Relaxing in Shimla

Wednesday, Aug. 29, 2007--Shimla

My sleep was disturbed this morning by monkeys running back and forth on the roof. The hotel is a historical structure with a metal roof. The monkeys are quite compact and heavy, so when they chase each other, it makes a boom, boom, boom sound rumbling from one end to the other. There are many monkeys here, but maybe not as many as there used to be. Tourists are encouraged not to feed them. And my guidebook reports that many have been rounded up by the authorities and sent to one of the old Soviet republics where they love having them (at least for now).

Took care of chores today. I went down the street behind the hotel looking for the places I need. I found a barber shop and got my hair cut--a razor cut with a scalp massage; it cost a total of about 75 cents U.S. including a 20% tip! I finally found a store selling water in 2 liter containers (the best size to buy since it costs the same as the 1.5 liter size). I looked for a laundry I was told was there, but I never found it. I found a better cyber cafe at the tourist office and used it for my time online.

The man at the cyber cafe recommended a place for lunch and it was good. I had rice and a special dal which mixed red beans in with the lentils and had tomatoes and onions in the sauce. I will go back there for another meal.

I walked up to the big square on the ridge of the mountain where there are always crowds mingling and visiting. I sat on a bench and read for a while. Occasionally I would stop reading and watch the people. Eventually, however, it started to drizzle, so I returned to my room to rest for a while. I asked the people at the hotel whether they do laundry, and they told me an outside laundry would send a man around at 7:00 to pick up my things.

I just snacked for dinner, because I wanted to be back to the room to watch a movie on TV. I bought some samosas (deep fried pastries stuffed with a spicy potato mixture) and some fried potato pancakes that were stuffed with a spicy green vegetable mixture. They were very tasty.

Thursday, Aug. 30, 2007--Shimla

Shimla has to be one of the most beautiful places in the world on a clear day. There are layers of mountains that can be seen in the distance in two directions, since Shimla itself is on top of a ridge of mountains. As one walks along The Mall which generally follows the ridge in Shimla, it is lined with trees and old colonial buildings beyond the central business district. In the gaps are the nice views across to the other mountains.

Before heading out for the day, I went to the cyber cafe at the tourist office. I made the mistake of going at 9:00 when they are scheduled to open. One problem in India, however, is that government employees are notorious for not arriving at work on time (if they arrive at all). It was 9:25 before the cyber cafe was up and running.

I took a long walk along the ridge westward to the Viceregal Mansion--a huge stone home that was built for the Viceroys (the men who where sent by Britain to rule India) to use when the government moved here during the summer months. It is a magnificent structure--three stories with a large square-shaped tower to the rear and a rounded tower on one of the front corners. Inside, it has lots of teak paneling stretching up to two stories high. It is historical also due to the fact that it is where the papers were signed for the partioning of the country into India and Pakistan before receiving independence. Outside are nice gardens surrounding a very well manicured green lawn. The house is presently used as an institute for Indian studies which is limited in use only to people with Ph.D.s in the social sciences.

As I wandered the lawns and took pictures, a young man asked me to sit on the bench with him. I thought maybe he was one of the scholars there for research purposes. But he was a student from the local university who had come to relax in the gardens after a class was canceled. We visited for quite a while. His English was limited. Then I excused myself.

I had intended to walk further to the university campus, but I decided to head back into town. It was already about 13:30 and I hadn't eaten, so I picked up some more snacks--two samosas and two more pastries filled with a spicy mixture. I ate them as I returned to the hotel.

I was told my laundry would be returned at 18:00, so I relaxed in my room reading and watching TV until then. Afterwards, I went to another restaurant that my guidebook recommended. It was very nice with cloth napkins and fancy service. I ordered one of my favorite dishes (which I have not had on this trip yet)--chicken tikka masala--and had it with naan. Spicy and good!! UMMMM!

My time here is coming to an end. Friday is my last day in Shimla. On Saturday, I will take the train from here to Delhi. Then On Monday, I will fly out of there for Berlin (via Munich). I will probably post again in Delhi before leaving. I won't arrive in Berlin until the evening on Monday.

Beautiful Kullu Valley

Monday, Aug. 27, 2007--Manali to Shimla

Manali is at the top the Kullu Valley, a valley known for its apple trees. For days I have seen people coming into Manali on the trails from the countryside with baskets of apples they have picked, and I have seen places where they pack the apples in boxes for shipment. I have not been out in the orchards, though. Well, my bus trip today has taken me through the valley and lots of orchards.

I got up at 4:15. I was at the bus by 5:20. I got to put my bag inside. I was glad, because there is always the chance of showers here in the mountains, and I didn't want my bag to get wet. We departed right on time at 6:00. I was the only tourist on the bus at that time, although another tourist joined us about half-way down to Shimla.

In terms of traveling, it was a horrible trip. The road was much like the one from Leh. It twisted and wound through the mountains. There were places where there had been landslides and even several places where there had been boulder slides. There were some spots where the sides were loose and had to be skirted so that WE wouldn't be a part of a landslide. It was a one-lane road most of the way with two-way traffic, although there were a few spots where it was two-lane with a stripe down the middle!!

The valley was beautiful. The apple trees were just loaded with ripe apples. We passed many places where they were being sorted and boxed. There were at least four kinds of apples being shipped out of the valley.

We stopped for lunch at a simple place where I had two chipatis and a serving of dal (lentils in their own sauce). It was delicious.

I had several seatmates during the trip. They were mostly decent people. One really squeezed me tight against the window wall of the bus. I have a sore shoulder from that. But the others were friendly and considerate. We arrived after 9 1/2 gruelling hours on that road. I am glad that I don't have to take another bus trip for a while, especially one under such conditions.

Shimla is different from other cities I have visited. It doesn't even seem like an Indian city when on the main street called The Mall. Everything is so clean and organized. Even off the mall where the shops are obviously Indian, it is nicer than most cities in India because all the major shopping streets are pedestrian walkways. Shimla was built to serve as the summer capital of India under British rule. The entire government moved here from Calcutta and Delhi for the summer months. The departments all had offices here and operated from here. Anyone who has read or seen the TV version of The Jewel in the Crown will remember when they moved to here for the summer months. Therefore, there are huge colonial buildings scattered over the city where the government offices were located.

Shimla is actually built on the ridge of the top of a mountain. Unlike most other hill stations, it cascades down the mountainside on either side rather than taking up a valley. It's not bad to walk through it, however, since the ridge is fairly flat for its distance. The shops on The Mall are all rather fancy and are mostly for the tourists. The shops on the two parallel streets down either side of the ridge are more "Indian" and serve the local population. There are striking views from a big meeting point at the top of the ridge that is a large open area with horseback riding and lots of seats for people to wander around and then sit and visit with friends.

Shimla is also different in that it is more expensive than most places in India. The prices are like those of the big cities. I had trouble finding a hotel at a decent price when compared with the quality of the room. All the rooms were priced about 100-300 more rupees per night than similar accommodations elsewhere. I also had problems with touts who would not leave me alone. They get commissions for bringing tourists to specific hotels. They want to walk along with you to try to claim a commission no matter where you go. At one point, I complained to the military and then paused so long that I got rid of the first problem tout. I went to a hotel I had selected then, and it just didn't seem as nice as I thought it should for the price they quoted. Later, after check out another place on my own and two more places that new touts who had attached themselves to me wanted me to see nearby, I realized that my first hotel was the best for the price. I had a time shaking the touts, though. Finally, I returned and even got a discount at the first place making it more reasonable.

The hotel is a historic one which has served since the days Shimla was the summer capital. It has exposed beams holding up the ceiling with a large lobby and a large dining room. The rooms are okay. It was the carpet (which is a little worn and dirty) which turned me off the room at first. But it is freshly painted. Has curtains and a chair covered in a nice brochade. It has good lighting. The bath has its own hot water heater. There is cable TV with three movie channels (but strangely no BBC or CNN). It's a good place for the price, I think, and I know it is far better for the price than most places I saw. Oh, yes, I have a view of a wonderful old colonial government building when I look from my bed and a view across to the mountains when I stand at the window.

For dinner, I went to a local place. I was tired from all the walking up and down the hills to find a room. I ate their "special" thali plate which had mixed vegetables, dal, beans with paneer cheese, rice, and chipatis. It was tasty and rather spicy.

Tuesday, Aug. 29, 2007--Shimla

I was cold during the night. It is colder here than it was in Manali. My bed has a big blanket covering two twin beds that are placed together. Guess I will pull the blanket loose tonight and fold it over double to keep me warm.

I have relaxed most of the day. I went out looking for a place to get a haircut, a place where I might get my shoulder bag strap repaired, an Internet place, etc. First, I stopped at the train station and bought my ticket to take me from here to Delhi on Saturday. There is a wonderful, narrow-gauge train from here to Kalka that takes several hours. Then I will switch to a normal train to continue to New Delhi Station which is only about 4 blocks from my hotel where I will stay my last two nights.

I ate lunch at a Tibetan restaurant. I had their "special" chicken thupka--the noodle soup I have had before. This was was full of lots of chicken and vegetables along with the noodles and was nice and spicy. Ummm.

Back at the room, I watched a couple of movies on TV. I wonder how many bad movies have been made by Kurt Russell and Patrick Swayze? I never see movies by them at home, but it seems they are in at least 20% of the films shown on cable TV! Well, having 3 movie channels, I managed to avoid them this afternoon.

I went back out to the only cyber cafe I could find and was greatly disappointed with it. The keyboard was warped and the space bar didn't work much of the time. I decided not to even update the blog while there. I would have been too frustrated trying to type so much under those conditions.

Instead, I went out to dinner at a Chinese place. I ordered chicken fried rice with spicy garlic sauce. It turned out not to be nearly as good as it had sounded to me. But it was okay. I ate it all, and it was a big portion.

