Lamanai

Lamanai, a Maya site located in northern Belize, is an anglicized mispronunciation of the Maya phrase for "sleeping crocodile".  To get there, you have to take a boat for about an hour and a half up the river, where you then have lunch before going to see incredible ruins and hiking up to the top of the tallest temple. Despite my terror of heights, I made it to the top and stood there, terrified, buffeted by the wind, and in awe of the beauty that lay in front of me. I could see all the way to the river, over the jungle that surrounded the excavated area. Howler monkeys were howling at the intruders from the trees, owls blinked sleepily at the people staring at them, and parrots flitted their way through the foliage. I went back multiple times during my time in Belize, and each time saw something new and different.

Leaving for the ruins via boat.

Baby crocodile-- if you look closely, you can see mama crocodile's snout in front of him.

Owls in the jungle.

View from the top of the tallest temple. You can still climb the temples in Belize, which is amazing.

Looking from the bottom to the top of the temple.

Crooked Tree

Last weekend I spent two lovely days in the Crooked Tree wildlife sanctuary in northern Belize.  Considered one of the top bird watching spots in the world, it was delightful to hang out on the edge of the large lagoon watching birds from the cabin's porch and enjoying the breeze. On Sunday morning (at 6:30AM), I took a bird watching tour on a boat. Water levels remain extraordinarily high for this time of year, so we did not see some of the more rare birds that flock to the area once the lagoon becomes mud flats. We did, however, see green kingfishers, snail kites, three or four kinds of vultures, two kinds of ducks, some hawks, a yellow headed parrot, and others that I can't remember anymore.

One of the legends of the name "Crooked Tree" is based on three illegal loggers who hid from law enforcement on the island we stayed on. In Belizean Kriol, "three" is pronounced "tree," thus the name. Another legend says is was based on the funny, crooked cashew trees in the area. A third story says it was a local landmark used to guide people. I prefer the first story.

One of the views from our lodge.

Our guide claimed this was the "crooked tree." I prefer the first legend.

Green kingfisher. He was looking right at me.

I know it's blurry, but I love how it gives you an idea of the beautiful colors of the parrot.

Shillong

A friend and I went to Meghalaya for the weekend to a resort in the Shillong area. It was incredibly peaceful, though we did not see the famous waterfalls due to the late rains. We realized just how dry it was when a wildfire came within yards of the hotel. My friend woke me up from a nap and said, "So. . . I don't think it's a problem yet, but there's a fire coming towards the hotel that the hotel staff is clearly monitoring. Think we should get our bags ready?" I groggily went out and woke up very quickly when I saw that there was, indeed, a wildfire very close. I called the front desk of the hotel to see what the procedure should be and the person who answered the phone said, "Don't worry madam. The staff is watching the situation. We'll notify you if anything changes."

Hotel staff fighting the fire with a garden hose and sticks.

View of the lake from our hotel. The water levels were extremely low.

Ok. Interesting. I knew there was no way to call the fire department-- it did not go that far out of town. We watched as the fire crept closer and closer, gathering our things as we witness the staff start beating the fire with sticks and use a tiny garden hose, which had a small impact, but not much. They managed to turn it away from the hotel, but we watched as the fire roared around the lake, which is why the bottom photo looks misty. Not the adventure we were expecting.

Darjeeling

Three friends and I traveled to Darjeeling, a small town that was the summer home to the Brits, located on the side of a mountain in northern West Bengal. When clear (though I didn't see it), the view of the Himalayas is stunning. Most famous for its tea plantations, it's a fascinating glimpse into the melding of Tibetan and Indian cultures. To get there, you fly into the flatlands and then careen via taxi up the side of a mountain for four hours. Darjeeling is a wonderful small town with a neat zoo, amazing momos (dumplings), tasty tea, and hotels that require a climb of five flights of stairs. I hope I get to go back.

View of the Himalayas from Tiger Hill.

Shoes of the Buddhist monks outside of the temple.

Part of Darjeeling.

An old railroad provides a nice trail for these young monks to head to school.

Bells outside of a Hindu temple in Darjeeling.

Tikal

I bounce around the world a lot, and I recently visited the Maya ruins in Tikal, Guatemala. This was before the "end of the world" in 2012, but the local tour operators were already laughing about the plans the tourists had made at various sites to visit just in case it proved to be true. The photos below are of the main temple at the site. I wish I could show the scale of these wonders, which are huge. No one knows exactly why the site was abandoned, though they do know that there was no natural flowing water in the area-- the Maya had to collect water in giant cisterns during the rainy season.

