Incredible indescribable interesting incomprehensible India

Note- I will not be spell checking this, proofreading to make sure it makes sense, etc. I'm on my iPod, and that's too much work.


Whooooooa Nelly! India. I've been here a week now, and right now I'm not sure if I'll ever be able to put it into words. I know pictures will not explain it either. I've never been anywhere that is SO different. India makes everywhere else I've been seem normal. It is intense, most of the time exhausting, exciting, delicious, sometimes sad, sometimes a big scary, and always incredibly dirty. I kind of hate saying that last bit, because I feel like it's kind of mean. I've been a lot of places that other people have described as dirty. I've always disagreed, and found it kind of disrespectful and negative. Buuuuuut, India is dirty. I'm not being negative, just observing. I'm not sure that city waste management exists here. Rather there are just piles of garbage everywhere. Cows, pigs, goats, and dogs root through piles, picking out tasty bits. The garbage that the animals don't eat gets burned. Bam, problem solved. No need to spend tax dollars on garbage men here, but there are smoldering piles of trash everywhere.
So much else, but my iPod is so unfun to type on. So here's a quick run down-
Crazy insane ridiculous traffic
Rickshaws
Delicious food that might give me Delhi belly
Smells, mostly foul.
Animals everywhere
Everyone wants a tip
I got hennaed today, and unlike my henna sneak attack in Morocco, I asked for this one.
Stares
Trains
I fed monkeys today! One of them crawled up and was hanging on my arm. He was so cute, like a super hairy baby. Only unlike human babies, I didn't feel uncomfortable holding this baby, and there was no new mom anxiously standing nearby reminding me to "support the head"
Cold showers
Hot sun
Very over the top friendly locals
Flickering power
Beautiful clothes and bare tummies

Roughing it

I hadn't planned on updating while I was away, mostly because I don't have my computer and writing anything besides a one line email on my iPod is a bit annoying. It's not good for the creative juices. But, it's been an eventful couple of weeks and I'm afraid I'll start forgetting things, despite my best efforts to keep my journal up to date.
I don't have a whole lot of pictures, because those are on my camera, aside from a few I've taken with my iPod. But I'll share a few that I do have.
I've been gone nearly two weeks now, and it's flown by. Like whoa.
I spent the first week volunteering at an elephant sanctuary an hour north of Chiang Mai. It was an awesome experience. And like most awesome experiences, the food was to die for.
Our jobs ranged from cutting corn to building garden poles with cement and rocks to shoveling elephant poo. And of course there was lots of quality time with the elephants, dogs, and cats. Our lodging was part of the experience. There was a two foot gap between the side of the wall and the roof, so the room was always full of geckos and other critters. One girl even kept getting a kitty
crawling into her room.  I was not that lucky, though I did share my bed with an army of ants a few nights. The  (cold)  showers were equally full of crawly things.
One afternoon we were taken to a local school. I'm still not entirely sure what the point was, something to do with teaching the students different trades involving tourism. It felt slightly wrong, but it was a cool opportunity to see inside a Thai school, and the kids were precious.
Another afternoon we got to go tubing. The water was refreshing, and the scenery was gorgeous. Perfect. On our last night there, we were treated to a traditional Northern Thai dinner, complete with dancers for entertainment.
I spent 4 days in Chiang Mai after finishing at the park. My time was mostly spent visiting temples, drinking fruit shakes, and getting massages (one hour = 9 dollars including tip!). The most memorable massage was given by an inmate at a women's prison, as part of a rehab program.
Now I'm back in Bangkok for the night. I'm sad to leave Thailand. I really love this country, but 24 hours from now I'll be in India. Gulp.
On a happy note, no Thai-del-wave this time! Fingers crossed that I'll avoid the Delhi belly as well.