Departing from the Delhi aiport, we went through the usual rigamarole of security - put your electronics and jacket in a bucket and your bag through the x-ray machine. But, at the end of the x-ray, the guard told me I didn't have a hand luggage tag. I showed him my name tag. Nope. Not right. Puzzled, I looked over Alex who was steps ahead of me and he led me to the information booth to pick up a flimsy paper nametag which also had a spot to write the flight number on. The information booth guy was on the phone, head down. Finally he looked up and we asked for the tag (why can't they just put the tags on the counter?), which he pulled out of a drawer and gave to me. I filled it out and hung it on my bag strap. What I didn't realize is that it also had to be hand stamped in purple by someone in security's x-ray area. I got to discover that omission when I was prevented by a security officer from boarding the plane due to lack of a purple stamp on the hand bag that could only have arrived in this area via the x-ray screening area.
A Turkish Airlines hostess told me to come with her and she ran with me, grabbed my bag, returned to the x-ray area and presented my bag to the screener. Alex came with us -- you never know what could happen. The bag was run through x-ray again and then the guard began the longest, most detailed hand check ever. Every little zipper compartment, toiletry bag, cosmetic bag, my lipstick, wallet. He was having a spiteful, slow-moving bureaucratic power play blast. The airline rep, Alex and I stood there calmly like we wanted to do nothing more than watch him rifle through every single one of my belongings. (He only touched the handle, not the bristles of my toothbrush). Finally, I earned the purple stamp (sounds like a scavenge) and she ran back with us to the gate where the plane was already boarded.
I settled into my seat and picked up the newspaper. Front page story on swine flu in the Hindustan Times has a sidebar story on the 24 hour swine flu helpline set up by the Indian government on Monday. The reporter called the swine flu helpline 3 times and printed the transcripts of the calls.
1. Monday 6:30 PM
Q: What is swine flu?
A: Someone told me it is a disease in Mexico. Call tomorrow morning. There's no one here now.
2. Tuesday 2:20 PM
Q: Tell me about swine flu.
A: I want your name and number.
After giving name and number:
Q: Do I need to worry about getting infected?
A: No need to panic. We have no swine flu cases in India.
Q: Then why did the government issue an advisory yesterday?
A: To ask people to quarantine travelers with flu symptoms and call us so we can test them.
Q: Do people have to do the quaranting at home?
A: Of course, I just said that.
Q: What about hospitals?
A: There are no designated hospitals.
Q: Won't you miss cases, if you rely on voluntary reporting?
A: That can't be helped. We can't go searching for patients. They have to call us.
3. Tuesday 6:20 PM
The reporter called the 24 hour swine flu helpline and got a fax tone.
Thursday, April 30, 2009
Re-Delhi
After speaking to Bill the trip organizer at 7 AM, who let us off the hook of having to take the train, we followed his suggestion that if we were going to take a car for the 5 hour drive, we should get going early (and we could do scavenges along the way in the car). The hotel had a car and driver waiting for us (along with a food package we requested) in 30 minutes. I am eternally grateful to the Oberoi Hotel. Their service and effectiveness is the best! Our driver was a lovely Hindu man. We discussed lots of things, including his arranged marriage and his plans for his daughter. One of his two sons is a software engineer.
First stop was in Sikandra, to visit Akhbar's tomb. Akhbar was a Muslim ruler in the mid 1500s who came to power at the age of 13. He expanded his empire to cover most of northern India but was a just ruler. He is best known for his tolerance of other religions. He. eliminated an oppressive tax on Hindus and his many wives included Muslims as well as Hindus and Christians.
Next scavenge was to visit Maryiam's tomb -Chrisitian wife of Akbar.
As we drove, our driver pointed out interesting things along the way, like tidy little huts assembled out of dried dung patty cakes, scattered around the fields. Some of the huts were decorated - in chevron patterns and the like. He showed us wedding cars - where the bride and groom's names are on a paper (taped to the window) and flowers stuck on the cars.
As we got into Delhi, we saw some of our scavenges. It was good to be able to do this because we lost a day. Also, by approaching the hotel in Delhi by car, we got to see New Delhi which is a different planet from the Old Delhi we had seen a few days ago. It is wide, tree lined boulevards, imposing government buildings that evince the feel of Washington DC. One of the scavenges was to identify and photograph the buiding on the 50 rupee note. It was Parliament. Done. Check. Also along the way, we also saw the Bahai Lotus Temple, India Gate (war memorial for the 90,000 Indians who died in WWI (wow!) and other wars. We didn't have time to get to the National Museum, Ghandi's Tomb, or the place he was assinated, and many more, but oh well. Gotta come back. Final stop before having our driver drop us at the hotel, we finished the final mandatory food challenge by choosing the one that said to treat yourself at Bukhara (an Afghan restaurant at a hotel in the Starwood Luxury Collection). Not feeling 100 percent, we treated ourselves to bread (naan) and water. But, we got the receipt and the photo.
Driver waiting outside, we headed back to Shangri-La where we ended up sleeping for 1 of the 4 nights. Expensive luggage locker and shower facility.
Had we felt better, we would have gone out and scavenged some more, but we needed to take care of ourselves. One of the things that I am sorry to have missed was a Slumdog Tour, led by a former street child and sponsored by an organization that feeds and educates street children. Another scavenge which we were not planning to do, but sounded great was to volunteer for 4 hours with any one of 3 charities that help children. That scavenge made sense for people who have been here before. One couple, Bev and Buz, who did that scavenge, have an India trip planned for October, so that was perfect for them and they found it incredibly rewarding, in that they got to teach English in a well-organized situation.
Our meeting was at 6 PM but it was only 3 PM, so we went to the hotel business center (open 24 hours WITH a tech concierge who helped me upload to Shutterfly my 800 pictures I have taken so far, in case my camera gets stolen. Then, shower, hand wash those fantastic quik dry clothes, and a nap.
At our meeting, we learned that our flight out of Delhi is at 4:45 AM and we need to be in the lobby at 1:45 AM.
Next stop: Istanbul! And we get to leave the Indian heat. Apparently, the temp in Istanbul is 60-ish.
First stop was in Sikandra, to visit Akhbar's tomb. Akhbar was a Muslim ruler in the mid 1500s who came to power at the age of 13. He expanded his empire to cover most of northern India but was a just ruler. He is best known for his tolerance of other religions. He. eliminated an oppressive tax on Hindus and his many wives included Muslims as well as Hindus and Christians.
Next scavenge was to visit Maryiam's tomb -Chrisitian wife of Akbar.
As we drove, our driver pointed out interesting things along the way, like tidy little huts assembled out of dried dung patty cakes, scattered around the fields. Some of the huts were decorated - in chevron patterns and the like. He showed us wedding cars - where the bride and groom's names are on a paper (taped to the window) and flowers stuck on the cars.
As we got into Delhi, we saw some of our scavenges. It was good to be able to do this because we lost a day. Also, by approaching the hotel in Delhi by car, we got to see New Delhi which is a different planet from the Old Delhi we had seen a few days ago. It is wide, tree lined boulevards, imposing government buildings that evince the feel of Washington DC. One of the scavenges was to identify and photograph the buiding on the 50 rupee note. It was Parliament. Done. Check. Also along the way, we also saw the Bahai Lotus Temple, India Gate (war memorial for the 90,000 Indians who died in WWI (wow!) and other wars. We didn't have time to get to the National Museum, Ghandi's Tomb, or the place he was assinated, and many more, but oh well. Gotta come back. Final stop before having our driver drop us at the hotel, we finished the final mandatory food challenge by choosing the one that said to treat yourself at Bukhara (an Afghan restaurant at a hotel in the Starwood Luxury Collection). Not feeling 100 percent, we treated ourselves to bread (naan) and water. But, we got the receipt and the photo.
Driver waiting outside, we headed back to Shangri-La where we ended up sleeping for 1 of the 4 nights. Expensive luggage locker and shower facility.
Had we felt better, we would have gone out and scavenged some more, but we needed to take care of ourselves. One of the things that I am sorry to have missed was a Slumdog Tour, led by a former street child and sponsored by an organization that feeds and educates street children. Another scavenge which we were not planning to do, but sounded great was to volunteer for 4 hours with any one of 3 charities that help children. That scavenge made sense for people who have been here before. One couple, Bev and Buz, who did that scavenge, have an India trip planned for October, so that was perfect for them and they found it incredibly rewarding, in that they got to teach English in a well-organized situation.
Our meeting was at 6 PM but it was only 3 PM, so we went to the hotel business center (open 24 hours WITH a tech concierge who helped me upload to Shutterfly my 800 pictures I have taken so far, in case my camera gets stolen. Then, shower, hand wash those fantastic quik dry clothes, and a nap.
At our meeting, we learned that our flight out of Delhi is at 4:45 AM and we need to be in the lobby at 1:45 AM.
Next stop: Istanbul! And we get to leave the Indian heat. Apparently, the temp in Istanbul is 60-ish.
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
Taj Mahal in the Heat
Our coach bus for the 4 - 5 hour ride from Jaipur to Agra was an 18 seater. We rode in comfort and got to spread out a bit. The Oberoi packed us breakfast boxes for our journey. Mmmm...
Along the way I saw what we think was the answer to a scavenge:
Q: What type of animal is used for the amusement of travelers? A: Monkey on a stick. At the office where we pulled over for the driver to pay the toll that must be paid between states, I saw out the window an old gnarnly man who held a stick upright which was grasped by a monkey on a chain. The man smiled at me.
As we had requested, the bus dropped us at the Oberoi Hotel. Sherry had stayed there recently and knew it to be the closest you can get to the Taj. There is nothing obstructing the hotel's view of the Taj Mahal. Every guest room faces the Taj. The hotel provides golf carts to take guests to the Taj. We were driven over in an EZ-Go golf cart and got to the point where vehicles cannot proceed. Our driver led us to the ticket window, down the alley of street vendors. We were scavenging with Sherry (who had been to the Taj Mahal) and Ken (who had not). She had given us a heads up that the drama of seeing the Taj is seeing it from the outside. Inside, there is very little to see, as it's a tomb and there is very little space to enter inside.
It was so incredibly hot. The heat was relentless. We had drinking water with us (which I kept pouring on my head and down my shirt for a moment of relief before it dried ina few seconds). All I wanted to do was take the picture and get out of there.
On the way down the souvenir lane, we did the quick scavenge of buying a piece of pietra dura (inlaid stone). I only wanted to get back to the Oberoi to escape the heat. Besides, one of the mandatory food options was to have lunch at the Oberoi.
We walked right in to the lovely, air conditioned restaurant, sat down, and Alex said he needed some bread or something - that he needed to eat. Then he started to faint. I pushed his head between his legs and dumped water on his head and down his back. Ken called to the hostess and the restaurant staff whipped up their electrolyte concoction of water, honey, salt and lemon. Ken snapped a photo of the chef-hatted chef leaning over Alex, working on him. That photo would have been a great souvenir to have, but Ken's camera was stolen moments later.
Alex revived and ordered lunch. We also put in an order for gnocchi to cover a mandatory food scavenge (in honor of National Gnocchi Day in Uruguay).
After lunch, we got into the car we had rented to share with Sherry and Ken and headed across the bridge to do two scavenges across the river from the Taj - one of which involved viewing the Taj from the other side of the river
First was the Baby Taj. The car's air conditioner wasn't working well and we had about 4 hours of touring lined up in the area around Agra. At our request, the driver called for a replacement car.
I looked over at Alex, who was leaning his head against the window, not looking great. I told him to keep drinking water. I suggested to Alex a Plan B - that we abort the trip, leave Sherry and Ken with the replacement car, and we return to the Oberoi in this car. We could rent a day room to sleep in AC for about 4 hours until time to leave for our 8:30 PM train back to Delhi. While waiting for the replacement car, we called the Oberoi to book it and check in over the phone so we could go right to a room.
Arriving back at the Oberoi about 10 minutes later, the hotel's wonderful staff greeted us, placing umbrellas over our heads for shade, and led us across the palace courtyard to the lobby entrance.
They asked me to have a seat while they get someone to take us to our room. Alex headed over to the sofa. While I sat at the check-in area (happy to be seated; as the heat made me dizzy), I glanced over my shoulder at Alex. He was leaning over a very large pool of vomit, and was continuing to vomit.
I went over to him at the same time that the hotel staff rushed over. The hostess pointed the way to the bathroom. Maternal instincts in gear, I snapped, "No! Let him finish and then take us to our room".
The bellman who led us to our room waited while Alex took a shower, handed him a bathrobe, and took his vomity clothes to the laundry with the promise to return them clean in 3 hours.
Room service brought liter bottles of water and packets of World Health Organization electrolyte replacement mixture measured for a 1 liter bottle. (We were probably not the only guests to ever suffer from the heat).
My turn. Once he was tucked in bed, I got sick. We set the alarm for 7 PM, asked for a wake up call and went to sleep
At 7, when neither of us could stand up without feeling woozy, we decided that it would be really stupid to try to maneuver an Indian train station in this state.
Before going to sleep, we had called the front desk to ask to extend for the full night and explained that we also needed help figuring out how to get back to Delhi. We had to be in Delhi by 6:00 PM but the only daily fast train (the one we were too ill to take) departed at 8:30 PM - getting us back to Delhi too late.
Moments later, a guest services representative and the hotel concierge came to the room to help us with our travel plans. That was a first! Lie in bed, head on the pillow while two in staff help you map out your options. There was an 11 AM, slower train, but it breaks down a lot and might not get us back in time, and the ticket office was closed so they couldn't check availability although it was likely sold out; or we could have a driver for the 5 hour car ride. We decided to wait until morning to find out about the train option.
Silver lining -- waking up at dawn with the Taj Mahal outside the window like it's there for nobody but us. Just amazing.
At 6 AM I emailed Bill to ask for some guidance. The rules required a train for this leg, but we were now at risk of missing our deadline. He called and was very kind - saying that we should do whatever is safe and comfortable, and don't worry about the points.
We had also called Larry at night for a sanity check that we were doing the right things. He was reassuring and calming, as always. In the morning when we awoke, we called again so that we don't have a perfect record of calling only for medical consults.
Along the way I saw what we think was the answer to a scavenge:
Q: What type of animal is used for the amusement of travelers? A: Monkey on a stick. At the office where we pulled over for the driver to pay the toll that must be paid between states, I saw out the window an old gnarnly man who held a stick upright which was grasped by a monkey on a chain. The man smiled at me.
