greenatopia

Acropolis

2012-02-01T17:14:00.000-08:00

One day in Athens is not a lot of time, but it is all we had. We made the most of it. We went to the Acropolis immediately, climbing up the south side. Although they were adhering to their off-season hours, it was still quite busy with large numbers of tour groups. But tour groups only go to the highlights, so the Theater of Dionysos and the Odeon of Herodes Attikus were not so crowded. At the top of the Acropolis it was insanely windy -- to the point of blowing us over. This was my third visit to the Acropolis and every time it has been covered in scaffolding. Apparently we shouldn't expect to see it without scaffolding for many more years to come. At least the Erechteion was clear this time.

The Parthenon

This (next two photos) is all that is left of the frieze (the rest is in the British Museum):

The Erechteion

Other buildings on the Acropolis (north side)

Odeon of Herodes Attikus

Theater of Dionysos

Random things on the south side

Iraklion

2012-01-29T20:03:00.000-08:00

After hanging out at Agios Minos for several hours, we wandered around town. Iraklion is the largest city and the capital of Crete. It definitely felt more like a big city. But there are some very charming areas of town -- including a pedestrian area, a Venetian fountain and fort (of course), and an incredible archeological museum.

Of course, because I have amazing timing, the museum was being remodeled, but they have their best stuff on exhibit in a temporary space. Many of the frescoes from Knossos are there (remember the ones at Knossos are copies). They also have the boar's teeth helmet, goddess holding snacks, and bee-shaped broach out of gold that are often mentioned when discussing the amazing treasures of the Minoans.

This is the hotel where we stayed...

Hot chocolate in the square...

Agios Minos Saint Day

2012-01-27T13:00:00.000-08:00

November 11 is the Saint Day for Agios Minos. What that means in Greece is that any church named after Agios Minos has to have a day of recognition (I'm sure there is a more technical term). People come to be blessed and receive communion and then they parade the Saint's icon around outside.

Mom and I sat outside this church for hours waiting for the 5 minute "parade" (I'm using "parade" because again I don't know the technical term and the person who alerted us to this event used that word -- I do not mean any disrespect). It was interesting to watch everyone going into the church for their blessing. They went through many, many loaves of bread.

Bringing a donation of bread...

Agios Minos:

This is my favorite shot from the entire series:

Pheostos

2012-01-25T17:28:00.000-08:00

Mom and I were forced to move to Iraklion because our hotel near Rethymno closed for the season. This was fine with us because we found a nice hotel in Iraklion that would give us a good deal due to the timing, I convinced our closing hotel to pay for a taxi to Iraklion, and there was a festival in Iraklion on one of the two days we would be there.

Also, this put us closer to more of the Minoan sites on the island. So as soon as we arrived (by cushy, free taxi) we got on a bus to Pheostos.

Pheostos is the second most important Minoan palace on Crete (the first is Knossos). It has not been rebuilt, so you get to see it in all of its ruinous glory. But possibly the best part of the site is the view...

One frustrating thing about Pheostos is that they have several sections blocked off so we couldn't get close. I guess I should just be happy they were letting me crawl on the ruins at all. There was no explanation for what it was or why we weren't allowed near it...

This section was closed too. Somewhere down there is the only piece of neolithic remains at the site.

We were going to hit another site on bus ride back to Iraklion, but this being the off-season, the bus did not follow the schedule we were told when we bought our tickets. Thus, we had to just return to town. As it was we had to switch buses twice on the way back. It was pretty funny -- Mom and I were completely lost to what was happening. Our first bus pulled off to the side of the road and we just sat there. Then we were told to get off; another bus drove up, we crossed the highway and got on that bus. That bus dropped us off in a smallish town and said the next bus would be by any minute. We waited about 30 minutes. Meanwhile my schedule had us at the next Minoan palace an hour ago. The site was closing when we pulled past it. We didn't bother to get off and this confused the bus driver since our tickets were only to there. But we had the ticket for the next leg in our bag and although still confused, he punched them. It is hard to believe he didn't know the site was closed by then.

Arkadi Day

2012-01-22T12:56:00.000-08:00

Remember the monastery we visited where the Cretans blew themselves up rather than be taken by the Turks? Well the anniversary of that dreadful day is Nov. 9 and we were in Rethymno for it. Unfortunately, for some unknown reason, Rethymno's parade in remembrance of this date is actually held Nov. 8. So we missed the parade (actually, we wouldn't have except that they stop bus service around the parade, which means we had to walk into town, which took more than an hour).

But we got to see some of the aftermath of the parade. School kids figure prominently in the parade, so Rethymno's old town was really busy with kids-- they get the day off from school. It was by far the busiest we ever saw town.

You know how I feel about motorized vehicles on sidewalks. I learned this from my mom, who was also crazy upset when people insisted on driving where they shouldn't (which was super common in the old towns of these towns).

Close-up of Rethymno's Venetian fountain...

Agia Galina

2012-01-20T19:07:00.000-08:00

The other beach town that we hung out in was Agia Galina. Another beautiful fishing village.

This is where we ate. The people behind my mom are the chef's!

This lucky cat got to finish Mom's fish...

And yes, I contributed to the stone towers...

Plakias

2012-01-16T10:51:00.000-08:00

Everyone said, "you must go to the southern fishing towns." Rethymno and Hania are beautiful, but they are towns, with sprawl and lots of people. The southern coast of Crete is much sleepier -- particularly if you go off-season and all the tourists are home. Because this part of Crete has a reputation of being a bit of a party area, but not when the hotels are empty.

It was actually warm enough to go swimming, but we did not (mom forgot her swim suit). So instead and possibly as punishment for not following my packing list, I made my mom climb a mountain. Now she agrees it was worth it for the view, but at the time she wasn't super excited.

Plakias was basically abandoned. There was one restaurant open, luckily it had tables right on the beach. Having it all to ourselves was actually quite nice.

We called these horses over and they immediately came.

Old olive trees: they were harvesting, which is why there is netting on the ground (to collect the olives).

Hania for Saturday Market

2012-01-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

We went into Hania on Saturday so we could explore the Saturday farmers' market. We also realized that the bad weather on our first trip caused us to miss some of the more interesting parts of town.

We started at the Agora, which is somewhat like the Ferry Building in San Francisco -- lots of fancy local foods that are really packaged for tourists. Still it was fun to taste the figs and other delights that Crete has to offer. And to see the fish -- and be glad I don't eat fish.

Then we visited the farmers' market, which was more for local people to buy their weekly food. It was very busy.

Then we wandered around town because it was a lovely day.

Minoans and Venetians

2012-01-14T10:24:00.000-08:00

Crete has been shaped by its past glories. These glories are mostly from the Minoan and Venetian periods of their history. They have also been completely terrorized by the Turks, but this is the negative period of their past and I won't dwell on it (you can read this post to learn of some of this horror).

Every town on Crete has a Venetian fountain and the larger "cities" have Venetian forts. In my humble opinion, the fort in Rethymno is the most impressive. Hania's fort is almost non-existant and Iraklion's fort is so small. But Rethymno's fort is definitely the center piece of town and is an impressive fortification on their port. I already posted the photos from inside the fort. See for yourself how impressive the outside is...