I can feel that my knee has been stressed from walking in the hills, especially probably from all the walking with my bags yesterday. I tore the meniscus last year and had problems with it. So far, I haven't really had problems this year. And still, this stress is nothing compared to the problems before. I'm lucky I have traveled so much this time without it bothering me more than it has.

Forcing Myself to Take Another Bus

Saturday, Aug. 25, 2007--Manali

I finished reading A Moveable Feast by Ernest Hemingway today. I found the book in the lobby of my guesthouse. Someone had left it there for someone else like me to read. Then I passed it on to the Israeli couple who have been living in the room next to me. I gave the book 3 stars out of 4.

It's good I only have about 5 weeks of travel to go. Everything is falling apart on me. The plastic frame inside my suitcase has now broken in several places. Therefore, there is no support other than the fabric when I lift it by the handles. The frame for the handle and to protect the bottom when I pull it are still good and make it okay for rolling along. The leather strap on my shoulder bag that I use daily to carry items such as my umbrella, my camera, my journal, etc., has started cracking. I am afraid that it will break before I get home. I'm now using it only on days when I feel I need those things. And when I use it, I try to brace it underneath by holding the bottom up with my hand to keep the stress off the strap. As I wrote earlier, one of my two pairs of pants is now patched (a BIG patch). My sandals are on their fourth around-the-world trip and won't be able to make another. When I get home, I have to do lots of replacements before time to travel again. But I hope I can get home first before any of these things completely blows out on me!!

I ate masala dosa for lunch today. It was the first time I have had South Indian food on this trip, and I enjoyed it for a change.

I have lingered here in Manali longer than I had expected, because I have been so tired from the bus trip getting here. I had thought of going from here to Dharamshala (10 hour bus trip), the home of the Dalai Lama in exile, and then to Shimla (another 10 hour bus trip from there). But I just don't want all the travel. Also, Dharamshala has a lot of rain, so I would dread being there with it wet every day. Therefore, I bought a ticket today to go to Shimla on Monday morning (9 hours by bus). I will go there and continue relaxing until time to go to Delhi on Friday or Saturday. I dread the trip Monday. For one thing, there is no deluxe bus on the route at this time of the year. That means the luggage will be on top with no plastic cover if it rains. And it also means I will be in a less comfortable seat for those 9 hours. But if I can get past this trip, I can take a train (if seats are available) from Shimla to Delhi.

I ate chicken biriyani tonight for dinner. It was the first time for me to have it this year, too. It was good, but not nearly as fancy as I have gotten elsewhere. There was an Austrian man, a carpenter, there on his own, too, so we talked for about 2 hours. It's his second trip to this same area of India, and he said he has noticed he isn't enjoying it as much as he did on the first trip. I commented that I don't think that returning somewhere is ever as good after the first time. That's why I like to have itineraries that take me to new places when I travel each year.

Sunday, Aug. 26, 2007--Manali

There have been showers off and on all day today. I have stayed inside the room except for going out for meals and being on the Internet. I went to a nearby restaurant for breakfast around 12:30. I've been alternating between western breakfast food and Indian food each day around noon time. Today's breakfast wasn't as good as some of the others I have had, but it was cheaper. I got two pieces of toast (brown bread) with butter, an omelette, hashbrown potatoes, and tea. It only cost about $1.25 U.S.

On the Internet, I sent a reservation form to try to get a room in a private home when I am in Tallinn in two weeks. I want to try to cut the costs of housing while I am in Estonia and Latvia, and staying in private homes is a way to keep the housing down to about $30-35 per night. Since I arrive there in the late afternoon, I need a reservation in advance rather than just trying to deal with housing after my arrival.

I will go to dinner now. I already know what I will have--a spinach-mushroom-cheese calzone. I heard someone order it last night and thought it sounded good. So I'll give it a try tonight since I had Indian food last night.

I'll have to head to bed early. My bus leaves at 6:00 tomorrow morning, and I have to be at the station at 5:30. It will take me 30 minutes to walk there from here (downhill all the way, thank goodness), so I guess I will set the alarm for 4:40. Yuck! I chose the early bus, because the trip will be 9-10 hours. I didn't want to arrive there any later in the afternoon/evening without housing. This bus will give me time to go to the places I've selected and get a room there or elsewhere nearby before it is dark.

Relaxing in Manali

Wednesday, Aug. 22, 2007--Manali

My hotel is up a mountainside 3 km (almost 2 miles) from the downtown area. Actually, I am in Old Manali and the downtown area is in Manali. I walked up the mountainside with my backpack and suitcase when I arrived yesterday. It was a difficult hike and a good test of the condition of my heart. I didn't realize it was going to be so steep, or I would have taken an auto-rickshaw. By the time I realized it, it would have been silly to take one for the rest of the way. My heart passed the test with flying colors (and with two short pauses to rest).

There are many tourists here. The last 3 weeks, I have been in places where there are far more people than I normally am among when I visit places in India. Like Leh, many of the tourists here are from Israel. I've been surprised to run into them, since I don't normally encounter Israelis anywhere I go. My hotel owner says that he has banned them from his hotel for causing problems--drinking, smoking pot, and then making too many disturbances for the other guests. The main reasons for being here are hiking in the mountains, the cool weather, and the drugs. Apparently smoking pot is a big pasttime for many tourists--not just the Israelis. Main street in Manali is a pedestrian mall. That's VERY unusual in a town in India. I went down the mountainside to there today to do a little shopping and to look around.

I had a masala omelette for lunch with hashbrowns, roll with butter and Jam, and milk tea. Then I returned to my room and rested. I've been reading and watching quite a bit of TV. When the sun isn't too hot, I go out on the patio outside my room to read.

In the evening, I went to a nearby restaurant and had spaghetti with a spicy sauce and a beer. It was the first alcohol I have had in over a month.

Thursday, Aug. 23, 2007--Manali

Again, I rested. I spent all morning in the room. I read after watching all the news. I finished reading Memed, My Hawk by Yashar Kemal. It takes place in Kurdish Turkey and is an older book written in the 1950s. I gave it 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.

I'm starting to be a little tired of India this year. I still have one week before I depart the country, but the things that annoy me hear (lack of respect for pedestrians, the constant honking of horns, the unreasonable speeds that cars go on narrow streets, etc.) are taking their toll. I may not return to India next year. I don't really know of any place I would really want to visit here anyway.

I ate lunch at a local restaurant with the "cobra men." They are the Indians who wear turbans and move around the country carrying baskets with cobra snakes in them. They make money by letting people take photos of them, letting them handle the snakes, etc. One of the men likes me. They were in Leh last week and were at all the bus stops (traveling on a normal bus vs. my tourist bus) when we came here a few days ago. He tried to give me a necklace I admired, but I told him I thought it looked good on him and that it wouldn't look good on me. For lunch, I had Thupka, a spicy Tibetan noodle soup.

I rested more in the afternoon. I started a new book. Then I went to a nearby place for dinner where I had crispy chicken in honey sauce with rice. It was really a Chinese dish, but China is very near to here (at least the part that they claim called Tibet).

Friday, Aug. 24, 2007--Manali

My stomach was back to normal yesterday and today. So it only bothered me about 2 1/2 days. I guess it was something minor that made the loose bowel movements. It's good to know I don't have to worry about starting medications.

I'm still not doing much. I was just so tired from that long bus trip through the mountains that I haven't been motivated to do anything but rest. But I did go back down the mountain to Manali this morning. I ate breakfast down there--a Spanish omelette with hashbrowns, a big toasted loaf of bread, butter, jam, and milk tea. I did a little bit of shopping, then I started back up the mountain.

On the way to Old Manali, I ran into the Irish couple from my bus trip. It was starting to rain slightly, so we went into a coffee house and had a drink and visited. I had a coffee shake. They had a lemon ginger hot tea each. I found out more about their lives. We talked about books we have enjoyed reading, and each recommended books to the other. Then they walked to my room with me to get the book I finished yesterday. Unfortunately, they are leaving for Delhi today and will return home over the weekend. But I hope to see them again. I invited them to come to San Antonio some day.

In the afternoon, I talked a long time to my neighbor who was on his patio, too. He was also on the bus. In fact, he's the one who was so sick on the bus and then was miraculously well when I saw him in the hotel a day later. We talked about around-the-world tickets, about Estonia and Latvia where I will visit in a couple of weeks, etc. He's a nice guy. He and his wife want me to visit them in Tel Aviv someday. (Yes, they are in my hotel even though the manager said he didn't rent to Israelis. Maybe he rents to married couples but not to singles.)

Tonight, I finished watching the 3-part series on CNN about Religious Warriors. I enjoyed the series, although I found it frightening. I hope I don't find myself living in the Christian Republic of America someday. It would be as bad as living in the Islamic Republic of Iran, I think, with laws passed controlling how everyone dresses, acts, etc. But that is what fundamentalists would love to do--to control the lives of everyone and make them live the way THEY think everyone should live. It's like my fuss regarding the Imams and their speakers on their mosques. If they have to FORCE the religion on everyone rather than trust people to WANT to follow it, how good can it be?

I ate at an Israli restaurant tonight. I had a HUGE plate of good food--two skewers of chicken kebab, yellow rice, salad (cucumber, tomato, carrots), hummus, and a piece of pita bread. Ummmm! And the portions here are as big as those in America, so I was stuffed. Most Indian restaurants serve smaller portions so that one goes away satisfied and barely full. I think I prefer that. I don't want to start gaining weight again now that I have lost so much on this trip.

