Marty and Sarah's Circumnavigation - February 2009

We're in Amsterdam Safe & Sound

2009-02-25T07:54:00.000-08:00

Though our entries have not caught up with where we really are, we wanted to let you know that we are safe and sound in Amsterdam, after being diverted to Belgium (just moments after the plane crash here.) We spent a few unplanned hours in Belgium and returned and are now enjoying a beer in Amsterdam.

Shiva Temple Thiruvannamalai

2009-02-24T03:49:00.000-08:00

Sathya took us to the Shiva Temple, which Marty had been talking about going to since we were in Nepal. As non-hindus, we weren't allowed to go inside the depths of the temple in Kathmandu, but Marty insisted we'd be able to in Tiru. He was right and it was a powerful experience.

Outside of the temple on the ground were many designs, which I learned were called rangoli, traditionally created by women out of colored rice powder that decorate homes and temples as a form of thanksgiving, an adornment of the earth that nurtures us.

The Shiva temple is over 1000 years old and is carved in solid rock ornamented with hundreds of figures of gods, people, animals and plants. There are towers outside for the lower castes to who weren't allowed to enter the temple itself, but could worship from the outside.

We passed through a number of pillared halls called mandapam, to an inner sanctum (Marty says think of Indiana Jones with flaming torches for light) where the temple's main deity is housed. We were able to easily pass through the line, as we were with a Brahmin.

In this temple there were two inner sanctums, one with a Shiva lingam (a phallic shaped stone which represents the very instant of creation, or rather of regeneration, when the perishable regenerates itself in another form) and another inner sanctum where worship to the "mother goddess" was going on.

In in each tiny inner sanctum there were four or five priests elaborately adorned and covered in ash, performing rituals, offering, and chanting in front of each deity. It was dark, hot, stuffy and wild in there. And the energy was palpable. That's why the video camera was so shaky!

We weren't allows to photograph inside the temple so this is a scene from the outside (though inside the grounds.) Just to put it in perspective, the temple itself has an 20' high and 6' thick outer wall that runs 1/4 of a mile by an 1/8 of a mile. It is a huge space. In the video, you'll see the temple's elephant, Rukmini, whose mother had killed someone the day before Marty happened to visit the temple before in 1993. He was a bit fearful of getting near the elephant, and this video captures his relief and almost ecstatic smile after his darshan with the elephant.

The temple's cowshed housed many baby cows ( I suppose they use the milk the mothers for the services). I loved feeding them, some of them were only a week old. Their sweet demeanor and big brown eyes truly reminded me of my dog TT who passed a few days before we left on this trip.

We're currently posting this from London. We leave for Amsterdam this morning. We have a lot of great video from the Ganges river in Rishikesh. If we have the opportunity, we'll post it before we get back to Arizona. Here's a photo from our room in Rishikesh. More later.

Parotas, on the way to Tiru

2009-02-23T09:00:00.000-08:00

After we left Ganeshpuri and the Nityananda shrine, we flew from Mumbai to Chennai (now Madras), in the state of Tamil Nadu. We spent the night at the Radisson, a good choice in India. That's where we discovered India is in love with Jon Bon Jovi and Bryan Adams' music. The server in the Regency Club played it loudly over and over and said it was the latest rage.

The next morning, after I received an ayurvedic foot massage that came complimentary with the room and Marty ate another dosa, we set off for a four hour drive to Thiruvannamalai (known as Tiru). Tiru is a small town in southern India, famous for its gigantic Shiva temple, Mount Arunachula, and the ashram of the great sage, Ramana Maharshi who died in 1950.

Along the way, our driver, another man named Ganesh, continuously beeped. It was so irritating that we were so relieved to pull off to a road side chai shop. Marty decided to eat whatever the man at the grill was making, because it was in the shape of a pizza. These "little pizzas" were later identified as parotas. This lunch was proving to be both fascinating and dangerous for our health.

The whole time the cook is making the parotas, you'll see a man brushing his teeth and washing up right behind him. Watch how the cook 'manhandles' the food after and serves it to us on a banana leaf.

We also ate the guavas that a woman was selling by the road. YUM! The chai was delicious too. We'll have a video on how to make that later from Rishikesh. We eventually made our way to the Sparsa EcoResort, a perfect place to stay while visiting Tiru.

Sparsa Resort in Tiru

2009-02-23T08:58:00.000-08:00

We stayed at the Sparsa resort, a gorgeous eco resort about a mile from Ramana's ashram that we learned about from our friend who had just been to Mukti from Boston.

We watched the traditional pottery making technique, and got a parrot and rat astrology reading (the rat turned out to be a guinea pig.) These two creatures lived next to each other in a tiny divided wooden cage. When the door to their cage slid open, they were trained to run to a spread of cards and each chose one. The cards were pictures of various Indian gods. The ones the guinea pig and parrot chose apparently indicated that I'd have a strong body until I was 90 and that March 22nd of this year is a start of a long period of good luck (it's also our 6th wedding anniversary.) Marty isn't that into parrot, rat, or any type of astrological readings.

In Tiru, we met up with our friend Corrine's husband, Sathya, a Brahmin who's lived in Tiru for 14 years. We ate lunch a delicious lunch of spicy rice and yogurt and dahl at his home that his brother Krishanmurti made. After that he took us to the guest house he was building adjacent a rice field, and toured us through Tiru with his own private tuk tuk and his brakeless car.

