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Muay Thai in Bangkok


Dan jumping in the water in Haridwar

Fighting, Buddhas, Waterfalls, and Shopping in THAILAND!

This past weekend we left India for the fist time and traveled to Bangkok, Thailand. It was so amazing to travel farther east in Asia. We have become so accustomed to the language, the people and the conditions of India that being in Thailand was sooo different. It was way more modernized and developed than I had expected. Listening to people speaking Thai is awesome. It is so different and has so many different tones than English and even Hindi. It was nice not to be hasseled for money and stared at everywhere we went. And we ate USDA approved beef!!! Ok so the steak was not as good as I had hoped it would be, but it was nice to eat beef for the first time in 2 1/2 months.
So again it was the Dans and I. We flew into Bangkok on Saturday morning, got a little bit more sleep at our hotel, ate at the Chinese restaurant in our hotel and then went out to the weekend market. Our hotel was very nice and our room overlooked the river. The market was really fun. It was basically like a maze of stalls. We walked around on the outskirts and then entered into the narrow corridors lined with shops. The shopping was great and so different than what we can find here in India. Thai silk is fabulous!
After shopping for a while we set off to experience Muay Thai fighting. I have to admit that I had some reservations about seeing a fight, but the guys really wanted to go so I went along with it. I gotta say I am glad I did. It was really interesting. It is an ancient form of fighting unique to Thailand, for those of you who played Street Fighter think Sagat. It involves a lot of knees to the gut and kicks to the head. Before the fight the fighters do a spiritual "warm up routine." They kind of dance around the ring and pray while musicians play traditional Thai music. We saw 5 or 6 fights and 2 of them were knock outs. The first knock out I saw I about cried, but by the end of the night I was really into it. If you check out the pics, you will see why I had a hard time dealing with the knock outs, these guys look like they are about 14. The picture of Dan Vital and I with the teeny tiny Thai guy was my favorite fighter of the night. He looked way bigger in the ring than he did standing next to us. I couldn't believe how small he actually was, but he could knock any of us out with one blow. All in all the Muay Thai experience was really interesting and fun. After Muay Thai we hit up the night market and shopped some more.
The next morning we drove to Phra Pathom Chedi, Erawan National Park, and Kanchanaburi. Phra Pathom Chedi is the world's tallest Buddhist monument. It was a large monument with lots of statues of Buddha all around it. In one of the buildings on the complex there was a huge golden Buddha laying on its side. Check out the pics. From here we went on to Erawan National Park to check out Erawan waterfall.
Erawan waterfall is a 7 tiered waterfall with the most beautiful blue water I have ever seen. You start at the bottom, hike up to the top and you can swim in any of the pools along the way. The Dans and I hiked up to the top and then on the way down swam at one of the pools. It was sooooo amazing. The waterfalls were really fun and the hike was up a mountain covered with jungle. It was so hot, but what a cool experience! The hike towards the top of the waterfall was pretty difficult and there were times when we were actually climbing up the waterfall. It was a lot of fun and so rewarding when we got to the top and then climbed back down to swim in the prettiest pool. Sorry there are no pictures of where we swam, the camera ran out of batteries and we left them at the hotel. But really a special place. The fish you see in a couple of the pictures were kind of scary. They were everywhere and they were probably used to people feeding them because they nipped at Dan's toes when he stuck them in. But we didn't get bothered when we were actually swimming, so it wasn't a big deal.
After Erawan we went to the town of Kanchanaburi which is home to the actual bridge on the river Kwai. The movie was shot in Sri Lanka, but the bridge was actually in Kanchanaburi. We got to walk across it and on the way back we saw a Komodo dragon swimming in the Kwai River. It was really neat to visit a place with such historical significance. We got there too late to visit the WWII war memorials and museums, but the bridge was neat to see.
The next day was our Bangkok day. We walked around the city and visited the Grand Palace which was the most elaborately decorated complex I have ever seen in my life. It was breathtaking. SO elaborate. Lots of buildings that sparkled with color. The buildings were decorated with what looked like colored glass pieces. Really, really beautiful. The Thai architecture is really neat too, very ancient oriental feeling. One of the buildings housed the Emerald Buddha. It is a Buddha statue carved out of jade that sits on a huge gold pedestal. No photography was allowed inside and we were not allowed to point our feet at the Buddha. There was a window on the outside that we could take pictures through, sorry it didn't come out very well it was a hard pic to get.
After the Palace we went back to a place by the hotel and got a Thai massage. Then we headed back to the night market for one more bout of shopping before we left for the airport. The night market was a really neat place. Kind of like a fair that is open every night. They have a ferris wheel, a beer garden, lots of places to get food, and a stage with live music. Very fun place to hang out.
We had a great time in Thailand, it was really beautiful and we felt like we took full advantage of the little time we had there. Our schedule was packed, but had we had one more day we would have liked to check out the beaches. Oh well, maybe next time! Oh by the way, we have decided to extend our trip two weeks, so our new date of departure from India is July 28th. Unfortunately, I will have to miss the annual Porkies trip, but we have two more weekends and we plan on visiting Nepal! That will be great, but we have this weekend in Kerala to look forward to next. We miss you all!!
-Courtney

