Dolla dolla bills ya'll

Ok, here's the post you've all been waiting for: postcard beta!

1. Email me or comment here if you'd like a postcard. (It's cool if I haven't talked to you for like 3 years, I'm just psyched somebody is reading my blog and will be happy to send you a postcard anyway).

2. Indicate if you would prefer Barcelona or Australia. 

3. This part is important: on August 15, send me a follow up email with your current address. You all know (unless we haven't talked for 3 years) how awesome I am at using the postal system, so you gotta give me time until I'm back in the states and having travel withdrawal to complete fill out and mailing of said card. If you were hoping that I would incur some international postage fees on your behalf, just compare a late half-assed postcard with boring postage to no postcard at all and take your pick. 

Ok, time to request away :) 

Just the basics!

In my opinion, the two most important questions to ask when you arrive in a new country are: where do you put the toilet paper and can you drink the tap water?

In terms of the first question, when I arrived at the Barca airport, each stall had a suspiciously large trash can in it, and the characteristic smell was ever-so-slightly more prominent than the smell in its American counterparts. However, when in doubt, flush it down, so I went for the "ignorant tourist" approach and hoped for no cloggage.

In terms of the second question, I spotted some drinking water fountains outside the restrooms and similarly went for the "drink tap unless (until?) told otherwise" method.

The third most important question is probably, "Where the heck is my bus stop?" This one was resolved by dumb luck more so than sheer ignorance. After doing a couple of laps around the only part of the airport parking lot that had obvious potential to contain the bus terminal, I gave up and tried to go back inside to the information booth. Unfortunately, all the escalators connecting me to the information booth were one way in the wrong direction, but I magically stumbled onto my bus stop once I decided to look for another way to get back inside. You will arrive upon what you're looking for as soon as you stop looking, huh?!

Getting too comfy!

I just got my MS diploma and could very well be done with school forever if I want to be. I'm off to a 10 day trip to Cambrils, a beach town near Barcelona, followed by a 6 week tour of Australia's eastern coast and north central national parks. After that I'll be back to San Francisco -- quite possibly the best city in the world, to live with awesome people and start a full time job that I'm really excited about.

Yet I was bawling my eyes out at the airport.

What gives???

I am getting way too comfortable in the Bay Area, and I'm not entirely sure how this happened and what it means. Baz Lurhmann once said in his famous sunscreen speech that you should live in California once, but leave before it makes you soft. It's just so GOOD that I feel antsy going anywhere else in comparison.

But no, that's not it. I love getting dirty and uncomfortable and pushing myself and exploring new places. I thrive on change, yet in between change I fall so in love with the present that I'm resistant to give it up in the next moment. Buddha would NOT approve!

Take that and pair it with the fact that I did so much growing up at Stanford. I decided to come here in a more fully formed way than being sent off to play student in a college dorm for 4 years, did a lot of emotional work, got myself a big kid job. It seems so abrupt to leave a place where so much learning has happened because that means accepting that the learning is done and now I'm supposed to be fully equipped to apply my knowledge out there in the world. But wait! I feel like I JUST finally opened my mind and started learning things. I don't necessarily have more questions, but this chapter involved some major transformations in emotional maturity and I think I'll be living out their aftermath for a long time. I also feel like I could stay planted right where I am and continue thinking, learning, and changing, and I don't need to distance myself from all things familiar to initiate that process.

Take THAT and pair it with the fact that I built a great network here full of wonderful people to whom I can turn for support, so shouldn't I just hang out all summer and continue to solidify my family and friend relationships and enjoy the wonderful benefits?

But hey, one of the main things there is to know about life is that timing is always a little bitch so ready or not, I will take this vacation, be grateful for it, and live my face off!!

Need a break from the bustle?

Then check out Cafe Turtle in Delhi's Khan Market. This is NOT the authentic India experience, but it IS a nice place to get a latte and a panini and curl up with a book newly purchased from the Full Circle bookstore, downstairs.

We sat here for hours during our first visit before exploring the rest of the market. Once you are sufficiently jittery and literary, head out to look for fairly nice, albeit somewhat more "touristy" gifts or souvenirs in almost any price range (I walked into a boutique where the price tags on the jeans made me too scared to convert to $'s). I did, however, pick up a couple of nice graphic T-shirts for 4 bucks each. The seller kept dropping the price when I wasn't even trying to barter, but honestly felt like I should stop being materialistic and buying so much stuff, and eventually it was so cheap that I just gave in.

Funny how with the exchange rate, you could buy so much in India for a fraction of the price you spend on food in a day in America, but at the same time you begin to feel that owning things is so excessive that you walk away only getting Christmas presents for half of your besties.

