Indian Electricity - It's shocking!

While moving the thumb drive back and forth to post blog posts I shocked myself again. This would probably be the 80th time I've shocked myself and I've actually started to get used to it. "Why am I shocking myself" you ask? Well let me explain.

In India, to save money, they don’t ground 90% of outlets. As a result any piece of metal that is connected to a computer can shock you. That includes the bits of metal around the USB plug, the screws holding the USB hub together, the screws holding the macbook together, the little bits of metal around all the inputs to the macbook and various other metal objects you normal don’t grow fearful of. It’s a small little jolt, about the same as an electric fence.

Pictures

So I know I'm still trying to get pictures uploaded. I have a couple excuses, mainly that the photos are huge and most internet cafe's here make it difficult if not impossible to upload photos. The Marriott also let me down by blocking www.blogspot.com and www.blogger.com, I know, I know, how retarded is that. Anway here are some webshot pictures that we did manage to get up!

Webshot Pictures!

Monday May 28, 2007

It’s been a month. It’s very strange to think of how short a time that is yet how much Jenneli and I have packed into it. I’m on the train back to Ongole and looking out the window at the dry flat country side. I’m crossing my fingers that the weather has cooled in Ongole and we won’t be arriving into hell’s furnace. I’m not sick and know a lot more about what my body can and can’t handle. I’m pretty positive at this point about the next month and getting the EWB projects wrapped up. If all goes well Jenneli and I will be done and moving onto other parts of India by the end of the month.

Since it has been a month, maybe I’ll take a moment to go over my impressions of India. It’s different here, that much is obvious. You don’t see women on the back of a motor bike wearing a sari in the States. The culture is very different as well.

People are very friendly and everyone I’ve spoken with so far has been very proud of their country as well as their culture. Old as well as young go out of their way to make our time here enjoyable and fulfilling. I’m most impressed with everyone’s tolerance of the different religions in the country. I know not everyone is as there has been a bombing of a mosque in Hyderabad a week ago. Still it’s good to know that maybe places like Iraq will be able to work things out eventually.

There are a few things I have not gotten used to. I am not used to using the world as one gigantic garbage can. After growing up with the idea of a garbage can it’s hard to undo that conditioning. Jenneli still hasn’t, she’ll give me something and I’ll toss it on the ground. Mumbai is still the only place that I’ve seen actual garbage cans.

I’m not used to guys holding hands as friends. It’s a friend thing here and both women friends and male friends do it. It’s very common and is an afterthought, for example when people are walking down the road, if they are friends they often hold hands. The messed up thing is that you’ll hardly, if ever, see a guy and a girl holding hands. Strange indeed. It’s weird that a country that started Buddhism is so conservative when it comes to showing affection. I also should add that legs and shoulders are always covered here but the midriff is ok to show.

I’m not used to the head bobble. When you ask an Indian a question you will often get a head bobble as an answer. The closest thing we have to it in america is the “I have no idea what you are talking about but maybe it doesn’t matter” head gesture. It usually means “Ok”. Though it can also mean a bunch of other things depending on the exact head movement, including “No”. It’s very confusing and I’ve not mastered the meaning yet, though I have successfully done the bobble a few times.

I’m almost but not quite used to saris and punjabs. They are ubiquitous here and are of every color and pattern. Even cleaning women will wear the most beautiful sari even if it’s not in the cleanest condition. The colors can be bright or subdued, patterned or plain. It’s also strange because what Jenneli and I think is an amazing color or fabric most people here find it old fashioned. What we may see as a little tacky they find exceptional. Beauty is in the eye of the beholder.

Everyone has a moustache. I have a full beard which is rare unless you are a Sikh. Most people have a moustache here and it’s very fashionable. Also people here are considered better looking if they are on the heavier end of the spectrum. I would say just a tad past the ideal weight. I find it nice as the women you see on TV actually look healthy instead of starved.

That will have to do. I should have posted the back log while I was in the hotel with internet on this machine (the MacBook) but I just couldn’t bring myself to do much of anything but enjoy myself in that much missed Marriott paradise.

Sunday – Brooke leaves in style

Brooke demonstrated her increadibleness once again by reserving a room at the Marriott in Hyderabad. After arriving on the flight at 9am and having no sleep we were welcomed to a 4 star hotel. Upon arriving in the room we all collapsed in enjoyment of A/C, a huge room and a luxurious big bed. Jenneli and I would spend the next 24 hours enjoying the room except for a brief excursion to the airport to see Brooke off.

We felt sad to see her go and had had such a wonderful time with her over the past month we are apprehensive about not having her energy and smiling face to greet us each day. I think Brooke was a little sad to go as well though she was looking forward to all the events she had planned for the next few weeks. We miss you Brooke!

