Morning Walk

From Mike-

Love that morning walk.  Today was a bit later than is my typical want.  I like it when there is still a strong feel of the night; a cool/damp residue before the sun breaks through and starts to burn.  In cities, especially, there’s a certain peace which lingers.  A meditative calm before the noise, dust, and mean side of making a living kicks in. 

And I’m totally aware of what a ridiculous luxury this is.  To be able to move my sorry butt across ten and a half time zones, then simply be a part of this world without needing to pick up a shovel or show up someplace ready for a task is to start to understand some of the basic disparities of circumstance.  Certainly it can’t be anything but circumstance.  To pretend I have this relative luxury due to some special/earned skill is folly.  I was simply born into the right hemisphere. At the right time.  And with certain advantages of skin color, social circumstance, etc.

But that’s getting beyond today’s thought.  As Rebecca said, all it takes is a whiff of smoke to bring the circumstances of a place screaming into sharp focus.  An inevitable part of any time spent in India (in this particular case) is the life being lived on the street.  Babies naked from the waist down; chickens picking at the scraps; a dented aluminum pot coming to a boil over a wood or charcoal fire.  Mom yelling to the kids.  Dad just down the way, manning the sugar cane press to squeeze it into juice to be sold for three rupees (six cents) a glass. One walks through these circumstances and can’t help but wish to share the experience (and its attendant questions) with home.  In our world, it happens with a camera.  But this isn’t a show.  It’s a whole (bunch of) life.  And to capture it on film-or even with words-is to pass a sort of judgment.  To look through a particular lense and cultural norm which just can’t apply.   Certainly the draw is the what if..?  What if I were suddenly thrust into the same circumstance?  Would I meet the day with casual ruminations on the nature of life’s disparities?  Do I do that in my typical world of gathering and work? Do I feel pity?  Seek a cure? 

I’m not really looking for an answer here.  Mostly, I’m just spouting.  Which is partially due to jet lag, and partially due to the buzz of being in a different place and time (thank-you time machine.)  And I’m also carrying around a bit of a cross, as it were.  But I’m going to need to wait for the next blog to share just what the nature of said cross is.  But it’s a good one.

January 11 Mumbai

From Rebecca

I feel compelled to say from the get go which one of us is writing which post even though it's probably pretty obvious from the writing content and styles. To avoid any confusion I'll continue doing this.

We arrived in Mumbai early this morning. Just after midnight IST. The time difference is 10 1/2 hours. Not sure why the half hour. I guess they figured it is such a big country that they could have at least two time zones so instead they split the difference and called it good. So as I write this it is 8:27am on Saturday morning and according to my computer clock it is 9:57pm Friday night at home. I'll try to reset the clock on Blogger to reflect the time change.

I hadn't planned on being up this early after 20+ hours of travel but jet lag is a funny thing. We hope to tough it out and stay wake with no naps, go to bed early with no nap and wake totally refreshed and acclimated to this new time zone but the reality probably will be a couple of nights when we are wide awake at 4:00am before we really settle in.

To sum up our last couple of days of travel. We left Marquette on Monday. Endured several days of nasty polar vortex, icy, snowy car travel but we managed to get Quinn back to Louisville with Charlie safely at her side. Got to see family and friends along the way. On Thursday we enjoyed a nice lunch with our wonderful hosts, the Stawaras, and Grant and Gabby. My last meal in the US was a big fat sloppy burger (in fact it was called the Slop Burger.) Not going to see any thing like that here in India. We arrived at the airport early and were able to catch our breaths for the first time in a few days.

We took two 8 hour flights. DTW-CDG (Paris- very posh airport,) a 3 hour layover then CDG-BOM (Mumbai- not so posh but very orderly.)  Flights were great but long. Air France treated us well with free wine, a few meals, lots of snacks and good onboard entertainment. Flights were only slightly delayed, connections easily made, bags arrived intact and there were no problems with customs or immigration, and we easily found our way to the hotel in the middle of the night and checked in without any problems . All in all a very successful trip over but no matter how you look at 16+ hours is a really long time to sit on a plane.

About Mumbai- The thing about traveling in the third world is that there is a particular smell and energy like no where else. Stepping off the plane you smell/feel it immediately. The smell is (I guess)of people burning fires for fuel. Stepping off the plane it brought me right back to the first visit here. The energy is hard to describe- by the time we arranged for our ride into the city it was after 1:00am but the city is so alive. Lots of traffic, car horns, chaos, people everywhere, a few dogs (haven't seen any monkeys or cows yet.) Temps were in the 70's last night so the car window was wide open to take it all in. On our 45 minute ride to our hotel we got a brief view of the city and of course will explore later. Our hotel is clean and in a great location. On Marine Drive- right across from Chowpatty Beach. Nice room with an ensuite bathroom. In an hour they'll deliver breakfast to the room which is included in the price.

