Delhi & Agra, India

The Hall of Private Audiences at Red Fort, Old Delhi

We have arrived in India! Without a doubt the most challenging, diverse, frustrating and spectacular country of our travels thus far, India leaves you breathless (literally holding your breath at times). Many have called the country an assault on the senses and a place of extremes. Both beauty and filth meet your eye at every turn, while the scent of sizzling samosas mixes with cow dung. Car horns are encouraged here to warn oncoming vehicles of the typically erratic driving, balanced by the sing-song calls of street vendors and chanting of Brahmins. The tastes and flavors of the cuisine vary by region and never disappoint (unless you catch yourself with a few rogue chilies in your mouth). And though service couldn't be more ass-backwards, the people are welcoming, intensely spiritual, fun-loving and really, really happy to see you. It truly is an experience like nothing else - love it or hate it, India will leave you a changed person.

Our India adventure got off to a great start when we were upgraded to Business Class on Cathay Pacific from Bangkok to Delhi. Hello copious amounts of champagne, fine French wine and a never-ending barrage of snacks and meals! As poor travelers, we refused to say no to any food or beverage, stuffing ourselves to the point of discomfort.


Welcome to Delhi! Trying to navigate the strangling mass of people in the dusty, noisy, heat of the city is too much to take at times. Even in the shade of a rickshaw getting through traffic can be tough, especially when a holy cow decides to cross the street since no one would dare shoo it along.


On our first day in Delhi, a very gracious friend who lives there leant us his driver for the day to get the most of our sight-seeing without collapsing from heat stroke (thanks Tegh!). Our first stop was to the stunning sandstone Red Fort to pay homage to the height of the Mughal empire in Old Delhi. The Mughals expanded throughout almost all of India from the 16th to the 19th centuries, spreading Muslim religion, culture, and architecture across the subcontinent.


Like we said, the people are really, really happy to see you. This was the first of MANY similar encounters with Indian tourists. "One snap please?"


Ashley had to get used to being the center of attention.


The Red Fort was built in 1648 by the Mughal emperor Shah Jahan, the same man behind the Taj Mahal.


Even these guys weren't too cool to pose for a photo with the White girl.


The Lotus Temple is a Bahai house of worship built in 1986 by a Canadian! The philosophy of the Bahai religion is based on universal tolerance, and people of all religious backgrounds are welcome to come and pray or meditate silently.


Thanks to a crisis of confidence in the economy, the Indian Rupee hit its weakest point in history the week we arrived at 70.36 rupees per USD. Woo hoo! We celebrated with some luxurious high tea at The Imperial - Delhi's finest hotel.


The spread


Fountain at The Imperial with a painting of the Red Fort in the background.


Humayun's Tomb is probably Delhi's most stunning site and it's where the Obamas visited on their trip.


The late afternoon light was nice for photos.


The tomb was the first Persian style building in Delhi, and the combination of white marble and red sandstone shows the merging of the two cultures


The relentless Delhi sun finally on its way out.


The Hazrat Nizamuddin is a sacred Muslim shrine where hordes (picture what you consider hordes and double that) of devotees come. Our book described it as "a most extraordinary pleasure to experience." We would describe it as descending into one of Dante's rings of hell. Pretty much all the stuff we've heard about India that is overwhelming and uncomfortable was in that one place. We were greeted by a long line of beggars inflicted with all sorts of jarring physical ailments. The laneway into the singing area was long, narrow and crowded with people pushing and shoving and yelling at us to take off our shoes. When we came to the final shoe removal point, we reluctantly obliged. We've visited countless mosques and temples where shoes are off - but this place was filthy with too many mystery puddles. Then we almost accidentally stepped on some people who were convulsing on the ground with their eyes rolled back in their heads. At first we thought they were more poor sick beggars, but when they bounded onto their feet and started to do intense somersaults - literally slamming their bodies into the marble ground - we realized we were witnessing some sort of extreme religious ritual.


