Welcome to the Himalayas

Welcome! to the Himalayas! And Wow what an amazing and beautiful place the Himalayan Mountain Range is. Tropical and Sub-Tropical mountains with a back drop of 8 out of 10 of the highest mountains in the world which includes Mt. Everest. I did not climb to the top of Mt. Everest, but some day I hope to return to Nepal and do the Mt. Everest Base Camp hike from which I can see Mt. Everest.

Pokhara is a beautiful city located in the heart of Nepal. It is build around the second largest lake in Nepal, which is not that big, but still a stunning place. The city is very tourist friendly. I met many people from all over the world and the food was excellent too. I had steak and pizza and French toast all during my few days in Pokhara. I have many pictures from my time in Nepal so instead of me telling all about it I will add a caption to the pictures and let you see Nepal. However, the pictures just do not do the place justice for how stunning it is, but I think you will get the idea.

This is what happens when you drive too fast around a corner

Terraced farming on the mountains like in Guatemala

The beautiful green you see in the above two pictures are rice fields grown in layers on the mountain

Stunning

Wow

Beautiful

Deep in the back of this picture you can see the High peaks of the Himalayas. It was a rainy day and so I didn't get a good pic.

Peaks in the background

The lake

City by the lake

Hillside village

Well I guest the abominable snowman has been shot and stuffed!

Sunset on the lake

The sunrise which if it had not been cloudy I would also have been able to get some awesome pictures of the snow covered mountains behind.

That's Me

That's me holding the Sun

That's Akbar trying to hold the Sun

I know this photo is a little blurry, but the man on the back of the motorcycle has a live chicken in that bag.

A word of caution to traveling in the Himalayas. DON'T EAT THE YELLOW SNOW!

The Indian Hobbit

I know when I first started this blog I said I would not be writing about hobbits, but there is no other comparison to give Indians from India than to compare them to a hobbit. For anyone who has traveled to a new place it seems like the road or pathway of getting there often takes forever. You are excited and anxious to arrive and explore the treasures of your destination. You are ready to start a new adventure and starting it does not come soon enough. Well, traveling to Pokhara which is in Nepal was like that for me. I was ready to get away from the heat of India. I was ready to be in the mountains which is where I love to be more than any other place on earth. I was ready to explore and try new adventures, but a 12 hour car ride was between me and Pokhara.

Ved and McArthur have the sweetest driver named Ganga. He is very kind and would do anything for me or anyone else riding in the car to make sure it is comfortable and enjoyable. It is with him that I realized that Indians are like Hobbits which is both good and bad. Ganga comes from a farming family. 

First Comparison: In India farming means that you are very connected with the earth. Most of farming is done by hand. The planting, the weeding, and the harvest are all done by hand. They have a love for the earth and for things that grow.

Second Comparison: Indians have a laid back happy attitude about life. I love their attitude about life. However, this often means that it takes way to long to get ANYTHING done. I was at the fabric shop the other day buying fabric for shirts to be made. I walked in and had met the owner of the shop before and he was very kind and helpful. He even gave me free material for my first tailored shirt in India. I told that I was there to pick a color for the Yash company shirts as well as get material for my own shirts. He sat down and began to chat with Ganga who was with me. He then would address me and have someone look for some material colors for Yash. He would chat with someone else or just sit there in thought for a while and then he would make a phone call or talk with someone else. He would then address me again and we would talk about the options for a color and then he would make another phone call or chat with someone else. Finally he decided he did not have material in the shade that Yash was looking for, but would send samples in a few days. What took 20 minutes to tell me could have been done in 2 minutes, but because of the care free attitude it took much longer. I did however get some great material and colors for button down shirts.

Third Comparison: Hobbits do not wear shoes, and Indians do not like to wear shoes. They have tough dirty feet. They wear sandals or flip flops (thongs if you are from the 70's) and take them off whenever they are inside. OK so that is not weird in American to take your shoes off at home, but these people take them off even at work and leave them at the door. When we are driving in the car Ganga likes to takes his shoes off to drive. Anytime they have the opportunity to take off their shoes they do.  

Last Comparison: In the Lord of The Rings; The Fellowship of the Ring, (Movie one), there is a part of the movie when the hobbits are going with Aragon to Rivendale. They come to a place where the hobbits begin to unload the horse and Argon says; "Gentlemen we do not stop until nightfall." To this Pippin asks, "But what about breakfast." Aragon replies, "We've had it." Pippin responds, "Yes we've had one yet. What about second breakfast?" Merry then says "I don't think he knows about second breakfast Pip." Pippin then asks, "What about elevensies, lunch-in, afternoon tea, dinner, super. He knows about them doesn't he?"

When I was on my trip with Ganga to Nepal we had to stop a few times for tea. I needed to use an ATM so the first time it was no problem. Then the next time we were at lunch so again he had tea which does not waste time because it was lunch. He had it at the boarder which again was OK because I had paperwork to do. All these places for tea were before noon. Well on the way to Pokhara in Nepal we had to stop a few more times for tea and the tea breaks are like 15-20 minutes. Well more tea means more pee breaks which means in between the tea stops we had pee stops. So it was a little frustrating that this guy needed his tea so frequently especially when I just wanted to get to Pokhara. So then after getting back to India we took a shorter 2 hour drive to pick Ved and McArthur up from the Airport. Well about half way to the airport we had to stop again for tea.