Friday/Saturday May 25/26 Back in Bombay

Bombay is turning into Jenneli and Brooke’s shopping paradise. That’s pretty much all we did Saturday and Sunday during the day. Not only that but they went to the same shop that we went to a couple days before, FabIndia. It indeed is a pretty fab place as even I bought a few shirts that will double my India wardrobe. Luckily this time we were with Sumati, Ganesh, his brother and a friend of hers, so we had company and an idea for how much things should cost.

We didn’t really have a place to stay for the evening Saturday and were trying to figure out where to stay when Ganesh suggested the place right next to his parents apartment! It worked out great. Sumati and Ganesh were a little surprised at how easy going we were. I think they had the impression that if it wasn’t as nice as an American hotel we wouldn’t like it. Obviously they haven’t seen our apartment in Pasadena! They quickly figured out that we were up for anything and ready to have fun.

Sunday evening we all decided to go to a club and dance. Unfortunately when we got to the club they told us there was a dress code, men have to have pants, and apparently the attendant we talked to on the phone gave us the wrong information. Ganesh saved the day by working out a solution. You’ll have to ask him how we managed it.

We had a few drinks and the girls started tearing up the dance floor. The guys danced a little too. I went up once to dance with the girls but apparently you have to have a partner to get on the official dance floor. It upset me a little but it’s not my country so I got over it. After the dancing we headed back home to pack and catch a flight in a few hours. We decided it was best to not sleep the night before Brooke had to leave and besides, we needed to party.

Friday May 25, 2007 – EWB

So most of you are probably wondering about the volunteer work which should be dominating the start of our stay in India, I’ll explain. EWB started a tsunami relief project in India with grand intentions, however because of its young age and inexperience as an organization I believe it bit off more than was feasible. Over the past year and a half it’s been hard to get the project through the approval process and funded. So our LA chapter housing project which is one of the biggest, if not the biggest, undertaking in EWB is in a position currently of not having nearly enough funding and not having national approval for our project. Our local NGO, which signed contracts to have the housing project done in a year from July 2006, has gotten so tired of not having accurate information about the project that the decision was made to drop EWB-LA. This puts Jenneli and me in a difficult position. Fortunately a few other chapters are doing work in the villages and we will be able to help those projects. Obviously there is a lot of background information and details I’m not providing.

I still feel a little uncomfortable working with our NGO (SDRWC) as rightly they don’t trust us as we initially came as EWB-LA. At this point I would like to get the wells dug for a water pipeline that EWB-San Diego is doing and getting the foundations and information ready for a couple wash stations that EWB-Texas is installing. Both projects are about 15% of the size of the housing project and seem a much better fit for EWB. It pains us both that the project is turning out this way and we can’t get the houses built at this time for the villagers but hopefully over the next year EWB-LA will be able to get the project passed, a new NGO located, and funding so the houses can start. If all goes well Jenneli and I will be finished helping by mid to late June so we can explore more of India.

A Note from Brooke Weeks

As my time shortens in India, I am reinvigorated with our trip to Mumbai. The temperature is perfect, the buildings are beautiful, and the city is GREEN. It feels as if I am in a different country. This is definitely India with the insane driving and crowds, but the feeling is much more…ordered…relatively speaking. Jenneli and I were able to drag along Michael while we partook in crazy shopping spurts in Mumbai. Michael amazes me every day with his patience with us. 

In Mumbai Jenneli and I have a coworker that is helping us out, and hopefully we will get to spend some time with him and his wife. It is amazing b/c for the last 2 years we have been working together, and I have heard so many stories of Mumbai and India in general. Now I not only get to see his country, but I get to experience it with him and his wife. The excitement of this literally kept me up all night the day before we arrived into Mumbai. :o

We all three took a short day trip to Pune for a visit to our MWH office. (We are such good little MWHer’s ;) Pune was quite the surprise. There is definitely some old money and new intellect that is buzzing there making it a well preserved, lovely city. We had the great fortune of being toured by a married couple about 70 years old. It was great! I have been asking questions, and trying to learn more about Hindu and all the gods. But most of the people I have asked either are too young (my age) to remember all the stories, or their English is not good enough to explain more than the basic information, which I already know from my high school and college studies. This couple was not only knowledgeable, but could speak excellent English! So I got loads of information.

Our time in Mumbai makes me want to stay in India for another couple weeks. This city is much easier to navigate, and there are many more places I would love to see. Traveling is so stimulating. I feel like I have been taking the most interesting Indian History course for the past 2 months, with a focus in rural Andhra Pradesh. I have been able to read many books that compliment the knowledge that I am gaining in the area’s that I travel. I will have to list out my books, when I get internet. Okay, I will check back in later.

