The new house

So finally moved into my new house. It's so cute I have to keep pinching myself. I'm trying to ignore the annoyance I feel at how poor the support is that PSI is providing and focus on how great the place is. It's in a quiet neighborhood back pretty far from the road- although there's a surprising amount of noise (seems to be a dog gang). It's a three bedroom, 3.5 bath cottage. It also has a two bedroom guesthouse in the back yard and a two car garage. And the backyard contains a bar for outdoor entertaining (can be seen a bit in the second picture - that wood thing). There's also a rusty multi-colored children's play set with a slide and swings that I'm a little worried about.

So far there's not much to say about it. I don't have any furniture so I'm borrowing a bed and a table/chairs from PSI who seemed to have them floating around. I got eaten alive by mosquitos the first night so got a net from work as well. And I'm borrowing plates, a blanket and one pot from a colleague. I had the living room, dining room and master bedroom painted while I was in Tanzania last week and I spent my first night putting up the manger scene and fake tree. Reminded me of doing exactly that 3 years ago when I moved into the empty place in India and had no furniture except the table, piano and christmas tree!

Since the house came with a gardener and the place looks great, I kept him on staff and am trying out a housekeeper that the sister of my colleague's housekeeper. The gardener's great and he washes my car every morning. Still not sure about the housekeeper - hard to measure up to Tenzing. The cat seems to be settling in slowly. She did well the first day, spent most of the day running around like crazy and loudly meowing to see where I was. And then at 4pm she conked out and slept in a drawer the rest of the day. Then early in the morning of the first night I slept there I awoke to a low growling sound and realized another cat had come in a window and was now in my bedroom. That sorely shook Kali and she hid for a few hours after.

Can't wait for the dryer to arrive (my cloths feel horribly stiff) and for my shipment to arrive, which will likely happen the day before I leave for Christmas R&R. It would be nice if the stove worked but that might just be too much to ask for.

Tanzania

I'm not sure I've ever spent a week in a country and felt like I had less of an opinion. Maybe it's because Dar Es Salaam is not that different than Kenya or maybe because I spent most of the week on the peninsula, which is where most of the expats live so I feel like I didn't even really see Tanzania. I came to participate in part of a training as well as get to know our program.

The first hotel we stayed at, the Sea Cliff, had a major fire earlier this year so most of the hotel was still undergoing renovations. The only part that was open, where we stayed, was in the middle of essentially a food court - with Subway and a big bouncy castle and everything. Very surreal. So after a few nights we moved to a little boutique hotel with no sign board on a dirt road that was very pretty but also strange. So for the work week we really didn't see many tanzanians. I would go for afternoon jogs (office hours were 8:30am-4:15pm so it was nice to leave work during daylight). There were paths near the cliffs to jog along where people seemed to come for afterwork picnics and there were no mzungus (white people) there at all. (the first picture is from that, the other two from my colleague's house on the beach - all bad quality iphone photos). But when I jogged the neighborhoods they were quite luxurious and mostly white.

On Saturday a colleague and I (also from Kenya) decided to walk around to various shops and head into Dar proper. Dar had nothing really to offer. Much smaller city than I'm used to for capitals (actually it's not the capital, which is dodoma - but it's the HQ of most of TZ) and still you get hassled pretty much. The waterfront is unfortunately mostly a shipping port so not many beaches (if any) to be found. I'm coming back in January so I hope to see more of the country and get more of a sense of what life's like here. My take aways are that living here would mean living in white people land - which is bizarre. It's hot here. Not as temperature hot as Delhi (I'm guessing it's 90s-100F) but the heat is all from the sun. I walked a lot today (Sunday) and couldn't get over the difference when I was in shade. And it struck me that that never happened in Delhi. The city was hot and it could be totally clouded over and still 120F. Shade was only a minor improvement where here it felt 20 degrees cooler. It's much quieter than Nairobi and having a beach around means there's lovely restaurants overlooking the ocean and nice jogs, walks. People in general were laid back. Walking alone today I didn't really know where I was going and several people were just so friendly and helpful.

Zanzibar's only like an hour from here so I'll definitely have to schedule that in for next time!

Things I'm Thankful For

My 6th annual list of things I'm thankful for. Happy Thanksgiving!

1. In two more months, we'll be one less Bush, one more Obama
2. India, I have come to realize that living in India has prepared me for almost everything. Everything is easier here: Driving, crossing the street, bargaining, ignoring beggars/tauts, shopping, traveling, dealing with poor service, expectations (they are so low that they are constantly being exceeded), communicating in languages that I don't speak (I learned everything I'll ever need to know!), health problems (it's so much easier when the number of people effected doesn't end with "million" or "billion"), heat....
3. Africa, (I should just say Kenya as it's the only country here I've been to yet) but it's just lovely here and I've spent so many years trying to get here that it's wonderful to finally be here!
   