Not part of the fort, but I like the image:

The Minoans existed on Crete between 27th and 15th century BC. Sir Arthur Evans discovered the first signs of this ancient culture on Crete with his discovery of Knossos. Although Sir Evans was working in the 18th century, there are still a number of mysteries related to this society. One of which is why there is a cemetery of around 200 graves near Rethymno, but not near any known Minoan settlement (the settlements seem to all be in the Iraklion area). Mom's theory is that there was a settlement near Rethymno, they just haven't found it. It doesn't really make sense that the Minoans held reign for so long on the island and never moved to this beautiful setting on the northwest coast. So I agree with Mom. I mean, they didn't even know this cemetery existed until 1969 when it was discovered.

The grave sites housed families (not single individuals) and people were buried with their worldly goods. The items found in the graves are now housed in the various archeological museums on the island. Still the graves are interesting to see. They are carved out of rock, but underground -- Crete is basically just a big piece of rock. Some have stairs to the doorway, some don't. The graves were closed with large rock slabs, some of which are still at the site. The graveyard is a beautiful oak grove in the hills near Armeni.

Of course the bus schedule wasn't really set for tourists to get to this sight, so we had more time than we needed. We took a little walk while waiting for the bus...

Knossos

2012-01-08T17:27:00.000-08:00

When you think about Europe you often think about old things. Especially when you grow up in the U.S. and so many of our historic sights are so young. But you don't know old in Europe if you haven't been to Crete. And Knossos is the most important ancient sight on the island. The original palace built at this location was completed around 4000 B.C. (That is not a typo.) The new palace built at this location was completed around 2000 B.C. That is the new palace!

The sight was somewhat rebuilt in the first quarter of the 20th century by Sir Arthur Evans, so it now provides a better idea of what it looked like than other palaces on the island (I'll have photos of one of those later this week). The columns in these photos that are painted red or black are modern construction -- the original palace would have had wooden columns where these have been placed. All the frescoes are copies -- the originals are in Iraklion (we saw a few, so you'll get pictures of those in a later entry also).

There are theories that this palace was home to the possibly mythical Cretan Labyrinth. There isn't any proof of that, but this is the palace written of in Homer's Iliad.

Definitely the most important thing this palace should be remembered for is running water. It is home to the world's oldest indoor toilet.

This was one of the first times we had been confronted by a number of other tourists. Cruise ships that dock in Iraklion take their customers to see this sight. Thus, we had to dodge large tour groups. Considering we had basically had the entire island to ourselves, we couldn't complain that much.

The Throne Room (remember these frescoes are copies).

This palace is sometimes called the Palace of the Double Axes, which this sculpture symbolizes.

It is thought that this might be were religious ceremonies were held.

Original pipes for the running water!

Have I mentioned the bull leaping yet? Apparently this was a major pastime for the Minoans and men and women participated.

Pretty gypsum is used for a lot of the stone work.

And a random peacock in the yard outside of the sight.

"Out in the dark blue sea there lies a land called Crete, a rich and lovely land, washed by the waves on every side..." Homer

Hania in the rain

2012-01-01T19:30:00.000-08:00

Hania is the second largest town on Crete and supposedly the most beautiful. Of course, the first time we went it was a rainy day. Still, it was an interesting day exploring the old Venetian port and a great lunch. I love towns with narrow streets/walking areas.

There used to be a large Jewish community in Hania...

Venetian Armory:

St. Antonio Gorge

2011-12-30T11:49:00.000-08:00

So Crete is the home to Europe's longest gorge. Unfortunately, they officially close the Samaria Gorge on Nov. 1-- when we arrived in Crete. So we couldn't go there. But there are actually a number of really impressive and beautiful gorges on Crete. Somehow we magically found a tour -- the buses don't really go to the gorges and since tourism season was over, most of the tours were no longer operating. The tour we booked was actually better than expected. Not just a nice walk in the gorge, but also a visit to Arkadi Monastery, a look at the newest dam on the island (you have to have some modern infrastructure viewing in all tours!) and a lovely lunch in a small village.

Arkadi Monastery has an interesting though tragic history. In the 1860's when the Turks were, as our guide said, pillaging and raping Crete's villages and villagers, all the communities near this monastery hid here. Of course, the Turks found them. They kept the Turks at bay for a couple of days, pouring boiling olive oil over the walls, etc. But the Turks had better artillery and eventually got in. Rather than be taken by the Turks, everyone gathered in one room in the back of the monastery with their remaining gun powder and blew themselves up. Around 400 people died. One four year old child survived (and she lived a very long life afterwards into her 90's if I remember correctly). The monastery is still active with a museum telling you this history.

St. Antonio, the namesake of the gorge, heals people. People pray for all sorts of healing from ailments in his small cave chapel.

Aluminum plates represent what needs healing:

When people are healed they come back and leave their crutches and canes:

This was our first really nice weather day in Crete, but the entire next week was lovely too:

This olive tree is as old as the monastery -- 600 years old!

The church in the monastery's courtyard is Venetian. It is a two naves basilica (super rare); the northern nave is dedicated to the Transfiguration of Christ and the southern nave is dedicated to Saint Constantine and Saint Helen.

The arrow is pointing to a bullet from the Ottoman invasion:

Hallway to the monks' cells:

There is a small monument outside the monastery that displays the skulls of those who died in the monastery:

Spili

2011-12-18T20:09:00.000-08:00

The guidebook said there was a cute cobblestone village near Rethymno. So we boarded a bus and headed into the mountains.

Spili does indeed have cute cobblestone "roads" (I'm using that word, but several of the roads were really paths). It also had the required Venetian fountain. Unfortunately Spili "fixed" their fountain. It may have been the worst restoration I've ever seen. Still we had a nice walk around the village and we tried to find the Holy Spirit, but we failed.

Rethymno, Crete

2011-12-15T20:20:00.000-08:00

So earlier this year my mom and I had decided to go to England for vacation in November. My mom has a timeshare, so we were going to use that for the hotel and then my miles for the plane ticket. Unfortunately, the timeshare wasn't available. So I told my mom to just call the timeshare people and ask what was available in Europe. I think she said yes to the first place they named -- Crete. Too bad they didn't actually check to make sure the hotels were open when we wanted to go. Basically, the hotel was closing two days before we planned to leave. We just paid for a hotel in town for those last two days.

Anyway, for 10 days we lived in a small town outside of Rethymno. Rethymno, to be fair, is also a small town, but we are talking Crete where pretty much every town is small.

Rethymno is a cute fishing town with an old, now unused, mosque and Venetian fort (required for any sizable town on Crete) and a Venetian fountain (required of all settlements on Crete).

One note about Crete that really surprised us: an amazing amount of graffiti. It didn't matter where you were, there was spray paint on the wall. And very little of it was interesting -- it mas mostly just untalented kids tagging. I actually don't mind graffiti if it is interesting, but I despise it when it is just someone unimaginatively written name.