Along the way, we saw many, many ashrams either newly built or just being built for followers of the 'living gurus' springing up around the area. This seems to be primarily because of popularity of Ramana's teachings and the people coming from the west to see where he lived who bring a readiness to seek enlightenment and willingness to spend money. In 1993 Marty stayed in Ramana Maharshi's ashram, it was much less crowded than today.

Ramana's Ashram

2009-02-23T08:00:00.000-08:00

We caught a ride from Sparsa in a tuk tuk about a mile to Ramana's ashram. We passed an array of monkeys, dogs, and sadhus (covered in sacred ash in a variety of ways), worshippers of Shiva. They lined the roadsides and, napping just about anywhere.

We spent the afternoon at the ashram. It's very peaceful and in addition to the many Indian pilgrims, the ashram we saw many Americans and Europeans. People can stay there for a period of up to two weeks. Ramana's ashram provides a daily free meal to the sadhus, so they line up outside of the ashram gates, waiting.

The routine there consists of Brahmin boys chanting vedic mantras around Ramana's burial site (in the temple) and people circumambulate the shrine. In the video you'll see a very small room where Ramana actually died, or took mahanirvana. We found that we preferred meditating in the old hall where Ramana sat when he wasn't walking around the mountain (Mt. Arunachala) in his later years.

Like Nityananda's, Ramana Maharshi's appeal crossed numerous cultural and religious boundaries. So even though their temples are Hindu based, the teachings transcend any religion. It's the discovery of the Self that is the main emphasis.

Ramana's Enlightenment Experience at the Age of 16

2009-02-23T07:33:00.000-08:00

Ramana Maharshi was an Indian Sage (1879 – 1950) best known for his teachings of self-inquiry. The most popular book he wrote was called Who Am I?

Ramana was born to a Brahmin family in the state of Tamil Nadu. At the age of 16, he had a life changing experience during which he spontaneously initiated a process of self-inquiry that culminated, within a few minutes, in his own permanent awakening.

He left his home for a mountain named Arunachala in Thiruvannamali where he lived in a cave for many years. He radiated a powerful silence which attracted followers and quieted minds. When asked for advice, he recommended self-inquiry as the fastest path to liberation, or moksha. His primary teaching is associated with Vedanta, and Jnana Yoga, and he recommends a variety of paths and practices.

Below is the video of his words as they are posted on the wall in the ashram. The sounds you hear as you read it are the sounds of the peacocks that surround the ashram.

Here is the transcript:
"It was in 1896, about 6 weeks before I left Madurai for good (to go to Tiruvannamalai - Arunachala) that this great change in my life took place. I was sitting alone in a room on the first floor of my uncle's house. I seldom had any sickness and on that day there was nothing wrong with my health, but a sudden violent fear of death overtook me. There was nothing in my state of health to account for it nor was there any urge in me to find out whether there was any account for the fear. I just felt I was going to die and began thinking what to do about it. It did not occur to me to consult a doctor or any elders or friends. I felt I had to solve the problem myself then and there. The shock of the fear of death drove my mind inwards and I said to myself mentally, without actually framing the words: 'Now death has come; what does it mean? What is it that is dying? This body dies.' And at once I dramatised the occurrence of death. I lay with my limbs stretched out still as though rigor mortis has set in, and imitated a corpse so as to give greater reality to the enquiry. I held my breath and kept my lips tightly closed so that no sound could escape, and that neither the word 'I' nor any word could be uttered. 'Well then,' I said to myself, 'this body is dead. It will be carried stiff to the burning ground and there burn and reduced to ashes. But with the death of the body, am I dead? Is the body I? It is silent and inert, but I feel the full force of my personality and even the voice of I within me, apart from it. So I am the Spirit transcending the body. The body dies but the spirit transcending it cannot be touched by death. That means I am the deathless Spirit.' All this was not dull thought; it flashed through me vividly as living truths which I perceived directly almost without thought process. I was something real, the only real thing about my present state, and all the conscious activity connected with the body was centered on that I. From that moment onwards, the I or Self focused attention on itself by a powerful fascination. Fear of death vanished once and for all. The ego was lost in the flood of Self-awareness. Absorption in the Self continued unbroken from that time. Other thought might come and go like the various notes of music, but the I continued like the fundamental sruti [that which is heard] note which underlies and blends with all other notes."

Mumbai (Bombay) to Ganeshpuri

2009-02-23T01:27:00.000-08:00

While writing this entry, we hear that Slumdog won eight Oscars! The movie is about Mumbai, otherwise known as Bombay, a city that 19 million people call home (almost 3 times the population of Arizona). We are no longer in the state of Rajasthan, we flew Jet Airways to Mumbai in the state of Maharastra (one of the 24 states of India).

You'll see in the short video below that there are a LOT of slums, sidled right up to the new construction of huge highrises. The insanity of Bollywood's home is profound - tens of thousands of stray dogs, beggars, cows, mothers and children all competing for food in the garbage dumps, which are everywhere and mostly consist of plastic bags. This is the other side of India: it's living close to the earth.

There is a huge, thick layer of dirt that has landed on the plastic bag roofs of these huts and hangs in the air from the burning of diesel fuel, and the soundtrack to this place is the constant, high-pitched horn beeping. Beeping isn't done to get someone out of the way, it's mandatory if one is passing another cow, dog, person, bicyclist, truck, bus, car, or tuk tuk (the three-wheeled rickshaw.)