We could still hear the singing despite the crush of bodies packed into the tight space, but unfortunately the monotone droning failed to redeem the experience. To top it off, Ashley had her first "accidental bump into" when a beady-eyed man took advantage of the crowded chaos and shoved his groin against her. We made a bee line to the exit.


While the Hazrat Nizamuddin experience was a nightmare, some crowds in India are much more festive. We arrived at our hotel one night to find a massive parade on our street. We asked a local what the parade was for and he just shrugged his shoulders. With 330 million Hindu gods, there's always an excuse to have a parade.

A video from the parade

Nice stache dude.


Sighhhhh… the Taj Mahal - the most beautiful building we've ever seen. It was commissioned by Emperor Shah Jahan after the passing of his beloved wife Mumtaz Mahal during the birth of their 14th child. It has been called "a teardrop on the cheek of eternity."


We hired a guide who doubled as our photographer.


It is said that some 20,000 workers were commissioned over 20 years to complete it. Food and resources were diverted from surrounding areas to support the effort, resulting in many deprived communities.


Shah Jahan was meticulous in his design and execution of the Taj. The entire white marble building is perfectly symmetrical on all four sides. Even the Arabic script and floral designs seen here mirror each other. Optical illusions are used to enhance the symmetry - for example the script grows larger as it climbs along the side of the gate so that the distant writing appears to be the same size as what's close up.


After Ashley was asked to take individual portraits with each member of this family (yes, seriously), we took one big family shot which is likely now hanging in their living room. When we finally finished, the mother sweetly looked into Ashley's eyes and said, "I will never forget you."


When a young Korean couple asked us to take a few photos of them with their fancy Canon SLR, Joe went so far as to lay on the ground to capture some nicely composed shots. When we asked them to return the favor, this is what we got.


Mosque next to the Taj - of course to keep the symmetry, there is an identical one on the other side that they use as a guesthouse for very special visitors.

We grabbed dinner at a nearby rooftop restaurant. Not a bad view.

As usual you can find the rest of our Delhi & Agra photos on Flickr.

Laos and Chiang Mai

Riding high at the Elephant Village in Luang Prabang

This marks our last blog from SE Asia and the triumphant return of our own photos!

Our arrival in Laos marked a low point in the trip - we had just taken the worst bus ride of our travels and we were starting to feel the strains of travel after a month in bustling Vietnam. Chilled-out Laos, with it's green jungles and French-influenced cuisine, seemed like the perfect place to recharge and get ready for the waiting challenges of India. We settled into a beautiful guesthouse on the banks of the Mekong River on the outskirts of Luang Prabang, a lovely city filled with Buddhist temples, French cafes, and plenty of tourist comforts. Perfect right? That's what we thought, but as we settled in to relax, the travel gods planned one more test of our patience and sanity...

We stayed at the fantastic Thongbay Guesthouse. Sisqo did not make an appearance, but that didn't stop us from breaking into a little: "She had dumps like a truck (truck, truck)... guys like what (what, what)... baby move your butt (butt, butt)… lemme sing it agaaaaaain"

We met a nice couple from Wisconsin on their honeymoon and set out with them to visit the Kuang Si waterfalls and bear sanctuary. The Asian black bear is also known as the moon bear due to the white crescent-shaped marking on its chest.

The monsoon season was in full swing, but the sun still poked out on most days. Rainy days make for muddy paths, and Ashley soon ditched her flip flops and hiked barefoot like the locals.

Stopping to clean the mud, only to get filthy minutes later

One benefit of the rainy season is that the waterfalls are flowing at full capacity! We braved the flooded rickety bridge and soaked ourselves at the base of the falls.

Joe feeling the power

Incredible roadside garlic chicken

Grabbing beers on the river back at the hotel with our Wisconsin buddies

This dragon boat racing team came by on a practice session. On horizon at the top the hill is Wat Chom Si, a beautiful Buddhist temple and popular hike for tourists.