A little socioeconomic information: Crete is one of the wealthiest areas of Greece (4th wealthiest region and first wealthiest island). A large percentage of Europe's olive oil is produced on the island and Crete also houses 2/3 of Europe's greenhouses. So the economic crisis wasn't really something we heard a lot about on Crete. A few people mentioned that they thought it was better when they had the Drachma. And they did choose their new Prime Minister when we were there (actually the day before we went to Athens).

Crete is a really interesting and beautiful island. Mountains in the center, beautiful beaches around the edge. And Crete is home to the first advanced European society -- the Minoans. We spent a lot of time exploring their palaces, graves, and just enjoying their interesting history.

But our first day we spent in Rethymno.

The best baklava in Greece:

This is the pre-basketball game police line-up:

Possibly the best graffiti in Rethymno:

Last day in China

2011-12-13T22:07:00.000-08:00

Some travel advice for you if you go to China: all flights leave late. After Guilin I thought I'd have a few hours of roaming time in Beijing before I left the country. Unfortunately, my flight out of Guilin was several hours late. That pretty much used up all my daylight time.

O.k. one more travel tip: don't bother taking the train into town from the airport at night unless you can take the train all the way to your destination. I thought it would be cheaper and faster than taking a taxi from the airport to take the train as far as possible and then take a taxi. But as my hotel receptionist told me, "the taxis at the metro station are all illegal." They are actually official taxis, but any driver that refuses to use their meter and tries to get a set price, is technically driving illegally. And all 20+ taxis at the metro station were willing to just sit there rather than take me to my hotel for a reasonable price. Basically, the price they wanted was even higher than a taxi from the airport would have been. At this point I was actually running out of money, and frankly, I'm stubborn enough to walk. Finally I did get a taxi to relent and take me for a somewhat reasonable price. Still not the meter, but better. I took a taxi all the way to the airport the next day -- in the daytime when it isn't raining it is easy to find a taxi who will use a meter.

Anyway, before I had to leave I took a little walk in the park just north of the Forbidden City, Jingshan Park. The air quality was the worst I'd seen -- a mixture of smog and fog, making visibility about 3 feet. Still people were in the park walking around, doing Tai Chi, dancing, etc. This park was a pay-to-enter park. Apparently if you are a resident you can buy a pass.

For this last night in Beijing, on my own dime, I got to stay in a Hutong-- the old alley areas of town. Definitely recommend staying in the Hutongs. It is so interesting.

Oh, did I forget to mention that Jinshan Park is where the last emperor of the Ming Dynasty hung himself. Yes, this park has quite a colorful history.

View from the top of the hill into the Forbidden City (can you see it?):

The town of Guilin

2011-12-09T21:07:00.001-08:00

The town of Guilin was, hmm, how to say this, weird. There is this lovely park in the middle of town with two temples in the middle of the lake; and this lovely park was free. Then there are all these other parks around town that you have to pay to enter. I'm pretty sure paying to get into green space is anti-communist.

I tried to bike to what was supposedly a quaint old village. There was great signage in Latin letters all the way until I actually needed to turn. That was when the signage went Mandarin only. Oh well. I tried a couple of turns, but since I still had another 15 km to go (I had already gone about 20) without clear assurances that I was going the right way, well, the gamble was a little too high. So I turned back. Thus, I biked about 40 km in awful smog to see the sprawling edge of Guilin. At least I had a fairly nice bike lane for almost the entire way. Odd note about Guilin: the main road out of town seems to have more auto parts stores than I've seen over the course of my entire life, and I am not young!

The greatest bicycle child seat ever:

Recycling shoes:

Please tell me your theories of what this means:

Most of the disapproving passer-bys on these signs were not Chinese; I'm not sure what this says about foreigners:

Smoggy Guilin

2011-12-09T20:40:00.001-08:00

When making my plans for China I had chosen Guilin because I thought I'd like to see some beautiful countryside after being in two large cities. Guilin has these lovely karst mountains that only exist in this region of China, Vietnam, and in Cuba.

However, due to the insane air quality of China, I'm not so sure I made a very good decision. I've said it before and I will say it again, thank goodness for the Clean Air Act!

So when you go to Guilin you are required to take a boat trip down the River Li. It was just me and my closest 1000 friends (on about 25 boats) all floating down a narrow river. My boat was near the end, so at least I could get some boat-free photos.

This boat trip was not cheap. Still the guide really tried to up-sell us. My new friend and I had decided we weren't interested, but apparently everyone else was. Thus, our guide kept coming up to us trying to get us to do the additional tour. Basically, we had become an inconvenience because we refused to spend another $50 to go on another boat ride. Without agreeing to take another tour, the guide had a transportation issue (we were supposed to go back by bus after the Li River tour). The guide kept lowering the price for the second tour (it started much higher), but we continued to refuse. Finally, she decide a compromise was that we would go with the group to the village where the second boat ride was and hang out there until they were done. She made the village sound so interesting that we agreed to go.

When we got to the village the guide pointed to a small shop and said we could sit there for an hour while everyone went on the boat ride. My intention was to follow the group on whatever silly tour they were getting in the village and then just wander while they were on their little bamboo boats. I'm pretty sure this really pissed the guide off because we were getting a "tour" for free. But honestly, I was doing her a favor by being there and I wasn't about to sit in a small shop with no windows.

Once everyone got on their little bamboo boats (with Red Bull umbrellas -- very authentic), my new friend and I took a short walk and then found a lovely cafe on the water and had a cup of tea/coffee. We even had a little kitten to play with. Basically, we salvaged the afternoon and everyone else got totally hosed!

Baby water buffalo!

Terracotta Soldiers

2011-12-07T21:11:00.001-08:00

The world has a few places that really live up to their hype. Things you hear about way too much, but then you go and you suddenly and completely understand why you heard so much. Places where when you are there all you keep saying over and over again is, "wow this is amazing."

And the terracotta soldiers is one such site. Thousands of terracotta soldiers and hundreds of horses were discovered in a farmer's field in 1974. They are still digging them up and piecing them together. It is incredible to think that they remained hidden for so long.

Oh yeah, and every face is different. Seriously, if you were going to build a terracotta army, would you bother to make the faces different? That is just crazy.

I will now give you the advice that most people gave me prior to visiting the site: start with pit 3 and work your way up to pit 1. Pit 3 was discovered last in June 1976 and it had the fewest pieces. But it gives you a nice idea of how things looked when discovered.

The wagon wheel is just the impression -- all the wooden bits were gone when the site was discovered.

Pit 2 is actually not as impressive of Pit 3, but they have a few soldiers behind glass that you can see closer up.

And then you get to Pit 1 and well, it is slightly overwhelming...

Xian -- the start of the Silk Route

2011-11-23T23:44:00.001-08:00

Xian is a pretty amazing town. Not just a place to stay when visiting the terracotta soldiers, but an actual place worth visiting on its own right. The start of the famed Silk Route, an interesting old city wall, a bustling Muslim quarter. And the food. Rule number one for ordering food in China: always order the eggplant. Seriously ever dish with eggplant that I had was incredible and in Xian it was even more magnificent.