As we had requested, the bus dropped us at the Oberoi Hotel. Sherry had stayed there recently and knew it to be the closest you can get to the Taj. There is nothing obstructing the hotel's view of the Taj Mahal. Every guest room faces the Taj. The hotel provides golf carts to take guests to the Taj. We were driven over in an EZ-Go golf cart and got to the point where vehicles cannot proceed. Our driver led us to the ticket window, down the alley of street vendors. We were scavenging with Sherry (who had been to the Taj Mahal) and Ken (who had not). She had given us a heads up that the drama of seeing the Taj is seeing it from the outside. Inside, there is very little to see, as it's a tomb and there is very little space to enter inside.
It was so incredibly hot. The heat was relentless. We had drinking water with us (which I kept pouring on my head and down my shirt for a moment of relief before it dried ina few seconds). All I wanted to do was take the picture and get out of there.
On the way down the souvenir lane, we did the quick scavenge of buying a piece of pietra dura (inlaid stone). I only wanted to get back to the Oberoi to escape the heat. Besides, one of the mandatory food options was to have lunch at the Oberoi.
We walked right in to the lovely, air conditioned restaurant, sat down, and Alex said he needed some bread or something - that he needed to eat. Then he started to faint. I pushed his head between his legs and dumped water on his head and down his back. Ken called to the hostess and the restaurant staff whipped up their electrolyte concoction of water, honey, salt and lemon. Ken snapped a photo of the chef-hatted chef leaning over Alex, working on him. That photo would have been a great souvenir to have, but Ken's camera was stolen moments later.
Alex revived and ordered lunch. We also put in an order for gnocchi to cover a mandatory food scavenge (in honor of National Gnocchi Day in Uruguay).
After lunch, we got into the car we had rented to share with Sherry and Ken and headed across the bridge to do two scavenges across the river from the Taj - one of which involved viewing the Taj from the other side of the river
First was the Baby Taj. The car's air conditioner wasn't working well and we had about 4 hours of touring lined up in the area around Agra. At our request, the driver called for a replacement car.
I looked over at Alex, who was leaning his head against the window, not looking great. I told him to keep drinking water. I suggested to Alex a Plan B - that we abort the trip, leave Sherry and Ken with the replacement car, and we return to the Oberoi in this car. We could rent a day room to sleep in AC for about 4 hours until time to leave for our 8:30 PM train back to Delhi. While waiting for the replacement car, we called the Oberoi to book it and check in over the phone so we could go right to a room.
Arriving back at the Oberoi about 10 minutes later, the hotel's wonderful staff greeted us, placing umbrellas over our heads for shade, and led us across the palace courtyard to the lobby entrance.
They asked me to have a seat while they get someone to take us to our room. Alex headed over to the sofa. While I sat at the check-in area (happy to be seated; as the heat made me dizzy), I glanced over my shoulder at Alex. He was leaning over a very large pool of vomit, and was continuing to vomit.
I went over to him at the same time that the hotel staff rushed over. The hostess pointed the way to the bathroom. Maternal instincts in gear, I snapped, "No! Let him finish and then take us to our room".
The bellman who led us to our room waited while Alex took a shower, handed him a bathrobe, and took his vomity clothes to the laundry with the promise to return them clean in 3 hours.
Room service brought liter bottles of water and packets of World Health Organization electrolyte replacement mixture measured for a 1 liter bottle. (We were probably not the only guests to ever suffer from the heat).
My turn. Once he was tucked in bed, I got sick. We set the alarm for 7 PM, asked for a wake up call and went to sleep
At 7, when neither of us could stand up without feeling woozy, we decided that it would be really stupid to try to maneuver an Indian train station in this state.
Before going to sleep, we had called the front desk to ask to extend for the full night and explained that we also needed help figuring out how to get back to Delhi. We had to be in Delhi by 6:00 PM but the only daily fast train (the one we were too ill to take) departed at 8:30 PM - getting us back to Delhi too late.
Moments later, a guest services representative and the hotel concierge came to the room to help us with our travel plans. That was a first! Lie in bed, head on the pillow while two in staff help you map out your options. There was an 11 AM, slower train, but it breaks down a lot and might not get us back in time, and the ticket office was closed so they couldn't check availability although it was likely sold out; or we could have a driver for the 5 hour car ride. We decided to wait until morning to find out about the train option.
Silver lining -- waking up at dawn with the Taj Mahal outside the window like it's there for nobody but us. Just amazing.
At 6 AM I emailed Bill to ask for some guidance. The rules required a train for this leg, but we were now at risk of missing our deadline. He called and was very kind - saying that we should do whatever is safe and comfortable, and don't worry about the points.
We had also called Larry at night for a sanity check that we were doing the right things. He was reassuring and calming, as always. In the morning when we awoke, we called again so that we don't have a perfect record of calling only for medical consults.
Just Walking Around Jaipur
Had some trouble getting into my blogger account because the language had somehow been automatically reset to Arabic and wasn't recognizing my user name and password.
Anyway, out the door at 5 AM to get to the Delhi train station for a 6 AM train. Hassles with the taxis. We insisted (as we learned the hard way) that the driver turn on the meter, and we had one foot out the door if he refused. Although a clear meter price, he tried to insist on quadrupling it when we arrived at the train station. He said (heard it before) "Then pay me nothing. It's free". As has become our solution, we throw the proper amount on the seat and leave.
In the train station, we deflected the men in fake uniforms who offer to check your reservation so they can tell you that you have the wrong ticket and can buy the right one from them.
For "breakfast" we bought a coke and a 7 Up. We were warned that you can't trust the bottled water unless it's in a good hotel or reataurant because not only do people refill used water bottles with tap water (really bad) but enterprises have cap sealing machines to make them look new. Don't know if it's true or not but enough suspicion to make me stay away.
Our group of 10 assembled and found our platform in the crowded train station. Because of the early hour, the air temperature was OK. Later in the day, it got to about 115 and was pretty much intolerable.
The train, although not looking particularly clean or well maintained, was quite pleasant. Reclining seats, meal service (!) With delicious vegy food and multiple pots of tea and bottled water. Quite pleasant ride of over 4 hours. When you make a train reservation, they ask name, age, sex and veg or non-veg - their words, not mine.
When we arrived in Jaipur about four and a half hours later, we went right to the tourist office at the train station. From a local who Alex chatted with on the train, we learned what to expect for the going rate for hiring a car for the day (Although the scavenger hunt rules usually don't allow hiring a car and driver, it is permitted in Jaipur and in Agra). Sherry was negotiating with the tourist office, which wanted four times what we understood the going rate to be. Alex and I went out front to see about getting a taxi and were swarmed. We struck a price deal (after dismissing the claim that rickshaw is better because of open air. We insisted on a car with AC because we had distances to travel) and the guy said to follow him to the car. We said "No, bring the car to us". "Well...it's on its way; it's just getting gas". Excuses. Lies. We ended up choosing the quadrple price option and got a quite decent AC car with a driver who spoke a little English.
First scavenge we chose was to go to the post office and mail a postcard back to the Santa Monica office of the Global Scavenger Hunt and buy an extra stamp to put in the scavenge proof book where we log our timeline and gluestick in all the ticket stubs for proof. Many of the scavenges require a team photo at the place so teams aren't tempted to split up and get more done.
While I waited for Alex to buy the stamps and postcards I looked at the other two rooms in the post office. Wow. About 6 older men wearing wrinkly dull clothes were hunched over, sitting at a long table, presumably sorting mail. There were tall piles of mail balanced haphazardly on the table. The wall was painted dull yellow - possibly 100 years ago. Oppressive heat made it feel like - why would anybody be able to work? Not the best conditions for getting anything done.
And, it looked like some of that mail might have been sitting there for a long time. Next stop was the old city where a bunch of scavenges were close to each other. We had bought a Lonely Planet ("LP") guide at the Delhi train station. We used the mapped-out walking tour of the old city, as I had wrongly assumed that the car couldn't go in and we would have to have the driver wait for us outside while we did the tour that LP said would take one hour. Really stupid move. (1) The tour covered much more ground than we needed to. (2) It took much more than one hour. (3) Our car could have come into the old city and parked right outside the entrance of several of the attractions we needed to go to. In fact, we bumped into Jackie and Sylvia at Jantar Mantar and their driver with AC car was waiting right outside. Oh well It looks like a sculpture garden but is equipment for measuring - sundials, zodiac, etc.
Next was City Palace, which is a dominant building in the old city but we just couldn't find the entrance. Dead ends, locked gates, etc. One scavenge was to find something from the Guiness Book of Records in the palace. (One of our travelers is in the book twice, but that wouldn't help). The largest silver vessels in the world are there in the Hall of Private Audiences, but weren't there.
Then, to Palace of the Winds (Hawa Mahal), which is really neat. Lacy honeycombed screens are carved of sandstone and hid women so they could watch what was happening on the street but preserve their modesty without being seen. Next was to have a drink and enjoy the view on a rooftop across the street from Hawa Mahal. Problem was - there are no cafes. All of the second floors are occupied by jewelry sellers and they invite you up for the view so you can see (and buy). Thus, we bumped into completing another scavenge - finding a local stone cutter and seller. Finished with the scavenges in old city, we needed to rejoin our overpaid driver who we were paying to sit while we trudged in the heat. We decided to take a rickshaw back to the gate where we left the driver. Negotiated the price in advance, enjoyed sitting down with an awning over our heads, and the slight breeze of movement. Then the rickshaw stopped in front of a shop in the bazaar. A man strolled out and waved to invite us in to look at his wares. NOT AGAIN!! We told the rickshaw driver to take us to the gate or we woulld pay him nothing. This is getting tedious already. He turned the rickshaw around and took us back in the direction of the gate where our driver was waiting but he stopped at Ajmer Gate - one gate short. We told him to keep going but he refused. Alex gave him a few rupees and we hoofed it back to meet our driver.
We drove out of Jaipur to visit the Gator, a royal tomb; and then up to Jaigarh, a watch tower way up in the hills - an incredibly refreshing contrast. It looks over the city of Amber (known as the Pink City and which we didn't have time for, thanks to my bad planning this AM - and which required our third elephant ride in a week - enough already!) We didn't go into Amber, but we saw it from afar, up on the hill with trees creating a little relief from the heat. The scavenge was to climb the watchtower, but it couldn't be climbed. It was old and crumbly and a guard appeared motioning us away. Last scavenge for the day was the Sun God Temple at Galta, also known as Monkey Temple. We drove to the bottom of a valley and down a dusty road with cattle and monkeys lolling along the sides. It was so hot and the place looked like an oven with hardly anyone around and shimmering in the heat. We got out and found a religious looking guy and asked him the question for the scavenge - "What is below the temple?" As we understood it, the answer was "holy water" - but honestly I can't imagine there is water anywhere.
(One of the scavenges we didn't do was to visit a deserted city, Fatehpur Sikri, deserted due to lack of water supply). As we drove along the road, I had noticed a woman by herself out in the hot hot hot sun, kneeling and trying to work a dusty field. Her work looked so futile.
Having finished as many scavenges as we were going to finish in Jaipur, we headed to the hotel we arranged for the night - the Oberoi Japiur. A former palace, it is gorgeous and the service is exquisite. Upon arrival we were handed a homemade ginger drink with lemon. The staff are so helpful and polite. It felt so good to arrive. I headed right to the pool in the palace garden where peacocks roam. Everyone strolled in around the same time, took chairs under umbrellas, ordered lots to drink to rehydrate. I had one liter of water and a diet coke.
The 10 of us who had travelled together had dinner in the palace dining room. It was glorious.
We had arranged for a bus to pick us at 6 AM to take us on the 4 or so hour trip to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located.
Anyway, out the door at 5 AM to get to the Delhi train station for a 6 AM train. Hassles with the taxis. We insisted (as we learned the hard way) that the driver turn on the meter, and we had one foot out the door if he refused. Although a clear meter price, he tried to insist on quadrupling it when we arrived at the train station. He said (heard it before) "Then pay me nothing. It's free". As has become our solution, we throw the proper amount on the seat and leave.
In the train station, we deflected the men in fake uniforms who offer to check your reservation so they can tell you that you have the wrong ticket and can buy the right one from them.
For "breakfast" we bought a coke and a 7 Up. We were warned that you can't trust the bottled water unless it's in a good hotel or reataurant because not only do people refill used water bottles with tap water (really bad) but enterprises have cap sealing machines to make them look new. Don't know if it's true or not but enough suspicion to make me stay away.
Our group of 10 assembled and found our platform in the crowded train station. Because of the early hour, the air temperature was OK. Later in the day, it got to about 115 and was pretty much intolerable.
The train, although not looking particularly clean or well maintained, was quite pleasant. Reclining seats, meal service (!) With delicious vegy food and multiple pots of tea and bottled water. Quite pleasant ride of over 4 hours. When you make a train reservation, they ask name, age, sex and veg or non-veg - their words, not mine.
When we arrived in Jaipur about four and a half hours later, we went right to the tourist office at the train station. From a local who Alex chatted with on the train, we learned what to expect for the going rate for hiring a car for the day (Although the scavenger hunt rules usually don't allow hiring a car and driver, it is permitted in Jaipur and in Agra). Sherry was negotiating with the tourist office, which wanted four times what we understood the going rate to be. Alex and I went out front to see about getting a taxi and were swarmed. We struck a price deal (after dismissing the claim that rickshaw is better because of open air. We insisted on a car with AC because we had distances to travel) and the guy said to follow him to the car. We said "No, bring the car to us". "Well...it's on its way; it's just getting gas". Excuses. Lies. We ended up choosing the quadrple price option and got a quite decent AC car with a driver who spoke a little English.
First scavenge we chose was to go to the post office and mail a postcard back to the Santa Monica office of the Global Scavenger Hunt and buy an extra stamp to put in the scavenge proof book where we log our timeline and gluestick in all the ticket stubs for proof. Many of the scavenges require a team photo at the place so teams aren't tempted to split up and get more done.
While I waited for Alex to buy the stamps and postcards I looked at the other two rooms in the post office. Wow. About 6 older men wearing wrinkly dull clothes were hunched over, sitting at a long table, presumably sorting mail. There were tall piles of mail balanced haphazardly on the table. The wall was painted dull yellow - possibly 100 years ago. Oppressive heat made it feel like - why would anybody be able to work? Not the best conditions for getting anything done.
And, it looked like some of that mail might have been sitting there for a long time. Next stop was the old city where a bunch of scavenges were close to each other. We had bought a Lonely Planet ("LP") guide at the Delhi train station. We used the mapped-out walking tour of the old city, as I had wrongly assumed that the car couldn't go in and we would have to have the driver wait for us outside while we did the tour that LP said would take one hour. Really stupid move. (1) The tour covered much more ground than we needed to. (2) It took much more than one hour. (3) Our car could have come into the old city and parked right outside the entrance of several of the attractions we needed to go to. In fact, we bumped into Jackie and Sylvia at Jantar Mantar and their driver with AC car was waiting right outside. Oh well It looks like a sculpture garden but is equipment for measuring - sundials, zodiac, etc.
