All About Argentina

Cities Covered:

• Buenos Aires
• El Calafate
• El Chalten
• Esquel
• Trevelin
• Mendoza
• Barreal
• Uspallata
• San Juan
• Huamahuaca
• Iruja
• Puerto Iguazu

Our arrival in Buenos Aires (BA) after a delayed flight from Peru was welcoming and came into the city during early the afternoon.  The hotel wasn´t great and reminded me of our stay in Dushanbe, but it was affordable and had a private room with our own bathroom.  Since Argentinians love their meat and in keeping halal, found a vegetarian place run by a Chinese family that had good take out food.  No one, I mean no one on the streets here eats, so us stuffing our mouths in front on an office building probably looked awkward.   Most of the food consists of pizzas, pastas, and empanadas many reminders of its Italian migrants.

The whole of Argentina, especially BA is experiencing protests related to the economic collapse and the devaluation of the peso, so witnessed a lot of drumming, flag waving, and of course police in riot gear but it was non-provoking and more to raise awareness.

Before, the weather turns cold, we flew down to Patagonia to El Calafate to visit Parque Nacional Los Glacier.  Patagonia lives up to its reputation as its windy but also has a stark beauty of mountains and a wide expanse of desert as its a dry place.  The town of Calafate is upscale with many boutique shops and restaurant and not all of what we expected.  Luckily, found a cheap hostel as this is tourist heaven and made a plan to visit the Perito Moreno Glacier, a mass of ice that´s 5 kms wide, 14 kms long, and 60 meters high.  As the day warmed up, building size chunks of ice started calving off into the lake below with thundering noise and sounds of gunshot rounds going off.  Many parts of the are glacier are a deep blue from the compacted ice and reflect the wavelength of the light.

Next stop was to El Chalten, which is a growing village with steeply angled roofed homes, reminder of the snow that falls here.  The highlight here is the Mount Fitzroy Range with excellent trekking in the park.  There are some lovely hikes with views of glaciers, hidden waterfalls, and mountains.  One hike led us to a melting glacier creating a huge waterfall cascading into the blue green lake below.

Back to the hostel, we had access to a kitchen but the owner was never around and people seemed to come and go.

Next, hopped on a 24 hours bus journey to Esquel.  The town has an old steam train, which only runs a limited distance now but it was fun to ride it and made up for the fake one we rode in Ecuador. 

The lack of English in the country is surprising and Sabeen does most of the talking to get us around and oriented.  There are still a few Welsh settlers here and the town of Trevelin has the traditional stone houses and the tea houses to go with it. 

Left for Uspallata, a small mountain town with views of Aconcagua and Volcan Topangato.  A local by the name of Pachi saw us wandering around looking for a place and led us to a small place run by a young couple and decided to stay with them for a few days.  I decide to cook dinner for all of us, nothing fancy but more for the chance to sit and converse with locals.

We take a hike to Las Cuevas and go up Christo Redentor, a statue of Christ at 4,000 meters as a symbol of peace between Argentina and Chile in 1904 to settle the land dispute.  The hike was long but the views were outstanding of dark mountains with pure white snow.  I ruin my shoes however on the way down from the sharp stones that dig into my cheaply bought hiking sandals.

We leave next for Barreal, which is only 99 kms from here but is a remote place and the option to hitchike is limited, so take a bus first to Mendoza, then San Juan, before arriving after 11 hours.  On the bus to San Juan, meet a bus conductor who greets us in English, a first, so start chatting on the ride and get to know Francisco from Chile who speaks great English and tells us how he lost his father to a traffic accident and dreams of going to Nepal and India to help the poor and do more with his life.  He is 27 years old and reads the NY Times everyday to improve his English.  He lives in a trailer left by his father and plans to never move it as per his father´s instructions.  We part with hugs and kisses....

It is the Easter holiday so the locals are starting to travel themselves.  As we turn up in Barreal at midnight, no a room is available but Marsela, a lovely hotel owner takes mercy on us and invites us into her house to first feed us and then drives us a few kms to her sister´s house to spend the night.  Her sister´s place is quiet and cozy and we stay for a few days.  Marsela even drives us back into town a few days later so we check in to a hotel closer to town.

As we decide to leave for San Juan, a couple visiting offers us a ride and we stuff ourselves into their small car and go forward for the 4 hours ride.

