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Leh’s Anatomy
Drops of sweat slid from my brow and bounced off the back of my latex-gloved hands as they clutched the hospital bed. I counted along with the team through my dirty and dampened surgical mask, “Un, deuz, trois… omnivar!” The Frenchmen and I heaved our might behind the bed and raced out of the ward, … Read more
The Flash Floods of Leh (part 2)
Day 2 : Mob mentality and panicked pandemonium. India never plays by the rules, and states of Emergency seem to be no exception. My Swiss friend Jocelyn and I had spent a night under stormy skies on the mountain, where we had luckily met our good friend Rami. He was an Israeli army medic who … Read more
The Flash Floods in Leh (Part 1)
Its hard to blog when you are slipping in and out of a state of Nirvana through yoga and trekking bliss as I have since my last post, but nothing brings one back down to earth like… earth. Water soil and stone pushed to deadly speeds ravaging all in their wake. Mud tossing cars and … Read more
Agra-phobia
Juggling her bags and children, a woman slips on her pink silk sari and falls out of a moving train, her infant flying from her arms. A stone-throwing mob gathers in the street to watch policemen play judge, jury and executioner . A wiry holy man in a loin cloth, filthy dreadlocks and … Read more
Recipe for Delhi Belly
India. Everything is so new, and yet instantly familiar all at once. A few days in Delhi and I am spewing my guts out. However, it’s not just the spicy food and questionable hygiene. Delhi seems to combine the best of the worst of all my travels and places I have been. Some sort of … Read more
The Ring of Fire: the sulfur mines of Mt. Ijen, Java
My motivation behind visiting Mt. Ijen was to see one of Java’s most beautiful volcanic lakes, not to watch human pack mules toil away at one of the worst jobs on earth. However, watching the intense labor and man’s battle with nature made more of an impression on me than the lake ever could. If the sunrise view at Mount … Read more
The Borobudur and Bromo Debacle, Java
The first stop on the jaunt around Java was it’s most famous temple, Borobudur. It’s the largest Buddhist temple in the world, and has been on my “to see” list for ages. This monument has survived centuries of abandonment under volcanic ash and jungle growth, and even a series of terrorist attacks. Whether it … Read more
Botched Beginnings
In the stifling, muggy smoke permeating the overnight train from Jakarta to Yogjakarta the vendors are selling a variety of wares from the usual snacks, newspapers, and fans to more creative items like reading glasses, caged birds and rubik’s cubes. Is this entrepreneurship what they meant by “business class?” In the tropical heat, I couldn’t … Read more
