163 out of 179 in Transparency International’s Corruption Perceptions Index and 130 out of 177 in the UN Development Programme’s Human Development Index. We loved our short stay, and will now always be able to say we spent a new year in Lao.
New Year spirited hotel in Vientiane.
The main stage.
More New Years lights.
Carrying to the market.
Renting bikes at the bike/wedding dress store.
Where we purchased a small gift for J-C.
The Vientiane "Arc de Triomphe," or Patuxai.
The southern view from the top of Patuxai.
Jack and Eliot inside Patuxia the arc in Vientiane.
Ainsley inside the arc.
Thankfully Eliot likes to climb stairs - there were a lot!
The view north from the top of the Arc, Vientiane.
Eliot, as we say, being Eliot, Vientiane.
Eliot and Kelli getting ready for a ride.
Jack and Ainsley happy to be biking again.
The crew in front of Pha That Luang, one of Lao's most important sites.
The entrance to Pha That Luang in Vientiane.
Eliot after praying before the Buddha at Pha That Luang.
The striking gold pagoda at Pha That Luang temple.
Part of the Pha That Luang complex.
Finally, here are some last photos of our Christmas at the beach in Thailand. We made a small Christmas display on the vanity in our bungalow, complete with garland and decorations made from seashells, coconuts and coral. The kids all went to bed early in hopes of bringing Christmas morning all the sooner. They were not disappointed when Santa brought DSes for the boys and an ipod touch for Ainsley — lightweight gifts sure to please and easily packed in a back pack. On Christmas night the staff prepared a very festive Christmas meal complete with a whole grilled king mackerel and slow cooked Thai curry, not quite standing roast with yorkshire pudding, but delicious none the less.
At our resort we met yet another wonderful family from Germany, Marcus, Peggy and their little boy Moritz. We very much enjoyed sharing a few meals and some laughs with them, and learning about their life in Poland, where Marcus, a policeman, works on EU border control issues as part of a EU-wide team. On our last night together with Marcus, Peggy and Mortiz, we lit and set aloft lovely, small hot air lanterns that glowed and floated high above the sea as we made our wishes for the new year. A wonderful ending to our stay.
Eliot and his friend Diu.
Giving Diu an Xmas present.
Our Xmas display, note the seashell and coconut shell angel on top.
A coconut, seashell and coral reindeer that Ainsley and Kelli made.
Special Christmas dinner at Haad Tian.
King Mackerel - it was delicious.
Ainsley and Moritz, they really took to each other.
More Ainsley and Moritz.
Kelli being radiant.
Ainsley and Moritz donning sarongs the Thai way.
The peaceful beach complete with swing that the children loved.
Kelli and her much loved Kindle; thanks Minnie.
Jack and his gift from Santa, a DS, ugh! Eliot has one too.
The infamous ferry pulling into Koh Tao.
"Probably" the best hospital?!
Ready for the 2nd ferry ride (note the spots on Jack's shirt from the ferry ride the day before - yuck).
Kelli, mentally preparing (and taking lots of rescue remedy!).
Koh Tao harbor.
The ferry at our destination on the mainland, Chumphom. Hooray!
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