Next was City Palace, which is a dominant building in the old city but we just couldn't find the entrance. Dead ends, locked gates, etc. One scavenge was to find something from the Guiness Book of Records in the palace. (One of our travelers is in the book twice, but that wouldn't help). The largest silver vessels in the world are there in the Hall of Private Audiences, but weren't there.
Then, to Palace of the Winds (Hawa Mahal), which is really neat. Lacy honeycombed screens are carved of sandstone and hid women so they could watch what was happening on the street but preserve their modesty without being seen. Next was to have a drink and enjoy the view on a rooftop across the street from Hawa Mahal. Problem was - there are no cafes. All of the second floors are occupied by jewelry sellers and they invite you up for the view so you can see (and buy). Thus, we bumped into completing another scavenge - finding a local stone cutter and seller. Finished with the scavenges in old city, we needed to rejoin our overpaid driver who we were paying to sit while we trudged in the heat. We decided to take a rickshaw back to the gate where we left the driver. Negotiated the price in advance, enjoyed sitting down with an awning over our heads, and the slight breeze of movement. Then the rickshaw stopped in front of a shop in the bazaar. A man strolled out and waved to invite us in to look at his wares. NOT AGAIN!! We told the rickshaw driver to take us to the gate or we woulld pay him nothing. This is getting tedious already. He turned the rickshaw around and took us back in the direction of the gate where our driver was waiting but he stopped at Ajmer Gate - one gate short. We told him to keep going but he refused. Alex gave him a few rupees and we hoofed it back to meet our driver.
We drove out of Jaipur to visit the Gator, a royal tomb; and then up to Jaigarh, a watch tower way up in the hills - an incredibly refreshing contrast. It looks over the city of Amber (known as the Pink City and which we didn't have time for, thanks to my bad planning this AM - and which required our third elephant ride in a week - enough already!) We didn't go into Amber, but we saw it from afar, up on the hill with trees creating a little relief from the heat. The scavenge was to climb the watchtower, but it couldn't be climbed. It was old and crumbly and a guard appeared motioning us away. Last scavenge for the day was the Sun God Temple at Galta, also known as Monkey Temple. We drove to the bottom of a valley and down a dusty road with cattle and monkeys lolling along the sides. It was so hot and the place looked like an oven with hardly anyone around and shimmering in the heat. We got out and found a religious looking guy and asked him the question for the scavenge - "What is below the temple?" As we understood it, the answer was "holy water" - but honestly I can't imagine there is water anywhere.
(One of the scavenges we didn't do was to visit a deserted city, Fatehpur Sikri, deserted due to lack of water supply). As we drove along the road, I had noticed a woman by herself out in the hot hot hot sun, kneeling and trying to work a dusty field. Her work looked so futile.
Having finished as many scavenges as we were going to finish in Jaipur, we headed to the hotel we arranged for the night - the Oberoi Japiur. A former palace, it is gorgeous and the service is exquisite. Upon arrival we were handed a homemade ginger drink with lemon. The staff are so helpful and polite. It felt so good to arrive. I headed right to the pool in the palace garden where peacocks roam. Everyone strolled in around the same time, took chairs under umbrellas, ordered lots to drink to rehydrate. I had one liter of water and a diet coke.
The 10 of us who had travelled together had dinner in the palace dining room. It was glorious.
We had arranged for a bus to pick us at 6 AM to take us on the 4 or so hour trip to Agra, where the Taj Mahal is located.
Tuesday, April 28, 2009
Millions of Pictures in Delhi
In the airplane, as we started our descent into Delhi, there was an announcement that photos are not permitted from the air. Curious.....
India is intense. It is very hot, the poverty is wrenching - and we are keeping a grueling schedule - but loving it.
We arrived at the hotel in Delhi around noon and met at 2 PM meeting to receive the list of scavenges. We learned that although we checked into the Delhi hotel for 4 nights, we actually were not going to be staying there very much. We had to figure out how to get ourselves to Jaipur and Agra; and further, we must go by train one way for each of those legs. In other words, we had to plan to bolt pretty much right away. We teamed up with 4 other groups and mapped out what we had to do. It took us about 3 hours to work the train schedules and figure out how much time was needed for travel and to do the scavenges. Having established that we need a 4:45 wake up call to leave to catch a 6AM train (and having started the day with a 4:45 wake up call), Alex and I set out for old Delhi to do a few quick scavenges, have dinner and go to bed. Some of the others went out for a mandatory food scavenge in a restaurant in New Delhi, near the hotel. Alex and I got in a taxi at the hotel and were told that the taxi could not take us all the way in to the old city but he would help us get into a rickshaw which could. We had to take a rickshaw because the streets are small and crowded to a level of intensity that the word "crowded" can't begin to describe. The area around the Red Fort and the mosque were teeming with crowds, filth, mopeds and street life. Although we were seated in a rickshaw (the kind that's powered by pedalling a bike; NOT the kind which is motorized and parially enclosed). Ours was the real deal. The seat was filthy, cracked, slanting forward making you slide off it so you have to keep pushing yourself back into the seat, but there wasn't much of anything to hold on to. The crowds of people, motorcycles and mopeds and animals - cows, dogs, etc. - make the rickshaw ride very slow. When it stops, people come and beg. They touched me, pushed their babies into my face, put their open hands right in front of me, gently tugged my clothing, looked at me with deep mournful eyes. The sun was low and the light fading, so the images were stunning. I snapped a rapid-fire stream of digital photos and mental pictures. People laying on the street side sleeping in filth, an old man standing with one healthy leg and the other twisted and shriveled as he balances himself with a stick, an old wooden pushcart piled with bags of flour slowly rolling along the street, moped drivers honking furiously and weaving in and out of the congestion, some women (probably Muslim) with their heads and bodies covered in black flowing fabrics and others in saris of breathtakingly beautiful intensely colored saris that look clean and pristine - some with beautiful sparkles, a wrinkled stooped old man with a long beard and a white cloth swaddling his legs like a diaper, storefronts like a bazaar lining the streets - selling dusty wares, meager packaged foods, tires, street food, twisted junk metal; and a cow grazing in a pile of trash about 2 feet high. So much chaos, so fast. When the rickshaw driver found an opening, he we lurched forward and we jostled and tried to hang on.
We arrived at the Jama Masjid mosque, the largest in India, and we communicated to the rickshaw driver by a few words and hand signals that we were getting out to take a quick look. Even though I had dressed to enter a mosque (long sleeves and long pants - in this heat!), a guy standing at the entrance wagged his finger, shook his head and grunted negatively at me. He produced a big cloth with velcro closures like a barber's apron and wrapped it around me. He also pointed to our cameras and an official looking sign with prices - apparently the cost for entrance and the right to talke pictures. We paid (later learned that there is no fee to enter - scam artists stand in front of the entrance, block your way, and extract fees from unsuspecting tourists - a disadvantage flowing from the rule that you can't get guidebooks until the leg starts; it was Sunday; and the hotel didn't have a shop that sells guidebooks). We entered a large courtyard with a sense of serenity. People milled quietly and the glowing fading sunlight made for a lovely scene. Back to the waiting rickshaw, to the big Red Fort which dominates Old Delhi. We quickly did the scavenges and the waiting rickshaw took us back to the spot where our taxi was waiting to take us to the restaurant so we could do a mandatory food scavenge, eat something and go to bed. We had chosen Karim's in Old Delhi. The driver said he could take us close and we could walk the rest of the way. Very slow going - this time in an AC cab, until he could go no further and pointed down the alley where we spotted a nice electric sign with the restaurant name. It was in a courtyard and was pleasant, tasty and cheap. As we finished eating, I had that feeling you have when you are inside during a torrential downpour and you know you must go out but you just hate to get started. By now it was pitch black.
Knowing this might go nowhere but worth a try, Alex asked the waiter if the restaurant could call a taxi to meet us. Answer: "No". But, we found, as happens to us constantly, by asking in English for help, an English-speaker within earshot approached to offer his help. He is a 20-ish year old Indian, having just finished his dinner with a friend from college. They were planning to attend the sound and light show in the Red Fort that was scheduled to start in about 15 minutes. He offered to walk us out to a point where we could find a taxi. As we walked, beggers swarmed. Interestingly (he even commented to us), they bothered him and his friend even more than us. In between ducking darting mopeds, we chatted. He is an engineer, recently started as and analyst for the India office of a private equity firm in NY, and used to work for Microsoft. Having led us to a street where we could find a taxi, we parted ways.
A quick taxi ride back to the hotel, and to bed for another early day. Before turning in, we had to pack for an overnight - but take very little stuff, to allow us to maneuver the Delhi train station and a long, full day of sightseeing. Challenging, but possible. PLUS, because of the rugged travel conditions, we had to think through including essential things like hand wipes, kleenex (no toilet paper in any public bathrooms), chargers and adapters...all in a light day pack. But, we did it and crashed for the night.
India is intense. It is very hot, the poverty is wrenching - and we are keeping a grueling schedule - but loving it.
We arrived at the hotel in Delhi around noon and met at 2 PM meeting to receive the list of scavenges. We learned that although we checked into the Delhi hotel for 4 nights, we actually were not going to be staying there very much. We had to figure out how to get ourselves to Jaipur and Agra; and further, we must go by train one way for each of those legs. In other words, we had to plan to bolt pretty much right away. We teamed up with 4 other groups and mapped out what we had to do. It took us about 3 hours to work the train schedules and figure out how much time was needed for travel and to do the scavenges. Having established that we need a 4:45 wake up call to leave to catch a 6AM train (and having started the day with a 4:45 wake up call), Alex and I set out for old Delhi to do a few quick scavenges, have dinner and go to bed. Some of the others went out for a mandatory food scavenge in a restaurant in New Delhi, near the hotel. Alex and I got in a taxi at the hotel and were told that the taxi could not take us all the way in to the old city but he would help us get into a rickshaw which could. We had to take a rickshaw because the streets are small and crowded to a level of intensity that the word "crowded" can't begin to describe. The area around the Red Fort and the mosque were teeming with crowds, filth, mopeds and street life. Although we were seated in a rickshaw (the kind that's powered by pedalling a bike; NOT the kind which is motorized and parially enclosed). Ours was the real deal. The seat was filthy, cracked, slanting forward making you slide off it so you have to keep pushing yourself back into the seat, but there wasn't much of anything to hold on to. The crowds of people, motorcycles and mopeds and animals - cows, dogs, etc. - make the rickshaw ride very slow. When it stops, people come and beg. They touched me, pushed their babies into my face, put their open hands right in front of me, gently tugged my clothing, looked at me with deep mournful eyes. The sun was low and the light fading, so the images were stunning. I snapped a rapid-fire stream of digital photos and mental pictures. People laying on the street side sleeping in filth, an old man standing with one healthy leg and the other twisted and shriveled as he balances himself with a stick, an old wooden pushcart piled with bags of flour slowly rolling along the street, moped drivers honking furiously and weaving in and out of the congestion, some women (probably Muslim) with their heads and bodies covered in black flowing fabrics and others in saris of breathtakingly beautiful intensely colored saris that look clean and pristine - some with beautiful sparkles, a wrinkled stooped old man with a long beard and a white cloth swaddling his legs like a diaper, storefronts like a bazaar lining the streets - selling dusty wares, meager packaged foods, tires, street food, twisted junk metal; and a cow grazing in a pile of trash about 2 feet high. So much chaos, so fast. When the rickshaw driver found an opening, he we lurched forward and we jostled and tried to hang on.
We arrived at the Jama Masjid mosque, the largest in India, and we communicated to the rickshaw driver by a few words and hand signals that we were getting out to take a quick look. Even though I had dressed to enter a mosque (long sleeves and long pants - in this heat!), a guy standing at the entrance wagged his finger, shook his head and grunted negatively at me. He produced a big cloth with velcro closures like a barber's apron and wrapped it around me. He also pointed to our cameras and an official looking sign with prices - apparently the cost for entrance and the right to talke pictures. We paid (later learned that there is no fee to enter - scam artists stand in front of the entrance, block your way, and extract fees from unsuspecting tourists - a disadvantage flowing from the rule that you can't get guidebooks until the leg starts; it was Sunday; and the hotel didn't have a shop that sells guidebooks). We entered a large courtyard with a sense of serenity. People milled quietly and the glowing fading sunlight made for a lovely scene. Back to the waiting rickshaw, to the big Red Fort which dominates Old Delhi. We quickly did the scavenges and the waiting rickshaw took us back to the spot where our taxi was waiting to take us to the restaurant so we could do a mandatory food scavenge, eat something and go to bed. We had chosen Karim's in Old Delhi. The driver said he could take us close and we could walk the rest of the way. Very slow going - this time in an AC cab, until he could go no further and pointed down the alley where we spotted a nice electric sign with the restaurant name. It was in a courtyard and was pleasant, tasty and cheap. As we finished eating, I had that feeling you have when you are inside during a torrential downpour and you know you must go out but you just hate to get started. By now it was pitch black.
Knowing this might go nowhere but worth a try, Alex asked the waiter if the restaurant could call a taxi to meet us. Answer: "No". But, we found, as happens to us constantly, by asking in English for help, an English-speaker within earshot approached to offer his help. He is a 20-ish year old Indian, having just finished his dinner with a friend from college. They were planning to attend the sound and light show in the Red Fort that was scheduled to start in about 15 minutes. He offered to walk us out to a point where we could find a taxi. As we walked, beggers swarmed. Interestingly (he even commented to us), they bothered him and his friend even more than us. In between ducking darting mopeds, we chatted. He is an engineer, recently started as and analyst for the India office of a private equity firm in NY, and used to work for Microsoft. Having led us to a street where we could find a taxi, we parted ways.
A quick taxi ride back to the hotel, and to bed for another early day. Before turning in, we had to pack for an overnight - but take very little stuff, to allow us to maneuver the Delhi train station and a long, full day of sightseeing. Challenging, but possible. PLUS, because of the rugged travel conditions, we had to think through including essential things like hand wipes, kleenex (no toilet paper in any public bathrooms), chargers and adapters...all in a light day pack. But, we did it and crashed for the night.
Sunday, April 26, 2009
Ayutthaya and Birthday Pizza at Cooking Class
It is 5 AM and we are in a taxi to Bangkok airport for a flight to Delhi. We were informed last night around 9:30 that we have a 7:30 AM flight. Bill said (jokingly?) that he tried to find a hotter city than Bangkok and there was only one - Delhi - and we are going there.
Yesterday, we went to Ayutthaya, a city 85 km outside of Bangkok, where a large area is designated a Unesco World Heritage Site with some ruins and temples scattered about. Ayutthaya was the Thai capital city 417 years ago. We found it to be OK, not fab.
