Film-Tech Forum ARCHIVE: Ian goes to India

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Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 04-23-2004, 10:44 PM:

In June, I am traveling to India to visit a former employee who has been in a volunteer program over there for the past 6-months.

I will be flying Singapore Airlines in Business Class. [Cool]

I spent every single mile I had in United’s Mileage Plus program for this ticket, which would normally cost $4,400. The flight is stopping is some pretty cool places. The plane will land in Seoul South Korea, Hong Kong and Singapore on it’s way to India. Unfortunately I will not be able to spend any time in these places. I’m just passing through. I would love to see all three cities. [Frown]

I’m arriving in Mumbai/Bombay and will be in that city just a day or two. We will then take a 16-hour train trip to Delhi. I’m looking forward to this. The Indian train system is famous as one of the great trips to take. From Delhi we will be taking a 10-day trek in to the Himalayas.

Description of the Trek:

quote:
Markha Valley via Chilling

The Markha valley is by far most one of the most beautiful valleys in Ladakh and a popular destination due to its proximity of its whole circuit to Leh. A varied trek across high passes with tremendous views of the snow capped mountains, gorges, arid landscape dotted with villages with their colorful fields of mustard and barley, make this trip a trekker’s delight to see its countryside as well as meet with the locals thus getting a good cultural insight.

However, on this particular itinerary, we do not take the standard route but begin from the little village of Chilling, the only village where metalwork is done in Ladakh. Spending a night here, we cross the Zanskar River by cable to meet with our horse on the other side meeting up with the popular route at Skiu. At the end of the trek and well acclimatized, we cross the Kongmarula pass at 5200m to descend down a beautiful gorge to Chogdo and the road head at Martselang where we meet with our vehicles, visit the monastery of Hemis and return to Leh.

5200 Meters is 17,060 Feet! [Eek!]

I have never been above 14,000 feet and I took the Pikes Peak Cog Railway to get there.

After that, if I am not dead, we will spend a week in and around Delhi visiting places like the Taj Mahal and the Red Fort.

Let’s see what the weather might be in Delhi in July. Discomfort from heat and humidity are said to be extreme with an average low of 80 and an average high of 97 the record low is 72 and the record high is 113. Humidity is between 59% and 75%. Precipitation is 7.10 inches for the month of July with an average of 8 rainy days.

Why you ask would I go to India in the summertime? Well it is the only time that the treks in the Himalayas are accessible. The mountain passes will have just opened up as the snow melts. So if you want to see the Himalayas, you go in the summertime.

My plan is to visit a couple of movie theatres, more if they are air-conditioned. I will try to photograph for Cinematour.

Do any of the forum members from India have any tips? Do you have any recommendations on theatres to visit? Are there must see things having to do with cinema in either Bombay or Delhi?

A couple of months ago I challenged the Theatre Dorks over at Cinematour to an International Cinema Tour. They politely declined and said that their interests lie in these United States at the moment. Well the gauntlet is thrown; top this. [Big Grin]

I challenge Brad, Adam, Scott and Joe to travel to strange lands, eat weird food, suffer heat and humidity, cold and frost, swat at really large bugs and live a truly international cinema experience. [Razz]

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 04-23-2004, 11:02 PM:

Enjoy your trip, and good luck with your diet. [thumbsup]

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 04-23-2004, 11:09 PM:

Enjoy the trip if you gt a chance visit the Prassad Film complex

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 04-24-2004, 06:41 AM:

quote: Ian Price
I challenge Brad, Adam, Scott and Joe to travel to strange lands, eat weird food, suffer heat and humidity, cold and frost, swat at really large bugs and live a truly international cinema experience.

No thanks. You win.

Posted by Gerard S. Cohen (Member # 994) on 04-24-2004, 09:03 AM:

Ian,

Namaste & Asalam Alekum!

I traveled 3 months in India, Kashmir and Nepal during the summer. Bombay and Calcutta during the monsoon were especially hard to take, but the central hhiger plateau regions were drier and the food was delicious! And the sunsets are amazing.

Everyone likes to be helpful, and "I give you good guidance"
was a very common expression. Watch out for the middlemen who insert themselves in every transaction and can ruin productive deals.

Train rides are interminable, but there's lots of time for a biography of Gandhi or the Bhagavad Gita.

Have a wonderful trip!

Gerard

Posted by William Leland III (Member # 1400) on 04-24-2004, 09:39 AM:

Ian, what type of volunteer program did your former employee do? i have been looking on the net for over sea jobs, but most places require you to be student or just finish college. if anyone can give me some info on any programs i would greatly appreciate it.

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 04-24-2004, 12:27 PM:

My partner has been to India and we hope to visit soon. In Mumbai you have the Gateway to India arch next to the Taj Mahal hotel which is worth a visit, many sites in this city of 12 million...you will have to get used to the mass of humanity living in the streets....Monkeys in New Delhi....it is recommended to take a private car from New Delhi to the Taj Mahal since that train link is extremely conjested. My partner came back from that trip a changed person...but then again he landed in Mumbai on infamous September 11.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 04-26-2004, 01:59 AM:

Ian, I thought you were insane when i read that you chose June to travel to India. But then your explanation of the accessibility of the Himalayas changed my mind.

I have been to India only twice in the last 15 years. So my info is sketchy. And most of the cities i have been to are in South India(hyderabad to Madras/Chennai). I have been to Delhi once a long time ago. You do need to check out Agra for sure(2 hours from Delhi). I would do that at the end of your trip when it cools down a tad.