 Carving inside one of the side buildings depicting one of the gods.

Main temple with living areas on the far side. This temple was not hollow.

Jaipur

 Stained glass in the lower courtyard of the Palace of the Winds.

Looking out on the main boulevard from the inside of the Palace of the Winds.

 

 

City Palace. The royal family still lives in the yellow section seen in the background.

 

 

The different layers of the Palace of the Winds.

 

 

Going up to the Amber Fort via elephant.

Part of the first courtyard outside the palace in the Amber Fort.

 

One of the screened in rooms in the women's quarters in the Amber Fort.

The outside wall of the Amber Fort.

Rajasthan, in northern India, is what many foreigners envision when they think about India.  Bright colors, amazing textiles, camels, forts, and more, it's a desert area with an incredible history. I spent two days in Jaipur, known as the Pink City, and saw the Amber Fort, the City Palace, and the Palace of the Winds, and did some shopping along the way. The Amber Fort predates the City Palace, and it consists of a main palace area and living quarters.  We rode an elephant to the top of the fort before wandering around.  The Palace of the Winds is inside Jaipur and was built later.  It was for the ladies of the court, and the outside of it is the most famous view.  Above are a taste of some of the places we saw and experienced there.

Agra

Everyone says that it's a must to go to the Taj Mahal while you're in India. I was skeptical. I have found that usually if you build up your expectations too much, they disappoint. That is not the case with the Taj Mahal.

A few cool facts: It took 22 years to build. 25 elephants could fit between the lower and upper domes. You can only see the lower dome from the inside where the crypt is, which is difficult to see from the floor in the first place. The four pillars on the outside of the main building lean slightly outwards so they would collapse away from the building in an earthquake, rather than smashing it. And the list continues.

There is no way to express how large the actual monument is or how ornate the detail work is. I couldn't believe how much thought was put into making everything exactly symmetrical except for the king's coffin. I've put a couple of photos above to see how beautiful even an amateur's photography is, but seriously, go there. You can't appreciate it without seeing it in person.

The rest of Agra, the town itself, is a giant tourist town. My favorite example was when we went to grab dinner. My friend asked for really spicy food, which she hadn't been able to find all day. When the food came, it was basically bland, something I've never experienced in India. Our tour guide told us later that tourists would ask for spicy food, get sick because they weren't used to it, and then not be able to make their tours. As a result, the tour guides asked the restaurants to stop serving spicy food so they wouldn't lose revenue.

Pick Up Lines in Foreign Countries

One of my friends and I have traveled extensively in India and some in Latin America. We have compiled a list of (failed) pick-up lines used on us over the past 3-4 years:

Guy on the street:  Heeeeyyy baaabyyyy! You speak-a Spanish?
Me: No.

Guy wants a photo (while staring at my chest): Wow, you're slender (I'm really not). Photo?
Me: *Shrug* Sure.
Guy puts arm around shoulders and inches towards *other* places, which I remove. He turns in shock, "But. . . you're western!"

Random guy in market: "Madam! What country?!"

While we were riding a camel, "Madam! Verrryy niiice cam-mel!"

More while on camel, "Hello camel lady! You are looking very beautiful!"

Woman groping us at the airport as the scanner picked up the underwire on our underclothes, "You are wearing undergarments, yes?"
"Yes"
Grabs the undergarments, "You are wearing Indian dress" (yes, yes we were) You wear Indian dress verry nice!"All the while patting said undergarments. We ran.

French man invites American girl into his apartment after one meeting. She declines. He responds, "What? You don't like sex?"

Guy in bar: "Hi, I'm Nigerian-Finnish. Why are you here?"
Me: Why are you?

Man in market in Morocco to my male friend traveling with me, "Sir! Sir!"
Friend: "Yes?"
Man: "I will give you 20 camels for the blonde."

While walking through the streets of Kerala, a teenager zooms by on a bike and slaps my friend on the butt. Classy.

Not a pick-up line, but pretty epic out of a tenth grade playbook. Indian guy sits next to girl, spends the evening rubbing her side with his elbow. Expects her to know what's happening.

In a club, awkward man pursues friend, looks deeply in her eyes and mouths along with the lyrics, "And tonight I'm f***ing you!"
No, no you're not.