In order to get credit for the scavenges in Ayutthaya, we were required to take the train at least one way. We took it back in the afternoon. Think Slum Dog Millionaire. We stood in the aisle for almost 2 hours and were constantly jostled by food sellers carrying plastic bags of bottled drinks and leafy produce. No AC of course and the windows were partially covered by those heavy metal corrugated sheets that look like the top of a broiling pan. The ride was $1. Our friends Bev and Buz took an express (timing didn't work for us) for $8 for two, with AC, reclining seats and a quicker ride. But I had the special experience of getting disrupted every 5 or 10 minutes by a vendor and had to elongate and mash myself either against a seated person's head or the seat frame.
We travelled to Ayutthaya by comfortable AC taxi that was about $30 and took a bit less time. Not to pass a day without a tuk tuk scam, our delightful English-speaking taxi driver suggested that we start our day there with an elephant ride before it got too hot. Since that was a scavenge anyway, it made sense. But we asked him to stop at the tourist information office first so we could get maps and guidebooks. He tried to discourage us. Scam coming and we didn't spot it. He took us to the elephant ride area (correct destination) and after we paid him, he led Alex to the ticket window, showed his face and left. Alex asked for the price list. Nothing posted. The ticket lady produced a paper with a price - which we later surmised was the highest price to charge unsuspecting tourists brought in by tuk tuks. Having already ridden an elephant within the last 2 days, the thrill was cranked down a notch and we were mindful of the 20 minute investment. But we enjoyed the lumbering tour around Wat Phra Si Sanphet, ruins of an important monastery on the palace grounds. We visited a wat - Phra Longkhin Bophit which we thought was a scavenge but wasn't. Realizing that distances are much longer than they appear on the map, we hailed a tuk tuk on the road to take us to the large reclining Buddah which is outdoors. We had to have photos of both the Ayutthaya and Bangkok recliners and say which is longer (Bangkok by a few meters). We then showed the tuk tuk driver the photo and Thai words for the Queen Suryothi monument. He nodded and took us to a different one - King Naresuan the Great. As we approached the King's monument, we delighted in the giant brightly colored fake roosters lined up for some special event that was being set up - like soldiers in front of the monument. Never discovered what that was about, but when we turned our attention to the actual monument, it was clear that it was a weapon-wearing warrior, not a queen. Pressing the tuk tuk driver, he took us to the right place and we saw the queen's monument. To comply with the rule that limits the number of scavenges you can take with a single driver, we had him return us to the railway station. We did a mandatory food challenge across the street - buy safe street food. We bought a plastic bag of fried banana chips and a bag of candied mango strips that looked like gummy worms, coated in sugar and hot chili pepper. Both were scrumptious (and were our lunch). Back across the street to buy our train tickets now that it was 20 minutes before departure time, as the ticket seller had told us earlier that was the maximum advance purchase time. However, there was now a handwritten posting that the train was rescheduled for about a half hour later. Time for another scavenge! We hired a woman tuk tuk driver to take us to Wat Maha That to see Buddah's head emerging out of the ground and entangled in tree roots. To take a photo of yourself with Buddah's head, out of respect, you must not be higher than his head which means you have to sidle up and squat on the ground next to him. As we rode the tuk tuk back to the train station we debated adding one more scavenge and asked the driver to u-turn; we rethought it and decided we were cutting it too close on the train and asked her to u-u-turn, now in a 360 tuk tuk ride. We had time at the station to get into the line that had formed to buy tickets. Vindicating the decision not to cut it to the wire.
After getting off the train, we did two more scavenges near the train station. We took the sky train to Jim Thompson's house - which we had figured out was the house of the "legendary American spy" and then to the jewelry market to get price quotes for jade, rubies, sapphire and amethyst.
We rushed to catch the 4 PM cooking lesson which was being given at the hotel. The hotel's cooking school is right next to the spa and because we arrived 15 minutes early, we asked at the spa if we could take a shower. Only one room was available for us to share. Fine with us. We could cover our eyes, turn our backs, whatever, but we really wanted showers. "Room"?? It was more like an apartment - and bigger than some in Manhattan. You enter a foyer, turn into a sitting area with sofa, TV, music center and grooming area. There is another, separate "wet room" which has a large bed/massage table (?) in the middle and a wall shower, large bathtub, another door I never opened, that probably was a steam room or sauna. The final room was a toilet with a sink and vanity outfitted with all kinds of grooming stuff, including a hairbrush and mouthwash. We each got 7.5 minutes in the shower and came out of our "room" completely clean and refreshed (except that we had to put our filthy clothes back on).
Cooking school was fabulous. Sherry, one of our group of 20 organized our private class from 4 to 7 PM and 16 of us did it. It would work perfectly because 9 PM was the deadline to end the Thailand hunt. That allowed us one hour after school for our last mandatory food scavenge. The only one we would have time for was to try some Italian food. I had found that there was a pizza place nearby and we could bite a slice and snap a photo right after cooking school. Problem was, the class was running over and that after the instruction part, they were going to serve us a dinner. It was becoming obvious that if we didn't get the mandatory food challenge in, we would lose all of the points we had earned in Thailand. We hated to walk out on the class to get a stupid pizza, so I slipped out for a moment and asked the concierge to call the pizza place and have a pie delivered to us at the cooking school. In the meantime, it turned out some of our fellow travelers were in similar straits because they were also short a food scavenge or were on shaky grounds interpreting the ones they had done. BUT, how to finesse the incredibly rude act of having a pizza delivered in the middle of a serious cooking class? Soooo ugly American. At a moment when we were changing cooking stations, I conspired with the chef that we had a birthday in our group and were having something delivered in a few moments. When the pizza came, chef produced a birthday candle, lit it and we delivered it to (another) Barbara and all sang happy birthday. Check! Mandatories completed. The lesson was so well done. Chef's English was perfect. He made 4 items and for each item, the sequence was: he demonstrated, then we tasted, then we made it. After the 4 rounds, we ate a full dinner of what we all had made. The menu was: Thai Beef Soup, Golden Pouches with Vegetarian Stuffing (aka fried dumpings), Curried Fish Mousse with Seafood and Mock Ark Shells in Coconut Sauce.
Great day!!
Yesterday, we went to Ayutthaya, a city 85 km outside of Bangkok, where a large area is designated a Unesco World Heritage Site with some ruins and temples scattered about. Ayutthaya was the Thai capital city 417 years ago. We found it to be OK, not fab.
In order to get credit for the scavenges in Ayutthaya, we were required to take the train at least one way. We took it back in the afternoon. Think Slum Dog Millionaire. We stood in the aisle for almost 2 hours and were constantly jostled by food sellers carrying plastic bags of bottled drinks and leafy produce. No AC of course and the windows were partially covered by those heavy metal corrugated sheets that look like the top of a broiling pan. The ride was $1. Our friends Bev and Buz took an express (timing didn't work for us) for $8 for two, with AC, reclining seats and a quicker ride. But I had the special experience of getting disrupted every 5 or 10 minutes by a vendor and had to elongate and mash myself either against a seated person's head or the seat frame.
We travelled to Ayutthaya by comfortable AC taxi that was about $30 and took a bit less time. Not to pass a day without a tuk tuk scam, our delightful English-speaking taxi driver suggested that we start our day there with an elephant ride before it got too hot. Since that was a scavenge anyway, it made sense. But we asked him to stop at the tourist information office first so we could get maps and guidebooks. He tried to discourage us. Scam coming and we didn't spot it. He took us to the elephant ride area (correct destination) and after we paid him, he led Alex to the ticket window, showed his face and left. Alex asked for the price list. Nothing posted. The ticket lady produced a paper with a price - which we later surmised was the highest price to charge unsuspecting tourists brought in by tuk tuks. Having already ridden an elephant within the last 2 days, the thrill was cranked down a notch and we were mindful of the 20 minute investment. But we enjoyed the lumbering tour around Wat Phra Si Sanphet, ruins of an important monastery on the palace grounds. We visited a wat - Phra Longkhin Bophit which we thought was a scavenge but wasn't. Realizing that distances are much longer than they appear on the map, we hailed a tuk tuk on the road to take us to the large reclining Buddah which is outdoors. We had to have photos of both the Ayutthaya and Bangkok recliners and say which is longer (Bangkok by a few meters). We then showed the tuk tuk driver the photo and Thai words for the Queen Suryothi monument. He nodded and took us to a different one - King Naresuan the Great. As we approached the King's monument, we delighted in the giant brightly colored fake roosters lined up for some special event that was being set up - like soldiers in front of the monument. Never discovered what that was about, but when we turned our attention to the actual monument, it was clear that it was a weapon-wearing warrior, not a queen. Pressing the tuk tuk driver, he took us to the right place and we saw the queen's monument. To comply with the rule that limits the number of scavenges you can take with a single driver, we had him return us to the railway station. We did a mandatory food challenge across the street - buy safe street food. We bought a plastic bag of fried banana chips and a bag of candied mango strips that looked like gummy worms, coated in sugar and hot chili pepper. Both were scrumptious (and were our lunch). Back across the street to buy our train tickets now that it was 20 minutes before departure time, as the ticket seller had told us earlier that was the maximum advance purchase time. However, there was now a handwritten posting that the train was rescheduled for about a half hour later. Time for another scavenge! We hired a woman tuk tuk driver to take us to Wat Maha That to see Buddah's head emerging out of the ground and entangled in tree roots. To take a photo of yourself with Buddah's head, out of respect, you must not be higher than his head which means you have to sidle up and squat on the ground next to him. As we rode the tuk tuk back to the train station we debated adding one more scavenge and asked the driver to u-turn; we rethought it and decided we were cutting it too close on the train and asked her to u-u-turn, now in a 360 tuk tuk ride. We had time at the station to get into the line that had formed to buy tickets. Vindicating the decision not to cut it to the wire.
After getting off the train, we did two more scavenges near the train station. We took the sky train to Jim Thompson's house - which we had figured out was the house of the "legendary American spy" and then to the jewelry market to get price quotes for jade, rubies, sapphire and amethyst.
We rushed to catch the 4 PM cooking lesson which was being given at the hotel. The hotel's cooking school is right next to the spa and because we arrived 15 minutes early, we asked at the spa if we could take a shower. Only one room was available for us to share. Fine with us. We could cover our eyes, turn our backs, whatever, but we really wanted showers. "Room"?? It was more like an apartment - and bigger than some in Manhattan. You enter a foyer, turn into a sitting area with sofa, TV, music center and grooming area. There is another, separate "wet room" which has a large bed/massage table (?) in the middle and a wall shower, large bathtub, another door I never opened, that probably was a steam room or sauna. The final room was a toilet with a sink and vanity outfitted with all kinds of grooming stuff, including a hairbrush and mouthwash. We each got 7.5 minutes in the shower and came out of our "room" completely clean and refreshed (except that we had to put our filthy clothes back on).
Cooking school was fabulous. Sherry, one of our group of 20 organized our private class from 4 to 7 PM and 16 of us did it. It would work perfectly because 9 PM was the deadline to end the Thailand hunt. That allowed us one hour after school for our last mandatory food scavenge. The only one we would have time for was to try some Italian food. I had found that there was a pizza place nearby and we could bite a slice and snap a photo right after cooking school. Problem was, the class was running over and that after the instruction part, they were going to serve us a dinner. It was becoming obvious that if we didn't get the mandatory food challenge in, we would lose all of the points we had earned in Thailand. We hated to walk out on the class to get a stupid pizza, so I slipped out for a moment and asked the concierge to call the pizza place and have a pie delivered to us at the cooking school. In the meantime, it turned out some of our fellow travelers were in similar straits because they were also short a food scavenge or were on shaky grounds interpreting the ones they had done. BUT, how to finesse the incredibly rude act of having a pizza delivered in the middle of a serious cooking class? Soooo ugly American. At a moment when we were changing cooking stations, I conspired with the chef that we had a birthday in our group and were having something delivered in a few moments. When the pizza came, chef produced a birthday candle, lit it and we delivered it to (another) Barbara and all sang happy birthday. Check! Mandatories completed. The lesson was so well done. Chef's English was perfect. He made 4 items and for each item, the sequence was: he demonstrated, then we tasted, then we made it. After the 4 rounds, we ate a full dinner of what we all had made. The menu was: Thai Beef Soup, Golden Pouches with Vegetarian Stuffing (aka fried dumpings), Curried Fish Mousse with Seafood and Mock Ark Shells in Coconut Sauce.
Great day!!
Saturday, April 25, 2009
Bedazzled in Bangkok
At about 2 PM, we finally were able to set out for the top sights we had intended - prebamboozlement. Wat Po, giant golden reclining Buddah. The thing is housed in a dark shelter and is breathtakingly shiny and huge. We complied with the mandatory shoe removal to enter, but carried our shoes with us, instead of putting them in the cubbies ouside, from which people's shoes have been known to disappear. Alex noticed an interesting ritual in the temple. The wall was lined with a long row of 100 or so black bowls the size of soup tureens, into which people were dropping coins - perhaps offerings - and making an echoing "clink'" sound. It was quite simple and beautiful. We never figured out what it was.
Next we took a tuk tuk (carefully negotiated in advance) to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah. Wow. Wow. And Wow. The structures in the complex are encrusted with shiny mosaic tiles of gold and metallic sheen, looking like humungous gemstones, jewels sparkling in the sun. We snapped lots of photos, and Alex hammed it up for the camera. We found people lining up imitating his poses for their own photos. I am sure he is not the first person to strike those poses but it was funny to see Germans, Japanese, Brits, all doing the same thing.
We took a tuk tuk to the National Museum to look for, among other things, an explanation of two rooms (which we never found and are not on the floor plan map).
We took a ferry to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, complicated because it was across the river and required different boats to cross and to transport down river. Scavenge was to climb the tall skinny-stepped tower and snap a pic. Always looking to get in some cardio, we enjoyed the scenic and spiritual stairmaster. Looking down and across the city was lovely!! Took two boats - across and down river to get back to the hotel. We had 20 minutes to shower. We were completely drenched and have been drinking north of 2 liters each to keep up with the heat. It is over 100 but I don't know exactly. Around 3 PM, someone noted that it was 103.
