Trip to Peru part 5

We took a trip to Aguas Calientes to visit the ruins of Machu Picchu. It was a beautiful train ride through the Andes to the small town. The town itself was smack in the middle of the mountain ranges, and had a huge river running through the middle. The view from our hostel room was great, and being such a touristy place we had no trouble finding food.

Our trip to Machu Picchu began around 6:30 am, and was a windy bus ride up to the entrance. The ruins were incredible, perched high up on a mountain. The amount of skill and dedication the builders must have had to build such a large city this high up is mind boggling. The Incas were very knowledgeable in astronomy and building techniques. There were canals which brought water throughout the city, and many of the features were in relation to the direction of the sun. After touring around the city with a guide, a few of us went to hike up neighboring Wainapicchu. It was a long hard hike, up some pretty steep grades, but the views from the top were worth it. Then we returned to Aguas Calientes to catch our train ride back to Cuzco. My pictures from Machu Picchu are here.

Trip to Peru part 4

We had a few packed days of service and fun in Peru. One day we visited an orphange for young girls to help paint their walls. It was great getting to do some hands on service work, and the little girls were so cute! A few of them insisted on helping us paint saying, ¨Its my house!¨. We had lunch at a Japanese restaruant with a surprisingly decent veggie menu, and then the kids put on some wonderful dancing and musical performances. You could really see the warmth in the orphanage, and it felt a lot less institutionalized than what we have back in the US. The people running the orphanage were so caring towards the children, and it really showed. Even though the orphanage itself was poor in material goods, it was rich in love. Then for dinner we visit a Seva Cafe-ish restaurant, which donated all the proceeds to a project called Yanapay.

Another day we paid a visit to an amazing place called Casa de Milagros, run by a couple from Colorado. It is a small organic farm in the middle of an amazing valley, surrounded by sheer mountain walls. The couple has adopted 29 local children and were raising them as their own. It was an incredible place, totally awe inspiring in both natural beauty, and how these folks were living their lives. Our task here was to decorate a few walls with paintings. After discovering some Dragonball Z DVDs in the boys room I volunteered to draw some anime characters on their wall. After I finished drawing, some of the other volunteers painted in the rest. The kids were really excited and telling us the names of the characters I drew, and it was really exciting for me as well. I´d really love to come back and spend more time there someday. Apparently they´ve also got some connections in Hollywood as Woody Harrleson and others visit from time to time.

That evening Sukh, Shveta, and I also visited the Yanapay school mentioned above. It was essentially a free daycare for the poor kids, that anyone could go to after school. They are open from 3 till 7pm, and it was just jam packed with kids being tutored, and playing. The area they were located in was tiny, but they made the best they could with what they had. A number of foreign students were volunteering there, and spent a little while there playing with some kids.

Trip to Peru part 3

We flew into Cusco and met up with Pastor Willy at the airport. Cusco is at around 11,500 ft. and has beautiful views of the Andes mountain range. We walked around the town a bit, and really loved the main square, Plaza De Armas. It is definitely one of the most scenic cities we´ve ever visited. Anytime you look out you see the steep green Andes, and there are numerous lovely old buildings. Of course, being a relatively poor country, we were surrounded by street vendors and beggars all the time, but for the most part they weren´t too pushy.

For dinner we visited a Hare Krishna restaurant chain called Govinda, which was delicious. Definitely recommended for vegetarians who happen to visit. Its been alot of fun getting to know the folks from Be The Cause. Everyone is so friendly and easy to get along with. As a group we started a Secret Santa Random Act of Kindness project for the trip. Basically you try to do acts of kindness for a person whose name we drew. Its been fun both receiving and giving these little kindness gifts.

Trip to Peru part 2

We spent the day in Lima visiting a wheelchair distribution by Free Wheelchair mission. It was a heart warming event, and we really enjoyed interacting with the friendly people there. Afterwards we were invitied to a performance of the play Annie, put on by a local church. They were kind enough to provide simultaneous translation of the show, and it was a great performance. The next day we headed off for Cusco. Our pictures from Lima are here.

Trip to Peru part 1

We flew with the group from Be The Cause from LAX to El Salvador for a 5 hour layover. During the layover a few of us decided to head into the city of San Salvador for a quick look. It was a nice drive into town, and reminded me alot of Costa Rica. The main town was pretty packed with traffic, and we got off by the main cathedral. The cathedral had beautifully painted ceilings, and stained glass. Right outside the cathedral was a few blocks full of stalls selling all kinds of stuff. We wandered around, taking in all the hustle and bustle of the streets, but then had to hurry back to the airport to make our connection.

We landed in Lima, ending our almost 24 hour day of travel, and were taken by bus to our hostel. Lima is a very modern and westernized city. Along the drive we passed by numerous Pizza Huts, McDonald´s, and other American chains. Everyone was pretty tired and hungry, so after checking in we headed over to a shopping mall with a food court for dinner, then went to bed. Our pics from El Salvador are here.

Kiva.org

I recently read an article in Good Magazine about a cool organization called Kiva. They are basically using Paypal to connect small donors/lenders with people in need of loans in the developing world. It reminds me of the Grameen bank, but on a more personal and smaller level. I just signed up and lent some money to two different ladies trying to start business in their countries. If you'd like to participate, check out their website: kiva.org. Keep in mind that these are loans and not donations, so you can expect to get your money back, but are lending the money to someone in need.

What others are saying about www.Kiva.org:

'Revolutionising how donors and lenders in the US are connecting with small entrepreneurs in developing countries.'
-- BBC

'If you've got 25 bucks, a PC and a PayPal account, you've now got the wherewithal to be an international financier.'
-- CNN Money

'Smaller investors can make loans of as little as $25 to specific individual entrepreneurs through a service launched last fall by Kiva.org.'
-- The Wall Street Journal

'An inexpensive feel-good investment opportunity...All loaned funds go directly to the applicants, and most loans are repaid in full.'
-- Entrepreneur Magazine

India Trip: Conclusion

Well we've been back in the US for a few days now, and its really good to be home. India was a really interesting place, full of warmth from family, and so many contradictions. I'm really happy that I didn't get sick from the food while I was there, and enjoyed all the amazing sights. The biggest problem I had was all the pollution and garbage all over the country. It is such a beautiful place that it made me sad to see how badly it has been kept. Everything there seemed to be at contrast with each other, but somehow it all worked. It will be really intersting to see how things change and evolve by the time we visit again, I'm hopeful that much of the pollution problems will be better as globalization takes hold. But at the same time I hope that India is able to remain India, and keep some of its rich culture.

India Trip: Vaishno Devi

The next morning we woke up early to ride a helicopter up to Vaishno Devi. It was the first time any of us had been in a helicopter! The ride was so much fun, although it only lasted about 2 minutes. It was a strange feeling as you just lifted off the ground and flew up into the mountains. The views from the copter were breathtaking, and I wish we could've flown around a bit more.

When we reached the helipad on the top we then began a 2 km hike to the main temple. Many people walk up to the temple from the town below, but we had heard that security can be difficult for foreigners to pass through, so we decided to go the helicopter route. The hike there was the first walkway the cleanest I've seen in India! All along the walk we saw horses and other pilgrims pass by saying, "Jai Mata Di", as they passed.

At the temple we had to remove our shoes and walk on some freezing concrete sidewalks to the main shrine. The primary attraction here was a series of three rocks called Holy Pindies. These rocks are located deep inside cave which you had to crawl through a small tunnel to get through. It was pretty fun to crawl along the cave tunnel, for much of the crawl your feet were immersed in some ice cold water running below you. Then you arrive at the shrine, are blessed by a priest, and get about 30 seconds to look at the rocks before being hurried on. Apprentely the priests were curious to know where I'm from, since I definitely didn't fit in with the rest of the pilgrims, but I didn't understand him, and thought he wanted me to hurry up so I hurried by the whole thing.