As far as hotels, depends on your budgets. You can get 3 star hotels for decent rates when you covert to dollars. If your employee has been there for months, then i am sure he has local friends to help you not get scammed.

Movie theaters should be easy. Just ask the locals which are the most impressive cinemas. It will be common knowledge.

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-26-2004, 10:24 AM:

Ian Said.....
" I challenge Brad, Adam, Scott and Joe to travel to strange lands, eat weird food, suffer heat and humidity, cold and frost, swat at really large bugs and live a truly international cinema experience."

Ian... Texas definately qualifies in all those aspects so its actually a tie.

Gord,
Was that the Passgas Film Complex that you mentioned?

While I had a day off here in Billings I went to the local Borders book store and read some chapters out of an interesting book called "The Blackbox" I seem to remember reading an interesting chapter in which the pilots of a Singapore Airlines Jet were not able to determine which way was up or which was down as all the planes instruments had died....... The plane later plunged into the sea while the pilots argued if the fuel pump boost switch was on or off for engine #2. Other interesting chapters were the Valuejet crash and the Delta crash at Fort Worth.
Anyone that has not read this book will find the many chapters of voice cockpit transcripts in it quite riviting,!! After reading that Singapore Airlines chapter in which the plane plunged into the sea while the pilots argued about some inconsequential thing would cause me to seriously consider taking a boat to India.

Be sure to visit the Cinecitta factory....

Mark

Posted by Jeremy Fuentes (Member # 2135) on 04-26-2004, 10:44 AM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen
Ian... Texas definately qualifies in all those aspects so its actually a tie.

I was thinking the same thing. We have everything we need right here. [thumbsup]

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 04-26-2004, 10:47 AM:

Monee projector factory is in Bangladore [Smile]

Posted by Thomas Procyk (Member # 1170) on 04-26-2004, 10:59 AM:

quote: Mark Gulbrandsen was the last to post
I challenge Brad, Adam, Scott and Joe to travel to strange lands, eat weird food, suffer heat and humidity, cold and frost, swat at really large bugs and live a truly international cinema experience.

I know!!! I've been trying and trying to get them to come to Florida for years! [Razz]

Tell them it's not as bad, and I'm not as scary as I seem. [Smile]

=TMP=

Posted by Aaron Sisemore (Member # 145) on 04-26-2004, 11:50 AM:

Ian, you can also hook up Kamakshipalya Dhananjay with a pair of tickets for a Century theatre in Tuscon, and hand-deliver them! [evil]

Have a nice trip...

-Aaron

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 04-27-2004, 04:03 AM:

quote: Thomas Procyk
...and I'm not as scary as I seem.

Yes you are!

>>> Phil

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 04-27-2004, 03:25 PM:

Aaron,

Kamakshipalya Dhananjay lives in Bangalore, which is in the south of India. I will be traveling in the North of India. He can order his own damn tickets.

Mark,

Singapore Airlines is consistently rated as one of the top airlines in the world. So the good news is that I will have been pampered and well taken care of before the plane plummets in to the sea. [Big Grin]

Of course if the plane is going to plummet in to the sea, what the hell am I doing on this diet? [Roll Eyes]

Posted by Scott Norwood (Member # 30) on 04-27-2004, 03:38 PM:

Thomas--I've been to Florida. It's swampy. I don't have any immediate desire to return. You should visit Texas, Colorado, Massachusetts, or California instead.

Ian--you should pick up some of those awesome Monee projectors for your theatre. Then you can get rid of those leaky Simplexes for good! [evil]

As for airlines, I am rather un-fond of Alitalia, as they had the longest flight delay that I have ever experienced: 36 hours. (no, that's not a typo, and yes it was a delay and not a cancellation)

[ 04-28-2004, 09:18 AM: Message edited by: Scott Norwood ]

Posted by Mark Gulbrandsen (Member # 72) on 04-27-2004, 10:12 PM:

"Of course if the plane is going to plummet in to the sea, what the hell am I doing on this diet?"

Probably so you can fit through that security metal detector frame at check in without getting stuck in it [Eek!]

Mark

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 04-27-2004, 11:56 PM:

No no no--it's so he won't plug the emergency exit on his way out! [Big Grin]

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 05-16-2004, 03:08 PM:

My trip to India has changed. The Chinese Government screwed up my friend's plans for an earlier trek so she wanted to do this trek while I was there. I was resistant at first but I got over it. I had to change my plane reservations and as a result I lost my business class seat on the way over. I have to leave a week earlier than before which impacts my "get in to shape" program a bit.

The new Itinerary is to land in Mumbai and spend 5-days there. Then we fly to Katmandu, Nepal and spend a couple of days touring that city. Then we embark on a 20-day trek. [Eek!]

We visit Nepal, Tibet, China, and back to Nepal. Then we fly down to New Delhi and spend a week there before I return home. All in all I'll be gone a month.
This is the trek I am going on:

Mt. Kailash

"an exotic, cultural & scenic adventure through Nepal’s most remote region to Mt.Kailash"
Trek Grade: moderate / adventurous
In Tibet: 10 / 11 days.
Overall Trip: 20 / 21 days.

Highlights: on the wild far north west of Nepal, less frequented region, dramatic scenery, traditional villages, untouched by modern civilization, on the least accessible route to the holiest Mt.Kailash and the pristine sacred holy Lake Manasorover, view of Mt.Kailash from different angle (south-west-north & east).