Bus Trip that Met My Expectations (Unfortunately)

Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007--Leh (Continued)

I met Siam, the manager of the coffee house, for dinner. He wants to come to the U.S. Since he has bachelor's and master's degrees in geography, I suggested that the easiest way might be if he could find a community college looking for someone to teach that subject. I know it hasn't been a popular major in the U.S. for some time, so there might be a shortage of teachers which would make it possible for him to be sponsored by the college to fill a need that cannot me met inside the U.S. Otherwise, I don't think he will have a chance of working in the U.S.

My stomach is a little upset. It's not bad, but my bowel movement was a bit loose today. I have taken Peptol Bismol tablets. I can't identify a specific thing that I have eaten that might be the cause. I'm still going to the toilet just once a day, so it isn't the Delhi Belly that tourists get here. Because of it, I ate a sandwich tonight for dinner. That sounded like something safe and easy. Then I went to the hotel and packed for the horrible trip I will take starting tomorrow.

Monday, Aug. 20, 2007--Bus from Leh

From dark to dark. That's how long I was on a bus today. I was up at 4:05 and at the bus by 4:35. We departed at 5:00. We didn't arrive at our stopping point for the night until 20:30--15 1/2 hours later!! Essentially, the roadway is a one-lane road with two-way traffic. It twists and winds through the Himalayas. In general, the speed is very slow because of constantly approaching curves and because of the surface of the roadway. Parts of it are smoothly paved, but most of it is rough--either loose sand, loose gravel, loose rocks, or packed rocks. There are lots of potholes. The mountains themselves consist of loose sand and gravel, so the roadway is very unstable; often there are landslides where part of the roadway gets covered or part of it disappears. Every time another vehicle approaches, both have to slow down with one pulling to the side to stop for the other to slowly pass. The speed for passing is slow, because it's a tight squeeze with a severe drop-off on one side and the mountain on the other. There is always the danger of the vehicle on the outside stopping just at the time when the ground underneath is ready to give way from the weight. It's not a trip for the faint-of-heart to make. The bus itself was quite comfortable. We had plenty of room, the seats were good, the luggage was stored either in back or on top, etc. There was no toilet, though. When we stopped, everyone had to head to the roadside. The women looked for where they could go behind a small hill. The men just walked to the side and faced away.

One poor guy got diarrhea as we started. He finally had to take his roll of tissue up to the front of the bus and ask the driver to stop by saying he was sick. At first, the driver just said, "Open the window," thinking it was motion sickness. But then the guy showed his toilet paper roll. We stopped and he ran off behind the bus. Actually, I was rather surprised that no one got motion sickness with all the curving and bouncing we were doing.

We were slowed down by shepherds hearding their flocks of sheep and goats, by pack trains of horses with their drivers, by military convoys, by military checkpoints where they inspected our passports, the many switchbacks as we climbed up and over passes and then back down (at least 3 passes today). It's so slow that the trip becomes tedious.

I liked the people on the bus. I sat with a 45-year-old Austrian. He's a social worker who works with alcoholics. He lives on a limited budget both at home and when traveling. There was a couple from Ireland (him a home builder and her a lawyer), two Frenchmen (one a mechanical engineer and the other a college professor of mathematics), an American young (and naive) woman who is out experiencing the world with enthusiasm after having finished at university, etc. I visited with all of them and a few others on the bus.

We slept in tents at the stopping point. They were furnished with cots that had sheets, a blanket, and a comforter. It was rather nice and comfortable. I was surprised. I used my earplugs to avoid the sounds of traffic on the road and people moving about. I put the straps of my backpack under my bedpost so someone would disturb me if they tried to get it. I slept quite well after eating the meal they provided of chipatis (flat bread), rice, and 3 kinds of vegetables.

Tuesday, Aug. 21, 2007--Bus to Manali

It's been a day of delays. We were supposed to be in Manali within 6 hours. Instead, it took 9. I've now traveled on that bus 24 1/2 hours over the past two days. I was so tired by the time we arrived. The delays were all ones that could have been worse, though. Miraculously, the problems were cleared away rather rapidly. One involved a truck that didn't make a switchback and had its front wheel go over the edge of the roadway. The cab was half on the roadway and half off. Men had already been working for hours to place rocks under the wheel in the air and to brace it with a jack until a wrecker could arrive. They were just lucky that the switchback was where the mountain was sloping and not where it was dropping off. Next came a traffic jam where someone had stalled and cars had tried to pass. There were cars side-by-side trying to go the same direction from each direction on a roadway where two cars can barely pass. (Indians tend to all be in a hurry and to consider themselves so important that they should be allowed to go ahead of everyone else. This was just the first traffic jam of the day due to that kind of attitude. There was another later.) It took a while to get that one settled. Another delay was caused by a petrol truck that had tumbled down the mountainside onto the lower roadway where there were a series of switchbacks. I wonder if the driver was able to survive that. We had to go dangerously to the edge of the drop-off to get by it. Another delay came with sheep and goats on a bridge. And a final delay came when we were in sight of Manali. The roadway was very unstable, and pieces of it had dropped away making a switchback curve even tighter than normal. A huge, overloaded truck just couldn't get around it and up out of the mud that was there. By the time it finally was through, traffic had backed up for a long way in both directions. We sat there about 2 1/2 hours waiting for our turn to make that curve and go the final 30 km (18 miles) into Manali. We didn't arrive until 16:00. I was exhausted.

Manali is a pretty place. There are lots of pine trees, and big areas of trees have been preserved in a park. The town essentially goes up and down the mountain. The hotel I had chosen was up the mountain about 3 km (almost 2 miles). I headed upwards wearing my small backpack and pulling my suitcase. It was a true test of the ability of my heart. And I made it. Parts were very steep, and I had to stop twice to get my breath back before continuing. I found a nice room with cable tv, hot water, and a view toward the pine-covered mountains. I just relaxed and watched tv for the rest of the day until dinner time. Then I only went to a nearby place. I tried to get local food, but they had already run out of everything. So I went to a pizza place.

Leaving the Himalayas

Saturday, Aug. 18, 2007--Leh

Siam, the manager of the coffee house had today off, so he suggested that we go outside of town to one of the villages with a nice temple and monastery. We run into trouble immediately. He picked me up at 10:00, and when we got to the bus station all buses were going to the site where the Dalai Lama is speaking. It's his outdoor congregation grounds where he comes each summer. We couldn't get a bus to where we wanted to go. Then we decided to take the bus to where the Dalai Lama is speaking and see if we could get a continuing bus from there to where we wanted to go. After eating a breakfast of spicy Tibetan noodle soup with chunks of mutton and a mutton dumpling in it, we took a bus to the speaking site. It was a fascinating place. Thousands of people were there wearing native costumes according to their home villages in the mountains. They overflowed a huge tent. We could hear a voice over the speakers but had no way of knowing if it was the Dalai Lama or someone else speaking. They had constructed special bus stations on different sides of town, so we had to walk a ways to get to the other side of the speaking grounds to find the buses for where we wanted to go. But none of them were leaving. They were all waiting for the the day's meeting to end at 14:00. We gave up trying to go anywhere else and came back into town on one of the return buses like we had taken to get there. The buses were full and had crowds of young guys sitting on the tops of them.

I returned to my room and fell asleep. It was a long nap in deep sleep, but I felt so good afterwards. Then I took out my pants that had been repaired but not cleaned and started soaking them in cold water to get the blood spots from my cut knee out of them. I then read until Siam came to pick me up for dinner.

We went to a place downtown selling local food. Siam had already eaten, since he is from northeastern India and traditionally eats foods that are different from what is served here. But he helped me eat part of the momos (dumplings) I ordered. Then I ate a plate of vegetarian chop suey. We shared a big bottle of apple juice.

By then, it was almost 22:00, so I went back to my room and Siam went to his home. Even though I had napped, I was still tired from the sunshine we got during the morning.

Sunday, Aug. 19, 2007--Leh

I'm allergic to the dust here. Until last night, I have spent every night with breathing problems. Each night, I would eventually get up and use the leftover ear drops from my medications for my infection in Indonesia to try to clear my nasal passages. Whereas the drops normally work for 24 hours, though, they would clear my passages here for only about 3-4 hours. That's why I wouldn't use them when going to bed. I would clear my nose as best as possible and sleep until I couldn't breathe anymore. Fortunately, last night, my nasal passages stayed clear. I don't know why. I was still out in the dust a lot. Anyway, I slept better than I have been sleeping lately and I didn't have to use the nose drops.

The first thing I did this morning was wash the pants I had left soaking overnight. I hung them on the towel rack in the bathroom and opened the window so that the fresh air would come inside and dry them.

I decided to have a western breakfast today. I went to a German bakery and cafe and ordered their set breakfast. I had an omelette, great hash brown potatoes, and a large bread roll that had been sliced, toasted, and spread with butter and jam. I had milk tea to go with it.

After breakfast, I decided to walk out of town a different direction from where I have been before. I wandered through the old town (which truly is old with buildings that give the impression that one is walking through a town 2000 years ago) and came across a road heading up into the hills. I followed it past some very nice, quiet guesthouses. Eventually, I came to a small village. There, I crossed a stone fence that had toppled and sat on top of another stone fence in the shade of a tree and relaxed for a while enjoying the fresh air and the nice view of the snow-capped Himalayas in the distance. I didn't see any reason to continue walking further, so I turned back toward town.

I returned to my room and spent about 3 hours relaxing. I read from the book I have been reading, I reviewed the travel literature for the towns I will be visiting this next week here in India, and I eventually started reviewing the travel literature for Latvia and Estonia, since I will be going there in only a little over two weeks. Then I headed back into town. I stopped at the place where I have had a lassi (yogurt-fruit drink) every day. And now I am at the cyber cafe. I will go to the coffee house when I leave here. Then I will have an early dinner. Tomorrow begins the trip I have been dreading.

