Month: March 2012
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History, Religion, and Yogurt in the Kathmandu Valley
A few days after a precarious exit from India, my dad met us in Kathmandu: he had been looking for a chance to catch up with us somewhere along our journey, and something about Nepal piqued his interest. A few weeks earlier, he pulled the trigger on a flight, spent some time researching the mountain…
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Weekly Twitter Updates
Arrived in #Bangkok at 5:45am. Dudes in hotel lobby talking about the "ladies" they took home & whether they were lady-boys. #KhaoSanRoad # Happy birthday @jeremy2277! Hope thy hangover is gone by now 🙂 # Just had possibly the best meal yet: khao soi noodle soup (Chang Mai specialty) & butterfly pea (a flower) juice…
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India 101: Nothing Can Prepare You, But Here’s a Try
Some things you should know: Cows. There are cows everywhere. Big ones. They’re in narrow alleys, blocking your way. There are herds of them crossing the highway, ignorant to all approaching traffic. They’re eating huge piles of smelly trash off the sidewalk of a busy street. And they’re treating the entire country like their toilet.…
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Yum: Thali
The thali was probably our favorite Indian meal, or at least the one we had the most times. Present on nearly every menu in India, and differing a bit from region to region, it’s generally a generous portion of rice, another carb like the crispy, fried papad cracker or a flatbread such as roti or…
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Rajasthan Part II: The “Blue City”
Jodhpur is in western Rajasthan and is known as the “Blue City” due to the large number of light blue painted houses in its old city section. The color was originally reserved for homes of high-caste Brahmins but others started painting their houses the same color, eventually resulting in beautiful splashes of blue all over…
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Yum: Indian Street Food
One of the pleasures of visiting India is the street food. We quickly put aside our fears regarding hygiene and indulged in many of these ubiquitous snacks. Among our favorite were jalebi, bhel puri, and golgappa. Jalebi can best be described as a sweeter, smaller, crunchier, and more syrupy version of American funnel cake. We…
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Weekly Twitter Updates
It's cloudy and the island wifi is working for a change! The perfect day for copious amounts of espresso and pigging out on Internet. # Fortunately, one of us is used to spending 40 hours/week dealing with dirty water! # Disappointed w/ amount of plastic trash in water/on beach. Kayaked to a cleaner bay but…
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Rajasthan Part I: The “White City”, Kumbalgarh Fort, and Ranakpur Temples
Our next and last region was the large western state of Rajasthan. Travelers always recommend a visit here; the vivid colors of Rajasthani womens’ bright saris and mens’ colorful turbans, the famous wide and smiling mustaches, and the plethora of forts, temples, and palaces stay engrained in every visitor’s memory. We arrived in Udaipur, Rajasthan’s…
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Weekly Twitter Updates
Celebrating #Holi was a messy blast. Stoked to start trekking in the #Himalayas tomorrow. WE WANT MOUNTAINS! #Nepal # omg #Holi in #Pokhara was awesome. Colored dye + beer + live music = great time! http://t.co/74O03huL # Did a ton of sightseeing in the #Kathmandu valley today. Off to #Pokhara tmrw to celebrate Holi &…
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Delhi and Agra: Friends and the Taj Mahal
We had finally reached the portion of our India trip we were most excited about: meeting up with our friends Amy and Ben, who were coming all the way from Austin, Texas, and staying with friends Bion and Caitlin in Delhi, and then traveling with Ben and Amy to Agra and Rajasthan. Nick and I…