After a fun filled weekend of wine, flight, and sandboarding, we began our tour proper, meeting the remaining 2 members of our group as well as the rest of the tour and set off for our first destination, Puno

At 3800m above sea level, it was an introduction to high altitude living and our first real glimpse of peruvian culture

The hats the women are wearing are actually modifications on the english bowler hat.  Bowler hats have been worn by Quechua and Aymara women in Peru and Bolivia since the 1920s when a shipment of bowler hats was reportedly sent from Europe to Bolivia via Peru for use by Europeans working on the construction of the railroads. The hats were found to be too small and were distributed to locals who have since put their own spin on them

Admittedly, the style is not for everyone

The local supermarket

We wandered about the city, taking in a multitude of sights along the way, but mostly becoming adjusted to the altitude

After getting a feel for the surrounding culture, we started really exploring

The Incas, much like the egyptians and the celts also practiced mummification, although due to a lack of written records we dont know how or why. However, all the mummies whether noble, common, or sacrifices, have been found with knees drawn up in the fetal position.

Then we decided to sample some local delicacies, like this quinoa mousse cake.

Next up was some alpaca steak covered in fried quinoa and alpaca skin and sauca berries

A side order of yucca, or what we took to calling “jenga fries”

And finally the piece de resistance, Cuy!

Or as its better known in english, guinea pig.

Quite the mouthful!

Ending the night by watching some traditional peruvian dances from around the country

We also saw a band with a humongous pan flute

But as they say, size isnt everything, it’s how you use it =P

A short distance from Ica where we were staying lies the small desert town of Huacachina. I am not exaggerating when I say small, that is quite literally the entire town you see laid out below you. As resort towns go, it is mostly aimed at backpackers and mostly for one type of activity

Sandboarding. Like snowboarding, but hotter.

We all piled into the dunebuggy, Aytch offering to drive and kindly being declined and set off for the surrounding hills

Then we grabbed our boards, waxed up the underside and set off on an awesome few hours of sandboarding

Wheeeeeee!

A very good day indeed

What has two thumbs and is back from sabbatical? THIS GUY!

Yes, in one of the wiser decisions of my life (and I dont mean that facetiously), I took some time from the job search to make the yearly trip abroad with friends, this time to South America, where we were off to Peru. The next handful of posts will be about that trip, and by the time I am done, hopefully the last post will be about a job. But I digress. We landed in Lima, where we stayed just long enough to have lunch and then set out for a 5 hour bus ride to Ica, near the desert. It would be our staging base for the next two days of adventure before beginning the big tour.

New additions to the travel group this year are two of my oldest friends, aytch and andysensei. I have known these guys since I was in elementary school, and my first trip abroad with a friend was to Japan with andy nigh on a decade ago. So this ought to be interesting.

First order of business was to down a pitcher of Pisco sours, which were….well, okay, not great, but still fun. Then we set about planning our activities on the ground. But before that…

foreign playplace!

My enabler in mischief.

Our first decision was to head out and flyover the Nazca lines

The Nazca lines are a series of ancient geoglyphs located in the desert of southern Peru. Visible only from the air or atop the surrounding foothills, they were constructed with mathematical exactitude by sweeping aside the pebbles to reveal white gray ground underneath

The whale can be seen in the lower right corner

The astronaut

The monkey

Although discovered in 1927, the purpose of the lines remains unclear to this day. SOme scholars have proposed that they were meant to represent astrological data, constellations and planets as an early observatory

The hummingbird

others have theorized that they had religious significance and were meant to bring rain or other blessings to the harsh surroundings

The condor

hands

Still others have theorized that they were landing strips and welcome signs to extraterrestrials.

Above the hands and the tree you can see the highway running by and get an idea of the relative size of the lines. Though smaller than we had initially thought they were still quite impressive. We also got to listen to the pilot talk to us with unique peruvian slang…every other sentence started with “my friends”. 

Though no one knows their purpose, the lines remain quite prevalent around Nazca

Best. flyover. ever.

And so we come to the end of the India/Nepal Adventure. Fret Not, however, for like any good Indian tale, I leave you with a musical number

 Music courtesy of that Benny Lava video by Buffalax. 

See you soon for the next trip!

After several days in Kathmandu, we hopped back on Buddha Air to head out to Pokhara our final destination of this year’s fantastic foursome trip, fearlessly flying free into the face of fate

Accomodations were somewhat more spartan than they had been for the remainder of the trip, and we spent a large portion of our time just wandering about town, chatting with locals and watching children play the nepalese version of “kick the can”

Short Round was thrilled to be staying in another 5 star third world hotel

Pollution: Made by Women.

