Friday, July 31, 2009--Ohrid and Struga
After thinking about it, I decided not to try to make a day trip to Bitola today. It is a 3-hour bus trip, so I would have been on buses for 6 hours just to spend maybe 4 hours there seeing sights. It just wasn't worth the effort. I'll miss seeing Bitola at all, since accommodations there are rather limited and there is a festival occurring this weekend. Instead, I will go directly to Skopje and skip Bitola.
For an outing, I decided to go back to Struga for the day. I took the book that I have finished reading in hopes of hearing people speak English again there. I wandered the beaches. I watched the young guys jumping into the flowing river from the bridge. I returned to the nice restaurant and had beans with meat which proved to be navy beans with a big chunk of roast beef. I stopped at a bakery and bought a pastry that was filled with caramel. Then I explored the beaches some more. I never found anyone to take the book, so I will carry it to Skopje and hope that someone at the hostel will be an English speaker/reader.
With my travels covering so many countries, it is interesting to notice what is provided in the bathrooms in various places and how consistent it is within any given country. For instance, here in Macedonia, there has been no toilet paper and no shampoo in either place. One of the two places, however, has had bar soap. In Albania, every bathroom had a huge bottle of shampoo in addition to bar soap and toilet tissue. In Malaysia, Korea, and China, the bathrooms always include disposable combs and toothbrushes. In some of those, a small tube of toothpaste is included in the package with the brush, yet in others there will be a large tube of toothpaste in the bathroom. Here in Macedonia, so far there have been no towels provided. I always carry supplies (including a thin towel that dries quickly and a plastic bag to put it in when I have to travel before it dries) so that I am ready for whatever I face.
Last night, I bought my bus ticket to take me to Skopje after getting an e-mail confirming that a single room is available at Hostel Hostel where I plan to stay. I'll leave at 10:45 rather than trying to rush out at 7:00. That should get me to Skopje around 14:30. The hostel is a 15 minute walk from the bus station. Skopje will be my last stop in Macedonia.
Friday, July 31, 2009
Thursday, July 30, 2009
Hot Day in Ohrid
Thursday, July 30, 2009--Ohrid
I went out early to take advantage of the cool air at that time. I hiked to the fortress and old town at the top of a small mountain in the center of town. While there, I also saw the old Roman theater and the St. Sofia Church. The church is the location of outdoor concerts almost every night during July and August. There wasn't one last night, but there is one tonight which I may try to attend. The only problem is the late hour. It starts at 21:00.
I returned to town through the market. I was starving for fruits, so I bought 3 peaches and 6 plums. They were very ripe and delicious. That was my lunch along with a small cheese roll I had bought at the bakery.
I spent all afternoon in my room. It was just too hot today to be enjoyable being outside. Instead, I read. I finished reading The Love of a Good Woman, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro, a Canadian writer. The stories were all interesting and well written. I gave the book 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
The stores here sell an interesting appliance that I haven't seen elsewhere. It is a cookstove about the size of a large microwave oven. From a distance, that is what it looks like it is. But it is an electric heat oven rather than a microwave. And on the top of the oven are two burners--a small one and a large one--for cooking pots of food. I've noticed that many of the places renting out rooms here have these stoves out on the covered balconies. It allows a family to rent a room and be able to prepare food for themselves and eat it on their balconies.
I plan to stay one more day here in the area. If all goes well, I will travel to Bitola tomorrow to see the sights there and travel back in the afternoon. Then Saturday, I will head for Skopje, the capital of Macedonia and my last stop in this country.
I went out early to take advantage of the cool air at that time. I hiked to the fortress and old town at the top of a small mountain in the center of town. While there, I also saw the old Roman theater and the St. Sofia Church. The church is the location of outdoor concerts almost every night during July and August. There wasn't one last night, but there is one tonight which I may try to attend. The only problem is the late hour. It starts at 21:00.
I returned to town through the market. I was starving for fruits, so I bought 3 peaches and 6 plums. They were very ripe and delicious. That was my lunch along with a small cheese roll I had bought at the bakery.
I spent all afternoon in my room. It was just too hot today to be enjoyable being outside. Instead, I read. I finished reading The Love of a Good Woman, a collection of short stories by Alice Munro, a Canadian writer. The stories were all interesting and well written. I gave the book 3 1/2 out of 4 stars.
The stores here sell an interesting appliance that I haven't seen elsewhere. It is a cookstove about the size of a large microwave oven. From a distance, that is what it looks like it is. But it is an electric heat oven rather than a microwave. And on the top of the oven are two burners--a small one and a large one--for cooking pots of food. I've noticed that many of the places renting out rooms here have these stoves out on the covered balconies. It allows a family to rent a room and be able to prepare food for themselves and eat it on their balconies.
I plan to stay one more day here in the area. If all goes well, I will travel to Bitola tomorrow to see the sights there and travel back in the afternoon. Then Saturday, I will head for Skopje, the capital of Macedonia and my last stop in this country.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009
Macedonia
Tuesday, July 28, 2009--Tirana (Albania) to Struga (Macedonia)
I trimmed my hair this morning while I still had a private bathroom. In Macedonia, I will be staying in rooms in private homes much of the time, and I will have to share the bath with the family. It was too soon to get a haircut before arriving in Copenhagen, because it would be grown out too much to look good while still being too short to justify another cut. So I trimmed around the ears and made it look quite acceptable. I'll get a real haircut about two weeks before I fly to Denmark.
I bought a spinach pastry in filo dough for breakfast. That still left me with about $3 worth of Albanian currency to spend. It can not be converted outside of the country, so I will hope to spend it at a stop the bus makes before getting to the border.
I was at the station an hour early, and the sun was already feeling hot. How I wish the bus would leave earlier than 9:00. No other tourists arrived. It was just me and local people taking the bus. As usual for all the buses I have taken since arriving in Albania, the air conditioning did not work properly, so it was warm on board for the 5 1/2 hour trip.
There was a restaurant and a snack stand where we stopped. I wasn't sure of prices at the restaurant, so I spent my money at the snack stand. The young man operating it spoke English and is used to people trying to figure out what they can buy with the rest of their money. I got LOTS of calories for the bang--two bags of chips, a bag of cookies with creamy chocolate filling, and a Coca Cola!!
When we arrived at the border, there were many insurance booths. And many of the people got off the bus and entered them and came out with paperwork. At first, it worried me. I was thinking maybe Macedonia would require proof of insurance for travelers to enter. But my guidebook had said nothing about that. My insurance covers me all over the world at 80% for emergencies and 50% for regular treatments, but I have no proof that it does without asking them to read the coverage online. Anyway, all the worry was for nothing. No one said anything.
Crossing the border was still slow, but it was much faster than it had been when I came into Albania from Greece. And we were at a pass high in the mountains which meant that we had nice, fresh air to enjoy while waiting. The couple next to me noticed the stamps and visas in my passport and asked if they could look at it. They were fascinated by all the places where I have traveled.
I decided to stay in Struga for one night rather than continue to my destination of Ohrid another half hour away. The main reason for this decision was my fear of being able to find a room in Ohrid due to its popularity in July and August and the late time of my arrival. I knew it should be easier to find a vacated room by arriving in the middle of the morning instead of late in the afternoon.
I stopped to ask at a jewelry store if they knew of anyone renting a room. The young man working there, Leonard, immediately took me under his wing. He said he would find me a room and went walking with me. The first two places we checked were full, but the third had a vacancy. It wasn't an ideal place, but I knew I could not be choosy at that time of the day. (It could have been cleaner, and the bed could have been better. The price of about $16 was okay, though.)
Struga is an interseting city. Like Ohrid, it is on Lake Orhid, a beautiful fresh-water lake on the border between Albania and Macedonia. It is a small town with LOTS of tourists. The lake feeds a rapid stream lined with stones and walkways that cuts through the city from the lake and gives a place for local swimmers somewhat like Barton Springs in Austin. Young people jump off the bridges into the rushing water, then swim to the sids to climb out again. There are also beaches all along the downtown area that are filled with sunbathers and swimmers and provide a great place for people watching. The city also has a pedestrian shopping street where many people stroll in the evening.
I heard American English being spoken by many people, especially young men while wandering along the beachfront. Unfortunately, these were not college student tourists; their language was rather rough with "f**k" being every thrid or fourth word. I asked later, and it was confirmed, that there is a military base not far away. I'm not sure if it is American or NATO.
I make currency charts to carry with me when I travel to help convert the costs I encounter into dollars. That way I can consider whether sometime seems expensive or reasonable to me. However, the dollar has dropped so much in value (about 8%) since I made my charts in May that I have been having to refigure them along the way. And that drop has been against "soft" currencies which are not convertible outside the countries which makes the situation even worse.
For dinner, I found a nice local restaurant with tablecloths and waiters. It was quite busy and far away from the beaches. I ate goulash, a beef soup with chunks of meat in a thick, dark sauce. It was served with bread and tasted so good as a change from the diet I have had recently.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009--Struga to Ohrid
I walked to the bus station on the edge of town only to find no buses. After asking, I was told that the buses to Ohrid which run every 15 minutes leave from town rather han the station. So I had to walk halfway back to where my room was to catch the bus.
As I expected, there were people waiting at the bus stop with rooms to rent when I arrived. They had a "leader" who spoke English. He sent me with a man to see the room at his house. It was nice enough and even had a small balcony and a TV. But it was with a shared bath and his asking price was 20 Euros. That just seemed too expensive to me. I decided to look further. I wandered and wandered. Occasinally I would ask someone about rooms nearby. When they did refer me to someone, it was always a false attempt, since the rooms were full everywhere or they only had rooms for 3-4 people or for a stay of at least a week. I was about to give up. In fact, I was walking toward the bus station thinking I would just go to my next stop on my itinerary. But I kept asking along the way. One lady led me to another place that was full. Then a woman took me to a home on an alley of a street. They had a room. It was large, clean, and nice enough. And the bath (shared) looked clean and nice. Best of all was the price--40% of what the man had wanted for the other room. So I now have a room here for only $12 per night. The owners speak English and are nice. And so far, the other rooms that would share the bath are not occupied!
Ohrid is a wonderful town. It's a World Heritage Site due to its fortress and its old town area. It has many old churches that are known for their frescoes. The buildings are nicer here than in Struga, and the shopping area is fancier. Its setting on the lake is dramatic and beautiful. Unfortunately, the beaches are not as satisfying as those in Struga. They are far out on the edge of town, and it is not as nice to walk and watch people. Also, I am afraid it will be more difficult to find good food here without paying a much higher price. I think if I had known in advance that I would have tried to stay in Struga and just come here on a day trip. But now that I have an inexpensive room here, I may just make a day trip back to Struga to enjoy watching people again on the rushing waterway and at the beach.
For lunch today, I had two pastries. One was filled with a tomato sauce and ham mixture and the other was filled with chocolate and ground nuts. The latter was so delicious. But it was messy. And I felt too full afterwards. Unlike Albania and Greece, the pastries here are made with yeast dough rather than filo.
The weather is interesting here. It is hot in the daytime and rather cool at night. In fact, I was cold in bed last night. That caused me to awaken around 6:00 and not be able to sleep again. When I came back from the beach today, I was so tired that I fell asleep and took a deep nap for about two hours.
Now that it is evening, the air is getting cool again. There are also a few clouds, but it isn't possible to tell yet whether there will be rain. I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see. I may make a day-long outing to Bitola if it isn't raining. If it is, I will stay here in town and read.
I trimmed my hair this morning while I still had a private bathroom. In Macedonia, I will be staying in rooms in private homes much of the time, and I will have to share the bath with the family. It was too soon to get a haircut before arriving in Copenhagen, because it would be grown out too much to look good while still being too short to justify another cut. So I trimmed around the ears and made it look quite acceptable. I'll get a real haircut about two weeks before I fly to Denmark.
I bought a spinach pastry in filo dough for breakfast. That still left me with about $3 worth of Albanian currency to spend. It can not be converted outside of the country, so I will hope to spend it at a stop the bus makes before getting to the border.
I was at the station an hour early, and the sun was already feeling hot. How I wish the bus would leave earlier than 9:00. No other tourists arrived. It was just me and local people taking the bus. As usual for all the buses I have taken since arriving in Albania, the air conditioning did not work properly, so it was warm on board for the 5 1/2 hour trip.
There was a restaurant and a snack stand where we stopped. I wasn't sure of prices at the restaurant, so I spent my money at the snack stand. The young man operating it spoke English and is used to people trying to figure out what they can buy with the rest of their money. I got LOTS of calories for the bang--two bags of chips, a bag of cookies with creamy chocolate filling, and a Coca Cola!!
When we arrived at the border, there were many insurance booths. And many of the people got off the bus and entered them and came out with paperwork. At first, it worried me. I was thinking maybe Macedonia would require proof of insurance for travelers to enter. But my guidebook had said nothing about that. My insurance covers me all over the world at 80% for emergencies and 50% for regular treatments, but I have no proof that it does without asking them to read the coverage online. Anyway, all the worry was for nothing. No one said anything.
Crossing the border was still slow, but it was much faster than it had been when I came into Albania from Greece. And we were at a pass high in the mountains which meant that we had nice, fresh air to enjoy while waiting. The couple next to me noticed the stamps and visas in my passport and asked if they could look at it. They were fascinated by all the places where I have traveled.
I decided to stay in Struga for one night rather than continue to my destination of Ohrid another half hour away. The main reason for this decision was my fear of being able to find a room in Ohrid due to its popularity in July and August and the late time of my arrival. I knew it should be easier to find a vacated room by arriving in the middle of the morning instead of late in the afternoon.
I stopped to ask at a jewelry store if they knew of anyone renting a room. The young man working there, Leonard, immediately took me under his wing. He said he would find me a room and went walking with me. The first two places we checked were full, but the third had a vacancy. It wasn't an ideal place, but I knew I could not be choosy at that time of the day. (It could have been cleaner, and the bed could have been better. The price of about $16 was okay, though.)
Struga is an interseting city. Like Ohrid, it is on Lake Orhid, a beautiful fresh-water lake on the border between Albania and Macedonia. It is a small town with LOTS of tourists. The lake feeds a rapid stream lined with stones and walkways that cuts through the city from the lake and gives a place for local swimmers somewhat like Barton Springs in Austin. Young people jump off the bridges into the rushing water, then swim to the sids to climb out again. There are also beaches all along the downtown area that are filled with sunbathers and swimmers and provide a great place for people watching. The city also has a pedestrian shopping street where many people stroll in the evening.
I heard American English being spoken by many people, especially young men while wandering along the beachfront. Unfortunately, these were not college student tourists; their language was rather rough with "f**k" being every thrid or fourth word. I asked later, and it was confirmed, that there is a military base not far away. I'm not sure if it is American or NATO.
I make currency charts to carry with me when I travel to help convert the costs I encounter into dollars. That way I can consider whether sometime seems expensive or reasonable to me. However, the dollar has dropped so much in value (about 8%) since I made my charts in May that I have been having to refigure them along the way. And that drop has been against "soft" currencies which are not convertible outside the countries which makes the situation even worse.
For dinner, I found a nice local restaurant with tablecloths and waiters. It was quite busy and far away from the beaches. I ate goulash, a beef soup with chunks of meat in a thick, dark sauce. It was served with bread and tasted so good as a change from the diet I have had recently.
Wednesday, July 29, 2009--Struga to Ohrid
I walked to the bus station on the edge of town only to find no buses. After asking, I was told that the buses to Ohrid which run every 15 minutes leave from town rather han the station. So I had to walk halfway back to where my room was to catch the bus.
As I expected, there were people waiting at the bus stop with rooms to rent when I arrived. They had a "leader" who spoke English. He sent me with a man to see the room at his house. It was nice enough and even had a small balcony and a TV. But it was with a shared bath and his asking price was 20 Euros. That just seemed too expensive to me. I decided to look further. I wandered and wandered. Occasinally I would ask someone about rooms nearby. When they did refer me to someone, it was always a false attempt, since the rooms were full everywhere or they only had rooms for 3-4 people or for a stay of at least a week. I was about to give up. In fact, I was walking toward the bus station thinking I would just go to my next stop on my itinerary. But I kept asking along the way. One lady led me to another place that was full. Then a woman took me to a home on an alley of a street. They had a room. It was large, clean, and nice enough. And the bath (shared) looked clean and nice. Best of all was the price--40% of what the man had wanted for the other room. So I now have a room here for only $12 per night. The owners speak English and are nice. And so far, the other rooms that would share the bath are not occupied!
Ohrid is a wonderful town. It's a World Heritage Site due to its fortress and its old town area. It has many old churches that are known for their frescoes. The buildings are nicer here than in Struga, and the shopping area is fancier. Its setting on the lake is dramatic and beautiful. Unfortunately, the beaches are not as satisfying as those in Struga. They are far out on the edge of town, and it is not as nice to walk and watch people. Also, I am afraid it will be more difficult to find good food here without paying a much higher price. I think if I had known in advance that I would have tried to stay in Struga and just come here on a day trip. But now that I have an inexpensive room here, I may just make a day trip back to Struga to enjoy watching people again on the rushing waterway and at the beach.
For lunch today, I had two pastries. One was filled with a tomato sauce and ham mixture and the other was filled with chocolate and ground nuts. The latter was so delicious. But it was messy. And I felt too full afterwards. Unlike Albania and Greece, the pastries here are made with yeast dough rather than filo.
