Chasing Snow

It doesn't snow in my city. We're at about 2100 ft elevation, and although the low temperature will occasionally dip just below the freezing mark the most we get is really cold rain. Just above us, however, are the foothills of the Himalayas. During the summer it's easy to become accustomed to their size and think they're not that big, (they're over 8000 ft) but when they get a little snow on them they begin to resemble their gigantic brothers and sisters that are just a little farther north. It snowed up in the mountains New Year's Eve, and this is the view I was given from my balcony:

We had some friends over for lunch on New Years Day and they decided it would be a good idea if we went up into the mountains to play in the snow. We called Prem to take us up there, we all ate lunch, and then headed out.

It was a long way. Usually it takes about 2 hours to get there, but because everyone else in Northern India had the same idea the roads were packed! It ended up taking over 3 hours to get there. The guys in the backseat took advantage of the time by napping.

On the way we got a great view of the big Himalayas. They're the ones that are covered with snow year round. It's still about an 8 or 9 hour drive get there from where I took this picture:

 

When we finally made it up to where the snow was it was crowded.

 

 

Really, really crowded.

 

And the crowd stretched on wrapping all the way around the mountain.

 

We got out of the car to explore right as the sun was beginning to go down  behind the mountains, and the snow was deceivingly sparse

 

We got out to explore and find some snow of our own:

And eventually we did.

 

There may not have been a lot of snow, but we were blessed with a really pretty sunset.

 

We made it back to the taxi after dark, and we headed home. On the way we stopped in a village that didn't have electricity to get chai (hot, sweet milkly tea) and the Indian equivalent of ramen noodles.

I've never seen as many stars as I saw last night in that little mountain village. With no lights at to hide them the stars were absolutely uncountable. We couldn't even find any constellations because there were too many other stars that are usually hidden. It was beautiful.

We went looking for snow and found some, but we were also surprised by a few more of nature's gifts.

-एरिक 

Loy Krathong

To watch an amazing video of over 10,000 lanterns being released for Loy Krathong click here to visit EricRowell.net

-एरिक

Where the Tea Comes From - Darjeeling

This post has moved! To read about my trip to Darjeeling you can follow this link to EricRowell.net

Weddings, Circuses, and More!

Okay, I’m sorry. I’ve really been a slacker when it comes to blogging this month. It’s May 27^th, and this will only be fourth time I’ve updated (and probably the last time I do before June). My bad. I’ll do better in June though. I promise.

In the last two weeks I’ve done a whole lot. Let’s see if I give you a little glimpse through pictures:

Where to begin….

Well I bought some new pointy shoes

Which I wore to a wedding. And of course, at the wedding there was dancing...

(but it’s funnier to show you a picture of T than of me).

I’ve also put quite a few miles (or kilometers on my bike). So as T. Sometimes we ride alone, some times it’s with two people, or every once and a while we ride three deep...

I also went to the Indian Circus: It was kind of like a “western circus”

And then when I went to my friends’ house to spend the night, all the kids decided to reenact the circus for us!

(I think that’s supposed to be a sword… He kind of looks like a dinosaur though)

These two guys are being the scantily clad dancers, or as their literal Hindi translation would be "dirty girls"

And even the dog joined in

It’s been a crazy few weeks . feel like I haven’t stopped for very long, but it’s been a lot of fun. Our friends who are here with us leave next Saturday, and T and I will also be headed out for a few days to Nepal. Maybe I’ll get another blog out before then, maybe not. Either way, expect more pictures in the not too distant future!

-एरिक

Club Shadi

Today I went to my first Indian wedding. Wow, it was an adventure, and to be honest words would do little to describe it. Instead, I've got some great pictures to show just what went down (I'm sure one day I'll regret these pictures being on the internet).

So this is my buddy Prem and me. It was a girl in his neighborhood that got married, so its our friendship that got me into the wedding today. He also took me shopping for my kurta (traditional Indian shirt).

This is the wedding tent. It was 100 degrees outside today, the wedding was at one pm, and outside in a tent. Sweet.

Like most weddings, this one had a bride and groom, but they really didn't seem to be the center of attention most of the time.

Turns out it was really the white people who ended up being the center of attention at times.
This is us with the groom's party.

Like any good wedding this one had food. Unlike a good wedding the cows managed to find their way into this one.



And there was music by the Euphorian DJ. Not sure that I want "smack that" played at mine.



Now with music comes dancing...



Lots of dancing...



So its only right that I joined in!



During a break we headed back up to Prem's house where I played with the kids.



And then we got silly...



But he got even sillier...

And then things just got out of control!
(no children were harmed the taking of this photo)

All in all it was a really fun day. A new experience and a chance to spend more time with a great family of friends. And to the bride and groom: I wish you luck and apologize for stealing some of the attention at your wedding. But then again, had you really been upset about it you probably wouldn't have spent your first dance as a couple dancing with me!

-एरिक

Bowling Upstairs

I’ve got a good friend in town here whose family has quickly become one of my favorites. They’re the same family that we went and played Holi with at the beginning of March. Well, his kids are great, and so we decided to treat them to something new and fun this weekend. We surprised them by taking to Baskin Robbins where there’s a bowling alley upstairs (yep, that’s right… inside of Baskin Robbins there’s a bowling alley... on the third floor).

It’s a new “bowling alley” consisting of two lanes (one of which was open), and it was their first time to bowl.

Notice the barefoot-ness... There were bowling shoes, but not required...

After an exciting game where we didn't worry about the score (I mean, come on, there weren't any bumpers) we took them downstairs, played a few arcade games, and treated them to ice cream. It was a great afternoon with a couple fun kids!

And this was just funny...

-एरिक

Holi 2010

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