Off the Beaten Path

There is something, call it romantic, definitely a sense of adventure about taking your travels to off the beaten paths.  I have to admit, sticking to a travel guide every now and then is nice, it lays out your plans for you and sometimes you need the decision making done for you.  But more often than not, the tried and true doesn't make for good stories and you start feeling like a part of a big herd.

Living in the 21st century, it seems like all the things that were supposed to have been done....have been done.  I am pointing to the romance of travel from the yesteryear's, the kind you see glorified in old black/white photos with burly men in round spectacles riding elephants with a native tribesmen leading them through thick bushes to a hunt.  Or, the Lawrence of Arabia's riding through the desert on a horse or a camel at night on a secret mission and camping underneath the stars.  I also imagine the Silk Road caravans on their months long journey traversing mountain passes, being chased by hungry wolves, thugs, crossing deserts, and skirting death on the Pamir Mountains or making secret deals with the spice dealers in towns such as Marrakesh, Kashgar, Siwa, Kabul, or Tunis. 

For us, some of the best moments were off the beaten path, where we probably were the only foreigners in town, the locals appreciated our presence and thus were warm and hospitable, and we could wander in awe at having arrived at such a place after enduring some hard rides.  Central Asia is a good contender for off the beaten travels as it is isolated, difficult to get to and around, and mired in mystery and romance from its association with the Silk Road, former relationship with the Soviet Union, and its years of turmoil due both to its geographic proximity and political landscape.

We were able to make it out to a few off the beaten paths such as pretty much all of Central Asia, parts of Nepal, Egypt, Laos, Indonesia, and a few others.  The memories that these places such are so much more vivid because they weren't diluted by tourist traps or the latest place to be according to a travel magazine or a brochure.  The fact that we came out to these places without following any set path or having in mind any special place to see, is what really stood out.  I remember getting a handful of mulberries from a guard posted in Tajikistan near the border with Afghanistan and thought what a delight, as originally we were thinking passport and visa hassles from the authorities; Instead our exchange was one of friendliness and mutual curiosity. 

Also, in SW Turkey near the border with Iraq and Syria in the town of Mardin, we couldn't find cheap accommodations, so after hours of searching, just decided to go it alone and ask a local family if they could host us, which incredibly they did.  These and other encounters are hard to come by when everyone is vying for tourist dollars and towns are propped up on tourist money, so it was welcoming to be in such towns where you could be appreciated for your uniqueness and sometimes your bravado for having come to such a place.  We had a few encounters where people were surprised that we were Americans, since we're brown, most automatically think we're Indians but once they learned of our backgrounds, that just made us even more special and I think for some a sense of pride to host "important" people.  It's humbling to know there are parts of the world where people care who you are based on your background and traits.

Best to sum it up as that when we weren't looking, that's when we found what we were looking for.......

Arrival into Tajikistan

The arrival into Tajikistan was emotional with almost dying on the Pamir Highway, getting stranded at the border for 5 days, almost getting tossed out at the border, and having to push one very old Soviet car across the ice.

The people of the Badakshan have to be some of the most hospitable and generous people we've met so far.  We were invited into people's homes, stayed with local families, attended a wedding, volunteered at a school, all for starters.

You go to Tajikistan for the scenery and it is breathtaking with Afghanistan just across the raging Panj River, which provides a natural barrier between the two countries and of course the mountains, which are the Pamirs, Alay, Tian Shan, and the Hindu Kush.

Kyrgyzstan Highlights and Lowlights

Kyrgyzstan is all about natural scenery and the interaction and stories we have are too many for this blog, so here are the highlights instead for brevity:

Highlights:

• 14 KM hike back from Altyn Arashan through knee deep snow with possibly a chance to see a bear or wolf
• Million year old petroglyph boulder field of archers, animal hunts, and human figures all to ourselves
• Endless rounds of green tea
• No tourists
• Lake Issakol
• Burana Tower
• Hospitality of Osh
• Receiving a Kalpak as a welcome gesture
• Eating Lagman

Lowlights:

• Being forced to drink vodka in a car packed full of strangers
• Getting kicked out of a Kyrgyz hotel after agreeing to the price and conditions
• Constantly being hassled to show our passports
• Soviet style hotels

Scary Pamir Highway

The Pamir Highway is one of those road trips that you're supposed to do before you die. Its simply raw scenery at its most beautiful with towering mountains bordering Kyrgyzstan, Tajikistan, and China. The road is one of the highest in the world with many passes exceeding 4,000 meters.