The weather is interesting here. It is hot in the daytime and rather cool at night. In fact, I was cold in bed last night. That caused me to awaken around 6:00 and not be able to sleep again. When I came back from the beach today, I was so tired that I fell asleep and took a deep nap for about two hours.
Now that it is evening, the air is getting cool again. There are also a few clouds, but it isn't possible to tell yet whether there will be rain. I'll just have to wait until tomorrow to see. I may make a day-long outing to Bitola if it isn't raining. If it is, I will stay here in town and read.
Monday, July 27, 2009
Outing to Kruja
Monday, July 27, 2009--Tirana and Kruja
Happy Birthday to Sue!
This morning, I stopped first at a travel agency to buy my bus ticket to go into Macedonia tomorrow. Then I walked to the bus station for buses going to Kruja, a fortress in the mountains about 45 minutes outside of Tirana. I was lucky. A furgon, a shared van, was leaving just as I got there.
Unfortunately, Kruja was a bit of a disappointment to me. The setting is wonderful--high on the side of a mountain with views far away. And the exterior of the fortress was impressive when seen from town. But the inside of the fortress consisted of a museum and lots of homes. And most of those homes have been turned into pizza restaurants. The city also has a nice old market street with wooden shops, but all of these shops now sell souvenirs and antiques. It's quaint and pleasant, but.... I only stayed up there for about 1 1/2 hours, then I caught another furgon back to Tirana. What I have seen in Berat and Gjirokastra is much more impressive.
I bought a pizza pikante and took it to my room for lunch. I ate half of it then and saved the other half for tonight. In between, I spent much of my time reviewing my travel literature. I need to plan my itinerary around the Balkan area more specifically--place to place rather than just country to country. Today, I figured out where I will stop in Bulgaria, which is my next country after Macedonia. I've already got a plan for Macedonia. I have about 5 weeks, so I need to finish this planning so I can see if I will run out of time or have time to stay longer somewhere or to add another stop or two along the way.
In the late afternoon, I walked though Blloku. It's the most fashionable part of town with nice shops and cafes on tree-lined streets. It's also the area that was restricted only to higher-level communist leaders under communism. I was there yesterday, but Sunday is a quiet day here, and I wanted to see what it is like on a weekday.
It's interesting that there is such a cafe culture here. I think it must go back to the communist days when there was nothing to do. TV and newspapers were controlled. Foreign films were limited. Shops had nothing to sell. My guess is that people had nothing to do but go to a cafe and sit and visit with friends every day. It's amazing how many cafes there are here and how full of people they tend to be.
I'm a bit worried about tomorrow. I am going to the Lake Ohrid area of Macedonia. It's the HOT vacation spot there, and this is the time for Macedonians to take their holidays. Therefore, I worry about finding a room and, if I do, finding one at a decent price. I'm hoping for elderly people who meet the buses trying to rent rooms in their homes. In fact, my plan is to go first to Struga which is on the lake but not the hot spot and stop there for the night thinking that a room will be easier to find there, especially since the bus will arrive late in the afternoon. Then the next day, I will take a morning bus to the town of Ohrid in hopes that the elderly will have newly vacated rooms they are trying to rent before it gets too late in the day. I'll have my fingers crossed. If it doesn't work out, I'll have to just change my plans and go elsewhere.
Happy Birthday to Sue!
This morning, I stopped first at a travel agency to buy my bus ticket to go into Macedonia tomorrow. Then I walked to the bus station for buses going to Kruja, a fortress in the mountains about 45 minutes outside of Tirana. I was lucky. A furgon, a shared van, was leaving just as I got there.
Unfortunately, Kruja was a bit of a disappointment to me. The setting is wonderful--high on the side of a mountain with views far away. And the exterior of the fortress was impressive when seen from town. But the inside of the fortress consisted of a museum and lots of homes. And most of those homes have been turned into pizza restaurants. The city also has a nice old market street with wooden shops, but all of these shops now sell souvenirs and antiques. It's quaint and pleasant, but.... I only stayed up there for about 1 1/2 hours, then I caught another furgon back to Tirana. What I have seen in Berat and Gjirokastra is much more impressive.
I bought a pizza pikante and took it to my room for lunch. I ate half of it then and saved the other half for tonight. In between, I spent much of my time reviewing my travel literature. I need to plan my itinerary around the Balkan area more specifically--place to place rather than just country to country. Today, I figured out where I will stop in Bulgaria, which is my next country after Macedonia. I've already got a plan for Macedonia. I have about 5 weeks, so I need to finish this planning so I can see if I will run out of time or have time to stay longer somewhere or to add another stop or two along the way.
In the late afternoon, I walked though Blloku. It's the most fashionable part of town with nice shops and cafes on tree-lined streets. It's also the area that was restricted only to higher-level communist leaders under communism. I was there yesterday, but Sunday is a quiet day here, and I wanted to see what it is like on a weekday.
It's interesting that there is such a cafe culture here. I think it must go back to the communist days when there was nothing to do. TV and newspapers were controlled. Foreign films were limited. Shops had nothing to sell. My guess is that people had nothing to do but go to a cafe and sit and visit with friends every day. It's amazing how many cafes there are here and how full of people they tend to be.
I'm a bit worried about tomorrow. I am going to the Lake Ohrid area of Macedonia. It's the HOT vacation spot there, and this is the time for Macedonians to take their holidays. Therefore, I worry about finding a room and, if I do, finding one at a decent price. I'm hoping for elderly people who meet the buses trying to rent rooms in their homes. In fact, my plan is to go first to Struga which is on the lake but not the hot spot and stop there for the night thinking that a room will be easier to find there, especially since the bus will arrive late in the afternoon. Then the next day, I will take a morning bus to the town of Ohrid in hopes that the elderly will have newly vacated rooms they are trying to rent before it gets too late in the day. I'll have my fingers crossed. If it doesn't work out, I'll have to just change my plans and go elsewhere.
Exploring Tirana
Sunday, July 26, 2009--Tirana
I walked up and down streets exploring Tirana today--street markets, churches, mosques, parks, government buildings, the university, etc. I saw the statue of Mother Teresa who was Albanian. I went through the neighborhood which had been the exclusive (and walled off) enclave of the communist leaders. I saw buildings with colorful painting patterns on their walls. I saw the Pyramid Building, a typical communist-era building that was poorly constructed (designed by the communist leader's son and daughter) and is abandoned and crumbling today. The outing was interesting. Mostly, I saw Albanians out having a good time.
Many wedding parties were driving through the streets honking their horns. There would be a front car that would have a man standing up through the sun roof with a video camera to get images of it all. Behind that car would be the one with the bride and groom. Beyond that would be a few cars with friends and family. All cars were decorated and all the drivers would be honking.
I stopped to see the National Art Museum in the heat of the afternoon. It has many nice paintings. Many are huge ones with socialist-style images from the communist period. Two of the paintings on display are ones that were banned during communist times for being too depressing or formalist or for some other reason.
Unfortunately, I missed seeing the National History Museum because its hours have changed since my guidebook was published. It closed before I got there, and it will be closed tomorrow, too.
After resting a couple of hours, I went exploring again in the late afternoon with a plan to eventually go to a park-like restaurant I had seen earlier. Tirana is designed with spoke-like streets radiating from its central square. I went out one, then another, then another in directions I had not yet gone. When I got to the restaurant, I became confused. Inside the garden area, there seemed to be 3-4 restaurants, yet I had seen one menu outside. I didn't figure that all were serving the same menu, and I didn't know which one it pertained to. So I just left to find a small local place for dinner.
I walked up and down streets exploring Tirana today--street markets, churches, mosques, parks, government buildings, the university, etc. I saw the statue of Mother Teresa who was Albanian. I went through the neighborhood which had been the exclusive (and walled off) enclave of the communist leaders. I saw buildings with colorful painting patterns on their walls. I saw the Pyramid Building, a typical communist-era building that was poorly constructed (designed by the communist leader's son and daughter) and is abandoned and crumbling today. The outing was interesting. Mostly, I saw Albanians out having a good time.
Many wedding parties were driving through the streets honking their horns. There would be a front car that would have a man standing up through the sun roof with a video camera to get images of it all. Behind that car would be the one with the bride and groom. Beyond that would be a few cars with friends and family. All cars were decorated and all the drivers would be honking.
I stopped to see the National Art Museum in the heat of the afternoon. It has many nice paintings. Many are huge ones with socialist-style images from the communist period. Two of the paintings on display are ones that were banned during communist times for being too depressing or formalist or for some other reason.
Unfortunately, I missed seeing the National History Museum because its hours have changed since my guidebook was published. It closed before I got there, and it will be closed tomorrow, too.
After resting a couple of hours, I went exploring again in the late afternoon with a plan to eventually go to a park-like restaurant I had seen earlier. Tirana is designed with spoke-like streets radiating from its central square. I went out one, then another, then another in directions I had not yet gone. When I got to the restaurant, I became confused. Inside the garden area, there seemed to be 3-4 restaurants, yet I had seen one menu outside. I didn't figure that all were serving the same menu, and I didn't know which one it pertained to. So I just left to find a small local place for dinner.
Sunday, July 26, 2009
Tirana
Saturday, July, 25, 2009--Saranda to Tirana
I was at the bus station at 5:15 with no idea when the next bus would be leaving. The one I as directed to was already 1/2 full. We pulled out at 5:30, so I had good timing!
I was also lucky with the route of the bus. There are two routes used to go from Saranda to Tirana, the capital of Albania. The most popular one is back up through the center of the country over roads that I had mostly already traveled. The other is over a new coastal road that I had been told has dramatic scenery. Sure enough, my bus followed the coastal road. There were lots of twists, and there was one very high (1000 m plus) pass that involved about 8 switchbacks to get to the top of the mountain. There were wonderful beaches with almost no development and few people on them and with clear aquamarine water that almost glowed toward the edges where it had little depth.
There were six young men who got on the bus at one stop. The only empty seat was one beside me, and one of them took it. All the others later got seats as people left the bus. Alban, the one beside me spoke a little English. He explained that they were students who had taken 5 days to go to the beach together. Later, at one of our bus stops, I got to meet the others. One, who studies in Malaysia, speaks very good English and answered many of my questions. They insisted that I join them in having a large bowl of yogurt which that restaurant makes homemade. It was delicious. We all stayed together through the ride and the second stop before getting to Tiran at 14:30.
Prices at hotels here in Albania are inflated for foreigners. I wish that countries could have set prices. One of the men sitting across the aisle from men insisted that I not pay more than 20 Euros per night for a room. Of course, no hotel here in Tirana would quote a price that low or go down to that price for me. Instead of a hotel, I've chosen to stay at a hostel--Freddy's Hostel. I have a private room with my own bath and with a/c an TV. But I can hear noises through the walls, and I hate that. Hotels are better. And still I am having to pay more than suggested--24 Euros for this room. One advantage is that it has free use of a computer, although someone seems to be on it at all times. (I got up early to find it free.)
I was tired and did not want to explore any today. Instead, I went down the street to a supermarket. I bought a bottle of Albanian wine and some small toasts flavored with Italian spices. Then I bought a slice of pizza at a fast food restaurant nearby. I bought those back to the room for my dinner.
I finished reding Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danicat. I had read a book of short stories by the same author last year and enjoyed them. She does a fascinating job of giving insight into Haitian culture, especially as it relates to women, customs, and superstitions. I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 4. There is an Australian couple here at the hostel, and I will pass the book to them to read now.
I was at the bus station at 5:15 with no idea when the next bus would be leaving. The one I as directed to was already 1/2 full. We pulled out at 5:30, so I had good timing!
I was also lucky with the route of the bus. There are two routes used to go from Saranda to Tirana, the capital of Albania. The most popular one is back up through the center of the country over roads that I had mostly already traveled. The other is over a new coastal road that I had been told has dramatic scenery. Sure enough, my bus followed the coastal road. There were lots of twists, and there was one very high (1000 m plus) pass that involved about 8 switchbacks to get to the top of the mountain. There were wonderful beaches with almost no development and few people on them and with clear aquamarine water that almost glowed toward the edges where it had little depth.
There were six young men who got on the bus at one stop. The only empty seat was one beside me, and one of them took it. All the others later got seats as people left the bus. Alban, the one beside me spoke a little English. He explained that they were students who had taken 5 days to go to the beach together. Later, at one of our bus stops, I got to meet the others. One, who studies in Malaysia, speaks very good English and answered many of my questions. They insisted that I join them in having a large bowl of yogurt which that restaurant makes homemade. It was delicious. We all stayed together through the ride and the second stop before getting to Tiran at 14:30.
Prices at hotels here in Albania are inflated for foreigners. I wish that countries could have set prices. One of the men sitting across the aisle from men insisted that I not pay more than 20 Euros per night for a room. Of course, no hotel here in Tirana would quote a price that low or go down to that price for me. Instead of a hotel, I've chosen to stay at a hostel--Freddy's Hostel. I have a private room with my own bath and with a/c an TV. But I can hear noises through the walls, and I hate that. Hotels are better. And still I am having to pay more than suggested--24 Euros for this room. One advantage is that it has free use of a computer, although someone seems to be on it at all times. (I got up early to find it free.)
I was tired and did not want to explore any today. Instead, I went down the street to a supermarket. I bought a bottle of Albanian wine and some small toasts flavored with Italian spices. Then I bought a slice of pizza at a fast food restaurant nearby. I bought those back to the room for my dinner.
I finished reding Breath, Eyes, Memory by Edwidge Danicat. I had read a book of short stories by the same author last year and enjoyed them. She does a fascinating job of giving insight into Haitian culture, especially as it relates to women, customs, and superstitions. I gave the book 3 1/2 stars out of 4. There is an Australian couple here at the hostel, and I will pass the book to them to read now.
Friday, July 24, 2009
Last Day in Saranda
Thursday, July 23, 2009--Saranda (Continued)
Internet cafes are twice as expensive here in Saranda as they were in Berat. Water costs 20% more here, and other prices seem higher. Guess that's what happens at a summer resort.
I met two Americans. They had just gotten off the bus. They live in Stuttgart and are touring through this area. We had a nice conversation. They were planning to take the boat from here to Corfu, the Greek island that is visible off shore. Then they will head to other Greek islands after a few days there.
I finished reading Remnant by Christy Kenneally. It's not the usual kind of book I read--not a prize winner or nominee, not a well-written book either. But it was an interesting mystery. I gave it 2 1/2 stars (out of 4).
In the evening when it was cooler, I walked along the promenade for an hour watching people. Everyone was off the beaches and strolling, shopping, playing games, etc. Of course, different crowds are out at different times. Even after I returned to my hotel, I noticed people heading for the beachfront. But these were dressed for the nightlife. My neighbors went out, too, and did not return until 3:30.
I stopped at a "fast food" place near my hotel for dinner. I ate half of a roasted chicken with lemon juice squeezed over it, and I drank a beer with it. It was delicious and a nice change for my diet.
Friday, July 24, 2009--Saranda and Butrint
I went halfway across town to the bus station to catch the bus to Butrint only to discover that it leaves only 2 blocks from my hotel! Then I had to wait for 45 minutes after I got to there.
Butrint is a national park that consists of the ruins of an old settlement here that was active during the Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Venician, etc., period of occupation. It is nice, but it is no Effesus. It is mostly foundations with a few ruins that have some walls. Forests have taken over the grounds around the remaining ruins, so they provide a nice shade for walking through the area. It is the best that Albania has, I guess, in terms of ruins, but I have seem much better in many other places. I'm not sure it was worth the cost of admission and the transportation there and back.
After napping at the room in the heat of the day, I went to the nearby fast food restaurant where I ate last night and get a pita sandwich. It was stuffed with big chunks of pork, very tasty tomato and onion slices, a very thick yogurt that may have been homemade, etc. All I had eaten so far today was a slice of spinach pie in the morning. Then I headed to a cyber cafe around the corner. After just a few minutes there, the Internet connection was lost. So I walked along the promenade. I was carrying the book I had finished yesterday and watching for tourists. Just as I passed the tourist office, an older couple from Britain walked down the steps and I could hear their accents. They were so happy to get the book, and I was so happy to get rid of the weight.
I keep hearing polyphonic music here much like that I heard in Georgia last year. One of the Peace Corps Volunteers told me it is common here in southern Albania but not in the rest of the country. I really enjoy the sound.
Tomorrow, I will head to Tirana, the capital of the country. It will be a long, horrible bus ride. But it has to be done!
Internet cafes are twice as expensive here in Saranda as they were in Berat. Water costs 20% more here, and other prices seem higher. Guess that's what happens at a summer resort.
I met two Americans. They had just gotten off the bus. They live in Stuttgart and are touring through this area. We had a nice conversation. They were planning to take the boat from here to Corfu, the Greek island that is visible off shore. Then they will head to other Greek islands after a few days there.
I finished reading Remnant by Christy Kenneally. It's not the usual kind of book I read--not a prize winner or nominee, not a well-written book either. But it was an interesting mystery. I gave it 2 1/2 stars (out of 4).
In the evening when it was cooler, I walked along the promenade for an hour watching people. Everyone was off the beaches and strolling, shopping, playing games, etc. Of course, different crowds are out at different times. Even after I returned to my hotel, I noticed people heading for the beachfront. But these were dressed for the nightlife. My neighbors went out, too, and did not return until 3:30.
I stopped at a "fast food" place near my hotel for dinner. I ate half of a roasted chicken with lemon juice squeezed over it, and I drank a beer with it. It was delicious and a nice change for my diet.
Friday, July 24, 2009--Saranda and Butrint
I went halfway across town to the bus station to catch the bus to Butrint only to discover that it leaves only 2 blocks from my hotel! Then I had to wait for 45 minutes after I got to there.