Introduction:

Mount Kailash, situated within Tibet to the Northern part of the Himalaya. It is the spiritual center for four great religions: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, the Jain religion and the pre-Buddhist animistic religion - the Bonpo. And strangely enough, four major rivers i.e. the Karnali, Sutlej, Indus and the longest one - Brahmaputra, originate from near Kailash Mountain. For the Tibetans it is a particularly special place, the poet saint, Milarepa, spent several years here meditating in a cave. For the Hindus Mount Kailash is the earthly manifestation of their spiritual center of the universe, ‘world pillar’ around which all else revolves, its roots in the lowest hell and its summit kissing the heavens and on top lives their most revered God Shiva. The governments of Nepal and China reached an accord 3 years ago, that allowed the first treks across the border between the two countries. While it had been a route for Nepalese pilgrims for years, the foreign trekkers were never allowed to trek from Nepal to Tibet.

Mt. Kailash 6,714m / 22,028ft is situated to the north of the Himalayan barrier, wholly within Tibet. It is the perfect mountain with awesome beauty, with four great faces, the eastern face is believed to be crystal, the western ruby, the southern sapphire and the northern gold. It is the spiritual center for four great religions: Tibetan Buddhism, Hinduism, the Jain religion and the pre-Buddhist animistic religion-Bonpo. To Tibetans it is known as Ghang Rimpoche(Precious Jewel of Snow) and they see it as the naval of the world. It is said that a stream from the mountain pours into a nearby lake and from here rivers flow in the four cardinal directions. The river of the Lion Mouth to the North, the River of the Horse Mouth to the East, the River of the Peacock Mouth to the south and the River of the Elephant Mouth to the West. It is really fascinating to know that, the four major river system of the Indian Sub-Continent orginate near Kailash, the Indus, the Yarlung Tsangpo (Brahmaputra), the Karnali and the Sutlej. Tibetans believe that it is the residence of Demchog, a fierce looking tantric deity who lives there with his consort, Dorje Phagmo. From the early days up till now for the Tibetans and Buddhism it is more than a holy place, as their great poet, tantric saint Milarepa spent several years meditating in cave around the Mt. Kailash area.
For the Hindus...their spiritual center of the universe, described as a fantastic ‘world pillar’ 84,000 miles high, around which all else revolves, its root in the lowest hell and its summit reaching the heaven and the abode of their revered God Shiva and his consort Goddess Parvati.

For the pre-ancient religion Bon, it is the site where its founder Shanrab is said to have descended from heaven and it was formerly the spiritual center of Zhang Zung, the ancient Bon Empire that once included all western Tibet. Bon people circumambulate this holy mountain in an anti-clockwise manner, unlike the other religion does it clockwise.
Over the centuries, pilgrims from all corners of the world, have constantly journeyed immense distances to achieve enlightenment or cleanse themselves from sins, braving enormous distances, particularly harsh weather.

HUMLA-Nepal’s Wild West:

Humla was once part of the great Malla Empire administrated from Sinja near Jumla. Until 1787 this empire extended as far as to Purang (Taklakot) and the ‘Lost’ great villages of Toling (Zanda) and Tsaparang located in a remote south western Tibet, and to the north of Nanda Devi and Kamet Himal. Taklakot is an extraordinary melting pot with traders and merchants from the nearby countries, Indian, Chinese, Tibetan and Muslim traders from Kashgar, Nepalese entrepreneurs trading wool, salt and Indian goods along with Chinese Government officials and a huge army contingent.

In Humla the traditional salt/grain trade with Tibet continues as it has for centuries. This trade has ceased in most of Nepal, because of the import of Indian salt and the other reason is that China has eliminated many border trading posts in remote regions.

THE NGARI-in Tibet:

Kailash and Manasarover are in the Ngari region of Tibet, perhaps the most inaccessible place on earth. This region is mostly populated by Dokpas, nomads who herd sheep, goats and yaks on these arid desolate plains, Most Dokpas do not have houses and they wander endlessly across the vast Tibetan windswept plains, living in yak hair tents. Ngari is the last frontier of Tibet: On this trip, after leaving Kathmandu and other cities enroute you feel as if you had suddenly transported back in the past even early than Marco-Polo times.

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 05-16-2004, 04:23 PM:

quote: Thomas Procyk
I know!!! I've been trying and trying to get them to come to Florida for years!

Tell them it's not as bad, and I'm not as scary as I seem.

But Thomas, I was at your residence, about 6 weeks ago. I was about to knock on the door for a surprise visit when I heard something awful. Upon quick investigation I saw you through a window running around naked with some underpants on your head and wearing a bra. You were either screaming or singing (not sure) amidst a smoke filled room full of guys who all appeared to be smoking something pretty strong. That was enough for me. You are scarier in person! [Eek!]

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 05-16-2004, 05:00 PM:

People who live in that part of Florida always dress that way [Razz]

; all that humidity gets to ya.....

Posted by Bruce McGee (Member # 131) on 05-16-2004, 07:37 PM:

Brad, are you sure that you weren't outside MY house by mistake? Oh Yes... You said he was wearing a bra.

I dont wear bras.

Next time KNOCK. Always room for more fun!

(GAWD, I feel like PHIL!!)

Posted by Phil Hill (Member # 371) on 05-16-2004, 07:56 PM:

It's a damn good thing I *don't* feel like Bruce...