Friday May 25 – Back to Bombay.

So I’m sitting on the train headed back to Bombay from Pune and using a Jenneli’s internetless MacBook. There should be a word for a computer without Internet and from here on I think I’ll start referring to it as a “unic”.  I usually end up on a unic because it’s so hard to get a good connection here. Though if we spent a little time it’s apparently wouldn’t be that hard to get Jenneli’s phone a prepaid subscription with internet then we could have internet via her phone. As it is I’ll have to cut and past this later.

Thursday May 24 – Pranesh has the BEST parents

Jenneli and Brooke wanted to visit the MWH office in India which was in Pune and as luck would have it Pranesh’s parents are also in Pune. Unfortunately we only had 24 hours to do both. We took a very early train to Pune and was greeted at the station and brought back to the MWH office. Jenneli and Brooke had a great time seeing some of the people they had met before and seeing the workings of the India office really excited them. I also have to add that the India office had better office furnishings than Pasadena, but then I like half cubes.

After enjoying the best Internet connection and office in India, Kannan, Pranesh’s father, picked us up and started showing us Pune. We went back to their home and picked up his wife and headed off to a small party were we met some family friends and got to meet a world renown cartoonist. After the delightful conversation and party we experienced a little historical play in an old castle and headed to dinner. Kannan took us to a great little restaurant that had everything from Chinese food to Mexican. Jenneli ordered “Italian Tacos” which turned out to be tiny corn tortillas with macaroni in them. They tasted about like you would expect. We had some other more normal Indian food which tasted amazing like most Indian food.

We were at home and fell in love with Pranesh’s parents. Pranesh’s father has a great sense of humor and had us laughing the whole evening. His mom made certain we were comfortable and well fed. All three of us marveled at the wonderful view they had in their home as well as the layout and comfort. It had been a while since we had been able to stretch out and relax. It was with much regret that we had to leave in the morning. 1 day just wasn’t enough and we’ll have to come back again!

May 23 – Beautiful Bombay

On arriving Sumati and Ganesh met us at the airport and greeted us warmly. Brooke and Jenneli were ecstatic to see their friends in their home of Mumbai. If you are a little confused by the names, Mumbai used to be known as Bombay. Similar to Istanbul and Constantinople. We scurried off to the hotel and got some much needed rest.

We got up fairly late and headed into Mumbai. The cool breeze, the lower temperatures and all the glorious trees were exactly what we needed. Jenneli and Brooke shopped most of the day and we finished the evening off with some wonderful food and conversation with a couple that was in the middle of a 6 month journey around the world.

May 22 – Salt does a body good

So After I blogged in Hyderabad’s High Tech City I went back to the airport to meet with Jenneli and Brooke at 2pm. On my way there I started feeling a little ill, this feeling increased more as the day wore on and by 2pm I was feeling in pretty bad shape. Most likely due to the heat. I really need to start being better about my exposure to the heat. I call Brooke and found out that their train had been delayed 4 hours! So they had sat at the train station in Ongole from 4am to 8am waiting for the train. I had sympathy for them but sympathy wasn’t going to get me into the air conditioned bliss of the airport. Sadly I trudged off to an auto-rickshaw and headed for AC restaurant.

I arrived at the restaurant ok but unfortunately after eating a couple bites of excellent nan & curry I had to go to the bathroom. I came back with a lighter stomach and not feeling much better. After 1.5 hours I had a couple more bites and felt a little better. I thanked the staff and explained the food was outstanding however I wasn’t feeling well, and it was no fault of theirs.

I got back to the airport feeling much better and the girls arrived an hour or so later. In to the airport we went and it felt good to know I wouldn’t be sweating again till Bombay. However we did need to figure out how to burn 4 hours till the plane took off. Fortunately there was a great little restaurant with it’s own hidden entertainment.

About half way through our dinner 2 things happened, first I figured out I was severely lacking salt, which explained my earlier sickness and a colony of moths had infested the air vent. They turned on the fans and I kid you not about 2000 moths blew into the restaurant and proceeded to panic the staff and bewilder the patrons. After about 10 minutes most of the little moths had fallen to the floor for reasons I can’t explain and the staff started sweeping them up.

I also should mention that after 3 orders of French fries and ½ a shaker of salt I felt 100% better. Note to self, more salt in the future.