798 Art District

2011-11-21T20:58:00.001-08:00

Beijing has one of the most amazing neighborhoods ever -- 798 Art District. An old East Germany factory complex has been converted into art studios and galleries. Blocks and blocks of pedestrian areas, with great cafe's and hundreds of art galleries! It is incredible. I could have spent an entire week there.

It is one of the few places in Beijing with graffiti (no comment whether this is a good or bad thing). I think it might actually be allowed there.

It seemed like every where I went in China people were taking photos of others in wedding garb. With all the ill-fitting wedding clothes, I'm not convinced any of them were actual brides and grooms.

Some of the "pottery" for sale was Ikea!

Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City

2011-11-18T17:40:00.001-08:00

We went on a tour of Tienanmen Square and the Forbidden City. Or maybe I should say others had a tour of these places, I spent most of the time sweeping the group. Usually I like to walk in the back so I can spend as much time as I want taking photos, but I would have liked to hear some of the history. Still it was lovely. We had some sun and it wasn't too smoggy. And seriously, who can complain where there are emperors riding chickens.

Random people posing for someone else:

Great Wall -- Twice

2011-11-16T19:36:00.001-08:00

Somehow I got to go to the Great Wall twice during my time in China. Two different sections (both near Beijing).

And the second trip:

The Summer Palace (in China!)

2011-10-26T22:37:00.000-07:00

Another work trip -- this one to Beijing, China. Since I'd never been I stayed for an extra week. I don't believe in going somewhere for work and not seeing some of the culture and history of that country.

Beijing was so surprising. I'd been told not be believe this, but I couldn't help but assume it would be like Delhi. But other than a large population, they two cities do not share much. Beijing is extremely orderly and clean. The parks are bustling with people dancing and doing Tai Chi. There are very few children and the children that exist are surrounded by, usually, several adults.

The honesty was astounding. We were given locks for our rental bikes, but no one locks their bikes in Beijing (we did, because we were renting). If I don't lock every aspect of my bike down then I will lose it -- as noted by my front light and computer both being stolen off the bike (the computer didn't work anymore -- ha suckers!). We left a beautiful pomelo in the basket of one our bikes -- it was still there when we returned after several hours in the Summer Palace! No way that would have happened in the U.S.

And the bike lanes! Oh my goodness! The bike lanes are like a dream come true. Very wide (enough for three bikes to ride side-by-side) and separated from motorized traffic via little metal fences. The lanes were so well designed that I never felt frustrated by slow bikers, or people who think they are faster than me. Also the other cyclists do not have the attitude of cyclists in CA. No one seemed to really care that they were being passed. Even people on motor bikes were fine with it; though there may be some question as to why I, on a comfort bike, was able to pass a motor bike.

If only the air quality was better. I've never been somewhere with that much particulate matter in the air. Seriously, those of us in the U.S. need to write our elected representatives and sing our praises for the Clean Air Act. Trust me, that law is saving us. One day biking in Beijing and my throat was sore and my voice was hoarse.

But enough preaching... our first full day in Beijing we biked to the Summer Palace. Yes, technically the Summer Palace was the summer retreat of the emperors back in the day, considered distant from town, but now it is just a short jaunt from the center of the city. Just twenty-five kilometers from the Forbidden City. Though it sounds like it would be old, the Summer Palace was rebuilt in the 1980's. Every building has a sign about how the original building was destroyed in the Anglo-Franco War -- or the Second Opium War as we know it. I hate to admit that it took me a few days to make that connection. And I'm sure the Summer Palace was a lovely place to visit during the Qing Dynasty, but now it is a little crowded and very smoggy. Still it was a nice introduction to China.

Happy Diwali!

2011-10-26T13:26:00.001-07:00

DSC_0040, a photo by Jessica Leas Photography on Flickr.

Posting inspired by Alex Wang, my travel buddy for Diwali 2010.

Grand Tetons National Park; Part II

2011-10-25T20:50:00.000-07:00

I was lucky this year to be sent to Grand Tetons National Park for work this year. It is a really beautiful place!

Grand Tetons National Park

2011-10-05T22:13:00.000-07:00

Tomorrow I'll post more, but I thought for today I'd just leave you with my favorite shot from Grand Tetons National Park. Our National Park system is the greatest in the world, and our best idea ever, so we should continue to protect it and visit. But take only photos and leave only footprints!

Just look at how beautiful this country is...

Bodie State Park

2011-10-02T18:31:00.000-07:00

In the 70's/early 80's there were a few sitcoms that had their characters visit a ghost town. I remember The Brady Bunch and Scoobie Doo both having such episodes. Being a child raised on the East Coast and Midwest, well, there were no ghost towns. The concept was totally foreign to me and also extremely desirable. Because one thing I really enjoyed when I was young was a good scare. But being that we never went West, I never got to have a ghost town experience.

But now I live in CA and frankly, I can't believe I've been here two years and I just made my first trip to a ghost town. Unfortunately, it wasn't scary at all. But it was great. I highly recommend everyone go visit Bodie State Park.

Gold was discovered in 1857, by WWII the town was basically abandoned. The gold found in Bodie totaled more than $100 million.

More Yosemite

2011-09-30T22:48:00.000-07:00

There are no words...

Yosemite!

2011-09-23T11:05:00.001-07:00

JOL_1593, a photo by Jessica Leas Photography on Flickr.

Just something to make my East Coast friends want to visit me.

Coyote Wall hike

2011-09-21T18:23:00.000-07:00

We wanted to go for a hike. Hood was on fire, and thus every trail I chose was closed due to the smoke. So we had to go further and ended up in an area that actually looked more like California than Oregon. But it was still nice. Hot, because it was one of the Portland area's hottest weekends (this is a trend for me this summer), but still nice. Wildlife sightings included a rattlesnake and two deer.

That's Mt. Hood behind all that smoke:

This is a cattle chute. I have no idea how that works...

Migrating Swifts

2011-09-20T21:43:00.000-07:00

Swifts migrate from Central America to Canada every fall (and then back again in the spring). Along the way they have favorite "hotels" where they all gather to sleep. In a funnel flight, they all, amazingly, end up in a chimney or some other small cave like structure. They are very reliable -- they tend to return to the same places year after year.For the nightly rest, they start out as a small group...

Their numbers build...

Until they have all arrived. And then they begin to funnel into the "hotel."

They entire event takes about an hour. It is amazing how captivating it is.

Randomness

2011-09-15T22:27:00.000-07:00

Some random shots for your weekend. I'm going to Yosemite!

Flowers, Flowers, Flowers

2011-09-10T20:22:00.000-07:00

Audrey and I went to the DeYoung flower show many, many months ago (March). I promptly forgot that I took any photos. I got them on my computer, I just forgot to upload them to Flickr. The point of the exhibit is that they ask florists to design bouquets inspired by art in the museum. Some of it is very literal, but some of it is pretty imaginative.

New camera

2011-09-09T16:46:00.000-07:00

I got a fancy new camera. You all won't really see much of a difference in my shots, but I know there is a difference. The new camera's low-light capabilities are amazing -- so much so that I have to be careful when it is bright now. But I prefer that to be the case. [Except that my first time out with the camera I wasn't prepared for that and none of the photos turned out.]