We are on this road to get from Kyrgyzstan to Tajikistan by way of Osh to Murgab. Our trip to leave for Tajikistan was a bit of a scramble as at the last moment our friends from Osh Guesthouse arranged a car for us to head out. The car didn't induce any confidence building as it was an old Volvo but with visas in hand and time expiring decided to take our chances.

The trip started out unassumingly enough, communicating with hand gestures and our broken Russian sharing the car with us, the driver, and his friend. The plan is to head to Sary Mogul spend a night with the drivers friends and then make the remainder of the journey to Murgab to avoid traveling at night. A few hours into the trip, heavy snow started to come down on a narrow pass shared with a few passing Chinese trucks. Our driver tried to pass one of these trucks and in his haste got the car stuck in snow. That wouldn't have been so bad had it not been for the low visibility, night time, and the fact that the truck that he tried to pass was pulling something big. As the truck went by, the last few feet ploughed into the car and our car went careening off the side of the mountain. Our lives flashed by and I didn't even realize that I was screaming.

Some good deed paid off and the car ran into a huge snow bank that stopped its fall. The truck kept going. We were now literally stuck in one of the remotest places on earth with heavy snow falling, darkness, and not a shovel in sight.

After trying to flag down a few trucks one did stop and with a rope tied to the front of the car, it was finally freed from the snow's grip.

The house at Sary Mogul was warm, had lots of blankets, and a bed prepared on the floor. We were served a delicious meal of fresh butter, nan, chai, and biscuits after which we turned in for the night with the sounds of the family nearby.

Mountain Springs

Getting around Central Asia isn't very easy since public buses don't exist and the only way to snag rides are via private taxis.  Such was the case coming into Karakol, a mountain town with a few churches and a small hotel that looked haunted from the inside and out.  The hotel was manned by an elderly gentleman who showed us to a large but spooky interior with old Victorian furniture, creaky stairs, and doors that would lead to different parts of the house.  The place was a maze and we were the only ones here.

We slept well in the old house with the sound of the wind, melting icicles hitting the ground, and a few barking dogs.

In the morning an ancient Russian truck picked us up to go to Altyn Arashan, a set of hot springs deep in the mountains.  The driver didn't look like he was all there.  He looked like he had been working on a farm and might have had manure stains on his overalls.  He was completely disheveled, looked hungover but had a smile and cracked jokes in Russian.  The scenery along the river was either jagged snow covered peaks or deep dizzying valleys. 

The jeep only got so far before we had to foot it to the hotel near the springs to meet Valentin.  There were just a few of us at the hotel, two guys from Poland who had come to snowboard the backcountry, a couple from Holland, a quiet bearded hotel helper, and us.  The little lodge provided simple meals around a woodstove.  During the day, we would soak in the amazingly hot springs and then go for hikes around the valley with massive 10,000 feet and above peaks all around.

Troubled but Hospitable Osh

The first stop after leaving China was the Kyrgyz city of Osh, situated in the south of the country, close to the border with Uzbekistan and Tajikistan. 

Arriving here after an obseleny long journey in the morning, we grabbed our bags and went in search for lodging.  Traveling is amazing and right away the contrasts between the two countries couldn't be any more different.  Osh felt a little bit like Europe with cafes along the sidewalk, few Mercedes, and a lot of old Soviet cars.  Of course the people looked different too with Caucasian and Asian features mixed in.

We went in search for lodging based on a tip but finding proved to be a challenge with a lot of non-descript Soviet style apartment buildings with hardly a number or a street sign for guidance.  Luckily, in our confused and frustrated moment, we ran into a student, who spoke English and guided us to the location, only to be met with just a sign but no one answering the door.  Knocking on a neighbors door, a Russian woman kindly used her phone to call the hotel but since there was no answer, explained to us to wait for the owner to return.  

Throughout our travels, we have met some amazingly gracious and kind people and Osh would prove to be no different.  We were tired and hungry, so instead of waiting, went in search for another hotel and luckily landed on the steps of the Taj Mahal.  Being on a budget, all of the nice hotels, are out of our category, so at first looking at the Taj, weren't sure if it would meet our needs but went in anyway.

We inquired and luckily they had dorms and so checked in, which would have suited us just fine had we not met Onoor, the hotel owner.  She asked the typical questions of where we had come from, names, etc but like other countries, many are interested in our faith and upon learning that we are Muslim and on top live in America, she broke out in a huge smile and commanded us in Russian that we leave the dorm and check into a private room so that we could have the privacy to pray.  We protested because first, we didn't want to pay more for a private room and second did not want to take advantage of her hospitality.  She wouldn't have it, so we grabbed our bags and went into our own big room with our own bathroom offered at the same price as the dorm.