Hyderabad, maybe cooler

So today I am in Hyderabad, the girls should be here in a few more hours and I’ll go meet them at the airport. Because India has the worst website for booking train travel we had to travel separately. I went to the rail station at around 10pm and caught the train at about 11, it was a little late. I have a hard time expressing the joy I felt getting into the cool AC of the train for the overnight trip to Hyderabad. It takes about 9 hours and I slept blissfully most of the way.
When the train arrived in Hyderabad I started chatting with the fellow next to me and he offered to take me to an internet café close to the airport, we talked some more and he wanted to show me a little of Hyderabad and his home. Neresh turned out to have family in the states and helped me get around in Hyderabad and explained the town a little bit. I wish him luck with his attempts to get an H1B visa!Hyderabad, maybe cooler

So today I am in Hyderabad, the girls should be here in a few more hours and I’ll go meet them at the airport. Because India has the worst website for booking train travel we had to travel separately. I went to the rail station at around 10pm and caught the train at about 11, it was a little late. I have a hard time expressing the joy I felt getting into the cool AC of the train for the overnight trip to Hyderabad. It takes about 9 hours and I slept blissfully most of the way.
When the train arrived in Hyderabad I started chatting with the fellow next to me and he offered to take me to an internet café close to the airport, we talked some more and he wanted to show me a little of Hyderabad and his home. Neresh turned out to have family in the states and helped me get around in Hyderabad and explained the town a little bit. I wish him luck with his attempts to get an H1B visa!

And it does seem a little cooler, but it's also not 2pm yet.

Being sick in the heat isn't fun

So as you've probably noticed it's the 22nd and I've been horrible about updating for the past week. I still don't have pictures but I'm determined today is the day! I have 3 hours to get them uploaded, should be plenty of time.

So after getting chairs on Monday we worked a little through the week and Wednesday I believe was the night that Jenneli and Brooke decided to get a sari and a Punjab. Hopefully I’ll be able to add some pictures so you can see what they look like. Brooke had the most success with getting both her sari fabric and her Punjab fabric. Jenneli got her Punjab but couldn’t find fabric she really liked for the sari. I was going to play chess with Rockesh however somehow the idea came across that I we would go watch the girls pick out cloth. I was a bit bored and hot.

Doom struck when we got home and I developed a sore throat. By morning I was sick. It was not fun and very uncomfortable. The next 3 days I spent in the house trying to recover as fast as I could. Yesterday was the first day I could function at any real level. Even today I’m blowing my nose a bit.

Colds are not fun when it’s hot.

Plastic chairs should only cost $5

Monday the 14th we spent fixing up the apartment. I was to get the part to fix the sink and get chairs, Jenneli and Brooke would clean and mop. After walking a million miles in 110F heat I asked 13 different shops about the part and finally figured out the shop everyone was directing me to was closed. It was closed the next day too. I also was on the warpath for chairs, as standing around in the apartment is getting very old. Now after asking 4 different people how much $5 Wal-Mart style plastic chairs should cost they assured me to pay no more than 200 rupees, or almost exactly $5. We live in a small world! So after asking several stores and getting answers of anywhere from 300-350 rupees I knew I would have to negotiate. Unfortunately I was too hot to negotiate effectively and could only get to 250 rupees. I ended up buying them the next day for that, no use arguing over $2, we needed chairs! I might add they have been totally worth it.

Indian Weddings are HUGE

One of Bindu’s schoolteachers was getting married and extended us an invitation! My expectations were that it would be a huge wedding, as we have heard most are, ranging from 500 - 2000 people. Being so big I thought that we could be in the back and not attract too much attention. As we arrived I noticed that it was quite big, probably close to 750 people were present. Instead of standing at the back we were quickly ushered to 3 chair at the very front! Even though this attracted quite a bit of attention the groom smiled at us and we were introduced to his brother who thanked us for being there. After about 2 minutes I guess the decision was made that we were not close enough and were invited to sit on the stage with the groom, the bride, and the wedding party!!! It was quite the experience and we were able to see it all so very close. I really hope we didn’t distract from the wedding but it was so chaotic that I think everyone involved enjoyed the ceremony fully even with us at the very front. We will never forget the experience and again want to thank Bindu, the bride, the groom, and their families for allowing us to experience it!

I would detail the wedding but the pictures do a better job of explaining what was going on. The ceremony lasted about 3 hours and involved just about everyone congratulating, giving presents to, and throwing rice at the bride and the groom. Weddings are a very joyous event and it was no different in India. They also invited us for the reception meal which had many different foods to symbolize the variety of experiences in a marriage; spicy, hot, cold, sweet, bitter, tender, etc. I'm sure there were many other symbolic things going on that I missed. Maybe I'll have a chance to see another big wedding here!

White Liquor

I’ve made a few new friends while in Ongole, mainly when visiting Bindu’s. She has some very good friends. One is Rokesh, Bindu’s cousin, who has driven me around on his motorcycle and speaks pretty good English. Another is Portaju who is a lawyer and took me to experience a light alchohol beverage, served warm and only available in summer called White Liquor. It tasted very strange and I’m at a loss of words to describe it. I also met Ayoda, a very nice guy who helped me learn a little Telugu.

