A Kid's Story... Inspired by the Himalayas

Once upon a time there lived a boy who couldn’t wait to grow up. He wanted more than anything else to be big, strong, and powerful.
One day he came upon the tallest mountain in the world and marveled at its size.
“I want to be the mountain,” said the little boy, “for it is the biggest thing in all the world.”
… and so, he became the mountain.

For years he stood tall and proud, towering over everything around him and showing off his awe-inspiring size.

One day he noticed a little stream coming in from the glaciers. The little stream grew and grew until it became a mighty river, eating away at the mountain, and reducing it to nothing.
The boy marveled at the strength of this mighty river.
“I want to be the river,” he said, “for it is the strongest thing in all the world. It can eat right through a mountain and reduce it to nothing.”
… and so he became the river.

For years he flowed strong and swift, touching the soil of many countries, and overflowing his banks as a symbol of his strength.

One day he noticed a little breeze blowing in from the west. The little breeze grew and grew until it became a mighty windstorm, drying up the river, and reducing it to nothing.
The boy marveled at the strength of this mighty windstorm.
“I want to be the wind,” he said, “for it is the most powerful thing in all the world. It can dry up a river and reduce it to nothing.”
… and so he became the wind.

For years he blew in from every direction, reaching every place on earth with his windstorms and basking in his newfound power.

One evening he blew into a familiar city, and into the neighborhood where he grew up. He found his house in an instant and managed to squeeze in through the slightly opened window right into his old bedroom. And there he saw himself: a little boy asleep in bed and dreaming the most wonderful dreams.
And he said, “I want to be the little boy, for he has the power to dream and imagine anything that he likes.”
… and so, he became a little boy: the most powerful thing in all the world.

Hello Friends!

We just came back after over a month of trekking and climbing in Annapurna and Everest regions.
Everyone is safe and well. We will try to write a full report in a few days... As for now, we are resting, eating and enjoying warm showers and walking on flat roads. :)

A single photo for now:

Above the clouds with Ama Dablam

--Misha

A few photos from Delhi and Kathmandu

Tuk-Tuk driver near Manju Ka Tilla area of Delhi

"Holly" perspective

A child and a dog in Bungamati village (Kathmandu Valley)

Praying wheels at Swayambunath Stupa in Kathmandu

--Misha

Southeast Asia 101: an expedited introduction to the senses

It's Monday, exactly one week since Misha and I got on a plane that took us to a far away land in the East. Since then, it has felt like a crash course in third-world living. I am traveling with a seasoned and knowledgeable explorer who takes me places no first-week traveler could ever find on her own. Welcome to Asia 101: an expedited introduction to the senses.

I've come from a sanitized and sterilized land of carefully manicured lawns, street cleaning, and early morning garbage collection. I come from the land where dogs are leashed, and doggy poop is picked up in doggy backs, and life is not allowed to run wild like a rabid dog. In my land, we neatly fence away our lives, draw our curtains and hide behind closed doors.

Here, life happens outside. Indeed, life is everywhere, in all its beauty and squalor.

People spit and piss, dogs barf and defecate, cows chew and moan all before the eyes of the world. Heaps of garbage line the banks of the river, in which you can just spot the corpse of a long-dead animal floating downstream like a log. 

Meat flesh is chopped with bursts of blood, and the carcass discarded a few feet from where the children play. Here, the kids do not wear helmets, or kneepads (or shoes for that matter). There are no sanitary napkins or bandaids to cover the blood. The air is permeated by strong smells, bright sights, and raucous sounds.

I am not a squeamish person. I can deal with the heavy tang of car exhaust that stays stubbornly in the throat and the stench of heaps of trash baking in the Indian sun. I am not particularly bothered by the fact that the bathroom (for humans and animals) seems to be everywhere. I can even get used to the endless honking of cars and bikes and rickshaws. 

My senses harden and numb, until I almost don't notice.

But there is one thing that I just can't get used to... and that's the hardening and the numbing of my heart. 

Beggars are everywhere. Hands clasped, eyes pleading, waiting for a handout. I give to an old woman with half of her face missing who looks at me with sorrow I could never describe. I give to a man whose body is being reduced to stumps by what looks like polio.

I give to a few, but soon (so very soon) I realize that I cannot help all of these people. I cannot give to everyone. I start to learn to walk by the beggars and not even make eye contact. I learn to ignore the children who are tugging at my shirt. I walk by a young woman shaking in an epileptic seizure on the pavement.

What sickens me is not the stench or the noise, but how quickly my heart is turning numb. 

Where I come from one can easily avoid intimate contact with such poverty and disease for I come from a land where beggars stay in their own part of town, and the sick are hospitalized or put away. My home is fenced away not just from the smells and sounds of raw life, but also from the reality of the frailty of the human condition.  

I discuss my thoughts with Misha, who, as usual, is able to give me some much-needed perspective. He reminds me that I am not really here as a tourist. Tourists are here to enjoy and relax. They stay at cushy hotels in their own part of town and eat food that has been westernized to suit their pallets. I am here to explore and maybe experience a little part of local life. I will never know how these people really feel or what their lives are really like, but I am no longer hiding in my fenced-in world. I will experience strong emotions and maybe this will help me learn something about myself along the way. 

