OH India

Well Will and I left the incredible beaches and are now back in the swarms of traffic, people, and big cities, except we now have 4 other travelers to keep track of. We arrived in Delhi on Wednesday morning at 2:00am pretty groggy and we picked up by our hotel where we were taken and immediately fell asleep. Before we went to bed we had notes from our moms letting us know we need to meet them in the lobby at 9:15. That sounded pretty horrible since it was already 4:00am but we set our alarm and passed out. We actually ended up waking up around 7:30 since we are still on South East Asia time so it all worked out.

We headed down to the lobby and it was great seeing my parents, Will's mom, and her friend Deborah. I was really excited to see Delhi with everyone and it was really nice to finally not have to worry about how much money we could spend on hotels, transportation, or meals. We set out and Delhi has crazy traffic like Vietnam, except everyone here drives cars and in Vietnam is all motorbikes. We first headed Old Delhi, to a Muslim Mosque and that was pretty cool and then we decided to set out into the backstreets on cyclos. That's when it set in how different it really is to travel with 6 people. I'm so used to only thinking about me and Will and where we want to go and now it seems that we have tons of opinions and too many people trying to take charge. So riding on these cyclos was pretty crazy. Will and I are very used to all of this chaos but it was really great seeing the others faces and hearing all of their thoughts on the experience. It's kind of fun to see how they react to everything.

Our first stop on our ride was the spice market and it pretty much began my sensory overload. We walked through one area that was all foggy and everyone around was coughing and we all started coughing and sneezing. The spices here really are incredible. We then were lead by one of the cyclo drivers to the top of this building so we could see all over Delhi. It's so weird to look around and see no grass. Its all overrun apartments buildings, with some temples here and there, for as long as you can see. It is definitely the most crowded city we've been too.

From there we headed down the narrow streets that were absolutely crammed full of people. At this point also it was noon and the 100 degree heat was setting in. That's when my body started to warn me. I had actually felt pretty sick the day we traveled to Delhi and I hadn't really felt that great this day so I was kind of like if I puke right now its going to cover about 20 people. We were sitting in our cyclo and there were people crammed on both sides of us and in front of us down this little alley that so skinny cars don't fit and it was completely full of people and cyclos. As we were nearing the end we actually saw a fight break out because a guy was trying to bring his cyclo full of stuff through and this guy got all mad because it was too wide and no one could get by. We made it out of there and that's when I realized that I had to go back to the hotel and sleep off my stomach ache, and it actually ended up that my dad and Deborah bailed too. So for the afternoon Will and the moms went and checked out a Mausoleum.

We went to this really cool restaurant for dinner that was a perfect transition into Indian food. We all sat down and instead of being given napkins everyone got a cloth bib. Will immediately tied his on because he was ready to eat. The rest of us kind of joked about the bibs but everyone else in the restaurant had theirs on so we kind of looked out of place without ours. The food was great and Will swears he gained 5 pounds from dinner last night.

This morning we were up at 4:45 to catch our 6:10 train to Jaipur. Everything ended up just fine and the train was actually pretty nice. As our train headed out everyone became surprised and interested by all of the little villages we passed, then we began to notice all of these people squatting close to the tracks and that's when we saw it. Everyone was just pooping right by the train tracks as the train passed. So that started our ride out pretty humorous and exciting. Then about half way our train came to a fast stop and as we looked around we couldn't figure out the why we stopped in the middle of no where. After about 25 minutes of just sitting Will and I headed to the back to see what my dad was looking at and that's when we heard we had hit a person. So Sue, Will, Dad, and I all hoped off the train, lots of people were doing it, and started walking around and talking to the Indians about what was going on. They explained that the old law permitted the train to just pick up the body and continue on but the new law requires the train to wait for the authorities. Alright so first we saw the villages and their morning routines and now this... Will and I never had a train ride this exciting. As we talked to more people we found out that it was a suicide and the guy was only 25. After a good hour and a half of hanging out our train was finally able to head on. From there we all just kind of slept and read until we arrived in Jaipur around 11:30 am.

This guy sleeping at the train station.