Butrint is a national park that consists of the ruins of an old settlement here that was active during the Greek, Roman, Babylonian, Venician, etc., period of occupation. It is nice, but it is no Effesus. It is mostly foundations with a few ruins that have some walls. Forests have taken over the grounds around the remaining ruins, so they provide a nice shade for walking through the area. It is the best that Albania has, I guess, in terms of ruins, but I have seem much better in many other places. I'm not sure it was worth the cost of admission and the transportation there and back.
After napping at the room in the heat of the day, I went to the nearby fast food restaurant where I ate last night and get a pita sandwich. It was stuffed with big chunks of pork, very tasty tomato and onion slices, a very thick yogurt that may have been homemade, etc. All I had eaten so far today was a slice of spinach pie in the morning. Then I headed to a cyber cafe around the corner. After just a few minutes there, the Internet connection was lost. So I walked along the promenade. I was carrying the book I had finished yesterday and watching for tourists. Just as I passed the tourist office, an older couple from Britain walked down the steps and I could hear their accents. They were so happy to get the book, and I was so happy to get rid of the weight.
I keep hearing polyphonic music here much like that I heard in Georgia last year. One of the Peace Corps Volunteers told me it is common here in southern Albania but not in the rest of the country. I really enjoy the sound.
Tomorrow, I will head to Tirana, the capital of the country. It will be a long, horrible bus ride. But it has to be done!
Thursday, July 23, 2009
Venturing Further into Albania
Tuesday, July 21, 2009--Berat (Continued)
After using the Internet, I went out exploring town, since the temperature was getting better in the late afternoon/early evening hours. I walked across a pedestrian suspension bridge and along the riverside to an old arched, one-lane, cobblestone bridge and crossed back over again. I walked through the new town. Then I wandered back again. Many people were out and moving toward town. Albania seems to still be much like the U.S. was in the 1950s when people went to town in the evenings. The cafes and bars all have outdoor tables. The interesting thing is that only men are at these. Women either walk back and forth or go to sit in the park that is in the area.
I had seen a pizza restaurant earlier in the day, so I decided to try it. The prices were so reasonable that I expected small, individual pizzas. But when I entered, I realized they were bigger. Instead of going upstairs where there were tables, I ordered one to go--a combination of salami and proscuitto with cheese and tomato sauce. The man pulled out a ball of dough and worked it with his hands, patting then twirling. He put lots of ingredients on top and then used his spatula to put it in the oven which must have been very hot since the pizza was baked within 6-7 minutes. I bought a bottle of water and went to my room where I only ate half the pizza, since it was about 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. It was delicious, but probably very unhealthy! Cost of the pizza--$3.27 U.S.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009--Berat to Gjirokastra
I was at the station at 7:40, and the bus to Gjirokastra was already full! There is no other until the middle of the afternoon. The guy did not speak English, but I tried to ask if I could stand. He motioned for me to bring my bag to the back and put it inside. Then I waited. When it was time to load, he motioned me on. Several others who were waiting and apparently wanting to go were sent away. He had individual cushions that rested across the aisle between two seats. He put one down and motioned for me to sit on it. He did this for about 4 others. It was a small bus, so that filled it up.
The road was a back road through the mountains with lots of twists. It was also bumpy. Out of the 24 passengers on board, 6 got motion sickness. I've noticed that several people on every trip I take here have this problem. It must be something within the genes of the people here to give this a predisposition toward this problem. The buses all have packages of small plastic bags which they hand out on request. After someone has thrown up, they tie the bag shut, and it is thrown out the bottom of the door onto the roadside.
We made a long stop (about 1 hour) at a cafe in the countryside after about 2 1/4 hours of traveling. To the side of the place, there were steel cages. One held a bear with a horrible coat. Two others held wolves. It was so sad to see them. They were in the sunshine and were hot. There were no water containers inside the cages.
I had no map of the city of Gjirokastra, so I had to keep asking directions to get to the hotel I had chosen. My guidebook had not given enough details about its location. Before I knew it, I was climbing the mountain towards the castle ruins via a cobblestone street. I tried carrying my suitcase, but it was too heavy and the heat was too hot, especially on such a steep street. I switched to pulling it with its wheels bouncing up and down. I had to stop often to catch my breath. I was 90% of the way up the mountain before I came to the hotel.
Fortunately, there was one room available which I took. It was at a good price and the couple running the place spoke English. I had to cool down and rest before I could go out. Doing that, I fell into a deep sleep. So it was around 15:45 before I was awake and going out to explore the fortifications further up the mountain. While asking directions to make sure I took the right roadway uphill, the owners of the hotel spoke to passing people and commented that they were Peace Corps Volunteers. I told them I had been a volunteer in the 1960s, and we spoke briefly.
Gjirokastra is surrounded by dramatic mountains. And the old fortress is large, dark, and foreboding. I bought a cold bottle of water to help me get up there and see it in the heat of the late afternoon. The fortress is mostly ruins. There is one hall that has been restored with lots of vaulted side areas that have been filled with various kinds of large military guns. Outside, there is an old U.S. plane. My guess is that it was shot down during World War II and was placed there as an example of western imperialism by the communist government that was installed after the war. I took lots of photos of the fortifications and of the views across the valley from up there. I also took photos looking down on the old town with its very old houses covered in thick stone slabs for the roofs.
When I came down from the castle, I explored the old town to find a possible place to eat. I saw a young man sitting down with a book and looked to see what it was. He noticed and held it up for me. It was a French translation of a Thomas Mann novel. The young man spoke to me in English and explained that he is a French volunteer here. This town seems to be full of volunteers! He is a history major completing his master's degree and came with a large group of volunteers to do work related to the historical sites in town. His eventual plans are to complete a doctorate and teach, but he acknowledged that finding a job in history at a university will be difficult. For that reason, he is specializing in East German history and maybe in the broader area of history of the era of communist governments in countries of Europe. His group is staying at my hotel and explains why they only had one room available when I went there. We walked through town and sat on some steps and visited for quite a while. His fellow volunteers were sitting at a cafe across the way and obviously wanted him to join them. So after a while, I excused myself and went to a nearby restaurant he and his friends had recommended.
I sat at a table without noticing who was nearby. Then someone said, "Would you like to join us?" It was the two Peace Corps Volunteers! Along with them was the mother of one of the volunteers who is here visiting her son. Both volunteers are teaching at universities. One is teaching lingusitics, and the other is teaching English. They talked about the problems of teaching here--students who openly plagerize, who think that copying from more than one source removes the possibility of plagerization, who are not used to grading being based on things like attendance and particiation, etc. I asked a few questions about the organization of the Peace Corps these days, and it doesn't seem that much has changed. I told them that I think that two years is too long a period to expect a person to volunteer and that "volunteer" to me means that I should have more of a say in what I do and when I do it than the Peace Corps seems to think. In reality, the Peace Corps operations more like you've signed up as an indentured servant for two years and must do what they say. They both agreed that they would not consider volunteering again.
As we visited, I had a salad and a glass of wine. They were eating muscles, chicken, vegetables, bread, yogurt, etc. It was a real feast. They explained they were taking advantage of the mother's visit to eat more than they would normally be able to afford.
Thursday, July 23, Gjirokastra to Saranda
I was up very early. There was the loud sound of big vehicles going over the cobblestone roadway outside my room, the sound of the speakers from the nearby mosque, and eventually the sun peaking through the window. Therefore, I was cleaned up and ready for the breakfast that came with my room by 6:30. It consisted of two fried eggs, a slice of feta cheese, toast, butter, jam, tea, and coffee.
I carried my bag down the cobblestone part of the roadway toward the bus station. It wasn't so bad going downhill, but I still was getting breathless toward the bottom. From there, it rolled the rest of the way with no problem. I found the bus easily, put my bag underneath and went inside to take a seat. Only a few people were there, since it was still 50 minutes before departure. I started to take a seat behind a young boy sitting alone. He looked up at me, smiled, and patted the seat beside him, so I moved to it and shook hands with him. He was probably 7 years old. He took a photo of me on the bus with my camera, then he let me take one of him. We couldn't talk, but he looked at me and smiled often during the trip.
As I was sitting there, someone patted me on the shoulder and said, "Hello!" It was the Peace Corps Volunteer and his mother who had been at the table last night. They were taking the same bus so he could show her the ruins at Butrint south of Salanda. I will see them tomorrow, but they are making just a day trip there today. Again, we visited. They are going to Turkey and wanted to know what to do with the few days they will be there after they leave Istanbul, so I suggested that I thought going to see the ruins at Effesus would be the best. Then I suggested that they might want to go to Bodrum, too, if they still had time.
One of the things about Albania that I haven't written yet is that there are air-raid bunkers built all through the countryside here. Albania under communism was the "North Korea" of Europe--isolated on purpose and very fearful of others. Hardly any visitors were ever allowed into the country. The citizens were kept completely in the dark about what life was like in other countries. And the bunkers were built to protect the people from the capitalist, imperialist government of the United States! One Albanian who talked to me about this mentioned how poorly the people lived and how much better their lives could have been if the money spent on these bunkers had been spent on improving the living standards. Worst of all, the bunkers were not secure against an attack with atomic or hydrogen bombs, so they were really meaningless in terms of protection!
Saranda is a seaside resort. And this is the high season. Therefore, it was not easy to find a hotel at a reasonable price. Many are full. If rooms were available, they often had three beds making the owners want to charge a high price even though I am only one person. Eventually, I walked away from town a few blocks and found a very clean place for only 20 Euros ($28) per night. It is not as nice as the other places where I have been, but that is only because it has no TV and because the bath, although private for my use only, is across the hallway. I can tolerate that. The other rooms in town were one-half more to double that price. And it is a very clean room with a bed that feels firm and comfortable.
After using the Internet, I went out exploring town, since the temperature was getting better in the late afternoon/early evening hours. I walked across a pedestrian suspension bridge and along the riverside to an old arched, one-lane, cobblestone bridge and crossed back over again. I walked through the new town. Then I wandered back again. Many people were out and moving toward town. Albania seems to still be much like the U.S. was in the 1950s when people went to town in the evenings. The cafes and bars all have outdoor tables. The interesting thing is that only men are at these. Women either walk back and forth or go to sit in the park that is in the area.
I had seen a pizza restaurant earlier in the day, so I decided to try it. The prices were so reasonable that I expected small, individual pizzas. But when I entered, I realized they were bigger. Instead of going upstairs where there were tables, I ordered one to go--a combination of salami and proscuitto with cheese and tomato sauce. The man pulled out a ball of dough and worked it with his hands, patting then twirling. He put lots of ingredients on top and then used his spatula to put it in the oven which must have been very hot since the pizza was baked within 6-7 minutes. I bought a bottle of water and went to my room where I only ate half the pizza, since it was about 12 inches (30 cm) in diameter. It was delicious, but probably very unhealthy! Cost of the pizza--$3.27 U.S.
Wednesday, July 22, 2009--Berat to Gjirokastra
I was at the station at 7:40, and the bus to Gjirokastra was already full! There is no other until the middle of the afternoon. The guy did not speak English, but I tried to ask if I could stand. He motioned for me to bring my bag to the back and put it inside. Then I waited. When it was time to load, he motioned me on. Several others who were waiting and apparently wanting to go were sent away. He had individual cushions that rested across the aisle between two seats. He put one down and motioned for me to sit on it. He did this for about 4 others. It was a small bus, so that filled it up.
The road was a back road through the mountains with lots of twists. It was also bumpy. Out of the 24 passengers on board, 6 got motion sickness. I've noticed that several people on every trip I take here have this problem. It must be something within the genes of the people here to give this a predisposition toward this problem. The buses all have packages of small plastic bags which they hand out on request. After someone has thrown up, they tie the bag shut, and it is thrown out the bottom of the door onto the roadside.
We made a long stop (about 1 hour) at a cafe in the countryside after about 2 1/4 hours of traveling. To the side of the place, there were steel cages. One held a bear with a horrible coat. Two others held wolves. It was so sad to see them. They were in the sunshine and were hot. There were no water containers inside the cages.
I had no map of the city of Gjirokastra, so I had to keep asking directions to get to the hotel I had chosen. My guidebook had not given enough details about its location. Before I knew it, I was climbing the mountain towards the castle ruins via a cobblestone street. I tried carrying my suitcase, but it was too heavy and the heat was too hot, especially on such a steep street. I switched to pulling it with its wheels bouncing up and down. I had to stop often to catch my breath. I was 90% of the way up the mountain before I came to the hotel.
Fortunately, there was one room available which I took. It was at a good price and the couple running the place spoke English. I had to cool down and rest before I could go out. Doing that, I fell into a deep sleep. So it was around 15:45 before I was awake and going out to explore the fortifications further up the mountain. While asking directions to make sure I took the right roadway uphill, the owners of the hotel spoke to passing people and commented that they were Peace Corps Volunteers. I told them I had been a volunteer in the 1960s, and we spoke briefly.
Gjirokastra is surrounded by dramatic mountains. And the old fortress is large, dark, and foreboding. I bought a cold bottle of water to help me get up there and see it in the heat of the late afternoon. The fortress is mostly ruins. There is one hall that has been restored with lots of vaulted side areas that have been filled with various kinds of large military guns. Outside, there is an old U.S. plane. My guess is that it was shot down during World War II and was placed there as an example of western imperialism by the communist government that was installed after the war. I took lots of photos of the fortifications and of the views across the valley from up there. I also took photos looking down on the old town with its very old houses covered in thick stone slabs for the roofs.
When I came down from the castle, I explored the old town to find a possible place to eat. I saw a young man sitting down with a book and looked to see what it was. He noticed and held it up for me. It was a French translation of a Thomas Mann novel. The young man spoke to me in English and explained that he is a French volunteer here. This town seems to be full of volunteers! He is a history major completing his master's degree and came with a large group of volunteers to do work related to the historical sites in town. His eventual plans are to complete a doctorate and teach, but he acknowledged that finding a job in history at a university will be difficult. For that reason, he is specializing in East German history and maybe in the broader area of history of the era of communist governments in countries of Europe. His group is staying at my hotel and explains why they only had one room available when I went there. We walked through town and sat on some steps and visited for quite a while. His fellow volunteers were sitting at a cafe across the way and obviously wanted him to join them. So after a while, I excused myself and went to a nearby restaurant he and his friends had recommended.
I sat at a table without noticing who was nearby. Then someone said, "Would you like to join us?" It was the two Peace Corps Volunteers! Along with them was the mother of one of the volunteers who is here visiting her son. Both volunteers are teaching at universities. One is teaching lingusitics, and the other is teaching English. They talked about the problems of teaching here--students who openly plagerize, who think that copying from more than one source removes the possibility of plagerization, who are not used to grading being based on things like attendance and particiation, etc. I asked a few questions about the organization of the Peace Corps these days, and it doesn't seem that much has changed. I told them that I think that two years is too long a period to expect a person to volunteer and that "volunteer" to me means that I should have more of a say in what I do and when I do it than the Peace Corps seems to think. In reality, the Peace Corps operations more like you've signed up as an indentured servant for two years and must do what they say. They both agreed that they would not consider volunteering again.
As we visited, I had a salad and a glass of wine. They were eating muscles, chicken, vegetables, bread, yogurt, etc. It was a real feast. They explained they were taking advantage of the mother's visit to eat more than they would normally be able to afford.
Thursday, July 23, Gjirokastra to Saranda
I was up very early. There was the loud sound of big vehicles going over the cobblestone roadway outside my room, the sound of the speakers from the nearby mosque, and eventually the sun peaking through the window. Therefore, I was cleaned up and ready for the breakfast that came with my room by 6:30. It consisted of two fried eggs, a slice of feta cheese, toast, butter, jam, tea, and coffee.
I carried my bag down the cobblestone part of the roadway toward the bus station. It wasn't so bad going downhill, but I still was getting breathless toward the bottom. From there, it rolled the rest of the way with no problem. I found the bus easily, put my bag underneath and went inside to take a seat. Only a few people were there, since it was still 50 minutes before departure. I started to take a seat behind a young boy sitting alone. He looked up at me, smiled, and patted the seat beside him, so I moved to it and shook hands with him. He was probably 7 years old. He took a photo of me on the bus with my camera, then he let me take one of him. We couldn't talk, but he looked at me and smiled often during the trip.
As I was sitting there, someone patted me on the shoulder and said, "Hello!" It was the Peace Corps Volunteer and his mother who had been at the table last night. They were taking the same bus so he could show her the ruins at Butrint south of Salanda. I will see them tomorrow, but they are making just a day trip there today. Again, we visited. They are going to Turkey and wanted to know what to do with the few days they will be there after they leave Istanbul, so I suggested that I thought going to see the ruins at Effesus would be the best. Then I suggested that they might want to go to Bodrum, too, if they still had time.
One of the things about Albania that I haven't written yet is that there are air-raid bunkers built all through the countryside here. Albania under communism was the "North Korea" of Europe--isolated on purpose and very fearful of others. Hardly any visitors were ever allowed into the country. The citizens were kept completely in the dark about what life was like in other countries. And the bunkers were built to protect the people from the capitalist, imperialist government of the United States! One Albanian who talked to me about this mentioned how poorly the people lived and how much better their lives could have been if the money spent on these bunkers had been spent on improving the living standards. Worst of all, the bunkers were not secure against an attack with atomic or hydrogen bombs, so they were really meaningless in terms of protection!