Tomorrow morning, I have to be at the bus at 4:45. We will travel for 14 hours through the Himalayas going southward and will cross the second-highest pass with a road crossing in the world. We will stop for photos, for breakfast and lunch, and eventually for dinner and sleeping. Sleeping will be in tents. Then the next day, we will start again at 7:00 and travel another 8-9 hours before getting to our destination of Manali--the next big town south of here. It will be an exciting trip, but I imagine it will be exhausting, frustrating, scary (sides of roads with deep drop-offs and no railings), etc. I'll be glad when I am in Manali and write you that it is in the past.

Exotic Leh

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007--Leh (Continued)

I met a young man who manages a coffee house. He showed me the best cybercafe in town--faster than the others but still expensive. He asked me to come to the coffee house afterwards. When I got there, he came to my table and asked me about being a teacher. Two customers overheard him and joined our conversation. They are two young people (a man and a woman) who are teachers. They were appointed to teaching positions in very small villages outside of Leh last year and are here in town for classes and for taking examinations for correspondence courses. It was interesting talking to them about their work. The woman has only 3 students, all boys from the same family. They are the only school-age children in her village. Mobile phones don't work there, there is no Internet there, etc. The man has 10 students in the village where he is the teacher. I was most fascinated by the woman. She is so unlike most Indian women. She was socializing with a man in public who is not her fiance. She was wearing jeans and a t-shirt. She spoke English (EXCELLENT ENGLISH) with an American accent. And she is very intelligent. She said she would like to become a university professor. She definitely would have no problem doing so. In fact, a U.S. university would be smart to grab her and offer her scholarships to work on her master's and doctoral degrees in education. We visited for 2 1/2 hours at the cyber cafe and then went walking through town.

This town is alive with interesting people. First, there are all the tourists who come from all over the world (including some from India). But there is a special event taking place here this week. The Dalai Lama is here giving lectures for several days, so there are Buddhist monks in their traditional clothing and tribes people who have come into town to hear him lecture wearing their traditional tribal clothing. The town is buzzing with activity.

I ate pizza cooked in a wood-fired oven for dinner. I got one with cheese, tomato sauce, and chile peppers. It was delicious. I drank a hot ginger-lemon-honey tea with it.

Friday, Aug. 17, 2007--Leh

I had lots of dreams last night. I take my mefloquine as an anti-malarial medication each Saturday, and I have noticed that the last two nights before the next dosage are the ones when I seem to have the most vivid dreams (a side effect of the medication). I was dreaming about teaching and other topics that were not pleasant ways to pass the night.

The coffee shop manager had told me yesterday that he works only after 14:00 each day and asked if I would like him to pick me up and take me to a stupta above the city this morning. Of course, I agreed. He came at 9:15, and we walked down narrow lanes and up a roadway to the stupta (a round pointed construction that looks a little like the top of a soft ice cream cone). There was a fantastic view of the valley and of the city from there. We took lots of photos. There was a woman there practicing her yoga. A few other tourists were there, but most tourists come up via a long, steep set of stairs and are exhausted. It was nicer taking the longer, slower ascent via the roadway; we never were very tired from it.

I ate a vegetarian thali plate for lunch, a version of ordering the luncheon special in India. Two tourists came after the tables were full, so I asked them to join me. They were young men who have just finished degrees in France and are traveling for a month or so here in northern India. We talked a long time about various topics including education, the Internet, etc. I washed my luncheon down with a sweet lemon water.

I relaxed reading at my room in the afternoon, then I went to the bus company office to ask about buses to take me from here to Manali next week. I wanted to go either on Tuesday or Wednesday, but the buses will run only on Monday and Friday. Well, waiting for Friday would keep me here too long, so I decided to buy a ticket to depart on Monday. It's a two-day trip. I dread it for the fact it will be tiring. But the scenery should be wonderful. We will go on the second-highest roadway passage in the world. We have to stop for the night and sleep in tents. We'll get to Manali sometime Tuesday afternoon if there are no delays with road problems. Meals will be provided as a part of the trip.

I went to the coffee house after that and had a cold mocha frappacino. It was delicious. I sat and read from my novel which I finally finished in the evening. It was Corsair: The Adventures of Hector Lynch by Tim Severin which I gave 3 stars out of 4. It's a book I picked up at my guest house that someone had left behind. It is about a young man taken by pirates in the late 1600s. I found the story interesting, but there were too many coincidences in it.

On the way home, I stopped at another restaurant to try their pizza. For some reason I was craving more. I had the same kind as the night before. But this one, mainly the crust, was not as good. I still enjoyed it, though. A young Indian man sat at a table near me while I was waiting for my food. He glanced at me a couple of times, so I asked if he was traveling alone, too. He was, so we sat together. In fact, it was his first day being alone, and he has never traveled alone before. He was having trouble adjusting to it. He has been in America for 8 years working on two master's degrees. He now has a job with United Airlines that will begin on Oct. 1, so he came home to India to see his family and travel some. He was a nice man, and it made the evening nicer having him at the table while I was eating.

Moved to Leh

Wednesday, Aug. 15, 2007--Srinagar to Leh

Last night, I went to a Punjabi restaurant and had mixed vegetables with rice. It was delicious--a mixture of various vegetables in a nice sauce. Then I stopped to say good-bye to Juneed and his father at their hotel. I got to my hotel about 8:30, packed, and went to bed by 9:30 so that I could get adequate sleep before getting up at 4:00.

Today is Independence Day in India. That means it is a sensitive day in Kashmir, since the Kashmiri people resent the presence of the military and wish they were independent from India themselves. Even though there is normally a big military presence here, today security is tighter. Added to that is a strike to indicate that Kashmiri people resent being a part of India. Shops will be closed and cars will stay off the road. That's why I had to get up at 4:00. Walking was the only choice I had to assure that I would be at the airport in time for my flight.

I left the hotel at 4:30. I had already paid the afternoon before. Immediately, I was stopped at the first corner by the military. On the way to the airport (15 km or 9 miles), I was stopped at least 8 times to be questioned. Two of the times, they made me open my suitcase and my backpack for them to check what was inside. All of that created delays. But I still arrived at the airport at 6:45--15 minutes before the gates were opened to admit people for the day.

The security there was unbelievable. There was a military station at the gate where the luggage was x-rayed and we were patted down. They made me take my battery out of my camera and transfer it to my checked luggage bag. Then there were the same x-ray and pat-down procedures at the airport terminal entrance and again to enter the gate area. Even at the gate area, we had to go outside and match our luggage with our tags they gave us at check-in, and only the bags that were matched that way were loaded onto the plane. We departed at 9:00--30 minutes later than scheduled.

I met Thierry, a French Jew, in the terminal. We visited while having coffee and tea that the airline provided. Then we visited again at the gate area. He's an orthodontist from Paris. He was commenting about the security. He was comparing how unorganized it was when compared to the level of security and its efficiency that El Al, the Israeli airline, has.

The flight into Leh was dramatic. We came down below the clouds and suddenly there were mountaintops just beyond our wings on each side of us. We were flying through a valley with the Himalayas around us. They are dry, brown mountains as compared to the green ones in Kashmir. And they are much higher with lots of snow on top of them.

Thierry and I met up again at luggage claim and decided to share a taxi into town. Then we went walking to find a room. There are far more tourists here than any place I have visited recently. Finding a room became a problem. And it was made worse by the fact that Thierry wanted to stop and have a drink at a cafe before looking. By the time we went to the place that was our first choice, it was full. Then we started checking places along the way and found that they were either full or too dark and dirty. He eventually took a room that he found acceptable and I went off on my own at a faster pace and into areas with less traffic to find a room. I finally settled on one that was nice enough that I could accept it. Then I went looking further and founded a nicer place at half the price. The lady said she would keep the room for me until tomorrow.

The tourists here come in all kinds. There are lots of younger people. There are many Israeli travelers. There are quite a few families. And I keep seeing a number of people my age--traveling independently and as couples. A lot of them are having trouble with the altitude (3505 meters which is about 11,500 feet). Some Israelis that Thierry met at the cafe said they had suffered headaches and nosebleeds for a couple of days. I saw one guy with his nose bandaged because of bleeding, I guess.

The town is dramatic with an old palace similar to the one in Lhasa in Tibet on top of a mountain in the center of town. The buildings are made from mud bricks. It's very dry. Everything is brown and dusty except the leaves on the trees and the flowers in the courtyards of the hotels. Being here reminds me a little of being in Siwa in Egypt. And Thierry compared it to a place in the Sinai.

I wandered the streets exploring. I found a wonderful place to have a lassi (fruit drink made from yogurt). I got sawbuck thorn juice in mine. They also have apricot juice. There, I met an interesting person who has gone native. There are quite a few people like that here. This lady, about 45, has taken a Buddhist name and has been in India for 7 years and Leh for a month. She introduced me to her boyfriend, about 25, who was dressed in native woolens, had a shaved head, and also had a Buddhist name. Many of the local people moved here from Tibet, so they look more like Tibetans than like Indians.

I ate early. I had a special local soup with fried egg, mushrooms, vegies, noodles, etc. I also had a plate of vegetable momos (dumplings) and a fresh lemon drink. Then I went to bed and slept well.

Thursday, Aug. 16, 2007--Leh

I took a nice hot shower this morning. Here in the mountains it is hot in the daytime and cool at night. Then I moved to my new guesthouse--the Rainbow guesthouse. I really like the woman who runs it. And she has the sweetest young son who seems to like to show me things and touch my arm. He's probably 3 years old.

I finished reading The Master by Colm Toibin (2 1/2 stars out of 4) this morning. It is a fictionalized novel built around the life of Henry James. I found too much of it to leave me "outside" the story. I didn't feel drawn in or particularly interested in it for at least 1/3 of the novel.