We all got off the train and were immediately swarmed by taxi drivers, and normally Will and I negotiate with drivers to find the best deal, so I started trying to negotiate, while Will had already just told some guy sure, and then my dad was also talking to someone else. And then again I realized that there are too many people who want to be in charge. When we all realized that we had made deals the chaos intensified. There were about 20 Indian guys swarming our group of 6 and we were just trying to get our little "family" safe together. Everyone here is very pushy and it's amazing how loud and forceful they all can be. We finally got everything worked out and headed to our hotels. It was so nice to jump in the pool and relax for about an hour before heading back out into the chaos. I really feel like India is no more chaotic than other places in South East Asia, but I've been pretty spoiled the past 2 weeks in Bali so I've kind of forgotten how exhausting it all can be. Plus its over 100 degrees here which just adds to the exhaustion.

My parents, Will, and I all hoped in a tuk-tuk and headed into town. My parents absolutely loved it so it was fun that they got to have that experience. The road was so cool because right next to you would be elephants walking by or camels pulling carts or just cows milling around. Now we are not out in the country here, these animals just wander around all over the city. Our first sight was the Pink Palace and it was nice and then we headed over to the observatory that was so cool. It was all of these old systems that were used to tell time, dates and to measure things. As we headed out of the gates we were all immediately amazed by a snake tamer and his cobras. He was playing his flute for these two cobras in a basket. Kind of creep since they could just jump out and bite you. Well my dad decided that he wanted to act as the snake tamer, which the guy was all for since he knew he would get a tip, so my dad but on the guys hat and started playing music from the flute. Why he ever put his mouth on the flute we'll never know. Then the guy brought the snakes close to him so he could touch one of them. The next thing I know my dad is getting up and Will is sitting down, putting on the hat and then having a cobra stuck around his neck. The best was all of the local Indians were first taking pictures of my dad and laughing and were now taking pictures of Will and laughing and laughing. We were the only Caucasians surrounded by tons of Indians. What an experience.

An Indian family that wanted a picture with all of us.

From there it was time for a drink. Especially for dad to clean out his mouth. We went to an incredible hotel and had a few drinks at the polo bar. Then it was time to head home because we are all really wiped out after our incredible day in India.

Tomorrow we are up early to ride Elephants up to the Amber fort which should be really cool. It's nice having the adults here to travel with but its taking some getting used to. We've gone from having to be in charge of everything to not needing to do anything at all and its a little weird. It really is a huge upgrade for us to not have to worry about a budget and we're already adjusted right to that. :) More from us tomorrow...

Another side of Bali

I'm in now from the beach and decided to write a quick post about Nypei Day, which Will forgot to mention, and our few days in Ubud.

We arrived back in Sanur, after diving in Ahmed, the day before Nypei and there were tons of street celebrations already starting. I mean this town was shutting down before our eyes and it wasn't even 5 yet. We met up with our scuba friends and headed to the main parade. What an experience this was. It was packed with people from all over and we realized that the parade was also a contest. Different villages in Bali create a float of scary demon figures, which they think will scare away the mean spirits from the island, and parade them down the street to be judged. It got so crowded that everyone started pushing people around and this cute women with her children told us that her brother was presenting the first float, so Will offered to hold up her daughter so she could see. I have never seen a happier little girl, and all of these other kids started looking around asking why she got to sit on his shoulders. It was pretty funny. After watching a few floats we headed to dinner and then we were planning on going out for the New Years but by midnight everything was closed. So we headed back to the hotel prepared for our day of "rest" and being trapped in our hotel.

Alright first off our hotel was like a retirement community. I came down to the pool at 10 on Nypei day and every chair was already claimed by someone over 60. Pretty annoyed I sat down on the floor and looked around. Will had decided to lay in bed most of the day and sleep. We had been smart the day before and loaded up on snacks and beer for our lunch and dinner since our hotel only offered really expensive buffet meals. No thanks. When Will finally emerged from the room we started drinking and met a couple from Serbia. The guy, Tony, is an Editor-in-Chief at the biggest news paper in Belgrade, and his wife is a legal translator. They were some of the only young people so we immediately became friends. We decided to meet them at 8 at the bar to hang out since we were trapped in our hotel. When we opened our door to head down to the lobby we were surprised that everything in the hotel was dark. We were on the third floor and had to climb down the stairs in pure darkness. Alright this was so annoying and when we got to the bar we were told that it and everything else was closing. Annoyed again the Serbians invited us to their room for some beers and snacks. We had a lot of fun just relaxing with them that night.