Then after being back in the States for a couple of weeks, some of us begin to regret not having been more materialistic in India, wishing we had more sweet swag, while others come back with a renewed awareness into how unnecessary all this stuff is. Something to think about before/during/after embarking on your trip!

Anyway, get to Khan Market by metro, a long walk from Pahar Ganj, taxi/rickshaw, or the multiperson buses of which I only have a very vague memory. If you have more experience with these, do share! 

"Nice Hair, Ma'am!": Dissecting the Pahar Ganj Experience

Pahar Ganj is Delhi's backpacking district, and like all touristy districts, it can be infamous for a high proportion of people wanting to trick, hassle, and manipulate you into paying them for whatever service, real or imagined, they are providing.

You can view my original rant on it here:

http://balancevishfocus.blogspot.com/2011/11/back-to-delhi.html

One fabulous thing about Pahar Ganj is that it is reasonably close to the metro and a railway station. The closest metro stations are New Delhi, on the orange/red line, and Ramakrishna Ashram Marg (the sky blue line). (The metro map can be found here http://www.delhimetrorail.com/zoom-route-map.aspx and Google Maps is also really helpful.) The railway station is the New Delhi railway station (station code NDLS) as opposed to the Old Delhi railway station, code DLI - check your tickets carefully to avoid going to the wrong one and missing your train!


So if you arrive by train or metro (or airport then metro) you can get off and walk to the area in a reasonable amount of time and look for a hotel on foot instead of hailing a rickshaw that will try to take you to a specific hotel.

There are a million hotels around. It took us 3 or 4 tries to find one that had available rooms for a fair price, but all in all it wasn't too daunting of an outing. We ended up staying in Hotel Satyam, got a 3 person room with a double and a single bed for 1100 rupees I believe. This was definitely not the most budget looking room I have stayed in but it was still pretty cheap and really nice for the price. My favorite thing about the hotel was how accommodating the owner was - he answered a couple of travel questions that we had and got us 500 rupee airport cabs for ridiculous morning hours that were right on time. He just seemed like a nice, helpful person who wasn't trying to trick you or rip you off.

Two doorways to the right of the hotel if you are facing it is a cafe with a phone that is open pretty late. The prices for international calls are far too high, but it's good for a late night local call or international call emergency.

As long as you stay stoic, you can get most of what you need to get done in this area, especially if this is your civilization stop-over before heading off into a more rural area again. Internet cafe, passport photos, local clothing, real coffee! This is not the best location for a gourmet supermarket if you are craving some imported food, however. If you are looking for something more chain-ey (objects or food) and price is not a huge consideration, pop over to Connaught place on the metro.

Just remember, keep your wits about you but do stay friendly and do well to represent whatever nation you are hailing from :)

Happy travels!

INDIA: Arriving at IGI Airport

The Indira Gandhi Delhi International Airport is rated one of the top airports in the world.  I would have to agree - I've had to spend my longest chunks of time waiting for a plane (10 hours) at this airport and it's a great, friendly, calm place to hang out!

Before I went to India for the first time, I had read some horror stories about people being taken to sketchy places in unofficial taxis. It's relatively straightforward to follow the signs to a prepaid taxi stand and go through the procedure to get a taxi to your location. If you have booked a room in advance, some hotels offer airport pickup. It's hard to say if this ends up costing more than just taking a taxi to the hotel.

Note that if you plan on staying in a budget hotel that you have never seen, it's probably a good idea to check it out before committing to a room to make sure it matches the description and fits your standards. You could pick a random hotel in the district where you want to say and have the cab driver take you there, then walk around the area and look for available rooms. With cab drivers, it's good to act like you have a room in a hotel so they don't try to talk (or trick) you into getting an overpriced room in a hotel that gives them part of the profit.

Yes you are taking a bit of a gamble by arriving without having a room reserved, but there are lots of hotels and people coming and going all the time so you should be able to find something. Alternatively you could make a room reservation for one night and then explore the area to choose a place for the remainder of your stay.

Next up, my take on Pahar Ganj, the "backpacker's district"!

Ch-ch-changes!

Now that I am no longer traveling, I have decided to continue writing in this blog, but shift the tone of the findings which I describe. Instead of my philosophical dwellings, which will continue to receive front-page status in my home-base blog:

http://balancedvishfocus.blogspot.com
(Gold medal for creativity, I know.)

I will use this blog to compile my findings in a more systematic and informational fashion. I am hoping that it can serve as a guide to other fellow travelers embarking on an exciting Asian Adventure.
Watch out for it soon!