Nepal is cool! We've been going to a whole bunch of temples which are really beautiful. Of course, after a while they all start to look the same. But still, seeing temples is always a favorite sight-seeing objective for me! Kathmandu is both dirty and crowded yet grassy and beautiful, depending on where you go. There's a lot to look at and take in.
Today, after a billion and one people asked us if we wanted tour guides, one man in particular decided that 'no thank you' wasn't good enough and he followed us around trying to convince us. No matter how many times we said no, he still followed. I finally said, "Can you please leave us alone now?" To which he replied, "You are the two ugliest Americans I have ever seen in my country!!!"
We also saw a lot of dead animals today near some temples. Most of them were missing heads and had the blood all around them. It was pretty gross but interesting to see. Obviously, this happens at home every day too, just not in front of us! Pre-wrapped Foodtown meat seems totally different than blood-soaked sidewalks with hooves on the side.
Saturday, October 16, 2010
Thursday, October 14, 2010
More stolen pics from Jody!
This past Sunday, we went to the Taj Mahal. The security women were very concerned about the fold-up neck pillow I had in my bag. One finally said "Ma'am, make sure you don't use this inside." I looked at her and said 'Um, it's a pillow." She replied, "Yes, please don't use it inside." Um.... ok. Wasn't really planning on taking a nap at the Taj.
On Monday and Tuesday, Sara and I took a train to the city of Amritsar to see the Golden Temple. The highlight was driving about 35 kilometers away to the Pakistani/Indian border to watch the changing of the flags. It was so cool!! We could see Pakistan and the guards, and the guards on our side did a whole ceremony.
Here are some more pictures stolen from Jody to hold you over until I'm home:
On Monday and Tuesday, Sara and I took a train to the city of Amritsar to see the Golden Temple. The highlight was driving about 35 kilometers away to the Pakistani/Indian border to watch the changing of the flags. It was so cool!! We could see Pakistan and the guards, and the guards on our side did a whole ceremony.
Here are some more pictures stolen from Jody to hold you over until I'm home:
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| Anj Jody Sara Alex - crammed into a rickshaw |
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| Jody & Andrea at a tomb in Delhi |
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| Andrea Jody Sara - at Taj Mahal |
Monday, October 4, 2010
i love smelly delhi.
Delhi has been great! Hanging out with everyone has been fun. We've all been enjoying dinners, rickshaw rides, and the Delhi Metro together. Shopping and bargaining has been a success. I'm buying a lot of scarves and materials! Most of the sales people laugh at me because I bargain so hard and then they give in and tell me I must be an experienced bargainer. Too good!
On Saturday, Sara and I went with Jody to see her placement at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute. I was excited to see it because Mother Teresa's started in India originally. Jody's been working there for a couple months and I can't even imagine how attached she must be to all the women there. The women who live there have been abandoned and it's not the easiest place to wrap your head around.
We also went to the movies this weekend to see the latest movie 'Anjaana Anjaani.' I really liked it! Here's a little clip from it. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAdGr0KRx0I
Today, Sara and I went to a Mobile Creche to volunteer with the kiddies! They are so cute I can't stand it! There's a little boy I already want to steal, of course. Today, I spent time with some of the older girls and they laughed at the Bollywood songs that I know and sang along with them. We looked through newspapers and pointed out the Indian actors. They asked me to bring in nail polish and eyeliner for tomorrow to play with. Love the kids!
Jody just posted some pictures so I'm going to steal them and post some here for you all to see:
On Saturday, Sara and I went with Jody to see her placement at Mother Teresa's Home for the Dying and Destitute. I was excited to see it because Mother Teresa's started in India originally. Jody's been working there for a couple months and I can't even imagine how attached she must be to all the women there. The women who live there have been abandoned and it's not the easiest place to wrap your head around.
We also went to the movies this weekend to see the latest movie 'Anjaana Anjaani.' I really liked it! Here's a little clip from it. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BAdGr0KRx0I
Today, Sara and I went to a Mobile Creche to volunteer with the kiddies! They are so cute I can't stand it! There's a little boy I already want to steal, of course. Today, I spent time with some of the older girls and they laughed at the Bollywood songs that I know and sang along with them. We looked through newspapers and pointed out the Indian actors. They asked me to bring in nail polish and eyeliner for tomorrow to play with. Love the kids!
Jody just posted some pictures so I'm going to steal them and post some here for you all to see:
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| Sara and Vicky |
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| Andrea - Jody - Sara - Foot Mendhi |
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| Rickshaw |
Wednesday, September 29, 2010
Back in Delhi !
Finally, after 2 years, I'm back!
Since I was in India in 2008, I've had many dreams about the children I worked with last time in India, I've imagined coming back, I've come up with a million ideas in my head. But now I'm finally here. I have a 10 year visa now and I hope I can come every couple of years.
So far we've had a totally NON Indian experience- right now we're staying at a nice hotel with a really comfortable blanket and a tv and we went out to eat with Jody at a nice place and I had pesto pasta and chocolate dessert. We're going to have to find a hotel that's less expensive, but for now this is nice to have!
I saw some of the CCS staff today. In 2008, they were really like my brothers and I've missed them so much since then. It was great to finally see them again and know that I'll be seeing them during these weeks!