Mike is doing his morning exploration right now. It is our habit while traveling (and in life for that matter) that Mike wakes early and explores while I sleep a little more. I tried to snooze this morning but thanks to jet lag I find myself wide awake so I post this.  Will get a few photos posted. More later...

January 9-- DTW

From Mike-

Airports are a lot like time machines.  You step into this manicured world of chrome, black vinyl, and soft, calming voices (over the intercom) and wait your turn to be transported into a different time—as in, different time zone and level of modernity-- and place, as in, like, thousands of miles away, often across oceans, deserts, and wastelands.  It’s magic. 

We are currently in the McNamara terminal at Detroit Metro Airport.  We’re quite a bit early.  The word was that there was horrific traffic between Howell and the airport, so we left early.  And now we have a couple of hours to burn.

The tip of our plane’s tail can be seen out the window.  Big ol’ thing.  It’s attached to…what?  A 757?  What does that even mean?  If I really were to be dropped into a different time (as in different century) and tried to share some things about my world and its workings, I’d be totally screwed.  Burned at the stake for obscene levels of idiocy.  Start with:  a jet engine.  I know there’s like fins in there.  And high octane fuel (what the hell is octane?) and I know the basics of Bernouli’s principle of airflow and lift, but to put it all together into a machine that has the mass of a freight train and the ability to scream along at something like five hundred miles an hour at a height of 20,000 miles per hour?  Fugeddaboutit.

All of this brings me to my fear.  I haven’t mentioned this to Rebecca yet, but figure a universal safety valve in this hair-trigger balancing act called modern society is to voice the things that can go wrong; that somehow the accident gods will see to it those particular things don’t happen.  I’ll typically start a flight with a question like: What, exactly, is the cause of death in most commercial airline crashes?  The point of impact?  Burns?  Having your air ripped out of your lungs by zero atmospheric pressure?  And, invariably, I get a short frown from Rebecca, followed by the inevitable, “Why do you have to do that?” and wondering how soon after take-off they will uncork the wine.  But my current concern is not so neat.

My recent concern has to do with stepping into the time machine (and going through the great sucking vortex of high speed travel in zero atmosphere across multiple time zones) then, shortly after stepping out of the time zone in a different time and place, experiencing a seismic shock along the lines of a world-wide terrorist strike which renders all flights and modern modes of transport, communication, etc., null and void.

And there we’d be, stuck in a place in which we literally were incapable of making it home without our trusted time machine.  At this point, it need be said Rebecca looked over at what I am writing and said, “People won’t want to read your blog if you write too much.  Not that it isn’t fascinating…”

I think I’ll go use the toilet.  A technology I totally get.

FAQs

Why are you doing this?
We've had a dream of doing some long term travel for a long time. Years ago we had hoped to do it with the kids but Mike wasn't able to get a leave of absence. We've wanted to go back to India for a while and since we're in the neighborhood we might as well go over to SE Asia. We want to check out possible places to spend a few months in future winters. We have the time. Because it is there. Because we can.

How much have you planned in advance?
Not much. We bought a one way ticket to India and a few train tickets that will cover the first few weeks. We do have a couple of nights lodging in Mumbai arranged. We'll book hotels a couple of days in advance once we get there. We want to stay flexible in case we hear about something interesting from another traveler or we want to stay in a place for longer or change our itinerary all together.

Isn't that an awfully long time to be gone?
Yes. We are a little nervous about traveling for that long. The longest time we've ever been gone before was a month. But then it also doesn't seem like long enough to see all of the things we want to see.

How can you afford this?
We've saved for a while and are on strict budget. Our budget is $100/day. Some days we'll spend more but most day we hope to spend way less than that. We'll stay in affordable family run guesthouses, ride local transportation and eat street food. The countries we plan to visit happen to be some of the cheapest travel destinations in the world. In fact one of Mike's favorite travel books is The World's Cheapest Destinations: 21 Countries Where Your Money is Worth a Fortune by Tim Leffel. This book has lead us to travel in Turkey, Honduras and Ecuador- places we might have not otherwise considered. We also have used the book How to Travel the World on $50 a Day: Travel Cheaper, Longer, Smarter by Matt Kepnes and The Food Traveler’s Handbook: How to find cheap, safe and delicious food anywhere in the world by Jodi Ettenberg as well as many other websites and blogs.