Himalayan foothills and the Ganges river

Hello all!
This past weekend we visited Rishikesh and Haridwar. This was our first excursion north(east) and our first glimpse of the Himalayas and the Ganges river. We were accompanied on our trip by the other Dan who came from Lincolnshire at the same time Dan and I did, 3 guys who work at Hewitt in Gurgaon, and one of their friends. Saurabh, Kunal, Varun, and Sumit were a blast to travel with. We spent a lot of time learning about each other's cultures and learning each other's language. You really know you are in a different culture when you are asked the question, "was your marriage a love marriage or was it arranged?"
We hired a driver who drove us about 6 hours through the night up to Rishikesh. We drove about 30 kilometers up and down winding mountain roads overlooking the Ganges until we arrived at our destination. We got out of the car, walked down a trail to the banks of the Ganges and awaited our ride to the other side of the river. We were picked up in a raft and crossed the Ganges to a stretch of sandy river bank spotted with canvas tents. This is where we stayed and it was breathtaking. We were surrounded by green, tree-covered, mountains and the rushing Ganges. It smelled so good and so clean! However, the night before we arrived brought huge thunderstorms so the camp was drenched and their were periods of rain and cloudy skies. Our plan was to fall asleep for a couple hours, eat some breakfast and then go white water rafting. They brought out 5 rubber pads (there were 7 of us) to lay on top of the drenched beds. So some of us attempted sleep, but none of us were very well rested for the day. But when we did get up and moving the sun was out and we were ready to raft.
This was by far the highlight of the trip, and it isn't white water rafting until someone falls out of the boat. Well that someone was me and it happened on the most intense rapids we encountered. It was only a level 3 for those of you who know what that means, so it wasn't that dangerous and it was actually kind of fun! Everything was great until a huge wave caught us just right and knocked me right over the side of the raft. Luckily I immediately grabbed the rope on the side of the boat and remained calm until our guide came and pulled me out. It was awesome. On the sections of river where there were no rapids we got out and swam in the surprisingly deep, and extremely cold water. It felt so good to escape the 100 degree heat! There was one section of rapids that we got to get out and body surf down, it was so much fun! Yes moms we were wearing helmets and life jackets, we were very safe! It was so beautiful also to enjoy the scenery of the Himalayan foothills and the wildlife from the river. Our rafting experience, however only lasted one hour, 12 kilometers as opposed to the usual 2 hours. 24 kms. This is because India is heading into the summer months and the snowy peaks of the Himalayas are starting to melt. So the river is getting deeper, faster, and more dangerous. But we definitely had a great time and enjoyed the part of the Ganges that was safe for beginners.
After rafting we checked out a place where the guys did a little bit of rock climbing. It was not anything all that spectacular. It was pretty much a large rock that you can climb up, but they got all harnessed up and did climbing and repelling. They had a good time, but I was way too exhausted to deal with all that. After rock climbing we headed back to camp, slept some more, woke up, took a dip in the FREEZING Ganges, and hung out on the beach playing frisbee and waiting for dinner. Dinner was awesome, they served us about 4 plates of appetizer before serving us a huge meal of chicken curry, rice, vegetables, and bread.
The next morning we packed up, left camp, and headed into the town of Rishikesh. Here we walked through an open market area, over a suspension bridge and over to a huge temple. The guys we were with payed a visit to the temple while the Dans and I walked around the market. Rishikesh is quite a spiritual place and is the yoga capital of the world. The town is really beautifully located right on the banks of the Ganges and nestled into the hillside. Very quaint, but lots of people.
After we left Rishikesh we headed to Haridwar which was about an hour drive right on our way back to Delhi. Haridwar is like Varanasi. It is a spiritual place were many Hindus come to bathe in the Ganges river. Bathing here is believed to free you of your sins. So the guys we were with took a dip, and the other Dan could not resist, after watching some kids, jumping off a bridge into the water. This place was really neat, but being the only white people there we were harassed a lot. Our least favorite was a teenage girl with a cobra in a basket that she kept thrusting in our faces. It was kind of scary and she wouldn't leave us alone. But other than that and the heat, it was a really neat place to visit. Dan and I would have dipped, but we had a 6 hour car ride ahead of us and it would have been miserable being wet. If you check out the pics, the huge statue is of Shiva the Hindu god.
Well that about concludes our weekend, and we had a great time. We were a little tired due to the extreme lack of sleep, but being in the mountains and on the river more than made up for it. The Ganges river is believed to be a God in the Hindu religion and to be near and in such an important spiritual symbol was really an amazing thing. And to be in it where it is fresh and clean was great! We had our taste of the Himalayan foothills and they were breathtaking, now we are really itching to get up in the mountains. But this coming weekend, Bangkok, Thailand!!!! Love you all!
-Courtney

