October 9, 2010

Saturday October 9, we had a busy but fun day. We visited 6 places today. First we went to a Catholic Church, which was really interesting seeing one in India. There were prayers outside of the church. Our tour guide was the owner of the Orchid Nursery where we were staying. After the church we went to a cactus nursery. The cactus were being grown to be sold in Australia and New Zealand. After seeing many different cacti went went to a Buddhist monastery. It was the first historical sect. We learned more about Buddhism from our tour guide. We even saw Buddhist monks playing soccer.

After the monastery we went to a paper making factory. We saw how paper was being made which they used a local bush/shrub. The woman who gave us a tour said her maternal uncle saw a documentary how the Japanese made paper and he tried some ways and came up with his own way of making paper. It became a family business. After the tour we bought a lot of things from their store. I bought a lamp shade, a journal, post cards, and gift bags. After the paper making factory we went to another Buddhist monastery. This monastery belonged to the same sect as the present Dali Lama. Our tour guide's wife's great uncle was the mentor of the previous Dali Lama. Finally, we went to a school for Anglo Indians that prepares them to live abroad. After all of that we went back to have a late lunch and went shopping since we had to leave early the next morning.

October 7 & 8, 2010

Thursday October 7, we had a busy day today. We left Yamsung Farms at 9am to go some monasteries and some other places. We first went to a cheese factory, however there wasn't much to see since the factory wasn't making anything but some people still bought cheese. After that we went to one of the highest bridge in Asia. After taking some pictures we went to a beautiful waterfall. Finally we went to a Buddhist monastery. It was beautiful and peaceful. We even heard the monks chanting. After about two hours at the monastery, we were going to go to another monastery however since it was already 2:30 and the monastery was too far away. It took us two hours to get back the Yamsung Farms so we just went back there.

Friday October 8, we got up early and spent four hours in the car to go to West Bengal where our hotel was. It was called the Holumba Orchid Farm. There were a lot of chickens, dogs, and beautiful flowers. The owner took over when his parents were not able to work anymore. His wife and sister help out on the farm. After lunch we went shopping. The market is a long street with other streets branching off full of shops. I got a lot of gifts and had some Darjeeling Tea at a coffee shop. The town in called Kalimpong, however there are many signs for Gorkhaland. The name is given to the area around Darjeeling and the Duars in north West Bengal and for Nepali/Gorkhali-speaking Gorkha ethnic group in Darjeeling and its surrounding areas. There has been a demand for Gorkhaland since 1907.

October 6, 2010

Wednesday October 6, we woke up at 4:45am to see the sunrise on the Himalayas. The walk was about 10mins however it was slippery because it poured the night before. There was also an earthquake the night before but I was asleep. We stayed there until 7:15am and went back for breakfast. After breakfast I went back to sleep for two hours because I was tired from waking up at 4:45am. Around 10am I worked on my pictures and rested. I was going to go to a monastery but I was tired from the 5 hour hike we had yesterday and I wanted to rest for the next day since we were going to visit other monasteries. After lunch, me, Cate (director) and Patrick walked to the nearby village and bought some gifts. We walked 2KM back to Yamsung Farms.

The farm is so beautiful, and the cooking is really good. The man in charge took over for his parents and he and his wife and three young children work on the farm. They also have other workers such as Kishin our guide from the day before. He is studying to be a teacher. They have a dog, Rocky and a kitten Mick-Mick. The dog is old however he went on the 8km walk with us yesterday. The two get along very well. Rocky went another 4km hike today with some people who wanted to go to the monastery.

October 4 & 5, 2010

Monday October 4, we took a two hour flight to West Bengal. Then we took a 5 hour taxi ride to Sikkim. We had to stop at the border and get permits which took about two hours. We arrived around 8pm at the Yamsung Farm. After eating a delicious dinner we went to bed because we were exhausted.

Tuesday October 5, We got up at 7:30am to eat breakfast. We had an awesome view of the Himalayas from our room since we were on the second floor. Around 9:30 we went on a 5 hour hike to a Buddhist monastery. It was gorgeous seeing the Himalayas and Sikkimise houses, schools and people. However, our group got leeches. I only got one and it was only on my sock so it didn't bite me yet. Around 2pm we got back to the farm and then me, Brigette, Harold, Andrew, Karissa, Lauren and our guide Kishin took us to his village. However we got sidetracked and ending up sitting on rocks and near a pavilion and looking at the Himalayas. We agreed to come back at sunrise to take pictures and enjoy the beautiful site. We also talked to some children who got out of a nearby school.