As we began this 1.5 hour ride north from Mumbai to Ganeshpuri, a tiny village where Marty lived in 1977, we listened to our Om Mane Padme Hum CD from Nepal. Then, we suggested our driver, Ganesh, who spoke almost English, choose the music. Between the incessant beeping and the Ganesh's favorite Bollywood song, the trip seemed like its own movie.

Next Stop: Ganeshpuri

2009-02-23T01:22:00.000-08:00

We arrived in Ganeshpuri, a small village that sprouted up around a guru named Nityananda (1897? - 1961). It was said that he went there because of his arthritis and there were mineral hot springs right next to the temple. If you've been to our home in Sedona, you might have seen a large bronze statue in Marty's office. That is one of Nityananda which Marty had made on his last trip to India. Nityanada is best known as the guru of Swami Muktananda. To get a real flavor of Nityananda and who he was, read about Muktananda's The Play of Consciousness.

The small village of Ganeshpuri is now a pilgrimage site and you'll see in this video the temple, his home, and the place where he took mahasamadhi (died) in 1961. That was the place we sat and meditated after putting in our feet in the hot springs.

It's said Nityananda's mother abandoned him and he was found/adopted by a woman who worked as a servant. Even as a child, stories report that Nityananda seemed to be in an unusually advanced spiritual state, which gave rise to the belief that he was born enlightened. As a young man, he became a wandering yogi, spending time on yogic studies and practices in the Himalayas and other places.

Nityananda gained a reputation for affecting miracles and wonderful cures. He said, "Everything that happens, happens automatically by the will of god." He built an ashram in Kerala, and then wandered through the Maharastra state. In 1936 he went to Ganeshpuri, a tiny village with hotsprings and a tiny Shiva Temple (5' x 5'). The family that looked after the temple built a hut for him, the recognized him as an advaduta, (a person absorbed in the transcendental state.)

Nityananda didn't teach verbally: he was mostly silent. Some believe that he transmitted spiritual energy (shaktipat) to people. He could also be extremely fiery and intimidating in his behaviour, even to the point of throwing rocks - his way of deterring people who were not serious in their spiritual aspirations, or who came to him with ulterior motives.

Lunch in Ganeshpuri

2009-02-23T01:20:00.000-08:00

Here is where we had lunch in Ganeshpuri.

Valentine's Day in Rajasthan

2009-02-20T16:35:00.000-08:00

Valentine's day dinner was ours at the Lake Palace Hotel in the light of candles, surrounded by fresh flowers, exquisitely served by men with turbans. We felt, once again, that we were having our own personal concert, this time with music from a tambura (a long-necked instrument with four or five wire strings, plucked one to create a harmonic drone) and a sitar (pictured here - made famous by Ravi Shankar in the movie The Concert for Bangladesh, 1971.)

We ate a traditional meal of basmati rice and dahl, nan, followed by a coconut creme dessert. No word, no pictures even (too dark). It was our first real Indian meal (outside of the pretty good food they serve on airplanes here).

After breakfast the next day (see the blog entry below), we checked into the "other" hotel by the lake (this one is on the shore), the Oberoi Udaivillas. The Lake Palace hotel is said to be the most romantic hotel in the world, and according to Travel and Leisure, the Oberoi is ranked as the #1 hotel in the world. It's only 6 years old and no expense was spared building the hotel of 87 rooms. We had a room with a semi-private pool. This is not your father's Buick, nor the India that Marty and I remember from years ago.

When we checked in we were greeted by yet another security check through the luggage, our taxi, and our bodies, and once we passed, we were greeted and adorned with a bindi (sandal paste on our third eye) by a woman dressed in a beautiful sari. We were served my favorite new drink, a pink iced tea that tasted like rose petals. I found out it was made with rose syrup. I will be serving this at my home this summer.

We wanted to play the Om Mane Padme Hum recording we brought with us from Kathmandu. In our room there was a combo TV, DVD, CD player. I turned it on for the CD, and who was on the television? Yup, in his ruby-studded glasses, there was Deepak Chopra talking about non-violence. And his vow of non violence. (Most people I run into don't know who he is - though keep in mind I meet mostly service personnel.)

When I first heard about the vow of non-violence, we were leading a meditation Radiance Retreat in Sedona in November. Could I honestly take the vow of non violence in thought, word and deed? I know I can't control ALL of the thoughts that I hear. It's not that I am particularly violent, but it can be a reaction in my mind when I encounter a story or see people hurting each other or animals for no good reason. I often meet these thoughts with inquiry, and eventually experience the sense of non-violence, but nevertheless, these thoughts do occasionally arise without my permission, so to speak. But as I listened in my hotel room in Rajasthan, Deepak clearly said it's a vow of non-violence in speech and actions. I can do that.

The Oberoi Udaivillas in Udaipur, Rajasthan

2009-02-20T16:30:00.000-08:00

Here is a peak at this fabulous hotel and what goes on during our dinner as we dined lakeside. This traditional Rajasthani village dance, called the Chari. is meant to express the happiness felt finding drinking water in the desert. Cottonseeds are set aflame in the pot balanced on her head.

Breakfast at the Lake Palace Hotel

2009-02-20T08:24:00.000-08:00

Okay, the secret's out. One of our main motivations for coming to India is to eat. We both love Indian food (along with the chai, music, incense, temples, many religions, and the swamis, sadus, charlatans and holy people that go along with all that.