4. Animals! I love the big cats.. can't get enough. Even my little cat - who has been a handful the past few months but I know will be much better when I finally get her a yard to run around in
   
5. The iphone! I lost the ability to use it for a few weeks and my quality of life diminished exponentially.
   
6. Travel and new experiences. Since last thanksgiving I've been to Nepal, Japan, Papua New Guinea, Australia, Vietnam, the Andamans (technically in India but totally different), Bhutan, Cambodia and now Kenya. (oh, and India and the US too) I have to pinch myself sometimes that this is really my life
7. Facebook - it has given me access to so many old friends and a way to keep in even better touch with those I have kept in touch with.
8. Family - losing grandma in September not only makes me realize how precious it all is but looking around it dawned on me that I have an amazing family (and John!) that I love spending time with.
9. Satender and Tenzing - (driver and housekeeper from India) - while I don't have them around any more I am still grateful for how much they added to my life in India. I also realize that I will never be as lucky again and in this case need to lower my expectations.
10. My overwhelmingly generous friends and family - a few examples:

• My colleague in Kenya, Mary Ann, who didn't think twice about opening her house to me when I was left homeless due to a careless error by my company. She made a bad situation so much more bearable and it's actually nice to be around kids again.
• My friend/colleagues in India, Ragini and her son and Dana and Gertrude who went above and beyond the call of duty to check in on and ensure proper care when Tenzing was sick recently

I'm so blessed to have so many wonderful friends around the world, to have enough money to help others, and to earn that money doing what I love. Am trying to remember to count those blessings more than once a year.

Getting a Driving License in Kenya

So as I've since learned the best way to get a Kenyan driving license is to pay the $15 in the US for an international one and then just pay a fee to get a Kenyan one. The second way is to pay like $150 to our "fixer" who will get you a Kenyan license. I went the least efficient way which is to just apply and take the test. All in all will have cost me $33 and 6 hours. Totally worth the experience.

So first I went to AA (which is the equivalent of the US's AAA) and they did a quick assessment to see if I needed lessons. This is where I was introduced to the concept of the "model town" which is a driving board with a big roundabout and little matchbox cars that you have to move from point A to B. It's all about what lane you should be in on the roundabout. Then they tested me on street signs which was funny as they had the answers at the bottom so I just read the answers to them. They said I did average on the signs and failed the model town and said I needed lessons. I refused, signed up for a test and bought a book.

The book is hysterical in itself. I wish I had thought to scan this but the page on road signs has a sketch of two large elephants next to the road with a "danger, beware elephants" sign. A lot of english mis-speaks or typos too. I studiously memorized the street signs but don't actually know what chevrons, trunk roads, or slip road at grade separated junctions are but if I was shown the sign I could accurately name it!

I read an article by a BBC reporter on getting his license in Nairobi and he said it took him all day. So I came prepared for the long haul. As I believe expectations are 90% of frustrations vs. enjoyment I'm glad I was so prepared. I got to the police station (in Karen which is far far outskirts of Nairobi) at 8am. By 8:15 I had my papers and counted about 50 other people - most under 22 years old. Around 9 the policeman came out. First he berated the asian guy for being in the wrong place, called him chin chin and said he couldn't understand his chinese. The did not strike me as chinese (maybe korean) and everyone laughed and the funny, powerful policemen.

He spoke to us for an hour and mostly in Swahili. What I understood from the little english phrases and the few swahili words I know is that he warned us about the responsibility of driving, lectured us on accidents, told us he was not a teacher, nor an instructor and then proceeded to teach us the basics of signs, rules, roundabouts, overtaking etc. People laughed at various points. It only ended because he got a phone call (which he took). Finally, he said we could have a 5 minute break (when I just wanted things to get started). People were called in one by one (or two by two since there were two testers) for the theory part. As I was called he proceeded to kick out the very young kid in front of me, yelling viciously- calling him an iguana, I think (I'm sure it's a swahili word I misunderstood) and taking him by the scruf of his Maine East Volleyball sweatshirt. My turn took 5 minutes. He asked me to identify the yield sign, the road closed sign, and then a sign about priority to oncoming traffic but before I could answer he got distracted and moved me onto the "model town". I completely failed the first time. He gave me another chance and then corrected me that they drive on the left side (I just confused right and left so did a little of both). I paused for like 3 minutes because they say don't move the car until you know exactly where you're going and eventually finished. He passed me. I've learned I'm not good with toy cars.