I walked the city streets again in the late morning. I stopped at the Penguin Restaurant and had a western breakfast. It had scrambled eggs; wonderful hashbrowns that were in big chunks and fried with garlic, onion, and green pepper; a big toasted, homemade roll; jam; and a glass of hot tea. It was delicious and filling.

After resting another two hours and reading at the guesthouse, I went back into town and bought a piece of carrot cake at one of the many German bakeries here. I took it back to my lassi shop and had an apricot lassi to go with it. I got my water bottle refilled there, too, with water that has been boiled under pressure; it saves on the environment by recycling plastic that way here.

Most people here have come to trek or to ride the rapids in boats. I find myself just wanting to relax. Of course, the altitude is part of the reason for that. I haven't had a headache or a nosebleed, probably because I was already partially acclimated by being in other mountains, although not as high as here, before arriving here. I may make some side trips to some nearby villages, but I am not interested in the trekking or the rafting.

Note: Computer connections here are not very fast, and they are 3-5 times the price of elsewhere. That's why I have not made any links for this entry. You can do a google search to find information about Leh, the book I read, etc. I hope you will. It's an interesting place.

Leaving Kashmir

Sunday, Aug. 12, 2007--Srinagar

My breakfast is getting better at the hotel. Today my omelette had chopped red and green peppers in it. Guess the waiter told the kitchen I was using lots of chile sauce and they decided to make it better for me.

Since it was Sunday, I decided to make outings to two of the gardens around town. While waiting for the bus, I asked Javid who was also waiting to help me get on the right one. He said he was going to the same area, since his home is there. We eventually had to walk to another bus stop, since the one we were at was so crowded that each bus became full from people getting on it. He's a plumber with a bachelor's degree. We sat together and visited along the way. I was enjoying his company, so when he asked if I would like him to go to the gardens with me I was happy to accept. He showed me his turnoff to his home which was only a short distance (walking distance) from the Nishat Gardens. We went inside and wandered around seeing the beautiful flowers. They were so bright in color that they reminded me of the powders one sees in shops here in India for use by Hindus--vivid reds, oranges, yellows, etc. We sat under the shade of a big tree that grows only here and in Iran and visited. He had gotten a phone call and needed to meet his family in about 45 minutes after our arrival, but the gardens are not so big to see, and we were ready to depart then. I stayed a while longer, though, to take some photos of the flowers and of the children swimming in the waters of the large pool there.

I began walking toward Shalimar Gardens after that. Both Shalimar and Nishat were built by Mughal princes hundreds of years ago. They are well maintained and wonderful places to visit. Best of all, they charge the same entrance price for tourists that they do for locals. Each costs only about 35 cents U.S. to enter. Anyway, just a few steps down the road, a car stopped. It was a local man asking where I was going. He offered to give me a ride, and when I said I was going to the university after that, he said that his home was near the university, that he had some business to take care of right now, and that he would pick me up outside Shalimar in 40 minutes and take me to his home for tea and then to the university. Shalimar is similar to Nishat--a little smaller but nicer in some ways. Both were a pleasure to visit. Inside both gardens, I met many nice people who wanted to talk. That's one of the best things about Kashmir--the friendliness of the people here and the fact that most of them speak English well enough to have a general conversation.

As he said, the man was outside Shalimar waiting for me. As with almost everyone in Kashmir, his friendliness was sincere but with an ulterior motive. He owns houseboats. So we had our tea on the houseboat so I could see it and tell others about it. His houseboats are nice, I think, because they are attached to the land and a person can come and go without having to have a boatman. The boat was also in excellent condition. He rents single rooms for 500 rupees ($12.50 per day with no meals and goes up from there for meals to be included) and rents doubles with all meals for 2000 rupees ($50) per day. It would be a pleasant place to stay, but it requires a bus ride (cheap at about 10 cents) to go into town.

I saw the university campus and walked back to the city from there. It was maybe 45 minutes to an hour to walk, but I hadn't been in that area before. Getting back to my hotel completed a large loop that took me all the way around Dal Lake.

After resting briefly in my room, I headed out to eat. Juneed was outside when I passed his place, so I visited with him for a while. Then I went to the same Punjabi place where I had eaten two days ago. This time I had a dish that was paneer cheese in an orange sauce, a dish of red beans that tasted somewhat like what we call chili beans at home, and chipati flat breads.

Monday, Aug. 13, 2007--Srinagar and Gulmarg

I feel like I am a goodwill ambassador here in Kashmir. Everyone asks where I am from. When I say, "USA," I worry about about their reactions. They have been positive, though. I have seen signs, however, that show images of imams and say, "We fear neither the East nor the West." Anyway, by being friendly and telling people how nice Kashmir is, I hope I am helping them accept that Americans can be nice people.

Light ran fell during the night. It cleared the air some so that it isn't so hazy. I couldn't tell if it would continue, but it looked as if the day would be nice. I was up early, because I wanted to go into the mountains for the day at a resort. The easy way to get there is via a state transport bus that goes directly there at 8:30 from the bus station, so I had an early breakfast and was there at 8:00. But they told me there were only 7 passengers and that the bus would be canceled if more didn't show up. By 9:00, they were still waiting. I didn't want to wait longer. Instead, I took a local bus to an outlying station. There I caught a bus to Talmarg which took almost 2 hours. Then I caught another bus from there to Gulmarg--about 40 more minutes.

Gulmarg is a resort. In the summer, they offer picnicking, pony riding, hiking, and golfing. In the winter, they have skiing, ice skating, and other winter activities. It is a remote area that is not well developed. Most of the lodging is far below 4- and 5-star. It's actually, the kinds of places where I normally stay. Western tourists usually go there, but most of the tourists are Indians. The air is fresh and there are lots of nice trees. Instead of taking the skiing gondola up, I hiked up the mountain on one trail and then returned on another. It was nice to be out. There was a wonderful, small valley up there with grass-roofed houses and a stream running through it. A little higher was another valley where a local man was watching his cattle. I saw almost no one while I was up there hiking.

The people up in the mountains were interestingly different. They tend to wear native costumes more than the city people. The men wore fur caps like Karzai, the president of Afghanistan wears. The women reminded me of gypsies in appearance. They wear scarves on their heads that are tight against the skull, then wrapped around and tied in back to hand down there. They usually have dangling earrings of gold and have very dark skin (I guess from being in the sun so much doing outdoor work).

As I got out of the bus to transfer in Talmarg on the way to Gulmarg, my knee bumped against the door where a piece of metal was sticking out. It ripped the leg of one of my two pairs of long pants and it cut my knee slightly. I used water to clean it, and a man on the next bus had a first aid cream and put some on it. I'm glad my tetanus shot is still good (got it about 9 years ago). This is the second time I have injured myself on bus doors on this trip. I cut the back of my hand on a bus door in Indonesia a few weeks ago.

I was tired when I got back to the city. It had taken hours on 6 buses to make the round trip. I passed Juneed's father on the way to the hotel and had to explain about my torn pants. He told me to go change and bring them back to take to his tailor. So I did that. I don't know what the repairs will be like, but I need two pairs of long pants here in India where it isn't really considered proper for men to wear shorts, especially when going to special sites and religious mosques and temples.

I returned to the kebab place for dinner. I had three skewers this time. The boy who waits tables was so cute as he recognized me and decided to become my teacher this time. He had brought bread and the sauces, and I was writing in my journal as I waited for the meat. He came to me and said that they were starters, implying that I should be already eating and not waiting for the meat. Then when the meat came, he watched me using a piece of the flat bread to push the meat down and off the skewer a few pieces at a time. He asked if I would like him to show me the easy way. He held the skewer in one hand, grabbed the meat in the other hand, and twisted and pulled. It all came off at one time onto the plate. Then he repeated it for the other skewer.

I went to bed with lightning in the distance. Then it began to rain. The hard rain continued through the night.

Travel Note: Tomorrow, I fly to Leh. It is more remote than here, so I don't know what to expect there related to cyber cafes. Also, tomorrow is Independence Day (60 years) here in India and in Pakistan. There will be big celebrations everywhere. I hope they don't create problems for me getting to/from the airports and finding a hotel. Because of the differences between the two countries, there could also be demonstrations, I guess, here near the border. My guess is that it will be a good day to travel, however. I'll get online as soon as possible after I get there. No news means good news, since all travelers to here have to complete information forms for notifying people if a problem occurs with them while visiting in the area. So if it takes me a few days to get on a computer and there is silence, it means I am fine and just having a problem getting access.

Wonderful Kashmir!

Saturday, Aug. 11, 2007--Srinagar

Kashmir is a honeymoon destination for India. The couples come here to stay in the houseboats, traveling to/from the shore on the small shikara boats. It would be romantic for someone in love. It's also a destination in August for Hindu pilgrims coming to a nearby cave. Tourism was strong in June and July, I understand, but everyone tells me it is down this month. My hotel had a few Hindu tourists Friday night and fewer seem to still be around tonight. There aren't many guests besides me.

Juneed's father wanted to take me on a tour of the Old Town this morning. I met him at 10:30 and he drove us in his car. We stopped at the Jamma Masjid, the main old mosque here in town--about 650 years old. It is huge and built in a quadrangle with four halls around a grass courtyard with a fountain in the middle. The architecture is simple and elegant. There are interesting towers on top of the building that are representative, I think, of this mountain culture--more like something from Tibet than something from the rest of India. There are no onion domes as are seen on modern mosques here. There is simple woodwork inside that is attractive. And there are many huge pillars, each made from a single tree trunk, holding up the two-story roof. From there, he stopped at his son-in-law's carpet shop for a short visit. The shop sells mainly wholesale and his son-in-law does not speak English; therefore, there was no talk of me considering the purchase of a carpet. I was glad for that. He drove me by the old cemetery, and he pointed out the old buildings along the route. We were back at the hotel after about 2 hours.