Saranda is a seaside resort. And this is the high season. Therefore, it was not easy to find a hotel at a reasonable price. Many are full. If rooms were available, they often had three beds making the owners want to charge a high price even though I am only one person. Eventually, I walked away from town a few blocks and found a very clean place for only 20 Euros ($28) per night. It is not as nice as the other places where I have been, but that is only because it has no TV and because the bath, although private for my use only, is across the hallway. I can tolerate that. The other rooms in town were one-half more to double that price. And it is a very clean room with a bed that feels firm and comfortable.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009
Enjoying Albania!
Saturday, July 18, 2009--Thessaloniki (Continued)
Although it was hot outside, I wanted to see the Contemporary Art Museum. Therefore, I walked to it taking the shady sides of the streets. The museum itself is rather large and quite nice. All of the works are by Greek artists, and I found some of them personally interesting.
Across the street was a small park where I sat and relaxed for an hour afterwards. I was hoping that the heat would dissipate before continuing, but that didn't seem to happen although it was already getting to be around 17:30.
From there, I walked further eastward. There is a promenade along the waterfront where many people go to watch the sunset. As I returned around 18:30, people were beginning to come out. But I could tell that the sunset was at least 2 or more hours away. I stopped to see the White Tower, one of the symbols of Thessaloniki and then headed toward my hotel.
Instead of eating out, I decided to stop at a supermarket and buy some things. I got a bottle of red wine recommended by a lady at the market, a huge slice of feta cheese, and a bag of big green olives. I went to the room and ate them while watching TV.
Sunday, July 19, 2009--Thessaloniki
The city rises up a hillside from the sea. It's a rather gentle rise close to the sea, but it gets quite steep further up. There is an area called Ano Poli that my guidebook says is an old neighborhood up the hillside with narrow, winding streets and interesting houses. I decided to go explore it. The best part was a small square that had 3-4 very quaint small restaurants with outdoor patios. But it was fun exploring. I saw people having breakfast on patios with views down the city to the sea, grapevine-covered patios, folk-art, etc. I stopped in one of the parks there and finished eating the half of my feta cheese and my olives that I had not eaten last night in my room. I had hoped to buy some bread to have with them, but bakeries do not operate on Sundays in Greece, I guess. I offered some of the feta cheese to a cat living in the park. Apparently cats don't like feta cheese, since she looked at it, sniffed, and walked away.
It's another HOT day. It isn't as bad as it was in India, but that's mainly because there are shady sides of streets. I think the temperature is probably just as high. Also, it is so much easier to walk here with sidewalks available and with cars stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks. I'm so glad I am not still in India. It was tonight (early tomorrow morning) that I was originally scheduled to fly from Delhi to Istanbul.
I finished reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovski today. It's set in World War II in France during the invasion and occupation by the Nazis. Although the author was Jewish and was deported and died in the camps, the book has nothing to do with that. She shows how the lives of the "ordinary" people were affected by the war and how they reacted. An interesting note is that this is a "discovered" novel--one that she wrote just before being deported and that her daughters thought was a journal that they just couldn't bear to read. It wasn't until the late 1900s/early 2000s that one of them opened it and discovered it was a novel. Nemirovski had been famous in France as a writer up to her death. The two appendices, showing her planning for the characters and documenting the communications between his husband and others to try to save her once she was deported, were almost as interesting as the novel itself. I gave the book 3 1/2 stars (out of 4).
I returned to the waterfront promenade late in the afternoon. I took the book mentioned above hoping to find someone speaking English who would like to have it. I seemed to be the only non-Greek around! I discovered another quaint area of restaurants near the warehouse district while exploring. It was too early for a restaurant, however, and I had not eaten all day. Therefore, I stopped at a gyro restaurant near my hotel and had a pork version for my dinner before going back to the room. I gave the book to the man in the lobby asking him to pass it onward to some guest who arrives from an English-speaking country. Maybe he will, or maybe he'll sell it!
Monday, July 20, 2009--Thessaloniki to Elbasan
A cool front arrived sometime during the night. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable and needed some cover! Too bad it didn't arrive earlier when I was exploring the city. Today is a travel day when I will be inside an air-conditioned bus!
I headed off to Albania with high stress levels. I was planning to stop in Korce just across the border so that I can go southward from there without going to the capital first. However, there is no map of that city and no information about hotels there in my guidebook.
There was an Albanian couple and their daughter sitting near me on the bus, and I heard them speaking English. I started talking to them and discovered that they had immigrated to Canada 9 years ago and live there now. They are here for two months to visit family this summer. As I told them my plans, they convinced me to change them. First, they said that the roads are not in good condition going southward from Korce and that I would have problems trying to get transportation that way. Instead, they suggested that I stay on the bus another 3 hours until we reached Elbasan. From there, they said it would be easy to go southward tomorrow. They asked the driver if I could pay extra and do that, and he agreed for a price of 4 Euros more.
It took us three hours to go through the border crossing!! Everyone was so frustrated. A bus arrived before us, so the one man processing bus people had to do them first. Then he started with us. That was only on the Greek side. A few meters further, we had to all line up again to go through the Albanian processing. Fortunately, the other bus had already proceeded beyond there by then.
It was 10 1/2 hours after leaving Thessaloniki that I arrived in Elbasan. Again, it was not in my guidebook, so I had to find my way. Fortunately, I got off at the bus station and could see a bus with the destination where I planned to go tomorrow. A young man working at a restaurant there spoke to me in English and confirmed that it would leave at 8:00 tomorrow morning.
I headed off looking first for a bank and then for a hotel. The bank came soon and there was no problem getting Albanian currency. But then It took 45 minutes to find a hotel. People would send me a direction and I would find nothing. Once, I found a hotel right in the center of town (where I had passed within a block earlier) only to discover that it was full. Eventually, I found a brand new hotel called the Hotel Grand. It had a room within my budget range that included breakfast, a/c, refrigerator, cable TV, etc. I was surprised, since it looked like it would be more expensive than it was. I took the room and left immediately.
While searching for a hotel, I had noticed people walking toward town from all directions. As I retraced the route to the bus station to make sure I would know it tomorrow morning and would know how long it would take me to walk it, I started hearing loud music. So after confirming the route and time to the station, I went to the center of town to discover a stage was set for a concert in front of the old fortification walls and clock tower of the city. There were 3 TV cameras (including one on a swinging boom), lots of lights, and a big crowd gathered. Although I had not eaten anything but 8 cherries given to me by the Canadians all day, I decided I should stay and see part of the concert before finding food. It started about half an hour later. It had one Albanian act after another doing just one song each. The crowd was enthusiastic. Groups of men made circles and danced to the music. All of the songs sounded to me like Turkish music. I enjoyed it and the feeling of being in a happy and excited crowd. But after about eight acts, I slowly made my way to the back of the crowd and left.
My dinner was Albanian fast food--the equivalent of the Greek gyro, but different. I was served a headed piece of flat bread that was covered with mayonnaise, tomatoes, pickles, sliced chicken, French fries, melted cheese, and ketchup. It was already 21:45 when I ordered, so I headed back to the room afterwards.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009--Elbasan to Berat
I slept well. Everything was new in the hotel, including the wonderful mattress on the bed. I hated to leave such luxury, but I had to.
I was downstairs at 7:00 when breakfast started. It was nicer than I expected--omelette, slices of tomato and cucumber, feta cheese, and toasted bread. For some reason, my coffee and water which everyone else was getting never arrived. I didn't have time to ask for it, since I needed to get to the bus station.
It's fun to be in a new country. So far everyone has tried to be helpful even if they don't speak English. And I am enjoying the challenges of being here and having to find my way with so few people speaking English. It helps greatly that Albania uses the western alphabet, though. It will be more difficult in the countries I will visit soon that all use the Cyrillic alphabet.
I was at the bus station at 7:45 and got a good seat. We left promptly at 8:00. It is nice seeing the countryside here. This is a very agricultural country. Everyone has gardens, orchards, vineyards, etc. In fact, it's very common for the entire front yard of a home to be a vineyard or a combination of a vineyard and a vegetable garden. Many people have stands on the roadside to sell tomatoes, watermelons, peaches, and the other items that are fresh now. On the roads, there are often horse carts traveling, since this is still a poor country and not everyone has a car. The roads, too, are poor except for a couple of main highways. The route today was over a twisting, rough road that was often only about 1 1/2 lanes wide.
I found a hotel immediately here. It wasn't the one I wanted to fine, but my guidebook was not clear enough about its location. This one is clean, has a/c, is convenient to the station, and is only half the price of the one where I stayed last night.
The main attraction here in Berat is its citadel which is an old fortress with nice old white stone houses and several small churches inside. The weather is HOT again, so it was a difficult walk to the top of the mountain to see it. After exploring there, I went to the Ethnographic Museum which is the former home (from the 1700s) of a wealthy resident that is now a museum. I really liked exploring it, and would have enjoyed staying there rather than in a hotel.
It was 13:00 by then and the day was getting too hot to be outside. I stopped at a fruit stand and bought two large peaches to take back to my room. They were dripping with juice and were so delicious. After watching CNN briefly (It sure isn't as good as BBC World anymore), I fell asleep and had a DEEP nap for about 1 1/2 hours.
Although it was hot outside, I wanted to see the Contemporary Art Museum. Therefore, I walked to it taking the shady sides of the streets. The museum itself is rather large and quite nice. All of the works are by Greek artists, and I found some of them personally interesting.
Across the street was a small park where I sat and relaxed for an hour afterwards. I was hoping that the heat would dissipate before continuing, but that didn't seem to happen although it was already getting to be around 17:30.
From there, I walked further eastward. There is a promenade along the waterfront where many people go to watch the sunset. As I returned around 18:30, people were beginning to come out. But I could tell that the sunset was at least 2 or more hours away. I stopped to see the White Tower, one of the symbols of Thessaloniki and then headed toward my hotel.
Instead of eating out, I decided to stop at a supermarket and buy some things. I got a bottle of red wine recommended by a lady at the market, a huge slice of feta cheese, and a bag of big green olives. I went to the room and ate them while watching TV.
Sunday, July 19, 2009--Thessaloniki
The city rises up a hillside from the sea. It's a rather gentle rise close to the sea, but it gets quite steep further up. There is an area called Ano Poli that my guidebook says is an old neighborhood up the hillside with narrow, winding streets and interesting houses. I decided to go explore it. The best part was a small square that had 3-4 very quaint small restaurants with outdoor patios. But it was fun exploring. I saw people having breakfast on patios with views down the city to the sea, grapevine-covered patios, folk-art, etc. I stopped in one of the parks there and finished eating the half of my feta cheese and my olives that I had not eaten last night in my room. I had hoped to buy some bread to have with them, but bakeries do not operate on Sundays in Greece, I guess. I offered some of the feta cheese to a cat living in the park. Apparently cats don't like feta cheese, since she looked at it, sniffed, and walked away.
It's another HOT day. It isn't as bad as it was in India, but that's mainly because there are shady sides of streets. I think the temperature is probably just as high. Also, it is so much easier to walk here with sidewalks available and with cars stopping for pedestrians at crosswalks. I'm so glad I am not still in India. It was tonight (early tomorrow morning) that I was originally scheduled to fly from Delhi to Istanbul.
I finished reading Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovski today. It's set in World War II in France during the invasion and occupation by the Nazis. Although the author was Jewish and was deported and died in the camps, the book has nothing to do with that. She shows how the lives of the "ordinary" people were affected by the war and how they reacted. An interesting note is that this is a "discovered" novel--one that she wrote just before being deported and that her daughters thought was a journal that they just couldn't bear to read. It wasn't until the late 1900s/early 2000s that one of them opened it and discovered it was a novel. Nemirovski had been famous in France as a writer up to her death. The two appendices, showing her planning for the characters and documenting the communications between his husband and others to try to save her once she was deported, were almost as interesting as the novel itself. I gave the book 3 1/2 stars (out of 4).
I returned to the waterfront promenade late in the afternoon. I took the book mentioned above hoping to find someone speaking English who would like to have it. I seemed to be the only non-Greek around! I discovered another quaint area of restaurants near the warehouse district while exploring. It was too early for a restaurant, however, and I had not eaten all day. Therefore, I stopped at a gyro restaurant near my hotel and had a pork version for my dinner before going back to the room. I gave the book to the man in the lobby asking him to pass it onward to some guest who arrives from an English-speaking country. Maybe he will, or maybe he'll sell it!
Monday, July 20, 2009--Thessaloniki to Elbasan
A cool front arrived sometime during the night. I actually felt a bit uncomfortable and needed some cover! Too bad it didn't arrive earlier when I was exploring the city. Today is a travel day when I will be inside an air-conditioned bus!
I headed off to Albania with high stress levels. I was planning to stop in Korce just across the border so that I can go southward from there without going to the capital first. However, there is no map of that city and no information about hotels there in my guidebook.
There was an Albanian couple and their daughter sitting near me on the bus, and I heard them speaking English. I started talking to them and discovered that they had immigrated to Canada 9 years ago and live there now. They are here for two months to visit family this summer. As I told them my plans, they convinced me to change them. First, they said that the roads are not in good condition going southward from Korce and that I would have problems trying to get transportation that way. Instead, they suggested that I stay on the bus another 3 hours until we reached Elbasan. From there, they said it would be easy to go southward tomorrow. They asked the driver if I could pay extra and do that, and he agreed for a price of 4 Euros more.
It took us three hours to go through the border crossing!! Everyone was so frustrated. A bus arrived before us, so the one man processing bus people had to do them first. Then he started with us. That was only on the Greek side. A few meters further, we had to all line up again to go through the Albanian processing. Fortunately, the other bus had already proceeded beyond there by then.
It was 10 1/2 hours after leaving Thessaloniki that I arrived in Elbasan. Again, it was not in my guidebook, so I had to find my way. Fortunately, I got off at the bus station and could see a bus with the destination where I planned to go tomorrow. A young man working at a restaurant there spoke to me in English and confirmed that it would leave at 8:00 tomorrow morning.
I headed off looking first for a bank and then for a hotel. The bank came soon and there was no problem getting Albanian currency. But then It took 45 minutes to find a hotel. People would send me a direction and I would find nothing. Once, I found a hotel right in the center of town (where I had passed within a block earlier) only to discover that it was full. Eventually, I found a brand new hotel called the Hotel Grand. It had a room within my budget range that included breakfast, a/c, refrigerator, cable TV, etc. I was surprised, since it looked like it would be more expensive than it was. I took the room and left immediately.
While searching for a hotel, I had noticed people walking toward town from all directions. As I retraced the route to the bus station to make sure I would know it tomorrow morning and would know how long it would take me to walk it, I started hearing loud music. So after confirming the route and time to the station, I went to the center of town to discover a stage was set for a concert in front of the old fortification walls and clock tower of the city. There were 3 TV cameras (including one on a swinging boom), lots of lights, and a big crowd gathered. Although I had not eaten anything but 8 cherries given to me by the Canadians all day, I decided I should stay and see part of the concert before finding food. It started about half an hour later. It had one Albanian act after another doing just one song each. The crowd was enthusiastic. Groups of men made circles and danced to the music. All of the songs sounded to me like Turkish music. I enjoyed it and the feeling of being in a happy and excited crowd. But after about eight acts, I slowly made my way to the back of the crowd and left.
My dinner was Albanian fast food--the equivalent of the Greek gyro, but different. I was served a headed piece of flat bread that was covered with mayonnaise, tomatoes, pickles, sliced chicken, French fries, melted cheese, and ketchup. It was already 21:45 when I ordered, so I headed back to the room afterwards.
Tuesday, July 21, 2009--Elbasan to Berat
I slept well. Everything was new in the hotel, including the wonderful mattress on the bed. I hated to leave such luxury, but I had to.
I was downstairs at 7:00 when breakfast started. It was nicer than I expected--omelette, slices of tomato and cucumber, feta cheese, and toasted bread. For some reason, my coffee and water which everyone else was getting never arrived. I didn't have time to ask for it, since I needed to get to the bus station.
It's fun to be in a new country. So far everyone has tried to be helpful even if they don't speak English. And I am enjoying the challenges of being here and having to find my way with so few people speaking English. It helps greatly that Albania uses the western alphabet, though. It will be more difficult in the countries I will visit soon that all use the Cyrillic alphabet.
I was at the bus station at 7:45 and got a good seat. We left promptly at 8:00. It is nice seeing the countryside here. This is a very agricultural country. Everyone has gardens, orchards, vineyards, etc. In fact, it's very common for the entire front yard of a home to be a vineyard or a combination of a vineyard and a vegetable garden. Many people have stands on the roadside to sell tomatoes, watermelons, peaches, and the other items that are fresh now. On the roads, there are often horse carts traveling, since this is still a poor country and not everyone has a car. The roads, too, are poor except for a couple of main highways. The route today was over a twisting, rough road that was often only about 1 1/2 lanes wide.
I found a hotel immediately here. It wasn't the one I wanted to fine, but my guidebook was not clear enough about its location. This one is clean, has a/c, is convenient to the station, and is only half the price of the one where I stayed last night.
The main attraction here in Berat is its citadel which is an old fortress with nice old white stone houses and several small churches inside. The weather is HOT again, so it was a difficult walk to the top of the mountain to see it. After exploring there, I went to the Ethnographic Museum which is the former home (from the 1700s) of a wealthy resident that is now a museum. I really liked exploring it, and would have enjoyed staying there rather than in a hotel.