We then waited in this shack full of goats (some with some scary horns)- pictured- to get called for the driving portion. I was in the first lot. We rode in the back of a huge truck for two minutes and then the first 4 people were finished and I was called. I got in back and this young girl was told to start the car. She really couldn't remember all the steps (clutch, 1st gear, hand brake). Suddenly he asked me to step in. I started the car on a very mild hill, pulled out (without signaling), went 20 meters and then pulled over and stopped. That was it. I passed! It was about 12noon. I waited 2 more hours for paperwork and it was done. I now have to give that paperwork to another building in the center of town and wait for my license.

Kenyan Coast

To continue seeing our work I visited the Coast this week; primarily three towns; Mombasa, Kilifi and Malindi. I flew in a day early to take a little time on the beach. I went to a place a colleague recommended Shaanti Hotel in Diani. It’s a yoga retreat kind of place. Because of late flights I ended up not having much time – but it was great to lay out for a few hours (stupid working sunscreen blocking all my tan with the cancer), have two sessions of yoga (sunrise and sunset), get an early morning jog on the beach in and generally just relax. It was expensive but nice (save the ants in the bed that I only learned later there was spray for in the room). The biggest surprise was on the morning jog – I came across four men practicing cheerleading stunts (specifically the diamond head). First picture is of Diani.

The following morning I drove back to Mombasa (using a car ferry that was very convenient but I hear can be a total nightmare). Again my company put me up in a swank beach hotel (Savora White Sands). It’s wonderful to be staying in such a great place but there are two drawbacks; 1 – you really don’t want to go to work and 2- the per diems won’t cover a single meal! The next two pictures are from that beach.

Again, it’s rejuvenating to see our work. Mostly I watched as a new hire did the selection tool with various clinics to see if they qualified to join our network. One clinic didn’t qualify for the first round but was the prettiest thing I’d ever seen. Turns out it was donated by a british family in honor of their relative who lived and died in that area of Kenya. I asked my colleagues how much they thought it cost and they estimated about $20,000. It had such an impact – good equipment, they built it to be run by a nurse who was the only one practicing in that area, new sterilization machine, computerized records. What a great way to honor someone! The other moment that stood out in the day was walking out of a slum clinic in Mombasa to the sounds of “Pour Some Sugar on Me” by Def Leoppard blaring from a nearby store.

That evening I went to the hotel’s beach bar as it was showing an NFL game (so when I get my own place, apparently local channels show NFL, sweet!) and was promptly hit on by some air force kid who made me feel really old. I couldn’t get the internet to work so I think I went to bed at like 8pm – driving around in hot weather while trying to maintain small talk with colleagues and be supportive yet helpful and come up with useful suggestions is exhausting! But it did mean I could get up really early for another sunrise beach jog. No cheerleading on this beach but there were a few guys doing gymnastics – apparently for a photo shoot. At one point a young guy jogged up to me and then did a flip, I was tempted to do one back but realized I probably couldn’t anymore! Sad.

The last two days we talked to two different women’s groups. The first one was a youth group but they were all mothers (and I think married) – the youngest was 15. We talked to them about various contraceptive options. Both were done sitting under the shade of a big tree as the weather on the coast is much hotter than Nairobi. The second group was of much older women (meaning my age!) many of whom had many many kids (one doctor mentioned that after a woman gave birth to her 8th kid she would start recommending sterilization). The youth group didn’t speak up much and giggled a lot (probably how I would have acted at that age) but the older women definitely did and it was a great discussion – at least it seemed that way in translation. It was in a very rural area and when we arrived in our company van (advertising mosquito nets and condoms) the women all cheered, and did it again when I got out of the van and again when I left (make an ‘o’ with your lips, make a high pitched ‘oooh’ and then click your tongue from bottom to top of your mouth – that’s what it sounded like). There was a school in the background with kids who never seemed to go inside. They sat along the side where there was a patch of shade or rolled a tire and then used it as a hula hoop. I so wish I could take the time to get real pictures! The second to last one is of the kids waving as I left.

Obama

I feel like I should probably attempt to describe what it's like being in Kenya for Obama's election. In case you don't know, Obama's dad was Kenyan. His father is deceased but his grandmother and other aunts/ cousins etc still live here. The family is a Luo - which is as I understand it represented by the opposition party that probably won the last election. The other ethnic group/party is the Kikuos, who were traditionally in power and whose candidate the election was called for. So the Luo's are ecstatic that Obama won but not all Kenyans. A few very opinionated Kikuos I've talked to have been very clear they weren't rooting for him (and many had put money on McCain).

