I'm squished shoulder-to-shoulder in a crowd of native Tibetan Ladakhi people, packed neatly next to fellow onlookers. We are all patiently waiting to hear a mystical proclamation about the future. Today, of all days, two oracles—Tibetan monks who have been meditating in an isolated trance for the past year—will emerge from their stillness in order to predict the future of the village.
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Filtering by Tag: experience
Camel Trekking in Rajasthan, India
About two hours north of Jodhpur, the roads are unkempt, bumpy and uneven. We are on our way to the Thar desert in Rajasthan, India to ride camels.
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The luxurious palaces of Mehrangarh Fort overlooking Jodhpur, India.
Visiting Mehrangarh Fort in Jodhpur, India
Long term travel may sound glorious, but in practice, it can be hard.
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Colorful spices found in the Jodhpur street market.
The Seasons of Things + Visiting Jodhpur, India
Everything has it's season and right now, I'm travel worn. I kind of just want to sit bundled up in one place and not move. Is that bad? We are almost four months into our 13-month long journey, but travel in India is hard. Seriously.
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Female construction workers in Jodhpur carry sand in buckets on their head as their children play nearby.
On Flying and Not Dying in India
After traveling several months throughout India, I can't seem to understand how people don't die more often.
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A working elephant at the sanctuary carries palm branches near Trivandrum, Kerala
A theater of humanity, images of village life in Kerala, India
"In the West, you save up all your money in order to spend it on an experience. You are searching for something," our Indian travel agent winks at me. Her sparkly nose ring catches the light and her bangles jingle as she hands us our train tickets. "Us Indians, we think you're a little bit crazy; we would never travel like you. We'd rather spend our money on gold jewelry, land, or a new house." This explains her inability to tell us more about popular sights at our next destination in India.
In the West, we do believe in the almighty experience. And for me, like many, the ultimate coveted experience has always been to travel.
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Steaming fresh handmade noodles on a rainy eve in Guangzhou
Eating in China: mini mysteries & my quest for veggies
My eternal quest for edible items not secretly infused with some part of a pig or cow hasn't always been very successful this leg of the trip. That's because China is a country of meat.
The meatiness of China is something I find extra troubling given that I have now truly experienced their population issue firsthand. All that talk about China being crowded? Yeah, that's true. In regards to food, my question is this: where do they grow all the animals to feed so many meat-lovers?
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