Cambodian Snapshot: Bamboo Railroad

Barreling down a track at what feels like a high speed (only about 15 km/hour) while a foot above the rails is a bit disconcerting to say the least. You feel every bump and jolt as one piece of railroad connects to the next (unevenly of course). Really it is quite amazing that two axles, a bamboo mat and a motor can take you down a 30 minute stretch of rail. Did I mention it only has one set of rails, and the "trains" run both ways? No worries, when two meet one of them (based off of passenger load and how many others are following it) simply moves off the rail. Passengers stand to the side, the drivers of both platforms unhook the belt, lift the platform off to one side then drop the axles beside the rails. Those still on the rails pass by then the process is reversed. After a push start you're off and running at a break neck pace down the rails again, until you meet another traveler.

Vietnam Snapshots

I spent my Spring Break visiting friends in Hanoi, Vietnam. While I don't have any big story to share with all y'all I will keep several small snapshots of that trip in my memories

• sidewalks of people perched on low stools eating a meal
• bicycles, motos, cars and pedestrians performing a weave which somehow works
• school children in their uniforms complete with a red scarf tied around the neck
• intricate carvings , a red theme and waving flags at the temples
• dragons, dragons everywhere
• large rock islands emerging out of the water in Halong Bay
• A sense of mystery, fantasy in that misty scenery leading one to believe a pirate ship could be around any of the rocks or that maybe a dragon will fly out of the fog
• sticky rice stuffed into a bamboo tube, with seasoning salt poured onto a rectangle of newspaper to dip it into making a nice road side snack
• spare sidewalks being turned into badmitton courts, sometimes with nets, sometimes not
• birdcages, birdcages everywhere - but hardly any birds outside of them in the city
• pottery so fine it looks like china, in stall after stall in the town of Bat Trang
• rain ponchos that cover almost an entire scooter not just a person - including a clear plastic square for the lights 
• vibrant green rice fields with men and women spending their days working, almost hidden in the crop
• unexpectedly running across a temple parade, seeing my first dragon weave its way down a street and men, women and children in traditional dress

Handcrafted Happiness

It's ridiculous sometimes how a special purchase is enough to make you giddy, and turn your day around. Shopping therapy? Perhaps. Or maybe I really am more materialistic then I'd hoped. But that is exactly what happened to me one evening when we were in Jaipur.

Doreen spied an interesting looking stall out of the car window, that she had glimpsed earlier but we hadn't stopped at. She thought maybe they had some sort of table. We were done for the evening, so why not stop and take a look? I should have known better, after all I seem to have a weakness for furniture. We got out of the car to the intense interest of the three kids playing on the concrete stoop. I suspect people don't usually buy directly from here. But that is exactly what made it so interesting. A woman sat off to the left in front of her sewing machine piecing  together these fabulous embroidered covers for wicker chairs. Each one was a unique brightly covered design. I ended up with two chairs (gotta have a pair) that make me smile each time I see them and I'm sure I'll remember the experience of buying directly from the woman each time I sit in one.

Holy Cow

After seeing these two cows, and one other earlier in the week, while in Jaipur I had some curiosity to satisfy. Clearly these cows wearing capes and head coverings were special. They were holy cows according to our driver. When I asked what made them holy his response was "the cape." Of course. How silly of me. But what I really wanted to know is what made these cows holier than the ones I regularly see walking down the street. So when I got home it was time for an internet search. Along the way I learned a bit about why cows are considered holy here - particularly the ones with a hump on their back. It is believed that there is a tie between Lord Krishna and cows, particularly the surabhi cow, a wish fulfilling cow, that descended from the heavenly spheres. There is also a connection to motherhood, as they are a type of surrogate which provides milk for life. Sadly, at no point could I  find any information about holier cows, or cows in capes led by holy men. So I'm left with what little I gleaned from our driver. That people pay the holy man to walk his cow in circles in front of their house for a blessing; while others are paid to walk between towns as a form of prayer. My conclusion - it is the cape that makes it a holy cow.