Osh has a lot of burned out buildings due to its recent violent past, where the Uzbeks and the Krygyz had a massive religious riot in 2009 and a few hundred people were killed overnight in the ensuing swift movement.  Talking to the people, many are optimistic that things are better now and will continue to be but there are still tensions between the two groups and because of this fear many tourists are avoiding the area.  We, however, found the people to be extremely hospitable and full of smiles.

Wonderful Tansen (Palpa)

There are a few towns during our travels that we have truly fallen in love with and it usually more often has to do with the people. Tansen, known by locals as Palpa is such a town. We arrived here from Bardia National Park after yet another long, dusty, and tiring ride. The town at night didn't look very special and we wondered how long we would stay here before making a run back to Kathmandu.

The town was full of serendipitous moments, such as when we were walking past the still constructing Tansen Palace burned down by Maoist, ran into Gulam Rasul, a police sub-inspector who upon hearing our Urdu decided to first give us a tour of the off limits palace and then treated us to chai and paan. He introduced us to a wonderful couple (Amir and Ayesha) that have a little watch shop and have been at the same corner for 39 years (a sign proves it).  We came to be in there wonderful company for the ten days that we spent in Tansen and not once would they allow us to pay for chai. They invited us to their homes for several home cooked meals and Sabeen still raves about the chicken.

We also met Mr. Mohan who runs a tourist information desk and asked him about volunteer opportunities, who introduced us to the staff of Palpa Paragon English Boarding School (PPEBS), which happened to be on the day they were having there second annual school function and what better way to meet all the staff, hear wonderful speeches, watch kids perform, and even get introduced as special guests from America. We have a shirt lapel to prove it......

The PPEBS staff was wonderful, we loved all the kids. Sabeen especially liked nursery and I loved reading to them in the mornings. We even took a picnic with the staff to a lake, ate sugar cane, and ate lots of food at the Shiva Ratri mala to celebrate the coming of spring.

The watch couple's son Israel offered to take us to Ranighat, known also as the Taj Mahal of Nepal, which was a beautiful hike with views of the Himalayas, water falls, mountain streams, and great company sharing snacks along the trail.

There aren't enough wonderful things to say about Tansen from the familiar faces we would see everyday going about their routine to the many salams we would offer to our newly made but felt like old friends.

Our hotel would even prepare sumptuous meals for us, charge us pittance, and sit with us while we ate and discuss the day and their lives. We learned about their family histories, interests, and played and joked with their kids.

It was hard leaving so we said our teary goodbyes to our new friends and know we now have a second family there and will soon be back.

Animals of Bardia National Park

We want to see animals, not in a zoo environment but free and wild hunting animals, so decided to skip Chitwan and instead head for remote Bardia, the second largest park in Asia with populations of Bengal Tigers, Rhinoceros, Elephants, Wild Boars, Pythons, Crocodiles, various types of monkeys, deer, and birds.  The park lies in the far west of the country in the Terai, where the people speak a different dialect. The ride out isn't easy if you're in the middle of the country, so after leaving Pokhara in the morning, we endured a hellish 17 hour ride on ancient Nepali buses over bumpy roads, frequent stops, steep drop offs on the roads, cramped conditions with people sleeping in the aisle, and of course Nepali music blasting through the night.  We made a few stops along the way and got hot chapati and vegetable thali for dinner.  Despite the ride, I found myself tapping my feet at times to the rhythmic traditional music.

We had arranged at our hotel in Pokhara for a pick up at the bus stop in Ambassa to the Park, so were met by Madhu at 5 AM who had been waiting for 3 hours due to the late bus.  He drove us for another 30 minutes through the dirt road to his little hotel, where exhausted went to sleep.  Bardia is one of the few parks in the wild where you can scout for animals on foot and so skipping the raft and the jeep option decided to try and get up close and personal with the fauna.  During lunch Sabeen drank some suspicious looking water and started feeling nauseous, which turned into full blown sickness and before long she started throwing up, which lasted two days and was finally cured after Madhu took us on a bumpy ride to the village clinic and after swallowing a pill started feeling better.

With a day lost but thankfully our park permit refunded for the next day began our walk with Prim, our guide to the park. Looking for wildlife requires lots of patience and our first day's resulted in  spotting deer and some birds. Sabeen spotted a massive Python resting on a fallen tree along with Prim locating a crocodile on the riverbanks.

