(no subject)

[selene_13]

I'm in India at the moment, on holiday, having a good and fascinating (and sometimes very confronting and bizarre) time, but I just got an email by a friend which told me that unfortunately Robert Jordan has passed away.

I started reading Jordan's books when I was sixteen and have reread them many, many times. I've grown up and lived and breathed those books these past ten years. I once got to see Jordan here in Holland at a book signing, and he was a very gracious and kind man. A great writer has left us, and he will be very much missed.

I hope the concluding book (part 12), when it's released in its final form, will do justice to Jordan's vision and bring his epos to a satisfying and perfect ending.

My good wishes are with his family. What sad news.

Comments

[darynthe.livejournal.com]

You are in India! Wow, sounds incredibly exotic. Please you have to give a complete rendition of your vacation plus taxes, eh I mean plus photos!
:p

Are you by yourself? Sorry if you talk about this already, I am just totally out of LJ.

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

I'm here with my steph-dad, and we're on a tour with a guide. I don't think I'd dare to come here by myself! This country is intimidating!

But it's wonderful, amazing and tiring, and I'm seeing loads of great stuff. I'll post some pics when I get home again. :)

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

Yes, yes, post something quickly... like advice!

India

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

Oh Gosh, how to explain about India? You just got to see it!

But, advice...: Okay, take disinfectant lotion to clean your hands, or moist towels or something like that (all things, esp. toilets, can be quite dirty). DO NOT DRINK THE WATER! Drink bottled water (which is opened at your table), but plenty of it because it's very hot weather (maybe bring a hat or something for the sun). Brush your teeth with bottled water. Do not have soda's with ice, unless the ice is made from mineral water. Do not take butter that lies between melting ice cubes, unless you are somewhere trustworthy. Coke is good to drink for your stomach. Be careful with the meat (which will be chicken, chicken and more chicken); you'll get it when you see the butcher's shop in the 36 C degree heat. Make sure it is well done, and make sure the vegetables have been cooked (and be careful with salad which might be washed in the tapwater). If you do get sick (and most people do in some variation or other), then contact the local docter after a day or two/three if it hasn't gone away; don't wait too long or you'll dehydrate and you'll be much more miserable still. He'll just prescribe you some antibiotics and you'll be better in a day. Try and find quiet places to rest to get your breath back in between traveling: India is a busy place with lots and lots of people and exitement.

Expect very bouncy roads and long travel time even for seemingly short distances. Expect busy traffic and horns blowing and cows and just more people than you can imagine everywhere. In the city, take a riksha ride through the city center (this was great in Varanasi and the old center of New Delhi). Get up early because the temperature is much more bearable in the morning or late afternoon (but it gets dark early between 6 and 7 pm) and the tourist sites won't be crowded (though there were never too many tourists around when I was there just now). If you go to Varanasi, go see the evening ceremony, preferably from a boat on the Ganges to have a great view. If you go to/near Khujarou, go see the erotic temples, it is wonderful.

Also bolster yourself that you will see a lot of poverty. Do not be afraid to say "No" to salespeople who chase you down the street, even forcefully. Concerning the begging, it would be better to give money to an actual project (you might find online), than to the people on the street. They might be begging for the Maffia, or there may be nothing really wrong with them that keeps them from working (though some people are heart-breaking). A certified project is much more helpful in the long run than some rupees here or there. But if you do give, keep it to reasonable amounts (10 rupee). Even a school teacher might seem honest, but he might be riding a new moped that next week while in the school nothing changes. Mind your wallet, esp. around the kids and when you're in a Riksha keep your bag in hand just in case (they might pluck it out from beneath your feet in the busy, busy streets).

Expect people to stare at you too! But they are very friendly.

I'm probably forgetting loads of useful stuff...

I was in North India by the way: Delhi, Jaipur, Agra, Orcha, Khujarou, Varanasi. If you go around that route, you are going to see some great, wonderful and beautiful stuff (but also confrontational and horrible at times). Plus, India is just an experience to never forget. What a country! It's going to be great. You just can't really compare it to anything else.

Re: India

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

"You just can't really compare it to anything else."

Well, this just makes me look forward to it all the more. Sounds like you had a great time. We are going to be in the south, south, south, where they've changed the names of all the towns from "ore" to "uru"

We have a veritable pharmacy packed and sounds like we can't bring too much. We have three different antibiotics packed in there, but your advice about the butter was not one I'd thought of. We go to Mexico every year (and every year get sick, with just one year exception) so we need to be even more careful than that, sounds like.

Thanks for the fast response.

Post some pictures now ;-)

Re: India

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

Oh yes, if you take a taxi or other transportation, agree on a price beforehand and stick the driver to it. Don't let him persuade you into paying more on delivery (because "he had to drive 10 feet more than he thought you meant"). Agreed is agreed. Even if there is a meter in the taxi, don't go by that (they are generally faulty). Always set a price beforehand.