To extend or not to extend?

So I've been asked if I want to extend my trip for another 2 weeks. There are several considerations to be made but we are leaning towards going for it. That basically means that we would be in India until July 29th. We need to figure out changing Courtney's flight as well as a couple of other little things, but it shouldn't be too much trouble. Happily I'll still make it back to the US for my birthday and bleacher tickets at the Cubs game.

Travel Travel Travel

Courtney and I have basically booked ourselves solid for every weekend until we leave. This weekend we are off to Rishikesh for some rafting on the Ganges, rock climbing and camping. A few of the BTAs from Hewitt are coming with us. The weekend after we are flying to Bangkok, Thailand for a three day visit. 80-foot tall Buddhas! The next weekend we are taking a 4 day trip to Kerala, spending one day in the backwater area. The entire stay in Kerala will be in Taj hotels using our Taj points, so it will be another nice vacation for us (I was given 10 days of time-off because of my role and they need to be used before the end of the year).

After that, for those of you keeping track we are on June 10-11, we are going up to Corbett National Park. Here we hope to finally see a tiger in its natural habitat, and we have a much better chance of doing so. This was the first such park established in India and is home to over a hundred tigers. Elephant tours are also available. :D

The next weekend (June 10-11) we will probably be heading to Varanasi, the most holy city in India for Hindus. That should be a long train ride East, the farthest East we have been so far. Follow that weekend will plan on going to Udaipur, the last major city to be visited in Rajasthan (first picture). We've been told that it is a beautiful city, and we will also be using our Taj points to stay at their Lake Palace.

After all of that, Caroline will be here (she arrives June 27th). I'm taking a couple of days off so that we can head to Gwalior (second picture) for a day trip (June 30), then spend the Saturday in Delhi (Caroline can't miss the weekend brunch!). On Sunday we plan on flying to Mumbai (Bombay) for an overnight stay at another beautiful Taj hotel. Courtney will be taking Caroline to Agra for the obligatory visit to the Taj Mahal either on Wednesday or Thursday.

Note for Caroline: If you have any other ideas of places you want to go (north maybe?), please let us know and we'll work it all out.

So much to look forward to! We'll keep everyone posted as usual.

Love for all we have! (That's Yoda for 'We love you all')

Videos!