Haha…Poon hill trek.

We spent several days reading, relaxing, and resorting about, for the main reason we had come to Pokhara at all was for one specific activity. So early the morning after our arrival, we got up and caught a ride to the very top of the mountain to view the obligatory vacation sunrise

Hard to Beat that view.

Crystal caught some rays, while I converted to wildnerness man! Mountain man of the fancy hats and unshaven beards!

Short Round opted for a hearty breakfast of mountains and then it was off to pick up some supplies and see the sights of Pokhara

Shop Smart. Shop S-Mart. YOU GOT THAT?

This sad little cave and waterfall are the sum total of things to see in Pokhara, which is known mainly as a starting point for treks around Nepal. However, Pokhara does have one major activity going for it

Paragliding

lots and lots of paragliding

But Paragliding in Nepal is special because they add on one feature which you cant do anywhere else in the world.

Meet Kevin. Kevin and Bob are egyptian vultures who are also big fans of paragliding. Or should we say, PARAHAWKING

I love being up above the eart. Whether skydiving, bungee jumping, moutain climbing, learning to pilot a plane, and now parahawking, I feel truly free when I can see all of creation spread out below me. The ability to defy the laws of gravity is what makes mankind so remarkable. Other creatures have language, use tools, may even be capable of social connections and abstract thought. But only man looked at the birds soaring high above him, and thought-I will do that. I will conquer the very fabric of creation to elevate myself up to the wild blue yonder

While lazily drifting about on the air currents, Kevin would soar in between Short Round, Crystal, and Myself, summoned by a piercing whistle from my tandem companion. He would land on my glove, snatch a piece of rabbit meat from my hand, and fly away with his snack, guiding us to the next air current to glide even higher. A Once in a lifetime experience, to actually soar with the birds.

Worth noting is that these birds are endangered. In addition to being one of the most awesome things ever, Parahawking helps to raise awareness and funds to keep Egyptian Vultures breeding and reproducing before they are all gone. And you dont want them to disappear, because then how will you learn to fly with them? So go visit this site, and donate, or at least learn more about it. And if you do, tell Scott that Dr J and Koh sent you

After feeling the wind beneath our wings arms, it was time to head home. At the end of our cash and energy, we sat down at the corner to wait for the cab that would return us to the airport and the slightly more confining flights that would take us back to New Delhi and then home.

Just for kicks, while resting against a wall and looking perhaps somewhat less groomed than usual, I began singing some of my favorite american tunes by Journey, Whitesnake, and Bon Jovi. Crystal took one look at my homeless appearance, flipped over my hat, and tossed in some seed money. We then spent the next hour watching as local nepalis and tourists would stroll down the street, every last one doing a double take to see someone so pale performing on a street corner. A number of passerby threw money in the hat, or tried to sneak pictures, perhaps worried that I would charge them to document such a strange occurrence. I just continued my one man karaoke show to the amazement of even the local beggars who were not making a fraction of my take. When the taxi finally arrived, I gather up all my earnings (about $30 nepali or $15 US) and handed it off to the beggar woman whose territory I had usurped for my social experiment. She tried to return it to me with a gesture and look that said, “no, you earned this, I cant take it from you” but for me the fun was in the song and merriment. As the cab pulled away, a young girl and her brother who had been watching the whole performance from the beginning with progressively wider eyes ran up to bang on the window and wave goodbye to what were probably the wackiest foreigners they will ever see. And that is a pretty good way to end this particular vacation, with smiling children, happy beggars, and a song in my heart.

Next Post: The Bollywood Video Edit of the Trip!

Garbed in Royal Attire, and armed with our newfound knowledge of hindi gleaned from watching Tere Ho Love Naal Gaya (seriously, go see it) we set off the next morning to go explore the Amer, or Amber Fort.

Of course, this being India, Short Round and I certainly were not going to walk up to the fort like the rest of the peasants. No sir, we were going up in style

That’s right, we rode up on a luxury elephant. What made it luxury? Well aside from the power steering, this particular model was pachy-dermed full of extras like air conditioning. Or so the driver told us when the elephant reached up his trunk and definietly did “NOT” sneeze all over us.