The next day, we came face to face with a huge elephant a few feet away and were ready to make a run for it if it charged. Luckily, we backed away slowly and continued our trek. Going through high grasses got our hearts racing for fear of sneaking up on a Bengal Tiger and every time we would hear deer or wild boar, we would freeze and fear for the worst. At our lunch stop by the river, came upon a huge Rhino bathing in the river and watched it playfully bathe itself for a few mesmerizing hours. Beginning the walk again, spotted a troupe of few hundred monkeys sitting by the river and as the day began to wane, we came again to the watchtower and were surprised to see another elephant in the far distance. We quickly descended and tracked it's movements across the river, when it stopped for a few seconds, turned to face us, and disappeared into the jungle. Great way to end the day, walked back to our camp and slept peacefully.

A Jungle Waterfall

Our plan is to enter NW Thailand by Huay Xai so a stop in Luang Namtha, Laos is perfect as we'd like to do a jungle trek in the Nam Ha preserve before departing. Sitting as a passenger you observe the lack of traffic rules and regulations so while on the bus, came upon a horrific site with wailing women and a huge crowd gathered around a destroyed truck and a motorcycle with a body pinned underneath the truck. Our bus stopped and we looked helplessly as the locals tried to pull the man from underneath the truck with the road soaked in blood. They finally managed to get him out but even from a few feet away I could tell he was dead. They took him inside on of the houses, we got back on the bus, said our prayers, and started off again.

The Nam Ha is a huge swath of virgin jungle and has lots of wildlife such as tigers, elephants, monkeys, and many tropical birds. The town itself is small and boasts a night market with some exotic items such as birds and lots of different kinds of bugs. We tried a few grubs as a sampling and found them delicious with a nutty taste.

After talking with a few outfits about trekking options decided on a first trek to a remote waterfall, which was offered to us more as a survey as no one except a few villagers have ever been there before. We agreed both for the adventure and the cheap price as they couldn't promise what kind of experience we would have. The next day, a van came to pick us up, we made a stop at a market to buy some fish for our lunch and started driving towards the jungle. The outfits have told us that they will rely on a local hunter from the Khamu tribe who has been to the waterfall to serve as our guide. We drove to his village, our guide and the hunter who is also the chief of his village discussed the route and we started off with the two of us, the hunter, the guide from town, another villager and his skinny but strong dog.

Many of these tribes used to live in the jungle but due to government regulations for sustainability have been moved from the forest to settle on the fringes and instead gave up hunting except for some small animals and instead work with guides for eco-tourism. The villages are complete with schools and have electricity.

The trek began easy enough, hopping over rice paddies with the hunter taking the lead. He stopped to point out some medicinal bitter berries good for upset stomach. Shortly entering the jungle, the trail disappeared and the guides began hacking their way through with machetes. Walking, we spotted some of the hand made traps they had set and checked for animals such as rats or squirrels, which they often sell at the market for food. As our trek continued it was hard going with slippery rocks, stream crossings, and hopping over piles of rotten tree trunks. Everything in the jungle decomposes quickly due to humidity so logs that look stable enough to step on instead break right as you put your weight on them and I tumbled a few times and was mud covered. The hunter and his friend however never took a misstep and instead gracefully walked over everything setting a brisk pace. Stopping for lunch was a welcome respite and after making a fire the guides disappeared into the forest to return later with perfectly cleaned and seasoned fish to grill over the fire. In the meantime, Sabeen and I along with the town guide proceeded to find other food when our guide cut down a Banana tree and took the Banana heart, which when roasted is delicious. We also made food of something I would have never guessed; Rattan. He found a few trees, cleaned the thorns, and took the long wooden pieces and threw them also on the fire to cook. Our guide also showed us how to make a hunters lodge with banana leaves and in 20 minutes put together a temporary shelter that was waterproof and could hold two people. Lunch consisted of delicious fish, sticky rice, Banana Heart, Rattan, Pumpkin, and tomato chutney. We sat on Banana leaves with the jungle canopy overhead and ate our fill with our fingers.  We gave the scraps to the dog and got walking again to make use of the daylight.