Now to Ubud... What a cool little town it is. It reminded us of the San Miguel of Bali. It's known for it's art galleries, shopping, culture, and the monkey forest. Will and I arrived in Ubud after our long night out in Kuta and headed straight to bed for a nap. Well actually Will napped and I watched the movie the Queen, but that's besides the point. After a good rest we headed out into the town for some dinner. The great thing about where we were staying is that they had a free shuttle in to town and when you were ready to come back you could just call and they'd pick you up.

We were dropped off in the middle of town and were immediately heard traditional dance music. Every night in Ubud there are several different dance shows performed all around town that start at 7:30. By this time it was already 8 so we decided that we would check that out the next night. We walked around for awhile before getting stuck in a rain storm and rushed into a restaurant for dinner, then back to the hotel for a good nights rest.

The next morning we set out for the monkey forest. As you walk into the area there are monkeys running around everywhere. It really is like walking into a monkey cage at the zoo. There are three temples in the forest and as you walk to each one you are surrounded by monkeys running around, jumping in trees, or carrying around their babies. I have never seen so many baby monkeys clung to their mothers. Its actually pretty funny watching these babies hold on for dear life as their moms run around or climbs trees. I was pretty nervous around the monkeys because you couldn't tell what they were thinking and there were warnings around the forest about them jumping up and climbing on you. NO THANKS. I am not going to risk having one of those creatures bite me and give me monkey flu or some crazy disease like that. Will on the other hand was a lot more adventurous around them. The forest was really cool and there were still tons of decorations up from the Nypei day celebrations. As we were walking out we were watching this guy take pictures of this baby monkey and all of the sudden another monkey jumped out of a tree onto his back and wouldn't get off. I was ready to get on out of there at that point.

We walked back up the main road and stopped at over a dozen shops on the way. Will started getting pretty annoyed with my just looking and not buying attitude that he decided he wanted to get massages. We picked up a flier on our way to lunch and decided that we would make appointments for 6 so we could then head to the cultural dance after. After walking around in the market and buying a few souvenirs we were tired and Will needed a nap. At 5:45 we started getting ready to head back into town and that's when we realized that my camera was gone. Panic came over me and I wanted to hit Will for losing my camera. All I could remember was handing it to him on our way out of the monkey forest and he said he had no recollection of that at all. As we started replaying our afternoon we were able to only think of two places the camera could have fallen out of Will's pocket; the restaurant for lunch and a clothing store. On our way into town Will remembered testing out a hammock and we were immediately certain that's where the camera would have fallen out. We went to the other two places on our way to the hammock store and I was just praying that the Balienese guy didn't decide to sell that camera to the nearest electronics shop. We walked in and thankfully he had my camera. He found it in the hammock Will had tested out and later we realized the guy had tested my camera out too. Will was so thankful that the guy had the camera that he decided to buy the hammock, which I know he really wanted to buy anyway.

At that point we had missed our massage appointments and decided to just walk around a little before the dance performance. We got to the show early so we bought some beer at a convenience store and headed into the show. For the most part the show was cool, it did however, become a little repetitive towards the end. But the finale made up for it. This guy was pretending to be a horse or some kind of animal and was running over the fire and kicking all of the coals around. After the show his feet were completely black and the guy looked like he was in a little bit of pain.

The next day we woke up to a rain storm and headed to Nusa Dua where the rain continued on all night long. We are here in Nusa Dua now and having a great time at the beach. We haven't had rain but some partly sunny weather. More from Nusa Dua later...

Can't believe we only have 2 more nights until India.

Bali Nightlife

So, you are probably thinking that all we have been doing these days is diving. Well, you would be right--mostly, but only for a few days. We did our last dives on Tuesday and decided to have a fun night out on the town with some of the friends we had made while diving here in Bali. We stayed in Kuta on Tuesday night which is the center of tourism here in Bali and where all of the nightlife is located, so we had no excuse to not go out. One of our Balinese dive masters agreed to take Julie and Moo (our new Thai friends), Angie (a Brazilian girl we met diving on Tuesday), and Kendall and me to dinner and around to the clubs.