Alex made plans to meet his friend Pote for dinner. Pote lives in Bangkok but went to college with Alex. Alex had asked Pote to choose from a list of about 7 restaurants for our mandatory food scavenge. Pote only knew one of them (Cabbages and Condoms), so we made plans to meet him for dinner. After very quick, very essential and extremely enjoyable showers, we took a water taxi to the sky train station. Taking advantage of the hotel's launch service, we rode in comfort for the short ride to the sky train stop. The sky train is an above-ground subway that relieves serious traffic congestion in a very crowded city. The cars are pristine, have flat screen TVs showing ads, and digital displays of upcoming station information. We changed trains at Siam (the former name of Thailand, and the only intersection between the two sky train lines). Pote told Alex that we should meet him in a mall, at the Nautica store. Amazing how interchangeable malls are. He was waiting for us and we walked together to the mall garage to get his car. He drove us to the restaurant Cabbages and Condoms. The place is festooned with all kinds of things fashioned out of condoms -- decorations on the light fixtures, and mannequins outfitted in clothes made from condoms that reminded me of RISD Fashion Show projects. The restaurant concept is to promote understanding and acceptance of family planning and raise funds for a related organization. Thai food - and it was very good. Pote ordered for all of us: chicken satay, gai hor bai toey (excuse the spelling but it is chicken wrapped in a Pandan leaf), white rice, red jasmine rice (more nutritious than white rice and resembles brown rice except it's red), kao glong (no recollection what it was) and Thai green curry - with vegys and cocoanut milk. Interesting conversation! His family business involves commodities. He was sent to the US for a New England boarding school education and college and he is going back to the US for graduate work. His Thai friends went to US, Australia, Singapore for their educations.
His tip on street food: fried in oil is fine, but go for the clearest oil you can find. We talked about the recent riots, what led up to them, etc. Then, looking at the list of scavenges we hadn't done yet, we asked him about how to find someone to price a "nasty" and he told us, but ultimately Alex preferred not to do that scavenge. Certainly I was not going to do it. Mapped out the next day and went to bed.
Next we took a tuk tuk (carefully negotiated in advance) to the Grand Palace and the Temple of the Emerald Buddah. Wow. Wow. And Wow. The structures in the complex are encrusted with shiny mosaic tiles of gold and metallic sheen, looking like humungous gemstones, jewels sparkling in the sun. We snapped lots of photos, and Alex hammed it up for the camera. We found people lining up imitating his poses for their own photos. I am sure he is not the first person to strike those poses but it was funny to see Germans, Japanese, Brits, all doing the same thing.
We took a tuk tuk to the National Museum to look for, among other things, an explanation of two rooms (which we never found and are not on the floor plan map).
We took a ferry to Wat Arun, the Temple of Dawn, complicated because it was across the river and required different boats to cross and to transport down river. Scavenge was to climb the tall skinny-stepped tower and snap a pic. Always looking to get in some cardio, we enjoyed the scenic and spiritual stairmaster. Looking down and across the city was lovely!! Took two boats - across and down river to get back to the hotel. We had 20 minutes to shower. We were completely drenched and have been drinking north of 2 liters each to keep up with the heat. It is over 100 but I don't know exactly. Around 3 PM, someone noted that it was 103.
Alex made plans to meet his friend Pote for dinner. Pote lives in Bangkok but went to college with Alex. Alex had asked Pote to choose from a list of about 7 restaurants for our mandatory food scavenge. Pote only knew one of them (Cabbages and Condoms), so we made plans to meet him for dinner. After very quick, very essential and extremely enjoyable showers, we took a water taxi to the sky train station. Taking advantage of the hotel's launch service, we rode in comfort for the short ride to the sky train stop. The sky train is an above-ground subway that relieves serious traffic congestion in a very crowded city. The cars are pristine, have flat screen TVs showing ads, and digital displays of upcoming station information. We changed trains at Siam (the former name of Thailand, and the only intersection between the two sky train lines). Pote told Alex that we should meet him in a mall, at the Nautica store. Amazing how interchangeable malls are. He was waiting for us and we walked together to the mall garage to get his car. He drove us to the restaurant Cabbages and Condoms. The place is festooned with all kinds of things fashioned out of condoms -- decorations on the light fixtures, and mannequins outfitted in clothes made from condoms that reminded me of RISD Fashion Show projects. The restaurant concept is to promote understanding and acceptance of family planning and raise funds for a related organization. Thai food - and it was very good. Pote ordered for all of us: chicken satay, gai hor bai toey (excuse the spelling but it is chicken wrapped in a Pandan leaf), white rice, red jasmine rice (more nutritious than white rice and resembles brown rice except it's red), kao glong (no recollection what it was) and Thai green curry - with vegys and cocoanut milk. Interesting conversation! His family business involves commodities. He was sent to the US for a New England boarding school education and college and he is going back to the US for graduate work. His Thai friends went to US, Australia, Singapore for their educations.
His tip on street food: fried in oil is fine, but go for the clearest oil you can find. We talked about the recent riots, what led up to them, etc. Then, looking at the list of scavenges we hadn't done yet, we asked him about how to find someone to price a "nasty" and he told us, but ultimately Alex preferred not to do that scavenge. Certainly I was not going to do it. Mapped out the next day and went to bed.
Bangkok Begins with a Scam
9 AM meeting, got the scavenge books and we're off. Except for us and one other team (Trevor and Alex from Seattle), we were the only ones who had never been to Bangkok. It seemed that everyone else was planning day trips outside of the city. We teamed up with Trevor and Alex (T and A - not the Chorus Line reference, just easier to type). We wanted to plan our day to make sure that we saw the top sights instead of running around like crazy people just collecting points. We got the map and free guide book from the hotel concierge as permitted, and sat down in the lobby with them spread out to make the plan. First destination: Wat Po, the giant golden reclining Buddah followed by the Palace and the Emerald Buddah. We went by boat because city streets are choked with traffic and this is a weekday morning. Boat ride on public ferry was quite interesting, darting between barges and joined by saffron-swathed young monks sipping Cokes. On the way, T and A suggested stopping to do the "either/or" flower market or "talad" (never figured out what that was) near the Memorial Bridge. It took a while because our false start hunting for durian and rakam in the talad failed. But we sure did find the Flower Market, which is street stalls under cloth awnings where vendors sell cut flowers and where they string jasmine petals into wrist bracelet size loops, sometimes with other flowers woven in. Intense perfumed air, beautiful stroll. Checked that off.
Heading directly to Wat Po, we started on foot with our maps out, and a friendly English-speaking guy approached us and asked what we were looking for. We told him "Wat Po" and a few other sites. He told us they are all closed this morning (it was now 11 AM) because of a special ceremony and we should wait until 1 PM when they open. In the meantime, he suggested we see the Smiling Buddah and the Expo Center, which we somehow associated with the spraying water for New Year's celebration. We got whipped up about getting wet (very hot already). He turned to his waiting friends, the tuk tuk drivers and for 40 Baht each tuk tuk, they would wait for tour visits and drive us back to Wat Po. We should have smelled a rat when he pointed out the Smiling Buddah on my map by having to draw it himself. The Smiling Buddah was some lame dirty storefront. We quickly jumped back in the tuk tuk and went to the "Expo Center" which was a shop in an alley that sells jewelry to tourists. Brilliantly deducing that this was a hijack to the tourist scamatorium, we demanded to be taken to Wat Po. He said "please", all we had to do was go into the shop and he could get paid by his sponsor. Literally sticking one foot in the door and spinning out again, we jumped back into the tuk tuks and made it clear - Wat Po or you get no pay. He drove us to Wat Po and dropped us outside the wall around the corner from the entrance. We paid him 20 Baht, half of the agreed price. A kind English-speaking man approached and asked if we were looking for Wat Po. Yes. He pointed to the sign showing that the entrance was around the corner and said that there was a special ceremony and it was closed until 1 PM. Would we like to take a tuk tuk ride to another temple and be back by 1 PM? Nope, we were on to that. And OK, feeling a little better about having been duped before, at least it appeared that the 1 PM delayed opening time info was accurate. We chose 2 scavenges to do in the meantime: the Giant Swing and the Elephant Museum at Dusit Palace. Swing was simple. Finding the Ducit Palace complex was easy but nobody knew anything about an elephant museum. We settled on the elephant pavilion at the Ducit Zoo, with some big information boards about elephants. At that point it was almost 1 PM when our intended main attractions were to open. We parted ways with T and A because we had reached the maximum that 2 teams could do together in a day. Squeezed in the mandatory food challenge at the Deck Restaurant, right on the river with a beautiful view. Sat next to a couple from Buffalo that just moved their boat to Goat Island in Newport. Steps away was Wat Po, the giant golden reclining Buddah. There we learned that it and all of the major tourist attractions had been open since 8. No ceremony baloney. We realized we were duped twice on the same subject in one morning! (Later, I noticed the warning in the guidebook: "Beware! Bangkok has its share of brilliantly choreographed and well-practiced street scams, often active in the area around the Grand Palace. Typically these involve being 'befriended' by a seemingly straight-up local, and with true sophistication they often result in travellers not reaching their intended destination, but instead visiting an alternative temple and eventually a jewellry outlet. The bottom line is, if anyone, no matter how official they may appear (and this includes uniformed guards!), tells you that the Palace or Wat Po, for example, is closed, you are likely being set up". Yep! Twice! We were textbook.
Heading directly to Wat Po, we started on foot with our maps out, and a friendly English-speaking guy approached us and asked what we were looking for. We told him "Wat Po" and a few other sites. He told us they are all closed this morning (it was now 11 AM) because of a special ceremony and we should wait until 1 PM when they open. In the meantime, he suggested we see the Smiling Buddah and the Expo Center, which we somehow associated with the spraying water for New Year's celebration. We got whipped up about getting wet (very hot already). He turned to his waiting friends, the tuk tuk drivers and for 40 Baht each tuk tuk, they would wait for tour visits and drive us back to Wat Po. We should have smelled a rat when he pointed out the Smiling Buddah on my map by having to draw it himself. The Smiling Buddah was some lame dirty storefront. We quickly jumped back in the tuk tuk and went to the "Expo Center" which was a shop in an alley that sells jewelry to tourists. Brilliantly deducing that this was a hijack to the tourist scamatorium, we demanded to be taken to Wat Po. He said "please", all we had to do was go into the shop and he could get paid by his sponsor. Literally sticking one foot in the door and spinning out again, we jumped back into the tuk tuks and made it clear - Wat Po or you get no pay. He drove us to Wat Po and dropped us outside the wall around the corner from the entrance. We paid him 20 Baht, half of the agreed price. A kind English-speaking man approached and asked if we were looking for Wat Po. Yes. He pointed to the sign showing that the entrance was around the corner and said that there was a special ceremony and it was closed until 1 PM. Would we like to take a tuk tuk ride to another temple and be back by 1 PM? Nope, we were on to that. And OK, feeling a little better about having been duped before, at least it appeared that the 1 PM delayed opening time info was accurate. We chose 2 scavenges to do in the meantime: the Giant Swing and the Elephant Museum at Dusit Palace. Swing was simple. Finding the Ducit Palace complex was easy but nobody knew anything about an elephant museum. We settled on the elephant pavilion at the Ducit Zoo, with some big information boards about elephants. At that point it was almost 1 PM when our intended main attractions were to open. We parted ways with T and A because we had reached the maximum that 2 teams could do together in a day. Squeezed in the mandatory food challenge at the Deck Restaurant, right on the river with a beautiful view. Sat next to a couple from Buffalo that just moved their boat to Goat Island in Newport. Steps away was Wat Po, the giant golden reclining Buddah. There we learned that it and all of the major tourist attractions had been open since 8. No ceremony baloney. We realized we were duped twice on the same subject in one morning! (Later, I noticed the warning in the guidebook: "Beware! Bangkok has its share of brilliantly choreographed and well-practiced street scams, often active in the area around the Grand Palace. Typically these involve being 'befriended' by a seemingly straight-up local, and with true sophistication they often result in travellers not reaching their intended destination, but instead visiting an alternative temple and eventually a jewellry outlet. The bottom line is, if anyone, no matter how official they may appear (and this includes uniformed guards!), tells you that the Palace or Wat Po, for example, is closed, you are likely being set up". Yep! Twice! We were textbook.
Friday, April 24, 2009
Eight Temples in Five Hours
The 4:45 wake up call was a little bad. Out the door around 5 with our partners for the day, Bart and Steve, the "Beach Boys" team from Southern California. Great guys! We shared a car to take us to Angkor, which is the park where over 100 ancient temples are located. It's about a 20 minute drive from Siem Reap. The rush is to be there before sunrise so you can see the sun come up over Angkor Wat. ("Wat" means "Temple"). At the entrance gate, we had to get passes which included a digital photo which the ticket office made.
The sun came up and reflected on the lake, where a donkey stood, along with at least a few hundred tourists, cameras poised, like we all waited for a show to begin. The temple is massive and takes your breath away when it first comes into view. There is an intensely detailed bas relief (mural carved into the stone) which is called the story wall. We learned that Angkor Wat was built to honor the Hindu God Vishnu and that the other major temple, Angkor Thom was also Hindu but has been converted to a Buddhist temple now that Cambodia is a Buddhist country. Next we visited Phnom Bakheng, the oldest temple and it is at the top of a hill that is quite a hike. It was just after dawn but already getting steamy for a hike. Did it and got back in the car to head for Angkor Thom.
A word about cars: there are no metered taxis. Either you get a car and driver or you ride in a tuk-tuk. What a fun thing! It's an open air surrey pulled by a moped. The breeze feels so good as you drive along - and you are right there on the street. Did I mention it is really hot?
Another word - about money. In addition to accepting payment in local currency, everyone accepts dollars and gives change in dollars. AND, when we went to the Cambodian Royal Bank ATM and chose English language, the screen offered withdrawal amounts in multilples of $20 - how nice to calculate currency conversion for us. More surprisingly, the withdrawal was actually delivered in US dollars!
Angkor Thom's entrance is a tree-lined shady approach which you can travel to by elephant - so we did. A bit rolly like a rough day on the ocean. At the temple we achieved the scavenge of taking a photo with 2 willing monks because there was a monastery there. Surprise for me. It looked like summer camp bunks scattered under the trees, with (not a surprise) saffron cloths hung from trees and railings. The shelters had few walls, you could see right in, and they live on the ground in filth and piles of trash and plastic waste strewn about. Young boys are abundant. We paid for the privilege to take a picture with them and then chatted a bit. There are many parents who cannot work, they give their kids up and the monks teach them. So sad.
Ta Prohm is such a cool temple. It was in Tomb Raider and has trees growing on top and through it. The birds eat the fruits of the (kapok) tree and fertilize the tree to grow even more. Nature wins over man on this one! Outside the temple under the trees were vendors. I ticked off the challenge to buy something made in Cambodia and bought a $5 sundress which I am wearing now.. Alex's Vietnamese bag didn't count.
Next was a group of 3 temples called the Rolous Group. Roulos was the original capital of Khmer (which is the English name for Cambodia). We visited the 3 major temples.
Then we went to the Angkor Hospital for Children to donate some things.