Afterwards we retrieved our shoes, and went back to the helipad for our flight down. That afternoon we spent shopping around the town and relaxing in the hotel. Then we flew back to Delhi the next day and back to the US the day after.

India Trip: Delhi and Jammu

We spent a few more days in DDun before heading back to Delhi to meet up with Shveta's dad. On the way to Delhi we stopped over in Meerut to visit some more family, and stayed with Mintu, her husband, and her HUGE dog. Mintu runs a small preschool in her house, so we got to see some more really cute kids. One of them was so excited to see the camera and stuff he quietly let out a, "balle, balle!". :)

We were only in Delhi a couple nights, then met up with Shveta's dad to fly to Vaishno Devi, a temple built to honor Mata Vaishnavi. Our original plan was to go to Devlali and visit with Sunny, Nikki, and the kids, but unfortunately there were riots going on in Mumbai, so we changed our plans last minute to go to Vaishno Devi instead.

We caught an afternoon flight to Jammu from Delhi,and went through the tightest airport security I've ever seen. We were screened at least 4 times before we got on board the plane and had to go outside to identify our baggage. During the flight we got some views of the Himalayas which looked spectacular.

When we landed in Jammu, you could see the heavy military presence everywhere you looked. We took a cab to our hotel for the evening. In the distance you could see the mountain where Vaishno Devi was located.

India Trip: Rishikesh

The day after we got back from Mussorie, we met Sunny, Shveta's cousin in the army, and headed for Rishikesh. Poor Sunny had just gotten off a train earlier that morning, and was now our driver for the day. On the way to Rishikesh we stopped at her uncle's school, built in honor of his daughter Neelu. It was a cute little school with about 8 classrooms. We were a huge distraction for the cute kids as we walked around and looking into the classes going on.


Then we headed on to Rishikesh, a city right by the holy Ganges river. The river was a beautiful alpine blue, and was full of devotees bathing. After we parked we crossed a "pedestrian" footbridge full of monkeys, cows, scooters, and people to the Swarg Ashram. There we had lunch at the famous Chotiwala, and visited a few ashrams and temples. We decided to walk down one of the staircases and splash around a bit in the Ganges as well, and Shveta joked that, "You are now official converted into a Hindu!".

We then drove down a bit further down to Lakshman Jhula, a famous old bridge anchored on either side by temples. After looking around a bit it was starting to get dark so we decided to head back to DDun.

India Trip: Mussorie

On our one year anniversary we traveled up to Mussorie for the day/evening. Mussorie is known as the "Queen of the Hill Stations", and is a small town about an hour up the mountain from DDun. Some friends of Shveta's dad, CP Singh and his wife, were kind enough to hire a car for us to take up to Mussorie and spend the evening. The ride up was through lovely green forests and winding roads, then when we were just a few km away from our destination we were stopped. Apparently there was a big protest going on and the roads were all closed. So we backtracked a bit to a hotel for lunch.

When lunch was over the roads were still closed, so our driver dropped us off near a small town where we did some walking around, down by a school and along the roads. Eventually the protest finished, and we got to our hotel for the evening. After checking in (to the sound of "Everything I do" by Bryan Adams), we headed out ot Mall Rd., the main drag of Mussorie. Mall Rd. was full of various shops and eateries, and tons of people were out for their evening stroll. It was a nice 3km walk to the end of the road, all the while with sweeping views of the Doon valley below us. Then it was getting late, so we headed back to the hotel for dinner and some rest.

The next morning we woke up and headed for Kempty falls, about an hour further into the hills. The ride was even more twisty than the ride up to DDun, but we caught glimpses of the Himalayas in the distance. The falls were tall and silky, spreading out like a fan over rocks. The hike down to the base of the falls was basically along a concrete path filled with vendors. It really made me appreciate our national parks, and all the work of conservationists. Even with all the stalls everywhere, the falls were very pretty and worth the trip. Then we stopped by company gardens on the way back to DDun.

India Trip: Dehradun part 2

We spent the next few days hanging around Dehradun (DDun), visiting family, shopping at the world famous Paltan Bazar, and taking in a few sights. It was really nice to stay in one place for a few days, and have a home base. The city itself is still a bit hectic, although much more manageable than the large cities we've been in so far. I was able to get around by flagging down autorickshaws by myself, allowing me to make visits to Internet Cafes and McDonalds when Shveta and her mom went shopping.

One afternoon we took a trip to see a large buddhist stupa near an air force base. As soon as we entered the 'Tibetean' area, it suddenly seemed a lot cleaner! The temple area was really nice, with a tall white building in the middle, and prayer flags all around. Inside the temple were various statues and paintings, and it was very peaceful. There were also some huge prayer wheels that you could spin, so of course we took a few turns to send out good wishes to the world. There were some interesting signs forbidding the eating of peanuts, apparently they had some issues with people dropping peanut shells all over the place.

Here are the pictures.

India Trip: Dehradun part 1

We left for Dehradun on the Shatabdi express train around 7 am. It was a quick, pleasant ride other than the fact that about 2 hours into the ride I started feeling really nauseous. I've never gotten motion sick on a train before, and I think it had something to do with the malaria medication we're taking. At one point I was standing by the doorway so that I could get some fresh air as the train rolled along. That helped alot, although I think the train guy thought I was acting a bit weird. In about 5 hours we reached the Dehradun (DDun) station.

From the train station it was a quick rickshaw ride over to Shveta's house. On the outer gate there was a sign reading "Prem Puri / Ravish Puri". The ride over was fairly pleasant, much better than driving in the big cities of Delhi/Bombay. We went into the front gate and were greeted by Shveta's grandma and some family friends. It was comforting to know that we'd be staying put for a while, giving my stomach a break, although for some reason riding in a rickshaw gave me no motion illness at all. The house is very nice, and has a cute little backyard area with a swing. There are quite a few rooms, one of which is occupied by their friends who take care of grandma.

After a bit of rest and some lunch we toured around DDun a bit, visiting some old schools of her parents, and the Tibetan marketplace. I was hoping to find a nice Tibetan souvenir, but the marketplace was packed with stalls selling jackets and clothes. The Tibetan aspect of the marketplace was the fact that all the stores were owned by Tibetans. As the sun began to set we headed back to the house to settle in for the evening.

India Trip: Delhi pt 2

The day after we got back from Agra, we spent looking around Delhi. The morning started at the Park Hotel, which became our temporary home for the day. We met up with our tour guide and driver, then headed to the Akshardham Temple. They don't allow tour guides in the temple so we were on our own for the morning.

As we pulled up to the temple, we were all impressed with how huge it is. Pulling into the parking lot it felt like part Disneyland, part Vegas, and part religious center. They do not allow cameras so I couldn't take any pictures, but it was incredibly impressive (you can see it on their website). There were beautiful stone carvings all over, and a huge temple complex. Along the back of the temple was a musical watershow, which seemed to be like what they do at the Bellagio. There was also an IMAX theater, boat ride, and guided tour explaining the religion. On one hand, I was certainly impressed and admired the beauty of the temple. But on the other hand it was such a contrast to everything outside the temple I couldn't help but think how nice it would've been to spend all these resources improving the overall community instead. The temple was by far the cleanest and most pristine area I've seen in Delhi, but just 100 yards away you were back in the crazy urban Indian mix.

After visiting the temple, we met up with our guide, then went to McDonald's for lunch. They have a number of veggie dishes, and we tried the McVeggie combo which was pretty good. It was also quite cheap, around 70 Rs. for a value meal! Then we headed off for Qutab Minar.

Qutub Minar was a hindu temple site, but was razed by the moguls. In its place was a mosque and a large minaret (the largest brick minaret in the world). There were really interesting ruins all around, and the minaret itself was quite amazing in detail. Then we headed back to the Park Hotel to wait for our evening meetup with Ranju.

