On the outskirts of Mussoorie is a Tibetan settlement called Happy Valley. On the day I happened to wander through, a high school soccer game was being played on a dirt field which made for some fantastic shots!
With every shot and good play the crowd 'oooh'd and 'aaah'd their approval/disapproval. Even the monks were watching-
At the hilltop above the temple and stupa, thousands of flags flapped in the wind carrying prayers to heaven.
And of course with the entire town at the soccer match, what better place for a young couple (I'm guessing) to meet?
Landour has some fantastic viewpoints of the Himalayans and some spectacular sunsets. Occasionally you get treated to both which make for some great, cheesy postcard like shots, which of course you HAVE to post them online.
On a clear morning, you can almost see a ghost-like outline of them in the far distance. By sunset, they usually have disappeared like some mirage in the desert.
Almost Ghost-like-
Viewing Platform-
Telescope-
Dukan Assistant Watching Me Take Photos-
Occassionally you catch a really clear day for fantastic views and spectacular sunsets.
Clear Day-
Layers (I'm hoping it's fog and not pollution, I don’t think I was facing towards New Delhi…)-
Someone once told me that the reason why photographs in India are so spectacular are because of the colors. You’ll have to judge that for yourself!
The monkeys that I’ve encountered in India are bad, especially the ones here in Mussorie. Oh sure, they can look all cute and cuddly, but pure evil lurks behind their beady little eyes.
Almost Lady-Like-
It’s a White Hair-
Mom and Baby-
I look innocent, but piss me off and I'll fling my poo...-
I usually don’t mind most of the wildlife in India, but If even Buddhist monks (keep in mind that they revere all things living) are carrying around slingshots to ward monkeys off then you know something can’t be quite right.
No petting the “wild” Indian deer-
Monk and slingshot-
Around town you can here people scream and throw things about as monkeys come in through the doors and windows looking for food. I’ve seen them take candy from kids (and tourists).
Tasting the Houseplants-
For the life of me, I couldn’t figure out why the power would sometimes come and go…
Just imagine these little devil beasts jumping all over you: a Stephen King horror movie waiting to be filmed for sure.
They also knew right where you were sleeping and liked to give 5am wake up calls on the metal roofs.
Namaste! Greetings from the mountains in Mussoorie where I’ve been learning Hindi (or to be grammatically correct, “I Hindi learn”, hah!). I’ve been putting in the book time, and bending my tongue in unusual positions to make sounds I didn’t think were humanly possible. At least I’m keeping my Hindi teachers entertained.
Mussoorie is a popular destination for Indian tourists and serves as a cool escape during the hot summer months. The language school is actually even further up the hill in Landour (nicknamed the “Princess of the Hill Stations) which makes it a quiet peaceful place to study. Yep, nothing to do but hit the Hindi books. Nothing to see at all…
(Yep, I’m back in India again, updates coming soon. Here are some random leftovers from E. Africa in the meantime.)
Like all the other tourists, I really enjoyed all the old buildings in Zanzibar. It’s almost like walking around in a living museum where scenes of everyday life are on display. Of course over time, it’s inevitable that the structures would show their age and begin to decay and collapse.
Bamboo scafolding-
Along the waterfront, the Aga Khan foundation restored the waterfront promenade, and everyday workers were cutting the grass and picking leaves out of it by hand. To me, it seemed a bit out of place- it seemed fake among the grandeur of the rest of historical Stone Town. It almost felt too sterile to be “authentic.”
All the locals that I talked with though, were so proud of their new promenade. In the evenings, so many families came out to admire it. And then it dawned on me- it’s probably the first “new” structure that Zanzibar has had in awhile. All the “authentic” buildings couldn’t be easy to live in- I can’t even imagine what centuries old plumbing must be like. So I’m guessing that what is “unauthentic” to some, is development for others…
Old bottles of coke-
As one would expect, President Obama has many fans in Kenya and Zanzibar...
Without a doubt, one of the main reasons why tourists come to Kenya is to go to the game parks and see the amazing wildlife. Riding in the back of a dusty vehicle for 4 days watching things eating and being eaten, just makes me… well… hungry. Yep, I’m definitely a carnivore.
Apparently, I’m not the only one. Across from the Nairobi game park is the world famous restaurant called Carnivore. They’re famous for serving game animal meat rotisserie style, kind of like a Brazilian Churrascaria- basically, an all you can eat bbq. Along with the usual beef, chicken, and pork offerings, there’s exotic meat like crocodile, hartebeast, and zebra. Woo-hoo, finally I can settle the debate once and for all and find out what actually tastes like chicken and what doesn’t.
Grilling meats-
Unfortunately, it turns out that Carnivore didn’t have any game meat that night. The most exotic thing was ostrich. Boo!!!
Good thing there was a second restaurant in Nairobi also serving grilled meats. After a few days of recovery, we headed off to the Safari Restaurant.
Safari Restaurant menu-
So for everyone who hasn’t had camel or crocodile before, here’s my unofficial taste test-
Beef
Chicken
Fish
Crocodile
X
X
A little bit like fish flavored chicken McNuggets.
Camel
X
Definitely “roast beef” like
The highlight of the evening though, was definitely their entertainment show. Dancers would come out doing amazing routines and acrobatics that would put Cirque Soleil to shame.
Although, I’m not very knowledgeable about dance something tells me this doesn’t quite belong with traditional African dance. I dunno, Broadway maybe?
Nungwi is on the northern tip of the main Zanzibar island. Although prime real estate of the beach are occupied by enormous 200+ room luxury resorts (filled predominantly by Italian tourists), it's actually a traditional dhow building village. Dhows are traditional Arab sailing vessels.
The beaches of Nungwi were dotted with dhows either being built or repaired.
"Spirit of Africa"-
Some were beautifully painted.
Despite all the tourists, Nungwi is still a conservative Muslim fishing village.
Drying nets-
Boats and nets-
And of course, the euro speedos and bikinis don't exactly go over too well in the conservative villages. Constant reminders are needed I guess, hah!
There's something serene about watching dhows set sail. I can't even imagine all the hours of labor that went into ensuring it's seaworthy.
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