May 13,2007 Sunday

I’ve caught up! I’ve been blogging for the past week and finally I’m talking about today!
We went out to the village today in the heat of the day. Not the smartest idea we’ve had but we wanted to get it done as soon as possible. Joseph called for a driver and within an hour or so we had wheels. Ragu, our very helpful contact from the village, also came to help us.

The driver, Ragu, Brooke, Jenneli and I headed out to survey the wells. Earlier EWB San Diego had done well tests in the area and we needed to go out with a GPS unit and survey the location of each well so we could get a better Idea of were to place future wells. It was hot and we were happy to be back in the air conditioning of the car. We took 14 GPS points and surveyed 10 wells. Another productive day. Tonight Bindu has invited us to a wedding! We are looking forward to checking out our first Indian wedding!

New Shirt

Saturday we went in to work and worked on some outstanding issues with the project and afterward went out to find a new place to eat. We walked over to one of the major sections of town and on the way found a wonderful little handy craft market. I bought a little something for my parents as well as a new shirt! It is a long Indian styled white shirt that I can wear out when I want to look a little better than my regular REI outfit.

After the shop we found a great little bar/resturant. Jenneli and Brooke were the only women in the place because in the part of the country we are in few women drink. The atmosphere was great and we celebrated our first week together in Ongole. The waiter suggested 2 great appetizers and we rounded it off with a few nan and a curry dish.

Bindu’s Hospitality

On our first night in Ongole Bindu introduced us to her family and showed us her house. It was the first time in weeks we felt like we were at home, even if it wasn’t ours. She also helped us buy some great food from a street vendor that we ate at her house. The next night she out did herself and invited us over for our first home cooked meal. We met even more of her wonderful family and had some great food.

Apparently it is customary here for the guest to eat first and then after the visit the family would eat. It was a wonderful time and felt great to be at a home for a change. They also had a very cute dog named Scooby that just wanted to play. Bindu is the Jewel of Ongole!

CMUs

We did research on Concrete masonry units and found that though you could have them made, the quality was suspect and cost prohibitive. There just isn’t CMUs within reasonable grasp of Ongole.

Ongole

We arrived in Ongole at 3am on the 9th. Brooke brought us to our soon to be home for quite a while. Through a series of fortuitous events we are renting a spacious apartment with marble floors. Brooke had been able to furnish the apartment with a few fans and cots to sleep on. We got out our mosquito nets and went to sleep. Tomorrow would be our first real day at the Society for the Development of Rural Women and Children (SDRWC) working on the project!

We got up at 10 and headed to the office. Joseph directs the SDRWC and greeted us. We also were introduced to Bindu who helps Joseph at the office. We got to work and started catching up on the backlog of EWB mail. There were many tasks to work on including creating a project timeline to catalog the start of the project to where we were currently. Jenneli and Brooke took about to find placements for wash stations and surveying the wells in the area of the village. We also had some materials to find for the construction to begin.

Relaxation and Reflection

The train ride gave us plenty of time to watch some movies and relax after visiting the Golden Triangle (Agra, Jaipur, and Delhi). Let me use this post to explain some of what I’ve neglected.

Weather: It’s hot and humid. Daily it’s been around 90-95F with about 50% humidity. The evenings would drop into the mid 70s. Ongole would turn out hotter, about 90-110F with 50-75% humidity. It’s hot, we sweat a lot, but you get used to it… a little.

Countryside: It’s basically a dessert this time of year. From the end of June to November the monsoons turn the country into a lush environment, from what I hear. It’s fairly flat and reminds me of southern Idaho without the mountains.

Sellers: India has a wide variety of shops and they all want to sell you something. In the bigger cities you can only walk about 50 feet before someone wants to practice English, invite you to a shopping centre, or straight out just want money handed to them. The beggers will tend to follow you 100 yards or so before they give up. None of the sellers by themselves are bad but all together they really put a drain on your ability to maintain a polite “no thank you”.

Our Last Day in Dehli

We spent the last day in Delhi finding an Internet café and coffee. After coffee we found a book store and acquired a “Learn Telugu in a month” and “A history of India.” We then went back to the apartment to pack up and get ready for the train to Ongole. We flagged down a couple auto rickshaws and headed to the train station. Jumped on the train and were set for the 30 hour journey to Ongole.

Indians are great!

We met Shraddha’s friends at a place called the Smoke House Grill. We met the 3 friends there, and they gave us the best reception and conversation that we have had to date in India. The majitos were excellent and the food outstanding. Relaxing with our new found friends put us back in a terrific mood and it was exactly what we needed!