In the evening Ranju treated us to an awesome dance performance. The group was from Calcutta, and fused traditional Kathak dance with various dances from around the world. We saw a mix of Flamenco, Jazz, and even acrobatics like Cirque du Soleil to Indian beats and movements. I really enjoyed the show, and thought about how it illustrates India's opening up with the rest of the world. Here's the Pictures.

India Trip: Agra/Back to Delhi

We woke up early to try and squeeze in a few more sights in Agra before heading back to Delhi for dinner. Our first stop was the castle of Fatepur Sikri. It was a huge sandstone castle, with amazing carvings throughout. Almost every column and wall was filled with carvings of vines, flowers, or interesting patterns. There were seperate houses for each of the king's wives, apparently he had a few. We ran into our friend the soap star again, filming in the castle, and were surrounded by school groups on field trips. I'm constantly amazed at how they could build such impressive structures in those times.

Our next stop was the prison where Krishna appeared. The area surrounding the temple was really filthy. I couldn't believe that such a holy place would be so unkept. The entrance to the temple area was guarded by extremely tight security. I don't think I've ever gotten such a thorough frisking. The security here was far tighter than that of the Taj Mahal.

The prison where Krishna appeared was a large concrete structure, and you had to go down a short tunnel to get to the cell. In the cell were various pictures of Krishna and a few priests who would bless items for you. On the roof of the building was a mandap directly over the spot were Krishna appeared and people walked laps around it. It certainly made for an interesting side trip.

We left what I call "Krishna's House", and went back to Delhi to have dinner with Vinay. He took us to Pizza Hut, which is apparently a fancy, high end restaurant over here. They have Indian style pizzas, and I had one with some paneer and spices on it, very tasty. On the way back to Vinay's house, we stopped for some hot fresh Gulab Jamun which was fantastic! Then went headed off for bed.

India Trip: Agra

After a couple days in Delhi we took a day trip over to Agra to see the Taj Mahal. The highway connecting the two cities was great. As we were crusing down I mentioned to Shveta, "This highway is almost as good as one in the US". She replied, "Yeah, except for the kid taking a dump by the road." Sure enough we zipped by a little boy squatting down by the road watching the cars go by. Unfortunately I was feeling a bit dizzy, which made the ride very nauseating for me, but I made it without incident. Vinay had arranged for us to stay at the Taj View hotel, a really nice hotel that supposedly has views of the Taj Mahal. Unfortuantely due to the smog you couldn't see far enough to tell.

After we checked in, we were anxious to go see the Taj. A guy met us in the lobby saying he was with the car rental company (we hired a car and driver from Delhi), and was our tour guide. We didn't realize that we got a tour guide with the car, but thought Vinay must have arranged it for us.

Soon we pulled up to the Taj, and were immediately awestruck by it. Its just like walking into a photograph, a beautiful white marble building on a raised platform. There were inlaid arabic carvings all around, and it just looked so stunning. It is one of the most majestic buildings I've ever seen. It seems simple, yet extravagant at the same time, and as impressive as you would think. We also happened to run into some Indian soap opera star on the way in, and Shveta's mom got a photo with him :)


We walked around for a bit, then started to wonder if this guide was legit or just some opportunistic guy. We called Vinay and he said that he didn't arrange for any guide, so after we got back to the hotel we decided to ditch him. The driver thought we were complaining about the guide, so he called him in. Apparently he was legit and was now on the verge of losing his job! We felt really bad, and Shveta's mom was calling all kinds of people telling them he was fine and it was all a big misunderstanding. In the end it turned out okay.

After dinner we went to her cousin's house for a little while for a chat. They were really nice, and had two kids who were being a bit shy. After a few hours of tea and talking, we went to bed to get an early start the next day.

India Trip: Delhi

We landed in Delhi airport and were greeted by Shveta's mom, Rekha mausi, and mausa. It was really nice to see a familiar face! They took us straight to Ranju mausi's house, and we settled in for the night. I immediately felt alot of warmth from Rekha, although she didn't speak much English. Ranju is very boisterous, and one of the jolliest people I've ever met. She's always full of laughter, and is constantly having to remove her glasses to wipe the tears from her eyes! We spent the day visiting more family, and then had dinner with Ranju's sister Vandana. The sisters and Shveta's mom were having a great time at dinner, laughing and joking all night. I had a really good potato dish, that I can best describe as sweet and sour, spicy french fries.

We spent a couple days in Delhi visiting more family members, and stayed a few nights with Shveta's cousin Vinay. He has two cute daugheters who played games with us and talked our heads off :). His mother, Raj bua, lives with them and was very sweet.

Delhi was much more organized than Mumbai, and the roads were ALOT better. Traffic was still nuts, but at least the road wasn't all torn up. I still can't believe how much air pollution and trash is everywhere. This place would be so nice if they could just clean it up a bit.

India Trip: Mumbai/Delhi

Our only full day in Mumbai was spent in a car with Shveta's cousin, Babbli, driving by the sights. All the family we met were very nice and hospitable, taking time out to show us around, and taking us for dinners.

For me, Mumbai was just a bit too hectic, and we spent most of our time in the car stuck in traffic. We did see some nice looking beaches, and the famous Gateway of India. Her cousin had a driver for their car, so at least she didn't have to drive, but I really felt bad for the driver. I can't imagine what a tough job that must be, driving around from place to place all day without a break. There is definitely a huge divide between the upper and lower class.

For dinner we met up with another cousin, Chinoo (Babli's husband), at a fancy hotel. It was a nice meal, but the exciting part of the evening was meeting a Bollywood actor Nana Patikar. He was really nice and came by our table to shake everyone's hand. One of the really great things about India so far has been the friendliness of the people.

India Trip: Kerala/Mumbai

We woke up the next morning to some people rowing by us. It looked like a crew team practice with lots of rowers on various boats and a coach leading them on. Interestingly there were a number boats 'manned' by women. I wonder if the high literacy rate of Kerala (something like 97%) also translates to more empowered women. We had breakfast, then headed back to the docks were our driver was waiting for us. From there we drove straight to the airport to catch our flight to Mumbai (Bombay).

We arrived at the airport about 4 hours before our flight, and the security guard laughed at us when he saw how early we were. Since we were there so early we had plenty of time to look around, and found that there were tons of flights to Mumbai, and most of them left earlier and got there much quicker. So we started to enquire about cancelling our tickets and grabbing another flight. There was a flight on Kingfisher airlines which left in about an hour that was way cheaper than our current flight, but we had to book in in the next 10 mins. So we went over to the Indian airlines counter (where our current ticket was booked), and asked about getting a refund. The lady said it should be possible, but we'd have to go to an office, and before we had a chance to decide she stamped our tickets cancelled! Now panic struck as we ran back to Kingfisher to get our flight, only to find out that we had to pay for the flight in rupees to get that rate. Now we were scrambling to get enough dollars exchanged to rupees to cover the cost, and hoping that we'd be in time to get the tickets. Fortunately it all worked out and we made our flight. Kingfisher is a beer company, and the flight had in-seat TVs, very nice. Apparently the head of Kingfisher is like a Richard Branson type, very flamboyant.

We landed in Mumbai around 5pm and were picked up by Shveta's cousin, Rathan. He drove us to his flat, through what has to been some of the most insane driving I've ever seen. The traffic was just awful, making LA look like a sunday drive. We would pass by a huge corporate building, then by rows of shacks and beggars. Such a huge contrast! A number of children would knock on the car windows asking for money. It was definitely an eye opener. Eventually we reached Rathan's flat, met his kids and wife, and crashed.

India Trip: Cochin/Backwaters

Our next day in Cochin was pretty chill, in the morning we had an ayuervedic massage, and the rest of the day we just hung around. The massage was nice, and unlike any other I've had. It was 'synchronized', meaning there were two masseuses massaging you at once. They used tons of medicated oils that left me smelling kinda weird afterwards. After the massage was a steam bath, then an herbal bath.