It was 13:00 by then and the day was getting too hot to be outside. I stopped at a fruit stand and bought two large peaches to take back to my room. They were dripping with juice and were so delicious. After watching CNN briefly (It sure isn't as good as BBC World anymore), I fell asleep and had a DEEP nap for about 1 1/2 hours.
Saturday, July 18, 2009
Northern Greece
Thursday, July 16,2009--Delhi to Istanbul
I was at the airport at 1:00 and checked in for my flight. Unfortunately, many of the flights from India are in the late night/early morning hours.
While waiting for the flight, I finished reading The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates. It is a very good story about a woman who reinvents herself tobe able to escape her past and be able to continue to exist. I gave it 3 1/2 stars out of 4.
The flight was smooth. I slept about 2 1/2 hours. One Indian man near me was typically "Indian" when they brought the health form required by Turkey. It was more complicated than normal, but still, this man was unreasonable. He was refusing to complete it even when told all he had to give was his name, address, and telephone number. I am sure he thought he was too important to have to do such a thing. He was told he would have to stay on the plane and return to India when they landed if he didn't complete it! Yeah for Turkish Airlines!!!
I've noticed more and more people breaking the rules about the use of electronics on planes, too. My neighbor turned toward the wall and hunched his back so no one could see what he was doing. I could see a flash of light. I am sure he was checking his text messages. Then he went to the toilet and stayed about 15 minutes, probably to respond!
Today turned out to be a lucky one for me. Everything fell into place. We arrived in Istanbul (where, I had forgotten, they have the slowest and most disorganized passport control area I have ever encountered). I took the metro to the train station hoping I could get a ticket for the night train to Thessaloniki. And I did!!
I stayed at the train station all day. I read one of my books. I watched people. I bought a sesame seed bread ring and ate it with some leftover butter and jam from the plane. I bought a pita sandwich with dried beef in it for dinner. By the end of the day, I had used all my Turkish money that had been left from last year, and I didn't have to get any extra.
I boarded the train at 20:30 ahead of its departure at 21:00. I met my neighbors--an older couple from Scotland, a young Greek lady named Athena, and two young students (guys) from Kolding in Denmark. I visited with all of them until time for bed. I had my own compartment. It had a small sofa, a sink for shaving/cleaning, and a bed overhead. It was quite cozy and comfortable.
Friday, July 17, 2009--On the Train and in Thessaloniki
We stopped at the border early in the morning where they checked passports and also our luggage. I was sound asleep when they knocked loudly on my door. I jumped hitting my head against a corner or a protruding screw. It cut my forehead about 2.5cm (1 inch). The Scottish lady had a tissue with disinfectant in it which she gave me. It cleaned the cut which soon clotted and dried.
The train arrived at 10:00. I got a map from the Tourist Office. Then Athena, the Greek lady traveling with me made phone calls to see about availability at the hotels I had chosen. My first choice, a really nice looking place overlooking the old theater ruins was full. My second choice was cheaper and available. It's a simple room, but it has a balcony, a TV, ceiling fan, private bath, and clean linens for $40 per night--cheap in the EU.
I went out exploring town. I saw the Agia Sofia Church, the Photography Museum, and a special exhibit called Biennial 2 which consisted of several multimedia art projects.
A block from the museums, I walked to the door of a gallery and glanced inside. The owner came to the door and insisted that I come inside. He (Vangelis) and I started talking and just couldn't seem to stop. We talked about my travels, his architectural designs, the art in the gallery, etc. He encouraged me to make my own art for the walls in my house. Two hours later, his partner in the gallery and brother, Socrates, arrived. We continued to visit and had juice while doing so. I had been there three hours when I left. It was pure pleasure--talking, talking, talking. I always wish, when I meet people like this, that they lived in San Antonio so we could become friends.
Then a real coincidence occurred. Within 15 minutes of leaving the gallery and as I was walking down a shopping street, there was Athena from the train! We kissed hello and expressed our surprise of seeing each other. She was cleaned up and out for coffee and shopping. We visited briefly and then parted again.
It was after 17:00, and I had not eaten all day. I went to a small place and had a gyro sandwich stuffed with juicy chunks of chicken.
Back at the hotel, I was so tired that I went to bed early (around 20:00).
Saturday, July 18, 2009--Thessaloniki
I was awake early, so I went to explore the bus services. I had read I could catch a bus from here to Korce in Albania. Sure enough, there is a bus service that runs from across the street from the train station. I bought a ticket for the 9:00 bus on Monday.
Returning to the hotel, I explored my neighborhood and went to see some ruins and another old church. I stopped at a bakery and bought a slice of spinach pie made with filo dough. It was warm, and I walked and ate while exploring.
The rest of the morning, I read and I napped some. When afternoon came, I went out to find a cyber cafe. It's not so easy to do in wealthier countries like this. The one near my hotel I had found was closed. Finally, about 10 blocks away, a man in a computer shop marked the locations of three cafes for me, and I came here to the nearest one.
I was at the airport at 1:00 and checked in for my flight. Unfortunately, many of the flights from India are in the late night/early morning hours.
While waiting for the flight, I finished reading The Gravedigger's Daughter by Joyce Carol Oates. It is a very good story about a woman who reinvents herself tobe able to escape her past and be able to continue to exist. I gave it 3 1/2 stars out of 4.
The flight was smooth. I slept about 2 1/2 hours. One Indian man near me was typically "Indian" when they brought the health form required by Turkey. It was more complicated than normal, but still, this man was unreasonable. He was refusing to complete it even when told all he had to give was his name, address, and telephone number. I am sure he thought he was too important to have to do such a thing. He was told he would have to stay on the plane and return to India when they landed if he didn't complete it! Yeah for Turkish Airlines!!!
I've noticed more and more people breaking the rules about the use of electronics on planes, too. My neighbor turned toward the wall and hunched his back so no one could see what he was doing. I could see a flash of light. I am sure he was checking his text messages. Then he went to the toilet and stayed about 15 minutes, probably to respond!
Today turned out to be a lucky one for me. Everything fell into place. We arrived in Istanbul (where, I had forgotten, they have the slowest and most disorganized passport control area I have ever encountered). I took the metro to the train station hoping I could get a ticket for the night train to Thessaloniki. And I did!!
I stayed at the train station all day. I read one of my books. I watched people. I bought a sesame seed bread ring and ate it with some leftover butter and jam from the plane. I bought a pita sandwich with dried beef in it for dinner. By the end of the day, I had used all my Turkish money that had been left from last year, and I didn't have to get any extra.
I boarded the train at 20:30 ahead of its departure at 21:00. I met my neighbors--an older couple from Scotland, a young Greek lady named Athena, and two young students (guys) from Kolding in Denmark. I visited with all of them until time for bed. I had my own compartment. It had a small sofa, a sink for shaving/cleaning, and a bed overhead. It was quite cozy and comfortable.
Friday, July 17, 2009--On the Train and in Thessaloniki
We stopped at the border early in the morning where they checked passports and also our luggage. I was sound asleep when they knocked loudly on my door. I jumped hitting my head against a corner or a protruding screw. It cut my forehead about 2.5cm (1 inch). The Scottish lady had a tissue with disinfectant in it which she gave me. It cleaned the cut which soon clotted and dried.
The train arrived at 10:00. I got a map from the Tourist Office. Then Athena, the Greek lady traveling with me made phone calls to see about availability at the hotels I had chosen. My first choice, a really nice looking place overlooking the old theater ruins was full. My second choice was cheaper and available. It's a simple room, but it has a balcony, a TV, ceiling fan, private bath, and clean linens for $40 per night--cheap in the EU.
I went out exploring town. I saw the Agia Sofia Church, the Photography Museum, and a special exhibit called Biennial 2 which consisted of several multimedia art projects.
A block from the museums, I walked to the door of a gallery and glanced inside. The owner came to the door and insisted that I come inside. He (Vangelis) and I started talking and just couldn't seem to stop. We talked about my travels, his architectural designs, the art in the gallery, etc. He encouraged me to make my own art for the walls in my house. Two hours later, his partner in the gallery and brother, Socrates, arrived. We continued to visit and had juice while doing so. I had been there three hours when I left. It was pure pleasure--talking, talking, talking. I always wish, when I meet people like this, that they lived in San Antonio so we could become friends.
Then a real coincidence occurred. Within 15 minutes of leaving the gallery and as I was walking down a shopping street, there was Athena from the train! We kissed hello and expressed our surprise of seeing each other. She was cleaned up and out for coffee and shopping. We visited briefly and then parted again.
It was after 17:00, and I had not eaten all day. I went to a small place and had a gyro sandwich stuffed with juicy chunks of chicken.
Back at the hotel, I was so tired that I went to bed early (around 20:00).
Saturday, July 18, 2009--Thessaloniki
I was awake early, so I went to explore the bus services. I had read I could catch a bus from here to Korce in Albania. Sure enough, there is a bus service that runs from across the street from the train station. I bought a ticket for the 9:00 bus on Monday.
Returning to the hotel, I explored my neighborhood and went to see some ruins and another old church. I stopped at a bakery and bought a slice of spinach pie made with filo dough. It was warm, and I walked and ate while exploring.
The rest of the morning, I read and I napped some. When afternoon came, I went out to find a cyber cafe. It's not so easy to do in wealthier countries like this. The one near my hotel I had found was closed. Finally, about 10 blocks away, a man in a computer shop marked the locations of three cafes for me, and I came here to the nearest one.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
A Change in Plans
Sunday, July 12, 2009--Dharamsala
This town is full of tourists. It is probably nicer (quieter) on weekdays, because many of the tourists are Indians who are here. It is difficult walking anywhere due to the number of people and cars in the streets.
The weather is damp with occasional rain or drizzle. Mostly, however, it is just damp feeling air. And the air is cool--sooooo cool in comparison to what it was like in Amritsar and Agra!
I am spending most of my time relaxing. I am reading a lot while sitting on my balcony looking toward the mountains. I also go inside and watch the news on BBC a couple of times a day. And almost every afternoon, I nap for a little while. It is nice to be lazy! Around noon each day, I go into town to walk a bit and to find a place to have lunch. Today, I had vegetable momos (dumplings)in soup and drank lassi for my lunch.
The Internet connection here in town is slow and frustrating. But I have found no one who can tell me of a better place. Therefore, I am just avoiding being online while here.
I returned to The Chocolate Log today for more dessert and a coffee. This time I tried the eggless chocolate cake. That was my father's favorite dessert, and my mother cooked it for his birthday each year. The version here was very good.
It turned into Momo Day for me. I had another style of them for my dinner. This time, I had spinach-cheese momos. They were so rich that I could barely finish them!
Monday, July 13, 2009--Dharamsala
I walked on trails through the mountains this morning. I stopped at two monasteries, including the big one that is the center for Tibetan Buddhism here in India. There are monks everywhere here in Dharamsala, and many of them are older and rounded so that they resemble the Dalai Lama.
I ate dumplings again. This time, I bought them on the street from a Tibetan lady. She had a hot sauce she had been spooning on them. When she served mine, however, she just put a drop of the hot sauce on each dumpling. She assumed I was the typical tourist who does not like spicy food. I asked for more, and I ate every bite of the momos and the sauce. Ummmm. But my lips and my tongue were tingling! Before returning to the room, I stopped at a bakery and bought a cinnamon roll to eat while strolling down the street.
I spent the rest of the day in my guest house doing the things I have been doing each day. In the evening, I went upstairs and ordered mixed vegetables in curry along with two chapatis and a lassi. I ate that while visiting with a nice Australian student of cultural anthropology. He has been traveling for 1 1/2 years. Now he is returning to the university to finish his studies and says he has a better idea of what he wants to do with the degree after having traveled so much.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009--Dharamsala to Chandigarh
I was up at 6:20, caught a local shared jeep to Lower Dharamsala, and took a bus from there to Chandigarh leaving at 8:30. A nice Tibetan student was taking the bus, too, and we visited while we waited. He is studying computer science at the university in Chandigarh.
I turned into a terrible day:
1. The bus ride was difficult. There were poor roads that were often one-lane and very rough. The roads twisted and winded as we were coming down the mountains. At one point, I could see a bus from Delhi that had run off the road and tumbled over at least twice before landing on its crushed roof. People had to have died in that crash, I think.
2. There was lots of rain. It just kept coming, and coming hard. The windshield wiper either didn't work or was not being used by the driver. (Indians often "save" their windshield wipers and their lights and drive without them.)
3. When I arrived in Chandigarh, I had problems finding a place to stay. There were no decent hotels at a reasonable price. First, the bus stand was far out of town. The cycle rickshaw driver quoted me a price to go to one hotel, then he was upset and wanted more when we got there and fussed when I only gave him 8% more. (He had wanted 33% more.) Then that hotel was twice what I had read it would be and twice what my upper limit usually is for hotels in India. They sent me four LONG blocks away to another place walking. It had no private rooms available. In the area, I checked with 3 other hotels that all wanted about 3 times what I normally pay elsewhere in India for similar rooms. I had intended to stay in this city for 4 nights! I finally found an inexpensive place, but I had to pay 400 rupees for it, and it was of a quality of a place that should have been 150 rupees. I am not sure that the sheets were clean. The mattresses were definitely worn. When I went into the bath at night, there were small cockroaches that ran when I turned on the light. And the room was stifling even though I had the ceiling fan on high. I slept on top of the sheets in my clothes and used my backpack as a pillow rather than use the pillows that looked dirty.
I went to the inner-city bus station and discovered they have buses leaving there for Delhi every few minutes day and night. So before going to bed, I decided I would sleep in the bad room and leave early. While out, I bought some street food--a spicy mixture of onions, tomatoes, and garbonza beans. It was delicious and satisfied me for the evening.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009--Chandigarh to Delhi
I awoke at 5:30 and checked out of the horrible hotel. I caught a bus at 6:00 for Delhi. It was a difficult ride, because the driver would not allow luggage to be stacked to the side at the front as other bus drivers do. I had to keep my bag in the aisle beside me. That meant I had to worry the whole trip about people having to step over and around it.
After that, however, everything seemed to go my way:
1. When we exited for the bus stand here in Delhi, some people got up to exit. I did, too. But when we stepped off, we had not stopped at the bus stand, and I was not sure where the bus stand would be. But there were auto-rickshaws and a fixed-price stand selling prepaid tickets. It was only 105 rupees to go all the way to my hotel from there. And it was about a 45-minute ride. I doubt if it would have been so easy from the bus stand!
2. My hotel where I stayed before (clean, cool, and convenient) had a room available, so I checked in. I took a shower and shaved.
3. I stopped by my usual restaurant and had a great lunch of beans and lentils with chapati and a lassi.
4. I went to the Turkish Airlines office to see if I could take the flight tonight rather than wait until Sunday. There were seats available, so my ticket was changed and I was assigned a very good seat on the flight.
5. Now I am at the Internet Cafe catching up on everything. It's a good connection, and the power is on!
When I leave here, I will go back to my room. I'll watch the news and sleep until midnight. Then I will leave for the airport around 00:30. My flight to Istanbul will leave at 04:20. Tomorrow morning, I will be in Europe instead of India. In fact, this is probably the last time I will ever be in India since the cost of the visa is high and my interest in the country has continued to wear down year after year. I like the people as individuals and I like the food. But I greatly dislike much of their society and culture.
This change in schedule will give me 4 extra days in eastern Europe to visit the countries I will see there. That will probably work to my advantage. Of course, they will be more expensive days than they would have been here in India, but they should be happier days, too. I will still arrive in Copenhagen as scheduled on Sept. 3.
Future Updates: I am not sure how easy it will be to get onto computers in the countries I will be visiting for the next 7 weeks. If I go 5-6 days with no entries, don't worry. It will just mean that cyber cafes are unavailable or are priced so high that I want to just wait.
This town is full of tourists. It is probably nicer (quieter) on weekdays, because many of the tourists are Indians who are here. It is difficult walking anywhere due to the number of people and cars in the streets.
The weather is damp with occasional rain or drizzle. Mostly, however, it is just damp feeling air. And the air is cool--sooooo cool in comparison to what it was like in Amritsar and Agra!
I am spending most of my time relaxing. I am reading a lot while sitting on my balcony looking toward the mountains. I also go inside and watch the news on BBC a couple of times a day. And almost every afternoon, I nap for a little while. It is nice to be lazy! Around noon each day, I go into town to walk a bit and to find a place to have lunch. Today, I had vegetable momos (dumplings)in soup and drank lassi for my lunch.
The Internet connection here in town is slow and frustrating. But I have found no one who can tell me of a better place. Therefore, I am just avoiding being online while here.
I returned to The Chocolate Log today for more dessert and a coffee. This time I tried the eggless chocolate cake. That was my father's favorite dessert, and my mother cooked it for his birthday each year. The version here was very good.
It turned into Momo Day for me. I had another style of them for my dinner. This time, I had spinach-cheese momos. They were so rich that I could barely finish them!
Monday, July 13, 2009--Dharamsala
I walked on trails through the mountains this morning. I stopped at two monasteries, including the big one that is the center for Tibetan Buddhism here in India. There are monks everywhere here in Dharamsala, and many of them are older and rounded so that they resemble the Dalai Lama.
I ate dumplings again. This time, I bought them on the street from a Tibetan lady. She had a hot sauce she had been spooning on them. When she served mine, however, she just put a drop of the hot sauce on each dumpling. She assumed I was the typical tourist who does not like spicy food. I asked for more, and I ate every bite of the momos and the sauce. Ummmm. But my lips and my tongue were tingling! Before returning to the room, I stopped at a bakery and bought a cinnamon roll to eat while strolling down the street.
