Belgium High Lights

Oh my god, y'all. I am so freaking behind on this, many many apologies...

-Seeing Fifi La Rue
Felicia and I have know each other for ages. We went to high school together and we shared an apartment after I finished university. She is 15 different kinds of fun and just the sort of person you want to visit in a foreign country. It was so incredibly good to see her and hang out and see her life. We had a lot of fun doing nothing in particular and I can't wait to visit her again. Then again, in general I loved everyone I met in Gent. Felicia's boyfriend's parents are the nicest, most generous people I've ever met and I got to spend a lovely Sunday at their home eating a delicious lunch. Felicia's friends are also pretty fun and her boyfriend is on crack, in the good way.

-The Beer
Obviously, I'm not going to visit Belgium and not talk about the beer. It was incredible! I drank quite a variety and they were all excellent quality, even if they weren't to my tastes. The biggest surprise for me was how much I liked the fruit beers. The cherry beer I had was my favorite in general and I had this delicious strawberry beer that tasted like liquid toast with jam. I know that sounds really strange-ee but that's what it made me think of. Felicia's boyfriend is extremely knowledgeable about beers and he gave me a crash course on Belgian brewing methods, I feel very beer-nerdy now.

-The architecture
The buildings in Gent, Brugge, Brussels, and Amsterdam were beautiful. I could not stop taking photos of all the details. I love how they still use all these old buildings because here in Seoul nothing is older than 60 years and even then, they're tearing everything down and building hideous modern stuff. Also, I freaking LOVE canals and there are a ton in the low lands. It made me very very happy.

Belgium was just lovely. It was the first place I didn't have to worry at all about sexual harassment, it was my first time in a home in months, and I got to do laundry for free. I got to sit on a couch and watch TV while eating dry cereal and if you've ever been on the road for a long time, you'll know how amazing that can be. I also got a sassy haircut in Gent and I got to ride a bike all around the city for a day. I have wonderful memories of that week and seriously, I cannot wait to get back there.

Turkey Highlights

Turkey was the first stop after India and oh my....I fell in love! I don't know if it was a reaction to getting out of a developing/3rd world nation or what, but everything was so clean and so nice and I experienced quite a bit of culture shock. For example, when I was riding the trolley to my guesthouse, I got freaked out because it was so quiet. Cars weren't honking non-stop. It was a strange moment.

Smitty met up with me in Istanbul and it was surprisingly easy to get her there. All I had to do was say "Wanna go to Turkey in October?" and she was there. We spent the first part of our trip exploring Sultanahmet, going to the Aya Sofya and the Blue Mosque. They were both beautiful. The Blue Mosque looked like something out of a fairy tale and it was very lush inside. The Aya Sofya was magnificent and so freaking big. I have to admit, I wasn't as overwhelmed as I thought I'd be because after seeing the Taj Mahal....it didn't hold up well in comparison. It takes a while to get the most beautiful building in the world out of your head.

After a few days in Istanbul, we headed down to a town on the southwestern coast called Fethiye. This place was gorgeous! We went on a day tour on a sailboat and I was pretending I was Jackie O. We would stop and get to swim in the water and it was so wonderful and relaxing and just...that is what a proper holiday should be. We also spent time at a Turkish bath getting a lovely soap massage and we loitered on beaches a bit.

We ate our combined body weight in fish while we were in Turkey. There was this fish market in Fethiye where you'd buy a fish and then take it to a restaurant and they'd cook it up for you with potatoes, bread, and salad for about $4. The fish sandwiches on the street only cost about $3 and they were so delicious.

Oh, we also went over to the Asian side of Istanbul with our holiday friend, Kurt. I found my future house on that side and Smitty found a trail of cats. Good times, good times.

Turkey was so wonderful that I'm thinking of moving there after I finish up in Korea. It was one of the most relaxing weeks of my life and I'm so glad I had Smitty with me to enjoy it with. I highly recommend her as a travel companion.

Amendment...

Jeeze, y'all. This jet lag is really kicking my ass, mostly because up until today I had no routine. The Powers That Be at my school decided to make me take an extra week off so as to make sure I am not swine flued. As a result, I sat around my house for a week, bored out of my mind. No, I did not unpack. No, I did not update my blog. I fell asleep at odd hours of the day and went out drinkin' with my friends. D'oh!

Today is my first day back to school and I feel pretty happy about that. I missed my students and I missed my co-workers. Plus I have new Hello Kitty slippers and that adds tons of confidence ;)

I know I'm getting ahead of myself as far as reporting about my trip, but it's so nice to be home and not living out of a pack. I love lying in my own bed with my stupid cats and not having to wear the same 5 outfits over and over and over and over again. I had also missed my idiot flat mate and all my other friends in Seoul. While its sad my big trip is over, it's also lovely to be home.

Catching Up

Wow, the last half of the trip whipped by! In India, it was easy to slip off and spend an hour or so at the internet cafe because I was by myself. I'll post country highlights starting today and finish up by the end of the weekend. I know all of you are sitting by your computers, waiting for me to post (ha ha) so I'll put some pep in my step.

Sad Face

I have to leave Mcleod Ganj to go back to Delhi tomorrow...BIG FROWNY FACE.