The following day we checked out of our hotel and took a car ride to a dock to get on a houseboat. As we left the city it started getting much greener and prettier. When we arrived at the dock, we found a large boat waiting for us. The boat had a long black bottom, and the top was basically a huge basket. We spoke with the boat owner for a bit then began our overnight cruise through the backwaters of Kerala.

This was my favorite part of the trip thus far. We slowly floated through a maze of canals in what has been called the "Venice of Asia". As we floated along we passed small villages, and gorgeous green scenery. The boat moved pretty slowly, at about rickshaw speed, but that was fine with us. We had lunch aboard the ship, then cruised along until dinner. The waters were perfectly calm, and we had picked the coolest day of the trip so far so the weather was pleasant. It was so relaxing. Right after sunset we docked at what seemed like a random location for the night. After being docked a short while, a family of goats walked by. Then one of them decided to jump into the ship and onto our dining table! I chased it away by rapping my pen on my notebook. Other than that it was a pretty peaceful evening on the calm backwaters. Pictures are Here.

India Trip: Cochin pt 2

We started our first real day in Cochin with breakfast in the hotel. After hearing all the horror stories about food, we figured we should play it safe for the first few days with our diet. Then we ventured out to find a ride to the Fort Cochin area. We only had to walk a few feet before we spotted an autorickshaw to take us. I had an absolute blast in the autorickshaw. It putters along at what can be no more than 10 MPH, and you are totally out in the open air. You sit right about at eye level with pedestrians walking around, so you really can see, hear, and SMELL everything around. These things are old and very rickety, and often the driver would have to slow down to negotiate large speed bumps, potholes, and other road hazards you would normally ignore in a car.

About 20 minutes later, we were dropped off at the main dock area of Fort Cochin. We walked around a bit and saw the chinese fishing nets, which are large wooden things with nets attached to one end, and large rocks to the other. Occasionally about 5-10 men would pull down on the side with the rocks, like a seesaw, and lift the net out of the water to pull in some fish. It seemed very laborious, and I only saw a few fish pulled in each time. Right behind the nets were fishmongers, and after them little stand set up to cook the fresh fish. It reminded me of other fish markets I've been to, but with what seemed like ancient technology. The walk around the coast was very pretty, except for the fact that there was trash all over. The waters around were filled with green plants and boats drifting along.

We headed off for lunch at one of the hotels nearby, and were there kinda early so we had to wait around a bit for the kitchen to open. There was an old piano near the bar, and the wait staff asked if I could play. I didn't accept their offer at first, but then decided I'd try the few songs I know. It was alot of fun playing, and trying to teach some of them "Heart and Soul". Then we had a nice lunch, and walked over to St. Francis Cathedral, the oldest christian church in India. It was a nice, simple church, and a peaceful retreat from the craziness outside.

From St. Francis, we grabbed another autorickshaw to take us to the Jewish district. On the way there he offered to give us a "tour" for 50 rupees. It was a very interesting tour, hitting some weird sights along with the major ones. A few notable ones were a "salt temple" right by the road, which had a small shrine full of salt, and a "crazy elephant", which apparently killed someone and was now locked in somebody's front yard. The downside was that he also kept dropping us off at stores he had cut deals with. When we told him we didn't want to go into the stores anymore, he gave us a long explanation about how he gets free petrol and a T-shirt for taking us. Neither of us really felt like arguing so we went along. Later we had him drop us off at the hotel. There he told us it was 50 rupees per hour of touring, so he was now charging us 100 rupees. We argued at first, but its really hard to argue over what is $1 to us, so we paid him. Then we had dinner and went to bed. You can find more pics by click on the title or here.

India Trip: Cochin pt 1

We landed in Cochin around 10:30pm and I was surprised to find the airport was very clean and modern. Not quite as crazy as I was expecting, but in a good way. As we exited, we found the driver from the hotel along with tons of guys standing around in what looked like skirts called lungis. They had their lungis hiked up since it was so hot and humid, and they looked kinda like kilts.

Soon we were on the road to the hotel and I got my first Indian driving experience. Basically everyone drives in the middle of the "lane", until either you want to pass someone or someone wants to pass you. Then some honking takes place as you negotiate who will go where, and that is repeated over and over. As we entered the city, the traffic became a little more congested with more autorickshaws and pedestrians crossing our path. All the stories about how close they cut it driving around here are totally true! The honking gets even more frequent and intense in the city, where I think it also serves as a type of sonar. By hearing where the honks are you can kinda figure out where the other vehicles are to avoid.

Eventually we reached our hotel and went straight to bed, tired from all the flying.

Singapore trip part 2

Our second day in Singapore started at the Botanical Gardens, home to the largest Orchid garden. The main gardens were much like a Golden Gate park, where people were jogging and enjoying themselves, then you had to pay for admission into the Orchid area. There were just so many beautiful flowers, I couldn't take enough pictures. We also ran into a cute school group whose kids were having a blast around the gardens.

From the gardens we went over to one of the posh shopping malls for lunch. We ate at Devi Fusion, and Indian/Japanese fusion restaurant. The food was really delicious, and the service was great. I'd definitely recommend it to anyone stopping by Singapore, although it was a little pricey (about $25 SGD each). But where else do you find a mix of India and Japanese?

We walked around the town a bit more, stopping at St. Andrews Cathedral, a large white church. Apparently the bright white exterior was created with limestone, egg whites, and sugar? Sounds like some kinda dessert to me. For dinner we stumbled upon a small vegetarian restaurant in a mall by accident, which had really great noodle dishes. Mine was EXTREMELY spicy, and Shveta really enjoyed her ramen.

After dinner we caught a cab to the zoo for the Night Safari. They have a special portion of the zoo set aside with special lighting so that you can go and see the animals when they are most active. At one stop along the way we passed some lions who were roaring. Then my favorite was the leopard exhibit where a leopard was pacing right in front of a wall of glass. You could stand right up next to the leopard, and when I crouched down to its level and looked it in the eye, it gave me chills.

I've really enjoyed spending time in Singapore, but we're ready to head off for Kerala. You can find the rest of the pictures from Singapore here. Hope everyone has a great weekend!

Singapore Trip part 1

We started our trip to India with a couple layover days in Singapore. When we left the airport the first impression I had was that Singapore is cross between Hawaii and Tokyo. Its really hot and humid here (about 90 degrees and what feels like 200% humidity), making me thankful for air conditioning.

Almost everything here is in English, making it easy for us to get around. They have very strict laws here in Singapore, which seem to pay off as it is so clean here. Walking around you find no traces of graffiti or litter. The fine for littering is $500 and $1000 for smoking where you aren't supposed to. It also feels very safe, much like it did in Tokyo. You can wander around the subways in the middle of the night and not feel like someone is going to mug you. Singapore also feels very culturally diverse, being between China, India, and the rest of Southeast asia, you can definitely feel the mixing of cultures.

Our first stop was Orchard Rd., which is the main shopping road here. It has to be the most shopping crazy area I've ever seen, with mall after mall, and tons of really high end stores like Gucci and Prada.


Then we headed up to Little India, which, according to Shveta, is very 'authentic'. It was full of small food stands blaring bollywood music, Indian men standing on street corners chatting, and a few temples. From there we visited Chinatown, a large area with souvenir shops and chinese food all around. There were some street performers doing some amazing acrobatics, and lots of colorful lamps overhead. Although I haven't yet been to China, it seemed like a pretty good taste of what China would actually be like.

$8500 Sneakers!

Sometimes I just can't understand how things can possibly cost as much as they do.. take for instance this Nike sneaker that costs $8500!!!
Expensive Sneaker

2007 TED prize winners

As you can probably tell, I'm a fan of the TED prize. Scientist James Nachtwey, photographer E.O. Wilson, and President William J. Clinton are the 2007 TED prize winners. It will be interesting to see what their wishes are!