I was surprised by the good broadband connection for the computer when I went to the Internet cafe. It's a better connection than any of the ones I had in Indonesia, including the ones in Jakarta. And the rate is decent--75 cents per hour.

I rested during the hottest part of the afternoon. Yes, it is hot here. The temperatures are probably close to 30 C (in the upper 80s F). And the sun is close and, therefore, strong when it hits you. Then, around 16:00, I went out wandering. I made a big loop that took me through an old part of town, past the soccer field where a game was being played, through the more modern part of town, past another soccer field where another game was being played, and out past part of Dal Lake. I made that last leg to go by the Indian Airlines office to ask about flights to Leh. They fly only on Wednesdays and the fare is about $118. I think I will buy a ticket rather than make a 2-day bus trip (with an overnight stop). I would love to see the scenery, but I think a two-day trip would be totally exhausting. I'll return tomorrow and buy a ticket.

I was very tired and hot when I got back to my room. I watched the news on Aljazeera, on BBC, and on CNN. BBC is the best overall, I think. But Aljazeera has coverage of places that BBC and CNN just don't have. By the way, since CNN's movement toward being more interactive and entertaining has changed it for the worse in my opinion, I think Aljazeera has a much more professional and informative newscast.

I went back out only briefly to eat. I had mutton shishkebab. I ordered two of them. They came with flat bread and 3 sauces for dipping. I was full, but I probably could have eaten a third one! Later, in the room, I ate some cookies I had purchased at a bakery when out in the afternoon. I had stopped there to buy a cake to take to Juneed's father in thanks for the tour in the morning.

Wonderful Kashmir!

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007--Delhi (Continued)

I spent the evening relaxing and waiting for my travels tomorrow. For dinner, I went to a nearby restaurant facing the New Delhi Station. It was small and rather dumpy looking, but the food I got was some of the best Indian food I have had in a long time. I had paneer tikka masala (paneer cheese in a spicy red sauce), fried dal (a thick, but liquid, serving of lentils), and paratha (the layered, soft flat bread from southern India--2 of them). I was stuffed afterwards, but I was so happy to enjoy such a good meal.

Thursday, Aug. 9, 2007--Delhi to Srinagar, Kashmir

I took an auto rickshaw (3-wheel vehicle with a motorcycle engine) to the airport rather than a taxi. It cost about 1/3 the cost of a taxi. Being one person, there was plenty of room for me and my luggage. But the traffic was horrible along the way. We spent about 12 cycles of a traffic light getting through one intersection! I had left early and had plenty of time, however, so I wasn't worried about the delays. The biggest problem was having to smell all the fumes. (During the evening as I slept my nasal passage became completely obstructed. It was probably due to those fumes.)

Lots of Hindu pilgrims passed us along the side of the road going to the airport. I say that they passed us, because they were actually walking faster than we were driving while waiting through several cycles for a couple of lights. They had been to a special shrine and were returning home. There is a set route for them with temples along the way for them to rest, wash, eat, etc. Many of them were hobbling as if they were totally exhausted, had heat rash, or were suffering in some other way.

At the airport, I tried to buy a sandwich as a snack, since I hadn't eaten breakfast. When I tried to pay with a 50 rupee note, the guy wouldn't take it because it was partially torn. I've had that happen before here in India. He didn't mind when I said I wouldn't be able to buy it then. He put it back in the case and I walked away. After going through security to the gate area, I saw another identical shop. There, I ordered the same sandwich and laid the same note down. The guy took it without even noticing the tear.

I flew on Air India (the new domestic/international airline made by combining Indian Airlines and Air India). The plane was OLD. Most airlines today fly many old jets, but they have had the insides refitted to look like new. This one was old inside, too, with torn upholstery, plastic that had discolored, etc. I remember reading that Indian Airlines and the Star Alliance were discussing their entry into the alliance, but it must not be in the planning anymore. I even asked a supervisor about it, and she knew nothing. If an Indian airline were in the alliance, I could do some internal flying in India as a part of my around-the-world ticket instead of having to buy an extra ticket as I did for this flight. Even though the flight was domestic, they did serve us a full hot meal. I was surprised to get that. I guess I didn't need that sandwich at the airport after all.

There were lots of hassles with my arrival here in Srinagar. First, there were touts in the terminal trying to get westerners to go with them to rent rooms on houseboats. Even the government employee taking information forms we had to complete upon arrival tried to force me to stop at the Houseboat Owners Association booth before leaving the arrivals hall. He let me skip it when I insisted I didn't want to talk to anyone about a houseboat. Second, I had bought a ticket inside the arrivals hall for the tourist bus to town (35 rupees vs. the 300-350 that a taxi costs). As I walked through the lots to try to find the bus, the taxi drivers tried to tell me that the bus had left and that the next one would come through the lot when it arrived. I happened to notice that a big white bus was parked some distance past us toward the entrance to the airport, so I walked there. Sure enough, it had the bus number and license plate number of the bus I had been told to take. The taxi drivers had just been trying to convince me to give up on the idea of taking the bus and to go with them. Third, houseboat owners came onto the bus to try to convince me to stay in their houseboats while the bus waited until its scheduled departure time (which, by the way, was an hour later than the man selling the bus ticket inside had said it would be). They just didn't want to take "no" for an answer. And they especially didn't like the idea of giving me their address and letting me come by on my own if I decided I was interested in one. They wanted to have me trapped with them--a situation that I guess has proven to be a successful sales tactic with most tourists.

The hassles continued with my arrival at the bus station downtown. A man there who owned houseboats wouldn't leave me alone. I had the names of a hotel and a guesthouse I had gotten from Kashmiri souvenir salesmen in Delhi who had been nice to me, so I was going to check out their places with the hotel being my first stop. Well, the houseboat owner wouldn't give up. Even as I walked my fast pace down the streets, he struggled and kept up, talking all the way about his houseboats, how nice they are and what a good price he would give me, how the hotel was in the old part of town where no one would want to stay, and how the tourists always prefer the houseboats because they are romantic. Anyway, when he saw I was serious, he continued walking with me and asked if I would look at his houseboats if I didn't like the hotel. I told him I wasn't planning to decide on the hotel until I saw the other places I was considering--that I always look at 2-3 places and then go back to the one I like best. He was saying hello to everyone along the way, so I could tell he was well-known in town. I agreed to see his houseboat as one of the places and then I would decide where to stay. He stopped at a restaurant while I went to the hotel another several blocks away. He just couldn't keep up the pace with me.

The hotel was locked and no one answered the door. It's really a rather slow time here in Kashmir, so they probably seldom have business. I glanced in a window to get an idea of what the rooms were like--okey but not so special. I then returned and picked up the man to see his houseboat. He paid for an auto rickshaw although I insisted I would be happy to walk. Well, the houseboat was nice with thick carpets, antique furniture, etc. But there is no boardwalk/pier connecting it or any of the other houseboats to the land. It is necessary to take a boat back and forth. I didn't want to be trapped like that. I like to come and go several times a day. I didn't want to pay to do that and I didn't want to wait for the boat and travel so slowly. He just couldn't understand. But he finally accepted it when I told him that the price wasn't the problem. I said, "It could be only 150 rupees per night (less than $4) and I wouldn't stay here. He took me back on the boat to the street telling everyone along the way that I didn't want to stay there because there was no way to walk away as if it was crazy to expect such a thing in terms of a houseboat. Finally, I was free and walked away on my own.

I was walking toward the hotel where I had been before when I saw a newer, nice looking place I thought might be appropriate. I went in and their rates were 1200 with breakfast and 1800 with three meals per day ($30 and $45). I told them that was beyond my budget and started to leave. They asked what my budget allowed. I explained that I normally spent between 250 and 400 rupees and that my highest amount was 600. They immediately told me they would discount the room to 600. I said I would have to see it first, because I didn't pay that much unless I was very pleased with the room. Well, it was nice. In fact, it was new with tub/shower, hot water, cable TV, big windows with views of the mountains, telephone, etc. I asked if it included breakfast and they balked. I told them I knew of other places I had planned to go and started to leave. They asked me to stop and argued among themselves briefly. Then they said I could have the room for 600 including breakfast. I lucked out. The web address is http://www.hotelshaneelresidency.org .

There are lots of military here. The airport was full of them. And they are located every few meters (yards) down the streets. Each is carrying an assault rifle. Although things have been calm for some time, they don't take a chance, I guess.

Wow, now that I am in a room and out in town, I am enjoying myself so much. It's beautiful here. There are lakes filled with houseboats, there are wonderful old brick and wooden buildings in the old parts of the city. The air is fresh, and the sun is bright. Best of all, the people are friendly. I wandered through parts of the old town taking photos of old buildings. One of the reasons I wanted to come here is that I read an article last year saying that 90% of the old buildings in Srinagar had disappeared over the last 10 years to be replaced by new structures. But there are still plenty of old buildings here, thankfully.

On the way back to my hotel, I met Juneed. He was standing outside a nearby building and said hello. He actually operates a hotel himself, a family business which he is taking over from his father. He showed me the rooms in his hotel and told me of the work he is doing to improve it. He introduced me to several of his friends who arrived to spend the evening with him. We talked almost an hour, I guess, and I took photos. Then he insisted that I return for a visit tomorrow to meet his father.

When I left, I went to a restaurant Juneed had recommended and ate. I had spinach with locally made paneer cheese and fresh chipatis (flat breads). It was good, but nothing like what I had in Delhi last night.

One strange thing I've noticed today, though, is that when people give directions they make everything seem closer than it is. They will say: "8 shops down" when the place is 20-25 shops down or "10-16 steps" when it is 2-3 blocks. Strange.

