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Parting Gifts Courtesy of India

Saturday, April 18th, 2009

The return to Kenya has been a real flop.  I left India sick, but seemingly OK.  I was lethargic the first few days, but OK.  We spent last weekend in Meru celebrating the lives of Pam’s grandparents (Bengi is 86 and spry… that’s about 106 for Americans!) and by Sunday I was more than OK.  Unfortunately, Monday night things slipped way backwards.  After a test – I’ll spare you the details – I have been diagnosed with three parasites including giardia.  Thank you, India!  Now I am taking medications that make me nauseas and more lethargic.  The alien I was prepared to see ripping out of my belly is dying, though.  I’m only half-way with the meds and I know they have not totally killed the beast.  I’m in bed about 18 hours a day.  The other six are pretty fried on the couch.  Definitely concerned!  I lost this whole week 🙁  I feared India going in due to something like this and I can only say that it was a miracle that I went almost five weeks without that fear being reality.  After the last few days, I seriously doubt I will go back to India even though I have a page of want-to-sees/dos for there. 

The filthiest place on earth is also dangerous for your health!  And I have no suggestion for how one could avoid this unless they really do not enter India.  This can be done by only staying at the highest-end resorts/hotels and really never leaving them.  When I was there looking for places to stay I was laughing about how most hotels are less than $25 per night ($4 is easy to find) and then the top places were $500 or more.  How could there be such a big difference?  Easy!  The cost of bringing first-world standards like cleanliness into India must be phenomenally expensive.  If the workers are allowed to leave the premise, they probably sterilize them when they re-enter.  And I am not joking nor am I trying to be cruel.

Horrible and Fantastic

Monday, April 13th, 2009

This seems to be the phrase coming out of my mouth when people ask me how India was for me.  Let’s say I saw some really amazing sights and I saw the worst sights of my life.  I was happy to leave – maybe a week too late since the seasonal heat caught up to us in some very hot areas between Calcutta, Bodhgaya and Varanasi.  But I also look forward to returning someday to see southern and central sections of the country as well as many of the parks full of wildlife.  And I would really like to be there during warmer months for Kashmir.  I can’t really tell you that I like or understand anything about Indian society.  I am more perplexed by it all than I was when I arrived.  I would feel really bad about this after spending five weeks there, but the following quote from Paul Bowles at least makes me believe I am not the only one with this problem: “Now, after traveling some eight thousand miles around the country, I know approximately as little as I did on my first arrival.  However, I’ve seen a lot of people and places, and at least I have a somewhat more detailed and precise idea of my ignorance than I did in the beginning.”

[read on]

Out of the Big Sewer

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
As I wrote before, I was not enamored with Agra.  I kept calling it Agar… isn’t that the stuff in a petri dish in which one grows mold or other cultures?  Fitting name as far as I am concerned.  The ... [Continue reading this entry]

Dust People

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
The first time I saw one, I was in Kampala, Uganda during my first walk around town.  She was sitting on the sidewalk breast feeding her infant.  It was difficult to determine the two different bodies.   Both were covered ... [Continue reading this entry]

Tiger Tales

Monday, March 23rd, 2009
The number one thing to see in India for me was tigers. India’s parks provide the best opportunity to see wild tigers in the world, but I was a bit skeptical. India’s government has been pumping up the census ... [Continue reading this entry]

The Big Taj

Wednesday, March 18th, 2009
Now, I don't even know where tobegin.  The past two weeks in Rajasthan were fantastic.  We noticed a change yesterday arriving in Agra.  A new state and a new world as far as I can tell.  Rajasthan had its ups ... [Continue reading this entry]

Relaxed in Phnom

Wednesday, October 15th, 2008

For a small-feeling city of only 2.5 million citizens, Phnom Penh has become one of my favorite places.  I woke up the day after the Killing Fields and S.21 prison/museum knowing that it would ... [Continue reading this entry]

21st Century Sista

Thursday, August 7th, 2008
I typed this one out three weeks ago and just as I was saving on the website, all crashed and I lost it.  That caused me to lose interest in blogging when I was focused on having fun with Pamela.  ... [Continue reading this entry]

Burma Bound

Sunday, July 13th, 2008
We just spent three days in the Kanchanaburi area of Thailand - west of Bangkok.  It was nice to get out and see some 0f the Thai countryside, but it was hard to leave Bangkok which I now consider the ... [Continue reading this entry]

Dog Days

Saturday, July 5th, 2008

When we were in southern Vietnam I made a comment that I was glad to see so many dogs thinking this means the residents must not eat them.  As far as the stories that ... [Continue reading this entry]