Countries I've Been To

I found this neat tool that lets you create a world map of the places you've been. Pretty neat.. here's mine:


create your own visited countries map

Road Trip Part 5: Greensboro & Raleigh, NC

We ended our road trip visiting our friends in Greensboro and Raleigh. The first stop was Greensboro, NC to visit Juan and Eleina. I grew up in Greensboro, and it always amazes me how much it has grown. Part of me sees progress and jobs being created, but another part of me hates to see all the trees being cut down for shopping centers. It was a nice relaxing couple of days, and we caught up on everything, and reminisced about the 'good ole days'. One night we rented the movie 'Click', that had an interesting theme beneath all the humor. It showed how people try to fast forward through the tough times in their lives, and are focused on how happy they will be when they reach their next goal or get that next promotion. Soon we realize that we've fast forwarded through most of our lives, never stopping to enjoy the moments that really matter to us.

Then we headed down to Raleigh, and stopped at the NC State Fair. For those of you who have never been to a state fair, it is a huge affair. We pulled up to a small parking lot that was charging $10 for parking. The attendant standing said, "All the front parking is full, but you can park in the back and its only $5." How nice of them to cut the price just because we had to park 20 yards further away! The fair itself was quite a sight, full of animals, food, and people. We decided to try the infamous 'Deep Fried Twinkie', which was pretty good at the first bite, but then started getting way too sweet for our taste buds.

After the fair we met up with Jose, Tanya, and Alex. Alex was his usual excited and entertaining self. I was constantly amazed at how much he has learned at the age of 5. He showed me all of his Power Rangers, and we had an exciting lightsaber duel outside the house. In the evenings after Alex went to bed, we would break out the Karaoke game, and have our singing competitions. Jose and Tanya pretty much kicked our butts, but it was alot of fun. On Monday we hopped on our plane back to California, and the road trip was over. Thanks everyone for letting us stay at your houses, and we hope to see you soon!

Road Trip Part 4: Asheville, NC

We're currently in Asheville, NC, a city in the heart of the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina. Its home to UNC Asheville, and has a great little downtown. Last night we had dinner at a restaurant called, "Laughing Seed Cafe". Its a vegetarian restaurant (with tons of Vegan selections), and it was wonderful. I think the highlight of the meal was the Pineapple/Tofu sushi appetizer. Downtown Asheville is full of little shops, no chains here, and tons of art galleries. We've also found a nice general store, and a great independent bookshop called Malaprop's where we're sitting right now. I've ordered the Deepak Chopra, a white and dark mocha drink that is awesome. All their specialty drinks here are named after various authors. We've also found out that Asheville is ranked as the "Best vegetarian friendly small city in America". I could definitely enjoy spending more time around here hiking some mountain trails and enjoying downtown Asheville.

Road Trip Day 3: The Road to Damascus

We drove from Charlottesville through the amazing mountains of Virginia. The fall colors are in full effect, with yellows, reds, and oranges throughout the hillsides. After a five hour drive, we pulled into the tiny town of Damascus, VA, known as "Trail Town USA". I had made reservations at a small B&B called Apple Tree Bed and Breakfast, a cute country home owned by a retired couple. After "checking in" to our bedroom upstairs, we headed out to find some dinner. The town is basically a single street, with small shops and trees lining both sides. The only place open was an Italian restaurant where we had some decent pizza before heading back to the B&B. We had a big day ahead of us, biking the Virginia Creeper Trail.


We woke up early the next morning to catch our breakfast, a delicious meal provided by our hosts. At the breakfast table we enjoyed conversation with the other guests and our hosts. One retired couple had biked across the country 10 times! After breakfast we headed for Damascus Adventure Tours, a bicycle tour outfitter. They hooked us up with a couple of mountain bikes and a shuttle ride to the top of Whitetop Mountain for about $25 each. The ride up the twisty mountain roads took about 30 minutes, and then we were surrounded by gorgeous views of the area. We were in the SW corner of Virginia and could see mountains which were in Tennessee and North Carolina as well. The Virginia Creeper trail rides along an old railway line and gently slopes downhill the whole way back to town. The scenery was breathtaking, with the fall foliage and a small river running beside us. We'd stop occasionally and only hear the sounds of leaves falling to the ground, or running water. Sometimes my bike felt like it was racing the water down the mountain, and at others, slowly gliding down like the leaves. This was one of the most gorgeous trails I've ever biked on and I'd highly recommend it to anyone. The whole route is along a nice trail, nothing tricky to bike through, and almost no pedaling required. I would definitely like to come back and bike it again sometime. At various points along the trail we would intersect the Appalachian Trail, another trail I'd like to tackle someday in this area. After what seemed to be a very quick 17 miles, we pulled back into town, returned our bikes, and headed off for Asheville. Of course, there are pictures to be seen, and you can view them here.

Road Trip part 2: DC and Charlottesville

Our next day of road tripping took us to Washington, D.C. for a quick stopover and the on to Charlottesville, VA. We did a really quick tour of the Lincoln Memorial and Washington Monument in DC, then walked over to see the White House from afar (tons of security). We were having a tough time finding some food in the area, and decided to go ahead and push on to Charlottesville, home of the University of Virginia. As we pulled in, we drove through the gorgeous UVa campus, and arrived at our hotel for the night. After checking in, we walked to the nearby downtown for some pasta. The downtown was pretty nice, a walking plaza full of little shops and restaurants. Quite a few of them were pricey, high class type places, but we ended up eating at a small pizza/pasta place. We ended up sleeping in pretty late the next morning, so we didn't get to explore much more of Charlottesville, but on to Damascus!

Road Trip pt 1: New York

We started our road trip on Friday in NYC, one of my favorite cities in the world. Leena was nice enough to let us stay at her apartment for two nights, giving us a couple days to enjoy the city. As with any trip to NY, one of the highlights is the food. We actually strategized our meals, to make sure we could eat at all of favorite spots. By the end of our stay we had eaten at Kati Roll, Buttercup Bakery, Chinese Mirch, Rays Pizza, and Red Bamboo. Aside from the food, we went to Battery Park, where they were having a culture festival, and we enjoyed views of the Statue of Liberty. We also ran into a street fair, full of stands selling mostly food and scarves. Leena decided to add to her scarf collection with a new green $5 scarf from one of the vendors. On Monday we bid our goodbyes and headed off for Charlottesville, VA. Thanks Leena for letting us stay!

Last day of work!

The day has finally arrived, after 1pm today I'll finally be done with work until January! I can't wait! The fun will begin in NYC, one of my favorite cities. I fly there tomorrow morning, and will meet up with Shveta. We're going to be staying with our friend Leena for a couple days (thanks Leena!), enjoying all the great food and fun. If anyone has any suggestions on some interesting things we should do in NY let us know!

Better Off

"Our chief comforts often produce our greatest anxieties, and the increase in our possessions is but an inlet to new disquietudes." -Oliver Goldsmith

I just finished a book titled, "Better Off: Flipping the Switch On Technology" by Eric Brende. It was an interesting book about a couple who decide to give up modern technology and live in an amish community. The couple does this as an experiment to see how much technology is too much. They give up everything from washing machines (they use a hand crank one), to refridgerators. As a techno-geek myself, it really made me start to wonder how technology is too much in my own life.

In many circumstances the couple found that doing chores without the aid of technology became more enjoyable! Also, there was a greater reliance on the community, creating a much stronger bond between neighbors than most of us feel today. I will definitely look at all the technologicial wonders I fill my life with in a new light, and hopefully find a better balance. It appears to me that even though technology is a wonderful thing, sometimes it can be more trouble than its worth. We can easily end up spending too much time paying for and maintaining things.

Hanging in Hilo

After our cabin stay, we did a loop around the volcanic crater. It was pretty amazing, it looked like a martian landscape and there were steam vents all over. One of the most interesting stops along the rim of the crater is down into the Thurston Lava tube, where you can walk down into a dark underground tunnel. Its pretty amazing to think that lava had created this tunnel, and that we were walking through it. When we had finished checking out the park, we headed to Hilo, a town on the east side of the island.
From Hilo we took a day trip up to some waterfalls nearby, and had lunch at an excellent little cafe with organic food. You can find pictures HERE.

