Namaste from Pushkar!
Pushkar is a small and beautiful holy town in Rajasthan. Legend has it that Lord Brahma dropped a lotus onto the earth, and where one of the petals landed became Pushkar Lake. Hundreds of pilgrims come every year to bathe, wash clothes, and pray on the ghats surrounding the lake. It's quite beautiful, humbling, and a little mystifying to watch.
The trip is going well, although Elise and I both suffered from the infamous "Delhi belly" or bad stomachs, which put us pretty out commission for a couple days. Luckily after some rest and a diet of bananas, bread, rice, and some makeshift electrolyte solution, we're feeling a lot better.
In general I think we're also just pretty tired. It's been a lot of travelling and a lot of impressions that are hard to absorb as we're moving on from place to place so quickly. To be honest I'm not really sure if I'm suited to this kind of travelling--I feel like I'm "seeing" a lot but not necessarily understanding. There are these huge moments of disjuncture sometimes, like one night when we were having dinner with some other travellers we met. We had this really engaging discussion on differences and gaps of the German and Norwegian welfare systems (okay, nerds I know), and then all of a sudden it hits you that we're sitting in the middle of India and all this social justice talk just seems so absurd. I don't know, I can't really explain it well but I've just been having this weird feeling since the beginning of the trip.
Elise and I were talking a lot about this last night and we're pretty on the same page--we're both really looking forward to heading up to McLeod Ganj in the Himalayas at the end of the month and just staying there for a while--maybe take some courses, check out some organizations, hopefully get to know a place and its context a little better.
Love and miss you,
Pushkar is a small and beautiful holy town in Rajasthan. Legend has it that Lord Brahma dropped a lotus onto the earth, and where one of the petals landed became Pushkar Lake. Hundreds of pilgrims come every year to bathe, wash clothes, and pray on the ghats surrounding the lake. It's quite beautiful, humbling, and a little mystifying to watch.
The trip is going well, although Elise and I both suffered from the infamous "Delhi belly" or bad stomachs, which put us pretty out commission for a couple days. Luckily after some rest and a diet of bananas, bread, rice, and some makeshift electrolyte solution, we're feeling a lot better.
In general I think we're also just pretty tired. It's been a lot of travelling and a lot of impressions that are hard to absorb as we're moving on from place to place so quickly. To be honest I'm not really sure if I'm suited to this kind of travelling--I feel like I'm "seeing" a lot but not necessarily understanding. There are these huge moments of disjuncture sometimes, like one night when we were having dinner with some other travellers we met. We had this really engaging discussion on differences and gaps of the German and Norwegian welfare systems (okay, nerds I know), and then all of a sudden it hits you that we're sitting in the middle of India and all this social justice talk just seems so absurd. I don't know, I can't really explain it well but I've just been having this weird feeling since the beginning of the trip.
Elise and I were talking a lot about this last night and we're pretty on the same page--we're both really looking forward to heading up to McLeod Ganj in the Himalayas at the end of the month and just staying there for a while--maybe take some courses, check out some organizations, hopefully get to know a place and its context a little better.
Okay, just some thoughts, now onto the pictures! First, some monkeys for Sigurd; our "Pushkar passports" showing that we've done puja for our loved ones; Elise and I by Pushkar Lake. (Sorry, I had actually uploaded more, and then suddenly the computer deleted them.... gahhh internet cafes..!)
Love and miss you,
Lixian
So good to hear that you guys are better and nice to see a picture of you. You guys look so good! Yeah, India is lucky to have you :)
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