October 1, 2010

We went on another Cities of Delhi field trip, this time to the Mehrauli Archaeological Park. Balban's tomb, belonging to Balban, Slave dynasty ruler of Delhi Sultanate was constructed here in the 13th century can still be seen though in a dilapidated condition. Architecturally important structure as it is the first true arch in Indo-Islamic architecture. Another tomb, that of Balban's son, Khan Shahid, who died before he could be crowned, is also located near by in Mehrauli Archeological Park. A baoli or stepwell known as Rajon ki Bain was constructed in 1506 during Sikandar Lodhi's reign. Sikandar Lodhi was the last ruler of India before the Mughals took over. It was used to store water though it is now completely dried and is now known as Sukhi Baoli (dry well). The Jamali Kamali mosque was built in 1528, in honour of the Sufi saint Shaikh Hamid bin Fazlullah, also known as Dervish Shaikh Jamali Kamboh Dihlawi or Jalal Khan. The saint's tomb built in 1536 upon his death is adjacent to the mosque. The Adham Khan's Tomb was constructed by Emperor Akhabr in memory of his foster brother & general Adham Khan in 1566. The tomb, also known as Bhulbhulaiyan, as one could get lost in the labyrinth of its passages, it was later used by the British as a residence, rest house and even as a police station. Close to Adham Khan's tomb, lies that of another Mughal General, Muhammad Quli Khan, later it served as the residence of Sir Thomas Metcalfe, Governor-General’s Agent at the Mughal court. You can see the Qutab Minar in the distance of the Park.

September 24 & 25, 2010

We went to Khajuraho, Madhya Pradesh to visit the group of temples. There are three groups, the Western, Eastern, and Southern group of temples. On Friday September 24, after a four hour train ride we got to Jhansi and took a four hour taxi ride to Khajuraho. We went to the Western Group, which it the biggest of the three groups and the most famous. However, we had to get a copy of our passport to pay the student discount and since we had less than an hour to see it we decided to try tomorrow morning. So we decided to go to the Eastern Group of Temples. There were three sets of temples in the Eastern Group. We spent about an hour there seeing the beautiful temples and relaxing. Many of the temples were there for more than 1000 years yet some looked as if they were built just yesterday. We ate dinner at our hotel.

September 25, we got up at sunrise because we wanted to be at the Western Group early. We spent two hours there, by the time we were leaving more groups were coming which is why we decided to go there early to avoid the crowd. We saw many temples and even monkeys hanging around the temples and even climbing the temples. After that we went to eat breakfast and relaxed at our hotel a little bit. We then went to the Southern Group, there was only one temple there but it was still beautiful. After spending about an hour there we left and went back to our hotel and waited for the taxi to take us back to Jhansi to catch the train to Delhi.

September 17, 2010

Friday September 17, our group went on another Cities of Delhi field trip. This time it was to Shajahanabad, Old Delhi. This was my fourth time, and even though I have been here four times I love Old Delhi. I love the business of the city and the fact that there are religious sites for Hindus, Muslims, Sikhs, and Jains and probably other religions. Me, Everly, Harold, and Karissa took the Metro while the rest of the group took taxis. I love taking the metro because I have been on subways and metros in D.C. and New York so taking the metro wasn't new for me. We walked around for a little bit and then we met our group. We walked around and had really good food. The aloo puri was so good but nothing beat the jalebi which was amazing. I love jalebi and having it for breakfast made it all the better. The street where we ate has many of the dhaba which are fast food stands. There are all over India and I like eating at them more than restaurants because you can usually get real spicy food for a good price.

After eating breakfast we went to a Jain temple. It was small but really pretty and peaceful. I've been to a Jain temple in Rajasthan but that was much bigger and not in the middle of a city. After the Jain temple we went to a man's house who lives in a haveli that goes back 200 years. An haveli would have a big courtyard surrounded on four sides by spacious rooms and often another walled courtyard around the exterior as well. The man was nice of us to show us his haveli. Our teacher has taken past students to his house. We tried flying one of our kites however there wasn't much wind. Many houses in Old Delhi are so close together that you can jump from one rooftop to the next. Many children play cricket on the rooftops and fly kites. We had tea at his house and he talked about the house and his family.

After that we looked around and some people got parathas, which are unleavened flat-breads made by pan frying whole-weat flour. They are usually stuffed with some kind of vegetables like potatoes or onions. They are good and usually served for breakfast. After that we went to the spice market. We went on the roof overlooking the Fatehpuri Masjid so we could see the Spice Market better as well as other parts of Old Delhi. We could see Chandni Chowk which is the main bazaar in Old Delhi. After spending some time on the roof we went home. I think I am going to do my Cities of Delhi final assignment on Old Delhi because I really like the area.