Seriously, I love this town like a fat kid loves cake. On this trip, I've been ready to leave towns at the appointed time (sometimes earlier!) but right now...I am afraid I'm going to cry when I leave. But you know what? I am coming back here, I know it, and it won't be for just a week. I'm already plotting and planning a 2-6 month stay here after my next contract is up in 2011.

This town has been magical for me. I've taken cooking classes, volunteered at English classes, bought a ton of products made by Tibetan refugees, and finally relaxed after nearly 4 weeks of Indian travel. India is an exhausting country to travel in and I really can't stress enough how relaxing this place is compared to everywhere else I've been this month.

Tomorrow, I head out for Panthankot in the Punjab. I'm going to take a "toy train" there. It's a narrow gauge train with about 20 people to a car and it goes super slow. The route goes through the Kangar Valley and it's supposed to be really lovely. The ride is going to be about 5 hours.

In Panthankot, I am connecting with the overnight train to Delhi and should arrive there about 11 am. I shall then begin the arduous task of uploading my photos from India and Nepal and then posting them. It's going to be a massive pain in the ass but I want to do it then because a) I hate Delhi and I want to hide out in an internet cafe the entire time and b) if I let the pictures build up and add Turkey, etc. into the mix, it'll be unmanageable.

Alright, I'm off to enjoy my last night in the best little mountain in India. SNIFF!

Indiaaaaaa

Alright, highlights (in chronological order, more or less)

The Taj Mahal
The Taj mother fuckin' Mahal, people. It was so beautiful that my chest hurt. I cried. I could not stop taking photos. It was just breathtaking and nothing prepares you for it. I had to walk through a "gate" and I could see the Taj through the portal and then BAM! There it is, behind a reflecting pool. I went early in the morning so it wasn't too crowded and I spent ages just sitting and gazing at it. Incredible.

Udaipur
Udaipur is in southern Rajasthan and it is so pretty. The fort/palace was built on a lake is it's considered the most picturesque in Rajasthan. The palace inside was beautiful and I wandered around in it for ages before going on a lovely lake cruise. Also, the vibe of the city was nice. While there was still people trying to sell things every two steps, it was not as pushy as other places I've been. Also, I met Mohammad, the sweetest old man ever. We took a picture together and he gave me his address so I can send it to him when I get home.

Jodhpur Fort
Jodhpur itself is nothing special but holy crap, the fort there is THE fort to end all forts, and that's saying something in Rajasthan. First off, the setting couldn't be more dramatic. Jodhpur is pretty much flat and then there's a huge bluff with the fort on top. Lemme see if I can find a picture....ah, here we go:

Inside, it's just as impressive...and huge! I took the (very excellent) audio tour and went through the whole damn thing.

Jaisalmer Fort:
The fort is not only very pretty but it still has people living in it! It's about 80% Brahmin and 20% Rajput and it's an actual vibrant living fort. Very very cool.

Sleeping in the desert:
Words cannot describe the night sky I saw. It was stars horizon to horizon. I felt like I was in a snow globe.

The Golden Temple:
The Golden Temple is more or less in the middle of a pool in a marble courtyard. It's stunning and very spiritual. It's also busy all damn day, every day. Every Sikh tries to make at least one pilgrimage to the Golden Temple and it's filled with all sorts. There's a ritual just to walking in the temple and it works to create this atmosphere of utter respect and reverence. The priests (wrong word but I don't know what they're called) are continuously chanting from their holy book over the speakers and it's so unearthly. I had to wait for ages in line to go into the actual temple but it was totally worth it.

The lowlights include a wildly disappointing visit to Pushkar, sexual harassment from a chai wallah, and an awful 24 hour journey through the Punjab but why dwell? The good has outweighed the bad and I'm having a wonderful time.

Sidenote Entry: Mcleod Ganj

Hi all. I know I've not updated since Varanasi and I will, very soon, but I wanted to write about my first impression of Mcleod Ganj before it escapes me.

Mcleod Ganj is the exile home of the Dalai Lama and it's the main community of exiled Tibetans. It has a monastery, temple, stupa, and prayer wheels and it's often called Little Lhasa. The town is absolutely gorgeous, set on a mountain, and has amazing views of the valley below. I'm glad I saved it for last because I would have stayed here the entire four weeks.

But...there's a sadness to the town. It's important not to forget that this is basically a refugee camp. I went to the Tibetan museum this afternoon and it was so sad. Tibetans have had the country stolen from them and for the people who escaped to India, they can never go back.

Now, I was thinking about this in personal terms. My great-grandmother grew up in San Francisco and for Americans, having four generations grow up in the same town (and really, the same neighborhood) is very rare. San Francisco is my home and my family has deep roots, is my point. I can't imagine being exiled from the city, having my children or grandchildren never see the place our family grew from. It would be heartbreaking.

Now put that in to terms for the Tibetans and it makes me so deeply sad for them. It's incomprehensible.

I've always been a supporter of the Free Tibet movement (who remembers me gathering signatures to start a chapter of Students for a Free Tibet in college?) but now that I've seen first hand the results of the invasion....ugh. I don't see myself going to China any time soon.