Marty's favorite thing to eat in the morning is a masala dosa with sambar, and mine is an idly (thought I eat more than one, so they are called idlis) with coconut chutney. These two dishes are traditional dishes of south India states and are served in very few Indian restaurants in America.

Idlis are cakes are usually two to three inches in diameter and are made by steaming a batter consisting of fermented lentils and mostly rice. The fermentation process makes them easy to digest.

A masala dosa is a very large thin lentil-flour pancake rolled into a hollow tube stuffed with a small portion of spicy vegetable potato mixture. It's served with sambar, a very thin tamarind-based stew. In 1993, Marty first ate dosas while visiting a restaurant near Ramana Maharshi's ashram in south India and in fact, one time, along with his friends Mike and Janine and the young Swami Nityananda, he ordered a 6 foot long dosa at Tirupati (the most visited shrine in India dedicated to Balaji, a incarnation of the Hindu god Vishnu.) Marty calls it a crepe on spicy steroids, and wishes I could learn to make them.

When I stayed in Ammachi's ashram in Kerala (a state in South India), I looked forward to breakfast (and every other meal of course) because I had discovered the idlis. Marty said they also served idlis at breakfast in Ramana's ashram.

Welcome to India's Rajasthan

2009-02-20T08:00:00.000-08:00

We left Nepal,flew into Delhi and connected to Udaipur, a sweet colorful town of the state of Rajasthan. We arrived at a time of many weddings, it was an astrologically auspicious time, Friday the 13th. And the weddings here go on for days. We caught some of the fireworks one family had set off for their newlyweds. You'll see that in days to come.

India has many a palaces, this one is set amidst Lake Pichola. It was heavenly. The Lake Palace hotel has been featured in magazines and travel books and for years I had hoped that I'd visit it. Then there we were for Valentine's day. It wasn't the India I remembered from my trip in 1997, this was a fantasy India experience: clean, easy, quiet, and set to the most beautiful soundtrack of birds singing, and sitar playing.

Leaving Nepal

2009-02-17T09:18:00.000-08:00

Swayambhumath - The Monkey Temple in Kathmandu

2009-02-17T08:41:00.000-08:00

Yep, you guessed it. A temple with what? A lot of monkeys. Lots. And lots of dogs, and sadhus smoking pot. And stupas and people. There are also shops, restaurants and hostels.

This is what Wikipedia says: This temple is an ancient religious complex atop a hill and the Tibetan name for the site means 'Sublime Trees'. Swayambhunath is one of the most sacred sites of Buddhist pilgrimage in Nepal, second only to Boudhanath (we have a video on that below).

The Swayambhunath complex consists of a stupa, a variety of shrines and temples, including a Tibetan monastery, a museum and a library. The stupa has Buddha's eyes and eyebrows painted on. Between them, there is something painted which looks like the nose - but is the Nepali symbol of 'unity'.

Bhaktapur- The Ancient Newari Capital of Nepal

2009-02-17T08:05:00.000-08:00

In the eastern valley of Kathmandu, we travel to Bhaktapur, 17 kms away from Kathmandu. It's Nepal's most perfectly preserved (and cleanest) city - with pagodas, temples and medieval palaces. It was pretty peaceful here - a nice break from the noise of Kathmandu. We walked around, had lunch with our taxi driver Mukti, and got talked into going into a Thangka painting school. This is where kids learn the art of painting the symbols you see in Tibetan Buddhism. Bhaktapur is like a living museum -they even filmed the Little Buddha here, with Keanu Reaves. I love that movie.

Mt Everest viewing from Nagarkot hill station

2009-02-16T18:00:00.000-08:00

We raced in our cab for a 20 mile ride through the Kathmandu Valley, because every ride is a race in a car without door handles, bumpers, and the things we are used to... We traveled through the dirty, noisy city life, into a bucolic farming community, and ended up at the Nargakot Hill Station, where we could see the tiniest peak in the distance - which is the biggest peak in the world, Mount Everest. It was there, even through the thick layer of pollution from Kathmandu.

Pashupatinath Shiva Temple in Kathmandu

2009-02-16T17:26:00.000-08:00

Here is the biggest Shiva temple in all of Nepal. We weren't allowed in because we aren't born Hindu, though if you ask Marty, he'll say he's Hindu sometimes.

Our taxi driver, Mukti (his name means freedom), gave us the tour here. And though we didn't go into the temple, we looked in, and saw the back of a massive cow sculpture called Nandi, Shiva's sacred cow. You'll see a lot of cows outside of this temple too. They'll eat anything. One in this video is being fed chapatis.

Most of the sadhus (practitioners of yoga solely dedicated to achieving moksha, or liberation from rebirth, through meditation) wear orange colored clothing, symbolizing renunciation. And the ones who follow Shiva tend to frequent cremation grounds. The ones around this temple aren't Nepalese, they're from India. Many of them are charlatans but some are legitimate, and it is impossible to tell the difference. They were all gathering at this temple because of the coming Shivaratri celebration. They'll each choose a spot where they'll live and worship for the next few weeks.

Marty spent a little time with them, as you'll see, and said that they're either in an extremely high state of consciousness or, they were wearing some sweet rose perfume, because they smelled great even though they were covered with the ash from the cremations (which you'll see in this video).

The Bagmati River is considered a holy river both by Hindus and Buddhists and is where cremations take place. Hindus are cremated on the banks of this river. According to the Nepalese Hindu tradition, the dead body must be dipped three times into the river before cremation to purify it. The chief mourner (usually the first son - no women are allowed) lights the funeral pyre and then must bathe in the river immediately after cremation.