I've decided I really like all the wires in San Francisco. But frankly, the number is slightly insane!

My favorite shot from the two days of walking around taking pictures:

Bay Cruise and the bridge

2011-08-23T19:01:00.000-07:00

When my family visited we got City Passes so that we could get a small discount on the entrance fees to a few of the sites and Muni. Included in the City Pass is a Bay Cruise. It was actually much better than I expected.

Jayden was very cold...

And then we walked across the bridge...

Monterey and Moss Landing

2011-08-21T21:54:00.000-07:00

Did you know that to get the sardines from the ships to the canneries in Monterey they used scuba divers and large pipes? That is your little fact of the day.

The water is very cold and Jayden could barely stand it long enough for me to take the picture.

And more otter shots, because honestly you can't have enough otter shots...

Pelicans!

2011-08-18T21:24:00.000-07:00

When people suggest that environmental legislation is unnecessary or stupid, I point to brown pelicans. And American eagles. And alligators.

That is right people, you have the Endangered Species Act to thank for the amazing come-back of all three of those majestic species.

I was born in Florida. Seeing a brown pelican was very rare back in the mid-70s. A few years ago I lived in Tampa for a few months -- it was so beautiful to see all the brown pelicans lined up on the fishing pier.

There are 12 species of pelican. The brown pelican (my favorite) dive bombs fish to eat. It is actually a little startling if you are in the water, say kayaking, and one does this a few feet away (close enough that you get splashed). Their bodies can be 5'8" and their wing span can be as much as 10' long.

When they fly, well, it is like magic, particularly since they can weigh up to 30 lbs.

And now, pelicans, are basically one of my favorite things to photograph. They are amazing.

Thank goodness for the ESA!

Jellies

2011-08-15T23:34:00.000-07:00

Jellyfish and I are not really friends. I realize that technically they just generally float with the current, but I swear they target me. I've been stung more than anyone I know.

Still, I find them beautiful. Particularly when they are presented in perfectly blue water.

Highway 1 to Monterey

2011-08-14T22:37:00.000-07:00

We drove from San Francisco to Monterey on Highway 1. Not the fastest way to get there, but it is the most scenic and I thought my family would enjoy the view.

Jayden hamming:

Funny animals

2011-08-11T20:26:00.000-07:00

The funniest one is my nephew (he is on the right)...

Rodeo (in Spanish)

2011-08-10T21:33:00.000-07:00

We went to the Salinas Rodeo (they pronounce it in Spanish) parade. There was a miscommunication of the website/local newspaper so we actually arrived for the pre-parade and due to impatience did not stick around for the official parade. But the pre-parade was pretty cool.

Very disturbing...

This kid was pretty amazing. I hope they used him in the real parade too!

Little rodeo clown!

Salinas, Carmel, and surrounding areas

2011-08-09T19:48:00.000-07:00

Just some random shots from my trip to Monterey Bay area...

Point Lobos again!

2011-08-08T18:31:00.000-07:00

Have I mentioned how much I love Point Lobos? It is always beautiful, no matter the weather. Every time I go I see something new. It is a great park.

This algae was on the some of the trees so we asked one of the very helpful volunteers at the park -- it doesn't hurt the trees.

And we saw deer:

Epic Walk

2011-07-30T20:39:00.000-07:00

So after biking more than ninety miles to Napa, I decided Meghan needed to see the city and the best way to do that is to walk across it. We walked 10 miles. Generally a 10 mile urban hike isn't a big deal to me, but we had just decided we were too tired to bike to Monterey. Maybe we could have used a bus at some point.

Biking to Napa

2011-07-28T22:13:00.001-07:00

Meghan and I biked from Vallejo to Napa Valley (specifically just north of St. Helena). It is a beautiful bike ride up, but definitely do not trust Google Maps to get you there on a bike. They had us riding a lot of highways and there is actually a nice rail trail that could be used for a significant portion of that highway. You actually don't notice that you have a very lovely tail wind on the way up, but you definitely notice that head wind on the way back.

Total mileage (give or take a few miles): 95.

Meghan's funny sunburn hands:

Pigeon Date

2011-07-27T12:39:00.001-07:00

DSC_0124, a photo by Jessica Leas Photography on Flickr.

I just felt the need to share this touching moment that Meghan and I came across during our epic walk through San Francisco. Pigeons sharing a sunday at Ghirardelli Square.

Point Lobos and Big Sur

2011-07-19T23:35:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago when I went to Monterey I also visited Point Lobos and Big Sur. Such beautiful places. Plua a couple of seal photos from Pacific Grove.

Walking around

2011-07-09T11:02:00.000-07:00

I ran some errands on foot last weekend. You may get complete errands quicker in a car, but I can guarantee you are not having as nice a time as I have on foot.

I crashed a random Indian wedding...

Love those sea otters

2011-07-02T21:55:00.000-07:00

If you have never been, I highly recommend Elkhorn Slough. I mean, just look what you can see...

They have nice teeth:

Ballet swimming:

He's blowing you a kiss goodbye:

Candlestick to the Ocean

2011-07-01T15:40:00.001-07:00

I'm trying to train for Meghan's visit. So Saturday (two Saturdays ago, actually) I rode through Golden Gate Park to the Cliff House, through The Presidio, down Embarcadero, through Dog Patch and then home. Only 25 miles. So Sunday I decided to ride a longer route. I did not choose the most beautiful route, but it was still interesting. I biked down to Candlestick Park, then over to the ocean, up to the Presidio and then home. In all still only 35 miles, but that is pretty good considering how small this city is. (You can tell which photos were from the first ride because I used my LensBaby that day.)

Blast to the Past -- Part 4

2011-06-23T14:55:00.001-07:00

My travels don't just take me abroad (though granted my public transportation needs are better fulfilled when outside the U.S.). Some old shots of the U.S. of A.

Walk to Glen Park

2011-06-18T21:00:00.000-07:00

Decided to walk to Glen Park and took the Lens Baby...

Oh, and I got a haircut a couple of weeks ago.

Blast to the Past -- Part 3

2011-06-17T20:44:00.000-07:00

I took a few vacations while in Peace Corps. Believe it or not, despite our extremely low salary and the insanely low vacation allowance (it hadn't been raised since Peace Corps was started) I saved some money. And that small savings allowed me to go to Russia, India, and Uzbekistan.

First I went to Russia (for the first time -- many trips to follow)...

Then my first trip to India (many trips to follow)...

And then Uzbekistan (sadly I have yet to return)...

Blast to the Past -- Part 2

2011-06-14T21:48:00.000-07:00

After college I was sentenced to Siberia by the U.S. government (otherwise known as a Peace Corps assignment).

I lived in Petropavlovsk, Kazakhstan.

That is tundra people! We are talking snow in August. I'm sure it is gone now.