The second part of the hike was even more strenuous and after crashing a few times through dead pile and hopping over slippery trees finally made it to the waterfall, which wasn't much but was a rewarding feeling. We cleaned off in the water and found out the bigger fall was still a three hour hike, which given our desperate condition and the diminishing daylight decided to walk out. The walk to the main trail was brutal climbing straight up a mountain holding onto tree limbs and roots to make our way on the slippery path with burning legs and sweat covered.  Couple of times, we came close to tumbling a long way down but the guides would come and pull us up. The hunter of course walked up the mountain never grabbing on to a thing.  Often times the skinny dog would be way ahead of us and were surprised at it's energy, which would out do any spoiled dog from the US.  We made it up and got on a trail, which led us out passing mountain vistas and back to our van in darkness with sore muscles. We thanked the guides, got back in the car, got dinner, and took our tired bodies to bed.

A Steady Northernly Direction

We have both learned that we don't care much for big cities and instead prefer the village life. As such, we made a route for Nongkhew, a small fishing village set on the Mekong River. The place is surrounded by majestic jungle covered karst peaks with numerous caves, waterfalls, and treks. The road to our destination was twisting and turning and our driver almost took out a few poor chickens that somehow always move away just in time to avoid squashed. We checked into a simple room with mosquito netting and went walking around the one main street with some vendors selling goods, chickens and dogs running around, and the laughter of children. Clouds often descend on the town, which give the mountains an even more mysterious look with the mint green river flowing down swiftly. 

The place may be small but the food options are international, so ate Indian food every night with generous portions and got little bamboo baskets stuff full of sticky rice for breakfast and Bamboo soup. 

The next day asking around the hotel about some caves to visit on foot, started off down the quiet road, while coming across other villages where the children would come running yelling greetings and asking for pens.  We passed farmers working in the field and hopped a fence to what we thought was a waterfall but instead found a pretty riverside bank with mountains all around and lilies growing on ponds.  We spotted four girls washing their days catch in the river and exchanged greeting and lots of smiles. As they left to go up the hilly dirt path, they continued to look back smile and wave at us.   

The cave that we ended up at was used as a shelter during the American bombing campaign and was massive with a few chambers. We tried walking to another cave but the path was too steep, muddy, and slippery so took a leisurely stroll back to town. Not having any banks around, we just barely have enough money to take the bus to Luang Namtha in the far northwest of Laos, so bid goodbye to out pleasant time here. 

Tibet Found

The sensible place to go after Xiahe was Langmusi about 5 hours away by bus but seemed much further due to its size and scenery. We arrived and it was snowing slightly but the day warmed up as the sun came up for a little bit. The place was another Tibetan town further south surrounded my snow covered mountains, farms, monasteries, and prayer flags. We opted to skip Tibet, but felt that we got a good feel for the religion maybe minus some of the really mountainous scenery.

Langmusi was tiny compared to Xiahe and after stopping in to see some Tibetan handicrafts, we saw a line of yaks and cows coming down the road being driven by Tibetan nomads on horses followed by hundreds and hundreds of sheep and rams. The narrow street was completely overrun by animals and the sounds of their hooves and the little dust storms they created was quite a site. When we arrived in the town, it was pretty cold during the day and downright freezing at night. The hotel that we stayed at due to the low tourist season had no water to speak of or heating. The nice owner, however had beds with electric blankets that somewhat took the chill off but I think I still spent the night partly thawing and with freezing fingers trying to update my diary.

The hikes around town were picturesque and offered great views of the valleys and the surrounding countryside. The flavor of the town was definitely Tibetan and so the food consisted of yak meat and yak butter tea, which is supposedly good for digestion but I found it to be salty and not very thirst quenching. We exited out the next day for the balmy weather of the Sichuan province.

Everything Tibetan

The Chinese just know how to make traveling simpler and more comfortable. We had bought bus tickets for the city of Xining (pronounced Shinning) which would hook us on to our next destination Xiahe, a small Tibetan city not too far from Tibet. The bus we entered was none like we'd ever seen before. This was a sleeper bus with top and bottom bunks laid out in three rows. Each bed's head rest was tilted and accompanied a soft pink blanket. Geniuses. Even though our 19 hour bus ride turned into a 24 hour one due to the bus getting stuck in the mud for one hour, 2 hours of bumper to bumper traffic due to a truck spilling piles of sinks, and the frequent toilet stops (Chinese drink a lot of green tea...), the sleeper bus made it bearable and fun.

