23 January 2008
America
It was a cold and wet December day, touched the ground at JFK, snow was melting on the ground, on BLS i heard the sound, of an angel.....(well, not quite, it was a cold and dry January night, with no snow to be seen)....but I have landed back in the states. How clean everything is here! How orderly! How few people seem to be milling around! (and this is in Manhattan, mind you)....life will be taking on more of a mundane role for awhile, so Ill be using this blog basically to jot down notes for myself....one day, i will be on the road again, many more adventures to be had, of that I am sure. But I must say, it is great to be back in America, its home, and I did miss it much.
I ended my travels with an amazing (and amazingly quick) tour of South India with my lovely sister, who came out to join me in Chennai for 9 days of luxury, cheuffured cars, 5 star hotel rooms, the works. Our whirlwind tour took us to Mammalapuram, Madurai, Periyar Animal Reserve, Cochin, and Mumbai. Personal highlight was the backwaters of Kerala, seen from the top of a lazily motoring boat, was an amazing peek into rural Indian life, and one of the most beautiful sights that I have witnessed in that part of the world. The tranquility was such an antithesis to the chaos of normal Indian life, it was even more appreciated. We had a wonderful time together, and im in the process of getting pictures online...she might beat me to it:
http://www.very-simple.com/
Thank you Sam!
the wonders of broadband internet and youtube.....this is wonderful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIgYBx2HxP0
In other news:
NYTimes today:
Sierra Leone has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, with 270 deaths per 1000 births. The rate worldwide, in contrast, was 72 deaths per 1000 births.
This absolutely shocked and horrified me in reading. Due to the wonders of broadband internet access (courtesy of my wonderful parents) I delved deeper into these numbers.
According to the US Census Bureau, the infant mortality rate in Japan is 3.2 per 1000 births.
This discrepency is shocking to me on a human level. I have traveled in many countries and witnessed the positive effects of Japan's wealth in terms of international development projects (of which im sure many are the fabled white elephants), but their goodwill aside, on a globalized view, how can this be tolerated in the 21st century, the gap between the rich and poor, the healthy and hungry, is disquieting.
I ended my travels with an amazing (and amazingly quick) tour of South India with my lovely sister, who came out to join me in Chennai for 9 days of luxury, cheuffured cars, 5 star hotel rooms, the works. Our whirlwind tour took us to Mammalapuram, Madurai, Periyar Animal Reserve, Cochin, and Mumbai. Personal highlight was the backwaters of Kerala, seen from the top of a lazily motoring boat, was an amazing peek into rural Indian life, and one of the most beautiful sights that I have witnessed in that part of the world. The tranquility was such an antithesis to the chaos of normal Indian life, it was even more appreciated. We had a wonderful time together, and im in the process of getting pictures online...she might beat me to it:
http://www.very-simple.com/
Thank you Sam!
the wonders of broadband internet and youtube.....this is wonderful:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AIgYBx2HxP0
In other news:
NYTimes today:
Sierra Leone has the highest infant mortality rate in the world, with 270 deaths per 1000 births. The rate worldwide, in contrast, was 72 deaths per 1000 births.
This absolutely shocked and horrified me in reading. Due to the wonders of broadband internet access (courtesy of my wonderful parents) I delved deeper into these numbers.
According to the US Census Bureau, the infant mortality rate in Japan is 3.2 per 1000 births.
This discrepency is shocking to me on a human level. I have traveled in many countries and witnessed the positive effects of Japan's wealth in terms of international development projects (of which im sure many are the fabled white elephants), but their goodwill aside, on a globalized view, how can this be tolerated in the 21st century, the gap between the rich and poor, the healthy and hungry, is disquieting.
19 January 2008
mammalapuram
"When it is dark enough, you can see the stars."
-Persian Proverb
"With all respect, Sahib, you have little to teach us in strength and toughness.
And we don't envy you, your restless spirits. Perhaps we are happier than you?
But we would like our children to go to school. Of all the things you have, learning is
the one we most desire for our children."
-Urkein Sherpa to Sir Edmund Hillary, Schoolhouse in the Clouds
-Persian Proverb
"With all respect, Sahib, you have little to teach us in strength and toughness.
And we don't envy you, your restless spirits. Perhaps we are happier than you?
But we would like our children to go to school. Of all the things you have, learning is
the one we most desire for our children."
-Urkein Sherpa to Sir Edmund Hillary, Schoolhouse in the Clouds
06 January 2008
Chennai, Tamil Nadu , India
I feel an energy, a buzz, that had been eluding me for awhile on the road, a revitalization, renewal, smiling endlessly at the wonders of this amazing land. I left my wonderful beach shack amidst anxiety of trading tranquility for hostility; on the way, i've connected with some wonderful Indian folks, and remembered how warm and embracing and Indian smile and head nod can be.
The people of Chennai, the 4th largest city in India; the other support crew, actors, staff, stars, were so open and welcoming today as I somehow found myself on the AVN Studios film lot, fufilling that jewel in the Indian experience, being a Bollywood extra. The picture, plotline, story, will all fade with time; but what will remain in mind is the parade of smiles and warmth of the people on the lot, for the long hours that were spent sitting idly, conversation flowing like the hot, milky chai tea we drank in gulps.