There are other experiences I could write on about why Indians are like Hobbits, but I think you get the Idea. 

Don't Rock The Boat Baby

There is something about rafting down a river that brings to mind the song "Don't Rock the Boat Baby" by The Hughes Corporation. I am sure everyone knows the song, but if not here are a few of the lyrics from the song.

So I'd like to know where, you got the notion 
said I'd like to know where, you got the notion 

to rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby 
rock the boat, don't tip the boat over 
rock the boat, don't rock the boat baby 
rock the boat-t-t-t-t 

I Have tried to upload a few videos of  the rafting trip, but an error shows up every time I do. So I will have to show you the videos when I see you.

We started our rafting trip Saturday afternoon. We started down the river and trying to get a rhythm as a group. The raft we were on is a good size raft. We had 9 people in the raft.

The likelihood of tipping a raft of this size over is very small. So we started out and about 10 minutes into the trip we get stuck on a rock. The raft starts turning and it catches on something sharp. The front left side of the raft gets a huge hole in it which deflates 1/5 of the raft. One person almost goes tumbling into the water, but someone grabs him. We managed to make it off the rock and to the side of the river, but there was no hope for fixing the raft that day. 

We loaded up and headed to our camp spot which was not much of a camp spot because it was on the grass in front of a school. 

The company that the trip was through had a guide and safety kayakers, people to haul the equipment, set up and take down camp, and do the cooking and cleaning. 

The next day we started from about the same place as the day before. The river was a little higher because it is monsoon season. We started down the river and everything was going well. The river was high and moving fast, and the rapids were the biggest the guide had ever been on in that river. Some rapids were a class 5. The front of the raft seemed to be the worst spot to be in. Every time we hit a set of rapids they would get covered in water. We hit one set of rapids that were a class five rapid. We started down and the raft turned a little sideways and hit a big wave, causing the front right person to go tumbling into the river. He floated off a 4 or 5 foot rock into mountainous waves of rapids. The raft spun back to straight and the river took us to the left of the river and over another rock where the boat tipped and the front right person fell out. Some home he managed to hold on and got back into the raft before the raft slammed into a rock. One of the kayakers stopped the other person and helped him back to the raft. 

When the first person got back into the raft, he told us how falling out caught him off guard. He was yelling when he fell out and so when he went over the rock and into the water he didn't have any air when he went under the water. So he said if we fall out don't scream, just breathe. 

Well we continued down the river and we came to a spot where we pulled the boat to the bank so the guide could check the path we should take down the next set of rapids. We got on the rapids and they seemed just like all the other rapids. There were big waves and and the front people were getting soaked. The boat started to turn and then pretty soon we were going backwards. Then the boat kept turning and we got caught on a rock. The water was moving fast and the raft started to go over the rock, but instead of float over it started to tilt. We tried to put more weight on the other side of the raft, but the water pressure was too strong. Finally we just had to jump. We all jumped into the water and waves were crashing down on us. Some people held onto the raft. Myself and a couple others managed to swim to the bank of the river. One person, an Iron Man finisher swam to the bank while still holding onto his paddle. One girl made it to a rock in the middle of the river, and others floated down where the kayakers could help them. It was a ton of fun.

I went rafting when I was 14 years old and that three day trip was a lot scarier even though the rapids were not quite as big. So I was a little nervous for this trip because I thought that flipping into the water would be really scary, but it was actually a lot of fun. 

Those were the only two times we lost people out of the raft. However, after the raft tipped over and everyone got back in, I somehow got in at the front of the raft, so I thought for sure I would be falling out again, but I just got drenched by mountainous waves.

This was the rafting group. From left to right: Safety kayaker, Oscar, Emma, James, James' Girlfriend, Sam, Tom, Tyson, Cassie, and Mason. The front row left is another kayaker, and the right was the guide.

My New Hobby

To my family in Tennessee, I think you will enjoy this post most if you are reading the blog. My mom on the other hand will not enjoy it nearly as much!

Being in India or any new place for that matter means there are many new things to try. Whether it is food or places to see or trying out new types of transportation. Here in India, there are a wide range of modes of transportation and I think I have completed the list and tried them all. Obviously I flew to India so I have been on a plane. I have ridden in a taxi and I have ridden in an auto which is a different kind of taxi. I ridden on a boat on the river. I have ridden a train a bike a bus and a scooter. And the thing that has been most fun to ride is a MOTORCYCLE! Yes that is right Endsley family, I am learning how to ride a motorcycle. I have taken the KTM to work two day in a row which is about a 20 min ride. Not only am I learning to ride, but I am learning in what is probably the craziest driving conditions in the world.