Re: India

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

Ah, so I have a question. What did you bring for gifts? Or what would you recommend we bring for gifts?

Re: India

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

Actually, I did most my shopping for gifts in Nepal, as that's where we spent our last week holidaying. It was a bit more relaxed shopping there! But I hear that the South of India is more easy-going and friendlier than the North where I was. Still, I bought a Ganesh statuette to give to a friend (means happiness and good fortune which you probably know) and I bought some pretty silk scarves during one of our "commercial breaks" (stop at a weaver's) which cost more than what you buy on the street but at least are the real deal. You can find antiques, silks and pashmina's on the streets for cheap prices, and maybe some of them are real, but you never know. There are a lot of necklesses offered to you. The amount of "camel-bone" necklesses alone would make it appear that there isn't a boned camel left in India (they're probably cow bone). But as long as you don't care about this, there's no problem. I didn't shop till I dropped, but some in our group certainly did! :) Have a great time!

PS. Haggle for everything.

Re: India

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

lol! I actually meant the other way around... meaning, what is a good gift to bring to our Indian hosts. But this is useful to. That space currently occupied by toiletries will have be occupied by SOMETHING on the way home. ;-)

Re: India

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

Ooooh, I did not get that... :) Feel silly now!

On the streets, you will get questions for (naturally) rupees, shampoos (from the hotels), pens and chocolates (from the kids). Some in our tour collected all the shampoos etc in a big sack and gave them off to our guide at the end to give to those who needed/wanted it. Also, again, instead of giving money it would be better to chose a project. Schoolsupplies are good for schools, of course, which are bare and basic. Giving pens randomly to children does not mean they will be used for school (probably they will be sold of).

If you mean for people personally: clothing, perhaps. Kids were very happy with (baseball)caps. People sometimes asked for western clothing (if you bring clothes which you want to get rid of anyway to ease your suitcase, you can always leave them in your hotelroom too or give them away). Kids are also happy with simple things like balloons.

I'm thinking for anything else but I'm blank.

Re: India

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

Ah, great. Pens we were thinking sounded good and baseball caps from the university here will round that out nice. Thanks! We'll try to reserve the bottle of maple syrup for the visit to Leiden at the very end of the trip. That's our usual give to Europeans gift and seems to go over very well.

Re: India

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

You go to India and end up in Leiden? (I got my degree in Leiden). How does that happen?

You know, I have received Maple Syrup as a gift before, and I was happy to be able to make American pancakes for once, so you are right, that's a good gift! :) Now if only people could import the Cheesecake Factory cheesecakes (why oh why does Holland not get about cheesecake?).

Re: India

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

How do we end up in Leiden? Same way we also end up in Torino and perhaps Montpellier, but that's too far in the future for me to worry about... besides gifts.

Cheesecake is really easy to make. Course you have to be able to buy graham crackers and as I recall the philly cream cheese is in the exotic cheese case in Netherlands (*snicker*). But the actually assembly is quite easy.

Re: India

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

Getting cream cheese over here is certainly hard. My supermarket sure doesn't have it. I've tried a cheesecake once with quarck instead of cream cheese (after a recipe), which is okay, but not the same.

There's a chain of lunchrooms here called Bagels and Beans (in Leiden center too, good bagels etc, next to the big V&D) which does sell cream cheese separately, but it sure aint cheap. Maybe I'll give it a go sometime special. They also have a cheesecake themselves, but it's not that great.

Graham crackers? Cheesecake has crackers?

Re: crackers

[darkirony.livejournal.com]

Well, that's always my favorite crust and the easiest kind to make. http://www.ciachef.edu/enthusiasts/recipes/cheesecake.asp

Here's one with a walnut and graham cracker crust that sounds really good:
http://teriskitchen.com/cakes/cheese-b.html

You could probably use dutch windmill cookies, honestly, for the crust.

You know, we had a no-bake recipe we liked that used tofu instead of cream cheese because my boyfriend is lactose intolerant. It tasted pretty good, actually. Much lighter. Remind me in about two months and I can dig up the recipe.

They had Philadelphia cream cheese at den Toom in Rotterdam when we were there.

Re: crackers

[selene-13.livejournal.com]

Thanks for the recipes, I'll try one! The first seems a bit complicated... you first bake the crust 7 mins, then later the batter is added on top of the crust and the whole thing goes back into the oven in a water bath? And when the cream is added to the batter, should it still be liquid or mixed solid?

The second recipe is maybe easier. :)

You're right, a cookie dough mix will do too, I think. But I can get crackers.

Hope you arrived savely and will have a good time.