After a fun dinner we made a quick visit to "ground zero," the site of the bombings at the Kuta nightclubs in 2002. The have erected a nice memorial with the names and countries of all the people that died in the blast. Then, we headed just down the street to the area that all of the clubs have moved since the blast.

At our first stop, there was a live band playing some local music and after just one drink the girls decided they should get on stage to dance with the band.

After a round of drinks, we decided to move to the club proper. Inside we found the guy featured in the video below. I swear that this will most likely be Nick someday--living in a villa in Bali and going to the night club to "dance." If I had had the courage to follow this guy around with the camera for longer this could have been You Tube material for sure.

Even thought we were all pretty much exhausted from all the diving we ended up staying at the club for about 4 hours until 2AM. The pictures below pretty much tell the story.

Once we finally decided to leave, we started to walk Wayan (our dive master, who, it turned out, was the most drunk of us all) home. On our way, Kendall and Julie decided to join in on a jam session that was taking place on the sidewalk outside of a liquor store on some back road in Kuta around 2:30AM. It was really a multicultural experience--the two girls were Norwegian, one guy was Filipino, the others were Indonesian, and then Kendall and Julie made an American and a Thai.

After getting Wayan, Julie, and Moo into a cab, Kendall and I finally got back to our hotel around 3AM. Definitely one of our latest nights of the trip.

The next day we woke up and headed to Ubud for two days. Hopefully, I will be able to convince Kendall to leave the beach chair for just a few minutes to blog about it tomorrow. Otherwise, you may just get to hear from me again.

Scuba Continuation

We were uploading pictures of our dive trip when we were forced out of the Internet cafe on Nyepi day. Here are the rest of the pics:

The ceremony going on behind Kendall as she gets out of the water is a pre-Nyepi day ritual in which Balinese people come to the ocean to cleanse themselves of their sins before the new year.

I took a few videos underwater, but I think this one was the best. During our ascent we came across a huge school of Jack fish. Pay close attention to how scared Kendall looks when I pan the camera in her direction. I few seconds later the video gets a little jerky. That is Kendall grabbing my arm and pushing me into the school first just to make sure that I get eaten first if these little guys happen to be hungry.

Flashback

Ok, so this is very old news but in case anyone is waking up this morning with nothing else to do, here are some videos I took in Burma. We finally have a decent internet connection so expect more photos and video soon--very soon.

A chronicle of our day cruising Inle Lake, Myanmar:

After the market, we got a glimpse into lake life.

Next, we visited a blacksmith on the lake.

Finally, we visited one of my favorite monasteries we have been to. This clip proves that monks get bored too. You can only meditate for so long so these taught their cats how to jump through hoops.

We ended the day with a little R&R.

Quick Update

We are in Bali and just got back to our hotel from 2 full days of diving. We got in very late on Friday night and were picked up at 7AM on Saturday by the dive company to take us to the North East coast of the island for our first dives in Tulamben. There we made our first dive at the wreck of the US Liberty which was beached by the Japanese in WWII and then sunk by lava flow from the island's volcano in 1963. We also did our first night dive there. I decided to rent a camera for the day so we have the first pictures of our dives for the blog.

*Nyepi celebrations started while these pictures where being uploaded and we were kicked out of the internet cafe. More to come when we get a faster connection.

After our dives yesterday we met a couple from Bangkok and a retired US Navy Captain from Florida who were going to be diving with us in Amed today. We had a great time diving with them and Kendall really likes having another girl to talk to. Al, the USN guy has done dives all over the world and has a great underwater camera that he used to take pictures there. I am sure they will be much better than mine so as soon as we have them I will post some of them too.

Tomorrow is new years here in Bali and there are some big celebrations in the streets tonight. It should be a big party. But, tomorrow is Nyepi day which is a day of silence and meditation. No activity is allowed and all tourists have to stay on their hotel grounds. I think we can sit by the pool and read and maybe recover from the party tonight. Since I can't do anything else but sleep and read tomorrow I might just stay up till 5AM to watch the horns play USC.

After Nyepi, we have three more dives on Tuesday (after which we will be Advanced Certified--eat that Sherrill, Stew and P) and then we are headed inland to the town of Ubud. We should have an internet connection again then and will have another post for you.

Only two and a half weeks to go....