track our trek: a new friend in satish...

05 December 2006

a new friend in satish...

what we could not have imagined would happen to us on our trip to india, was that we would come away having made a new friend. we are sure we would not have had as enjoyable experience had we not met and traveled with satish. all along the way, he gave us good advice on the best place for a saffron lassi, the best restaurant for tandoori chicken, the best times to visit attractions so we could avoid the crowds as much as possible. and he shared lots of stories with us about his wife and two children. at the end of our tour, he invited us to meet his family on our final night in delhi. it was wonderful to meet his parents, his wife vandana, 6 year old son shivam, and 9 year old daughter vartika. shivam and vartika both compete in swimming and tae kwon do. the kaushik family welcomed us warmly. we played games with the kids (both fierce competitors), and we ate delicious homemade indian food from aloo parantha to carrot pudding. yum! but most of all, we got a rest from the road, and we were happy to see satish at home with his family...he is sometimes away on tours with tourists for 3 and 4 weeks at a time! when we come back to india, we will be sure to travel with satish again. (only next time we'll contact him directly instead of paying the 40% extra we discovered his boss charges b/c of the hotel's lonely planet notoriety!) at the end of our visit, satish left us at the train station where we took the overnight train to mumbai to catch our flight back to bangkok... it was a surprisingly decent ride, given the fact that our expectations were quite low! the train stopped running before it reached mumbai central station, and we had to jump on a local train the rest of the way... compared to cities in rajastan, mumbai seemed very clean, and the people were considerably less obnoxious about selling wares. we had only a day to spend there, so we stored our packs at the salvation army hotel, walked around a bit, watched casino royale, then headed to the airport around 11pm to wait for our 5:20am flight...by that time, we were exhausted and more than ready to get back to our bangkok home away from home!

Posted at 02:54 AM | Permalink

Comments

rastafari!!! these india tales are not a joke. the pictures are so amazing i caught myself daydreaming so hard i started to dribble. as usual i need to reconnect you to the west and the southern foibles therein, just so you don't forget the cultural depth, clarity and history of these united states that you've left. so... while you were looking at sean jean's tah mahal, we went to the georgia festival of trees. it was an awesome experience that took place in a temple called the georgia world congress center. the center was constructed in nineteen thousand seventy six by a group of developers who were inspired by the profits they could earn in so doing. the festival was a worship to christmas trees. christmas tress are pine trees that have come to be associated with the presentation of gifts at the birth of jesus christ. the trees in the festival were plastic, but that is besides the point. jesus christ is the ideological head of the united states and the one to which our president prays to, to guide him on important decisions of state. anyhow, christmas trees have pagan origins that date back to the 16th century nordes. prince albert introduced them in england in 1841 at windsor castle in hopes of getting under queen victoria's royal knickers. so these trees were assembled and adorned with colored plastic balls sold at a commerce center called target. the balls are called ornaments and are a product of an ancient chinese art called manufacturing, which they still do today. there is a pilgrammage in the south to see these trees. much like muslims roll to the kaaba (at least kinda like it), people called southerners converge on this festival and greet each other in the words of the beneficient, the merciful, santa claus..."how yall doin'? yall have a merry christmas now."

Posted by: kamau | 11 December 2006 at 11:43 AM

Launch Pad to Orbiters . . . more news from the West. I would not have imagined ever that I would write such a missive. However, I have come to the conclusion that voting is not worth the effort. Indeed, to "exercise one's right to vote" is to perpetuate an illusion, participate in a sham.

There is essentially no difference between Democrats and Republicans--except that one group is spineless and the other shameless. Both share an interest in expanding the empire without regard for anyone other than "elites," a euphemism for "robber barrons," which is itself a euphemism for "blood suckers."

Speaker-elect Pelosi has just announced that the Democrats are now ready to govern and their first order of business will be to engage some external body to review and pass judgement on ethical concerns. I suppose that has some merit given her inability to recognize such blatantly unethical and criminal acts such as those committed by the current administration and abetted by the Congress. But it is striking as well that there are other priority concerns that might be address. Take for example the funding of an illegal, unjust, immoral war, aka crimes against the peace, humanity, and the environment.

Ah! But alas, as former President Johnson said of Vietnam, "I can't get out of Vietnam . . . my friends are making too much money!"

So, I think it is a waste of time to vote as our vote will not likely be counted anyway; and if counted will only support a Democrat or Republican and, as I've have just argued there is essentially no difference between the two.

The answer then is to make many friends around the world . . . friends who may be kind enough to take us in when this country collapses under the weight of its own hubris, arrogance, greed, and evil.

There was one true warrior in the US Congress--Cynthia Mckinney of Georgia. When you return home you must make it your first order of business to view "American Blackout."

I love you both. Fear not. I am not pessismistic about life; I remain hopeful that good people will survive to do good things . . . like the two of you.

God's Peace and Love,

Dad

Posted by: Ronald David aka Dad | 14 December 2006 at 09:02 PM

What?! Auntie Dawn is on a camel! Whoa!!! Oh, did you see anymore elephants?

Posted by: Maya | 15 December 2006 at 12:33 PM

Wow...so much that you've been through is almost more than I can imagine. I am finally catching up on your trek. As the holiday season is upon us, I am feeling the need to connect to my friends and do my part to strengthen the love in the world. Know that Julian and I are thinking of you, wishing you the best, and looking forward to hearing some of these stories in person.

Continue to enjoy your travels and may new friendships be a standard part of your adventures.

Many blessings, B.

Posted by: betzig | 17 December 2006 at 05:49 PM

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