I spent the rest of the day in my guest house doing the things I have been doing each day. In the evening, I went upstairs and ordered mixed vegetables in curry along with two chapatis and a lassi. I ate that while visiting with a nice Australian student of cultural anthropology. He has been traveling for 1 1/2 years. Now he is returning to the university to finish his studies and says he has a better idea of what he wants to do with the degree after having traveled so much.
Tuesday, July 14, 2009--Dharamsala to Chandigarh
I was up at 6:20, caught a local shared jeep to Lower Dharamsala, and took a bus from there to Chandigarh leaving at 8:30. A nice Tibetan student was taking the bus, too, and we visited while we waited. He is studying computer science at the university in Chandigarh.
I turned into a terrible day:
1. The bus ride was difficult. There were poor roads that were often one-lane and very rough. The roads twisted and winded as we were coming down the mountains. At one point, I could see a bus from Delhi that had run off the road and tumbled over at least twice before landing on its crushed roof. People had to have died in that crash, I think.
2. There was lots of rain. It just kept coming, and coming hard. The windshield wiper either didn't work or was not being used by the driver. (Indians often "save" their windshield wipers and their lights and drive without them.)
3. When I arrived in Chandigarh, I had problems finding a place to stay. There were no decent hotels at a reasonable price. First, the bus stand was far out of town. The cycle rickshaw driver quoted me a price to go to one hotel, then he was upset and wanted more when we got there and fussed when I only gave him 8% more. (He had wanted 33% more.) Then that hotel was twice what I had read it would be and twice what my upper limit usually is for hotels in India. They sent me four LONG blocks away to another place walking. It had no private rooms available. In the area, I checked with 3 other hotels that all wanted about 3 times what I normally pay elsewhere in India for similar rooms. I had intended to stay in this city for 4 nights! I finally found an inexpensive place, but I had to pay 400 rupees for it, and it was of a quality of a place that should have been 150 rupees. I am not sure that the sheets were clean. The mattresses were definitely worn. When I went into the bath at night, there were small cockroaches that ran when I turned on the light. And the room was stifling even though I had the ceiling fan on high. I slept on top of the sheets in my clothes and used my backpack as a pillow rather than use the pillows that looked dirty.
I went to the inner-city bus station and discovered they have buses leaving there for Delhi every few minutes day and night. So before going to bed, I decided I would sleep in the bad room and leave early. While out, I bought some street food--a spicy mixture of onions, tomatoes, and garbonza beans. It was delicious and satisfied me for the evening.
Wednesday, July 15, 2009--Chandigarh to Delhi
I awoke at 5:30 and checked out of the horrible hotel. I caught a bus at 6:00 for Delhi. It was a difficult ride, because the driver would not allow luggage to be stacked to the side at the front as other bus drivers do. I had to keep my bag in the aisle beside me. That meant I had to worry the whole trip about people having to step over and around it.
After that, however, everything seemed to go my way:
1. When we exited for the bus stand here in Delhi, some people got up to exit. I did, too. But when we stepped off, we had not stopped at the bus stand, and I was not sure where the bus stand would be. But there were auto-rickshaws and a fixed-price stand selling prepaid tickets. It was only 105 rupees to go all the way to my hotel from there. And it was about a 45-minute ride. I doubt if it would have been so easy from the bus stand!
2. My hotel where I stayed before (clean, cool, and convenient) had a room available, so I checked in. I took a shower and shaved.
3. I stopped by my usual restaurant and had a great lunch of beans and lentils with chapati and a lassi.
4. I went to the Turkish Airlines office to see if I could take the flight tonight rather than wait until Sunday. There were seats available, so my ticket was changed and I was assigned a very good seat on the flight.
5. Now I am at the Internet Cafe catching up on everything. It's a good connection, and the power is on!
When I leave here, I will go back to my room. I'll watch the news and sleep until midnight. Then I will leave for the airport around 00:30. My flight to Istanbul will leave at 04:20. Tomorrow morning, I will be in Europe instead of India. In fact, this is probably the last time I will ever be in India since the cost of the visa is high and my interest in the country has continued to wear down year after year. I like the people as individuals and I like the food. But I greatly dislike much of their society and culture.
This change in schedule will give me 4 extra days in eastern Europe to visit the countries I will see there. That will probably work to my advantage. Of course, they will be more expensive days than they would have been here in India, but they should be happier days, too. I will still arrive in Copenhagen as scheduled on Sept. 3.
Future Updates: I am not sure how easy it will be to get onto computers in the countries I will be visiting for the next 7 weeks. If I go 5-6 days with no entries, don't worry. It will just mean that cyber cafes are unavailable or are priced so high that I want to just wait.
Sunday, July 12, 2009
Home of the Dalai Lama
Friday, July 7, 2009--Amritsar to Dharamsala
Most of today was a travel day. But before leaving, I returned to the restaurant where I had lunch yesterday and repeated the same lunch of alou walla kulcha. UMMMMM! I also walked through a park near the restaurant where many Indians were gunned down by the British in the early 1900s while they were protesting a new law. They had been trapped within a small confine and were shot inside and as they tried to escape from the one small passageway that would go there.
I left the hotel at 10:45 and hired a cycle rickshaw to take me and my luggage to the Bus Stand. I felt sorry for the young, skinny guy and he bicycled through town pulling me and my bags in the attached cart. He was pleased and showed a big smile when I paid him a bit more than we had agreed on the price.
It was a HOT day again after the one mild day we had yesterday. Waiting at the platform for the bus was not too bad, but we had to get on the bus early to reserve our preferred seats. And on the bus it was miserably hot. I pulled out my Japanese hand fan which I have carried with me since being given it on the street on my first ATW trip 10 years ago.
There was a nice young Spaniard from Barcelona on the bus who visited with me for a while. There was also a young woman from Hungary who sat with me and visited for about half the trip. It helped pass the time. The 7-hour trip was exhausting, however, with seats that could have used a bit more padding!
I lucked out. The hotel I had chosen (Pink House) in McLeodganj (the upper part of Dharamsala) had a room available that was clean and large with cable TV, hot water, and private balcony overlooking the Himalayas. The price was good, too--$6.27 per day. The only problem is that it is not on a street. It is down a long stairway on the mountainside. I dread carrying my luggage back up that stairway on the day that I leave!
The air here in the mountains is clear and cool. It was already 19:45 when I got checked into my room, so I just went to the rooftop restaurant of my hotel and had a dish of fried rice with vegetables and a lassi to drink for my dinner. A young Korean couple was on the roof and we began visiting. I told them I had been to their country twice.
Saturday, July 11, 2009--Dharamsala
Happy Birthday to me!
I slept late. Even then, I continued to doze off and on throughout the morning. In between, I relaxed and read. Finally, I washed some clothes and got dressed to go out for lunch around 13:00.
I went to a Tibetan restaurant for lunch, since this is the home of the exiled community who followed the Dalai Lama from Tibet after the Chinese invasion. I ate thupka, Tibetan noodle soup with cheese and vegetables. It was hot and delicious with many vegetables still at a crisp-tender stage. I drank a fresh lemon soda with it.
After walking the streets in town to explore some, I went to a dessert place near by hotel to celebrate my birthday. The woman said everything was made with butter, flour, and sugar there, and it was highly recommended in one of the guides I read. After looking over everything, I decided on a slice of walnut-date bread and two chocolate rum balls along with a cup of coffee. I sat on their rooftop terrace with a view of the mountains and enjoyed them while also visiting with the two Koreans I had met the night before and who just happened to already be at this place when I arrived today.
Most of the afternoon, I sat on my balcony and read. When evening came, I went upstairs to eat again. A Canadian woman in her 50s was there eating, and we visited. She has been here at the Pink House for 2 months studying to become certified as a yoga instructor. She is one of those persons who comes to India looking for meaning in life and loves the country. I can tell she is looking for ways to stay here for the rest of her life. I couldn't imagine doing that, myself. The restaurant does not serve beer, but she had bought a big one and shared a glass from it with me to celebrate my birthday.
Most of today was a travel day. But before leaving, I returned to the restaurant where I had lunch yesterday and repeated the same lunch of alou walla kulcha. UMMMMM! I also walked through a park near the restaurant where many Indians were gunned down by the British in the early 1900s while they were protesting a new law. They had been trapped within a small confine and were shot inside and as they tried to escape from the one small passageway that would go there.
I left the hotel at 10:45 and hired a cycle rickshaw to take me and my luggage to the Bus Stand. I felt sorry for the young, skinny guy and he bicycled through town pulling me and my bags in the attached cart. He was pleased and showed a big smile when I paid him a bit more than we had agreed on the price.
It was a HOT day again after the one mild day we had yesterday. Waiting at the platform for the bus was not too bad, but we had to get on the bus early to reserve our preferred seats. And on the bus it was miserably hot. I pulled out my Japanese hand fan which I have carried with me since being given it on the street on my first ATW trip 10 years ago.
There was a nice young Spaniard from Barcelona on the bus who visited with me for a while. There was also a young woman from Hungary who sat with me and visited for about half the trip. It helped pass the time. The 7-hour trip was exhausting, however, with seats that could have used a bit more padding!
I lucked out. The hotel I had chosen (Pink House) in McLeodganj (the upper part of Dharamsala) had a room available that was clean and large with cable TV, hot water, and private balcony overlooking the Himalayas. The price was good, too--$6.27 per day. The only problem is that it is not on a street. It is down a long stairway on the mountainside. I dread carrying my luggage back up that stairway on the day that I leave!
The air here in the mountains is clear and cool. It was already 19:45 when I got checked into my room, so I just went to the rooftop restaurant of my hotel and had a dish of fried rice with vegetables and a lassi to drink for my dinner. A young Korean couple was on the roof and we began visiting. I told them I had been to their country twice.
Saturday, July 11, 2009--Dharamsala
Happy Birthday to me!
I slept late. Even then, I continued to doze off and on throughout the morning. In between, I relaxed and read. Finally, I washed some clothes and got dressed to go out for lunch around 13:00.
I went to a Tibetan restaurant for lunch, since this is the home of the exiled community who followed the Dalai Lama from Tibet after the Chinese invasion. I ate thupka, Tibetan noodle soup with cheese and vegetables. It was hot and delicious with many vegetables still at a crisp-tender stage. I drank a fresh lemon soda with it.
After walking the streets in town to explore some, I went to a dessert place near by hotel to celebrate my birthday. The woman said everything was made with butter, flour, and sugar there, and it was highly recommended in one of the guides I read. After looking over everything, I decided on a slice of walnut-date bread and two chocolate rum balls along with a cup of coffee. I sat on their rooftop terrace with a view of the mountains and enjoyed them while also visiting with the two Koreans I had met the night before and who just happened to already be at this place when I arrived today.
Most of the afternoon, I sat on my balcony and read. When evening came, I went upstairs to eat again. A Canadian woman in her 50s was there eating, and we visited. She has been here at the Pink House for 2 months studying to become certified as a yoga instructor. She is one of those persons who comes to India looking for meaning in life and loves the country. I can tell she is looking for ways to stay here for the rest of her life. I couldn't imagine doing that, myself. The restaurant does not serve beer, but she had bought a big one and shared a glass from it with me to celebrate my birthday.
Thursday, July 09, 2009
The Golden Temple
Thursday, July 9, 2009--Amritsar
I went to the Golden Temple at 7:30 this morning. I should have made the effort to get up and be there at 4:00 when they have a great procession, but I was tired from the heat and the outing yesterday. I'll live without having seen the great procession at the temple. There's probably a video of it on YouTube if I really want to see it.
The weather was sunny and the temperature was still comfortable. I deposited my shoes at the booth at the side. I picked up one of the free bandanas to cover my head. After viewing the museum filled with lots of brutal paintings showing the torture and killing of many Sikhs due to their religious beliefs over the centuries, I entered the main compound.
There is a huge quadrangle. Surrounding it is a large white structure which houses the museum, the feeding rooms, the quarters where devotees can stay, etc. There is a walkway around the entire quadrangle. Everyone walks clockwise around this. Inside the walkway is a huge bathing pool for men. (Women have a separated private bathing pool.) Many men are in the pool which is considered a holy place to bath. They wear towels around themselves while in the pool or their underwear. In the very center of the bathing pool is the Golden Temple itself. It's the holiest site of the Sikh religion. It is an elegant and impressive building. Inside, there is a huge chandelier and musicians on the floor playing music all day. I'm sure there are special holy relics there, too. I entered with the crowd and walked through quickly just to see it. It was too crowded to try to stop and see specifics.
I could see clouds approaching as I waited in line to enter the temple. By the time I was out, it looked as if it would rain. Lightning was in the distance. By then, I had seen all that I really needed to see of the complex, so I rushed for the shoe stand. A windstorm hit about that time. Strong winds. I walked back to my hotel and found a surprise. The winds had been so strong that they had blown out the plate glass windows on the front of the hotel. The steps and the sidewalk were covered in shards of glass, and the employees where hitting at pieces still hanging within the framework to try to get them loose. No one could enter the hotel, so I left to go walking. It still wasn't raining. When I returned about 15 minutes later, they had cleared a small pathway so that people could enter or leave the building. Everyone passing by was gawking at the damage.
After two hours at the cyber cafe which fortunately had power today, I needed to check on transportation for tomorrow. I went to a travel agency, but they said I would need to go to the bus station for information about buses. I asked directions and headed that way. Along the way, I kept asking for directions to the "bus station." Everyone seemed confused and kept asking if I wanted the train station. Eventually, someone emphasized: Bus STAND, not bus station. After that, it was easy to get directions and find it. There is only one bus to Dharamsala per day, and it leaves at 12:10 with no advance reservations taken. They told me to be at the station at 11:30 and that the bus would be somewhere in Platforms 21-23.
I ate a fantastic lunch. I had seen a small, clean place that looked popular. I went there. They serve only stuffed chapati plates. The owner suggested potato as the best, so I ordered it. The name is alou wala kulcha. It is a plate with beans, merinated onions, and the stuffed chapati on it. They give refills of the beans and onions. It was spicy and delicious! And it cost 32 cents U.S.!
With the arrival of the front, the day remained rather comfortable. It rained while I was in the cyber cafe, but not any more. I went out walking and exploring. I met a very nice young man who runs a hotel and a snack stand. We visited as he heated some of his snacks for some customers. I took some photos. He, his brother, and I visited for about 15 minutes, and they served me hot milk tea.
Amritsar is a big tourist town for Indians, especially Sikhs, but others who come here just because of the reputation of the Golden Temple or to see the border ceremony, too. They are all in a good mood here. And everyone is friendly. It's impossible to tell who is a local and who is a visitor in terms of the Indians.
For dinner, I had a masala dosa. Afterwards, I drank a sweet lassi--a drink made from freshly-made yogurt.
I finished reading The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. It is a very interesting saga of multiple strands of families in India, Burma, and Malaysia from around 1900 to the 1990s--three generations of the families. The book is a good read, but there are too many coincidences in the story. I give it 3 stars out of 4.
I went to the Golden Temple at 7:30 this morning. I should have made the effort to get up and be there at 4:00 when they have a great procession, but I was tired from the heat and the outing yesterday. I'll live without having seen the great procession at the temple. There's probably a video of it on YouTube if I really want to see it.
The weather was sunny and the temperature was still comfortable. I deposited my shoes at the booth at the side. I picked up one of the free bandanas to cover my head. After viewing the museum filled with lots of brutal paintings showing the torture and killing of many Sikhs due to their religious beliefs over the centuries, I entered the main compound.
There is a huge quadrangle. Surrounding it is a large white structure which houses the museum, the feeding rooms, the quarters where devotees can stay, etc. There is a walkway around the entire quadrangle. Everyone walks clockwise around this. Inside the walkway is a huge bathing pool for men. (Women have a separated private bathing pool.) Many men are in the pool which is considered a holy place to bath. They wear towels around themselves while in the pool or their underwear. In the very center of the bathing pool is the Golden Temple itself. It's the holiest site of the Sikh religion. It is an elegant and impressive building. Inside, there is a huge chandelier and musicians on the floor playing music all day. I'm sure there are special holy relics there, too. I entered with the crowd and walked through quickly just to see it. It was too crowded to try to stop and see specifics.
I could see clouds approaching as I waited in line to enter the temple. By the time I was out, it looked as if it would rain. Lightning was in the distance. By then, I had seen all that I really needed to see of the complex, so I rushed for the shoe stand. A windstorm hit about that time. Strong winds. I walked back to my hotel and found a surprise. The winds had been so strong that they had blown out the plate glass windows on the front of the hotel. The steps and the sidewalk were covered in shards of glass, and the employees where hitting at pieces still hanging within the framework to try to get them loose. No one could enter the hotel, so I left to go walking. It still wasn't raining. When I returned about 15 minutes later, they had cleared a small pathway so that people could enter or leave the building. Everyone passing by was gawking at the damage.
After two hours at the cyber cafe which fortunately had power today, I needed to check on transportation for tomorrow. I went to a travel agency, but they said I would need to go to the bus station for information about buses. I asked directions and headed that way. Along the way, I kept asking for directions to the "bus station." Everyone seemed confused and kept asking if I wanted the train station. Eventually, someone emphasized: Bus STAND, not bus station. After that, it was easy to get directions and find it. There is only one bus to Dharamsala per day, and it leaves at 12:10 with no advance reservations taken. They told me to be at the station at 11:30 and that the bus would be somewhere in Platforms 21-23.