The steps going down to the river are known as 'ghats'. Ghats can be used for both typical purposes (bathing, doing laundry) and religious rites (ritual bathing or ablutions) and there are also 'cremation ghats' where bodies are cremated waterside, allowing ashes to be washed away into the river.

We also visited a home for elderly and destitute folks that Mother Teresa had started. We happened to catch them at meal time, but didn't film them out of respect. They were being served some really good food by women who worked for Mother Teresa mission. They lived in rooms the size of my powder room and they seemed very peaceful and well taken care of.

This visit was a great surrender to the process of living and dying. It just happens here in India, as it does in all places, but here, it is not hidden.

Freak Street in Durbar Square and Dilip, our tour guide

2009-02-15T20:42:00.000-08:00

Dilip was our tour guide in Durbar Square, we weren't interested in having one, but the word "no" doesn't seem to be in the Nepalese dictionary, or isn't easily understood. Dilip first pointed us in the direction of a good rooftop restaurant (see previous blog entry), and after that, we trusted him to take us around the area. He spoke very quickly and he had recited the same stories over and over and perfected them. He entertained us and we thought we'd capture him on video to entertain you too.

He'll tell you about Freak Street, a street that was made famous in 60's and 70's when it was one of the places people would gather when traveling the 'road east.' In its hippie prime it was the place of cheap hotels, restaurants, and hash. The sounds of JImi Hendrix and Janis Joplin blasting from 8 track players (remember them?) along with weird and wonderful freaks who gave the street its name. The Kathmandu Guest house is the place where the Beatles stayed too, and were inspired to write their song, Kathmandu (the Beatles were also in Rishikesh when they learned to meditate for the first time, a town we'll be traveling to for Shivaratri - the birthday celebration of the Hindu god, Shiva). Here's Dilip:

Kathmandu's Durbar Square for Lunch

2009-02-14T22:35:00.000-08:00

Marty and I headed to Durbar squre, the famous hangout for hippies in the 60s in Kathmandu. Durbar Square is the religious and social heart of Kathmandu’s old city and is a complex of palaces, temples, shrines, statues and courtyards. Its hundreds of years old and feels ancient.

We had a traditional Nepali lunch on the rooftop where we could see the city. We found out about the 'living goddess' that the Newari worship (a prepubescent girl who gets replaced after she begins to menstruate. The new one was just chosen, she's three and lives in an old house in a square). We went on a tour. Surprisingly, the Nepalese speak a lot of English. Here's a little sense of the place....

Lobby of the Hyatt in Kathmandu

2009-02-14T21:17:00.000-08:00

I know, I know, going to Kathmandu and staying at the Hyatt? Yes, we did it. And I am glad we did. We were greeted in the hotel lobby filled with stupas and temples modeled after the historic buildings in Durbar square by a man serving us delicious rose infused tea. It was hauntingly beautiful at night, the sound of the fountain, Tibetan chants and the smell of incense filled the hotel lobby. The hotel is an oasis from the noise and pollution of Kathmandu, surrounded by 15 acres of gardens and parks.

This experience is so vastly different those I've taken as a backpacker and bicyclist in the Middle East and Asia. I have been able to maintain a sense of calm throughout the entire travel experience. In the past, I wouldn't be sure if the food or drink I had opted for was going to make me sick, and I'd have to erect my tent in the middle of a hotel room to sleep without bed bugs, or dress like a man to be allowed to eat in a restaurant (yes, I'd eventually get thrown out of some when they found out I was a FEMALE!). Off the beaten path has its reward for sure however, this trip has been an opportunity to witness the very best a culture can offer. And I eat and sleep peacefully. I wish that for every being in the world.

The Bodhnath Stupa in Kathmandu

2009-02-14T21:02:00.000-08:00

Morning in Kathmandu

2009-02-14T17:55:00.000-08:00

We've travelled from one of the richest cities in the world to one of the poorest countries in the world. We have come and gone from Kathmandu, Nepal's capital.

Nepal, according to our guidebook, is the 8th poorest country in the world. I believe it however there was so much sweetness present. We haven't been able to upload the videos we have.... we'll keep trying from time to time. We've even tried now that we've reach the technolgy capital of India.... to no avail.

Nepal is the most physically beautiful country, thought it is hard to see some of it through the thick layer of pollution and smoke. Here, the most angelic people seem to live. We went from Stupa to temple to the most beautiful Hindus and Buddhists live and worship side by side in the many stupas and temples throughout the city. There is a lot of poverty, oprhaned, dirty children, and many stray dogs. The city is highly polluted from the cars, huge piles of burning incense, truck exhaust, brick factories, and fires people use to heat their homes.

Nepal recently lost their king (he was kicked out for not helping the people, and moved out of the city) and the Maoist government (mostly guerillas from the western part of the country) came into power after shoing their strennth over time, killing police and taken their weapons. All in the name of sharing wealth with the people. Then have not done anything. And they've left a lot of homeless children in their wake. And no one is in charge. There really is very little infrastructure and government at this time at all. No trash collection, no clean water, no running water in most parts, intermittant electricity, and no pollution controls at all.