>>> Phil

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-13-2004, 03:30 PM:

I leave for India at 1:20 AM this morning. I am going business class all the way. I get a day and a half to knock around Singapore.

I'm all packed, got lot's of film.

Talk to you all in a month.

[ 06-13-2004, 06:17 PM: Message edited by: Ian Price ]

Posted by Gordon McLeod (Member # 33) on 06-13-2004, 07:56 PM:

Have fun and don't drink the ganges water [puke]

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-14-2004, 10:44 AM:

And don't pack unprocessed film in CHECKED baggage:

http://www.kodak.com/global/en/service/publications/tib5201.jhtml

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-14-2004, 03:02 PM:

Missed flight because it was over sold. Going Monday coach! [Mad]

Posted by Richard Fowler (Member # 893) on 06-14-2004, 03:23 PM:

Ian,
the Aisian coach seats put many of the USA airline Business class to shame...hoped you booked an aisle seat [Smile]

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 06-15-2004, 01:32 AM:

quote:
Going Monday coach!

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-15-2004, 01:44 AM:

Hopefully Singapore Air's A-340 coach is not like Northwest's B-747 on their Pacific routes--where you get stacked in like cord wood for the short hop (between 11 and 18 hours) across the pond. [Smile]

No worse than steerage on the Titanic... [Smile]

Posted by Emma Tomiak (Member # 1862) on 06-15-2004, 04:36 AM:

William- [thumbsup]

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-15-2004, 05:16 AM:

Made it to Inchon Korea. Coach is coach but tooth paste, combs, shaving kits in each bathroom. Service every half hour. 30 movies on demand. Singapore Airline girls (Their term not mine.)

Got to re-board and go to Singapore.

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-15-2004, 09:24 AM:

Ian -- how are you accessing the Internet to post on Film-Tech?

Posted by Kevin Baglow (Member # 721) on 06-15-2004, 06:33 PM:

Theres a cinema convention in Bombay in mid august. Not sure how popular it is. It may be just starting up.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-16-2004, 05:22 AM:

I'm in Singapore!

I arrived last night at 1:00 AM. Of course all the hotels are full because of conventions. I did get a very nice room at a Le Meridian out by the airport. I slept till 7:00 AM and then watched the Asian Morning News. Ate smoked fish with breakfast and went back to the airport. I left my back pack at the Left Luggage office and took the MRT in to the city. Fair was $2.40 SD which is only about $1.50 USD. Wandered one endless mall looking for the Hop-on, Hop-off tour bus. Found the bus and started a tour of the city.

I got off and took a river boat tour. Ate lunch at a Quay side outdoor restaurant. I had Chicken Satay and Spicy Prawns. I then hopped back on the bus and took the tour all the way around the city. Every stop was a shopping destination. Singapore has been described as one big Kmart. It is not as cheap as Walmart.

Food is good and cheap.

I'm finding Internet access for free in the airports. I guess it is a good way to keep peoples minds off of the grind of travel. I'm sitting in the Silver Kris Lounge awaiting my flight. I may visit the Koi Pond, or work out in the airport health club or perhaps take a shower. I could take a nap in the transit lounge hotel that charges by the hour. But this lounge is nice and I may not leave till I hunger for dinner. Then of course I will have second dinner on my business class flight to Mumbai. I'll need the energy as I once again arrive in a strange land in the middle of the night. But again this is a blessing in that it will not be as hot as the middle of the day while I carry my luggage through the throngs of "helpers" who will mob me in Mumbai.

Just before I returned to the airport I found a cinema in this endless mall. It is a new 5-plex that is loundly advertising itself as the worlds first all Digital Cinema. I cornered a manager and asked him what brand he has and it is Barco. He did tell me that all screens have Digital and Film and the only show he has digitally is The Day After Tomorrow. He had an even or I would have pressed him for a tour and photos. Coke and popcorn were half priced and half sized.

My last impression was skinny Asian girls in tight, small cloths and in appropriate shoes. [thumbsup]

Posted by John Pytlak (Member # 331) on 06-16-2004, 08:42 AM:

quote: Ian Price
He did tell me that all screens have Digital and Film and the only show he has digitally is The Day After Tomorrow.

Did they show it on all five digital cinema screens? [Roll Eyes]

Seriously, did they network all five screens to a single server, or do they have to load the digital file onto five separate servers if they need to show the movie on more than one screen?

http://www.barco.com/digitalcinema/en/Pressreleases/show.asp?index=975

quote:
Move supports the efforts of Singapore government agencies, IDA (Infocomm Development Authority of Singapore) and the MDA (Media Development Authority of Singapore) to become a global Digital Exchange...

...the IDA and MDA have supported leading Singapore exhibitor, Eng Wah, in its Digital Cinema roll-out, mainly in infrastructure and manpower development.

Must be nice to have government support like that.

Posted by Dick Vaughan (Member # 540) on 06-17-2004, 12:20 AM:

Hey Ian

Greetings from a Brit in Quebec. I am here on a 2 day meeting along with Ingrid Lae who says if you keep losing weight she won't be able to simply refer to you as "Big".

Do they still have those 10' x 8' cubicles in Singapore airport packed with 150 smokers getting their last nicotine fix for 8 hours? Always looked to me like some weird lab experiment.

have a great time in India.

You're not doing around the world ticket and dropping in to Europe on the way back home by any chance?