Okay, so we totally went up like the rest of the peasants. Ascending to Amer Fort by elephantback is a popular tourist attraction. But animal lovers, dont fret. Each elephants workday consists of only 5 rides up and down the mountain total, or 5pm, whichever comes first and they are done for the day. Plus they get bathed in the lake at the bottom

The Main entry is through the Suraj Pole (Sun Gate) which leads to Jaleb Chowk, which is the first main courtyard. This was the place where armies would hold victory parades with their war bounty on their return from battles, which were also witnessed by the Royal family women folk through the latticed windows.This gate was built exclusively and was provided with guards as it was the main entry into the palace. It faces the eastern direction towards the rising Sun and hence the name

Ganesh Pol or the Ganesh Gate, named after the Hindu god Lord Ganesh who removes all obstacles in life, is the entry into the private palaces of the Maharajas.

Just outside the Ganesh Pol is another Diwan-I-aam, or hall of Public Audience. So we made a public spectacle of ourselves and gained an audience by our awesome jumping photo abilities where we all totally landed in perfect balance as you can tell from the photos.

Above is the Jai Mandir aka Sheesh Mahal (mirror palace, or sheesh, my hall is shiny), which is exquisitely beautified with glass inlaid panels and multi-mirrored ceilings. The mirrors are of convex shape and designed with coloured foil and paint which would glitter bright under candle nights at the time it was in use. Faced with craftsmanship of such beauty and clear importance…well, you know whats coming next, right?

Explorers up close with a wide angle lens.

This is the “Magic Flower”. The flower has seven unique designs of fish tail (western flower), a lotus, a hooded cobra (northern flower), an elephant trunk, a lion’s tail, a cob of corn and a scorpion (eastern flower), each is viewed by a particular way of partial hiding of the panel with hands. You find the rest, and best of luck!

Having some more fun with the mirrors and playing with perspective on my camera

just behind the sheesh mahal is this amazing view of Moat Lake, where the elephants relax after a long hard day of work.

In the second courtyard of Amer Fort, you can see in the distance a slightly more defendable structure. It is connected to Amer Fort by secret passageways so the royal family could flee like rabbits tactically retreat if the main fort was ever taken.

Of course, secret passageways werent just used for fleeing, they were also used for sexytime. The Raja would have multiple wives, and to prevent any of them from getting jealous of how often he was visiting the others, he had secret passages from his room to every one of the seven Ranis rooms. And presumably a swimming pool chock full of escorts and courtesans, but hey, pimpin aint easy

Looking out over the palace, I tried to imagine what life would have been like back in those days

Short Round however, quickly shoved me out of the way, so he could get a view of a “sweet piece of curry”

No time for love, Short Round, we got places to be

I promise, Doom Temples are quickly approaching.

There’s one now!…probably.

This was one of my favorite shots from the trip, although it is somewhat “hipster”. I do have a few hipster tendencies, (e.g. my love for hats) to the point that there has been a drinking game made of my behavior…the rules are as follows. Anytime Dr J

A) does something hipster like take an artsy fartsy shot, say he liked something before it was cool, etc
B) acts like a fattie foodie dreaming, fantasizing about, or photographing what he is about to eat or expressing food culture love or
C) makes a terrible pun

everyone who catches it takes a drink. If you travel with me, and play this game, you will be drunk, or well hydrated depending on your beverage of choice. As such, we decided to have some fun with it and took a few “Hipster Album Covers” that will go on our LP’s that are totally awesome but you would probably have never heard of

Here is the first…what should our hipster album title be?

Coming up next: The Treasure of Shahpura House

And a bonus for you readers: The Water Palace!

Not open to the public, so no accompanying story. Just two docs who love hats.

And so, with full bellies and empty bladders, we left behind the bustling streets of New Delhi and set off for Jaipur along dusty roads cluttered by cattle, camels, and something else alliterative. No I wouldnt make that up

To help pass the time on the road we played a number of improv games such as good idea, bad idea (come up with one, next person has to change it to make it into the other); fortunately, unfortunately (you tell a story with each person alternating the sentence beginning), and alphabet story (tell a story where each person has to start their sentence with the next successive letter of the alphabet). By far the best way of passing the time was Russian Hangman.