Friday, Aug. 10, 2007--Srinagar

I walked around Dal Lake today. It is a huge lake. The city end of it is filled with houseboats. All along the shore are small boats (shikaras) that are used to ferry people back and forth. On those, one sites back on cushions under a roof as the boatman paddles. I talked to one of the boatmen along the way. In the distance are views of the mountains with a closer one having a Hindu temple on top and another one an old fort. I also talked to a couple of the soldiers along the way. After about 2 hours of walking, I turned around and returned the same way.

At the far end of the lake are nice gardens built by the Moghul kings. I didn't go that far. I will take a bus to visit 1-2 of them on another day. I had to be careful today not to stay out too long, since the sun is bright and the sunlight was reflecting off the lake. Even though I wore sunscreen, I was afraid my nose might burn.

I stopped at Juneed's hotel and met his father. We visited for quite a while. I invited Juneed to go with me to eat Kashmiri food in the evening. Then I left to return to my hotel to rest.

Juneed took me to a restaurant that serves a small feast that is similar to what is served at Kashmiri weddings. We had kebab, roasted mutton, ground mutton ball, mutton rib, and a creamy ball (mutton again?). Each had it's own sauce (except for the kebab and the roasted mutton) to put over rice. We ate with our fingers mixing the sauce in the rice to eat with the meat. When I explained that my biggest problem with eating with my fingers was transferring the food from my fingers to my mouth, Juneed watched me and pointed out that I needed to hold my thumb in a different position; it is placed behind the food and used to push it from the fingers where it rests into the mouth. It made a world of difference in my success with eating that way. I had hoped to visit and ask questions about life here, but I got the impression that Juneed expected the evening to be over when we returned from the restaurant. So I returned to my hotel. But his father told me to come at 10:30 tomorrow morning and he will give me a tour of the old mosque and the old town area.

Off to the Himalayas!

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007--Delhi (Continued)

Well, I bought a ticket to fly from Delhi straight to Kashmir. I went to a travel agency recommended by my guidebook. The ticket cost me just a little under $100. And it saves HOURS of overland travel. It means I will miss visiting Jammu, but that is one of the less attractive areas of Kashmir as I understand it. I fly out on Thursday morning.

After that was out of the way, I realized that my plan would be very flexible. I will go from Srinagar to Leh (a two-day bus trip with an overnight stop in Kargil) when I am ready to leave Srinagar. After a few days in Leh, I will take another two-day bus trip (overnight at a campground with a tent) to Manali. I can then work my way through the other stops I had planned to make with the knowledge that the last 1-2 stops can be cut out if I run out of time and can be visited at another time, since they are only 10-14 hours from Delhi.

For dinner, I went to a kebab place where I ate when I was in Delhi before. I had a double-chicken, single egg wrap. It had chunks of chicken from the grill, pieces of onion, and a thin layer of fried egg. It was wrapped in a fried flat bread. I used a nice hot green sauce to flavor it more. And I drank a wonderful fresh lime soda with it.

Wednesday, Aug. 8, 2007--Delhi

I've communicated some time with a film maker here in Delhi. He makes documentaries right now and had one entered into competition at the Cannes Film Festival last May. He plans to switch to making feature length films for the international audience within the next year and has lined up a Danish actor to play a lead role. He even hopes to do some of the filming in Denmark, although he realizes it would be expensive. Anyway, we agreed to meet at a coffee shop that is halfway between where he lives and my hotel this morning at 10:30. It is in South New Delhi which is a pretty area of town, so I got up early and walked. It took about 2 hours for me to get there. We sat in the cafe and had a cold coffee, then each ate half of a sandwich, and finally each drank a fruit drink. Of course, it was an expensive place and just that little bit of food cost what I normally pay for two big meals. But we sat there and visited for about 6 hours. It was nice to talk about books (He had read everything I have read for the past two years), films, etc.

I took the bus back to town. It is just too hot in the afternoon to walk, and there wasn't an altermative route anyway that would have let me see new sites. So I was back at the hotel in only 30 minutes via the bus. I stopped to visit two Kashmiri souvenir salesmen I had met yesterday and to get them to show me on the map a hotel they had recommended.

I had a wonderful meal this evening at a small restaurant opposite the New Delhi Railway Station. I had fresh parata bread, a big dish of paneer tikka masala (VERY spicy), and a small dish of fried dal. Ummmmmm. It was one of the best Indian meals I have had in some time. I wish I could get Indian food that spicy in Texas.

I am now here at the cyber cafe and will go back to the hotel. My hotel is in the backpacker area of town. It's a local shopping street that is crammed with people. It's fun to watch the wide-eyed tourists who are just arriving in India as they see the condition of the street, the dirty street urchins, the mass of traffic in the narrow street, the wandering cows in the street, etc., etc., etc. It's REAL India REAL quick for them. Of course, I have seen it all before elsewhere, but it would have been a shock for me, too, if I had never been here before.

Note: Tomorrow I leave for Kashmir. It is very remote. I will spend about 4 days in Srinagar, two days traveling to Leh, about 5 days in Leh, and another two days traveling to Manali. I know that Manali will have a halfway decent Internet connection. I don't know what to expect in Srinagar and Leh. If I am not online again for 10-12 days, it will be because they have slow and/or expensive connections there. Probably, I will find something occasionally. If the connection is only slow, I may just post a sentence or two to say I am okay. Just don't worry. I'll be safe and fine there and will be in touch when I can.

The Travails of India Again

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007--Bangkok (Continued)

After resting at the hotel in the afternoon, I decided to go out. I went back to the nearby sauna I visited two days ago. I arrived around 17:00. It was packed. I left around 7:30 when it started really dying down for the night. I guess everyone was getting home to be prepared for work the next day.

Just down the street was a street stall with noodles. Several people were eating there and it looked good. I stopped and had soup--noodles, shrimp, slices of pork, vegies, etc. It was delicious and cheap. Then I went to the hotel for the evening.

Monday, Aug. 6, 2007--Bangkok to Delhi

I dreaded the day. It's always a hassle to go to India. My flight wasn't until the evening, so I had lots of time to kill. I ate the last of my good buffet breakfasts for the year at my hotel. I watched a film on TV in the room until 11:00. Then I took local transportation to go to the airport--a local bus to Victory Circle followed by an airport bus from there. It took a total of 1 1/2 hours from door to door which isn't bad for a trip in Bangkok on a workday. That's what it took to make the much shorter trip from the weekend market to my hotel on Saturday! I spent much of my time at the airport either walking and watching people or reading.

I was lucky on the flight. One of the few empty seats on the whole plane was the one between me and the other guy in the other aisle seat of the center section. It made it so much more comfortable to have that empty space there. The flight went fine, but I didn't expect problems there. The problems occurred as expected when I arrived in Delhi.\:

1. I had trouble getting a taxi. I used the pre-paid taxi stand where I was told to get in any yellow and black taxi. Well, the first taxi in the line of the yellow and black taxis was really black with a green stripe. The questions sounded right when they asked if I had a prepaid slip, where I was going, etc. But then they wanted to know exactly WHERE my hotel is located (although I had given them a street address). They said they needed an intersection. Well, it wasn't YELLOW and black, and now they were saying things that fit one of the tricks used on tourists here: a suggestion that the hotel doesn't exist or that it is full and that they will take you elsewhere. I jumped out, grabbed my bag from the trunk, and headed for another (yellow and black) taxi. They weren't happy with me, but I wasn't going to take chances.

2. The second taxi driver wanted me to give him my prepaid slip--first by asking to see it, and then by asking for it for the police to stamp it as we left the airport. Well, all the travel books warn against giving the slip to the driver before arriving at your destination. So I held it in my hand as he looked at it. Then I got out and walked over to the policeman to show it to him. The driver wasn't happy, but I didn't care. He asked if I would give it to him when we were there, and I said, "Sure." What use would I have for it then; my money was already gone to pay for it.

3. Because I had created a bit of a hassle, I thought I would tip the driver a small amount when we got to the hotel. But he didn't take me all the way. The street is blocked for cars. Only pedestrians and rickshaws are allowed. I had to walk the last couple of blocks to the hotel and find it on my own. I knew we were on the right street, though, and I knew approximately where it would be from maps I had seen. So I gave him the prepaid slip, kept the tip money myself, and headed off for the hotel.

4. I had reserved an air conditioned room. At 22:00, it was still 34 C (about 95 F) outside! Well, the room was not as nice as it looked on the website. (They never are in India.) And the a/c didn't seem to be cooling. I went out to find bottled water. When I got back, I was sweating, and the room was still hot. I told them the a/c was not working. A guy tried to fix it and finally concluded it would have to wait for the next day. He said there were no other rooms available for the night and that he would let me have that one for the non-a/c price. It was 23:00, so I stayed. I left the a/c blowing normal air and put the ceiling fan on high. I got through the night.

5. My nose was very stuffy. From arrival at the airport, the air smelled like fertilizer. It still smelled the same at the hotel. I awoke in the night barely able to breathe. I had to use the nose drops left over from my ear infection treatments. Finally, I slept well after that.

Tuesday, Aug. 7, 2007--Delhi

As soon as I went downstairs at 9:00 this morning, the man at the desk had a new room for me. It was the same kind of room (one floor down from where I was last night), and it was COOL. How nice. I moved my things and then headed out to deal with travel planning.