Holi

A friend of mine and I went to the boys' home where she volunteers to "play color" on Holi. For those of you who have not seen the result of Holi, the point is to throw both powdered and wet color at each other until you run out. It was 25 young boys versus the 5-6 adult volunteers. It was insane and one of the best experiences I've had in India. The only downside? I showed up to work with most of my face still multicolored due to the staining. Everyone would look at me, giggle a little, and then say, "Happy Holi!"

Sangam

A friend of mine came to visit, a lifelong Girl Scout, and we took the opportunity to visit one of the international Girl Guide/Girl Scout centers, which is located in Pune in southern India. On a whirlwind, one-day trip, we flew down to Pune and met with some of the women who volunteer at the center.

The center is located smack dab in the middle of three different communities of various backgrounds, but it is an island of serenity. The grounds are beautiful, with lovely gardens and a pool, and many of their programs focus on volunteerism. They even offer space for local schools to rent in order to learn about camping and tell their own stories around the campfire.

Though I didn't get to see much more of Pune, it was wonderful to see a place where women from quite literally around the world work together towards mutual goals-- I saw signs from women from Bangladesh, other places in India, Sri Lanka, Nepal, and many other countries. Women from at least four or five were volunteering while I was there. Highly recommend getting there if you have any tie to Girl Scouting!

Rhinos, elephants, and monkeys. . . oh my!

Where you start your elephant safari from.

Baby elephant came to say hi!

Riding through the elephant grass.

Watching the rhino cross the road.

The view of where the Diphlu River meets the Brahmapatra in the third section of the park.

Monkeys!

Three friends and I went to Kaziranga for a weekend and got to experience one of the coolest vacations I've ever had. Kaziranga is one of the national parks in India located in the northeast, in a state called Assam. It serves as a preserve for one horned rhinos and tigers. Sadly, though we saw many rhinos, there were no tigers.

The trip started with an elephant ride early in the morning (where baby said hi to us all!) followed by a jeep safari through the Central Range. We saw more than fifteen different kinds of birds, some rhinos, some wild elephants, two different kinds of deer, water buffalo, and some monkeys.

In the afternoon, we headed to the Western Range, which is home to more rhinos than the other areas. This is where we got to see a rhino cross the road-- just a few feet from our jeep! The final stop was in the newly opened part of the park, which is better known for its scenery and the opportunity to see three different kinds of monkeys-- which we did! All in all, an incredible adventure.

Christmas in Kolkata

This year I spent Christmas in Kolkata. While sad about not seeing my family, two friends and I had a wonderful time seeing the lights on Park Street and the decorations around town. There were some that I found particularly entertaining. From the creepy Santa in front of the Forum Mall to the tree that looks like Spiderman is crawling up it (he's actually attached to the building right behind it), I loved to see some of the interpretations of traditional holiday decor and the truly stunning lights along the main drag in town, Park Street. I hope you enjoy this taste of Christmas from Kolkata!

Howrah

A friend who works in microfinance invited me to go with her one day to see her organization in action. Howrah is an area across the river from Kolkata proper, and I was able to see very different communities from those I usually interact with in Kolkata. I was privileged to watch women, who are the clients, repay their loans and show my colleague and me their small businesses. The first photo is the line of taxis outside of the Howrah train station waiting to receive passengers coming in from all over India. The railways are still very much in use here. The four women in the one photo are standing outside of one of their vegetable shops. The other photo, showing a lane in a small village, was where I got to meet a whole group of children, who were fascinated by the westerners who were visiting.

Jharkand

In September I was sent to Jharkand for work. It's a state west of West Bengal (where Kolkata is) that is home to many mining communities and farming areas. I drove with some colleagues from Ranchi to Dhanbad, which is where I was able to take some of the photos in this post. It took about six hours in each direction, partially due to the fog and the late rains. In one photo you can see a bike with large bags being pushed up the side of the hill we are on-- the bags were filled with coal that the men were bringing into town to sell. We saw bicycle after bicycle being pushed probably more than twenty miles over very, very rough roads.

The Monsoon

I always joked about the monsoon. As in, whenever it rained hard, we would refer to it as a monsoon. Then I moved to India. I have been taught a whole new appreciation for what the monsoon means for day-to-day life. I drive around in an Ambassador, which has very high clearance. Thank goodness. The photos from above are rather typical for the rainy season (monsoon), and I'm very, very happy that I have not had to wade through the water thus far. Unfortunately this has also meant that when my driver started testing the brakes after we got out of the flooding and we were still driving home, I was informed, "Madam, I'm just making sure the brake works. Sometimes it doesn't work so well after being in water."