Finally I got around to uploading some videos to the blog. Check em out, let us know what you think...

Polo Tricks:


Camel:


Monkeys:


Feeding the Monkey


Border Closing:


Water Buffalo:


Driving in Amristar:


Goa:

Goa

Hello all,
This past weekend we were in Goa, and it was probably our most relaxing weekend so far. We flew in on Friday, checked into the hotel, and walked the 50 yards straight to the beach. We took a stroll along the GORGEOUS beach that stretches for miles and miles along the Goan coast and the Arabian sea. The beach is interrupted every couple of miles by rivers or red rocky cliffs which surround smaller pristine beaches. Along the beach there are tons of beach shacks which double as bars and restaurants. Each one has chairs, tables, and some even pool tables inside, or under the thatched roof and outside on the beach they have lounge chairs and small tables. Both Friday and Saturday evening Dan and I lounged on the beach and watched the sun set. It was really beautiful, check out the pics! Our days were filled with shopping, soaking up the sun, and playing in the magnificent waves. At night we sat on the beach at one of the shacks called Zanzibar and just listened to the waves, talked by candlelight and tossed the glow in the dark frisbee. We attempted to check out the famous Goan night life, but it was dead. This was fine with us, we very much enjoyed the relaxation. The food was also great! Anyone that knows me well knows that I have never liked seafood, well Mom and Dad, you will be very proud of me, both nights I ate seafood dinners. We had Kingfish, prawns and lobster. All was surprisingly good!
Goa consists of a series of small beach towns, and during peak season (winter time) where we were staying is the party place. But due to rising temperatures and increasing cloud cover caused by the coming monsoon, peak season is well over and the number of people is declining rapidly. Most of the shops and shacks were either already closed or closing that weekend. We had sun all weekend, but the humidity was really intense, especially at night.
There were two downsides to the weekend, but nothing detrimental to our good time. We traveled to Goa with one of the other Hewitt people, Pete and his girlfriend Jen who is in India visiting for a couple of weeks. But Pete was extremely sick all weekend so we didn't see too much of them. The other downside to Goa is the amount of looks us white women get on the beach. You would think I would be used to it by now because we get looks wherever we go, but it was worse on the beach. You see, Indian women and men are obsessed with fair skin. There is advertising for skin lightening creams all over the place. So even at the beach the women are wearing saris or jeans and t-shirts and sitting under umbrellas. The few we saw actually in the water were completely covered. So a lot of Indian men come to the beach to check out all the white women in their bathing suits. Needless to say this was rather creepy, but being with Dan helped a lot and I didn't get as much attention as other goris (white women) who were without males. All in all we had a great, very relaxing time. Goa is a wonderful beach vacation and it was exciting to see yet another side of India. We didn't explore Goa as much as we have explored other places, and we definitely want to make it back during peak season some day! Hope everyone is well back in the states! Keep in touch and check out the pics.
-Courtney

Goa and doing nothing

Hey all, we got back from Goa on Sunday night. In keeping with our pattern, I am just going to post these pics and then one of us will add more detail later. Let us know what you think. We didn't do much over the weekend, mostly just sat on the beach. It is way off season for Goa and there was probably about 1/6 the amount of people there compared to the prime season. More to come!