I spent most of the morning going to three government government travel agencies (one for India, one for Jammu and Kashmir, and one for Himchal Pradesh) to get information. I'm worried about the travels I have planned. I need a plan that isn't so tight as far as the schedule is concerned, and I need to be sure I will be back in Delhi in time for my flight out of here for Europe on Sept. 3. I've considered various possibilities for dealing with this, but I keep running into problems. I've identified 2-3 stops I can skip if necessary, although all of them would be nice to see. I finally decided to skip ONE of the stops and FLY to Kashmir; that should allow me to see most of the places and take buses coming back so I would be only an 8-10 hour bus ride from Delhi the day before my departure flight. But the airline does not accept non-Indian credit cards online. Now I have to go to a travel agent and pay him a fee if I go that route. I also considered skipping my first planned stop and taking an overnight bus to the second stop (14 hours from Delhi). Right now it is all up in the air.

I tried to eat lunch at a restaurant where I ate when I was here before, but it wasn't open at 11:30. So I returned to the area of my hotel and ate at a backpacker place operated by people from Nepal. I had vegetarian momos (Chinese dumplings). They came with a very nice spicy dipping sauce. I had a lemon soda to drink with them.

After resting in my new cool room at the hotel, I headed out for the cyber cafe to update the blog and try to buy an air ticket. As I wrote above, I now have to find another way to get the air ticket. Life is never easy in India.

Last Days in Bangkok

Friday, Aug. 3, 2007--Bangkok (Continued)

I stayed at the hotel in the afternoon. I went to the pool where I napped a while and then read from the book I'm reading now. I watched TV back in the room later.

I went to a nearby sauna in the early evening. It's a local place serving the neighborhood. Only two other tourists were there. That's probably because some backpacker hotels are not far from it. I arrived around 18:00 stayed for 2 1/2 hours. They had a nice steam room, a dry sauna, a cold pool, a hot pool, and a swimming pool. The price includes two drinks (one a glass of iced green tea and the other a glass of a red-colored very sweet soda pop) and a plate of fruit slices with a dipping bowl of sugar and chilies. The drinks and the fruit plate are refilled regularly while there. Everyone gets an assigned place to have his drinks/fruit. So I enjoyed the snacks between trips to the two saunas. I never got in the pools. I took a cold shower before and after each trip to the sauna. I never ate dinner, since I was full enough from the snacks while there.

Saturday, Aug. 4, 2007--Bangkok

I decided to go to the weekend market today. I took the bus around 10:00. I wandered for a while in the market. Then I went to the nearby park to relax and read. Then I got a cola from a 7-11 nearby. And I returned to the market for a while. It's really a nice place to go. There are many tourists there, but it serves as a true shopping place for many Thais. It has EVERYTHING--clothing, decorative items, jewelry, pets, souvenirs, foods (prepared and non-prepared), antiques, etc. Everyone who comes here should go there if they have an idea of what they want to buy. I went just to watch the people and see what was available.

It took a LONG time to get back to the hotel. The main shopping district is between the market and my hotel. Since it was Saturday, everyone was headed to the malls. (There are about 7 malls located within two long blocks in that area.) Whereas it took only about 25 minutes to get TO the market, it took over 1 1/2 hours to get back!! Most of that time was spent waiting for lights (sometimes 3-4 waiting cycles to get through one light) within a kilometer (half mile) of the shopping area. I was so bored and tired by the time I got back to the hotel.

I didn't go back out until dinner time. I went across the street then to find one of the student restaurants for eating. One interesting thing, though, is that it is trendy for students to eat western foods. Almost all the restaurants in the student quarter I wrote about a few days ago serve western foods exclusively. They have steak, French fries, and salad; grilled chicken breast with potato balls (like Tater Tots); etc. I started to eat a grilled chicken breast with pepercorn sauce, fries and salad, but then I couldn't get anything I wanted to drink with it. They didn't even have bottled water. All their drinks were the overly sweet colored concoctions like I had been served at the sauna last night. So I left for an Italian restaurant down the street and had spaghetti carbonara with a bottle of water.

Sunday, Aug. 5, 2007--Bangkok

I am using today to research my trip to India and to relax. I've read through my guidebook. I've checked on low-cost airlines serving Kashmir. I checked to see if Leh now has ATMs (which it does now have two). Etc. It's almost 14:00, so I will return to the pool and relax and read, I think. In the evening, I may walk back down to the sauna if I'm not too lazy to go that far (about 2 km [1 1/3 miles]).

Note about the next 3 1/2 weeks in India: I leave tomorrow for Delhi. I have a reservations there at the Hotel Star Palace on Main Bazaar since I will be arriving in the evening. I plan to stay in Delhi just long enough to plan my departure for places northward. My plans are to go toward Kashmir. Some of the distances are VERY long up there. Srinagar to Leh and Leh to Manali are each two-day trips over mountainous roads that can have delays due to landslides, washouts, etc. These are remote areas. Electricity supplies are not very reliable there either. I am writing all of this to explain in advance if there are periods when I do not get online for a few days up there. When I get a chance, I will post as usual, though.

Continuing Air Ticket Problems

Thursday, Aug. 2, 2007--Bangkok

I walked for hours today. I had to go back to the Thai Airways office to have my ticket exchanged for a new one. Although they said I could transit through Bangkok to Phnom Penh, they were told by the Star Alliance office that once I was in Bangkok again my ticket had to be over. So I returned. They rebooked me through Seoul to Phnom Penh after checking and saying that it would still be within my mileage limit for the ticket. Then they printed a new ticket for me.

From there, I walked down the street several blocks to mail the Power of Attorney (POA) at a nearby FedEx office. Unfortunately, there was a sign on the door saying that they had changed their hours. They wouldn't be open for another 1 1/2 hours! So I headed out to Sukumwit to the Lufthansa office to get seat assignments. It's a LONG walk, and it was hot and humid. But there was no one waiting. I got immediate service which was nice. They then called FedEx for me and found that there is an office in that area. I walked to it and mailed the POA. It's nice to have that out of the way, but even FedEx can't get it there until Monday (even though it was Wednesday night U.S. time when I left it at their office). From there, I walked to the United Airlines office which is near the U.S. Embassy where I was two days ago to get the POA. Again, I was lucky that no one was there and I got immediate service. They booked seats for my flights with them. By then it was noon. I was hoping to see a film, so I rushed to Siam Square. I got there at 12:25, and the only film I hadn't seen that interested me was starting at 12:30. What luck! So after 5 hours of walking all over town, I relaxed in the theater.

I saw a French film that was made by directors from all over the world (including some American directors). The title is Paris Je T'aime. It is a series of short films that each tell a love story set in Paris. They had a wide range of themes. One even involved vampires. I enjoyed seeing the film, although some of the stories were better than others.

When I left the theater, I went across the street to a couple of malls that have contemporary furniture stores on the upper floors. I just wanted to look to see if they had anything that would appeal to me. I need to buy a new dining room table, a new sofa, new sofa tables, and office furniture. I really didn't see anything special, however. It was interesting to see the changes taking place in the two malls, though. Siam Discovery opened a few years ago as the most upscale mall in the area. But Siam Paragon which opened down the block about 2 years ago has changed things. The designer shops have left Discovery and gone to Paragon. Discovery is now more "ordinary" looking rather than exclusive looking. And Paragon has not only the designer shops but a wonderful food hall and gourmet grocery. I went through the grocery snacking on free samples (Ummmm!).

By the time I left, I was so tired of walking. And I was beginning to feel heat rash between my legs. I was glad that I didn't have far to go. But I didn't go all the way to the hotel. Across the street from it is an area of 2-3 blocks that has a seafood market and lots of shops and restaurants around it. It has been a bit run down in the past years, but there has been a tremendous change in the past two years. Chulalonghorn University (the most pretigious university in Thailand) is between there and where I was coming from (the Siam Square area). Siam Square has been the student quarter for shopping and entertaining for the past 35 years or so. But my local area around the fish market has started developing as a less crowded and less expensive student quarter. It has lots of cyber cafes at half the price of those at Siam Square. And it is getting more and more small restaurants and shops that cater to students and are interesting. I stopped at one of the cyber cafes to go online. Then I went to a restaurant that had been to crowded with students the night before and had an early dinner of green curry and rice. From there, I walked a few doors down to a cake shop and had a slice of coffee-flavored sponge cake with coffee-flavored butter cream frosting. I had a cup of strong coffee to go with it. By then, it was 6:00 p.m. I headed to my hotel to relax for the rest of the night.

But there was a message awaiting me from Thai Airways about another problem with my ticket!!

Friday, Aug. 3, 2007--Bangkok

Unfortunately, today had to be another early day so I could return to Thai Airways. When the Star Alliance checked my new ticket they informed the Thai office that they had been wrong and that the new itinerary routing me to Phnom Penh through Seoul would take me over the mileage limit. I gave up on Phnom Penh and decided to stay in China longer and then go to Chiang Mai in northern Thailand. Even that looked as if it might be a problem, though, because they seem to have a rule that you cannot stop in the country of your departure without it being the end of the ticket. But they got the Star Alliance office in Frankfurt to approve that stop before issuing me a THIRD ticket for ATW VIII! So this one should be okey.

There was one good aspect to having to re-do my ticket for the third time. Yesterday after I left their office with the second ticket, a sale was introduced on around-the-world tickets. I got the new ticket at the sale price--10% cheaper than the previous ticket. That may not sound like much, but on such an expensive ticket it meant a savings of about $370 U.S.!

I walked from the Thai office to nearby Lumpini Park. I have passed it so many times over the years and have never been there. It is a very attractive and well maintained park. It was quiet and peaceful this morning. I walked through it and around the lakes enjoying the view and watching the people there. Eventually, I sat in the shade for a while and watched a fountain in the lake that was computerized to change its flow regularly.

It's now only just early afternoon. I think I will go back to my hotel, get a new book out of my suitcase to start reading, and go down to the pool for part of the afternoon. I want to just relax. There are no more films showing that I want to see, and I am tired of wandering the city for now anyway. Will post about the rest of today at another time.