A Game taught to me by a friend made on the beijing trip, it consits of one person thinking of a word, such as balloon. The first letter is given, but nothing else. Then each person goes around and asks the wordmaker any question they want. The wordmaker has to think of an answer to that persons question that begins with the letter he gave

Word: balloon (word and length unknown to all but wordmaker)
Person 1: Is it a type of fruit?
Wordmaker: no, it’s not a Banana
Person 2: is it a sports team?
Wordmaker, no, it’s not the Bulls

This goes one until the wordmaker cannot come up with an answer to the question beginning with the appropriate letter. To avoid bluffing by players, if the questioner cant come up with an answer, no additional letters have to be given out

Word: Balloon:
Person 3: is it a french philospher?
Wordmaker: ??? (doesnt know any starting with B)

If person 3 is able to give a response, then the wordmaker needs to give the next letter…as in, the second letter is A. now the whole thing repeats with all the answers having to start with the letter A. This goes on until the word is within 1-2 letters of ending. At any time, the people playing can use their turn to try and guess the entire word, but they each only have 2 guesses before they are “out”

Whoever guesses the word gets a point and becomes the new wordmaker. If nobody guesses and the word is revealed, or if all the guesses are used up, then wordmaker gets a point. One round of this with every person as the wordmaker killed about 3 hours of the trip as we all learned how creative we can be when asked questions about literally anything and everything

In practically no time at all, we arrived at our first site in Jaipur, the Jantar Mantar Observatory. The observatory consists of fourteen major geometric devices for measuring time, predicting eclipses, tracking stars’ location as the earth orbits around the sun, ascertaining the declinations of planets, and determining the celestial altitudes and related ephemerides. Each is a fixed and ‘focused’ tool

It contains a number of old and still functioning astrological instruments, like the worlds biggest sundial, which you can just make out behind Dr Han. It is accurate to two seconds Jaipur Time. Its shadow moves visibly at 1 mm per second, or roughly a hand’s breadth (6 cm) every minute

Or this which does something impressive with geometry, probably

Jayaprakash Yantra consists of hollowed out hemispheres with markings on their concave surfaces. Crosswires were stretched between points on their rim. From inside the Ram, an observer could align the position of a star with various markings or a window’s edge. The Mishra yantras were able to indicate when it was noon in various cities all over the world. The something whose name I forgot Yatras were able to locate individual constellations in the night sky

You can just make out the shadow behind Miss Crystal and Dr Han, it is WAS in fact accurate with local time

Each of those little staircase sculptures is a guide to locating an individual constellation. They are very strict about people climbing on them, more specifically, they do not allow it. So of course you know what we had to do

The whole gang, destroying history and culture, one monument at a time

We werent quite sure what this did, but it makes a cool looking picture

Oh Shit! Is this a mayan death calendar? A timekeeper of DOOM???

Nope, Just some crazy starship for telling important calendar dates around the world. No 2012 end in sight.

Every instrument in this place was designed by Jai Singh II, a brilliant guy. The small structure in the foreground is not an astronomical tool at all, but the scale model built before the two instruments in the background that was used by the architects to measure dimensions. And yet even the models are functional, although slightly less accurate.

After the observatory, stopped for lunch before moving on to our next destination. Never ones to have a meal without entertainment, we enjoyed a sitar with our thali

What further adventures lie in store? Keep reading (and or recommending ) to find out!

From Red Fort We met up once again with our driver BP, who was by far one of the most trustworthy people we had ever met. It’s like he had an internal bat radar to detect when we needed him and would instantly pull up. He also told us about the important rules of driving in Delhi: good breaks, good horn, good luck. Once we were safely ensconced in the van, we took a short trip to visit the grave of Gandi, which is one of the most well maintained places I have ever seen. In a city that is so often surrounded by or buried under filth and refuse, every at Gandhis grave is immaculate, and it is clear he is still as revered as a great leader in death as he was in life.

From the Tomb of one famous Indian to that of another, our next stop was the tomb of Humayun, the second Mughal emperor

The first example of a “paradise” or persian burial garden on the indian subcontinent, it not only set the stage for succeeding Mughal emperors to create royal Mausoleums, but also served as a model for the Taj Mahal, built by the fourth mughal emperor Shah Jahan

Imagine that this was made of marble instead of sandstone, and voila! instant wonder of the world.

We approached the entrance with some trepidation, seeing as how Indians have mixed/confused views on holy objects and religious imagery. Sound rascist?

Think again. Apparently this is a blessing or affirmation of life and positivity, at least until it is rotated 45 degrees, which gives the now infamous german logo.

Also, this is probably not a rabbi. But I digress. There we were entering the steps to the final resting place of Humayun

Hmm. Seems like he was down with the Jews after all.