A note on begging - well... aggressive salesmanship. Beautiful young teenage girls approach you and offer something for sale. They speak nasal English, smile teasingly, and many have the same patter: "You been here before? I remember you. You from states? Washington DC capital. What state you from?". Then, we went back to the hotel to take a quick swim before our 2 PM deadline.
The group met and Bill told us we have to get ourselves to the airport for an 8 PM flight to Bangkok. Following a quick discussion about why it's ok to go to Bangkok and disregard the state of emergency, we dispersed to swim (to TRY to cool off) and pack. As I write this a day later, the state of emergency has been lifted.
The 45 minute flight on Bangkok Air was the same length as the bus transfer from the Bangkok airport to the hotel. Three nights at the Mandarin Oriental. So so so so nice! Room overlooking the river. Quick shower and to bed for our 9 AM meeting to receive the Thailand scavenges.
The sun came up and reflected on the lake, where a donkey stood, along with at least a few hundred tourists, cameras poised, like we all waited for a show to begin. The temple is massive and takes your breath away when it first comes into view. There is an intensely detailed bas relief (mural carved into the stone) which is called the story wall. We learned that Angkor Wat was built to honor the Hindu God Vishnu and that the other major temple, Angkor Thom was also Hindu but has been converted to a Buddhist temple now that Cambodia is a Buddhist country. Next we visited Phnom Bakheng, the oldest temple and it is at the top of a hill that is quite a hike. It was just after dawn but already getting steamy for a hike. Did it and got back in the car to head for Angkor Thom.
A word about cars: there are no metered taxis. Either you get a car and driver or you ride in a tuk-tuk. What a fun thing! It's an open air surrey pulled by a moped. The breeze feels so good as you drive along - and you are right there on the street. Did I mention it is really hot?
Another word - about money. In addition to accepting payment in local currency, everyone accepts dollars and gives change in dollars. AND, when we went to the Cambodian Royal Bank ATM and chose English language, the screen offered withdrawal amounts in multilples of $20 - how nice to calculate currency conversion for us. More surprisingly, the withdrawal was actually delivered in US dollars!
Angkor Thom's entrance is a tree-lined shady approach which you can travel to by elephant - so we did. A bit rolly like a rough day on the ocean. At the temple we achieved the scavenge of taking a photo with 2 willing monks because there was a monastery there. Surprise for me. It looked like summer camp bunks scattered under the trees, with (not a surprise) saffron cloths hung from trees and railings. The shelters had few walls, you could see right in, and they live on the ground in filth and piles of trash and plastic waste strewn about. Young boys are abundant. We paid for the privilege to take a picture with them and then chatted a bit. There are many parents who cannot work, they give their kids up and the monks teach them. So sad.
Ta Prohm is such a cool temple. It was in Tomb Raider and has trees growing on top and through it. The birds eat the fruits of the (kapok) tree and fertilize the tree to grow even more. Nature wins over man on this one! Outside the temple under the trees were vendors. I ticked off the challenge to buy something made in Cambodia and bought a $5 sundress which I am wearing now.. Alex's Vietnamese bag didn't count.
Next was a group of 3 temples called the Rolous Group. Roulos was the original capital of Khmer (which is the English name for Cambodia). We visited the 3 major temples.
Then we went to the Angkor Hospital for Children to donate some things.
A note on begging - well... aggressive salesmanship. Beautiful young teenage girls approach you and offer something for sale. They speak nasal English, smile teasingly, and many have the same patter: "You been here before? I remember you. You from states? Washington DC capital. What state you from?". Then, we went back to the hotel to take a quick swim before our 2 PM deadline.
The group met and Bill told us we have to get ourselves to the airport for an 8 PM flight to Bangkok. Following a quick discussion about why it's ok to go to Bangkok and disregard the state of emergency, we dispersed to swim (to TRY to cool off) and pack. As I write this a day later, the state of emergency has been lifted.
The 45 minute flight on Bangkok Air was the same length as the bus transfer from the Bangkok airport to the hotel. Three nights at the Mandarin Oriental. So so so so nice! Room overlooking the river. Quick shower and to bed for our 9 AM meeting to receive the Thailand scavenges.
Thursday, April 23, 2009
Alex Ate a Tarantula Today
The ride took about 5 hours. We stopped twice. The first stop was at a local roadside market that had a toilet (fetid hole in the ground with a porcelain apron) and people selling cut fruit and fried tarantulas and fried crickets. Not knowing the conditions under which the fruit was cut, we didn't eat any. But, Alex decided to try the tarantula. It was fried in oil with hot peppers. I took his word for it that it tasted like any fried thing.
We stopped again an hour or so later at a regular restaurant for stir fried chicken, vegys and cashews with steamed white rice.
We arrived into Siem Reap mid-afternoon. Love this city! It is the closest place to the Angkor temple area, so it has lots of hotels and restaurants of all levels. The temples were built beginning around the 9th century and are massive, with ornate carvings in the stones. More on that when we visit the temples. Siem Reap has a small river running through it and low buildings. Lots of trees. The central market area is bustling, but not with the edgy chaos of PP (instead of spelling out Phnom Penh all the time). When you step into the street, you need not fear for your life that a moped will run you down. Just off the central market is a restaurant area - lots of bars and cool places with sidewalk tables. We did our first mandatory food challenge by eating traditional Khmer food at a really cool place called Dead Fish. "'Khmer" is the Cambodian word for Cambodian and it is also the name of the language. Dead Fish is a restaurant and an internet cafe. The sign outside says, "Don't Serve Dog, Cat, Rat, Wrm". I think they mean "worms" but the rest of the promotion is reassuring. We shared a loc lac, which is beef and cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Then we tackled the next scavenge of finding an Irish Pub for a pint. There is a fun street steps away, known as Pub Alley and we found Molly Malone's, where we saw Jackie and Sylvia who were finishing their pints. The heavens opened with pouring rain. It lasted less than a half hour. The rain briefly lowered the oppressive heat. It must be in the 90s, with killer humidity. The rain made the air smell sweet.
We went to the central market with a mission - to buy me a longsleeve white shirt for protection from the sun, and to get Alex a light bag for a daypack. We found very cheap things. There are few customers in the market. We were fascinated by the name brand goods for sale. Brands like North Face, Columbia, Abercrombie, Tommy Hilfiger hang on market stalls in abundance. Some are obvious cheap knockoffs. But others seemed real. And there was a North Face backpack with Quicksilver zipper pulls. So interesting.
The last mandatory food scavenge was a pate sandwich. Although we had seen a billboard on the road, it was hard to find and after asking in a few places, a shopkeeper pointed us to the Master Market.
All of the Cambodian people we have met have been so nice. They are warm, always smiling, and helpful.
We returned to the hotel to do the scavenge where you must get a Cambodian massage and describe what's different from American. Well, first of all, the masseuse had me get undressed and then redressed me in rough brown loose clothes like hospital scrubs. Also. during the massage, she got up on the table with me to get leverage to push harder. At the end, she gave me a washcloth soaked in eucalyptus. It was a great last activity! Heritage Suites Hotel is a great boutique - very comfy. Relais and Chateaux. Our room has an outdoor walled garden and shower. We hung out in the bar with fellow travelers and turned in early for the 4:45 AM wakeup.
We stopped again an hour or so later at a regular restaurant for stir fried chicken, vegys and cashews with steamed white rice.
We arrived into Siem Reap mid-afternoon. Love this city! It is the closest place to the Angkor temple area, so it has lots of hotels and restaurants of all levels. The temples were built beginning around the 9th century and are massive, with ornate carvings in the stones. More on that when we visit the temples. Siem Reap has a small river running through it and low buildings. Lots of trees. The central market area is bustling, but not with the edgy chaos of PP (instead of spelling out Phnom Penh all the time). When you step into the street, you need not fear for your life that a moped will run you down. Just off the central market is a restaurant area - lots of bars and cool places with sidewalk tables. We did our first mandatory food challenge by eating traditional Khmer food at a really cool place called Dead Fish. "'Khmer" is the Cambodian word for Cambodian and it is also the name of the language. Dead Fish is a restaurant and an internet cafe. The sign outside says, "Don't Serve Dog, Cat, Rat, Wrm". I think they mean "worms" but the rest of the promotion is reassuring. We shared a loc lac, which is beef and cucumbers, tomatoes and onions. Then we tackled the next scavenge of finding an Irish Pub for a pint. There is a fun street steps away, known as Pub Alley and we found Molly Malone's, where we saw Jackie and Sylvia who were finishing their pints. The heavens opened with pouring rain. It lasted less than a half hour. The rain briefly lowered the oppressive heat. It must be in the 90s, with killer humidity. The rain made the air smell sweet.
We went to the central market with a mission - to buy me a longsleeve white shirt for protection from the sun, and to get Alex a light bag for a daypack. We found very cheap things. There are few customers in the market. We were fascinated by the name brand goods for sale. Brands like North Face, Columbia, Abercrombie, Tommy Hilfiger hang on market stalls in abundance. Some are obvious cheap knockoffs. But others seemed real. And there was a North Face backpack with Quicksilver zipper pulls. So interesting.
The last mandatory food scavenge was a pate sandwich. Although we had seen a billboard on the road, it was hard to find and after asking in a few places, a shopkeeper pointed us to the Master Market.
All of the Cambodian people we have met have been so nice. They are warm, always smiling, and helpful.
We returned to the hotel to do the scavenge where you must get a Cambodian massage and describe what's different from American. Well, first of all, the masseuse had me get undressed and then redressed me in rough brown loose clothes like hospital scrubs. Also. during the massage, she got up on the table with me to get leverage to push harder. At the end, she gave me a washcloth soaked in eucalyptus. It was a great last activity! Heritage Suites Hotel is a great boutique - very comfy. Relais and Chateaux. Our room has an outdoor walled garden and shower. We hung out in the bar with fellow travelers and turned in early for the 4:45 AM wakeup.
Road Number 6 from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap
In a car for much of the day, riding from Phnom Penh to Siem Reap, with the goal of arriving before dark. We are on road Number 6. It is about 11:30 AM in Cambodia and Alex and I are sitting side by side punching away at our blackberries, glancing up frequently at the view outside. The beginning hour or so was unpaved, dusty, crowded with mopeds, trucks, animals wandering, and busses stuffed with people and baggage hanging off of everywhere. Now, we are in a rural area with open dry fields peppered with palm trees which are apparently a crop.
This morning, we visited the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. The ticket seller wouldn't admit me because I am sleeveless. Stretching my bandana around my shoulders didn't suffice, so I had to buy the 3 dollar t-shirt they were selling, in order to get in. One of the main attractions is the silver pagoda, where the floor is made of silver - 5329 tiles of silver flooring. The whole palace complex of about 18 structures is contained within a tall yellow wall and all of the buildings are tones of yellow, orange and cream.
The downtown area focuses on the riverfront - a big open plaza in front of the palace. There are market stalls and a festive feel. The riverfront is at the confluence of the Mekong and two other rivers (anyone who lived through the Vietnam War era has Mekong Delta pounded into their brain from news reports).
There are a number of classic French buildings and avenues which recall the French colonial period. There are also endless streets of cramped jumbled housing crowded with people. By the side of the city streets, people sit, eat, sell firewood and all kinds of food.
We visited S-21 Tuol Sleng Prison. This is now a museum, but before 1975 it was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power and began a systematic prosecution of the democratic leaders, they used this former school buiding to detain, interrogate and torture prisoners. At least 5,000 people were tortured and killed after they signed confession documents. Artifacts of the gruesome methods and procedures remain. It's particularly eerie to wander the halls and rooms because the buiding is very much set up as a school. You can imagine students strolling the grounds. The museum brochure is a single sheet of paper and awkwardly translated, but the message is particularly powerful in their own words: "...it is a compulsoriness to preserve this place as an Achieves, Evidences. In order to keep in mind about all the oppression and exploitation of 'Khmer Rouge' regime. If we do not emerge the anger, do not remind this cruelty and inhumanity regime, this state will be fade away in our exhilaration". So true -- and eerily like the Jews say, "Remember the 6 Million".
This morning, we visited the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. The ticket seller wouldn't admit me because I am sleeveless. Stretching my bandana around my shoulders didn't suffice, so I had to buy the 3 dollar t-shirt they were selling, in order to get in. One of the main attractions is the silver pagoda, where the floor is made of silver - 5329 tiles of silver flooring. The whole palace complex of about 18 structures is contained within a tall yellow wall and all of the buildings are tones of yellow, orange and cream.
The downtown area focuses on the riverfront - a big open plaza in front of the palace. There are market stalls and a festive feel. The riverfront is at the confluence of the Mekong and two other rivers (anyone who lived through the Vietnam War era has Mekong Delta pounded into their brain from news reports).
There are a number of classic French buildings and avenues which recall the French colonial period. There are also endless streets of cramped jumbled housing crowded with people. By the side of the city streets, people sit, eat, sell firewood and all kinds of food.
We visited S-21 Tuol Sleng Prison. This is now a museum, but before 1975 it was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power and began a systematic prosecution of the democratic leaders, they used this former school buiding to detain, interrogate and torture prisoners. At least 5,000 people were tortured and killed after they signed confession documents. Artifacts of the gruesome methods and procedures remain. It's particularly eerie to wander the halls and rooms because the buiding is very much set up as a school. You can imagine students strolling the grounds. The museum brochure is a single sheet of paper and awkwardly translated, but the message is particularly powerful in their own words: "...it is a compulsoriness to preserve this place as an Achieves, Evidences. In order to keep in mind about all the oppression and exploitation of 'Khmer Rouge' regime. If we do not emerge the anger, do not remind this cruelty and inhumanity regime, this state will be fade away in our exhilaration". So true -- and eerily like the Jews say, "Remember the 6 Million".
Wednesday, April 22, 2009
Phnom Penh Top Ten
This morning, we visited the Royal Palace and the Silver Pagoda. The ticket seller wouldn't admit me because I am sleeveless. Stretching my bandana around my shoulders didn't suffice, so I had to buy the 3 dollar t-shirt they were selling, in order to get in. One of the main attractions is the silver pagoda, where the floor is made of silver - 5329 tiles of silver flooring. The whole palace complex of about 18 structures is contained within a tall yellow wall and all of the buildings are tones of yellow, orange and cream. Surprisingly, the palace was relatively recently constructed - in 1917.
The downtown area focuses on the riverfront - a big open plaza in front of the palace. There are market stalls and a festive feel. The riverfront is at the confluence of the Mekong and two other rivers (anyone who lived through the Vietnam War era has Mekong Delta pounded into their brain from news reports).
There are a number of classic French buildings and avenues which recall the French colonial period. There are also endless streets of cramped jumbled housing. Along the sides of the city streets, people sit, eat, sell firewood and all kinds of food. The traffic is chaotic. Mopeds dart out of every alley where ever you look or don't look. There are phalaxes of mopeds racing forward at every change of the traffic light.
