So it took me two days to recover from my altitude sickness. I felt the worst I have felt in about six years... it felt like I had a bad case of the flu while riding a really radical carnival ride for about a day and half. I had to leave Vid (my sweet Buddhist Slovenian friend) to his own devices in the Markha Valley and opt for join my German friend, Mierko, on what the locals call the "baby" trek. Likir to Nurla.. however, this was quite a long trek and we didn't have pack animals and although the highest pass was around 4K meters, it was pretty hard in the midday heat.. hottness.... It took us two days and it was lovely and I can't wait to share pictures. It is starting to turn to Autumn here, but it is still super hot during the day.
Now I am back in Ley for a bit. I am actually thinking to maybe leave for Manali/ Vashist tonight... I just feel like getting a move on... time to see something new and I want enough time to do some trekking in Dharamsala and maybe see the Spiti Valley too.
I have 12 days left. Today in the midday sun I missed Alaska. Did I mention that it is really really hot here? I need a swimming hole.
The people that I have met in Ley have been interesting. This is a hippie/ tourist/ trekker town and the different nationalities tend to stay in different areas of town. I found a wonderful guest house in Chanspa, away from the hustle and bustle of people an the hundreds of Kashmiri shop owners that try to get you to buy pashminas.... The owners of the guest house that I have been staying at are darling and their garden and view are both amazing. I was grateful for that the two days that I could not move from the sickness...
Being out of Ley for the past few days has been a great feeling. Being in the small Ladakhi towns is quite nice the people in the villages that we have stayed in and passed through are so welcoming. I slept under the stars last night and hummed myself to sleep under the most starts I have seen since the Blue Range in Arizona.
My trek partner Mierko and I have had some interesting conversations. He is 26 and has been thinking about his future and his life in Germany... what he really wants and needs to be happy... we have had some interesting conversations indeed. It has been nice to trek with someone, as opposed to all by my lonesome...
Maybe tonight I say goodbye to Ley.. maybe tomorrow, but soon for sure.... onward I go.
Friday, August 28, 2009
Monday, August 24, 2009
Busted...
Tried to leave for my hike today in Markha Valley and got shut down by a mild case of altitude sickness.. I feel awful!!! off to bed with me.. more pics maybe tomorrow when I am resting. :)
Sunday, August 23, 2009
what you have been waiting for..
More to come!! I have to run to grab breakfast then head to the Markha Valley for a 5 day trek... oh, and bad news.. the shutter on my good camera broke :( hopefully it will somehow fix itself... you never know....
Saturday, August 22, 2009
The kind of Beautiful that takes your Breath away and brings a Tear to your eyes...
I arrived in Ley, Ladakh!! yesterday... coincidentally, so did the Dalai Lama... it is good to be in good company. I saw him speak with a couple thousand exiled Tibetans this morning in a field outside town. Truely, truely... this trip has been one pinch of sweet luck after another... The drive from Srinigar/ Sonamarg was what inspired the title to this post. I have had some of the most beautiful landscapes in the world burned into my retinas by the intense rays at 12,000 ft bouncing off of the areas in of the mountainsides that were not covered in drifting cloud shadows. I will post pics just as soon as I can. promise.
On the way to Ley I stopped in Sonamarg, Kashmir... where I was promptly harassed by a man at the dirtiest guest house I had ever been in... I scoffed at his 1000 Rps price ($20) and turned around when he followed with an offer for a 'free' room... I laughed out loud at this one, as I thought he was making a joke... hah ah... he then grabbed my boob and tried to shove his dirty Kashmiri tongue on my face to lick my cheek or something... I am not making this up...
I ended up finding a great place to stay down the road where I was only slightly harassed (we'll call it pampered) with a trip to the Thalegewas Glacier on horseback by the guesthouse manager, then given countless bottles of orange soda and mango juice in an effort for the young manager and his helper to try to catch a glimpse of my in my night clothes... no harm no foul, I guess. I will call it.. frighteningly endearing?