Aloha From the Big Island

We're hanging out on the Big Island of Hawaii, and have been having lots of fun. On our first day we took a kayak out on the sea to what is considered the best snorkeling place in all of Hawaii. The water was amazingly clear and the fish were spectacular. We also were helped by a nice local who helped us get our kayak out the dock, and then gave us tips on where to go. After we returned he gave us a hand getting the kayak on top of our car. Granted, he wanted a tip, but it was still really nice of him to help tourists like us.
The next day we had breakfast at a great little place called Aloha Cafe and found it to be well stocked with vegetarian friendly food! We sat out on a small balcony with little lizards running around everywhere. Then we hit Greenfield coffee plantation for a short tour of the plantation and had some really great coffee. The Kona coffee is much less acidic and we found it more enjoyable than what we usually get back home. After that we headed on to the Volcano. The big thing we wanted to see was some lava, and the best time to see it is in the evening when the glow is more visible. So we drove down to the end of the park, where the road is closed due to a lava flow. From there you are allowed to hike for a few very uneven miles to a roped off area where you can see the flow hitting the ocean. The steam plumes coming off were unreal, and as the sun set we could the bright red glow of the lava from afar. Occasionally there would be big splashes of lava like fireworks in the water.
After a flashlight led hike back to the car, we moved into our cabin for the evening near the national park.

First Zero Energy Home in NC

From Treehugger, builders are finishing up on the first Zero Energy Home in my home state of North Carolina! We're not all backwards rednecks! :) To me, this is an awesome step in the right direction. I hope to someday build a house that uses these kind of efficiencies. Here's a clip from the posting:

utilizes a solar water heating system, a fresh air ventilation system, and a geothermal heat pump. Furthermore, energy efficient practices such as advance framing and spray foam insulation were employed during construction. The house is also equipped with recycled tile, high performance windows, and energy efficient appliances. This impressive list of features makes the home capable of producing more energy than it uses.

Zero Energy Home in NC

Room to Read

Tonight I went to listen to some stories from John Wood, the founder of a non-profit called Room To Read. He was sharing some stories about some experiences he's had in setting up schools in developing countries, and what kind of impact education can have. One of their main goals is to provide scholarships for young girls who would not otherwise get an education. By teaching girls, they not only improve their lives in the short term, but it makes them less likely to be subjugated later in life by their husbands. Also, educated women are likely to educate their children, which means the impact grows exponentially. Mr. Wood recently published a book about his journey, from a Microsoft exec to a nonprofit leader, and we received free copies. I'm looking forward to reading some inspiring tales of doing good, and would encourage everyone to check out Room to Read.
Room to Read

MEC to use biobags at their stores

Mountain Equipment Co-op (i.e. the Canadian REI), is now going to use BioBags at their stores. These are plastic-like bags made from corn and are biodegradable! I've been seeing more and more "plastic" stuff made from corn, I hope that more people start using these alternatives.
Biodegradable Shopping Bags

China to build the world's first eco-city

A great step in the right direction by China. They are working with a british architectural company to build an eco-city near shanghai that is extremely environmentally friendly:

None of the buildings is more than eight storeys high. Turf and vege­tation cover the roofs, a natural form of insulation that also recycles waste water. The town has six times more space for pedestrians than Copen­hagen, one of Europe's airiest ­capitals. Pollution-free buses, ­powered by fuel cells, run between neighbourhoods. An intranet service forecasts travel times and connects people who want to share a car. ­Traditional motorbikes are for­bidden, replaced by ­electric scooters or ­bicycles. The roads are laid out so that walking or cycling to work is quicker than ­driving.

Up to 80% of solid waste is re­cycled. Organic waste is burned in an incinerator, catering for part of the town's electricity requirements. Other burners consume rice husks, which ­produce a lot of heat and are plentiful in China. On the outskirts giant ­windmills, driven by the sea breeze, produce electricity too. Each building is fitted with photovoltaic panels and its own, smaller windmill.
-Jean-Pierre Langellier and Brice Pedroletti
Guardian Weekly

Eco City

Seva Cafe, Long Beach

After the Walk for Hope, we payed a visit to the Seva Cafe, which is an experiment in "pay it forward" taking place in Long Beach. It is a really interesting dining experience, where there are not prices on any of the menu items. The staff is made up of volunteers who are serving you, cooking the food, cleaning the dishes, etc.. and when your bill arrives it is for $0, since your meal has already been paid for by someone who ate there before you. You can then pay as much as you choose to buy a meal for the next group of people to eat at the cafe.
In addition to this already wonderful dining experience, we were fortunate enough to meet up with our favorite monk, Rev. Heng Sure, who happened to be in LA and stopped by for a visit. Then to top it all off, we celebrated our friend Guri's birthday! It was a night full of great converstation, wonderful company, and an unbeatable dining environment. The food was great too! If you're ever in LA on a Saturday night, definitely give it a try! Here's some pictures: Seva Cafe.

Walk for Hope

This weekend a bunch of us drove down to LA for the Be The Cause Walk for Hope which was a 5k walk through a park with inspiring quotes, thought provoking activity stations, and amazing people. It was a really fun time, and we left with tons of inspiration and warm feelings. Thanks to all the volunteers and sponsors who helped put on such a great event! Pictures from the event are HERE

Is Bob Dylan a poet or songwriter?

There is an article on poets.org about Bob Dyland and whether or not he should be considered a poet.. something that I've kinda wondered about with a few songwriters like Dylan. Some interesting excerpts:

Christopher Ricks, who has also penned books about T. S. Eliot and John Keats, argues that Dylan's lyrics not only qualify as poetry, but that Dylan is among the finest poets of all time, on the same level as Milton, Keats, and Tennyson. He points to Dylan's mastery of rhymes that are often startling and perfectly judged.

Dylan has been nominated for a Nobel Prize in Literature every year since 1996, and the lyrics to his song "Mr. Tambourine Man" appeared in the Norton Introduction to Literature.

So he is a poet? I'd say "yes".

Richard Branson to fight Global Warming

Great news fromo across the pond.. billionaire Richard Branson is going to invest all the profits from his travel related businesses to fight global warming over the next 10 years! Its really great to see these billionaires giving their money help solve some of the world's problems.

Branson makes $3 billion pledge

California sues automakers

Interesting case for a lawsuit... the state of California is sueing most of the major auto makers for the millions of dollars of damage that greenhouse gases has cost the state. I'm not sure how legit a lawsuit like this is, but it will be interesting to see how it pans out.

Barcelona's new jerseys

Shveta just pointed me to a great post from Mark about Barcelona's new jerseys... Mark can say it much better than I ever could so here's a link Memestream post.

Boys of Baraka

I recently watched a PBS documentary called The Boys of Baraka which was a really interesting documentary about a group of inner city boys from Baltimore who go to Kenya to attend a boarding school. The changes that take place in the kids is really amazing. I really wish we could do more things like this for kids who are growing up in difficult areas. Take a look at the PBS website for more info.

Good Magazine

From the TED blog I read about this new magazine called "Good", that is not only full of "Good" articles, but they full amount of the subscription price goes towards a nonprofit of your choice! How cool is that? You donate money to a great non-profit like Room To Read or Unicef, and then you get a subscription to an interesting magazine. I'm siging up right now.
Good Magazine"

TED video of David Deutsch

This morning I watched a video of a talk given by physicist David Deutsch, one of the worlds leading physicists, where he discusses the need for increasing knowledge and a different approach to tackling our biggest problems. Have a look here:
TED Talk David Deutsch

Top Ten Foods to Eat Organically

Here's a list of 10 foods that have high amounts of pesticide in them if grown conventionally. Man, alot of these are some of my favorites! Guess its good I try to buy organic.