After spending two nights in Xining since the train tickets sell out quickly, we hopped on another bus to Xiahe. This was definitely one of my favorite places in China. Xiahe is a small Tibetan city in the Gansu province and is bustling with locals selling yak meat, handmade Tibetan art, traditionally dressed women in bright colors with neatly tied hair braids, Tibetan men with oversized warm coats, and the most sweetest adorable looking kids with red cheeks skipping and hopping as they follow their parents.

The buddhists here are very much into their religion and throughout the entire day one can witness buddhists walking clock-wise and chanting prayers along the kora which is the sacred path outlining the Labrang Monastery with prayer wheels. After walking for a few on the kora and spinning the prayer wheels with the locals, we arrived at one of the entrances to the monastery. Descending down to an open square, we heard a heavy voice from a monk as he recited prayers followed by a courtyard filled with monks chanting afterwards. We listened and observed from a distance as monks in their magenta and maroon colored robes continuously flowed into the square and took their seats on the stone covered floor.

We were lucky to see some ceremonies being performed inside the monastery grounds as well. We let our ears guide us inside the grounds and entered many buildings where different ceremonies proceeded. The monks in these ceremonies wore elaborate head pieces, chanted prayers in heavy humming voices, blew large horns as monks of all ages from 7 years old to an elderly monk walked around with colorful prayer flags in hand. Strolling the monastery grounds gave us a sense of peace aside from the random cow or sheep sighting. The monks here completely erased another false perception of them being serious and all about work/religion. We saw monks getting each other into headlocks, walking around and laughing with fellow monks and just being playful. One monk by the name of Giden stopped us and spoke to us for roughly an hour. Giden wrote the prayer that buddhists chant as they spin the prayer wheels and asked us to recite it. When we did, his face glowed with excitement. His English infact was quite good and self-taught during his stay in India. When asked if monks could marry, he chuckled and simply replied "no no only alone".

As evening neared we found a local place to eat a hot bowl of noodles as the weather in Xiahe was quite chilly. Two monks sat inside sipping green tea (but ofcourse), and after the owner served us, he without hesitation asked if we had seen the Dalai Lama. After saying 'no', and his eyes lowering as language was again a barrier and the conversation couldn't go further, he went by our Lonely Planet book and pointed to 'like' or 'don't like'. When we nodded in sync that we liked the Dalai Lama, his face gleamed and he laughed openly with enthusiasm while relaying it to the monks.

A Dry and Dusty Land

After sitting in a hard seat for 19 hours to arrive in Dunghuang, we were a bit tired to say the least. We opted for the hard seat both to prove it as a challenge to us of endurance and to also save money as independent travelers. To tell you the truth, the train pretty much emptied out long before our destination, so we were able to spread out on the seats and sleep. Watching the scenery go by as the train rolled on, it changed from leafy green to canyoned rivers to short brush and finally to mud brown desert with hardly a tree to be seen.

The highlight of the town was of course the Gobi Desert, which after seeing the Sahara truly has some seriously high sand dunes. There are some that are over 800 feet high and some even covered with snow. From a distance, they look solid and resemble mountains but are of course completely made of sand. Leave it to the Chinese to make money from the experience, so arriving at Mingsha Dunes where there is a crescent shaped lake, there is a ticket office but we walked a few minutes and found a side road used by the camel trekkers and entered for free. Now, I am not condoning beating the system to save a few yuans but at the same time following the spirit of independent travelers, it was nice to get away with it and have a story to share. We hiked for a few hours and after a while lost the town amidst the sand dunes and truly felt the awesomeness and nothingness of the desert. To make the day slightly weirder, it even started to rain and then hail for a while.

Buddhist relics exist all over China, but the ones at Magao Caves defiy wonder as there are over 700 caves dating back some over 1,500 years containing religious objects along with the third tallest buddha after the one at Leshan. Much of the site is influenced by Hindu culture, so the scenery contains animal objects and apsaras, flying angels that protect buddha.

A View of Cianjur Part II

Our day began today with the obligatory delicious breakfast before heading out on Ega and Harry's motorbikes to a rural village. We rode for about 45 mins, parked the bikes and hiked the rest of way to the top of the mountain to arrive at the village. There, we were met by the owner's wife who was preparing a sumptuous meal for us. We sat around the wood burning stove, with Ega translating for us in Sundanese questions we had of her, which she in her typical Indonesian manner answered with lots of smiles and laughs.

With our bellies full, the hike down was impossible, so the natural thing to do was to lie down and maybe take a nap. Ega, always curious to improve his english, mixed both humor and questions and kept it entertaining. That reminds me, I still need to provide him with an idiom....