I am so so glad to be out of Muslim Kashmir and into Buddhist Ladakh. It is glorious. Kashmir was beautiful.. caught 5 brown trout and hiked some amazing forests, but was asked if I was married by EVERYONE (men) that I met, as I did not meet any women, despite the fact that I am wearing a fake wedding ring to stave off the crazies (Thank you Dave Griffin for that idea... where would I be without you, I do not know)
I have also concocted an elaborate story regarding my husband... this has been fun... dare to dream, I guess... true love in my mind... I digress.
So, I have made some friends finally as there are actually tourists in Ladakh.. however, my first friend I made here was actually my age... and local.. and promptly propositioned me as well... love those tantric Buddhists... :)
One of my new friends is a rather interesting Slovenian fellow and an equally cute German dude whom I have persuaded to hike Markha Valley with me in 4-5 days. Tour groups do it in 6-10... Alaskans do it all day long and in the dark. (my new bumper sticker... pretty clever... would have been more clever, but I am tired, cut me some slack).
I ate at this guesthouse in Changspa with a couple from Vienna and my new hiking partners tonight.. the owners make food all grown from their garden. Delish!
Everything about this place suits me... I was told yesterday by my tantric Buddhist friend that I must have been from the Himalaya in a past life.. by the way I walk and how I carry myself and my way of thinking... who knows.. it brings a smile to my face to think so though, and it feels good to be home(ish). hmm... writing that last last sentence just now made me think of something I once told someone very close to me... that I could feel at home anywhere in the world with that person... oddly enough... they could be here now, but aren't and it still feels good to be home(ish). great actually. a nice full circle closure to the long evening/ year... to bed with me... with a smile :)
On the way to Ley I stopped in Sonamarg, Kashmir... where I was promptly harassed by a man at the dirtiest guest house I had ever been in... I scoffed at his 1000 Rps price ($20) and turned around when he followed with an offer for a 'free' room... I laughed out loud at this one, as I thought he was making a joke... hah ah... he then grabbed my boob and tried to shove his dirty Kashmiri tongue on my face to lick my cheek or something... I am not making this up...
I ended up finding a great place to stay down the road where I was only slightly harassed (we'll call it pampered) with a trip to the Thalegewas Glacier on horseback by the guesthouse manager, then given countless bottles of orange soda and mango juice in an effort for the young manager and his helper to try to catch a glimpse of my in my night clothes... no harm no foul, I guess. I will call it.. frighteningly endearing?
I am so so glad to be out of Muslim Kashmir and into Buddhist Ladakh. It is glorious. Kashmir was beautiful.. caught 5 brown trout and hiked some amazing forests, but was asked if I was married by EVERYONE (men) that I met, as I did not meet any women, despite the fact that I am wearing a fake wedding ring to stave off the crazies (Thank you Dave Griffin for that idea... where would I be without you, I do not know)
I have also concocted an elaborate story regarding my husband... this has been fun... dare to dream, I guess... true love in my mind... I digress.
So, I have made some friends finally as there are actually tourists in Ladakh.. however, my first friend I made here was actually my age... and local.. and promptly propositioned me as well... love those tantric Buddhists... :)
One of my new friends is a rather interesting Slovenian fellow and an equally cute German dude whom I have persuaded to hike Markha Valley with me in 4-5 days. Tour groups do it in 6-10... Alaskans do it all day long and in the dark. (my new bumper sticker... pretty clever... would have been more clever, but I am tired, cut me some slack).
I ate at this guesthouse in Changspa with a couple from Vienna and my new hiking partners tonight.. the owners make food all grown from their garden. Delish!
Everything about this place suits me... I was told yesterday by my tantric Buddhist friend that I must have been from the Himalaya in a past life.. by the way I walk and how I carry myself and my way of thinking... who knows.. it brings a smile to my face to think so though, and it feels good to be home(ish). hmm... writing that last last sentence just now made me think of something I once told someone very close to me... that I could feel at home anywhere in the world with that person... oddly enough... they could be here now, but aren't and it still feels good to be home(ish). great actually. a nice full circle closure to the long evening/ year... to bed with me... with a smile :)
Monday, August 17, 2009
oh, let the sun beat down upon my face.....