Am(b)er Fort

Not far outside the city of Jaipur, perched half way up a hill lies Am(b)er Fort. There is some discussion as to if it  really Amer Fort (named for the small town it is a part of) or Amber Fort (after its yellowish golden glow). The fort dates back to the 16th century and wandering around inside evokes a feeling of discovering another time period. You can follow which ever path your feet take you on, slipping up dark stairways, around more corners then should exist in a fort modeled around a courtyard, into unexpected vistas, and under small pavilions; all without knowing exactly where you are in the four story fort or how you got there from where you were before. At times I swear I only walked a few steps and the next thing I knew I was looking into the courtyard or the hills from the opposite side then I'd been earlier. It is the type of place you need to embrace getting lost in so that you can fully appreciate all that it has to reveal. I loved the views out over the hills, where old walls dividing Rajasthan from the next state over still stand and how you realize that you really are only half way up the hill since there are two more forts above you. The small attention to detail found in the small buttresses and the animals carved in between each support. The vibrant green garden and the impressive water system which required the use of an animal to keep water pots rising from the lake below. The central pagoda, Jai Mandir, that sparkled in the sun since it was covered by mirrors and silver accents. What else does Am(b)er Fort have to offer? It all depends on what you stumble upon.

Going for a ride

Rocking side to side in an uneven pattern left me fearing my sideways perch. Ok, sure there is a bar in front of you, but mom and I kept hitting it and lifting it up so I didn't have much faith in its ability to keep me secured to my seat. Then the mahout asked me to shift farther back, wait - watch that your feet don't get scraped against the wall, tuck them in, but don't let them touch. Now shift forward, you're uneven. Goodness. I didn't realize that I'd have to think so hard, or use so many stomach muscles, to take the short ride up the road to the Amber fort by elephant. Since this was my first opportunity to ride an elephant I was definitely going to take advantage, and it was easier then having to walk up the hill (avoiding the elephants in the process). After all, why wouldn't you want to ride on an elephant brightly decorated with paint on the head and sometime the back end? We ended up on a smaller elephant (younger?) who quite clearly wasn't all to fond of going up hill. We kept getting passed by other elephants, but hey, that just gave us a bit more time to enjoy the experience. Maybe he's just feeling a bit sick, after all he seems to have the snuffles (I now know where the inspiration for Snuffleupagus comes from). Eeewww! He just sneezed, and I have now been baptized by an elephant. I had a hard time deciding if it was funny or just gross; I just asked mom to help me remember not to touch my leg. Oh, wait a minute. We just hit a straight away and our little elephant has put on the speed. Maybe he just doesn't like to go up hill. We're finally entering the courtyard of the Amber Fort and I can think is "We definitely got taken for a ride."

Jantar Mantar

"Oh, wow...." That was the only thought going through my head as I tried to keep my jaw from dropping down. We had just walked into Jantar Mantar, an observatory which was built between 1727 and 1734. My eyes skipped from structure to structure, absorbing the symmetry and geometry of constructions which made this such an accurate measuring tool. The name Jantar Mantar literally means calculation instrument, and the 14 large devices in this fairly small astronomical park are exactly that. There is the Vrihat Samrat Yantra, the giant sundial which proudly rises above everything else. If its sheer size and smooth lines aren't enough to impress you, how about the fact that it is accurate to 2 seconds, still accurate to this day. Just off to one side is a set of 12 similar structures. The zodiac gnomes are individually calibrated to be accurate depending on which zodiac sign is in the sky. There is the Narivalaya Yantra, a large double faced sundial. The hemisphere impressions in the ground form the Jai Praksh Yantra which shows a star's position. Other instruments' uses escaped my notice as I was drawn to the careful construction, precise rulers etched into the edges, or the sweeping lines. The large astrolabe was intriguing, especially when I realized that I could sight some of the other instruments through it if I got low enough. Okay, not exactly what it is supposed to be used for (rather a precise measurement of the degree a star has risen and its east-west inclination). I'm sure I missed out on understanding a lot about what these fantastic tools could do; regardless Jantar Mantar was my favorite stop in Jaipur.

If you want to learn a bit more about how some of the instruments work this is the best site I found.