Yes, I could have stayed back home, in my clean, fenced-off life... but one cannot grow or learn if one is living in a closed off world.

So here I am... feeling, and watching, and learning how to sense.

~Rita

Photo updates from Delhi

As promised, adding a couple of photos taken during our first days in Delhi.

These were taken in and around Manju Ka Teela area, also known as a Tibetan Refugee Camp.

A delighted cow... or should we say a "Delhi"ted cow?

Rooftop photography

Alternative viewpoints

The joys of digital photography - instant gratification.

~Misha&Rita~

From New York to Delhi

Dear friends,



I am happy to be writing to you again. Just over a week ago I quit my job at Merrill Lynch (just one day before it was bought by Bank of America) and now I am writing to you from an Etihad Airways plane, which takes me to India. Sitting next to me is Rita - my girlfriend and a partner in this adventure. Behind us is Jasmine. Jasmine and Alex (my climbing partner from Boston) are joining us for some trekking and climbing in Nepal, where we hope to spend a couple of months.



Those of you who have read my travel notes from my previous trip may remember that I have spent months in Nepal and India traveling, studying yoga, trekking in the mountains, making pilgrimages, observing life and enjoying wonderful hospitality of local people.



I am planning to continue writing travel notes and observation, but this time I decided to go a bit more “high-tech”, so Rita and I started a blog for our trip. You are most welcome to visit us and leave your comments at http://WatchingMangoesGrow.blogspot.com



I always thought that I will return to travels in Asia, but nevertheless, this time while preparing for the trip I felt a sort of apprehension: “What is it going to be like?” “Will I enjoy it just as much?” “What if this… and what if that..?” Once again I realized the difficulty of just letting go, of detaching myself from having everything pre-planned and being afraid that the plans will not match the reality. Rita suffered stoically through my un-decisiveness on every single item of preparation. It took me forever to find the “just right” trekking pants, select which backpack out of 10 to take, choose between two camera systems I wanted to upgrade to, and so on.

All these activities, along with moving out of my apartment, getting tickets, canceling phone plans, altering insurance policies, and quitting my job weighted quite heavily on me and only in the last couple of days before leaving, as most of the items were being ticked-off, I found myself in a more or less balanced state.



We are going to start our trip in Nepal, where we will hopefully arrive after a couple of days in Delhi. I used the word “hopefully” above since I bought Delhi-Kathmandu tickets through some questionable India-based internet agency, and so I am still not sure if the e-tickets they sent me by e-mail after weeks of negotiations and threats are actually valid tickets. That “transaction” reminded me that a language barrier is not only in the language itself (as we both were using English words) but also in the style of communication, mutual expectations, cultural differences, and general speed of life.

Once in Nepal, we will most likely walk the Annapurna Circuit trek and then go to the Everest region where Alex and I are hoping to climb a couple of interesting routes on not too tall mountains. Jasmine and Rita are planning to join us on one of the easier routes as well.



Meanwhile I am anticipating landing in Delhi and finding myself surrounded by colors, smells, noises and chaotic movement of India.



We are going to stay in a small Tibetan community (Majnu Ka Tilla) on the outskirts of Delhi. If you ever travel to India and want a relatively peaceful retreat from the chaos of the main city – this is the place.


As you may have guessed from the fact that you are reading this e-mail, we have reached Delhi successfully.

We spent a day relaxing in the Tibetan enclave in Manju ka tilla, visited a Sikh temple and sampled a lot of Momos (tibetan dumplings) and Thukpa (tibetan noodle soups).

Tomorrow we should be in Kathmandu.

Pictures are coming..


I'll be happy to hear from you by e-mail, or just leave your comments in out blog.


--Misha

Purification

We are getting ready for our departure, packing bags, making last minute purchases, and frantically trying not to forget important items.
But the mind is already switching into an "observer" mode.
Here is one curiosity I observed, while packing our stuff.

In preparation for our journey we decided it would be prudent to get some water purification tablets. So we went to a camping store and along with other million things got a package of Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide water purification tablets. I used similar ones before, but those tasted heavily of iodine, so I decided to go for the more modern odorless variety.
The description says:
Potable Aqua Chlorine Dioxide Tablets kill bacteria, viruses and cysts, including Giardia and Cryptosporidium. This highly effective way to make questionable water suitable for drinking leaves no unusual aftertaste and does not dramatically alter the water's appearance.

So far so good. I turn the package over and read the following:

---

PRECAUTIONARY STATEMENT
HAZARDS TO HUMANS AND DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
DANGER. Corrosive. Causes irreversible eye damage and skin burns. Harmful if absorbed through skin or swallowed. Do not get in eyes, on skin, or on clothing. Wear protective eyewear (goggles, face shield, or safety glasses) protective clothing, and rubber gloves. Wash thoroughly with soap and water after handling. Remove contaminated clothing and wash clothing before reuse.

---

Now I am confused and concerned. It sounds safer to just drink any water as is than to handle one of those "purification" tablets.
I am certainly not packing "protective eyewear" and rubber gloves with me!

But, after all, who said that purification is an easy and painless process? Isn't that why we are going on this trip?

--Misha

Hello World!

testing, testing, 1,2,3,4