Posted by Daryl C. W. O'Shea (Member # 1303) on 06-17-2004, 02:54 AM:

quote: Dick Vaughan
in Quebec. I am here

My condolences. You should visit Canada again sometime too.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-17-2004, 08:01 AM:

Midnight Bombay.

I arrived at the airport and suffered the crush of humanity to get in to my pre-paid taxi to got to my hotel. All the taxis are Fiats that were designed before I was born and in which I barely fit. They drive around at night without lights and honking their horns at each other. By some miracle we found the W.I.A.A. Club and I got checked in.

I woke up at 7:00 AM took my second shower and called Payal. I went over to her uncle's apartment and met everybody and had breakfast. Chai and toast.

It's Monsoon season here and my plane was held up an hour in a storm. It has been raining off and on all day. I expect it to rain till we go to Kathmandu. Payal's uncle took us to the bank where we got $40,000 Rupees. We spent the day at a travel agent's booking our tour of the Golden Triangle of Delhi, Agra and Rajistan.

We got back to the apartment in the poring rain and ate a late lunch. I had Dal, potatos and peas, chipati.

The crush of humanity is amazing. This apartment has a guard, door man, elevator man and thier maid sleeps in the kitchen. The travel agent employs a man just to run copies and bring stuff.

Now I am just taking a break before diving back in and buying soap and shampoo. These are not provided at the hotel. One is advised to bring toilet paper with them as it is not common in India. I'm glad I'm with Payal as the taxi drivers don't really speak English. And I don't understand the money. $45 Rupees = $1. Payal's $40,000 Rupees required a shopping bag to carry around. You don't even break open the bundles of $100 Rupee notes, you just pass them over. The guard at the bank seemed to be carrying a Lee Endfield double barraled Shot Gun.

As we were driving along Chowpatti Beach the waves were so large that they were breaking over the breakwater and coming in the cab windows and the driver was steering for the bigger ones, I guess he thought it was a free car wash.

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-17-2004, 09:14 AM:

quote: Ian Price
Payal's $40,000 Rupees required a shopping bag to carry around. You don't even break open the bundles of $100 Rupee notes, you just pass them over.

Welcome to the most expensive city in India. [beer]

quote: Ian Price
The guard at the bank seemed to be carrying a Lee Endfield double barraled Shot Gun.

Maybe you could have asked the bank if you could get a free shotgun for opening an account.It would make you feel like you are in a Michael Moore film. [Big Grin]

Ian, your film-tech travelogue seems more interesting than the new Jackie Chan movie Around the World in 80 Days

Posted by Bevan Wright (Member # 1884) on 06-17-2004, 07:43 PM:

Ian,

Seriously, watch out for the food. Drink lots of alcohol to kill the germs - no ice. Wash your hands often. By the way, you passed through all the good places to get to the worst... nice job. [Smile]

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-20-2004, 10:49 PM:

5-days and not sick yet. But I have been sweating like a pig. I have to go back to the hotel in the afternoon and bath in the airconditioning.

I have been meeting all of Payal's family. A condition of the trip. Nobody has airconditioning. We toured for three days. Then Payal's cousins from San Jose showed up. The girl is 8 and the boy is 14 and they came without their parents to visit Grandparents. We spent two days with them.

Ate at the house mostly. Indians don't like the expense of going out. Payal has to talk to all of her relatives every day. Everybody must know our itinerary.

This afternoon our trek begins we will fly to Kathmandu. Breakfast is ready.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-20-2004, 11:27 PM:

quote: Ian Price wrote:
Indians don't like the expense of going out.

Of course not! They don't get paid hardly anything! That's why we as a country want to make them do all of our work. They work 16 hours a day and we can pay them a dime and a quarter and they freakin' LOVE it! Hopefully soon India will have ALL our jobs, including delivering my newspaper! [Smile]

[av=m]

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-21-2004, 09:28 PM:

Kathmandu Nepal.

4,000 feet and I can finaly breath again. It's a cool morning and I went for a walk. since there is an Internet cafe every 100 feet, I decided to check online.

Every 50 feet someone offers you a ride, shoe shine, look at their store. Always with a smile and never too pushy. I like it here.

I didn't make it to a cinema in India. I will try in the 6-days when I return. There are no cinemas in Kathmandu but there are many video cafes showing western films to the trekkers. It looks like the entire economy is built around the tourists. It's all very western.

More later, I have only been here 6-hours.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-22-2004, 09:24 PM:

Kathmandu Nepal,

I like it here, it feels like Cuzco in Peru. People are smiling and generaly happy. The streets are narrow and teaming with life. Yesterday Payal and I spun off from the group and went and explored the central temples. The group went shopping. The group is all Indian. We're talking Saris and hiking booths here. Vineeta is the tour leader, she is Payal's cousin by marriage. We are 25 strong. half are from Mumbai and half are from another town. They were set up buy another tour company and then grafted into Vineeta's group. There is some problems but she is handling it well. There are only 4 Americans but three of them are of Indian decent, so I am the only white guy. Payal is the only other American by birth. She is trying real hard to be Indian. She only speaks hindu to the Nepal people. This helps with admissions as Indians are charged 10% as much as the westerners. Admission to the plaza yesterday was R20 for her and R200 for me. Of course R200 is about $1.10. Last evening we went to a Hindu temple where non believers are not allowed. Hindu and Moslem are ok but Buddist and Christian are not allowed. The Parsi got in because he looks Indian. I got a tour of the grounds outside by a local guide and charged appropriatly. I saw the platforms along the river where they burn the bodies. Three were burning there. It costs R300 to burn your dead, or about $3.30. There are monkeys everywhere. There are cows ambling along. I was the only westerner in site. Now that there aer Maoist Terrorists tourists are staying away. I saw the caves where the hermits live. I met Milk Baba who is a holy man who has lived in California. He has hair 2-meters long and consumes only milk. I saw many other temples that I could go in to. I am learning a bit about Hindu but I'm sure only a light scratching of the surface.