The cenotaph of the second Mughal emperor

And our silhouetted adventurers pause for a moment to bask in the wonder of the things they have seen thus far, before setting off to one of their most dangerous sites yet: The Qutb Complex!

Yes, amidst the still stand columns, and a host of booby traps, the Qutb Minar, or victory tower can be espied. It is this structure, the tallest brick minaret in the world, that gives the complex its name

Filled with miles of columns, graves, arches, and archeaological accomplishments, we stood there unsure of what to do first…

Short Round was having a grand time admiring the architecture, until he set off a hidden trap from which we had to flee

luckily, years out of use, the trap had rusted and all we ended up running from was a few confused locals

A brief dash through another archway

dodging a few more snares along the way using only our wits

and bypassing the resting sites of those who had come before, we finally arrived at Qutb al Minar

This erection (as our guide referred to it) Thrusts into the sky at an impressive 239 ft (72.5 meters metric world!) and was built by three different rulers, not too mention struck by lighting twice. One can only admire the workmanship of such a towering erection

Or, you know, make a phallic joke. Whatever.

This stubby little fella was eventually supposed to compete with and even outstrip the qutb minar, but it remains an unfinished erection, incomplete because the sultan who ordered it built blew his wad of cash and materials too early, leaving it standing forever impotent and powerless in view of its more successful counterpart. Miss Crystal therefore took pity on this tower and rewarded its desperate efforts by posing in front so you could all ooh and ahh at this cyclopean endeavor.

Having finished our sightseeing, we journeyed around to the flea markets, a tea store where we purchased darjeeling (the champagne of teas) and dinner with some friends of friends before finally bedding down, awaiting the morning to continue our journey out of Delhi and onward to Rajastan, land of princes, pachyderms and our next destination.

Greetings All!

Indiana Josh and his trusty sidekick Short Round, accompanied by longtime fellow adventurers Dr Han and Miss Crystal recently returned from their yearly trip exploring yet another continent. This year, our intrepid band of thrill-seekers decided to explore the exotic experiences of Northern India, and search the mysterious heights, and brave the worst lows of bordering Nepal. Stuffed with the usual Danger, Despair and Deeds of Derring-Do, the following journal entries and their accompanying photos will hopefully make you laugh, cry, and keep you at the edge of your seat while you read the latest epic

INDIANA JOSH AND THE TEMPLES OF DOOM

Day 1: 16 Mar 2012

Have Just arrived in India, another third world bastion of developing culture, industry, and yes, aromas.

The Crowds are palpable, a post apocalyptic throng of poverty stricken zombies searching for change instead of brains. Brains they have aplenty, as they must to survive from day to day, but not a street goes by but is populated by working stiffs in one form or another

First order of business then, is to find some means of conveyance to get to our hotel. We learn quickly that there are three rules to good driving in India

1. Good Breaks
2. Good Horn
3. Good Luck

Suddenly, New York Cabbies make a lot more sense as we are whisked away in what can only be described by Dr Han as “like playing a video game for two hours with MY LIFE”. Traffic moves at a steady 30km per hour, but it does so by whisking in and out of lanes that clearly exist only in the minds of the drivers as any extraneous material such as painted road lines, traffic signals, and pedestrians are simply ignored.

One moment our cab is driving down the left side of the road (thanks a lot Britain!) only for the cabby to decide he doesnt like his current position so he abruptly honks his horn to let other drivers around him know he is about to attempt manslaughter of his fares, then cuts across 4 lanes of traffic (in a 2 lane road no less), driving briefly against the flow of traffic toward several oncoming cars, only to duck back in to a lane somewhere in an intersection, all while sipping his chai and answering a text. Everyone hear drives like this, and after the initial terror, the car rides become a blur

By the end of the trip, we all agree that No racing game or driving simulator in the world will ever match up, and the previously loved Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland is now less thrilling than a trip to the Mall.

After settling in at our hotel, The Shangri La, an undiscovered paradise indeed, we briefly search the surroundings for some type of sustenance

Knowing the dangers of getting the dreaded Delhi Belly from street vendors, Indiana Josh gets in touch with local contacts, their information obtained from an associate stateside

The modern, ultra hip decor of the punjabi restaurant belies its humble surroundings, and a delicious meal is had with new friends

From Left: Miss Crystal, Dr Han, Indiana Josh, Mansi, Pavan, and Siddharth

Bellies full, we return to our hotel to await the fourth member of the party set to arrive tomorrow, when the adventure will truly begin

Welcome, my friends, to India.

TO BE CONTINUED…