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.