I had felt a little funny before dinner but after dinner the funny feeling increased and by the time I got home I knew something in my delicate (weak) American system was not quite right. After about 5 more trips to the bathroom my suspicions were confirmed. Jenneli actually had the right idea at bathroom visit #3 by saying I should take some antibiotics and amodium. Being too proud and convinced my immune system could persevere I attempted to sleep between bathroom visits. By morning I had nothing left in my lower digestive tract and took Jenneli’s advice of antibiotics and amodium. Unfortunately by then I was dehydrated and had a raging headache. Jenneli and Brooke consoled me and brought water. Around noon they went off to view a few more sights in Delhi and I struggled to maintain my path to hydration and wellness in bed. By the next morning I was feeling better and ready for a new adventure.

Doom: An AC Resturant

After looking at the cannon we were done with Jaipur and were ready to eat and return to Delhi. Our guide recommended a restaurant and we went in to the welcome breeze of an air conditioned room. After sitting down and ordering I noticed a bug on Brookes shoulder about the size of a small half dollar. Not wanting Brooke to freak out but still save herself from an unknown fate I told her “Brooke you have a small bug on your shoulder”. In a flurry Brooke removed the bug and it landed quite dead on the floor. It took her a minute to compose herself but all was fine.

After eating a good portion of the meal I noticed what seemed to be a small mouse scurrying on the wall. Jenneli saw it too but assured us that it was just another lizard or gecko that we had become used to seeing on everyone’s walls. A few minutes later the very mouse like gecko poked his head out from behind the bench we were sitting on. This helped convince Jenneli that, in fact, it was a mouse. A few minutes later another mouse ran across the wall and hid in a hole near the ceiling. When I say it scurried on the wall I mean that literally, the wall had just enough texture to allow the little fellows to grip it.

We lost our appetite and paid the check and left. I also might add that the day didn’t start all that great as we had had enough of shop keepers trying to sell us over priced local trinkets. (Though the day before Jenneli and Brooke both bought some wonderful blankets and fabric) We looked forward to getting back to our little air conditioned room and relaxing. The drive went pretty quickly and on the way Brooke again showed her ability to hook us up with fun and excitement. A coworker to Jenneli and Brooke, Shraddha, had just missed us a week before but her friends were all about meeting us that evening for dinner.

May 5th

After recovering we went out and saw some more of the city palace, went to the top of a very tall tower that enabled us to view the entire pink city. This, if I didn’t mention before, was one of the first planned city in the world, if not the first. Apparently one of the rulers had decided to make a big cannon, upon it’s test firing the shock wave destroyed parts of the city. To make amends the ruler decided to make a whole new city a few miles away. Presto, Pink City.

The Pink City didn’t actually start pink. Queen Elizabeth came for a visit and the ruler found out she liked pink so he painted the whole city Pink. It’s been like that since.

We also went off and saw the canon and the older part of the city. Although it had been abandoned for the past 300 years or so it was being restored and had some of the most interesting architecture we had seen so far. One room in particular had little tiny mirrors inset into the walls and ceiling, they also had a balcony about 200 feet up that had a 2 foot railing, that made us a little nervous but impressed none the less.

Doom: its small blue and oblong

Before we left America Jenneli and I got a battery of shots and pills to help us survive the many trials and tribulations our innocent bodies may face. Malaria pills being the only daily pill we have to take. The directions indicate that one should take them with water. Up to this morning we had been taking them with food and water, this morning we took them before food.

Within 10 minutes I was not feeling so hot but attributed it to the heat. By the time we had sat down to breakfast my stomach had had enough so off to the bathroom I went. I got back to the table and Brooke and Jenneli had pitty for me but then Jenneli wasn’t looking so hot. About the time she had finished her Chai her stomach had had enough as well. After another bought for me a few minutes later we both were feeling better.

Lesson: Take malaria pills with water AND food.

The rest of May 4th

After seeing the coolest thing in the world we walked over to the city palace and saw elephants and camels along the way. It’s a little weird just seeing camels along the street like it was nothing, but here it’s pretty common here. The palace had some great carvings but I spied some weapons on display that I had only seen in WoW. Fist weapons! They were something right out of a fantasy novel, complete with detailed handles and everything. They looked just as grizzly as I had always imagined, the sabers and knives were also interesting.

After the palace the heat made us want to head back to the hotel and some welcome AC.

Ancient Astronomy Play Land

The astrological and astronomical park had all sorts of cool huge instruments. It had everything from determining your horoscope to checking to see how close the solstice is. The best part, without a doubt, had to be the BIGGEST SUN DIAL IN THE WORLD! Yeah! It was incredible and had accuracy to about 18 seconds. There were smaller sun dials too that were still as large as a merry go round.

