Being in Bodhgaya

November 7th, 2005 | By Joshua | 2 Comments »

Once we decide to stay awhile, we quickly find a routine, consisting of some combination of eating, emailing, temple visiting, and shopping. And even though we are sleep-deprived from the endless succession of noisy November festivals (Diwali, Lakshmi Puja, Id, Jhat, Sun Puja, etc.) with their firecrackers, processions, amplified music and preaching, we are still quite content in Bodhgaya.
(more…)

Bodhgaya: In the Footsteps of the Buddha

November 4th, 2005 | By Joshua | 1 Comment »

I have seen the largest tree in the world (the “General Sherman” in California’s Sequoia National Park) and I have walked among the tallest trees in the world (the Redwood Forests of the Northern California coastline). Now, I have sat under the holiest, most revered tree in the world.
(more…)

Closure in Calcutta (Part 2)

November 3rd, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Sarmishtha lives with her parents and her brother’s family. The two-story house overlooks a narrow lane and a squared-in, natural pond. On the other side of the pond is the house where Sarmishtha spent the first 14 years of her life. The last 17 years, she has lived here, in this house in Dakshineswar, a somewhat peaceful neighborhood in the Howrah section of Calcutta.
(more…)

Closure in Calcutta (Part 1)

November 2nd, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

The southbound Darjeeling Mail from NJP to “Cal” (as the cool kids refer to West Bengal’s beleaguered capital) is crowded with Bengali families returning from rain-soaked vacations, and Tay and I must share a narrow upper berth in the sleeper car. It is cramped and uncomfortable, there are cockroaches on the walls, but at least we are not sleeping on the floor, as some people are.
(more…)

Going Organic in Darjeeling

October 29th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

I’d planned on being a plain old tourist in Darjeeling: Nothing to do but eat, drink, trek the Singalila, and visit the sites my guidebook told me to, (Snow Leopard enclosure, Mountaineering Institute, Ghoom Monastery, etc.). I also wanted to experience the unique culture of Nepalese-descended Indians, who make up 95% of the town’s population, and whose hospitality and cheerfulness are famous. After 10 days, I’ve succeeded in accomplishing all of the above—except the site-seeing and trekking. There are two reasons why:
(more…)

Just Another Darjeeling Sunrise

October 27th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Mount Kachenjunga was not visible this morning. In fact, I’ve only glimpsed its mighty mass twice during such a cloudy week in Darjeeling. But despite its absence, I think you’ll agree it was worth the morning-chilly rooftop rising. More:
(more…)

Fellow Tranquilo Travelers

October 27th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

Martin-from-Wales spent a week in the room across the hall from us at Andy’s. We crossed paths and shared smiles and stories many times—on the rooftop, the front porch, or down the road at Sonam’s Kitchen. After our last breakfast together, Martin waved goodbye from the narrow street outside. He was off to Siliguri; he would decide what to do from there—south to Calcutta, east to Assam, or West to Nepal were his options. The next day I received this message:
(more…)

Travel Teaches Toleration

October 25th, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

I found this poster taped to the wall of a phone booth in Birpara, a town where there are no tourists and where few people travel for any reason other than necessity. It is evocative of the first quote I posted on this site, the one by Mark Twain about travel being “fatal to prejudice, bigotry, and narrow-mindedness.”
(more…)

A Fuller, Warmer Cup of Tea: Fair Trade 101

October 23rd, 2005 | By Joshua | 5 Comments »

October, I just learned, is Fair Trade Month, conveniently coinciding with my travels in Darjeeling and my discovery of a kinder, gentler side of India’s tea industry.

Where does your tea (or coffee, sugar, bananas, chocolate) come from? Knowing the answer to this question is the heart of understanding what Fair Trade is and why it is one of the most important movements of our time.
(more…)

Crumpets and Coal: Our First Proper Tea

October 22nd, 2005 | By Joshua | No Comments »

In Paris, we stayed with a French-Moroccan couple who fed us mint tea (at midnight, after dinner) in traditional gold-inlaid glasses; sweet mint tea followed us to the hookah bars of Dubai; then, in Pakistan and India we were deluged with dood chai—black tea with hot milk and sugar, served anytime, anywhere. In West Bengal, our roommates detested milk and sugar in their ca (pronounced “cha”), preferring their tea bitter, so this is what we drank during our two months in Birpara, where we lived and worked among green tea gardens and golden glasses of ca.
(more…)