Here's an example. We travel down the streets (not necessarily paved), four vehicles to a lane (not really a lane) - motorcycles, bikes, cars, trucks and buses and arrivea at a busy intersection, and there are traffic lights, but they are all turned off. When we asked why, it was because they never worked and no one paid attention. There could be one or two police officers there ineffectually waving in different directions, and then comes the game of chicken. And it is wild and scary. But we got to where we were going and only saw two accidents.

When we spoke with some Nepalese, we got around to asking them if they were Maoist or Congress (for the King) and if they were Hindu or Buddhist. I'd say it was 50-50 for each. And that is the sweet part. The harmony and the sweetness was radiant.

We walked a few blocks from our hotel to Bodhnath - one of the world's largest stupas - a reglious monument for Tibetan Buddhists (there are a lot of refugees from Tibet here). Devotees walk clockwise around the stupa turning the prayer wheels and chanting Om Mane Padme Hum - the traditional mantra for Tibetan Buddhists. There is a ritual where prayer flags are raised, and saffron colored water is thrown from buckets to create a look of lotus leaves - apparently this bestows blessings on all, and especially to the one who 'gives a donation.' We did that. I know we are blessed.

Morning walks by the Hong Kong Harbor

2009-02-10T20:15:00.000-08:00

It is our last day in Hong Kong. Went the Peninsula spa yesteday and we ate lunch by the pool. Video on that later. We're on our way to Kathmandu in a few hours. We're leaving the 'physical' and going to the 'spiritual' but there really isn't much difference is there? It is the integration that's important. The yoga of it all.

I called Hong Kong heaven on earth, and it wasn't because of the shopping. There is a certain harmony here between people, a respect that is universal. That is definitely a component of heaven on earth. It's a good start.

My prayer is that humans not only live in harmony with each other, but with the earth - honoring her by treating all living beings with dignity. Marty loves it.

We took a ferry then a bus to Victoria Peak, the high hills behind the towers through the marine layer on the Hong Kong side. Here are some photos of the ferry we took from Kowloon to Hong Kong, about 8 minutes.

There's a tram to the top of Victoria Peak. We took the bus up though, it is the more scenic choice, and then we had a very fast ride down on the tram. Obivously we didn't take this photo.

First night in Hong Kong

2009-02-10T19:18:00.000-08:00

Our first night in Hong Kong we went around the corner to eat .... We were amazed at the noise and the colors and the crowds along the streets - a huge contrast to the silence that pervaded Tokyo. We were looking for Dim Sum, the traditional Chinese cuisine - a variety of foods served in small portions - foods steamed in bamboo containers and pan or deep fried dumplings. We didn't get it.

We didn't eat turtle, pigeon, shark's fin soup or tripe either. We did get Dim Sum the next day on top of Victoria Peak on the Island of Hong Kong. See, where we stayed andwhere all the action is, is across the harbor from Hong Kong, in Kowloon.

Hong Kong straight to the Peninsula in a Rolls

2009-02-10T18:18:00.000-08:00

I knew we were going to stay at the famously glamorous Peninsula hotel, but I didn't have any idea what Marty had in store for us. This hotel is where East meets West perfectly, which the island of Hong Kong exemplifies. I didn't really have a big desire to come to Hong Kong, but now, I think it is one of my favorite cities. It is dramatic and international and it all seems unreal.

This is the video of our ride from the airport in the Rolls Royce. A big surprise, and a little tough to recieve. Though I did my best.

Here we are..... and then we bypass check in because we were met at the door by our private concierge and escorted to our suite (!).

This is obviously where Steve Wynn got his inspiration for the Bellagio and the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas. And movie buffs might want to know that in the latest Batman movie, the helicopter lands on the roof of this hotel. More later.

Marty ended up eating that fruit - a rambutan from Malaysia. He said it wasn't as good as it looked, but the papaya was perfect.

Leaving Tokyo... some lasting impressions

2009-02-10T01:10:00.000-08:00

Vending machines seem to be a preferred way to shop.

Cartoons everywhere... on manhole covers, on buses, ...

The bride and groom.

Everyone, everywhere seems to love Barack Obama.

Plastic food abounds at the Narita Airport - instead of menus with pictures like we have in the states, Japan has lots of plastic food models. Here's a case full of them.

Meiji Shinto Temple in Tokyo

2009-02-09T17:14:00.000-08:00

After leaving the streets of Harajuku, we entered the silent wooded world of the Meiji-Jingu Shinto Shrine. It feels a little like a Buddhist temple, but Shintoism is different, though isn't really considered a religion today. It was however the religion of Japan at one point. Denise, the woman we met up with, told us that Shintoism was the religion of the upper class, to differentiate them from the plain folks, though I didn't see that in Wikipedia.

Shinto is a shamanic practice, with rituals to harmonize the relations of humans and nature spirits. There's a great love and reverence for nature - so a waterfall, the moon, trees, or an oddly shaped rock and even wild people or characters might be regarded as a a spirit filled entity.

Below is a video of a Shinto wedding.

You'll see the shrine gates are flanked by sake barrels on one side and wine barrels on the other donated by companies throughout Japan and the world to signify bringing of gods and people together. In Japan's oldest texts, the word used for sake is miki, written with the characters for 'god' and 'wine.' People would go a shrine festival and be given rice wine to drink, and they would feel happy and closer to the gods. I knew wine was spiritual. Rice wine, grape wine...

Harajuku - Where the hip young people hang out.