We visited S-21 Tuol Sleng Prison. This is now a museum, but before 1975 it was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power and began a systematic prosecution of the democratic leaders, they used this former school buiding to detain, interrogate and torture prisoners. At least 5,000 people were tortured and killed after they signed confession documents. Artifacts of the gruesome methods and procedures remain. It's particularly eerie to wander the halls and rooms because the buiding is very much set up as a school. You can imagine students strolling the grounds. The museum brochure is a single sheet of paper and awkwardly translated, but the message is particularly powerful in their own words: "...it is a compulsoriness to preserve this place as an Achieves, Evidences. In order to keep in mind about all the oppression and exploitation of 'Khmer Rouge' regime. If we do not emerge the anger, do not remind this cruelty and inhumanity regime, this state will be fade away in our exhilaration". So true -- and eerily like the Jews say, "Remember the 6 Million".
The downtown area focuses on the riverfront - a big open plaza in front of the palace. There are market stalls and a festive feel. The riverfront is at the confluence of the Mekong and two other rivers (anyone who lived through the Vietnam War era has Mekong Delta pounded into their brain from news reports).
There are a number of classic French buildings and avenues which recall the French colonial period. There are also endless streets of cramped jumbled housing. Along the sides of the city streets, people sit, eat, sell firewood and all kinds of food. The traffic is chaotic. Mopeds dart out of every alley where ever you look or don't look. There are phalaxes of mopeds racing forward at every change of the traffic light.
We visited S-21 Tuol Sleng Prison. This is now a museum, but before 1975 it was a high school. When the Khmer Rouge came to power and began a systematic prosecution of the democratic leaders, they used this former school buiding to detain, interrogate and torture prisoners. At least 5,000 people were tortured and killed after they signed confession documents. Artifacts of the gruesome methods and procedures remain. It's particularly eerie to wander the halls and rooms because the buiding is very much set up as a school. You can imagine students strolling the grounds. The museum brochure is a single sheet of paper and awkwardly translated, but the message is particularly powerful in their own words: "...it is a compulsoriness to preserve this place as an Achieves, Evidences. In order to keep in mind about all the oppression and exploitation of 'Khmer Rouge' regime. If we do not emerge the anger, do not remind this cruelty and inhumanity regime, this state will be fade away in our exhilaration". So true -- and eerily like the Jews say, "Remember the 6 Million".
Hitting the Wall in Phnom Penh
Flight from Taipei to Phnom Penh took about 3 and a half hours, arrived at the Raffles Hotel around 12:30. We had until 2 to check in and report to the meeting.
Beautiful old colonial hotel with shuttered balconies and celing fans) (boosted by central air). It is HOT and STEAMY here! We took a half hour dip in the pool, joined by the 2 13-year olds -- Bill's daughter Petra who is travelling with us the first week, and Ben from Texas whose teammate is his grandma from Barbados. Ben's Mom Zoe and her partner Rannie swam too. It was really refreshing.
At the meeting, we were given the book of scavenges and learned that we must get ourselves to Siem Reap to meet at 2 PM tomorrow. Flying is discouraged - major point deduction. We spent some time planning out the trip with Steve and Bart, great guys from Southern California. Bart has visited all but 12 countries in the world and knows a thing or two about independent travelling.
We chose to go to the central market and buy school supplies and soccer balls to deliver to an orphange, which is about 50 minutes outside of town. Between buying and delivering the supplies, we decided to do a mandatory meal at Malis. During dinner, I started feeling unwell and decided to go back to the hotel while Alex, Bart and Steve went on to the orphanage. I took a cool shower, drank a lot of water and put myself to bed. While I was busy grappling with my whatever, Alex, Bart and Steve went to the bus station and bought tickets for the 8:30 AM to Siem Reap - about a 6 hour bus ride on partially unpaved roads. Hmmmm.
Beautiful old colonial hotel with shuttered balconies and celing fans) (boosted by central air). It is HOT and STEAMY here! We took a half hour dip in the pool, joined by the 2 13-year olds -- Bill's daughter Petra who is travelling with us the first week, and Ben from Texas whose teammate is his grandma from Barbados. Ben's Mom Zoe and her partner Rannie swam too. It was really refreshing.
At the meeting, we were given the book of scavenges and learned that we must get ourselves to Siem Reap to meet at 2 PM tomorrow. Flying is discouraged - major point deduction. We spent some time planning out the trip with Steve and Bart, great guys from Southern California. Bart has visited all but 12 countries in the world and knows a thing or two about independent travelling.
We chose to go to the central market and buy school supplies and soccer balls to deliver to an orphange, which is about 50 minutes outside of town. Between buying and delivering the supplies, we decided to do a mandatory meal at Malis. During dinner, I started feeling unwell and decided to go back to the hotel while Alex, Bart and Steve went on to the orphanage. I took a cool shower, drank a lot of water and put myself to bed. While I was busy grappling with my whatever, Alex, Bart and Steve went to the bus station and bought tickets for the 8:30 AM to Siem Reap - about a 6 hour bus ride on partially unpaved roads. Hmmmm.
Tuesday, April 21, 2009
Dragons and Tigers and Elevators, Oh My!
Taipei Take Two. Big advantage to start our second day with in Taipei with local currency, metro cards and maps in our pockets. Last night, we planned out a Bonus Scavenge - one of 4 excursions outside Taipei that could be done either day in Taipei, for 300 points. When we woke up to a rainy day (with thunder and lightning), the idea of the long train ride was looking quite smart. We chose the challenge to "take the HSR to Kaohsiung then visit the Tiger and Dragon Pagoda". As Alex has already said on his facebook posting: This scavenge required a little decoding... By visiting the train station information windows, we learned the HSR is High Speed Rail, the line runs the length of the country and Kaohsiung is the southern most terminus of the line. Taipei is at the north end so we traveled the entire length of the island in 90 minutes!.
Another decode was that the railroad spells the city's name differently. Instead of Kaohsiung, we had to get comfortable that Zuoying is the same place. We bought in and bought the train tickets.
Very fast train - probably comparable to a Japanese bullet. The rain was ripping across the windows. Rolling, very green plains, planted fields, terraced land, low mountains in the distance. Cozy ride, spotless train, assigned seats, treat cart lady rolling through periodically.
The city of Kaohsiung (or Zuoying) is located near the southern tip of the elongated island of Taiwan. The Dragon and Tiger Pagoda is on stilts and juts out on Lake Lotus. We took a taxi from the train station, along the shoreline toward the pagoda. Along the 10 minute ride, we saw a few other pagodas - intensely colored and decorated structures - about 5 stories high. Think of a very classy miniature golf course on steroids. The dragon is on the left and tiger on the right -- each crouching on the ground with big mouths open. Stairs lead into the dragon's mouth, up into the pagoda towers and disgorge out of the tiger's mouth. Quite cool!
The high speed rail got us back to Taipei around 3 PM. Having accomplished only one scavenge, we had plenty of ground to cover until 9:30 PM.
Made sense search for food. We had to figure out was lu-ro-fan is and eat it. It is a Taiwanese specialty. Simply put, a bowl of white rice topped with pork sauce that's kind of like the pork sauce that accompanies szechuan green beans. Delish! (And fast!)
We walked to two Temples next to each other. At Confuscius'
Temple, we were supposed to visit and learn something. We learned that the sign outside said "Closed Mondays". At Baoan Temple, we met lovely Anne from the neighborhood, whose English was great because she lived in the US for 13 years. She helped us decipher the carving on the East Gate and she answered a bunch of scavenge questions for us.
What does it mean if you drop your chopsicks? (A: you will be treated. To your next meal).
What does 10 10 mean? (A: October 10, an independence holiday)
Do you favor continued independence for Taiwan; or should it merge with mainland China? (A: Are you kidding? Everyone on Taiwan whose capitalist heritage allowed them to flourish during the years while mainland China has been under communist rule, have grown so far apart and so different).
We visited 2 tea shops and try 3 different kinds of tea, in a crowded district with narrow streets where the sidewalks are choked with vespa-like cycles parked in rows. We wove our way past rows of small storefronts of huge varity: ancient herbal remedy vendors, dusty shops selling random machine and electronic parts, fabrics by the yard, many open-air food stalls and an incongruous DIY store (like Michael's Crafts) displaying garish polyester yarns and bright plastic beads for craft projects like making tissue box covers. We entered the first tea shop we encountered. A 20ish year old man sat behind a desk with a flat stainless steel tray in front of him, with 4 cups of tea stewing. No English for the whole transaction; just gestures. He gave us teeny size cups - like about the size but not the shape of the soy and wasabi dipping bowl at a sushi restaurant. We pointed to what we wanted to try. After our tasting, we guessed at a price, but he signalled "No payment". As we learned at the next shop, the tastings at these shops are gratis. The Five Brothers shop we visited next exports wholesale to Japan, South Korea, Canada, etc. During the tastings we asked the political question again and again
to two of the brothwrs and one daughter (Should Taiwan aim to remain independent?) And got the same answer, tempered by resignation that Taiwan is tiny and defenseless against the Peoples Republic. Experinced dramatic differences between oolong and black teas. The daughter helped us figure out how to find (which she had to research) our mandatory scavenge for dinner.
Old Wang Beef Noodle King. Great name huh? Ex already blogged it and here is what he wrote: "This place was a TOTAL hole in the wall that we would have never picked on our own. There was not a single english word on the menu (which was posted on the wall) nor anyone to help us. The 'kitchen' was essentially a pot of boiling water, a pot of broth and some really intimidating looking cow parts. To 'order' we had to tell the 'cook' what we wanted. This proved to be a challenge as the menu was entirely in chinese and posted on the wall on the opposite side of the restaurant. I resorted to picking a random inexpensive item (approx USD 3.00) by pointing to it on the menu. We grabbed some beers from the fridge and hopped for the best. We ended up with some rice noodles in a spicy brown sauce with some lightly poached greens on top. It was really tasty and I was so pleased to avoid the scary cow parts everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be enjoying. Mom complemented me on my choice and we happily chowed down." By the way, the chopsticks were clean, disposable and sealed in plastic. With about one hour left and we decided to visit Taipei 101 which, at 101 floors is the tallest building in Taipei, and take the elevator to the observatory. A little wacky because the weather was 100 percent fog and as Alex described the view - it looked like a steamy bathroom mirror. What we didn't know before going was that the elevators are the fastest in the world. And, to get to the access to the observatory you walk through a mall kind of like Time Warner Center - new, grand, European designer boutiques. We got to the top in 37 seconds. Actually the exnibit showing the building's construction was interesting. There is a big ball called a wind damper that is suspended in the core and can sway slightly. It is a golden color and is secured by enormous ropes that I could swear had a gold lame sheen about them. We took adantage of the ice cream discount coupon withe the entrance ticket stub and got some dark chocolate chocolate chip ice cream to enjoy in the line waiting for the elevator to descend. Yes, there were many other tourists who rode up the tower to look at nothing out the window. Taxi back to the hotel, arrived 15 minutes before deadline.
The group gathered and we learned that we are to meet at the gate at the airport for a 9:10 AM flight to Phnom Penh and we are staying at the Raffles Hotel. That means leaving the hotel at 6:30 AM.
Another decode was that the railroad spells the city's name differently. Instead of Kaohsiung, we had to get comfortable that Zuoying is the same place. We bought in and bought the train tickets.
Very fast train - probably comparable to a Japanese bullet. The rain was ripping across the windows. Rolling, very green plains, planted fields, terraced land, low mountains in the distance. Cozy ride, spotless train, assigned seats, treat cart lady rolling through periodically.
The city of Kaohsiung (or Zuoying) is located near the southern tip of the elongated island of Taiwan. The Dragon and Tiger Pagoda is on stilts and juts out on Lake Lotus. We took a taxi from the train station, along the shoreline toward the pagoda. Along the 10 minute ride, we saw a few other pagodas - intensely colored and decorated structures - about 5 stories high. Think of a very classy miniature golf course on steroids. The dragon is on the left and tiger on the right -- each crouching on the ground with big mouths open. Stairs lead into the dragon's mouth, up into the pagoda towers and disgorge out of the tiger's mouth. Quite cool!
The high speed rail got us back to Taipei around 3 PM. Having accomplished only one scavenge, we had plenty of ground to cover until 9:30 PM.
Made sense search for food. We had to figure out was lu-ro-fan is and eat it. It is a Taiwanese specialty. Simply put, a bowl of white rice topped with pork sauce that's kind of like the pork sauce that accompanies szechuan green beans. Delish! (And fast!)
We walked to two Temples next to each other. At Confuscius'
Temple, we were supposed to visit and learn something. We learned that the sign outside said "Closed Mondays". At Baoan Temple, we met lovely Anne from the neighborhood, whose English was great because she lived in the US for 13 years. She helped us decipher the carving on the East Gate and she answered a bunch of scavenge questions for us.
What does it mean if you drop your chopsicks? (A: you will be treated. To your next meal).
What does 10 10 mean? (A: October 10, an independence holiday)
Do you favor continued independence for Taiwan; or should it merge with mainland China? (A: Are you kidding? Everyone on Taiwan whose capitalist heritage allowed them to flourish during the years while mainland China has been under communist rule, have grown so far apart and so different).
We visited 2 tea shops and try 3 different kinds of tea, in a crowded district with narrow streets where the sidewalks are choked with vespa-like cycles parked in rows. We wove our way past rows of small storefronts of huge varity: ancient herbal remedy vendors, dusty shops selling random machine and electronic parts, fabrics by the yard, many open-air food stalls and an incongruous DIY store (like Michael's Crafts) displaying garish polyester yarns and bright plastic beads for craft projects like making tissue box covers. We entered the first tea shop we encountered. A 20ish year old man sat behind a desk with a flat stainless steel tray in front of him, with 4 cups of tea stewing. No English for the whole transaction; just gestures. He gave us teeny size cups - like about the size but not the shape of the soy and wasabi dipping bowl at a sushi restaurant. We pointed to what we wanted to try. After our tasting, we guessed at a price, but he signalled "No payment". As we learned at the next shop, the tastings at these shops are gratis. The Five Brothers shop we visited next exports wholesale to Japan, South Korea, Canada, etc. During the tastings we asked the political question again and again
to two of the brothwrs and one daughter (Should Taiwan aim to remain independent?) And got the same answer, tempered by resignation that Taiwan is tiny and defenseless against the Peoples Republic. Experinced dramatic differences between oolong and black teas. The daughter helped us figure out how to find (which she had to research) our mandatory scavenge for dinner.