I am in Kashmir after 25 hours of the scariest adventure bus ride of my life... we drove through a torrential thunder storm in the middle of the night near Jammu and I swear I felt the tires break contact with the road under about 2 feet of water .. althought the bus was fairly comfortable, it was abit nerve racking being the only white person on a bus filled with local people goign to a region most of the people in the world think is filled with terrorists...
Kashmir is glorious and the people that I have met on the bus and while I have been in Srinigar have proved to be very sincere and solid... I am going trout fishing in the mountains tomorrow and then heading to Ley... Kashmir is amazing. so so so lovely.... and some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen.
I am staying on a lovely houseboat in Dal Lake.. I stumbled upon this hookup in Delhi and it has proved to be an amazing connection... so serene this little houseboat is with the most amazing family... I sit in thier kitchen and they let me cook with them I am learing a ton about Kashmir and it is most interesting to be in a region that is 'occupied'... if you catch my drift.. Indian soldiers everywhere... everywhere...
the eldest son of the housboat family is my personal tour guide and took me to see bears ad a snow leopard at a wildlife sanctuary and tomorrow he is taking me 2 hours into the mountains to go fishing near some Mogule ruins...
As an aside... I need to get the hell out of Kashmir before I buy the most beautiful silk rug that I have ever seen and ride it straight back to Alaska... I swear to god that rug was made especially for me... everything about it is perfect.. it's truely magic.. I was joking with the organizer of the carpet cooperative that if I buy the damn thing, it should come with a pack unicorn so I can carry it around the rest of India with me... only in my dreams...
going to eat some Kashmiri Lamb. I probably will try to be out of touch for a bit now.. just wanted to let some peoples know that I am safe and settled.
Kashmir is glorious and the people that I have met on the bus and while I have been in Srinigar have proved to be very sincere and solid... I am going trout fishing in the mountains tomorrow and then heading to Ley... Kashmir is amazing. so so so lovely.... and some of the most beautiful people I have ever seen.
I am staying on a lovely houseboat in Dal Lake.. I stumbled upon this hookup in Delhi and it has proved to be an amazing connection... so serene this little houseboat is with the most amazing family... I sit in thier kitchen and they let me cook with them I am learing a ton about Kashmir and it is most interesting to be in a region that is 'occupied'... if you catch my drift.. Indian soldiers everywhere... everywhere...
the eldest son of the housboat family is my personal tour guide and took me to see bears ad a snow leopard at a wildlife sanctuary and tomorrow he is taking me 2 hours into the mountains to go fishing near some Mogule ruins...
As an aside... I need to get the hell out of Kashmir before I buy the most beautiful silk rug that I have ever seen and ride it straight back to Alaska... I swear to god that rug was made especially for me... everything about it is perfect.. it's truely magic.. I was joking with the organizer of the carpet cooperative that if I buy the damn thing, it should come with a pack unicorn so I can carry it around the rest of India with me... only in my dreams...
going to eat some Kashmiri Lamb. I probably will try to be out of touch for a bit now.. just wanted to let some peoples know that I am safe and settled.
Friday, August 14, 2009
India it's your Birthday!!
I awoke early this morning to the sound of rain and wet dogs barking in the street, so I headed up to the rooftop terrace to see the day before the dawn. I am apparently a bit jetlagged because that was at 2:30 this morning and I haven't been able to go back to sleep... There were Indian military police everywhere. One on every rooftop watching guard as the VIPs were to arrive in the area within a few hours.
Today is the Indian Indepandence day. This morning I watched the news as the Independence day speach was made about two blocks from where I laid in bed, at the Red Fort. I didn't understand any of the speach because it was in Hindi, but every so often I put it on mute and I could hear muffles of the actual speach through the walls of my room.
I am sitting in the lobby of my hotel waiting for the rain to stop so I can head to the bus terminal to get the heck out of Delhi. I am either headed to Srinagar or Dharamsala. Flip of a coin will determine when I get there, I guess.