Unfortunately Laos' history isn't all jungles and wats. During the Vietnam War, U.S. forces dropped an estimated 260 million cluster bombs on the Laotian countryside to fight the Pathet Lao (Communist side in the Laotian Civil War) and to prevent the use of the Ho Chi Minh Trail to attack U.S. forces in Vietnam. This bombardment gives Laos the dubious distinction of the most-bombed country per capita in world history, which is hard to comprehend when all you see around you are beautiful jungles and quaint villages. Unfortunately the carnage continues because roughly 75 million bombs failed to detonate, resulting in about 300 deaths or injuries each year to unlucky people who stumble across them in the jungle.


Some local kids climbing the fence by our balcony. The fact that locals could scale the fence directly next to our balcony and room window probably should have raised a few red flags…


That night, we paid a visit to the famous Luang Prabang Night Market. Of the many markets we visited in SE Asia (most filled with mass-produced crap) this one was our favorite.


Dinner at Tamarind - authentic Laos food, done right. Frog salad, lemongrass stuffed pork (with a side of baked beans!) and the best sticky rice in the world. We returned to this place a few times.


Night market and Buddhist temple at Haw Kham (Royal Palace) complex


Ashley caught a bad case of elephantitus pants and became one of the many travelers shamelessly strolling around in pajamas


One of the best parts of a visit to Laos (and SE Asia in general) is the ubiquitous juice stand with dozens of fresh options. We grabbed some refreshments before heading back to the guesthouse.

Upon our return to the hotel room, things didn't seem right. When Joe couldn't find the computer, Ashley looked towards the window and noticed a huge hole in the screen. Someone had scaled the fence and "fished" through our window from the balcony. The computer and Ashley's bag had been taken. And then Ashley's blood-curdling scream: "My passssssssssport!" That's when we noticed Ashley's bag had been thrown back. Covered in dirt and grass, the purse had been pilfered, but her passport, IDs and credit cards had all been thrown back, plus some American cash that had been concealed in an envelope. There was a brief reprieve in the panic at this small gesture. All in all, we lost Ashley's iPhone and iPod, sunglasses, eyeglasses, Nook (and the newly downloaded "Slash" which Ashley was eager to read!) and worst of all, the computer with all of our photos from Komodo to Vietnam. Luckily Joe's camera and phone were out of reach. We have a travel safe that we've been very good about using everywhere we go, but we had been at this hotel for a week, and it was a nice place with 24 hour security so we let our guard down. Big mistake. As those little kids had demonstrated earlier (perhaps with someone watching), the fence could be scaled without too much trouble, and our room was the closest to the perimeter. The hotel was amazing - they had never had a theft in their 14 years, they called the police immediately and promised to reimburse us for everything. It was over $2000 and they gave us every penny in cash! We couldn't believe it. We promised to give them a glowing review online, without mentioning the theft of course.

As we mentioned earlier, this really marked a low in the trip. Though everything turned out OK financially, it was a pretty violating experience and the timing couldn't have been worse. The next day we were set to head out to Elephant Village to play "mahout" for 2 days (an expensive excursion that had been planned for months), but now our spirits were dampened. Of course, the moment we set eyes on those gentle giants all was well and the theft was forgotten.


At Elephant Village with our buddies Lussia and Ryan


The most common way to board an elephant is to politely request that the elephant lifts a leg so that you can step on the knee, grab the top of the ear and pull yourself up. It feels like you might hurt their ear but they don't even seem to notice.


Even years of flexed-arm hang practice in junior high gym class couldn't prepare Ashley, so she got a boost.


And she's up!


Taking the elephants for a drink


We took a break from all the elephant excitement, to visit the Tad Sae waterfall and natural pool.


Joe took advantage of the rope swing.


We crashed the neighboring "Shangri Laos" resort pool for a beer at the swim-up bar.


Joe made some minor touch-ups in Photoshop to even things out.


Lussia and Ryan were fresh from their Peace Corps placement in Uganda. When we told them about our recent theft experience, they were sympathetic and made us feel a lot better when they detailed some of the harrowing experiences Peace Corps workers in Africa had been through which we won't detail here, but include drugged maniacs with machetes.