Vineeta jokes that she is going to teach me Hindu, Gujrati and Nepali in 14-days. I will be lucky if I can say please, thank you and where's the bathroom. All the Indians and Nepali speak English to some extent. All Nepali speak Hindu as well. Nepal seems exotic to me, but to an Indian it's like visiting Yosemite valley. Half of these Indians have children or relatives in the USA and have come for a visit.

One observation is that the Indian tourists are culturally isolated. They eat nothing but Indian vegitarian food prepared by the hotel or tour company. It's culturally interesting for me, but please, there is a world of Nepali food out there waiting to be tasted.

Tomorrow we leave for tibet. There will be 5-days of driving 800 kilometers on bad roads to reach Mt. Kilash and then the tora will be three days. We will have one day of aclimatizing before setting off on the 3-day trek. Every Indian I talk to says how lucky I am to be going on this trek. Food going out will be very plain as befitting a pilgrimage. Food coming back will be more masala or spicy and interesting as befitting a celebration.

There is a married couple who are in their twenties and their mother. Payal is 26. I'm sure Vineeta isn't much over 30 and I'm 42. Those are the young ones. Pigrimages are undertaken by older people who are successful in life, so the rest of our group is middle aged or just plain old. Were going to spend a week at 13,000 feet and at one point top out at 19,000 feet. I'm worried about myself and wondering how these old people will get along.

I know that these people are probably tougher then Americans but please, this is a trek. Some of the people didn't realize that we would be camping. I didn't know how much camping. We will be in tents for 6-days. The tour company provides Tents, porters, yaks, sleeping bags, and parkas. As a rule Indian people don't own coats or proper shoes. Some bought shoes yesterday! Everybody in India wears sandles as you would if it were 100 degrees for 6-months of the year.

This will be my last post for a while. We will not run in to Internet cafes in Tibet. Hopefully as we get higher I will sweat less. I cant do laundry for the next two weeks and I sweat out my cloths every day. But the higher I get the better I will feel to a point.

Today we will visit more temples and I need to buy snack food. I think I am gaining weight on this trip. Beware the Indian buffet.

Ian

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 06-24-2004, 06:21 AM:

No word from Ian in two days!

I wonder if the Indians attacked his train!

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-24-2004, 10:50 AM:

Reread Ian's last post William. No internet cafes were he's going in Tibet. We'll probably hear from him again in a couple of weeks.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-24-2004, 10:59 AM:

Tibet, China:

We left Kathmandu at 7:00 AM this morning and drove through verdant fields with rice paddys and corn. The hills grew higher and higher as we drove down the valley. Later we took a turn and started up a new valley. The pavement ended and we started driving up a dirt road. We drove for 4-hours. We stopped at a Nepali truck stop which concisited of one room. They fed all 30 of us in 10-minutes. The food was good too.

Then we arrived at the border to Tibet and China. First we handed over our passports to the agent handling us and went to a tea shop. After 1.5 hours we were able to go to the border. We had to wait 2-hours behind all the other pilgrams trying to cross. Then we had our health check. There was only one agent checked all 300 people. Then we climbed the hill and found our Landcruisers. We drove up the hill to the customs check point and waited in line another 2-hours for the one customs guy to check in all 300 people. All in all it took 6-hours to cross the border.

Just as the sun was setting we drive up an increadable gorge with hundreds of 30-foot waterfalls. The first town clung to the side of the hill precariously. We drive 2-hours up the gorge on 4-wheel drive road at first gear speeds. We arrived in this one horse town at 10 PM and now we await our dinner. I'd just assume eat Chinese noodles but the tour cooks all its own food. But hey, I found an Internet cafe so there you are.

We are being put up in dorms and its heads to feet tonight. Payal just informed me that she got a single room. The country side is unbelieveable. Tomorrow we get to the Tibet plateau. Right now I am at 10,000 feet and feeling fine. One lady has already barfed so it's not looking good.

I'll sign off for now. Some lady was grilling meat up the road.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-24-2004, 05:51 PM:

FREE TIBET! Did you see Richard Gere there? I think we should bomb Tibet out of existence so Richard Gere stops whining.[av=m]

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 06-24-2004, 10:25 PM:

Nailam Tibet:

I got fed up waiting for the sherpas to cook Indian food so I went out and had noodles and pork at some small 3-table restaurant. The Indian contingent was agast. The Tibetan cook hauled me down in to the kitchen (a squat before the gas ring affair) and assured me he could cook anything I wanted. I assured him I would eat his cooking. They had dinner at 1:00 AM instead of just going out at 10:00 PM when we arrived. The Indians travel with all their own food. I don't take any food with me because I want to taste the local cooking.

One woman threw up from altitude sickness. Were at 10,000 feet. I feel fine. The group leader had to rearange the bedding arangements 3-times. The bed was comfortable and the quilts warm but not clean. I just couldn't sleep in a room with 7-Indians and an unlocked door. Also the bathroom arangment is rudimentary at best. I'm told I have seen my last western toilet for 14-days. I'll be alright camping, but the squat toilet doesn't do it for me.