With that caveat, it was very fun going around town and seeing all the Obama paraphernalia - guards wearing pins, lots of bumper stickers, some shirts. The Americans were ecstatic at the results. The head of the office here, an american woman, called a meeting to celebrate - sent an email to the staff saying "god bless america" and bought everyone fried chicken for lunch. The other americans seemed incapable of working they were so giddy. I was buying my car from an american couple in the afternoon and they had spent the day drinking (she worked at the embassy) and singing obama songs. Kids were all chanting obama all day. And still when I meet someone (taxi driver, salesperson) they ask if I'm american and then smile and say "Obama". Actually on the way back from my visit into central kenya last week, we stopped to buy vegetables as they driver wanted some for his family as they were so much cheaper than in Nairobi, and this drunk guy kept talking to me about how he had gone to Harvard and "HEY... OBAMA". And the Prime Minister (a Kikuo) declared November 5 a national holiday.

Now I’m in Mombasa and there are banners on various street corners advertising celebrations for Obama’s win. And the papers here have had him on the front cover for at least the last week. Today the story was about his step-mother (did you know Obama’s mother was his father’s second wife – meaning polygamy? I didn’t) and her memories of Obama senior. Kenya has high hopes for what this will all mean. I hear constant references to increased tourism – well represented in today’s paper

“We must turn Obama’s connection with Kenya into a major economic opportunity…. The tourism board should build a three-star hotel in Kogelo in anticipation of tourists…. I am sure there are many tourists from America and the rest of the world who would want to see the Kenyan history of Obama”.

Were any of you planning on visiting Kenya now because Obama’s dad is from here? Also in that same paper “Blacks will benefit from Obama’s presidency. They will not be treated as trash anymore”. Yikes – that’s a lot of expectations just cause one guy was elected. I also hear a lot of expectations on eased visa restrictions with the US – something else that seems unlikely.

Finally there’s Obama, the Musical. It played for about a week with the last performance the day of the election (5th November here). I saw the final show. It was relatively bad community theatre about Obama’s life and especially the Kenyan part. I think “loosely based” would be an apt description. Michelle came across as a greedy, diamond ring wanting, scared of all things Africa comic relief. And Barack Senior hitting on a white woman played by a black woman just didn’t work for me. Bush was portrayed as a pimp with many hussies??!? McCain was perfect. The music and dancing were great although the lyrics were laughable. In the play Obama had a huge heroin addiction, well acted but a little absurd and drawn out. The picture depicts Obama leading a congo line with Michelle following and then tribal folks etc. They had amended the end that day to incorporate his victory speech.

Anyways, it’s made saying you’re American get you happier responses than I’ve ever before experienced

Nyeri visit

Headed on my first field visit within Kenya this week- I can't even begin to explain how rejuvenating these trips are! Many of the villages look a lot like India. The big difference is there aren’t as many people around (and they don’t stare at me). The adults give me a second glance and then only stare if I’m not looking and the kids stare but eventually smile or wave if I do. It also took me all day to realize all the signs are in English and how much of a difference that makes. And only one guy peeing on the side of the road in 3 days! Very few stray dogs.

The scenery is stunning. The hotel I’m in is on the border of Aberdares Park (which I know nothing about) and in the background is Mount Kenya (the first picture is a view of Mt Kenya from breakfast). Quite a switch from hotels in India. The room is all wood and colonial with three double glass doors overlooking the grounds, has a fireplace (working), has a king bed and a single bed and a sitting area and a walk-in closet. Clearly needless space for a two night stay but still it’s nice! The place also has a pool and squash courts. I've never watch CSI- Miami with a crackling fire in the background!

On the drive here (which I’m guess was 3 hours total – we stopped at all these clinics along the way so I don’t really know how long it was) it turned into this lush palm hillsides. I’ve never seen a pineapple farm! The roads actually have side paths for people to walk on or ride bikes on and traffic therefore actually moves! The kids in uniforms are nearly impossible to not smile at but seeing them walk several miles without shoes and carrying their books in plastic bags. I know people are struggling (especially from talking to the nurses in the region) but it doesn't have the same feeling of helplessness or destitution that India did.

I never got to go into the park but it seems very different - terrain wise- from the other safaris I've done here. Very tropical and lush. I did see some giraffes on the hilltop but that was my only spotting of animals.

Of course the team kept sending me to these posh places for lunch and then would leave me there alone while they ate. Finally the last day I told the driver to just let me eat where he ate. The meals til then had been about 1200 shillings, and not that good. The meal with the driver was like 50 shillings (< $1) and so much better! The last picture is of my colleagues at lake chinga.

Safari!