A cute little Indian boy is reading this post over my shoulder as I type. He is pretty good at reading English. I just smiled at him and told him so.
Today is the Indian Indepandence day. This morning I watched the news as the Independence day speach was made about two blocks from where I laid in bed, at the Red Fort. I didn't understand any of the speach because it was in Hindi, but every so often I put it on mute and I could hear muffles of the actual speach through the walls of my room.
I am sitting in the lobby of my hotel waiting for the rain to stop so I can head to the bus terminal to get the heck out of Delhi. I am either headed to Srinagar or Dharamsala. Flip of a coin will determine when I get there, I guess.
A cute little Indian boy is reading this post over my shoulder as I type. He is pretty good at reading English. I just smiled at him and told him so.
Oh Delhi....
Safe in India... utterly exhausted after having had about 8 hours sleep in the last 40 hours of living... I had a delicious dinner of some vegetarian item that I have not a clue as to what was in it, except for the homade paneer. hmmm... can't wait to get some cooking classes under my belt to help crack that code!
Today is lord Krishna's birthday (Janmashtami) happy birthday Krishna... Krishna, it's your birthday.. (shout out to the late MJ) this has lead to a very festive day of walking around the old city, spice market, an numerous alleys filled with smiling children and many many friendly men.
Delhi smells like either Nag Champa or sour urine, depending on which way the thick wet breeze is shifting at that particular moment.
Highlights of my first day: finding Prickly Heat in a maze of stores in the Chandi Chowk; eating pickled carrots and drinking rose water with the nicest little old man at the pickled things stand... we chapped for about 45 min, he reminded me of my grandpa... really sweet smile, square glasses, and really long earlobes; free breakfast of curried potatoes and fried bread; and Cardamom from the spice market in my bottled water... anyone who really knows me knows that I NEED Cardamom in my water when it is swelteringly hot outside... it just eases my constitution...
I think I saw more kites today from the rooftop of my guest house than I have ever seen collectively throughout my whole life. Today was the day of kites. Tomorrow is the Indian Indepedence Day!! Tomorrow I take a long long long bus to Srinagar, Kashmir. This was not in the original 'plan' but I didn't really have a 'plan' anyway... so whateva. (Cousin Jenny, are you still worrying? I hope not, but if you weren't you probably are now)
I have had pretty rad luck since I started traveling and things have just been falling into place, so with the grace, all will stay on that course.
So, I am really really tired.. going to watch some Indian cooking show that is like a cross between Giada's Everyday Italian and the movie Mama Mia...
Yes, I do like India.
Today is lord Krishna's birthday (Janmashtami) happy birthday Krishna... Krishna, it's your birthday.. (shout out to the late MJ) this has lead to a very festive day of walking around the old city, spice market, an numerous alleys filled with smiling children and many many friendly men.
Delhi smells like either Nag Champa or sour urine, depending on which way the thick wet breeze is shifting at that particular moment.
Highlights of my first day: finding Prickly Heat in a maze of stores in the Chandi Chowk; eating pickled carrots and drinking rose water with the nicest little old man at the pickled things stand... we chapped for about 45 min, he reminded me of my grandpa... really sweet smile, square glasses, and really long earlobes; free breakfast of curried potatoes and fried bread; and Cardamom from the spice market in my bottled water... anyone who really knows me knows that I NEED Cardamom in my water when it is swelteringly hot outside... it just eases my constitution...
I think I saw more kites today from the rooftop of my guest house than I have ever seen collectively throughout my whole life. Today was the day of kites. Tomorrow is the Indian Indepedence Day!! Tomorrow I take a long long long bus to Srinagar, Kashmir. This was not in the original 'plan' but I didn't really have a 'plan' anyway... so whateva. (Cousin Jenny, are you still worrying? I hope not, but if you weren't you probably are now)
I have had pretty rad luck since I started traveling and things have just been falling into place, so with the grace, all will stay on that course.