• Strawberries
  
• Bell peppers
  
• Spinach
  
• Cherries
  
• Peaches
  
• Mexican cantaloupe
  
• Celery
  
• Apples
  
• Apricots
  
• Green beans
  

Top Ten Foods to Eat Organically

Kindness on the CalTrain

Last night we went to a Giants game with some friends of mine from North Carolina. We took the CalTrain to and from the game, and on the way back we were approached by a young couple trying to get to Santa Cruz that evening. What was amazing was how much help was offered to these folks who obviously had not planned very well to make it to their destination.

It started with some conversations between the couple, us, and a fellow in the seat in front of us. The man in front of us was obviously very plugged into the whole bay area public transportation scheme. He had a slew of maps which he was digging out to try and route these folks to their destination. We were all going through various routes they could take, from light rail, to the hwy 17 bus, and even greyhound. This guy was going all out to help them, and started making some calls to try and find open schedules. Unfortunately, it was looking like almost nothing was going to be availalbe to them at such a late hour, and they were now trying to figure out if there were any youth hostels in downtown San Jose.

But then from the front of the train, a young lady told them that she works in Santa Cruz and would be willing to give them a ride in the morning. Not only that, but she was also having a bunch of people stay over at her place that evening, and offered to let them crash on her floor! What an amazing act of kindness! I totally agreed with the fellow in front of us as he said, "Thank you for restoring my faith, and showing that 'Road Magic' still works!". I was totally blown away by the amount of help and kindess being offered to these strangers who were trying reach their destination. Seeing all this kindness in action really made my day!

NYTimes reports on Google.org

The NYTimes today posted an article about Google.org, which will be a for-profit based charity that will make money, pay taxes, etc... but will be working towards various chariable causes from hybrid cars to public health. The Google founders have given $1 Billion in seed money to get the project rolling, and have hired Larry Brilliant (a totally amazing guy who helped eradicated Small Pox) to lead it. As usual, Google is trying a different approach to solve problems, and I hope they can find the same success with this project as they have with so many of their other projects!

Philanthropy Google's Way

The Living Library

I had posted earlier about an amazing event called "Dropping Knowledge". Well they've started the process and now the questions and answers are posted on their website. Take a look!
http://www.droppingknowledge.org/bin/forums/tableQuestions.page

Pioneer Basin Part 5

Our last days in Pioneer Basin were great. We spent a layover day by McGee Lake, which was still too freezing for us to want to take a dip in. Instead we took a slight dip in a small runoff lake nearby which was slightly warmer. Also during our layover we did a hike with some of the other backpackers to Golden Lake. It was a really fun hike, scrambling over rocks by a waterfall, walking by snowy patches with melting rivers of snow gushing by, and spectacular views of the valley below. David, who had been carrying a rod and reel the whole trip, caught some fish and cooked it up for everyone to enjoy. After our layover day we packed up for the last time and hiked out to the trailhead. It was a very enjoyable trip, and we met some really interesting people. After we got back to our car, we couldn't wait for our first real meal and to actually wash off some of the dirt and grime we had accumulated over the past week. But it was certainly worth it and I can't wait for our next backpacking trip!

Coke/Grand Theft Auto Mashup

Check out this cool Coke ad, based on Grand Theft Auto, although with a much better message!

Pioneer Basin Part 4

We spent a cold windy night camped out amongst snow fields at Hopkins Lake, and the group decided to head up Hopkins Pass rather than stay an extra day at this particular lake. The hike up to the pass wasn't too bad, but to get over the pass was another story. It was a very steep decent amongst loose rocks, at times we had to go one at a time to avoid the danger of falling rocks. But the view from the top of the pass was spectacular. We could see red and white mountains in the distance with fields of snow everywhere, and McGee Lake not too far away. After we made it down the treacherous decent, we were hiking cross country through fields of wildflowers which were absolutely gorgeous. It was our first experience hiking cross country (i.e. not on any trail, just through open fields) and it was fantastic. Eventually we reached our campsite at McGee Lake, and setup our tent with plenty of time to relax before dinner.

Pioneer Basin Trip part 3

We spent a layover day resting in Pioneer Basin by the water. It was a really nice, relaxing day which we spent reading, napping, and just enjoying the lovely scenery. Many of our co-hikers took day hikes around the area, and a few even braved a trip up Mt. Hopkins nearby. I was on cooking duty, so I had to help put together lunch and dinner. We both considered taking a dip in what looked like a very nice and refreshing lake, but the water was absolutely freezing and we chickened out. Shveta was recovering well, and I think at this point we really started to enjoy the trip. Later that evening there were some other campers across the lake who apparenlty brought a banjo and were entertaining us with their songs well into the night.

We got up the next day and started our hike to our next campsite at Hopkins Lake.

Seattle Mayor Plans To Plant 649,000 Trees!

Great news from our neighbors up north. The mayor of Seattle wants to plant a tree for every person in the city!
Seattle to plant 649,000 trees

Great collection of Bush quotes

Shveta pointed me to this great clip of "Bushisms" on youTube

Pioneer Basin Trip part 2

Our first night at Ruby lake was a pretty eventful one as Shveta got pretty sick from something she ate. We were pretty unsure as to whether we would be able to continue. The fortunate thing was that we had two doctors in the group who really helped out with the situation.

Early the next morning we woke up and Shveta decided that she wanted to continue. She is such a tough girl, I don't think I would've wanted to continue after a night full of vomiting. We had our toughest hike of the trip ahead of us. We would need to climb up and over Mono Pass at around 12,000', back down 1000', and then back up another 1200' to our campsite at Pioneer Basin. It was a grueling 8 miles, everyone in the group was totally exhausted by the time we hit camp, but the views and scenery were amazing. Shveta somehow made it through all that hiking, and we were booth looking forward to a well earned layover day.

Backpacking Pioneer Basin

Recently we took a week long backpacking trip through the Eastern Sierras with the Sierra Club. It was an amazing trip, full of some of the most beautiful scenery I've ever seen, and our first time being in the wilderness for a whole week. Living out in nature with only what we carried on our back has always been a humbling and enlightening experience, but doing so for an exteneded period of time was even more so. There were definitely difficulties to overcome, but the rewards were certainly worth it.

The first night was spent getting used to the high elevation and meeting our fellow backpack trip members. There were folks from New York, Florida, Oregon, and California. Most of them seemed to be Sierra Club veterans, and were very easy to get to know. After some light conversation around the campfire (the only one we would be afforded this trip as the rest of our campsites were over 10,000 ft) we headed into our tents to get some rest for the start of the trip.

The next day we shuttled cars to our ending trailhead at McGee, with a few drivers heading there to drop off cars and the rest going to the starting trailhead at Mosquito Flat. As we waited for the shuttle drivers to come to the trailhead, we met some really nice park rangers who gave us some valuable information on staying safe in lighting storms. After the rest of our group arrived we started for our first campsite at Ruby Lake. I'll write more later but you can click on the title for more pictures from our trip.

Dropping Knowledge

A recent post on cf-funbunch from Nipun pointed me at Dropping Knowledge which will be a forum of some of the worlds greatest thinkers, gathering at the largest table ever to discuss the 100 top questions of the world. It sounds like a really interesting event and it will be great to see what kind of answers and discussions come out of it. Take a look and submit a question a the website.

Prison Angel

I recently finished a book loaned to me entitled, "The Prison Angel: Mother Antonia's Journey from Beverly Hills to a Life of Service in a Mexican Jail". It was a very inspiring story of a twice divorced, mother of 7, who gave up a lavish Beverly Hills lifestyle to go live and work in a horrible prison in Tijuana, Mexico. The amount of caring and compassion this lady has for people is mind boggling. She decides to live in a cold, damp cell in the middle of a terrible prison, and gives so much of herself to the prisoners. Any injustice or suffering she encounters, she tries to help, both inside and outside of the prison. Truly an inspiration!