2009-02-08T19:24:00.000-08:00

The majority of the people we ran into in Tokyo seemed to be all tucked in, controlled, in a sense. Very refined. Almost the opposite of most Americans. And then there is Harajuku - the place where you see youngsters and artists dressed in something other than black, sporting Little Bo Peep outfits or kitty costumes or other odd get-ups. It was a fun place to meet Denise from Sedona who lives in Japan. We ate crepes, which surprisingly were not made of rice. Then headed to a Shinto temple and caught a Shinto wedding. More on that later. Now, here's the street scene:

Jizo Garden outside the Temple

2009-02-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

A Jizo is the bodhisattva. (A bodhisattva is one who has attained enlightenment, whose true nature has found peace, but who has renounced 'nirvana' for the sake of helping others in their journey to liberation from suffering.) Jizos plunge fearlessly into any place or situation to help those in need. For anyone who has lost a child, Jizo is a powerful image of hope and solace. Jizo's qualities include unflagging optimism, fearlessness, and gentleness. Jizo Bodhisattva is usually portrayed as a child-monk, often carrying a pilgrim's staff with six rings that jingle to warn animals of his approach and prevent mutual harm. Here is the garden outside of the temple:

Marty is going to upload one more video of Japan. And next you'll hear all about Hong Kong. Which is a whole lot bluer than the Tokyo gray we were experiencing (even when it was sunny!)

Chanting the Heart Sutra outside the temple

2009-02-08T14:55:00.000-08:00

We met a man who handed us a card with the words of the heart sutra. I asked him to chant it and he did. The Heart Sutra essentially is translated to "Form is emptiness; emptiness is form; form is not other than emptiness; emptiness is not other than form." Oh, and when Buddhists talk about emptiness, it isn't the void, it is the field, the same field that Einstein was in search of. The field from which all thing arise.

The Heart Sutra, in its Japanese form (the Hannya Shingyo), is often chanted by Zen groups before and/or after a meditation sitting, and you don't need to understand the words in order to derive benefit from it, simply allowing yourself to become absorbed in the act of chanting. So just listening to it is good for the soul. Listening to this man chant for me was a sweet experience that reminded me of my life at Zen Mountain Center... Chanting, sitting, incense and all. And the Jizo garden too.

The Buddhist Temple Experience

2009-02-08T13:22:00.000-08:00

Meditating at Zojoji. Finally able to upload the video, some of which I talked about in the prior post.

Tokyo - Ginza, Jizos at the Zen Temple & The Heart Sutra

2009-02-08T01:04:00.000-08:00

We have landed in Hong Kong and after an amazing ride from the airport - (more on that later)we've arrived in our suite at the Penninsula and I don't want to give too much away about where we are. You'll have to wait for the video, which isn't ready yet. I worked on the videos from Tokyo on the plane. So here is one of them.... Actually two of them. From a visit to a shopping district (I'm not a big shopper but the shopping here BLOWS the shopping in the Ginza district in Tokyo away) and a jaunt to a Zen Buddhist temple.

I have been trying to upload a video from the Buddhist Temple near our hotel in Tokyo.

3 am in Tokyo

2009-02-06T10:38:00.001-08:00

3 am on Saturday, and Marty and I are wide awake. It is 11:30 Friday morning at home. My internal clock thinks that is really what time it is.

We realize now what the key is to the slender Japanese: Portion control. We went to dinner last night at the hotel's Yakatori restaurant, which means grilled meat. It was lit up like a diner, everyone sat in stools next to each other. The prix fixe for hotel guests was $60. I didn't order it, being a vegetarian and all. But Marty did. This is how he describes his meal:

"The first course was three tiny cups. One with seaweed, another with two tiny pieces of chicken and a pickled thing. Teeny."

It would not fulfill the American's idea of "Let's get an appetizer." The next course was the beginning of the Yakatori. Skewered meat or vegetables. It started with two chicken wings which he ate, or tried to eat, with chopsticks. The other eight patrons in the restaurant, dressed in black and varying shades of gray, did the same thing. All eventually ate the two wings with their fingers.

I had ordered vegetarian selections: shitake mushrooms, asparagus, and kappa makki (cucumber sushi). I got two shitake mushrooms on a skewer and one asparagus grilled and cut into bite size pieces. Before leaving the hotel room, I picked up Joseph Campbell's book and turned to a random page, Reflections on the Art of Living.

Joseph Campbell wrote, "Vegetarianism is the first turning away from life, because life lives on lives, Vegetarians are just eating something that can't run away." Food for thought as we headed to the 'restaurant floor' in the basement of the hotel in the glass elevator from the 17th floor. I ordered vegetarian anyway.

The third course of Marty's meal: He thought it was another skewer of bite-sized pieces of steak, but it turned out to be liver, and brought back memories of his mother's cooking. And thoughts of "where's the ketchup?" Also he remembered the 'Bodies' show where he found out that the liver was really a Fram Oil Filter - like in a car. And he didn't particularly enjoy that.

"The next thing that I got looked like a corndog, I enjoyed it immensely, and I didn't know what it was. The diners next to me rejected theirs - there was something wrong with it."

These meals were served by a young woman in a kimono with a very worried look on her face, and was watched by a man in a black suit - the manager. probably. The rejection of the corndog set off a series of deep bows by everyone directed toward the unpleased diners next to us.The bows didn't end until they moments later, leaving their steaming tea behind.

Next came Marty's chicken broth and rice. I was taking my time with my asparagus spear. After he finished the rice, the young girl brought over a heaping tablespoon of vanilla icecream. along with a spoon that Marty hadn't seen since he had fed his kids when they were six months' old. Seriously. She refilled our bancha tea. And we left.