Lyceum #1 -- where I taught:

Doorway to my apartment:

The Switzerland of Kazakhstan (I've since learned that most countries have an area they choose to compare to Switzerland, but this was an odd claim in Kazakshtan. We had the Tien Shan, they can actually put the Swiss Alps to shame!)

Testing snow near the coal-fired power plant:

Snow palace made out of ice for New Year's.

Babushkas at the bazaar:

Cecelia pulled Santosha into the mud. Since laundry was difficult to do (no hot water and jeans definitely freeze while line drying) this accident was a real tragedy.

Staged wedding in the traditional Kazakh style:

House of Mercy, where we taught English to help pay for medical care for the pensioners in town:

Wow, these pictures actually make Kazakhstan look beautiful.

Blast to the Past

2011-06-11T20:07:00.000-07:00

I recently had a bunch of photos from my film days scanned to disk. I'm going to share these over the next few days.

We'll start with the travel I was lucky enough to do while in college.

First Honduras:

Traveled to Austria and Germany for an art class in Dec. 1993-Jan. 1994...

Then I lived in England my junior year...

And then traveled around Europe for two months when I was done with the school year.
Portofino, Italy

Florence, Italy

Parthenon, Athens, Greece

Berlin Wall

Copenhagen, Denmark

Mini-college reunion

2011-06-04T17:11:00.000-07:00

We had a mini-college reunion here in San Francisco, CA. Some of my friends and I decided we could have just as much fun meeting here as we could trekking all the way out to PA. So we spent a long weekend running up and down the coast here: Sunday in Napa Valley for wine and art; Monday in Monterrey to kayak with the sea otters; Tuesday in the city to enjoy the Mission, MOMA, and hair cuts!

Got a few nice shots. It was a really beautiful weekend.

Kristine and Joe, why were you never around when I took group shots?

There is some serious overcrowding on this pier:

Who knew Clif Bar made wine too? Apparently it is pretty good. Their tasting room is filled with old bikes.

Baby grapes:

Thanks for coming Jen!

Bay to Breakers Baby

2011-05-27T11:42:00.000-07:00

I've lived in San Francisco for two years and somehow I've always been out of town during Bay to Breakers. This year, a friend came to visit me that weekend, so I finally got to see the spectacle.

Frankly, it is sort of like every other event in San Francisco. Several naked people (I worked very hard to keep them out of my photos), others dressed in crazy costumes, a lot of drinking (even though there was an "absolutely no tolerance" policy this year) and a rather strong smell of various organic materials in the air.

Although some of the costumes were rather incredible...

Salmon swimming up stream (they start at the end and run in the wrong direction):

And my favorite shot:

India Trip II; Part II

2011-05-21T14:24:00.000-07:00

More photos from my last trip to India.

I was stopped by a passerby who said, "thank you" for taking this photo (I have no idea why):

I swear I'll be better

2011-05-13T16:42:00.001-07:00

Today is my last day working two + jobs at work, so I'm promising to be better at keeping this blog updated. The bonus to taking on extra responsibilities at work (other than the paycheck) was that I got to return to India! Crazy. I only went back for 10 days, but I got a couple of days to myself (un-related to work).

So while I finish up my extra job, you can enjoy some images from India...

India won the Cricket World Cup while we were there (they beat Sri Lanka). This photo is of kids playing cricket the day after this historic win:

Fun with LensBaby

2011-03-25T09:42:00.000-07:00

I got my first cold in a long time. In fact, I can't even remember the last time I had a cold. So there hasn't been much activity on my part lately. Before I got sick, I did take a long walk over to Potrero Hill with the LensBaby on my camera. I got a few nice shots...

I'm off to India again, but only for a short trip this time. I won't have a lot of free time, but hopefully I can get a little bit of time to take some photos.

Holga Magic

2011-03-02T20:07:00.000-08:00

A few Holga shots that I took pre-India. I still have to get the negatives developed from India (that may take some time).

Wandering in the woods

2011-02-26T21:49:00.000-08:00

I was very lucky to go on several hikes in January (yes, I do know we are currently at the end of February). I played with my little camera a lot -- too lazy to carry the big one. And I took the Lens Baby out in Muir Woods.

Hi 2011, Oh wait, you've been around a while

2011-02-21T11:25:00.000-08:00

So with this new year comes new changes. Or in my case, back to old ways. I'm back in the States and thus my blog suffers. My excuse is that I'm currently doing two jobs at work, and that means I'm putting in 10-14 hour days and I just don't feel like going on-line to post a blog entry.

Today, I finally edited my last shots from Delhi. Below are the best ones (or the most interesting). Enjoy!

Christmas in Delhi (at the mall, actually):

My flat in Delhi (the floor with all the plants):

My favorite meal in Delhi. Sundried cauliflower with garlic naan. Oh how I miss this meal!

And random shots:

Sorry for the Delay -- here is the Taj

2011-01-29T19:14:00.000-08:00

It is hard to believe that it has been more than a month since I actually went to the Taj Mahal. Heck, it has been more than a month since I left India! Here are some shots to keep ya happy.

More Gujurat

2010-12-20T02:59:00.000-08:00

As promised, more shots of Ahmedabad, Gugurat...

Gandhi and House of MG

2010-12-13T20:55:00.000-08:00

Last weekend I decided that I would venture back to Ahmedabad for one last stay at the House of MG. You may remember that Makeeba and I went there during one of our first weekends here. The House of MG is where I stay. It is a heritage hotel, so the building is a renovated historic building. I would venture to say it is one of the nicest heritage hotels in India.

And they gave me a 20% off coupon when I stayed there last time, so since flights were so cheap, I decided it would be worth it.

This time, as I was on my own, I got to dictate what I would do. My main goal was really to just relax at the hotel, which I certainly did, but there were also some things in the city that I wanted to see.

Ahmedabad is actually the home to the Indian Independence Movement. Gandhi was originally from Gugurat and when he returned to India from South Africa he settled in Ahmedabad – eventually founding the ashram where most of his peaceful protests began. The ashram, though no longer operating, still stands and acts as a sort of museum for the independence movement. Gandhi’s famous salt march started here. He was arrested from the grounds and he conducted a few hunger strikes there.

Aside from all this history, the ashram is also on the banks of the river and is a peaceful place to just sit and relax for a bit. Oh, and I finally got to see how an Indian spinning wheel works.

On the opposite end of peaceful and relaxing, the House of MG offers audio tours of the old city. They give you a little MP3 player and send you out on a personally directed walking tour. It was actually really nice; the information was not only informative, but also interesting with interviews by various people about the history and the current situation.

I have a feeling not many people choose to do this walk during the late afternoon/early evening hours on Saturday, when the market is in full swing, because people seemed genuinely surprised to see me. Not a few times I had to stop the MP3 player to take portraits of random people sitting around. Of course, I’m extremely happy to take someone’s photo when they ask, but it did mean that I had to rewind a bit to catch where I needed to turn, etc. Also, not everything was open at that time, so fairly close to the end I had to stop because I couldn’t get around something and then couldn’t find the other side to catch the tour. Oh well.

I'll post more pictures later.