Can't wait to go shopping. Last time, I only bought what I could fit into my suitcase. Not this time! In each country, we've been shipping home all of the things we buy- we're only traveling with backpacks so we don't have room to carry any souvenirs with us. So, we've been having day long searches in each country so that we can ship home big boxes of things. I plan to buy a lot here!!
This will be interesting- it will be totally different from last time, when I was totally consumed in my volunteer work and spent every minute thinking about the kids. We hope to volunteer some this time around, but with a shorter period of time, it will be so different.
http://unknowndestinations2010.blogspot.com/
Also, check out this link! It's a blog written by one of my best friends, Jody, who has been here in India for several months. She's volunteering right now at Mother Teresa's and her blog is really amazing- great stories about the people she's met and worked with. If you are interested in truly learning about Indian culture and people, read this- it's really amazing!
Since I was in India in 2008, I've had many dreams about the children I worked with last time in India, I've imagined coming back, I've come up with a million ideas in my head. But now I'm finally here. I have a 10 year visa now and I hope I can come every couple of years.
So far we've had a totally NON Indian experience- right now we're staying at a nice hotel with a really comfortable blanket and a tv and we went out to eat with Jody at a nice place and I had pesto pasta and chocolate dessert. We're going to have to find a hotel that's less expensive, but for now this is nice to have!
I saw some of the CCS staff today. In 2008, they were really like my brothers and I've missed them so much since then. It was great to finally see them again and know that I'll be seeing them during these weeks!
Can't wait to go shopping. Last time, I only bought what I could fit into my suitcase. Not this time! In each country, we've been shipping home all of the things we buy- we're only traveling with backpacks so we don't have room to carry any souvenirs with us. So, we've been having day long searches in each country so that we can ship home big boxes of things. I plan to buy a lot here!!
This will be interesting- it will be totally different from last time, when I was totally consumed in my volunteer work and spent every minute thinking about the kids. We hope to volunteer some this time around, but with a shorter period of time, it will be so different.
http://unknowndestinations2010.blogspot.com/
Also, check out this link! It's a blog written by one of my best friends, Jody, who has been here in India for several months. She's volunteering right now at Mother Teresa's and her blog is really amazing- great stories about the people she's met and worked with. If you are interested in truly learning about Indian culture and people, read this- it's really amazing!
Sunday, September 26, 2010
Gobble, gobble... lol..
The constant harassment from men is beyond annoying at this point! Even telling them we're married doesn't work. And the lack of personal space baffles us!
We've been throughout Istanbul several times over the past few days. 97% of the country is in Asia, but it really feels like a 'typical' European country (not that I would actually know). The Blue Mosque and Agias Sofia were def the highlights of the sights. The insides of these places were beautiful. Actually, I think the prettiest place we saw here was the inside of an area of the Topaki Palace.
Tomorrow, we'll be spending a fortnight in the Dubai airport. We have a 13 hour layover starting just after midnight on Monday/Tuesday. We'll be entertaining ourselves by buying new books, magazines, junk food, trying to exchange all our random money built up throughout this trip, and hopefully finding a spot to set up camp and sleep a little.
We've been throughout Istanbul several times over the past few days. 97% of the country is in Asia, but it really feels like a 'typical' European country (not that I would actually know). The Blue Mosque and Agias Sofia were def the highlights of the sights. The insides of these places were beautiful. Actually, I think the prettiest place we saw here was the inside of an area of the Topaki Palace.
Tomorrow, we'll be spending a fortnight in the Dubai airport. We have a 13 hour layover starting just after midnight on Monday/Tuesday. We'll be entertaining ourselves by buying new books, magazines, junk food, trying to exchange all our random money built up throughout this trip, and hopefully finding a spot to set up camp and sleep a little.
Thursday, September 23, 2010
Picture Preview
Not posting our pics and videos until we're home because our tiny computers will crap out on us, but here are some highlights!!
Tanzania
Morocco
Egypt
Turkey
Tanzania
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| Washing our clothes out back in Tanzania. |
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| The place we stayed in Tanzania. The dirt road sums it up! |
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| The boys at the Center in Tanzania. They taught us so much about Bagamoyo culture! |
Morocco
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| Marrakech |
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| Me with Hicham's wonderful sisters, Nadia and Latifa! |
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| 2nd largest Mosque in the world, Casablanca. |
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| Sar & Anj |
Egypt
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Um... the Pyramids. |
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| Blue Mosque |
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| Agias Sofia |
Egypt hotel tip!
Hotel tip for Cairo! We have a definite recommendation for anyone going to Cairo: American Hotel. They are amazing!! Not only was it a nice hotel, but they booked everything for us in the country! The manager at the hotel was so nice and booked a ton of things for us that came to $350 USD. Here's what it included: one night in a 2 star hotel, one night in a 3 star hotel, a day tour of Giza and Cairo, a tour guide in Aswan all day, a tour guide in Luxor all day, guides to pick us up at our trains, all taxi transfers, and two nights on overnight trains. And, on top of this, they were reliable and always there. Oh, anddd they let us sleep in the rooms and shower in Cairo even when we weren't staying there that night- for free.
http://www.hostelbrothers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=5&lang=en&7384144da80e8619edbecf373c02aef2=5279a16b1d48152c99339f4811840bed
http://www.hostelbrothers.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=3&Itemid=5&lang=en&7384144da80e8619edbecf373c02aef2=5279a16b1d48152c99339f4811840bed
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