So, I am really really tired.. going to watch some Indian cooking show that is like a cross between Giada's Everyday Italian and the movie Mama Mia...
Yes, I do like India.
Wednesday, August 12, 2009
Don't take it personally...
Here I am blogging from my amazing iphone in the Portland airport before heading out on a plane to Amsterdam then Delhi. There is an Asian woman in front of me with the sweetest My Little Pony backpack on..it's even got real pink pony hair coming out the side. Reminds me a bit of Jenny the second night at the Phish show. :)
This week has been much fun and a little cloudy. It was great to reconnect with some of my Vt peoples. This brought back a ton of nostalgia that I definitely did not anticipate. Twinges if sadness for what was being overwhelmed by gratitude and the good times of the present moment. Knowing these people for 5 or 6 years and coming back together like no time had passed...makes me have faith in my ability to cultivate patience, and brought my favorite cheesy girlscout singalong song into my head..."Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold" :) I know...so cheesy, right? But I love it!
So I am pretty excited about my travels here and there... I will be wondering from the moment I set foot in India with no set plans.it struck me a bit ago about how liberating and terrifying this is.. All at once. It makes me smile. Goodbye comfort zone, goodbye iPhone. Please don't take it personally....(did I mention this will be my mantra until I master the fine art of not taking things personally.. It recently occurred to me that much of the recent drama in my life has been a result of me taking things too personally...done with that for a while...there is 'no self' in India) :) flying away!
This week has been much fun and a little cloudy. It was great to reconnect with some of my Vt peoples. This brought back a ton of nostalgia that I definitely did not anticipate. Twinges if sadness for what was being overwhelmed by gratitude and the good times of the present moment. Knowing these people for 5 or 6 years and coming back together like no time had passed...makes me have faith in my ability to cultivate patience, and brought my favorite cheesy girlscout singalong song into my head..."Make new friends but keep the old, one is silver and the other gold" :) I know...so cheesy, right? But I love it!
So I am pretty excited about my travels here and there... I will be wondering from the moment I set foot in India with no set plans.it struck me a bit ago about how liberating and terrifying this is.. All at once. It makes me smile. Goodbye comfort zone, goodbye iPhone. Please don't take it personally....(did I mention this will be my mantra until I master the fine art of not taking things personally.. It recently occurred to me that much of the recent drama in my life has been a result of me taking things too personally...done with that for a while...there is 'no self' in India) :) flying away!
Sunday, August 2, 2009
Where would I be without the Popsicle Incedent?
All is fairly well in my world today... went for an amazing hike. I will post pics as soon as google adds my extra storage... are you listening google...big brother??? That may sound a bit like a schizophrenic rant, but anyone who has a gmail account knows that google knows everything about you...
Anywho.. Mary, Holly, Brian, Ben and I hiked lost lake. It was lovely... serotonin replenished and my sunburn came back as well. Yes, much sunshine, many lakes, dogs, mountains, glaciers, marmots... what else...
Lots of unencumbered thinking (16 miles of it). Which leads me to the subject line of this post. Where would I be without the popsicle incedent? The popsicle incedent is the name that I gave to one of the most influential experiences of my childhood.. short story long... just kidding :) ...
So, basically I turned down an opportunity to eat a popsicle and color with the boy that I liked, Grant, who had just had his tonsils out and needed some company... I had such a big crush on him that I said no to eating a popsicle and coloring ( two of my favorite things) just because I was a little dear in headlights and had no idea how to handle the situation. Then I sat in my yard and swang on my swings while he stared over at me from two fences away looking all sad b/c I didn't want to play with him. Well, this made me feel so bad.. not only did I hurt his feelings, I hurt my own... just because I was too afraid to go after what my heart really wanted. I was 6 and this made such an impact on me.. it was my very first life lesson and I vowed to try to never let fear stop me from anything... love, friendship, travel, riding home at 2:00 am past 8 randomly screaming people on the bike path near Sullivan Arena... ok.. maybe I should have let fear stop me from that one... :) but it turned out all right this time...