Since I had a week before I started work I decided to go on a safari. The office suggested a travel agent who suggested I start at Masai Mara, which is right on the border of Tanzania's Serengeti. It's drivable, and I hear it's a beautiful drive that I'll have to do someday but maybe when I get my own car. For now, traveling alone they said it's cheaper to fly. I think it's the first flight I've ever been on that has stops. Mine was the second. On the first stop we landed amidst the annual great migration of the wildebeest. Hundreds were running by just along the runway - complete with integrated zebras. And all the runways were dirt:)

I stayed at Mara Savora Camp which was beautiful. Very nice "tents" and mine overlooked the salt lick where there were growling and playing big cats at night (I thought lions by the sound but someone else guessed leopards). Just on the drive to the camp we saw zebra, lions (hard to see sleeping in a bush), giraffe, elephants, etc. And I hadn't even gone on a game drive yet!

Those were unbelievable. I can't believe how close you get to the animals - in a open jeep! It seems almost sad that there are jeeps chasing the animals all over and they don't seem to mind. They seem clear that we aren't threats (while keeping their eyes out for real threats). It's also so nice to see thriving wildlife. After four drives I saw tons of lions- one with three cubs, one small pride eating a wildebeest- several cheetahs - again one with cubs and one eating a thompson gazelle- wart hogs, giraffes, lots of elephants (one with a tiny baby), a gazelle that was just hours old, buffalo, hippos, one black rhino, zebra and other gazelle/antelope things.

The people of the area (who are no longer allowed to live in the park) are the Masai. They are hired to work at the camps and I met a lovely man, Joseph, who helped me learn Swahili. I was reading in my tent one evening only to be startled to hear african drums and chanting. It struck me as so much more familiar and comforting than traditional indian music ever did. Overall I stayed two nights and did four game drives.

The flight back was in a tiny cesna, so full that one passenger had to sit up in the co-pilot seat (sorta wish that had been me). The woman ahead of me was scared of flying and cried the entire time. We made three stops on the way back. One flight was literally 2 minutes - can't figure out why people couldn't just drive that far.

First week in Kenya

Who knew that the Indian bureaucracy would be easier than the Kenyan?  I knew I was pushing my luck trying to bring 4 big bags and a cat to Kenya but the Indian side was surprisingly easy.  Had to get to the airport 5 hours early to put the cat in cargo and they surprisingly allowed my extra pounds but their credit card machine was broken so the hardest part was actually getting rupees to pay since I had gotten rid of all mine.  Got through Doha with no problem, got confirmation the cat was on board the second plane and got to Kenya (with the Kenyan Special Olympics Team).  Got my bags, got through customs and immigration, found the driver and went to pick up the cat.  That's when things got crazy.  A cargo agent approached us and the driver suggested we use him.  4 hours later, I had driven to three or four different areas of the airport about 25 times, gotten stamps, signatures and finally proof of life that the cat was ok.  I finally got to the apartment I'm staying at at about 7pm (flight landed at 12:30).

Since there are work permit issues here and you can't get your shipment of belongings until your permit clears I'm in a full serviced apartment until my stuff is here.  The apartment is quite nice, flat screen TV, coffee maker, oven, one bedroom (I asked for 3 but apparently there was a mix-up), wifi, a pool and a gym and a billiards room and a restaurant.  The strangest part is the in-room jacuzzi that replaces the shower which is very poorly placed and in order to adjust the hot and cold water you must walk through the sitting water (which is often very hot!).  

Tova and Scott (from Cali days) were coming through with his family for a safari vacation so I met up with them the first night.  The next few days were filled with meeting up with colleagues and Wangari.  One afternoon I went to the super market and realized a) I haven't been grocery shopping in a long time and b)I haven't been in a supermarket in a long time!  It took me 3 hours to buy some simple things (ketchup alone took me 15 minutes) and then had to come home and take a nap!

So far I'm reveling in the beer, beef, pork, coffee (ok, food in general), the music and kindness/friendliness of everyone.  The security is an issue but I've been okay walking to the market during the days and having a trusted taxi take me everywhere.  Just separate your money and don't carry a lot.  The funniest thing I've seen so far is the guys in the street selling bunnies, kittens and puppies.  And I thought they sold strange things on the streets in Delhi!