Old Wang Beef Noodle King. Great name huh? Ex already blogged it and here is what he wrote: "This place was a TOTAL hole in the wall that we would have never picked on our own. There was not a single english word on the menu (which was posted on the wall) nor anyone to help us. The 'kitchen' was essentially a pot of boiling water, a pot of broth and some really intimidating looking cow parts. To 'order' we had to tell the 'cook' what we wanted. This proved to be a challenge as the menu was entirely in chinese and posted on the wall on the opposite side of the restaurant. I resorted to picking a random inexpensive item (approx USD 3.00) by pointing to it on the menu. We grabbed some beers from the fridge and hopped for the best. We ended up with some rice noodles in a spicy brown sauce with some lightly poached greens on top. It was really tasty and I was so pleased to avoid the scary cow parts everyone else in the restaurant seemed to be enjoying. Mom complemented me on my choice and we happily chowed down." By the way, the chopsticks were clean, disposable and sealed in plastic. With about one hour left and we decided to visit Taipei 101 which, at 101 floors is the tallest building in Taipei, and take the elevator to the observatory. A little wacky because the weather was 100 percent fog and as Alex described the view - it looked like a steamy bathroom mirror. What we didn't know before going was that the elevators are the fastest in the world. And, to get to the access to the observatory you walk through a mall kind of like Time Warner Center - new, grand, European designer boutiques. We got to the top in 37 seconds. Actually the exnibit showing the building's construction was interesting. There is a big ball called a wind damper that is suspended in the core and can sway slightly. It is a golden color and is secured by enormous ropes that I could swear had a gold lame sheen about them. We took adantage of the ice cream discount coupon withe the entrance ticket stub and got some dark chocolate chocolate chip ice cream to enjoy in the line waiting for the elevator to descend. Yes, there were many other tourists who rode up the tower to look at nothing out the window. Taxi back to the hotel, arrived 15 minutes before deadline.
The group gathered and we learned that we are to meet at the gate at the airport for a 9:10 AM flight to Phnom Penh and we are staying at the Raffles Hotel. That means leaving the hotel at 6:30 AM.
Monday, April 20, 2009
Master Fortune-Telling on the Street
A 30ish year old guy standing in front of a table set up at a street market tried to hand me a pink flyer (in Taiwanese). I almost declined, but noted that the table was piled with a few books with Buddah's picture, and seated behind the table was a monk-y looking person. Being in need of our fortunes being told, we established that he spoke (a little) English and that the "Master" could tell our fortunes and he could translate for the master. Master was robed in purple, had a 3-day head stubble and a red dotted-forehead. Alex and I sat on the plastic stools across from Master. Our Translator had us write our names, which he slid over to Master so "she" (wow! it was a "she"!) could tell our future. Over a process that consumed a precious 45 minutes, we watched in silence as she bowed her head, closed her eyes and smiled. Sporadically, she slit her eyes open, jotted a few characters and closed her eyes again. When it was evident that she had completed that phase, Translator handed her 2 pink papers -- one with Alex's name he had written on it and one with mine. Master wrote columns of characters on each pink paper. When she finished, the laborious process of translation began. Translator would choose a cluster of characters and would confer with Master -- presumably to clarify his understanding so he could explain it to us. Launching into Alex's fortune, he reported that. Alex should use his heart and do things sincerely. His left side is weak - perhaps from a long plane ride. She told me that my left shoulder has a problem too - which she actually is right about. I am having some trouble with my rotator cuff. During the multiple conferences between Master and Translator to package each chunk of characters into a message, a small crowd gathered behind Alex and me. A woman who was involved with the chair massage enterprise at the next table came over to watch for a while. She leaned in and spoke discreetly to Alex and me in English and shared that she had lived in the US for a while - and her daughter is in medical school in New York. She asked, "You don't really believe this stuff, do you?", and then drifted back to the massages as the fortune-telling droned on. One guy, 30ish, consulted with Translator on his presentation parcels. The new guy, Alpha Translator, stepped up with better command of English and (thankfully) sped up the delivery. As our interest waned and our attention shifted to the next activity, we peppered him with questions. We asked about where to find an herbal medicine shop, a specific restaurant -- and other matters more pressing than our future fame and fortune, and our weak left sides. The new Alpha Translator helped us respectfully receive the wisdom of Master, while helping us to get up and go. As the fortune delivery finished and we stood to say thanks and goodbye, I complimented him on his English (and thought to myself - his tact, too). He said "I'm in international sales".
Hello Taipei (Ni Hao Taipei)
Bottom line for the first day. We did 9 of the 27 scavenges during the 12 hours from 10 AM to 10 PM. Many people in Taiwan speak English and some signs are in English, but train schedules and other rather key items are incomprehensible.
The teams met in the hotel lobby at 10 AM. Each team was handed a booklet of 27 scavenges -- things to do. Two were mandatory (eating). We walked right to the main train station to buy a subway card. First scavenge we did was to identify the 4 languages that subway station announcements are made in - Taiwanese, another Taiwnese dialect, "Chinese" and English. we visited the huge memorial to Chiang Kai-Shek, who "led the wars against the Communist Party". We figured out what the 4 main garden areas are in the National Botanical Garden. In the garden, we sat on a bench with the maps and the scavenge book to plot our next moves and Alex collected 4 fat mosquito bites. (No points for that).
At Lungshan Temple we burned incense where people pray for peaceful living. It is peaceful and spiritual just wandering around the halls of the temple, with clouds of burning incense wafting around and people bowing and praying. In order to accomplish the scavenge, we also had to have our fortunes told. On the street outside the temple, we found a master who spent 45 minutes with us. More on that later.
We attended an afternoon concert at the National Concert Hall. "From Mozart to Mahler". Fantastic - and lively and loud with some crashing percussion every now and then, to stave off any temptation to give in to jet lag.
We were seated right near the exit doors, so when the concert ended, we jumped into one of the first taxis lined up outside. We walked through the Holiday Flower Mart, where we bought "something fragrant". The rest of the day, Alex had a few stems of flowers hanging out of his messenger bag. Hopped on the subway for Cantonese dim sum on the second floor of the Brother Hotel -- one of the 5 mandatory food scavenges. Bumped into 2 other teams dim summing.
By then, it was 6:30 and we still had the other mandatory food challenge left to do, so we figured we would have dinner progressively and go right to the next restaurant. Throughout the day, we had been asking people if they knew any of the other 3 named restaurants. Couldn't nail them down, so we chose the remaining option: "trust and chance" - ask a cab driver where he would eat with his family or friends, preferably nearby, and take us there. He took us to a place where the plates of food are out on the sidewalk, covered in plastic wrap, and you point to what you want. They seated us inside and then brought freshly prepared versions of the dishes we had chosen - szechuan green beans with pork crumbles, fried tofu (yum and yum) and sliced cold smoked chicken (yuk). Sidebar on the chopsticks: an oblong container like a wall sconce was nailed above our table and had chopsticks in it, like one might stand forks in a cylinder. Having some doubts about hygiene, I gave the chopsticks a surreptitious wipe under the table with my CVS hand sanitizer. Not sure which is worse, but I chose CVS.
At 8 PM, continuing the eating theme, we hunted for 2 of the 6 xiao chi, or small eats, in the Shilin Night Market. Wandered through crowded rows of stalls where vendors offer all kinds of strange creatures and concoctions bobbing around in oil and other liquids. Omelettes with fishes, all kinds of raw organs in piles, old-looking eggs and so on. We ate tianbula, which was a fried, flat triangle which we later learned was fish, but I thought might be a pig's ear, and "stinky tofu" which was fried and served with a red sauce of I don't know what on the side. My chopsticks cleanliness alarm was even louder when the lady cooking the tianbula handed me some obviously non-virginal chopsticks. Definitely in a work-around mode to eat with the chopsticks.
The last scavenge we could squeeze in by the 10 PM deadline was to snap a picture at the Chengen gate - the last of the 5 original gates to the city. It is obscure and located under a highway overpass and was shrouded, with its ancient crown of decoration peeking above the green construction material. We snapped the picture to prove we were there and dashed back to the hotel, 10 minutes before deadline. What an amazing day!
The teams met in the hotel lobby at 10 AM. Each team was handed a booklet of 27 scavenges -- things to do. Two were mandatory (eating). We walked right to the main train station to buy a subway card. First scavenge we did was to identify the 4 languages that subway station announcements are made in - Taiwanese, another Taiwnese dialect, "Chinese" and English. we visited the huge memorial to Chiang Kai-Shek, who "led the wars against the Communist Party". We figured out what the 4 main garden areas are in the National Botanical Garden. In the garden, we sat on a bench with the maps and the scavenge book to plot our next moves and Alex collected 4 fat mosquito bites. (No points for that).
At Lungshan Temple we burned incense where people pray for peaceful living. It is peaceful and spiritual just wandering around the halls of the temple, with clouds of burning incense wafting around and people bowing and praying. In order to accomplish the scavenge, we also had to have our fortunes told. On the street outside the temple, we found a master who spent 45 minutes with us. More on that later.
We attended an afternoon concert at the National Concert Hall. "From Mozart to Mahler". Fantastic - and lively and loud with some crashing percussion every now and then, to stave off any temptation to give in to jet lag.
We were seated right near the exit doors, so when the concert ended, we jumped into one of the first taxis lined up outside. We walked through the Holiday Flower Mart, where we bought "something fragrant". The rest of the day, Alex had a few stems of flowers hanging out of his messenger bag. Hopped on the subway for Cantonese dim sum on the second floor of the Brother Hotel -- one of the 5 mandatory food scavenges. Bumped into 2 other teams dim summing.
By then, it was 6:30 and we still had the other mandatory food challenge left to do, so we figured we would have dinner progressively and go right to the next restaurant. Throughout the day, we had been asking people if they knew any of the other 3 named restaurants. Couldn't nail them down, so we chose the remaining option: "trust and chance" - ask a cab driver where he would eat with his family or friends, preferably nearby, and take us there. He took us to a place where the plates of food are out on the sidewalk, covered in plastic wrap, and you point to what you want. They seated us inside and then brought freshly prepared versions of the dishes we had chosen - szechuan green beans with pork crumbles, fried tofu (yum and yum) and sliced cold smoked chicken (yuk). Sidebar on the chopsticks: an oblong container like a wall sconce was nailed above our table and had chopsticks in it, like one might stand forks in a cylinder. Having some doubts about hygiene, I gave the chopsticks a surreptitious wipe under the table with my CVS hand sanitizer. Not sure which is worse, but I chose CVS.
At 8 PM, continuing the eating theme, we hunted for 2 of the 6 xiao chi, or small eats, in the Shilin Night Market. Wandered through crowded rows of stalls where vendors offer all kinds of strange creatures and concoctions bobbing around in oil and other liquids. Omelettes with fishes, all kinds of raw organs in piles, old-looking eggs and so on. We ate tianbula, which was a fried, flat triangle which we later learned was fish, but I thought might be a pig's ear, and "stinky tofu" which was fried and served with a red sauce of I don't know what on the side. My chopsticks cleanliness alarm was even louder when the lady cooking the tianbula handed me some obviously non-virginal chopsticks. Definitely in a work-around mode to eat with the chopsticks.
The last scavenge we could squeeze in by the 10 PM deadline was to snap a picture at the Chengen gate - the last of the 5 original gates to the city. It is obscure and located under a highway overpass and was shrouded, with its ancient crown of decoration peeking above the green construction material. We snapped the picture to prove we were there and dashed back to the hotel, 10 minutes before deadline. What an amazing day!
Type A in Taipei
The hunt began at 10 AM on April 18. We had arrived at the hotel at about 7:30 AM after a long (12? 14? - can't remember) flight. Ambien CR secured a solid 6 hours of sleep. In the two and a half hours between hotel check-in and start of the competition, we had time to shower, eat, exercise, rest - mandatory personal time. This is the schedule for arriving in every new place. You are forbidden from getting any maps or tourist information. When the competition begins, it's about figuring things out by talking with people and by doing. Hotel Concierges are off limits except to request a map. No hiring of a taxi for the day as a guide. No googling or GPS. This is not a blackberry/i-pod duel. Feeling quite liberated from the compulslon to obsess over planning out the day in a new city, I swam laps with Alex in the outdoor pool on the rooftop. Glorious! We are at a lovely hotel -- quite spacious, great bathroom, very gracious staff. Rather than sit down to a huge buffet breakfast, we found a little bakery across the street. He had a three-clustered roll with each pod filled with something different: red bean paste, peanut buttery stuff and the third thing. Mine was scallion and sweet onion with a cheesy custard. Yum. We used his ATM card at the 7-Eleven next door to get enough currency to jump start the day.
Saturday, April 18, 2009
Choosing a Global Index
Each traveler must choose something...anything as a standard to compare prices from place to place. It could be anything -- a liter of gas, a beer, a massage with a happy ending (ew). Alex and I have chosen ours. What would you choose?
First Flight is to Taipei
Our adventure began at 3:30 PM Friday April 17 in Seattle.The 10 teams of 2 plus the organizers, Bill and Pamela Chalmers, gathered at the Westin. There are over 600 scavenges-which are choices of things to do...like involving nature, cooking, architecture, etc. We must do the scavenges as a team of 2 and we must take a photo of both of us doing it. All scavenges have points assigned to them and the team with the most points wins There are some mandatory scavenges like eating stuff. To get to the places to do the scavenges and to get around, we have to take public transportation which can include taxis as well as anything else like camels, donkeys, rickshaws,etc.
We had a delicious dinner at Wild Ginger (with a bithday candle for me on my dessert). As we finished, we learned that we are flying on EVA Air at 1:50 AM to Taipei. We packed our bags and are about to head out to the airport.
A word on our fellow travellers; just getting to know them. Five went last time and are back for more. There are people from Miami, Arizona, Texas, California, Barbados. We are the only east coasters.
We had a delicious dinner at Wild Ginger (with a bithday candle for me on my dessert). As we finished, we learned that we are flying on EVA Air at 1:50 AM to Taipei. We packed our bags and are about to head out to the airport.
A word on our fellow travellers; just getting to know them. Five went last time and are back for more. There are people from Miami, Arizona, Texas, California, Barbados. We are the only east coasters.
Sunday, April 12, 2009
Packing Packing Packing
How do you pack for a 22 day trip around the world...when you don't know where you are going? And, pack all the stuff in a carry on bag? That's what Alex and I have been figuring out the last few days. We got our pills for everything and everywhere, and all the plug adapters and travel towels and microfiber daypacks, sunglasses, water bottle and all the stuff that we think we will need -- which leaves little room for clothing. We are both getting very excited about our Global Scavenger Hunt. We leave for Seattle on April 16, and meet up with our competitors/fellow travelers on April 17 -- my birthday! I plan to post updates as we go along. Once we get going, the website for the Global Scavenger Hunt will have updates. http://www.globalscavengerhunt.com/2009 event blog.htm
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