So, I see people in my life now that have maybe never had a popsicle incedent...and I think to myself, where would I be without mine? Maybe a little less assertive, adventurous, reckless... maybe a little less passionate. Well, these attributes, if anything, help me appreciate what I have in my life. Because I got there by following my heart.
I am getting ready to leave for India.. Thursday I travel to Seattle to visit with some friends and then off to India from there on August 11th... I have a lot on my mind as of late and I am not sure that travel right now is the best thing for me... I felt like this would be bad timing around March when I got my tickets, but I kinda went for it anyway... I am a bit afraid to travel on my own for a month in India, but I think it will be a rewarding experience, and since I at one point did have a travel partner, I feel like they maybe backed out for a reason.. I am probably supposed to do this on my own. Anywho, I am not really fearful at this moment.. I actually kind of feel like I am being carried along on a train with no say in my destination... good feeling I guess when you have no where you have to be for a bit...
So the things on my mind... some of my closest friends have been a bit more distant than usual lately. And I have been a bit more kneedy as of late( I spelled that wrong on purpose) . It's kind of a 'chicken or the egg' situation, but life is always changing and things happen so you can learn from them, so when I get back I am sure life will be on the upswing. I will likely learn more about myself in the next two months than I have in the past 4 years... and more about Indian cooking as well. Hopefully I will come back a bit more settled and a lot less kneedy.
Namaste
Anywho.. Mary, Holly, Brian, Ben and I hiked lost lake. It was lovely... serotonin replenished and my sunburn came back as well. Yes, much sunshine, many lakes, dogs, mountains, glaciers, marmots... what else...
Lots of unencumbered thinking (16 miles of it). Which leads me to the subject line of this post. Where would I be without the popsicle incedent? The popsicle incedent is the name that I gave to one of the most influential experiences of my childhood.. short story long... just kidding :) ...
So, basically I turned down an opportunity to eat a popsicle and color with the boy that I liked, Grant, who had just had his tonsils out and needed some company... I had such a big crush on him that I said no to eating a popsicle and coloring ( two of my favorite things) just because I was a little dear in headlights and had no idea how to handle the situation. Then I sat in my yard and swang on my swings while he stared over at me from two fences away looking all sad b/c I didn't want to play with him. Well, this made me feel so bad.. not only did I hurt his feelings, I hurt my own... just because I was too afraid to go after what my heart really wanted. I was 6 and this made such an impact on me.. it was my very first life lesson and I vowed to try to never let fear stop me from anything... love, friendship, travel, riding home at 2:00 am past 8 randomly screaming people on the bike path near Sullivan Arena... ok.. maybe I should have let fear stop me from that one... :) but it turned out all right this time...
So, I see people in my life now that have maybe never had a popsicle incedent...and I think to myself, where would I be without mine? Maybe a little less assertive, adventurous, reckless... maybe a little less passionate. Well, these attributes, if anything, help me appreciate what I have in my life. Because I got there by following my heart.
I am getting ready to leave for India.. Thursday I travel to Seattle to visit with some friends and then off to India from there on August 11th... I have a lot on my mind as of late and I am not sure that travel right now is the best thing for me... I felt like this would be bad timing around March when I got my tickets, but I kinda went for it anyway... I am a bit afraid to travel on my own for a month in India, but I think it will be a rewarding experience, and since I at one point did have a travel partner, I feel like they maybe backed out for a reason.. I am probably supposed to do this on my own. Anywho, I am not really fearful at this moment.. I actually kind of feel like I am being carried along on a train with no say in my destination... good feeling I guess when you have no where you have to be for a bit...
So the things on my mind... some of my closest friends have been a bit more distant than usual lately. And I have been a bit more kneedy as of late( I spelled that wrong on purpose) . It's kind of a 'chicken or the egg' situation, but life is always changing and things happen so you can learn from them, so when I get back I am sure life will be on the upswing. I will likely learn more about myself in the next two months than I have in the past 4 years... and more about Indian cooking as well. Hopefully I will come back a bit more settled and a lot less kneedy.
Namaste
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