Last days in Delhi

After three years, I'm leaving Delhi tonight. I think I'm too tired to really sum up everything I've learned in and from India.  Clearly the time has come - I'm ready but it's also scary to think of not living here.  What I'll miss most is the people - Satender and Tenzing have become like family to me and were the teariest goodbyes.  My friends seem like they'll always be just down the street - I don't think it's really hit me that they won't!  I get the sense that my life will never be quite as crazy as it has been here.  Where else do you see a stray camel, a naked holy man and monkey gangs all on the way to work? (that was one day last week)  I'm excited for better food options and greenery that isn't dusty and safaris!!! but I will miss how easy it can be to get things done here.  For instance, last year the airline tore up my small suitcase and I've not found the perfect replacement so I asked my driver yesterday if he could mend it with packing tape.  Instead he took it to the guy sitting on the corner who fixes shoes and he stitched it up perfectly.  It's like new!  I think it cost 50 cents.

I'm completely unprepared to do anything for myself again - not looking forward to cooking, cleaning, ironing, washing, driving, running my own errands, making my own phone calls.  Satender actually thanked me for "his wife", ref

erring to the fact that I paid for her surgery a year or so ago.  Clearly he's giving me too much credit but it broke my heart.  Tenzing and Satender and Tenzing's mother all cried, which of course sent me bawling.  It's so bizarre to me that by total chance I ended up with this life where I don't have to worry about money - I have way more things than anyone needs - and Tenzing, who is my age, ends up so poor.  Her family is the last picture.

That's probably all I can process for now, I'm just praying that tomorrow me, my cat and my excess luggage all 

arrive safely in Nairobi (of those three things I'm least worried about myself). 

Cambodia's Killing Fields

The last time I was in Cambodia (about 4 1/2 years ago) the one thing I never did was go to the Killing Fields memorials. There are two major ones near Phnom Penh; The Killing Fields themselves and the old prison. So I had promised myself that I would do that on this trip. The trip out to the Killing Fields is about 20 minutes outside PP. I have been spending so much time inside the hotel this past week (as I was training folks at a conference room inside the hotel) that just driving around was nice. I did appreciate the car wash that had a SUV at it with about 14 small women popping out simultaneously washing all different parts of the car (popping out of each door, etc). I did see some pigs (for those of you eagerly anticipating pigs on bikes stories) but they were in a carriage thing behind the bike not on the bike itself.

So the "killing fields" signify many places around Cambodia where people were worked to death - this particular one Choeung Ek is where the people were trucked in (often from the prisons) to be killed. It sounds like they didn't really spend much time there. Many were brought in at night on a truck and just executed immediately in mass graves. When they started bringing too many people in to kill all at once they were detained but only for very short times - ultimately this is where you went to die. They said the killings were all done by hitting over the head with bamboo or metal instruments as they ran out of money for guns and bullets. Today there's really nothing left. They've built a memorial stupa that houses 100s of skulls found there. And there are signs signifying various mass graves, buildings that stored killing instruments that are no longer there, etc. Because I had read much of the history - this particular place didn't haunt me as much as I would have expected.

My next stop was Tuol Sleng, which was a high school in Phnom Penh prior to the Khmer Rouge. Pol Pot's men took it over from 1975-1979 and used it as a prison/interrogation place for people suspected to have info on traitors. This place will haunt me for a long time. When they brought someone in for interrogation they photographed them and their whole family. They immediately killed the babies and would then torture the family members. The torture was horrific and many died during it. The rest were shipped off to Choeung Ek in the middle of the night and executed there. There were only 7 survivors; mostly artists and drivers who were needed until the very end. When the place was "liberated" there were 14 bodies found, of Khmer Rouge officials that Pol Pot thought were CIA. The way they found these 14 was photographed by the liberating army (Cambodians and Vietnamese) and is gruesome. There are still massive blood stains in the rooms where they were held. The rest of the prison has smaller cells or mass cells and people were kept there for 2-4 months on average. Everyone who died there was photographed by the Khmer Rouge to ensure that Pol Pot would know they were dead (he clearly was suspicious of everyone and executed his own top officials). 20,000 people were prisoners here at some point. The museum has rows and rows and room after room of the headshots they took of people when they came in. And then pictures of dead, tortured victims. One of the 7 guys who survived was a painter and has painted the scenes he remembers on the walls of the museum.

The guide I hired here was a women in her mid 40s. She, like most people I've talked to about this era here, was incredibly matter of fact about it all. Pointing to a can "this was for shitting", to a wall with blood, "this is where they beat babies". At the end I asked about her experience and she said she was 14 when the Khmer Rouge came to power. They forced her family from Phnom Penh to the villages and immediately killed her parents. They separated the rest of the sisters and brothers and she never saw them again. She showed me scars on her ankles from torture and says she still doesn't sleep at night and her head isn't right. I presume they hire folks that are seeking treatment for mental trauma as guides as an employment scheme.

