On Places, People and Cultures

One thing that caught my eye as soon as I crossed the Indian – Nepalese boarder was Converse sneakers and some pretty fasionable denim worn by two blokes operating the mini bus I took to Kathmandu, as well as a number of beer and liquire billbords along the road. It was something I hadn’t seen for a duration of my stay in India. I wasn’t sure what to read from it first, before I went to check out some sights around the capital the day after. Generally speaking, things I witnessed, like a woman behind a wheel of public mini bus or just groups of young people hanging out on of the central squares of the city make that place look much more modern, young and alive. I have to say, combined with preatty stunning architecture and significantly less hustling comparing to India, those things made me really like the place.

Check out a few more pictures on Flickr.

I it’s been only a day since I left Dharamsala and I’m already missing it. Needless to say what a difference it makes when you hook up with locals at a place you visit for the first time. So viva CS once again. Special thanks go to Raja, his mom Maria and his girlfriend Elise.

The first Yoga class (Guerilla Yoga, highly recommended), trekking in Himalayas (Himalayan Explorers, again, more highly recommended) and spending a few days in a gorgeous Tibettain Buddist retreat made my visit to Dharamsala one of the major highlights of my entire trip. Thanks guys!

… That was a question, me and Bob overheard, put by an XXL sized, I’d say, 60+ year old American couple, who’s deep “r”s place them south of Mason-Dixon line, to their Indian tour guide, while visiting one of the major country’s tourist attractions Taj Mahal. The fact they were referring to the troops of hungry and scarred (some were missing patches of skin on their bodies) dogs, filling the streets of Indian towns and cities, left us cracking up at the ridiculousness of the question for the rest of the day.

The reason I’m mentioning that here is because it serves a good metaphor to what we have experienced so far, after we left Vrendavan for Agra in our quest to visit major places of interest in India. I’m really feeling lost right now. I don’t see how you can get off the beaten path and travel this country independently. No matter what you do or don’t do, you are treated like a tourist, which means you’re a source of income to literally everyone here. There is so much hassling one can tolerate before reaching the tipping point. It’s not even about the fact you’re expected to pay higher prices or tip everyone generously, it’s the fact you feel being openly fooled every time you interact with a human being, regardless from one’s position in the society. What makes it even harder, some people seem like they try to become friends with you and be really helpful, which is supposed to be a good this thing as, contact with people is what you look for when you travel independently, but after some time you realized it was just more sophisticated way to get to your money. Emotionally it’s very difficult to bare. I haven’t had a similar problem anywhere else along my route so far. At the moment of writing I really think that the best way to see India and familiarize yourself with it’s vibrant history and culture is to book a packaged holiday and experience it form behind the tinted window of your air-conditioned tourist bus.

However, having said all that, I’m still optimistic about my upcoming journey. Tomorrow we’re heading off to Dharamsala, the place of residence of Dalai Lanma, where we have some arrangement with Couch Surfing people, which I’m really looking forward to. So check back later to see how that went.

P.S. And as usual more pictures on Flickr.

OK, as some of you may  or may not know the original destination of my trip was Southeast Asia. Well, guess what? It’s not anymore. I’m going to India and Nepal!!! The reason is simple. It proved to be too hard to try to swim against the stream and travel across China during the Olympics when visa and travel regulations are so tightened up. At the moment of witting I’m thinking of spending about three month in that region and head back home after that, but that doesn’t mean my plans can change again…

There’s something else. I’ve got a travel companion now. Let me introduce you Bob.

How do I know Bob? I met him at an American House party in Vladimir. He used to be one of the English teachers’ staff at that place and now he’s teaching English in Moscow. How did I end up at that party? Well, Alex took me there (If anyone’s got picture of Alex, could you please let me know). I met Alex at Katya’s birthday party the previous day and he offered to stay at his place, as the only other option I had was a tent. Now, you may wonder who Katya is. Katya is a person I met through Couch Surfing.

I was supposed to meet her for tea or coffee, so she could give me some advice about her town and possibly show me around. However, she ended up inviting me to her birthday party at her parents’ cottage.

That was quite a random sequence of events, but, hell, this is what happens to you when you travel independently. And I’m loving it!

This is not exactly something new, yet you don’t fully realize that before it happens to you. I decided to comletely let it go and just get out of crazy Moscow for a bit to a nearby city Vladimir just to change the atmosphere, as Vladimir is a nice small historic Russian town, which is a part of so called Golden Ring. I just decided to let it go and didn’t make any plans for accomodation and stuff like that, hoping to pitch a tent on a bank of river Kliamza, curving around the town.

Well, this is my third day in Vladimir and I’d probaby need to write a little book to describe all the adventures I had here and people I met. One thing I can tell for sure is, if you wanna experience real Russia don’t go to Moscow, go to places like Vladimir.

More pics on Flickr