Apparently the ruler at the time was into astrology and astronomy and had 5 similar observatories constructed around the region with this one being the largest. It made sense to me, I’d be building big sun dials too if I had the money.

Pink City

After the crazy day at the Taj Mahal we went back to the hotel, got some food and went to bed. The hotel room service food tasted great! I might mention garlic nan is my new favorite food, just edging out salmon sashimi. Ok well not all of us hit the sack after food, I had met a group of British students that were flying around the world earlier in the day and had told them I would have a drink with them in the evening. We ended up getting along great and had some great conversations about the world. Sleep for me happened closer to 3.

After breakfast we took off for Jaipur first stopping at the Agra fort. The fort was great fun as you could walk around the complex and view some very strange and interesting structures. Just as we got back to the car to move on to the next section of the fort we realized the time… EWB time!

We called in to the conference line and Paul Risher was there waiting for us, however because of a communication problem a few people that needed to be on the call were not. We made the most of it and talked to Paul about the project and went over tasks and details. It was a productive call that lasted about an hour while we were on the way to Jaipur.

After we arrived in Jaipur we went to one of the best places I’ve seen so far, excluding the Taj Mahal, an old astrology/astronomy park!

The One Ring - May 3, 2007

So I had been planning on asking Jenneli to marry me for quite some time and a few months back I realized that we would be at the Taj Mahal. That seemed like a great place and so I spent a couple months before we left looking for a ring. A week before we left I had found a ring and had been hiding it ever since. Not only was it hard to keep the ring a secret but I was worried about losing it at the same time. Finally the day had arrived to give the ring a good home and end the butterflies in my stomach over the proposal.

I should add that I was pretty sure Jenneli had found the ring while repacking the bags before we left while I ran some errands. If she hadn't found it then there had been numerous opportunities since. I confidently assumed all was well and that she had had some time to think about it. When we got to Agra we dropped off our bags at the hotel and went straight to the Taj Mahal. It was very impressive and one of the best monuments to anything I've ever seen. Pranesh, who I had talked to a couple weeks before hand, was right, this was a great place for a marriage proposal.

After a few false starts of me getting ready to say something and Jenneli running off to look at something else incredibly interesting the moment finally came. Jenneli asked Brooke to take our picture. Originally I had planned to just privately ask Jenneli but I’m not one to pass up serendipity. Jenneli would have to stand there and Brooke could capture the whole event! So Jennli starts to pose like one does when getting a picture taken and I dropped to one knee and asked her. She first asked “are you kidding” which told me that she probably hadn’t found the ring and wasn’t prepared for the moment which made the whole event that much better. I assured her the moment was genuine and that the ring was real. That really made her turn red and I believe she lost the ability to speak at that point. After a few minutes she regained some ability to function and Brooke came up wanting to know what was going on and what all the pictures she had just taken was about! Jenneli haltingly explained and Brooke exploded with congratulations. I pointed out that I hadn’t really gotten an answer yet and maybe the congrats might be premature but Jenneli said “of course yes” and gave Brooke the ability to go ecstatic again and I could relax. It was a great moment and very memorable!

After the Taj Mahal we went to a marble dealer that had some beautiful inlayed marble and we picked one out together that we both liked and got it. I’m sure we paid way too much for it but it was beautiful and something to remember the event by.

Jaipur was also interesting though for me it was time to relax. It was a little strange hearing Jenneli talk about wedding plans… our wedding!

Dates and places

Maybe I should be a little clearer on the dates. We arrived in Delhi on the 1st of May, spent the 1st and 2nd in Delhi and on the morning of the 3rd we were on the road to Agra with our tour guide Papu. We would spend the evening of the 3rd in Agra, then go to Jaipur on the 4th and return to Delhi on the 5th, catching a train that evening to travel to Ongole.

I also want to mention that our host in Delhi was a member of the communist party and I had a great chat with him about politics. We had a lot in common and really enjoyed each other’s view points.

New Delhi - India - May 1&2, 2007

Brooke Weeks had been making fast friends with all kinds of people in the month that she had been in India. As a result she had hooked us up with drivers, food, and lodging through a friend of a friend. After leaving the airport in a car with Brooke, a driver, a translator, Jenneli and I we proceeded to drive through the streets and not really roads of Delhi. Within 5 minutes of leaving the airport we had taken a shortcut through a dirt path that I can only describe as an old farm road. I was beginning to question the motives of Brooke’s friends, but soon enough we were back on paved streets and surrounded by armies of auto-rickshaws, ambassador automobiles and little Asian cars like what we were in. Chaos is the only description I can give for the movement of traffic in India. Streets can have cars, people, bicycles, auto rickshaws, bicycle rickshaws, trucks, elephants, cargo carts, Cows, and Camels to name a few. The street can be loosely divided in direction of travel or more formally with a 3 foot divider. Though even with a divider if a Camel drawn cart really wants to go down the wrong side of the street it will to the annoyed beeping and honking of trucks, cars, and anything else with a horn. Speaking of horns, I’ve been accustomed to not using one. In India it's more of a safe way of saying "I'm here" and on average you'll want to let everyone know you are there every minute. There is a lot of honking. Some of the trucks even have their own special horns that play music.