After this I went across the street to have lunch and the cafe was playing "smack that ass". I won't bother pointing out how ironic it was but safe to say it was totally surreal.

Bhutan

Don't know where to start on this trip - it was pretty amazing. Doug and I had both wanted to go to Bhutan for a while and as we're both leaving India soon we booked this as our last trip (no, I don't know when I'm leaving yet). In order to travel in Bhutan the government requires you spend at least $200 a day (combined total of hotel, meals, etc.) in order to keep out tourists (and especially backpackers). They also require you travel with a guide. We selected Keys to Bhutan as our travel company based on a recommendation that they did mountain biking trips. Doug actually mountain bikes - I had never been on a mountain bike (well, I just bought one in Delhi which I rode once before the trip). Since it's monsoon season in Bhutan right now (and not the ideal time to go) the company rejected our trekking/biking trip requests and recommended we do day bikes and hikes in case we get totally rained out.

At the airport we encountered a group of people wearing matching "Chinese Taipai" jackets that seemed to say Korfball and holding a pretty big trophy. Through some detective work (and a player approaching me to see if I was in fact using my iphone - which I was using to google Korfball) we found out that they had won the Asia Championship game that morning! It's like handball or something. The flight into Bhutan (on the surprisingly lovely national Druk airways) is supposed to be beautiful as you pass the Himalayas but the landing was rated one of the scariest in the world as you have to enter the Paro valley, then do a 180 degree turn through mountains to approach the runway. But really it was not scary at all and it was too cloudy to see the mountains. Sad.

I don't know how the rest of you picture Bhutan but I pictured snow capped mountains. That might be true on clear days but not during monsoons. It's fairly high altitude (even the valleys were 2500 meters) and incredibly hilly but the landscape was covered in pine forests and very green farming plots. The country is fascinating. The king is trying very hard to keep it idyllic and yet interacting with the world. They have historically fought wars with Tibet but most of the language and people come from Tibet. They have absolutely open borders with India; and way too much Indian military presence. And as they don't manufacture anything really all their goods come from India. They have required national dress (the Gho for men and Kira for women) - which has pissed off the Nepali immigrants (likely intentionally). It's a Buddhist nation with tons of monks (it's tantric Buddhism like Tibet meaning that boys join the monastery at a very young age and stay for life usually). It also means they don't want to kill anything so they are very concerned with keeping the environment clean and protected. One valley we stayed in was a migratory stop for black necked cranes and so they've said the town can't build or put in electricity as that might change the migration patterns of the cranes. Ironically, our guide (the wonderful Raj) pointed out that while they don't like killing, they eat quite a bit of meat! Most people aren't heavily practicing buddhists.

The biking and hiking were hard - especially since so much of it was uphill! But really I wish there were more of it. Car rides aren't fun and I would have rather trekked for 5 days and covered less ground than spent time in a car. But small complaints. The country is beautiful. Clean! (especially compared to India) and not tons of people. The people were all really nice to us and seemed baffled by us crazy bikers. Kids all waved wildly "hi", "bye". I was personally really struck by the diversity of ethnicities. And they certainly understand service. Most of the hotels we stayed at were gorgeous and the service was not pushy. The food got old, since we had essentially the same thing every night but it was good.

In Thimpu the capital city we got a taste of what it might be like to be young, rich and Bhutanese. The owner of the tour group took us out for dinner and when we mentioned that we heard there was someone who brewed weiss beer he took us to the bars. The beer was really good (especially since there's no local brews in India) and the bars were full of fun, pretty, young things. The night before as were searching for ice cream on a very rainy night, we found ourselves in this very modern bowling alley, bowling under black lights to "Me so Horny"! Not exactly my image of Bhutan but then that's not in the tour books. It is a small country though, i mentioned that a friend of mine from DC had married a bhutanese woman and he immediately knew who I was talking about!

Despite it being monsoons and too cloudy to see the Himalayan snowcaps which pictures showed were right behind the mountains we were on, on the flight out we flew by Everst and the other peaks and there were completely visible peaking over the clouds. It was magical:)

Ranthambhore Tiger Park

Doug had been to Ranthambhore National Park when I was in Vietnam and saw tigers on each safari, so we decided to go again. Getting the train tickets was a mess in itself as we were on a waiting list that moved slower than I was comfortable with, so switched to foreigners quota. Satender (my driver and all-around savior) took our passports and a letter of authority which says I authorize him to buy tickets on my behalf. However, they wouldn't accept the letter of authority despite him showing proof of identity because his signature wasn't attested to (what???) so this was an all day errand.