On the hike back down, it was threatning to rain, so our original idea of going to a local waterfall to cool off was dropped, so instead we hopped back on the bikes and enjoyed a rain drenched ride back into town.

As you may have guessed, one of the reasons for keeping us here is all the delicious cooking going around here. Tomorrow, we plan on visiting a local school and afterwards Sabeen and I have been invited to dine with a local family because again they find the idea of us being Muslims from America surprising and respectful. We both love the mini celebrity status.

We went to a school today and met with the teachers and students. Over 600 kids attend the school which goes up until 6th grade. Here is a video showing them singing the national anthem.

http://vimeo.com/15147798

A View of Cianjur

Thankful to be out of Jakarta, a conurbation of high rises, more malls than one can handle, modern hotels and not much else to see. Yesterday we left Jakarta and headed for Cianjur, a small city in the province of West Java to experience some authentic culture and the local lifestyle of the Sundanese people. The infinite bus rides to the main bus station and then catching another bus headed directly to Cianjur (pronounced: Chia-n-joor) left us both tired and in desperate need of rest. Indonesians will try to sell you anything and everything from the moment you sit on the bus. With vendors throwing wallets in my husband's lap to kids books being flaunted in our faces, we held our ground and only bought nothing more than some grapes for the "not to be ever mentioned again" bus ride. After a long 9 hours, we arrived in Cianjur and headed for our homestay with a man named Yudi who has opened his home to fellow travelers and offers the opportunity to live with the locals and experience their way of living (http://www.cianjuradventure.com/). We slept from 4:30pm till the call of the azaan at 5am.

This morning on the other hand had a pleasant start. As Shawn savoured a nice cup of Java coffee which is about $300/lb in the U.S but quite inexpensive in Indonesia, I quickly inhaled the locally grown warm tea brought to us by Yudi. For breakfast we enjoyed a bowl of warm rice pudding with crackers on top, locally referred to as Bubur. Although the time was just 6am, the discussion between Yudi and us was quite interesting, and Yudi told us about his book "The Secret Behind the Secret" which talks about how to attain happiness from within rather than seeking it in a materialistic sense. It's always enlightening to hear what one considers happiness, especially from people of different cultures. Now fully feuled we were ready for some sightseeing. One of Yudi's workers' named Andre took us for a pleasant walk through the town. Rice paddies and plenty of friendly smiles and hand waves were seen on the way. We stopped at a rice factory and had a chance to see the steps needed to produce rice and get it ready for the market. After a few hours of trekking the hills of Cianjur, we returned to a home-cooked lunch that included rice, some greens similiar to seaweed, fish, potato patties, and topped off with papaya and pineapple.

 

For the remaining of the day, Andre and Ega who's another one of Yudi's workers took us for a sweet ride on their motor bikes to see the floating village nearby. These are homes that have been constructed on the water after the government made a damn. The people who live there mostly make their living by having fish farms and sell those to local restaurants. Note: we plan to not eat the fish from the floating village as we uncovered while speaking with Ega that the toilets in the homes...ahh well I think the rest you can figure out. Alligator fish, piranhas, and coys are some of the fish found their. Next we stopped to view the rubber trees as Ega tried to take some of the wet rubber from the tree and mend his soon-to-be-let-go slippers. We headed back to Yudi's place after making a few stops at the local markets for some papaya and dinner-to-go. As we pulled into Yudi's place, an ice-cream truck sounding music attracted us but only to realize that it was a fully clothed monkey riding a miniature motor bike...huh?...that's right, a form of local amusement as local kids watch a monkey perform various stunts as instructed by his master. I'd hate to be in his shoes...

Shawn headed for prayer in the mosque and had the pleasure to meet locals who were quite interested in learning more once finding out a Muslim American had just arrived in their local mosque. Dinner is served with some condensed rice cubes that partially looked like potatoes in a delicious coconut curry. Indonesians have some amazing services provided

to them. Don't feel like cooking tonight?...no problem, just ask the local vendor who has a stove and all encompassing ingredients to head to your home and cook on your premises in his handy-dandy little mobile kitchen. Yudi orders vegetable noodles and 3 minutes later ready to be devoured. We helped of course..

Side note, we're a hit with the kids due to our "western" nose. Indonesians, like many Asian cultures are infatuated with caucasian features and women will often bleach their skin to look white.

Lesson learned: Never travel right when schools are about to open or locals are returning from holiday unless you enjoy punishing yourself.