Elephant hair is quite prickly!


Joe liked to suck up to his elephant by constantly feeding it bamboo.


The Elephant Village highlight - bathing the elephants! You ride the elephant into the river, and give it a scrub down with a brush. Joe's elephant was especially playful and would joyfully splash the water with her trunk every time the mahout yelled "Happy Happy!"


A baby elephant had just been born, but at such a young age, it was kept away from the main area so it could graze in the jungle with its mother. He was also kept under careful security to prevent thieves from stealing him since baby elephants fetch about $40,000. We went for a little hike to find the curiously-named baby, Mister Cum.


Elephants trunks are amazing. They use them to smell, pick up food, breath when underwater (like a snorkel), and to suck up water for bathing and splashing annoying tourists.


From Luang Prabang we made the journey north to another riverside beauty, Nong Khiaw. It would rain pretty hard at least once a day and we loved watching from the shelter of our balcony.


Pretty cool view for dinner


The views of the river and limestone cliffs were pretty epic


We chose a pretty rainy day to do a hike through the rice paddies to a waterfall. Leeches were a bit of a problem, so we were constantly checking to see if those buggers had made it up our legs. Here we are ruining a beautiful landscape with our ridiculous rain attire.


Apparently Zack Morris and Darth Vader are not allowed to use the ATM.


We took a boat back down the Mekong to make a flight out of Luang Prabang


Sitting pretty


After originally writing it off as too touristy, Joe woke up to see the famous alms-giving ceremony to the monks in Luang Prabang. It's a sacred religious ritual that has unfortunately been ruined by disrespectful tourists who shove their cameras in the monks' faces and wear inappropriate clothing (like this girl Joe saw in a belly top). There's been talk that they will stop the practice altogether in Luang Prabang, which is a real shame.


At the risk of being a hypocrite Joe took a few snaps from a respectful distance across the street.

From Laos, we flew to Chiang Mai, the former capital of the Lanna Kingdom, which ruled the area which is now Northern Thailand from the 13th to 18th centuries. The historical sites are complimented by all the comforts of a modern city, including a large university, many great restaurants, and centers for learning everything from meditation to Muay Thai kickboxing.


We were pretty sick of hotels so we opted to rent an apartment and settle in. It felt great to have a home again.


View from our balcony


Ashley was so excited to go grocery shopping for the first time in 6 months that she was literally skipping through the aisles.


She was thrilled when she came across bona fide peameal bacon!


And Joe was equally joyous to find Beer Ham


First home cooked meal in 6 months! (Complete with boxed wine)


Joe visited a museum to learn about the Lanna kingdom, but all he remembers is that the dog led the ceremonial elephant procession through the palace gates, as shown in this diorama.


We were amazed at these monks' ability to sit perfectly still and wondered at their powers of deep meditation…until we realized they were made of wax.


But we spotted this one as a fake right away.


As much as we wanted to cook at home, we couldn't resist some of the delicious Chiang Mai food. Some of our favorites were the northern Thai sausage and khao soy noodle soup. But this beef noodle soup at Rote Siam was by far the most incredible thing we ate.


Western influence creeps in everywhere… can you even get a cheese-filled-hot dog-stuffed pizza crust back home??

Chiang Mai's famous Sunday Market brings out the crowds

Vendors fried up delicious grub outside the many Buddhist temples

These stuffed crabs were fantastic

We posed for a portrait in the market. This was before he added Ashley's slightly-embellished cleavage.

Rooftop beers

Most of the vendors sold the typical junk.

But we couldn't pass up the soda popsicles!

We stopped for one night in Bangkok before our flight to New Delhi.

Goodnight Thailand. Next stop: India!

If you can't get enough of our photos after all this time without them, you can find some more beautiful Laos landscapes, bizarre Chiang Mai temples, and adorable Mister Cum shots in our Laos and Chiang Mai Flickr albums.