Aren't you afraid of _________?
Mike's doesn't get too worried about anything. I worry about illness especially since Mike is what the CDC calls "an adventurous eater." He promises to be more careful this time but he won't. We're taking a bag of medicine so hopefully we won't be down for long when we get Delhi Belly (or whatever they call it in SE Asia.) I don't worry about terrorist attacks or plane crashes. I do worry about ferry and bus rides. Mike is required to put on his headlamp and  check every inch of every guesthouse we stay in for spiders, snakes etc. We've purchased travel insurance. We are a little worried that we're trying to see too much but can slow things down if it feels like we're trying to cram too much in.

What are you taking?
Not much. I travel with a 34L backpack. Mike's duffel is even smaller. A few outfits, a bathing suit, a couple of pairs of sandals and hat are my only clothes. We're taking a small laptop for blogging, a camera and a Kindle. Guidebooks. A bag of medicine. A snorkel. A headlamp. My haircare products (this drives Mike crazy but is an absolute necessity.) A bunch of little stuff we'll cram in at the last minute. I'll take a picture of our stuff before we go and post it.

What about Charlie?
He'll go to Louisville to stay with Quinn. He'll be able to go to work with her and there are lots of parks for him to run in. Our friends, Christy and Eric are moving in and will keep an eye on the house.

 

What if you get sick of traveling or each other?
Since we have very loose travel plans we can settle down in one place for awhile, change our plans or even come home if we want to. We've enjoyed each others company while traveling in the past. Mike is always saying "what could possibly go wrong?" While I have a good imagination for what can go wrong I'll try to live by that motto.

Any other questions, comments, concerns?

It's all in your mind...

From Mike-
     Five years ago I was in a small hotel in Agra, working my way through a bowl of warm-ish cereal  ("This is fresh milk?"  "Oh, yes! Very fresh...")  and choosing to believe I'd get back to Delhi in one piece.  I had rented a Baja 150 motorcycle, and the ride down included a near head-on collision with a bus, puttering along with herd of goats, and allowing an elephant right of way at a roundabout coming into Agra.  The sky was overcast and already the temp was topping ninety.
     At the table next to me were an American couple who were in the fourth month of a one year jaunt around India and possibly China.  We exchanged pleasantries.  They told me about their trip so far, and I shared with them what I was doing in Delhi (facilitating an educational experience for American teachers in the Indian Kendriya Vidyalaya school system.)  The couple were newly retired and in no hurry to get anywhere.  It was a pleasant hotel courtyard, we had both seen the Taj the day before, and so we fell into that intimacy which comes from people of similar cultures finding themselves in strange surroundings, and with the knowledge they will almost certainly never see each other again. There was no reason to be anything but candid.  And here's what came out:  They were both very envious of my position.  Of my having a job (of sorts) in this strange place, and needing to be someplace where people were counting on me.  I, on the other hand, was eyeing their dusty backpacks and frayed travel clothes.  I was listening as they mulled over their next destination...thinking maybe they'd just stick around Agra for another day. And I so wanted to be them.
     We said goodbye, I jumped on the bike, threw up midway back (the milk was decidedly not fresh) and finally crawled into my hotel in Delhi. They, presumably, continued on with their travels and their dreams.  End of story.  But not really. 
     I've since reflected on our exchange, and have decided to do battle with the oddly modern circumstance of other-ness.  Of looking out at what the next fellow is doing, and finding it powerfully more compelling than one's own experience.  And so my hope in writing this blog is to find the worth in where I am on any given day, hour, or minute.  Probably my need for something of-the-moment is driven by the endless planning, the what-ifs, the eventualities that loom like fog just beyond the bow. We'll see how it goes.

    


 

Happy New Year!

From Rebecca-
What is the excellent adventure?
Mike is officially retired from teaching. Cleaned out his room and turned in his keys yesterday. I quit my job. Yesterday I handed in my badge, gate key and threw away my nasty shoes and threadbare scrubs.
So what's next?
New year, new adventure.
A gap half year between what we used to do and what we'll do next.
Travel for six months. India and SE Asia.
We've booked a one way ticket to Mumbai, leaving January 9. As a rule we like to make it up as we go but we've learned that it is hard to be spontaneous when traveling by train in India. We have a few nights lodging in Mumbai and a few train tickets reserved.  Our first few weeks of travel will take us from Mumbai to the beaches of Goa and then to the southern state of Kerala with a few stops in between. Then a few more weeks in India (probably the south.)   We'll visit our friends in Delhi at the end of February and head to Bangkok in early March. Then travel in Thailand, Cambodia, Laos, Vietnam and Indonesia until end of June/early July or until we want to come home- whichever comes first.
Those of you who know us well know that this plan could change quickly. We have been known to switch things up drastically at the last moment. But today this is how we hope the next six months will go.
I'm feeling strangely calm about all of this so it must be right...
Let the adventure begin.
Happy New Year!!!

Sail away from the safe harbor. Catch the trade winds in your sails. Explore. Dream. Discover. -Mark Twain