I ate a fantastic lunch. I had seen a small, clean place that looked popular. I went there. They serve only stuffed chapati plates. The owner suggested potato as the best, so I ordered it. The name is alou wala kulcha. It is a plate with beans, merinated onions, and the stuffed chapati on it. They give refills of the beans and onions. It was spicy and delicious! And it cost 32 cents U.S.!
With the arrival of the front, the day remained rather comfortable. It rained while I was in the cyber cafe, but not any more. I went out walking and exploring. I met a very nice young man who runs a hotel and a snack stand. We visited as he heated some of his snacks for some customers. I took some photos. He, his brother, and I visited for about 15 minutes, and they served me hot milk tea.
Amritsar is a big tourist town for Indians, especially Sikhs, but others who come here just because of the reputation of the Golden Temple or to see the border ceremony, too. They are all in a good mood here. And everyone is friendly. It's impossible to tell who is a local and who is a visitor in terms of the Indians.
For dinner, I had a masala dosa. Afterwards, I drank a sweet lassi--a drink made from freshly-made yogurt.
I finished reading The Glass Palace by Amitav Ghosh. It is a very interesting saga of multiple strands of families in India, Burma, and Malaysia from around 1900 to the 1990s--three generations of the families. The book is a good read, but there are too many coincidences in the story. I give it 3 stars out of 4.
Wednesday, July 08, 2009
Forcing Myself to Go See the Taj Mahal
Sunday, July 5, 2009--Delhi to Agra
I got to the station an hour before time for the train to depart. It had just been pulled up to the platform and everyone was pushing and shoving to get down the stairs to the platform and then to get into the doors of the train cars. It was as if they thought the train were leaving within a few minutes. Of course, one reason for that is that everyone had lots of luggage and wanted to get to the luggage storage space first. When I got to my compartment, there was barely space for me to put my suitcase under the seat.
My compartment ended up having two other foreigners in it. Both were quite interesting. The first arrived about 30 minutes before the other, so we had time to get to know each other and visit before the second arrived. Here's information about both:
1. The first passenger had an interesting look. He was young and handsome, but I had trouble figuring out what country he was from. It was quite a surprise when he said he was from Bhutan. I've never met anyone from there before. It's such a remote and isolated country that many people never leave it. But this young man is an engineering student and had to leave the country for his studies, since Bhutan does not have a degree in his subject area at their university. He had a great personality and we talked and talked. He eventually encouraged me to visit Bhutan. As we discussed it, he said that there is only one airline that flies there, and it has flights to Bangkok (as well as a couple of cities in India). I begin to think maybe I SHOULD go there next year. I'll be finishing my last around-the-world ticket in Bangkok, and I want to travel some in the area before heading back to Texas. I had been thinking of trying to go to Papua New Guinnea. Now I am thinking of going to Bhutan and maybe also to Papua New Guinnea.
2. The second passenger was a Canadian who has lived in the U.S. for some time and in New York for the past few years. He is a business consultant whose work has apparently dried up these days giving him a chance to do some traveling in Europe and Asia. He (Lorne) and I were both going to Agra, so we ended up spending most o the day together and part of the next day.
We had been sitting and both Lorne and I felt like walking when we got to Agra rather than fighting with the rickshaw drivers over a decent price. Of course, as we walked, one after another rickshaw driver approached us and road along beside us trying to get us to commit to a ride. It was frustrating trying to follow my map, visit, and also having to deal with these drivers. Eventually, however, we came to the place where I intended to stay. I got my room, and we both went inside to sit under the air conditioner and cool down. Lorne already had a reservation at a hotel further into town, so he departed later to go there.
When Lorne left to go to his hotel, I walked a little further to find the office that sells moonlight tickets for seeing the Taj Mahal. They are only available on nights with a full moon and the two nights before and afterwards. It just happened without my planning it that July 7 is the full moon. I found the office and bought a ticket. At the same time, I realized that Lorne, who had been interested to, wanted to go also. We hadn't gone to the office together because there was speculation that it might not be open on Sunday. But I went to check because the tickets can only be bought the day before a visit meaning that my only chance would be to buy a ticket for Monday night, since I planned to leave town on Tuesday. The office would be open only 1 1/2 hours more, so I decided to see if Lorne wanted a ticket. I remembered the name of his hotel and the street where it was, so I continued walking until I got there. He was in his room, so I explained the situation. The two of us walked back to the office so he could buy a ticket also.
By then, it was almost 17:30. He wanted to go see a small mausoleum that is known as the "Little Taj." It is considered to have fancier tilework and carved grillwork, although the building itself is not as big as the actual Taj. We hired a rickshaw driver. He took us there. It was nice. After about 30 minutes there, the driver suggested that we let him take us to the riverside to see the actual Taj Mahal at sunset. We agreed. It was a wonderful place for viewing it. We were very close. Many other tourists were there. Of course, so were the touts selling things. But we got some great photos. And I took one of Lorne sitting on top of a camel with the Taj in the background.
By then, it was getting late. The rickshaw driver dropped me off at my hotel. Then he continued to take Lorne to his.
The power was off. That's a big problem in many parts of India. And it is an especially big problem in Agra. My room at the hotel had a ceiling fan that would operate with the generator, but the air conditioner works only when the power is on. (I had been told this when I booked the room.) Since my room was on the top floor, the sun had been hitting the roof all afternoon. The room was swealtering. Until 1:30, I tossed and turned while sticking to the sheets even with the ceiling fan going. Then from 1:30 to 4:30, there was a/c. But it went off again then and did not return. Yuck!
Monday, July 6, 2009--Agra
It's very HOT here in Agra. Just a few moments outside in the daytime, and one is dripping in sweat. And I'm a person who does not normally perspire much.
Fortunately, I planned my day well. I was up at 5:15 and left for the Taj Mahal at 5:40. I arrived there at 6:15. There were several tourists there, since going at sunrise is considered the best way to see the building. But there weren't the crowds that come later when tour groups arrive from Delhi and from the big hotels. As I had read in the guidebook, I saw part of the inlaid marble sparkling when the sunlight hit it just right. The building is as beautiful and magnificent as everyone always says it is. And for being in India and in such a poluted city as Agra, it is amazing how clean it is. By avoiding the most crowded part of the day, I was able to look at it and enjoy it without too many hassles. There were already people there wanting to be guides, though, including the sneaky ones. They are the ones who watch you start to take a photo, then they tell you it is a bit better if you stand over here. Then they walk with you and point to another spot and suggest it is good for photos, too. Then they start to tell you some facts. If you don't recognize what is happening and insist that you don't want a guide, you've hired one involuntarily by following and listening! By 6:30, the air was feeling warm. I sat on a shady side of the Taj and relaxed while looking at it and the other tourists. Then I continued exploring until 7:30.
The other big tourist site in town is the Agra Fort which is in sight of the Taj Mahal. Even though the day was warming up, I knew I needed to go there before returning to the hotel or miss it completely. Fortunately, the walk between the two was on a roadway going through a park and had shade trees along almost the entire distance. It's an interesting fort with mosques and apartments and things that are not normally associated with a fort. Also, some of the architecture is really dramatic much like that of the Taj Mahal with domes and turrets and towers. Unfortunately, there were even more people there wanting to be guides. I guess it is because it is cheaper for local people to go into the fort than it is for them to go into the Taj. It's too bad that a morning sun is not the best for taking photos at the fort. But I enjoyed seeing it and got the est photos I could.
I was back at the hotel at 9:45--hot and exhausted. I napped until noon. Then I stayed in the room reading most of the afternoon. Fortunately, the air conditioner was working off and on so that the room did not get as miserably hot as it had the night before.
Lorne had asked me to come to his new hotel. He uses hotels.com and gets one free night at a hotel of his choice for every 3 nights that he books hotels that cost at least $41. He took advantage of that to move to the Oberoi Hotel for his second night in Agra. It's a 5-star hotel that is ranked one of the top 10 in the world. There are about 15 staff members to each guest right now due to the slow season. Apparently wealthy businessmen and movie stars stay there regularly. Lorne's room had a balcony with a view of the Taj just across the gardens. First we walked around the grounds and near the pool. Then we went to his balcony and watched the sunset from there. Then we went to a bar downstairs and had a drink until time to see the Taj. The hotel provided us with a golf cart and driver to take us to the check-in post for out moonlight viewing.
Unfortunately, the moonlight viewing of the Taj Majal was a disappointment. The building is beautiful in the moonlight, and it was nice to see it that way. But there were barriers that kept us far back from it. Everyone was trying to use their cameras to take photos, but the flash would not reach nearly that far. Then everyone spent a long time trying to set their cameras with timed exposures to get a photo. That worked, but the photos looked nothing like the real view. It was better just to put the camera away (which I did after just one photo effort) and look at the building. But the hassle of the military pat-downs, the long wait, the short viewing time (30 minutes), and the limited ability to be on or near the building made it seem like a lot of effort for a little payoff--especially since it cost about $16 U.S. I would recommend going to the other side of the river after dark on a moonlight night. The rickshaw will cost maybe $2 to get there, and one will be almost as close as we were.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009--Agra to Amritsar
I was up at 4:15. I hate early mornings like that, and this is my second in a row. My train was at 6:00. When I bought my ticket Saturday, I could not get a through train from Agra to Amritsar, so I had to buy two tickets--one for an hour to a nearby city where I transfered to another train an hour later for Amritsar. I found out later that the reason all seats were booked is Full Moon Day. Most Asian countries give it as a once-a-month holiday since people normally work 6 days a week. It is a day when people pay respects to their "guru," or someone who is guiding them in life. Therefore, even the train I was traveling on was full of people.
A man in my compartment was from San Antonio at one time. He is an Indian who lives here now. But two years ago, he was living in San Antonio. He was very surprised to meet someone from there, and I was surprised that he had lived there. Also in my compartment was a woman with two girls. The older girl was really sweet and spoke English. But the small girl was a pill. She was restless and noisy the whole trip!
I slept some--maybe from 8:15 until 10:15. Then I napped some off and on in the afternoon. Otherwise, I read my book or watched the scenery pass by. We didn't arrive in Amritsar until 19:30.
I went to some hotels near the station that had been recommended in guidebooks. They wanted too much money and their rooms were not clean enough or bright enough for me. Eventually, I gave up looking there and walked to the Golden Temple. I had been told that they had a special accommodations area for VIPs and that I should go to their Information Office. Unfortunately, that office was closed. But a young volunteer at the temple asked what I wanted. I explained that I needed a room. He took me directly to the hotel the temple operates for special guests. It looked too fancy and, therefore, too expensive. But a room was only 300 rupees (less than $7) per night with air conditioning, private bath, and hot water. And the place was spotless! I was so happy to be there. The only negative part was that the two assistants who were working both asked me to give them money and stated the amounts they wanted--half the cost of the room for the night!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009--Amritsar
I see why Indians are happy for the arrival of the monsoons. Each day just gets hotter and hotter. It is absolutely miserable being outdoors during the daytime. Within 30 minutes of leaving air conditioning, one's clothes start sticking to the body and are soaking wet.
I went exploring for an internet cafe, but the power was off. It's been difficult finding places to be on the computer due to the power outages both here and in Agra. While out, I bought three samosas to take back to my room to eat for lunch. They came with a bag of sauce that was both sweet and hot. It was a delicious snack.
I forced myself to go back out at 15:15 and find a shared taxi to take me to the Border Ceremony that is held each afternoon at the border between India and Pakistan near here. It's a famous ceremony that is often shown on CNN or BBC when there are problems between the two countries. I got a shared taxi and was given the front passenger seat, a great honor because it meant I was not as crowded as the people in back who were squeezed together. (Of course, I probably paid much more than they did, too!)
It was interesting to see the ceremony, but I don't know if I would encourage anyone else to go to the effort. First, the ceremony does not start until 18:30. But everyone has to go early to get a seat. All the seats were essentially full by 17:00. And they are HOT seats--concrete which has had the sun shining on it all day. It was a miserable period of time that we sat there waiting for the ceremony.
I sat between two tourist couples--one from Scotland and the other from Belgium. We visited as we waited. There was a bit of entertainment as women raced with the Indian flag. Across the border, we could see a matching (though smaller) crowd gathering on the Pakistan side. They, too, were racing their flag. In fact, the whole border ceremony is a bit like a mini-war between the two sides. Each side plays its own music. Each tries to out-yell the other. During the actual official ceremoney, the men in their fancy dress uniforms try to out-step each other and menace the others with their puffed-up posture. At the same time, there is a civility to it as they open the gates and guards from each side shake hands.
I was glad to be back in town when we arrived. We had been gone for 5 hours just to see that 30-minute ceremony and to be out in the sun all that time.
Before returning to the hotel, I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I had palak paneer with rice. Both were big portions. Then I followed that with a banana lassi--a drink made from fresh yogurt.
Note: I have not replied to e-mail because of limited time on the computer. I am leaving tomorrow for Dharamsala, so it will be another couple of days before I may return to a computer. Be patient. I'm in India!
I got to the station an hour before time for the train to depart. It had just been pulled up to the platform and everyone was pushing and shoving to get down the stairs to the platform and then to get into the doors of the train cars. It was as if they thought the train were leaving within a few minutes. Of course, one reason for that is that everyone had lots of luggage and wanted to get to the luggage storage space first. When I got to my compartment, there was barely space for me to put my suitcase under the seat.
My compartment ended up having two other foreigners in it. Both were quite interesting. The first arrived about 30 minutes before the other, so we had time to get to know each other and visit before the second arrived. Here's information about both:
1. The first passenger had an interesting look. He was young and handsome, but I had trouble figuring out what country he was from. It was quite a surprise when he said he was from Bhutan. I've never met anyone from there before. It's such a remote and isolated country that many people never leave it. But this young man is an engineering student and had to leave the country for his studies, since Bhutan does not have a degree in his subject area at their university. He had a great personality and we talked and talked. He eventually encouraged me to visit Bhutan. As we discussed it, he said that there is only one airline that flies there, and it has flights to Bangkok (as well as a couple of cities in India). I begin to think maybe I SHOULD go there next year. I'll be finishing my last around-the-world ticket in Bangkok, and I want to travel some in the area before heading back to Texas. I had been thinking of trying to go to Papua New Guinnea. Now I am thinking of going to Bhutan and maybe also to Papua New Guinnea.
2. The second passenger was a Canadian who has lived in the U.S. for some time and in New York for the past few years. He is a business consultant whose work has apparently dried up these days giving him a chance to do some traveling in Europe and Asia. He (Lorne) and I were both going to Agra, so we ended up spending most o the day together and part of the next day.
We had been sitting and both Lorne and I felt like walking when we got to Agra rather than fighting with the rickshaw drivers over a decent price. Of course, as we walked, one after another rickshaw driver approached us and road along beside us trying to get us to commit to a ride. It was frustrating trying to follow my map, visit, and also having to deal with these drivers. Eventually, however, we came to the place where I intended to stay. I got my room, and we both went inside to sit under the air conditioner and cool down. Lorne already had a reservation at a hotel further into town, so he departed later to go there.
When Lorne left to go to his hotel, I walked a little further to find the office that sells moonlight tickets for seeing the Taj Mahal. They are only available on nights with a full moon and the two nights before and afterwards. It just happened without my planning it that July 7 is the full moon. I found the office and bought a ticket. At the same time, I realized that Lorne, who had been interested to, wanted to go also. We hadn't gone to the office together because there was speculation that it might not be open on Sunday. But I went to check because the tickets can only be bought the day before a visit meaning that my only chance would be to buy a ticket for Monday night, since I planned to leave town on Tuesday. The office would be open only 1 1/2 hours more, so I decided to see if Lorne wanted a ticket. I remembered the name of his hotel and the street where it was, so I continued walking until I got there. He was in his room, so I explained the situation. The two of us walked back to the office so he could buy a ticket also.
By then, it was almost 17:30. He wanted to go see a small mausoleum that is known as the "Little Taj." It is considered to have fancier tilework and carved grillwork, although the building itself is not as big as the actual Taj. We hired a rickshaw driver. He took us there. It was nice. After about 30 minutes there, the driver suggested that we let him take us to the riverside to see the actual Taj Mahal at sunset. We agreed. It was a wonderful place for viewing it. We were very close. Many other tourists were there. Of course, so were the touts selling things. But we got some great photos. And I took one of Lorne sitting on top of a camel with the Taj in the background.
By then, it was getting late. The rickshaw driver dropped me off at my hotel. Then he continued to take Lorne to his.
The power was off. That's a big problem in many parts of India. And it is an especially big problem in Agra. My room at the hotel had a ceiling fan that would operate with the generator, but the air conditioner works only when the power is on. (I had been told this when I booked the room.) Since my room was on the top floor, the sun had been hitting the roof all afternoon. The room was swealtering. Until 1:30, I tossed and turned while sticking to the sheets even with the ceiling fan going. Then from 1:30 to 4:30, there was a/c. But it went off again then and did not return. Yuck!
Monday, July 6, 2009--Agra
It's very HOT here in Agra. Just a few moments outside in the daytime, and one is dripping in sweat. And I'm a person who does not normally perspire much.