The Indians are cold and bundled in all their cold weather gear. I'm just wearing a jacket and I'm fine. I take comfort that the Sherpas are dressed just like me.

There is a tea house under our dorm and they started up the bad Chinese pop tunes really loud around 3:00 AM. I actually got out of bed, went outside, downstairs and told them to shut up. They did too for about 2-minutes.

Were just being served breakfast at 11:00 AM after I got out of bed at 6:00 AM. Payal and I have gone on two walks and now we await leaving this town. This is supossed to be the last town on the route so there might not be anymore Internet, but I have said that before.

I'd like to haul Joe's skinney ass to Tibet and leave him here. The people smile, they all point to me and laugh at how large I am.

Today we aren't going far, We are going about 20 kilometers and setting up camp. The hotel is too expensive at $4 per night per person. I paid 12-cents for Internet hour and 20-cents for noodles.

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 06-24-2004, 11:01 PM:

10,000' isn't too bad. Your having some light airplane flying experience has probably got you used to it. The higher altitudes should be interesting. I'm sure you'll let us know how it goes.

Yes, please drop Joe off up there. Anywhere is fine. Even in my broke financial state, I'll buy his passage on Yeti Airlines (DHC-6-300 Twin Otters [thumbsup]

) or Royal Nepal Airlines and their world famous Yeti Service . [beer]

Posted by Pravin Ratnam (Member # 1417) on 06-25-2004, 12:26 AM:

Who is Payal? Just curious as we read your reports, we keep hearing about her all the time, that it makes one want to put her in context of your narration. And since when did indians not want to eat out? My relatives in Hyderabad all liked to eat out all the time. Maybe it's the ridiculous prices in bombay.

Any crazy Maoist rebel sightings?

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 06-25-2004, 12:55 AM:

quote: Private Ryan
Who is Payal?

Paypal is a method of making payments over the internet. It is commonly used on eBay auctions.[av=c]

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 06-26-2004, 08:30 PM:

Ian,

I am in Changchun for the next 2 months. Maybe we can get together for a beer [beer]

In the local bars here it seems that Budweiser is the most popular and pretty cheap for an import (15 RMB). On the map I looked at, Tibet is only a few inches away! Actually, It's a few hours farther north-east than Beijing. We could meet half way.

Have a good trip, and enjoy. It is very interesting here and the people seem very nice and sincere.

Rick

Posted by William Hooper (Member # 71) on 07-09-2004, 01:18 AM:

Still no word from Ian!
I wonder if he got scalped by the Indians!
Or burned at the stake!

Posted by Ky Boyd (Member # 23) on 07-10-2004, 07:44 PM:

Ian is alive and well in India. We heard from him on Wednesday, July 7th and I'll post the text of that e-mail here:

quote:

Wednesday, July 7th, Kathmandu Nepal:

It's the Kings 58th birthday!

I'm back from Tibet, China. We made it!

I hear that the Rialto had a smashing success with F9/11.

I'll write more in depth when I have time to organize my thoughts, but I
just wanted to write and say that we had fun, we had struggle and as the
Budddist's say we overcame suffering.

We drove for 5-days on 4x4 dirt tracks. This is what passes for the major
East/West highway in Tibet. We stayed one night in a guest house in China and that was enough to make me love camping. We camped for 12 out of 14 days. Our tour leader "Vineeta" is one of the great ladies of the earth. I fell imediatly in love. Too bad she is happily married to one of the top climbers of India. She and Payal hit it off as well, which is good since they are cousins.

Ok that was strange, the email system has made typing difficult.

Payal, is Payal Doctor, who worked for Ian and I first as a floor staff member and then as a manager. She also worked at the Castro Theatre in San Francisco for about a year as a projectionist. She's great and we miss having her here at the Rialto to crack the whip. Some of the staff was scared of her, a fact that Ian and I always loved.

I'm sure he'll be posting lengthy descriptions of all the details of the trip soon.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 07-14-2004, 07:44 PM:

Delhi, Agra, Jaipur, Delhi:

We planned our last part of the trip in India to be all 5-star. Payal’s relatives were very nervous about their 26-year-old daughter going to Delhi alone with a single man. So they made her plan out the trip in detail with a travel agent. As a result we stayed at the Taj group of hotels and got a car and driver.

We arrived late in Delhi from Kathmandu and took a Tata Idica cab to the hotel. Each of had a single room as was befitting. The next morning we couldn’t find our car and driver so we walked around Conaught Circus which is a huge shopping arcade built by the British. When we returned to the hotel we found our car and driver who had been sent the wrong hotel. Are car for the trip was a Suzuki Esteem which is actually a luxury car in India. We had lunch at a Kabob shop and hit the road for Agra. Since we got such a late start we took the rest of the day to reach Agra.

Payal wanted to stop a couple of temples along the way. On the highway I saw a man walking a bear. There were camel carts, tractor carts, Tata lorries, and very few private cars. Road rules in India are different than America. That dashed line in the middle of the road is for driving down. This keeps your options open. Drive up behind some lorries and then honk your horn. This is alright as all trucks in India have “Horn Please” or “Horn Pleeze” or “Blow Horn” written on the back. “Use Dipper at Night.” It’s also aright to drive the hood of your car under the truck!