Christmas greetings from Gandhi

2010-12-11T23:37:00.001-08:00

Originally uploaded by Jessica Leas Photography

At Gandhi's ashram in Ahmedabad they had these signs around their young trees recently planted near the river. I thought they were appropriate reminders for this time of year.

Fish for Thanksgiving

2010-12-05T05:49:00.000-08:00

Ha, just kidding. We went to see fish, not eat them.

On Black Friday the family decided we should venture to Camden to the aquarium there. We had a great time and just barely missed the crazy crowd. Jayden's favorite part was the scuba Santa. I liked the hippos.

This is my favorite shot of Jayden. Definitely illustrates why his Thanksgiving Day name was, "Never Sits Down." I have a lot of pictures where all the other kids are sitting nicely and Jayden is in mid-move.

And the food that we ate

2010-12-02T03:01:00.000-08:00

Alex's going away not only included a wonderful afternoon in Lodi Gardens. It also included a lot of food. We ate well. I don't have shots from high tea (I used the Holga, so you'll just have to wait until I develop the film), but I have photos from everything else.

First we had dinner at The Kitchen (Khan Market) with my friend Ben and his friend Ben. They just got back from trekking in the mountains (very jealous).

Then we had lunch at Andhra Pradesh Bhawan. Every state in India has a house in Delhi. This is like a hotel . I’m not sure what the criteria is for staying there; I’ve been told you just have to be a resident of the state. Anyway, most of them have cafeterias. Andhra Pradesh has one of the best cafeterias and normally you have to wait a while to get seated. I figured out a couple of weeks ago that if you arrive around noon you will be seated relatively quickly. The food is thali and delivered regularly to you by men walking around with buckets of it. It is incredibly good. But they do scoot you out once you are done. No time to digest a little.

On Monday we had dinner at Olives, a Mediterranean restaurant. We ate there mainly for the setting and the music -- luckily the food is incredible. Check out my desert...

A walk through Lodi Gardens

2010-12-01T05:16:00.000-08:00

Nothing to say except that I'm quite appalled at how long it took me to investigate Lodi Gardens. Such a lovely way to spend an afternoon. At least this is true when it is a lovely afternoon (which isn't so common here due to bad air quality).

Wedding, oh why are you so late at night

2010-11-19T20:40:00.000-08:00

My roommate and I have been lobbying pretty heavily for someone in the office to get married. I'd like to say we were looking out for their happiness, but really we just wanted to go to a wedding. Luckily my coworker came to the rescue and got us invited to her cousin's wedding.

My coworker is Punjabi and we have been told this is the wedding to seek out because apparently Punjabis really go all out. Unfortunately, they also hold their wedding ceremonies at night and this one was on a Sunday night. So we didn't actually see the wedding. We did, luckily, get to participate in the Barat (possibly misspelled) where the groom and his family basically dance a kilometer to the wedding grounds.

Now my real focus when going to a wedding is the visual spectacle it provides. The saris are incredible; 6 meters of silk bejeweled and embroidered in gold, I really can't imagine anything more decadent. And the ladies of my coworker's family really delivered.

But the dancing in the street on our way to the wedding was also something to see! Everyone danced: young and old, beautifully bejeweled and just wearing jeans. It was really lovely.

The wedding grounds were also quite fascinating. Food booths were set up much like the county fair, only with pink bunting. A small dance floor that I could tell would not be able to contain the family once the party got started. A section with seats and tables to take a break.

We arrived at 9 p.m. and left at 11:30. The groom had barely made it into the tent at that point. The bride had not yet arrived. Our coworker said the wedding happened around 3 a.m. She took the next day off (smart lady!).

Enjoy the photos...

Beautiful, Ugly Varanasi

2010-11-12T01:05:00.000-08:00

Varanasi is a very interesting place. Both beautiful and ugly, serene and insane, it is a city of contradictions rolled up next to a holy river.

And I'm pretty sure the insanity is all the time and not just related to the fact that we were there over Diwali.

Basically we just absorbed it all. We didn't go anywhere specific, we just walked along the river or in the alleyways, taking photos and observing.

Varanasi is the oldest continuously settled city in the world. And, frankly, it looks it. It is also probably India's holiest city, as Hindus from all over the country bring their much loved, but recently departed, relatives there to be burned in the 3,000 year old Shiva fire. You will find no photos of the burning ghats in my massive collection of photos from Varanasi -- tourists are asked not to take them. Considering they allow us to go and see the fires and the rituals connected to this tradition, I was happy to oblige and not take photos.

That said, we took two boat rides that definitely afford you an angle of the river where you feel you can take photos mercilessly. Alex's mother came with us -- a professional photographer. I've decided one of the many reasons I'll never be a pro is that I'm too sensitive to my subjects. Professionals (at least all the ones I've met) just get in there and get the shot they want. A little of that rubbed off on me in Varanasi, but I don't think it will last.

Every night they have a very large puja at the river. Luckily this ceremony was done just steps from our hotel, so we saw it both nights we were there.

But the best part of the weekend was just finally seeing Varanasi. It definitely lived up to expectations.

And to see more Indian tourists than foreigners!

More on Udaipur

2010-11-09T04:11:00.000-08:00

So I feel a bit guilty not actually writing anything about Udaipur. So here you go...

What a beautiful city. So lovely, with its incredible palace still inhabited by the longest continuous monarchy in the world. The maharajah lives in the back and most of the palace is now open to the public, or has been turned into hotels. We arrived early in the morning and had breakfast in our hotel’s café. This eatery became the major hangout of our trip as they have these lovely little nooks that overlook the lake. The nooks are basically window seats with a big mattress in them and a little tea table on top of the mattress. So you lounge around drinking tea watching the boats float by on the lake. We watched the sun set there both evenings we were in town.

The palace is really incredible. A large maze of passage ways between beautiful room after beautiful room. I can’t find the words to give it justice.

We also just wandered around the quiet roads a lot. I guess if you aren’t used to India they wouldn’t actually be called quiet, but after Delhi they were to us. We also visited the city’s park, which unfortunately includes a little zoo (we didn’t technically visit the zoo, but we did see the sad bear in an all cement enclosure). The park is lovely and afforded us our first wildlife citing – a snake and flying foxes! The snake was really long and greatly disturbing some bulbuls that had apparently nested in the tree in which the snake was crawling around. The flying foxes were sleeping in the large trees next to the zoo enclosures (I guess I can say cages in this case as it is accurate). I love flying foxes, so interesting with their wide wingspan and their funny little noses. I do know that cows do not count as wildlife sightings, but I didn't get any good shots of the snake or the flying foxes.

Unfortunately, the train gods were not with us and although we had a lovely compartment all to ourselves on the trip down to Udaipur, we remained on the waitlist for the trip back. So we booked the sleeper bus. This would have been fine if the bus was not absolutely freezing. I generally can sleep anywhere, and the sleeper bus is actually very comfortable with actual beds and everything, but it was too cold for me to get to sleep. We arrived back on Monday, and I can’t say I was overly productive that day at work.

Udaipur: Peaceful, Colorful, Beautiful

2010-11-04T07:03:00.000-07:00

Happy Diwali! I'm writing this while fireworks are set off every two seconds on my usually quiet street.

