Having stayed in Nepal a week longer than planned, my itinerary through India turned into a whirlwind tour. At this point in my travels and after leaving the peaceful world of the Himalayas, this presented me with an annoying and exhausting mental problem: an intermittent bad attitude. (more…)
Varanasi, the spiritual epicenter of India, certainly delivers an explosion for the senses. As I said before, I think it’s that which makes the difference between an anticipated (and possibly) disappointing image and one that vividly comes to life. This place is bursting with energy: one part life, one part death, and one part somewhere in between. At the heart flows the murky brown life transforming river Ganges. (more…)
The Russian Jumbo (One Ring) Circus!! Come one, come all… see the dare-devil feat where families tempt fate by balancing their families of 5 on a scooter in Indian traffic! Packed two-wheelers flooded the parking lot and swarms of anxious kids buzzed around. Cotton candy, popcorn, mixed vegetables cups, blue glowlight toys, paper visors all for sale! From a distance, time and place would have been impossible to name.
Well… I debated even posting on this subject to avoid disappointing anyone I fooled into believing I’m a hardcore seasoned traveler. I know that’s not a large audience (it was probably just me), so I figure I’d throw my honesty out there. More importantly, things are already looking up. I’m looking back laughing and can happily finish on a positive note. (more…)
* Backposted on 03-October-07
First day solo on the town. Our last three team members left in a cab at noon and I hitched a ride to the “main road” north of Bangalore, where the horns are honking and the smell of commerce exists. My goal was to procure a working local SIM card, since my attempt yesterday took a half an hour then failed. Honestly, getting out of the protective bubble of our hired car did put butterflies in my stomach. Time to wake up and pay attention to where I actually am in this world. (more…)
We worked on 4.5 houses in a remote village outside of Bangalore named Hosahalli.
When you enter the village, you first see the nicer homes. All brightly painted, fences, a car at a few homes, dogs that would pass as pets, trees here and there. Further down the main road, you turn right and enter an area called the “backwards community”, where lower income families live. Water flows at community taps, trash lines the gutters and ground, many homes with no toilets or electricity. This is primarily where we built. (more…)