One... The Movie

I came across what looks like a really interesting movie that is being screened right now called One. This guy basically wakes up one day from a dream with the need to make a movie about finding the answer to life's ultimate questions. He then goes and interviews some leading spiritual figures on his questions. Here is a quick blurb from the movie website:

ONE.... The Movie weaves the novice film-makers' remarkable adventures with the answers to life's ultimate questions in a journey that just may transform you way of seeing the world as One.

One.. The Movie

The US could learn from Singapore

From USA Today, a look at how Singapore manages its automobile traffic.. in short, it looks like they do a lot of really good things to manage cars that the US would be wise to follow.

Singapore

Air pollution in national parks

There have been some studies done, and sadly the air quality in Sequoia/Kings Canyon is at times as bad or worse than LA! Its just as said thing to think such a place of natural beauty and home to some of the largest trees in the world is also home to so much air pollution. Here's an article from the NYT talking about some of the air pollution problems there and in Acadia.
Air pollution

Just un-do it

Shveta showed me this really great blog today. This guy has lots of great thoughts and ideas that resonate with me. I only hope I can get bring myself more in line with this way of living.

Just Undo It

Alphabet soup

A really eye opening look at plastics and their impact on our oceans. This group of volunteers ventures out to the middle of the ocean to get an idea of how much plastic is dumped in the ocean and its effect on ocean life.
Alphabet Soup

Our changing climate

Some results from a study done to see the effects of global warming on California. Lots of possible health problems and such if nothing is done to stop all these pollutants from entering our atmosphere.

http://news.mongabay.com/2006/0731-california.html

Tesla Motors

Check out Tesla Motors, a startup car company in the Silicon Valley to make electric powered cars. Their first model is a sweet looking roadster, but they will have more affordable family cars to follow. I hope these guys do well! I'd sure like to buy one :)

http://www.teslamotors.com/blog1/index.php?js_enabled=1

Fred

Buffalo News - Humble grocer quietly gave away millions

A wonderful story about a quiet, humble guy who was an anonymous philanthropist.
Buffalo News - Humble grocer quietly gave away millions

Treehugger: Toyota Launches New Hybrid Estima Minivan in Japan

Check out the new hybrid minivan from Toyota.. gets 47MPG!

Treehugger: Toyota Launches New Hybrid Estima Minivan in Japan

Soft drinks: Unsafe beverages

An interesting discussion the drawbacks of drinking soda. The major focus or the article is on weakening of bones, but there are other possible side effects. Maybe I'll go back to drinking Kool-Aid.
Soft drinks: Unsafe beverages

Plastic Free City

Very cool idea in the Goa region of India. The town of Vasco has decided to make the town plastic free due to the amount of trash and litter. They have lots of incentives for the residents to stop using plastic.
D A I J I W O R L D

Fast Food Nation the Movie

Looks like they've made a movie about Fast Food Nation. The book is a really good and eye opening look at the eating habits of Americans, and the fast food industry. Hopefully the movie will be as good.
Fast Food Nation the Movie

Kick The Oil Habit

This campaign is trying to encourage oil companies to start using E85 as an alternative to gasoline. E85 is a mix of 85% Ethanol (made from corn) and 15% gas, which runs in normal cars.Kick The Oil Habit

No More Electric Bills? ‘Zero-Energy’ Homes - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

Nice article on Zero Energy Homes.. definitely a good step in the right direction. I'd really like to incorporate some of these ideas into a house if I ever get a chance to own one :) No More Electric Bills? ‘Zero-Energy’ Homes - Newsweek Technology - MSNBC.com

Double amputee scales Mt Everest

Here's a totally amazing story about a guy from New Zealand who is a double amputee and climbed Mt. Everest!!! Man, I have a hard time climbing Half Dome. BBC NEWS | World | South Asia | Double amputee scales Mt Everest

Good Times at a Backpackers' Paradise - New York Times

One goal I'd like to accomplish someday is to hike the Appalachin Trail.. here's a story in the New York Times about Trail Days in Damascus, VA. One of the biggest gatherings of hikers anywhere. Good Times at a Backpackers' Paradise - New York Times

ecoballs

This sounds really interesting. A way to clean your clothes using ionized oxygen, which is much more eco friendly, cost efficient, and cheaper! Too bad its only available in the UK.ecoballs

I'm Doing My Inconsequential Part For The Environment | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

An interesting Editorial post on the Onion about doing our part to help the environment.. I'm Doing My Inconsequential Part For The Environment | The Onion - America's Finest News Source

Quinoa

I was at Whole Foods yesterday and ran into this grain called Quinoa at the bulk foods aisle. The description listed it as the "Food of the Incas" and apparently this grain gives all 8 essential amino acids. Here's a link to wikipedia describing the attributes of this grain. Quinoa - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Living Simply, Simply Living

I just came across this really interesting essay by a guy named Michael Brooks, discussing Thoreau and how his philosophies relate to modern day society:
http://www.swans.com/library/art11/brooks02.html

Bikes Not Bombs

Here's a cool program I came across.. Bikes Not Bombs.. Here's a clip of their mission statement:

Lasting peace and social justice require equitable and sustainable use of resources. BNB provides community-based education and assists development projects with recycled bicycles, related technologies and technical assistance, as concrete alternatives to the militarism, over-consumption & inequality that breed war and environmental destruction. Our organization is part of a worldwide movement for peace and responsible stewardship of the earth.

Bikes Not Bombs

Nature's Clothing - John Muir

I came across this quote from John Muir in a Sierra Club newsletter and thought it was pretty interesting:

Nature’s Clothing
“Nature is a good mother, and sees
well to the clothing of her many bairns
— birds with smoothly imbricated
feathers, beetles with shining jackets,
and bears with shaggy furs. In the
tropical south, where the sun warms
like a fire, they are allowed to go
thinly clad; but in the snowy northland
she takes care to clothe warmly. The
squirrel has socks and mittens, and a
tail broad enough for a blanket; the
grouse is densely feathered down to
the ends of his toes; and the wild
sheep, besides his undergarment of
fine wool, has a thick overcoat of hair
that sheds off both the snow and the
rain. Other provisions and adaptations
in the dresses of animals, relating less
to climate than to the more mechanical
circumstances of life, are made with
the same consummate skill that
characterizes all the love work of
Nature. Land, water, and air, jagged
rocks, muddy ground, sand beds,
forests, underbrush, grassy plains, etc.,
are considered in all their possible
combinations while the clothing of her
beautiful wildlings is preparing. No
matter what the circumstances of their
lives may be, she never allows them to
go dirty or ragged. The mole, living
always in the dark and in the dirt, is
yet as clean as the otter or the wave-
washed seal; and our wild sheep,
wading in snow, roaming through
bushes, and leaping among jagged
storm-beaten cliffs, wears a dress so
exquisitely adapted to its mountain life
that it is always found as unruffled and
stainless as a bird.”

Treehugger: Sanyo's Aqua: Wash Clothes Without Water

Check out this new washer that can clean clothes without water!!

Treehugger: Sanyo's Aqua: Wash Clothes Without Water

Tilt Your Head Like an Indian

Great article on indian head bobbling :)

World Hum | Travel | Tilt Your Head Like an Indian

Relief Riders International

Here's a group who allows you to sign up to ride on horseback into the villages of Rajasthan to setup medical camps, work with the red cross, etc.. Sounds like a pretty awesome experience! Welcome to Relief Riders International

Whole Foods Market using wind power

Cool stuff from Treehugger.. Whole Foods, their stores in Colorado are using 100% Windpower!
Whole Foods Market Wind Power

Low-cost lamps brighten the future of rural India | csmonitor.com

Great article about using LEDs to power lights in rural India. By using solar power and low power LEDs they can create safer, cleaner, and eventually cheaper ways to light up the villages.
Low-cost lamps brighten the future of rural India | csmonitor.com