The Golden Temple and the Pakistan Border

Hello everyone!
This past weekend we went to Amritsar which is the home of the Golden Temple, and a mere 30 kilometers from the Pakistan border. We went with 7 other people from the Hewitt group and had a great time. We traveled by train early Saturday morning, arrived in Amritsar and went out to lunch at a fabulous little restaurant that we ended up eating at on Sunday too. From there we ventured off to the Pakistan border to witness the border closing ceremony that is held daily. It was very interesting, but very hot and very crowded. We were dropped off just down the street from the site of the ceremony and from there we walked with thousands of others towards the grandstands built for the event. As we approached the border we filed down a pathway and I would have felt like I was waiting in line for a roller coaster at Cedar Point if it wasn't for the barbed wire fencing that separated us from Pakistan and the border guards dressed in their uniforms with their hats and their machine guns. We made it to the grandstands where we sat with probably close to 4,000 Indians, and had a view of the border that separated the countries. Right at the border, each country had a gate and flag. And on the Pakistan side there were grandstands, but on a much smaller scale than the Indian side. There were probably only about 500 people representing for Pakistan. We sat in the hot late afternoon sun for about an hour before the festivities began. The ceremony was the most elaborate display of nationalism that I have ever witnessed. There was a man with a microphone leading cheers on each side respective to their counties. India's translated to something along the lines of long live mother India. Then border guards on each side took turns yelling long drawn out orders and marching very dramatically down to the border and doing a series of high kicks, turns and stomps. The general feel was very India versus Pakistan pep rally. At one point before the ceremony began someone from the Pakistan side ran up and down his crowd with a Pakistan flag, much like you would see at a football game. This triggered someone sitting behind us with an Indian flag to follow suite and then run towards the border and wave the flag wildly. This triggered wild applause and cheering from the Indian side. The ceremony ended with the two gates being opened, the Pakistani guards and the Indian guards going through a kicking and stomping and shaking hands routine together at the border, lowering the two countries flags, folding them, slamming the gates and storming off. The whole thing was very dramatic and theatrical. Very interesting to watch and quite an amazing thing to experience. One Indian man, after the ceremony was talking to Dan. He asked where he was from and proceeded to ask if we do anything like that in America. Dan said no, nothing quite like this and the man asked, well how do you close the gates? Which we though was very funny and very cute. Dan's response was "Oh you know, we just keep em open."
It was very interesting to observe the Pakistan side of the border also. They had two large grandstands, one for men and one for women. About 40% of these women were wearing burkas, very foreign, very interesting. All in all it was a great experience, very cool to be at the border of two countries, especially when one of them is Pakistan!!
From there we traveled back to our hotel which had water buffalo, check out the pics, they are very cute. We ate dinner and then ventured off to witness the beauty of the Golden Temple at night. And it was majestic. The Golden Temple was built as a sort of headquarters for Sikhs. Many Sikhs make pilgrimages there and it is considered one of the holiest sites in India. Before entering the temple we all had to cover our heads and walk through water to cleanse our feet. All of the temples we have entered in India have required us to take off our shoes. During our night time visit we got to actually go inside. The temple was filled with a huge crowd of Sikhs who were singing and cleaning. Many people were sweeping the floors, some people were scrubbing the floors on hands and knees, some were wiping the golden walls with towels and some were cleaning the beautiful crystal chandeliers. It was a large, busy crowd doing simple tasks and singing holy songs. Despite the crowd we were immediately overcome with such a sense of peace and calm. It was beautiful. Upstairs in the temple there was a holy man sitting and reading the biggest book I have ever seen. I will have to do some research to find out exactly what the significance is, but it was very large and very old looking. Inside the temple we are not supposed to take pictures, and we are sorry about that because it was simply gorgeous. Really, really amazing. This was also the first place we have been to that people were just interested in talking to us. They wanted to ask us questions, not take our pictures which was really cool. Surrounding the temple is a huge pool or tank filled with water considered holy and there are constantly people bathing in it. There were also tons of people sleeping in on the ground around the complex. Many people travel from far away to witness this holy site.
There are also many other buildings surrounding the tank and one section of it is devoted to preparing food and serving it for free to anyone who needs it/wants it. Sikhism is a branch off of Hinudism and in Hinduism there are castes that divide the people. The lower castes are not allowed to eat with or even touch the food of the higher castes. So Sikhism eliminates this idea and welcomes anyone regardless of caste, sex, race, or religion. We witnessed this aspect of the temple on Sunday when we went back to see it in the day time. It was interesting to see preparations of mass amounts of food and what a great thing!
When we weren't seeing the Golden Temple or eating at Crystal Restaurant, we were enjoying the company of the other people we were with. We were up late on Saturday night playing cards and it was great. We are really having a great time with the people we are here with and it is so important because we are basically like family. This past weekend was another successful trip for us in India! And next weekend, GOA!!!! Keep in touch!
Love, Courtney