At our first stop we tried to find the Hare Krishna temple. It’s huge but well hidden in a small market town with confusing streets. I was just trying to not get stepped on by a Camel. This town is where Krishna was a boy. Our next stop was in the town where Krishna was born. We saw the jail cell in which he was born. (India tip: Just bring sandals. Shoes are too hot and you’re always taking off your shoes to go in to different places. Also toughen up your feet, red sandstone can fry an egg in this heat.)

We made it Agra where the manager of the Taj View hotel met us at the door and with a drink gently broke the news that they had over booked and were sending us to a different hotel. But dinner was on him.

The next morning we got a guide and went to the Taj Mahal. Payal could pay Rs20 because she is Indian, as a westerner I got to pay Rs750. So she got in for fifty cents and I got to pay $15! This was true to a lesser extent at ever site we visited. But what are you going to do, fly halfway around the world and then say no? Next we visited the Fort in Agra. A “Fort” is actually a Castle where the king lives. These Castles are bigger and more elaborate than anything I have seen in England. This is from an era where India was ruled by Mugals from Iran who were Islamic.

After the tour and lunch we were taken to the marble shop where we were given a demonstration on how they do the inlay work. I went a little nuts and made big purchase.

We headed back to the hotel so I cold go soak my head in the swimming pool.
The next day we headed out for Jaipur. The air-conditioning wasn’t working in the car. Then we overheated in the bazaar. The company sent another car, an Ambassador. With this we went to the next fort. Our car showed up after lunch and we continued on to Jaipur. Along the way I saw 19 men with dancing bears. There is actually a movement to ban these people and release the bears. I saw hundreds of Camel carts. We almost crashed into what looked like a moose, but is a big antelope in India. Then when we got to Jaipur there were the elephants!

The big things to buy in Jaipur are block printed fabrics and hand knotted rugs. They rolled out a silk on silk rug that I fell in love with. But at $7,000 first price I couldn’t even think of buying it. Even if I had knocked the price in half it was too much.

The monsoon hadn’t hit central India yet. The temperature was around 37 degrees which is about 95+. I could only go out about two hours at a time before I melted.

Delhi was a bit of a disappointment so I won’t detail it here. I’m not sure there is any city of 12 million people I can fall in love with.

I’m in the Silver Kris lounge at the Singapore airport awaiting my flight to Hong Kong and San Francisco. I’ll be back home soon.

Posted by Joe Redifer (Member # 3) on 07-14-2004, 08:51 PM:

The Taj Mahal is racist! We should bomb it.[av=h]

Posted by Brad Miller (Member # 2) on 07-14-2004, 09:08 PM:

You didn't try any chilled monkey brains or snake surprise???

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 07-14-2004, 11:23 PM:

Changi Airport in Singapore is the greatest airport in the world. [thumbsup]

It's a shopping mall better than anything we have in the US. There are digital cameras that aren't in the American market yet. You can by a car stereo at the music shop including a whole surround sound system for your apartment.

I saw a movie in the cinema lounge. (video) [dlp]

I took a shower between flights.

I could have taken a city tour right from the airport.

There is a sunflower garden on the roof with views of aircraft taking off.

There are two Koi ponds in the departure lounge.

Internet access is free and available.

I have to go, I am going to eat some seafood salad before catching my flight to Hong Kong. I only hope the Hong Kong airport is as good. [beer]

The Dehli airport sucks much ass! [thumbsdown]

Posted by Richard Hamilton (Member # 321) on 07-14-2004, 11:49 PM:

You ought to try the Beijing airport at 4 in the morning with a 3 hour layover!

Rick

Posted by Paul Mayer (Member # 355) on 07-15-2004, 12:22 AM:

My brother reports the same tourist pricing scheme in Thailand. If you're a foreigner, ticket prices for attractions tend to be much much higher.

I've seen the reverse of that happen in some department stores in LA's Little Tokyo. If the sales clerks think you are from Japan (i.e. not JA), the prices are much higher.

Annoying. But like Ian says, what are you going to do? You're there anyway and generally even the inflated prices are still a bargain to most westerners.

Posted by Ian Price (Member # 14) on 07-15-2004, 05:09 AM:

Hong Kong!

It's nice but not as nice as Singapore airport. I have a 5-hour layover here. I have $280HK in my pocket and shopping to do. $280HK is $40US.

For lunch I had a salad with shrimp, tenderloin of beef, asperegus, mashed potatoes, I skipped wine for a Diet Coke, a cheese course and ice-cream. I'm certain to gain weight just on the flight back.

The business class seat on the 747 Megatop folds down to a 6'5" flat bed. The only bad news is that the shoulder room is narrow. I'm looking forward to trying it out on my 12-hour flight this evening. I leave at 10:00 PM on July 15 and arrive at 7:00 PM on July 15! I get to go back in time! [Big Grin]

Ok, I'm off to the Duty Free store where they have a Chinese Booth Babe standing out front to attract your basic Heterosexual male. After that, I'm going to see if I can find some good food here. There's a Burger King, but I'm going to avoid that.

Continued:

I just had my second airport shower. I had a shower in Singapore and now Hong Kong. A shower does wonders in changing your mood about travel. I knew about the showers so I carried a change of cloths with me. I know that sweating it out for 6-hours in the Delhi airport and then sitting on a plane for 24-hours would be a recipe for B.O. Now, two showers and a change of cloths later, I will not be worried about stinking up the business section.

My dinner plans are BBQ Pork with rice or Sushi. For Brad there would be a Churches Chicken. [Razz]

[ 07-15-2004, 06:53 AM: Message edited by: Ian Price ]