Even the star actors were totally unpresumptuous, open, even shy; its hard to imagine Tom Cruise bashfully talking to an India film extra on a Hollywood lot. The entirety of life on the set; a microcosm of Indian life, endless food and tea, sweeper ladies hunched over cleaning the endless mess left behind; lights and noise; talking and laughter; and somehow, in the end, progress amongst chaos.
Thinking back on the long train rides of the last days, the soreness in my rear has healed, the dull hours have faded in a fog; however, the wonderful young married couple from Delhi on their first holiday to Goa; the young IT worker from Bangalore, traveling with his parents and sister to their ancestral homeland in the north; the middle manager of Ford India who stopped me on the street in Bangalore and ended up treating me to chai and conversation in the dim upstairs of a local restaurant; chance encounters that make travels in this place, and the people who call it home, so unique and special. Pics online at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/JeffreyHDow/GoaToChenai
"The roadway narrowed; roadside huts and lean-tos, without pronounced color, just a mish-mash of brown and black and grey, appearing to encroach on space meant for vehicles, hid the solider concrete buildings behind them, and gave the impression of a very long village road set in dirt. What seemed to threaten in many places...appeared to have happened here: it was like witnessing the creation of ruin: a large, inhabited city was reverting to earth."
VS Naipaul
India: A Million Mutinees Now
The people of Chennai, the 4th largest city in India; the other support crew, actors, staff, stars, were so open and welcoming today as I somehow found myself on the AVN Studios film lot, fufilling that jewel in the Indian experience, being a Bollywood extra. The picture, plotline, story, will all fade with time; but what will remain in mind is the parade of smiles and warmth of the people on the lot, for the long hours that were spent sitting idly, conversation flowing like the hot, milky chai tea we drank in gulps.
Even the star actors were totally unpresumptuous, open, even shy; its hard to imagine Tom Cruise bashfully talking to an India film extra on a Hollywood lot. The entirety of life on the set; a microcosm of Indian life, endless food and tea, sweeper ladies hunched over cleaning the endless mess left behind; lights and noise; talking and laughter; and somehow, in the end, progress amongst chaos.
Thinking back on the long train rides of the last days, the soreness in my rear has healed, the dull hours have faded in a fog; however, the wonderful young married couple from Delhi on their first holiday to Goa; the young IT worker from Bangalore, traveling with his parents and sister to their ancestral homeland in the north; the middle manager of Ford India who stopped me on the street in Bangalore and ended up treating me to chai and conversation in the dim upstairs of a local restaurant; chance encounters that make travels in this place, and the people who call it home, so unique and special. Pics online at:
http://picasaweb.google.com/JeffreyHDow/GoaToChenai
"The roadway narrowed; roadside huts and lean-tos, without pronounced color, just a mish-mash of brown and black and grey, appearing to encroach on space meant for vehicles, hid the solider concrete buildings behind them, and gave the impression of a very long village road set in dirt. What seemed to threaten in many places...appeared to have happened here: it was like witnessing the creation of ruin: a large, inhabited city was reverting to earth."
VS Naipaul
India: A Million Mutinees Now
03 January 2008
Moving On
"Human desires are endless. Its like the thirst of a man who drinks salt water:
he gets no satisfaction, and his thirst is only increased."
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokal
I set off tomorrow on a journey, from coast to coast, from west to east, from Arabian
Sea to Indian Ocean. It will be a long journey, expansive, a time for reflection, as this
experience begins to near closure, my mind will settle with the rhythmic rockings of
the rail cars, the verdent greens and earth browns of the heart of this great country,
stillness pervading within.
I've fallen for this place, the smiles as genuine and reassuring as the rolling of the majestic
sea onto the golden sands, its a special space. But nothing has permanence, this I have
reflected on, meditated on countless hours, this place, the brief love that my heart has fallen
into for an angel of a girl, what I leave with is a smile, a warmness in my heart, my mind, my soul.
he gets no satisfaction, and his thirst is only increased."
Bukkyo Dendo Kyokal
I set off tomorrow on a journey, from coast to coast, from west to east, from Arabian
Sea to Indian Ocean. It will be a long journey, expansive, a time for reflection, as this
experience begins to near closure, my mind will settle with the rhythmic rockings of
the rail cars, the verdent greens and earth browns of the heart of this great country,
stillness pervading within.
I've fallen for this place, the smiles as genuine and reassuring as the rolling of the majestic
sea onto the golden sands, its a special space. But nothing has permanence, this I have
reflected on, meditated on countless hours, this place, the brief love that my heart has fallen
into for an angel of a girl, what I leave with is a smile, a warmness in my heart, my mind, my soul.
01 January 2008
New Beginnings
Ganesh, the Hindu diety, Lord of auspicious beginnings, remover of obstacles, and patron of poets.Having recently purchased a plane ticket back to NYC, at the end of January, I hope Ganesh will be watching over me as I start a new beginning, and reconnect with people in the past.
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