Archive for June, 2009
Passage OUT of India
By Tony and Thomas on June 29, 2009 | No Comments »
This country is hard. No destination has ever challenged us in the way India has. While still in Nepal, travelers laughed hysterically at the idea of our spending a year here. “You’ll never manage a year there,” they ridiculed, “You’ll be lucky if you make it two weeks!”
Well, we’ve spent a total of 15 months here. So, do we like it? The question almost seems ridiculous. We hate the country, and we love it. Every day we find ourselves cursing this place and swearing we are going to leave. And then moments later, we discover something wondrous. We’ve never witnessed such cruelty, but somehow the moments of kindness seem all the more touching. The country is one massive contradiction, so it is not surprising that our responses should be contradictory.
Hindu gods? Or South Park characters?
After two days in India, our philosophy became “Let’s just see the whole damn country and get the hell out and never come back!” But now, somehow the idea of not returning to India seems terrifying. Why? Traveling here is such an intense experience. Somehow every single day seems like it is filled with major life lessons. Or, perhaps, we just have a serious case of Stockholm Syndrome.
So we are off to Bangkok to find some cheap tickets to the U.S. But don’t worry, our adventures aren’t over. They’ve only just begun!
Calcutta
By Thomas on June 27, 2009 | 4 Comments »
A wild mixture of modern and traditional, poor and rich, ugly and beautiful, manic Calcutta is a dance of colorful characters. I’ve tried to capture this sensory overload in my latest video. Get ready to groove.
If you love the soundtrack “Dancing with the Goddess” as much as I do, check out Atman’s homepage or listen to and download more songs by this great artist from last.fm.
Power Outages and Mother Teresa
By Tony on June 26, 2009 | No Comments »
Like all cities in India, Calcutta is plagued with power outages. Sometimes there are two a day, sometimes there are ten. Having invested in a rather expensive air-conditioned room, these outages are especially annoying. However, after a year in India, we view these outages as just another daily annoyance.
Escaping our room during one of these power outages, we decided to visit Mother House. Simply known as “Mother” in Calcutta, Mother Teresa is revered as a soon-to-be saint by Christians and a demi-god by Hindus. She is synonymous with Calcutta, and people of all religions love her here.
Although I am no great fan of organized religion, and I am quite aware of the controversy surrounding many of Mother Teresa’s beliefs, including her strict » Continue reading this post »
Oh, Calcutta!
By Tony on June 25, 2009 | No Comments »
Thomas and I have made our way to Calcutta, the center of all that is chaotic and crazy in the world. Every second is pure insanity, my eyes can’t keep up with the movement. But like Mumbai, Calcutta is a colonial gem in the rough, and fans of that British colonial vibe, which is disappearing quickly around the world, will love this city, assuming they can learn to appreciate the chaos and the intense heat that comes with it.
During the white-hot day, I have the continual feeling that I’m going to drop over dead from heat stroke. It seems like we spend most of our time hiding from the sun. But at night, Calcutta is perhaps the greatest » Continue reading this post »
Safari on the Subcontinent
By Tony on June 23, 2009 | No Comments »
Wildlife photography is hard! That is something we learned long ago. But it is also extremely challenging and incredibly fun. One of our goals here in South Asia has been to see and photograph as much of the wildlife as possible.
Over the last year and a half, we have explored some of the regions best natural attractions including national parks, reserves, and remote wilderness regions. The explorations have been made on foot as well as by jeep, canoe, kayak, camel and elephant.
To recall our adventures, we have put together a pictorial, a sort of photographic trophy wall to share a tiny bit of the regions diversity with you. All of the animals included were photographed by us in the wild. Since we do not have a 600 mm lens and a fifty pound tripod, that is much more challenging than it sounds. While the big game may seem the most impressive, one shot in particular should be considered our ultimate trophy, the photo of the two camouflaged nightjars. Believe it or not, they were actually spotted by our guide from a moving jeep!