We got up all early for the morning train, got to the station about 20 minutes before the train was to leave, it was already at the station so we found our car and bunk and proceeded to kick out the people who were sitting on our beds. As they left they said something about the car not going anywhere (my limited hindi only understood this much) but no one but this one family seemed to be deboarding .... after about 20 minutes we got confirmation from others but since it was all in Hindi it was hard to know exactly what was happening. We eventually walked around the station and found a foreigners information booth and they said there was agitation on the tracks where we were going so the train was canceled. No announcement, I guess people just figured it out. I don't know what all the other passengers (most of whom were headed to Mumbai) would do. We called Doug's driver who agreed to drive for the weekend - we didn't really know how far it was. It ended up being about 7 hours and we had pre-booked a safari that afternoon which we missed. We weren't sure when we set out where the agitation was or if we'd encounter it on the roads. A ethnic group called the Gujjars have been protesting to achieve scheduled tribe status, which they say the government promised them during the last elections (it would get them reserved spots in government jobs and schools - sorta like affirmative action). It's the one year anniversary of their first big protests and they can shut down roads and trains for days. The papers later said they had dug up the train tracks (so good that they canceled the train) and there were gatherings of over 5000 on certain roads which resulted in police shooting and killing some of them. Thankfully not our roads.

It's low season at the park because it's damn hot! So we got to the hotel and were sticky and tired but took a short walk into town (Sawai Madhopur). It's such a tourist place (because of the park, there's nothing else there) that you're accosted by kids - some just saying hello but tugging at you and some asking for money or pens. I did see a discarded used packet of the birth control pills we sell here.

On Sunday, we had booked two safaris, the first at 6am. I made the mistake of bringing a mug of coffee and immediately spilled it due to the bumpy jeep ride to the park. It turned out to be a bad omen. Although we saw all sorts of birds and animals; antelope, deer, gazelles, crocodiles, wild pigs, langur monkeys, peacocks, monitor lizards, we saw no tigers. After the safari we drove back to the park(and I came to fully appreciate Doug's Isuzu Trooper, as the Zen wouldn't have made this trip) to walk around the fort. The fort was built in 944AD and is substantial. The park was originally the maharaja's hunting grounds (in the 1600s). The major temple in the fort is for ganesha (the elephant) - I would have thought Hanuman (the monkey) would be more appropriate. But clearly people come to the temple very early in the morning and the walk it LONG!

After lunch and canceling our return train tickets (agitation wasn't subsiding so trains weren't going) we went for the afternoon safari. The guide immediately struck me as someone I wouldn't like. Arrogant and self centered my first impression was surprise that he wasn't constantly on a cell phone and sure he would try to swindle us (although I couldn't figure out how you'd do that on a safari). He had been told Doug was a diplomat and that we hadn't seen a tiger so he was clearly going to show us a tiger. We also wanted to see one as Doug's driver had indicated that we might need to skip the next morning's safari and leave at like 5am in order to miss the agitation on the way back. As in the morning there were 4 paying customers in our jeep but the guide decided that his two friends should join which made the jeep very tight. The park is split into 5 zones and jeep picks one randomly each time out. We picked 3 but after flying around the zone he decided to cheat and go into all the other zones. So we'd go through the locked gates (he had a key), switch the tags on our jeep for the other zone, fly through that zone. We saw almost nothing that afternoon. At one point he heard from another jeep of a sighting so we zoomed over these very bumpy roads at top speed but when we got there the tiger had gone away. He then proceeded to tell us that he could lose his ability to give tours for 4 months if caught going into other zones and that he was trying so hard to show us a tiger and I realized this was his swindle. Break the rules to try to get big tips. We refused to tips so as not to encourage this but the other passenger gave 1000 rupees which is outrageous! I think it was more than the cost of the safari. We saw no tigers and didn't get a chance to enjoy the park, which was actually stunning at that hour, or all the other beautiful animals and birds.

We got dropped at the Oberoi (nicest hotel in town) deciding we needed a treat but they said they were only feeding hotel guests (what??). So we walked the very long walk home, heavily dehydrated. We stopped at dosa corner which turned out to be really good. The best masala dosa I've ever had (with a damn good coconut chutney and sambar). I don't think I've ever liked a masala dosa before.

We decided to risk leaving later the next day and do the one more safari as word was that it hadn't hit our roads home yet. And indeed the final morning we saw a tiger!

The trip home was long and hot (as the AC broke about 4 hours in) and we hit the Delhi suburb of Gurgaon at rush hour but no agitation! After a quick stop at the American compound for cheeseburgers and a Sam Adams - I finally reached home to enjoy the mango smoothie Tenzing always leaves for me and an episode of Air Crash Investigations with Kali. Not bad:)