Lunch yesterday was a different story. We had walked over to the Imperial Gardens, which we didn't see because they're closed on Fridays, and ate in another basement. We chose to go to the restaurant which seemed the noisiest and most popular without a hint of English on the signs or menu. We thoroughly enjoyed our experience. Especially Marty. Here's a peek.

RIght now out the window in Tokyo

2009-02-06T01:03:00.000-08:00

I forgot to mention that when we got off the plane in Narita, we were stopped by two police men. They proved it by showing their armbands which read 'POLICE' then asking us for our passports. "We don't want to suspicious you," they said.

Then we headed to the hotel an hour away in Tokyo where Winston, my brother, had ordered a bottle of champagne on ice waiting for us. We are drinking it this evening. Here is the view from our window right now. No it is not Paris. It is Tokyo. You'll see....

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Marty's Birthday Feb 4th....

2009-02-06T00:58:00.001-08:00

This is Marty's B'day party, on February 3rd, the evening before it really was in Los Angeles. We went to a the lounge on the rooftop at the Standard, then to dinner at Morton's with Sasha, Danielle, Lars and Sheena, where we ate and ate and ate and then finished off dinner with delicious cupcakes.... Here's the pic... I have chosen not to post some of his avant garde films that he and Lars produced and starred in during dinner. Perhaps Lars will do that on his Facebook page.

6 am in Tokyo outside of the Temple Gate

2009-02-05T16:20:00.000-08:00

First Morning in Tokyo

2009-02-05T15:27:00.000-08:00

We had the greatest flight on Singapore air, the food was fabulous. I had a variety of vegetarian meals (we were on there for about 11 hours) and Marty said his filet mignon rivaled what he orders at Shugrue's in Sedona. I didn't even feel like I was on a plane, and didn't really want to get off and leave the service.

We got to Tokyo last night, making yesterday seem like the longest day of the year, that's because it was two days - February 4th melded into February 5th. We are staying at the Prince Park Tower in a park looking at a remake of the Eiffel tower. We woke up this morning, the 6th, at 2 am, 3 am, then 4 am. Then read everything we could get our hands on until we ventured out to see the city at 6 am. We went through through a park past the Zojoji Temple and gardens on our way to Starbucks. Not very adventurous I know. We'll get a little wilder later today.

Good thing I packed black, because that is the color of the city. Everyone wears it. And the black is contrasted by the white face masks everyone wears. Although the school kids wear them in a variety of colors. Marty was playing with the kids in the str4eet as they went to school. The kids were laughing with Marty. He was the only one making any noise in the hoards of people. Everyone was SILENT. No conversations, no cell phones, just a determined orderly silent walking to their destination. Perhaps that is how the Zen walking meditation - Kinhin got started.

As soon as I get the right cable to upload my photos, I will. In the meantime, here is a photo from the web:

It seems like about 1/4 of the people I have seen wear face masks outside, and I've heard it isn't because they don't want to breath in pollution (though that may be part of it), but because they're sick and don't want to spread their germs. Very conscientious I guess. That is what marks this city so far, orderly, conscientious, and lots of bowing. I like it so far....

Getting Ready to Go....

2009-02-01T12:10:00.001-08:00

Here is our Itinerary for our Trip in February 2009....

Feb 3 Los AngelesCelebrate Marty’s B’day (Feb 4) with kids – Danielle & Sasha and friends.

Feb 4 Marty’s Birthday, spent in the air on the way to Japan

Feb 5 - 8 Tokyo, Japan
Park Prince Hotel http://www.princejapan.com/ThePrinceParkTowerTokyo/index.asp
Tour Japanese Zen Gardens, eat sushi and drink tea.

Feb 8 - 10 Hong Kong
The Peninsula Hotel – The best place for tea on the Hong Kong harbor http://www.peninsula.com

Feb 11- 13 Kathmandu, Nepal – Foothills of the Himalayas, the most beautiful city http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathmandu

Feb 14 - 16 Rajasthan, India Valentine’s day at a romantic lake Palace
Taj Lake Palace, Udaipur http://www.tajhotels.com/palace/Taj%20Lake%20Palace,Udaipur/
Oberoi Udaivilas, Udaipur http://www.udaivilas.com/Hotel/Hotel-Overview.aspx

Feb 16 – 17 Bombay, India – Pilgrimage to Ganeshpuri, to pay homage to Nityananda, Muktananda’s guru
The Leela Kempinski, Mumbai http://www.theleela.com/hotel-mumbai.html

Feb 17 – 20 Chennai (Madras), then overland to Thiruvannamalai – Where Ramana Maharshi lived – Walk around Mount Arunachala
Sparsa www.sparsaresorts.com/tiruvannamalai.html

Feb 21 – 23 Rishikesh/Haridwar – by the Ganges where the Beatles learned to meditate, yoga ashrams abound
The Ganga Beach Resort www.gangabeachresort.com

Feb 23 - 24 Taj Mahal, Agra – a testament to love

Feb 24 – 25 London, England – Tea again?

Feb 25 – 27 Amsterdam – Van Gogh museums, canals, and more
Banks Mansion www.banksmansion.nl/

Feb 28 Phoenix, March 1 Sedona

You can reach us at our email: martyandsarah@esedona.net.
And we'll be posting our trip on this blog - including videos if we can figure it out!