Supermoon

No matter where you are in the world, you may have seen the supermoon on March 19^th. A supermoon marks an instance when slightly oblong orbits bring our sister celestial body especially close to Earth. The result is a giant rising glowing moon. It’s a rare event. The last time this happened was in 1992. If you missed it, you’ll need to wait until 2016.

Imagine my excitement when my friends and I were scheduled to be riding a houseboat through Kerala’s backwaters on the evening of the supermoon. Just after sunset, the moon appeared as an orange orb on the horizon line. It rose fast, decreasing in size as it progressed upwards, but increasing in clarity as its shadowy surface came into view.

The moon was stunning, but I found myself admiring the marshy backwater landscape just as much. These waters are the lifeblood of surrounding villages. Locals live beside them, bathe in them, fish from them, and travel across them. The steel blue lakes and canals were alive with movement as washerwomen wrang out clothes and egrets swooped onto lily pads. Perhaps it was the afterglow of the supermoon that highlighted these backwaters in such a special light.

Indian beach life

How much does a private hut on an Indian beach cost? $6.50 per night—and that’s before I split the bill with my roommate.

India isn’t widely known for its beaches, but it should be. I stayed in balmy Goa, once colonized by the Portuguese, and relaxed for several days on a crescent-shaped sandy slice of heaven. The water temperature was in the low 80’s—warm enough to prevent goose bumps, but cool enough to be invigorating (none of that enervated feeling from having sat too long in a Jacuzzi). Even with my irrational fear of sharks, I spent 3-4 hours in the water each day.

If a $6.50 hotel gives you the creeps, you’re in good company. It’s always a gamble to travel on the cheap in India. (For instance, you may have read my post about getting sick on an inexpensive train). Usually, you get lucky with hotels and homestays: clean, no-frills rooms in small cities or towns go for no more than $10-12 per night. But sometimes you get what you pay for. I recently slept in a room with mosquitoes, cockroaches, and a giant rat—all gifts from an $8-per-night room in south India. Perhaps I should stick with cheap rooms on the beach.

The Dalai Lama and Justin Timberlake

If given the opportunity to attend a 3-day secret Tantric Buddhist Initiation Ceremony hosted by none other than the Dalai Lama, please go. Just drop everything and go. That's what I did. The ceremony may be completely over your head. (It was for me.) But, for sure, it will be a fascinating cultural experience.

It would be improper to discuss in detail what went on at the secret ceremony—and to be honest, I understood little. But I can divulge my favorite part. It was when the Dalai Lama entered and exited the temple each day. By way of background, Bhuddism is all about minimizing the self. It requires the relinquishment of personal desire and the development of compassion for fellow human beings. Well, when the Dalai Lama walks by, people seem to forget their Bhuddist principles. Suddenly, its like he's Justin Timberlake surrounded by a crowd of tweens. Thousands push, shove, and try to get close to him. Literally hurl themselves at him. Some people cry. Dozens of bouncers and escorts have to hold the crowd back as general hysteria ensues. The Dalai Lama, maintaining his sanguinity, reaches out towards the crowd, shakes a few hands, and meets eyes with his devotees. Such a cool cat. (And an amazing person, by the way.)

Sure, he may give off a different vibe than Justin Timberlake, but the Dalai Lama's fans get just as crazed.

At the teaching. Note the path (top left) where the DL walked each day of the ceremony.

Attendees placed cushions on the floor to reserve seats. My spot is marked by a white scarf and blue cushion (lower right).

Food poisoning in sleeper class

Sleeper class, one of five classes on Indian trains, lacks the charm and cleanliness of European sleeper trains. Many foreigners opt not to travel this class in India. Especially foreigners with food poisoning.

I had my first sleeper class experience on a 14-hour overnight train from Varanasi to Delhi. Let me paint the scene. In my train car there were 72 beds, or berths, all connected by a hallway that ran the length of the car. There were no doors or curtains. Walking to the bathroom, which was a metal hole leading straight to the train tracks, required bypassing dozens of unticketed passengers sleeping on the floor. People snored so loudly that even earplugs and a pillow over my head couldn't shield me from the noise. Some travelers also blared Bollywood music on their cell phones. Tea sellers, or chaiwalas, made their way down the hallway at all hours of the night, announcing their presence loudly: "Chai, chai, garam chai!" One passenger, maybe tired of sleeping on his own cramped berth, tried sitting on mine around midnight, hoping that I might not notice (?!). The air was thick from the concentration of bodies.

Approximately four hours into the trip, I developed a stomach ache. A few hours later, I ran to the bathroom so fast that I accidentally stepped on several people camped at the base of my bed. Everything came up, out, and about. Afterwards, I felt so weak that I couldn't pull myself from the bathroom floor, now slick with vomit that had moistened pre-existing layers of dirt. I spent the next several hours hovering over the "toilet," deliriously contemplating whether I should jump off the moving train and pray for a nearby hospital. Unable to move, I listened to would-be bathroom goers rapping on the door. In early morning, I hobbled back to my berth. Shivering and wet, I waited for the train to arrive.

The food poisoning lasted for several days, but nothing compared in severity to its beginnings in sleeper class. Incidentally, I'm writing this post while traveling on an Indian train again. I'm now in a higher class—and I'm hoping for nothing noteworthy.

A typical Indian train station. Crowded, much? Most people are sleeping here for the night.

Inside sleeper class.

The toilet where I spent a night. Apparently it was photo-worthy even before I got sick.

Things that impress me: Making fire with sticks

Let's be honest. I have few practical skills. I can write a philosophy paper or develop a business strategy for an insurance company, but when it comes to doing something like making fire with sticks, I'm severely lacking.

Enter my good friend from India. Recently while at 12,000 feet elevation in freezing temperatures, he made a fire using only sticks, his knife, and a string. Am I alone here, or did anyone else think that only MacGyver could do that? If you ever find yourself up a cold creek without any matches, here's his 5 point plan for building a fire:

1. Find sticks that will produce good ash. Ideally, ash should be like powder, not like "weirdly shaped cylinders", which are indicative of damp wood.
2. Gear up a bow, a base stick, a clamp stick, and friction stick. Carve them with the knife you have handy. (I mean, who doesn't carry a knife at all times?)
3. Cut a notch in the base stick so that a coal can form.
4. Move the bow back and forth so that the friction stick creates ash with the base stick.
5. After a smoking coal has formed from the ash, drop it in some tinder. Blow on it.

But if you're like me, better not try at all. The calories you'd burn failing would be better used raising your core body temperature.

Skies in India

Click, click, click. I find myself taking photos of India's skies more than anything. Especially in the northern state of Uttarakhand, views during sunrise and sunset are stunning. During the region's worst monsoon season in decades, views during storms also were unbelievable. As a friend would say, "So UNBEELEEBA!" Here are a few of my favorite shots.