I was on my way to work today on the motorcycle. I had a helmet on with the visor up and sunglasses. The driving conditions were OK and Ved was in front of me most the time in the car so it was fun trying to keep up which I did for about half the ride to work. The morning was hot and I got up to about 100 km per hour. As I was driving down the highway a few bugs managed to whack me in the face. Luckily my helmet covers my mouth. I have heard of many stories of people swallowing bugs while riding a motorcycle. Everything was going well on my ride to work. I made all the turns and only stalled once when I had to swerve off the road because a car was passing another car and was in my lane. I was about a half mile from work when a wasp flew into my helmet and stung me on the cheek. I managed to get my hand inside the helmet and kill the wasp, and so I thought. When I got to the office and took off my helmet, the wasp was still inside. He did not fly out, so I must have hurt him somehow. Luckily for me he did not sting again. All of this was managed without wrecking the bike.

This is a bicycle

A river boat

A plane in  case you have never seen one. (Just like there are people here in India who have never seen a white person there are people who have never seen a plane).

This is an Auto or a Richshaw

This picture came up when I did a google search for a scooter and thought it was awesome. When I am old my wife and I will have a double seated scooter like this!

An Indian Taxi

A typical bus ride

A common train ride. (I pay a little more for a coach that is less crowded).

Experiences of a Lifetime

I was getting ready to write a blog post when my laptop started making a funny sound. I shut the laptop down and then tried to turn it back on, but it would not turn on. So I am way behind on blog posts and trying to find a computer to use is not always easy.

Over the last week and a half has been a cultural experience for me as I have traveled to Southern India and back to Faizabad. Well my first experience was not a cultural experience, but it was an experience.

It was a Friday. The day was hot, work was slow, and I decided I did not want to eat lunch. During the afternoon, work in the office had all but quit and I decided I would take a stroll around the plant to learn more about the process of making paper. I find the machines at the finishing point of making paper the coolest to watch as the paper is rolled into large roles and then cut into smaller rolls. After watching I made my way to a part of the plant where a truck was being loaded with paper products. I watched as 9 or 10 people loaded the truck using a stationary fork lift and a lot of manpower. I thought is was interesting and rather inefficient, but for the cost of labor, what could be more efficient?

I don't know if me standing there watching made them uncomfortable, or the fact that I was white, or that Indians are just gracious and hospitable people towards guests, or a combination of them all. But they were more worried about me standing than actually loading the truck. No matter how many times I tried to tell them that I did not want to sit, they persistantly invited me to sit. So I finally gave in and took a seat on a roll of paper. I watched and then to my horror a man with water, tea, and snacks arrived. The water I am sure was filtered. The tea was ok, but I do not crave or love it like many peole do. But then they offed me a fried snack with potatoes and who knows what else inside. I figured it was cooked and fried and so it must be safe. And maybe it was safe for anyone used to it.

With no immediate side affects, I continued throughout the rest of my day, soaking in the fame of people wanting to stare at a white American in shorts. And then on the bus ride back to the house I began to fill a little sick. I got home took some medicine and laid down. After a while I felt a little nuacious so I got up to get some water thinking I might be a little dehydrated. On
my way back to my room I knew dehydration was far from the problem. For the next 8 hours, the toiled and I spend a lot of time together whether I was throwing up or squirting out. I missed a chicken dinner I had planned with some friends (A big deal because the people I live with are vegetarian). But even worse I was leaving on a trip the next morning for a week.

I can't say I craved much Indian food for the next week or so. In fact I tried to avoid it at all costs, but still I had to stomac it at times. I was also not able to take a picture of me throwing up so sorry if you are a little dispappointed with that.

I got over being sick in a few days and was back to normal for most of my trip. On the way to the biodynamic school/farm, I saw people taking their cows to market. No there were not big semi-trucks waiting to unload. There were hundreds of small pickup trucks with two cows each lined up to unload.

The cultural experiences began when I visited a biodynamic farm. The first morning I woke up at 4:30 to do yoga and meditation with students attending the biodynamic school. They were nice enough to give me a pillow to sit on during the meditation. That night I decided to take a shower. Well I don't think a shower is what this could be called. I had a bucket of water and some soap. No I could not fit in the bucket if that is what you are thinking. So with one of my shirts I used as a rag and a warm bucket of water, I cleaned up.

While at the biodynamic school, we sat on the floor to eat our meals and sitting cross legged does not feel good when I am so unflexable.

The weather was hot down south and I slept without air conditioning for two nights. Well I tossed and    turned the first night without much success of sleeping. I don't think it cooled down much from dusk till dawn, but it was a good experience to get a taste of what so many people in India deal with everyday of their lives.

The other cultural experience came in a city called Madurai. I had stopped by a restaurant to eat lunch. I also went to the bathroom. I stepped in to the bathroom and there in the floor was an oval hole and two placements on each side of the hole marking where to put your feet. I was then to squat like you do in the woods and do my business. It is not the squating that was a problem. When I was done there was no toilet paper. Toilet paper is not a big commodity in India. So when in India do as the Indians do and I wiped with my hand. Luckily there was a sink to wash. Then I preceded to eat my lunch which was also with my hands. Ummm!