We toured around Delhi the next few days and worked out a guide to take us to Jaipur, and Agra. Agra is the home of the Taj Mahal. Delhi was bustling and fun though all I can really remember was the heat, traffic and a place called Canaught Place. The food was great and I was looking forward to seeing some of the countryside.

Plane Food: Hot & Spicy

We felt sad about leaving Honk Kong on the 30th of April but were looking forward to seeing our future home for 4 months, India! After we got checked in and arrived at the gate we knew we were going somewhere different. Our plane going to Delhi had a loosely defined line that was anything but orderly while the plane next to us going to Brisbane had a normal straight, “we want to get on the plane orderly”, line. That line to Brisbane was the last orderly line I’ve seen.

The plane food was great! I wasn’t quite expecting it but low and behold even the curry they serve on the plane is fantastic! I couldn’t wait to land in a place with such tasty food.

The immigration line confirmed that there would be no orderly lines in India. If we had any doubt the first few minutes on the roads dismissed any notion of “orderly” we might have.

Brooke Weeks our friend, EWB president, and partner for the first month in India met us at the airport at 4:00AM! She was bright and smiling, as always, and ready to introduce us to India even at such an early hour. Adventure awaits!

Hong Kong - April 29&30, 2007

Over the next few days (april 28-30) Suzanne toured us around Hong Kong and took us to the best places to eat. Suzanne had grown up in Hong Kong so she was able to show us all the places she remembered growing up. It made the big city comfortable and gave a much more neighborhood feeling to all the big buildings.

We ate at a lot of smaller local restaurants which really made us feel like we were enjoying the local flavor and not just what a tourist might experience. The food was outstanding and we ate to our fill every meal. I really liked all the hustle and bustle of the shops and eateries. At one place I had a snail looking dish that was quite possibly the best thing I’ve ever eaten. I had to get another plate of it and I’m still wishing I had went ahead with a 3rd or 4th order of it.

Jenneli spent quite a bit of time shopping and while she did that I mastered “Golf” on her phone. I’m not sure I can talk to much about shopping. They have a bunch of little stores that reminded me of a vendor market. A shopping mall might have 200 little vendors all trying to sell something a little bit different. Right before we left we bought a whole bunch of candy and it’s just now getting drained, I think we have 4 pieces left.

After living in a huge sprawl, LA, it was nice to see a city with cheap efficient mass transit. We could right the city bus for about 30 cents and a trip to the airport only cost about $10. The subway was also very reasonable and went just about everywhere.

It turns out Suzanne’s mom runs a hair salon and she offered to cut Jenneli’s hair. Jenneli took her up on the offer and got one of the best cuts she’s ever gotten.

Jenneli and I have to give another HUGE thank you to both Suzanne and her wonderful parents for making Hong Kong so enjoyable and memorable! (and for carrying all of Jenneli’s newly acquired treasures back to California)

Of density and obesity - April 28, 2007

Hong Kong is dense! Seriously dense. Upon arriving we looked around Hong Kong and all we could see were thousands of high rise apartment complexes. We stayed inside one of these high rises. We had a little bed and a bathroom, it was very cozy but the perfect size for us. Suzanne, a friend of Jenneli’s, flew over with us to Hong Kong and hosted us. We also got to meet Suzanne’s parents who were incredibly kind and also set us up with the apartment for our 3 day stay.

We arrived in the evening and Suzanne’s mom was kind enough to meet us at the airport and welcome us to Hong Kong. We took a bus from the airport to where we would be staying and met Suzanne’s father. We quickly decided food would be a good start to the stay and a precedent for the days to follow.

We ate at a very popular place that had, of all things, Heineken signs on the walls in Chinese. We ate a lot of different food and had Asahi beer as there was some kind of promotion for it and girls walking a round trying to get people to order it, well that and I like Asahi. I can’t remember all the dishes we tried but we did learn that evening how to each in the local style. Basically you have a little bowl you put the food you want to eat into, then eat out of the little bowl. Sounds weird but it worked great for the food and made using chopsticks that much easier. After dinner we went back to collapse in our room and have a much needed sleep.

Layover in Hong Kong

We had a three day layover in Hong Kong.

Great food.