Last week we went to Udaipur. What can I say, it is a really beautiful place. I'll just let the photos speak for it...

And back in India

2010-10-24T03:19:00.000-07:00

I'm back in India now. Very busy with work, but I have a new pocket camera so I can take shots on the run. Enjoy.

Diwali bike...

And for your cat's special day...

Kindly avoid shooting, please...

A week at home

2010-10-24T03:09:00.000-07:00

So work sent me home for a week. Actually, I was only in my apartment for a few days. We had a conference at Cavallo Point. If you have some time you should definitely check this place out as it is beautiful. I'd never even been to Sausalito, so it was a nice new experience for me.

I had to go to San Francisco to see a tiger!

Safdarjang's Tomb

2010-10-04T20:25:00.000-07:00

Sunday I decided I needed to go see my neighborhood's namesake... or at least his grave.

This is not that old, it was built in the 18th century. I need to do some research on Mr. Safdarjung (sometimes spelled with an "a") because he is all over this city. There is a hospital, a major road, and a neighborhood all named after him.

There were no other tourists. The people in the pictures were working at the site (or the children of workers).

I took a little walk around after visiting the tomb and found a little neighborhood temple. I love these things...

And I found some odd graveyards, one for signs and one for desks...

The Oldest Part of Delhi

2010-10-01T08:03:00.000-07:00

Don't let the name New Delhi fool you, there are parts here that are crazy old. O.k. a lot of the city is crazy old when compared to the U.S.

Sunday I went to the oldest part of Delhi; I went to see Qutub Minar. Commissioned in 1199 by Qutb-Ud-Din Aibak, it was completed in 1370. Aibak went from slave to the first Islamic ruler of India. Qutub Minar is actually designed to look like Jam Minaret in Afghanistan's Ghor District. It is not, despite it looking like one and being part of the Quwwat-Ul-Islam Mosque complex, a minaret. It is a "victory tower." Now a lot of the site is in ruins, but the tower stands (though I suspect it has been rebuilt).

It is very close to the airport, so this is apparently a required picture...

Whirlwind tour of Amritsar

2010-09-26T02:52:00.001-07:00

Alex and I took a risk and ventured to Amritsar on Friday evening. It was a risk because we were still on the waitlist for the return trip (ah, the train in India). We decided we could always fly back if necessary.

Twelve hours there (2nd class AC) and ten hours back (1st class AC), both overnight, meant a very exhausting Saturday in Amritsar.

But so worth it. The Golden Temple is like nothing else I've ever seen. And within the temple grounds, the people watching is astounding.

Amritsar was founded in 1577 by the fourth guru Ram Das. The original Golden Temple was destroyed (the Sikhs seem to attract unnecessary violence, which may explain why Sikh men are supposed to carry a small dagger with them at all times) . The current one was build in 1764, but the gilding didn't come until 1802. This is the Sikhs' holiest shrine and priests are inside keeping up a continuous chant in Gurmukhi from the Sikh holy book.

You can't take pictures inside the temple, but you can from the holy pool that surrounds it. The sacred pool is called Amrit Sarovar, which means Pool of Nectar and is where Amritsar gets its name. Children and men bath in it -- I assume women can't due to modesty requirements. The women splash a little water over their heads. There are men trying to keep the pool clean, one guy was skimming the water, another was collecting dead fish.

We visited the Guru-Ka-Langar (community dining room) to see how they feed 60-80,000 pilgrims a day. We weren't hungry, but everyone is allowed a meal, no matter your religion.

After a couple of hours wandering around and into the Golden Temple, we thought we should visit a Hindu temple for balance. We went to the Mata Temple. This is where women go to pray for a baby, but we were careful not to pray. It is a fun house of a temple, which little fake caves to crawl through, a mirrored room and hallway, etc.

Once we had figured out we were actually off the wait list for the evening train (yeah!) we took a shared taxi to the border ceremony. Shared is a nice way of saying 13 people in one jeep! It was very squished and the leg room from one row of seats to the next was not meant for western length legs. Just writing about it makes my knees hurt.

The boarder ceremony is like a big competition between India and Pakistan to see who can yell the longest (India seemed to win this one more than Pakistan) and who can goose step the best (I couldn't see Pakistan, so I don't know who won, but I was not impressed with the quality of goose stepping on the Indian side). The entire ceremony takes about an hour and although it was interesting, it was about 30 minutes too long. It ends after they take the flags down for the evening and goose step back into their barracks. That means the border is officially closed.

I'll leave you with a few random shots in town:

Crafting with Deer

2010-09-23T04:59:00.000-07:00

Greetings from the drowned city of Delhi. We have had rain every day since my return and apparently a week before that. The monsoon should have stopped weeks ago – thank you climate change (that is sarcasm in case you can’t tell due to no tone of voice).

Since it is raining, I’ve spent way, way too much time inside. Saturday the clouds parted for part of the day, so Alex and I ventured into Delhi. We had heard great things about the craft museum and decided to check it out. Everything I had heard was true and more. It is a fascinating place where you can be amazed by row after row of saris (hundreds in every style) or wowed by a wall mural being painted right before your eyes. The store is just as amazing as the museum as they have the artisans there to sell their craft – most of whom take the time to actually produce their craft in between customers. Finally in the center of their store/market area there is a dance floor. This month’s dance group is from Orissa – they were so talented and so young.

Then we had lunch at the Andhra Pradesh state cafeteria/restaurant. We had been warned there is always a line. When we got there, people were out the door and there was a rabid crowd at the desk pushing each other out of the way trying to obtain a ticket. You pay first and get a ticket with a number – when your number is called you are seated. That is unless you look a little different and you distinguish yourself by standing on the stairwell (really just to get away from the mayhem), then you just get seated as soon as there is a table (skipping 20 groups of people!). The food was amazing. I’m growing quite fond of thali plates as it allows you to try so many different curries at once. The drawback is that you have no idea what the curries are, but they are always delicious.

Sunday it rained all day, but I was getting stir crazy, so I did take a walk through Deer Park. I finally found the deer. They are in a very small little fenced area, which sort of suits them because they are very small deer. Deer Park itself is incredible with loads of ruins (several mausoleums with the bodies still there as far as I could tell!).

And, on Monday Airtel finally got our internet to work. Can I hear a halleluiah? All photos have been posted on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicaleas/.

Saturday Alex and I are taking a field trip to Amritsar to see the Golden Temple and the border ceremony. We are taking the overnight train on Friday and returning Saturday night. Well that is the plan anyway; we are still on the waiting list for beds (this happened last time too).

Catch Up

2010-09-20T10:08:00.001-07:00

So not only have we just gotten internet in the long sought apartment (yes, I've been in Delhi for two months), but I also finally got my personal computer fixed. Thus, I'll hopefully be posting some catch up posts. Sorry for the onslaught of updates all at once.

If you can't wait for me to write something, I've already posted some photos on Flickr: http://www.flickr.com/photos/jessicaleas/

You can also ready my roommates blog. She has been far more successful at keeping people up to date.