Fortunately, I planned my day well. I was up at 5:15 and left for the Taj Mahal at 5:40. I arrived there at 6:15. There were several tourists there, since going at sunrise is considered the best way to see the building. But there weren't the crowds that come later when tour groups arrive from Delhi and from the big hotels. As I had read in the guidebook, I saw part of the inlaid marble sparkling when the sunlight hit it just right. The building is as beautiful and magnificent as everyone always says it is. And for being in India and in such a poluted city as Agra, it is amazing how clean it is. By avoiding the most crowded part of the day, I was able to look at it and enjoy it without too many hassles. There were already people there wanting to be guides, though, including the sneaky ones. They are the ones who watch you start to take a photo, then they tell you it is a bit better if you stand over here. Then they walk with you and point to another spot and suggest it is good for photos, too. Then they start to tell you some facts. If you don't recognize what is happening and insist that you don't want a guide, you've hired one involuntarily by following and listening! By 6:30, the air was feeling warm. I sat on a shady side of the Taj and relaxed while looking at it and the other tourists. Then I continued exploring until 7:30.
The other big tourist site in town is the Agra Fort which is in sight of the Taj Mahal. Even though the day was warming up, I knew I needed to go there before returning to the hotel or miss it completely. Fortunately, the walk between the two was on a roadway going through a park and had shade trees along almost the entire distance. It's an interesting fort with mosques and apartments and things that are not normally associated with a fort. Also, some of the architecture is really dramatic much like that of the Taj Mahal with domes and turrets and towers. Unfortunately, there were even more people there wanting to be guides. I guess it is because it is cheaper for local people to go into the fort than it is for them to go into the Taj. It's too bad that a morning sun is not the best for taking photos at the fort. But I enjoyed seeing it and got the est photos I could.
I was back at the hotel at 9:45--hot and exhausted. I napped until noon. Then I stayed in the room reading most of the afternoon. Fortunately, the air conditioner was working off and on so that the room did not get as miserably hot as it had the night before.
Lorne had asked me to come to his new hotel. He uses hotels.com and gets one free night at a hotel of his choice for every 3 nights that he books hotels that cost at least $41. He took advantage of that to move to the Oberoi Hotel for his second night in Agra. It's a 5-star hotel that is ranked one of the top 10 in the world. There are about 15 staff members to each guest right now due to the slow season. Apparently wealthy businessmen and movie stars stay there regularly. Lorne's room had a balcony with a view of the Taj just across the gardens. First we walked around the grounds and near the pool. Then we went to his balcony and watched the sunset from there. Then we went to a bar downstairs and had a drink until time to see the Taj. The hotel provided us with a golf cart and driver to take us to the check-in post for out moonlight viewing.
Unfortunately, the moonlight viewing of the Taj Majal was a disappointment. The building is beautiful in the moonlight, and it was nice to see it that way. But there were barriers that kept us far back from it. Everyone was trying to use their cameras to take photos, but the flash would not reach nearly that far. Then everyone spent a long time trying to set their cameras with timed exposures to get a photo. That worked, but the photos looked nothing like the real view. It was better just to put the camera away (which I did after just one photo effort) and look at the building. But the hassle of the military pat-downs, the long wait, the short viewing time (30 minutes), and the limited ability to be on or near the building made it seem like a lot of effort for a little payoff--especially since it cost about $16 U.S. I would recommend going to the other side of the river after dark on a moonlight night. The rickshaw will cost maybe $2 to get there, and one will be almost as close as we were.
Tuesday, July 7, 2009--Agra to Amritsar
I was up at 4:15. I hate early mornings like that, and this is my second in a row. My train was at 6:00. When I bought my ticket Saturday, I could not get a through train from Agra to Amritsar, so I had to buy two tickets--one for an hour to a nearby city where I transfered to another train an hour later for Amritsar. I found out later that the reason all seats were booked is Full Moon Day. Most Asian countries give it as a once-a-month holiday since people normally work 6 days a week. It is a day when people pay respects to their "guru," or someone who is guiding them in life. Therefore, even the train I was traveling on was full of people.
A man in my compartment was from San Antonio at one time. He is an Indian who lives here now. But two years ago, he was living in San Antonio. He was very surprised to meet someone from there, and I was surprised that he had lived there. Also in my compartment was a woman with two girls. The older girl was really sweet and spoke English. But the small girl was a pill. She was restless and noisy the whole trip!
I slept some--maybe from 8:15 until 10:15. Then I napped some off and on in the afternoon. Otherwise, I read my book or watched the scenery pass by. We didn't arrive in Amritsar until 19:30.
I went to some hotels near the station that had been recommended in guidebooks. They wanted too much money and their rooms were not clean enough or bright enough for me. Eventually, I gave up looking there and walked to the Golden Temple. I had been told that they had a special accommodations area for VIPs and that I should go to their Information Office. Unfortunately, that office was closed. But a young volunteer at the temple asked what I wanted. I explained that I needed a room. He took me directly to the hotel the temple operates for special guests. It looked too fancy and, therefore, too expensive. But a room was only 300 rupees (less than $7) per night with air conditioning, private bath, and hot water. And the place was spotless! I was so happy to be there. The only negative part was that the two assistants who were working both asked me to give them money and stated the amounts they wanted--half the cost of the room for the night!
Wednesday, July 8, 2009--Amritsar
I see why Indians are happy for the arrival of the monsoons. Each day just gets hotter and hotter. It is absolutely miserable being outdoors during the daytime. Within 30 minutes of leaving air conditioning, one's clothes start sticking to the body and are soaking wet.
I went exploring for an internet cafe, but the power was off. It's been difficult finding places to be on the computer due to the power outages both here and in Agra. While out, I bought three samosas to take back to my room to eat for lunch. They came with a bag of sauce that was both sweet and hot. It was a delicious snack.
I forced myself to go back out at 15:15 and find a shared taxi to take me to the Border Ceremony that is held each afternoon at the border between India and Pakistan near here. It's a famous ceremony that is often shown on CNN or BBC when there are problems between the two countries. I got a shared taxi and was given the front passenger seat, a great honor because it meant I was not as crowded as the people in back who were squeezed together. (Of course, I probably paid much more than they did, too!)
It was interesting to see the ceremony, but I don't know if I would encourage anyone else to go to the effort. First, the ceremony does not start until 18:30. But everyone has to go early to get a seat. All the seats were essentially full by 17:00. And they are HOT seats--concrete which has had the sun shining on it all day. It was a miserable period of time that we sat there waiting for the ceremony.
I sat between two tourist couples--one from Scotland and the other from Belgium. We visited as we waited. There was a bit of entertainment as women raced with the Indian flag. Across the border, we could see a matching (though smaller) crowd gathering on the Pakistan side. They, too, were racing their flag. In fact, the whole border ceremony is a bit like a mini-war between the two sides. Each side plays its own music. Each tries to out-yell the other. During the actual official ceremoney, the men in their fancy dress uniforms try to out-step each other and menace the others with their puffed-up posture. At the same time, there is a civility to it as they open the gates and guards from each side shake hands.
I was glad to be back in town when we arrived. We had been gone for 5 hours just to see that 30-minute ceremony and to be out in the sun all that time.
Before returning to the hotel, I went to a nearby restaurant for dinner. I had palak paneer with rice. Both were big portions. Then I followed that with a banana lassi--a drink made from fresh yogurt.
Note: I have not replied to e-mail because of limited time on the computer. I am leaving tomorrow for Dharamsala, so it will be another couple of days before I may return to a computer. Be patient. I'm in India!
Saturday, July 04, 2009
Back in India
Friday, July 3, 2009--Bangkok to Delhi (Continued)
My suitcase has remained clean and nice so far. That will probably end now that I am going to India where taxis, buses, trains, etc., are always filthy--especially the storage areas for luggage. That's too bad. It is a nice suitcase and is attractive right now.
I got to the airport and checked in within 1 1/2 hours of leaving the hotel. I was happy to see that the airport authority had acted on a suggestion I wrote when going through here on my way to Cambodia. They have TVs operating just outside the security areas where people must wait until their gate opens before being allowed to go through security. All the TVs were set with a security lock to either Animal Planet or Discovery. I suggested that they put one TV (out of about 6) in each area on either CNN or BBC so that people could watch the international news. Well, one TV (not one at each area, but one in the entire terminal) is now set for BBC. The problem I had, however, is that about 10 men were spread out on all the nearby chairs sleeping. There was no place to sit. I sat on the floor to watch the news. Then I filled out another slip suggesting that they establish an area for sleeping at the dead-end points where they are not operating gates and have no TVs due to less air traffic these days. About 25% of their gates are no being used at the current time, and they have concentrated these in wings that are completely closed off.
Spending Update: During the 18 days I was in Thailand and Cambodia, I spent $680.91 including the cost of two supplemental air tickets for an average of $37.83 per day. Since leaving Texas, I have spent $2261.76 over 53 days for an average of $42.67 per day.
I gave the copy of The Quiet American which I had finished reading to an English-speaking woman in the waiting area for the flight to Delhi. She seemed pleased to get it, and I was happy to be rid of it.
The flight reminded me of one of the horrors of dealing with some Indians--that attitude that they are more important than anyone else and should receive preference and have rules overlooked for them! I hope I can tolerate 16 days there this year. Each year the number of days I can stand being in India seems to go down. Given the right circumstances, they can be wonderful people, but in a line or a crowd, many become intolerable. One man was yelling because they ran out of lamb and had only chicken to serve by the time they got to him. Another man was rushing ahead to get in front of people in a queue and then calling for his whole family to come join him in the queue. While the plane was in the air still landing, people all around me were turning on their cell phones and operating them to check text messages without regard to the fact that they could interfere with our having a successful landing. While we were still rolling down the runway (not the taxiway, but the runway!), people were jumping out of their seats and pulling things from the bins. That's India!
Delhi, especially around the airport, always smells like fertilizer. It's not a pleasant smell to have when arriving somewhere. I'm glad this will be my last time to come into their airport.
I didn't get to my hotel until 23:45. We had two major problems. First, the Delhi airport was clogged with arrivals, so we were required to circle (6 times in a big loop) for an hour before we could begin our landing approach. Then, it took over an hour before our luggage began to come onto the belt. When it did, it dribbled in for about another half hour before my bag came, and I would guess that I got my bag in the first half of those being unloaded. As usual, there were many people returning with huge boxes containing new Sony Bravia flatscreen TVs. And the Indians were all scrambling to buy at the arrivals duty free shops as if they provided great value that would cause the rest of their lives to be a greater success.
Saturday, July 4, 2009--Delhi
Happy Birthday, America!!
I got up early so I could try to get train reservations that I need for the next few days. I went to the special sales office for foreigners at the nearby New Delhi Station. The employees there fit the stereotype of Indian government employees. There is an accepted knowledge that a person does not have to work after he gets a government job. He will never be fired, and he will get a good pension upon his retirement. There were employees sitting around talking as I stood in line for assistance. One then told me to fill out a form and wait for him. I completed the form in 2 minutes and had to wait about 10 minutes while he visited with a woman at the reception counter. How frustrating!
I did get tickets, however. I will go to Agra tomorrow morning at 11:30, arriving there around 14:30. I will be there all day on Monday to go to the Taj Mahal. This is my 7th and last trip to India, and I have never visited there. I think I must, although I imagine it will be one of the worst days of my life due to hassles from touts, resentment for it being overpriced for foreigners, etc. Anyway, I also have a reservation at a hotel for two nights in Agra. And I have two train tickets to get me from Agra to Amritsar on Tuesday. I had to use two tickets, because the two express trains that go directly from one to the other were already fully booked. Again, that's India. Train reservations are needed at least 5-6 days in advance in many cases.
I returned to a restaurant where I have eaten often to have my lunch today. It is near the train station and is one of the few places in India where they serve foreigners the typically spicy food they serve everyone else. I had dal makhani (a spicy lentil/bean/tomato/onion/cheese mixture) with chapatis. It was good and cost less than $1 U.S.
I walked to Connaught Place this afternoon. It's not far from where I am staying and is the "center" of Delhi. For the first time EVER in my trips to Delhi, I did not have the shit-on-the-shoes trick pulled on me there. It's a common tourist trap where someone shoots a substance on a person's shoe from a distance. It immediately foams up and hardens to luck like a turd. Then the person points it out to the tourist and offers to clean his shoes for him. The cleaning makes more of a mess than ever, and the cleaner wants to be paid several hundred rupees for his effort. The two previous times it has happened to me, I warned the shooter away and told him that I didn't want it cleaned--that I would leave it on my shoe all day to show people what happens to tourists who come to their city.
I have nothing else left to do here. I will just relax at my hotel and get up in time to catch my train tomorrow. I'm reading a good book about India, so I will continue to read it and to watch some TV. I'll probably go to dinner at the same restaurant where I had lunch.
My suitcase has remained clean and nice so far. That will probably end now that I am going to India where taxis, buses, trains, etc., are always filthy--especially the storage areas for luggage. That's too bad. It is a nice suitcase and is attractive right now.
I got to the airport and checked in within 1 1/2 hours of leaving the hotel. I was happy to see that the airport authority had acted on a suggestion I wrote when going through here on my way to Cambodia. They have TVs operating just outside the security areas where people must wait until their gate opens before being allowed to go through security. All the TVs were set with a security lock to either Animal Planet or Discovery. I suggested that they put one TV (out of about 6) in each area on either CNN or BBC so that people could watch the international news. Well, one TV (not one at each area, but one in the entire terminal) is now set for BBC. The problem I had, however, is that about 10 men were spread out on all the nearby chairs sleeping. There was no place to sit. I sat on the floor to watch the news. Then I filled out another slip suggesting that they establish an area for sleeping at the dead-end points where they are not operating gates and have no TVs due to less air traffic these days. About 25% of their gates are no being used at the current time, and they have concentrated these in wings that are completely closed off.
Spending Update: During the 18 days I was in Thailand and Cambodia, I spent $680.91 including the cost of two supplemental air tickets for an average of $37.83 per day. Since leaving Texas, I have spent $2261.76 over 53 days for an average of $42.67 per day.
I gave the copy of The Quiet American which I had finished reading to an English-speaking woman in the waiting area for the flight to Delhi. She seemed pleased to get it, and I was happy to be rid of it.
The flight reminded me of one of the horrors of dealing with some Indians--that attitude that they are more important than anyone else and should receive preference and have rules overlooked for them! I hope I can tolerate 16 days there this year. Each year the number of days I can stand being in India seems to go down. Given the right circumstances, they can be wonderful people, but in a line or a crowd, many become intolerable. One man was yelling because they ran out of lamb and had only chicken to serve by the time they got to him. Another man was rushing ahead to get in front of people in a queue and then calling for his whole family to come join him in the queue. While the plane was in the air still landing, people all around me were turning on their cell phones and operating them to check text messages without regard to the fact that they could interfere with our having a successful landing. While we were still rolling down the runway (not the taxiway, but the runway!), people were jumping out of their seats and pulling things from the bins. That's India!
Delhi, especially around the airport, always smells like fertilizer. It's not a pleasant smell to have when arriving somewhere. I'm glad this will be my last time to come into their airport.
I didn't get to my hotel until 23:45. We had two major problems. First, the Delhi airport was clogged with arrivals, so we were required to circle (6 times in a big loop) for an hour before we could begin our landing approach. Then, it took over an hour before our luggage began to come onto the belt. When it did, it dribbled in for about another half hour before my bag came, and I would guess that I got my bag in the first half of those being unloaded. As usual, there were many people returning with huge boxes containing new Sony Bravia flatscreen TVs. And the Indians were all scrambling to buy at the arrivals duty free shops as if they provided great value that would cause the rest of their lives to be a greater success.
Saturday, July 4, 2009--Delhi
Happy Birthday, America!!
I got up early so I could try to get train reservations that I need for the next few days. I went to the special sales office for foreigners at the nearby New Delhi Station. The employees there fit the stereotype of Indian government employees. There is an accepted knowledge that a person does not have to work after he gets a government job. He will never be fired, and he will get a good pension upon his retirement. There were employees sitting around talking as I stood in line for assistance. One then told me to fill out a form and wait for him. I completed the form in 2 minutes and had to wait about 10 minutes while he visited with a woman at the reception counter. How frustrating!
I did get tickets, however. I will go to Agra tomorrow morning at 11:30, arriving there around 14:30. I will be there all day on Monday to go to the Taj Mahal. This is my 7th and last trip to India, and I have never visited there. I think I must, although I imagine it will be one of the worst days of my life due to hassles from touts, resentment for it being overpriced for foreigners, etc. Anyway, I also have a reservation at a hotel for two nights in Agra. And I have two train tickets to get me from Agra to Amritsar on Tuesday. I had to use two tickets, because the two express trains that go directly from one to the other were already fully booked. Again, that's India. Train reservations are needed at least 5-6 days in advance in many cases.
I returned to a restaurant where I have eaten often to have my lunch today. It is near the train station and is one of the few places in India where they serve foreigners the typically spicy food they serve everyone else. I had dal makhani (a spicy lentil/bean/tomato/onion/cheese mixture) with chapatis. It was good and cost less than $1 U.S.
I walked to Connaught Place this afternoon. It's not far from where I am staying and is the "center" of Delhi. For the first time EVER in my trips to Delhi, I did not have the shit-on-the-shoes trick pulled on me there. It's a common tourist trap where someone shoots a substance on a person's shoe from a distance. It immediately foams up and hardens to luck like a turd. Then the person points it out to the tourist and offers to clean his shoes for him. The cleaning makes more of a mess than ever, and the cleaner wants to be paid several hundred rupees for his effort. The two previous times it has happened to me, I warned the shooter away and told him that I didn't want it cleaned--that I would leave it on my shoe all day to show people what happens to tourists who come to their city.
I have nothing else left to do here. I will just relax at my hotel and get up in time to catch my train tomorrow. I'm reading a good book about India, so I will continue to read it and to watch some TV. I'll probably go to dinner at the same restaurant where I had lunch.
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