All Aboard for Jaisalmer

The train station and the train itself were clean, relatively speaking.

Yeah, this sink is crusty,
and if you don't count the grim, it wasn't so bad.
It was right outside the restroom
for your viewing/cleaning up pleasure.

The station worker who was asked to get me to the right train, did a great job and as we were on our way, I was surprised to see my driver and the coordinator of this portion of the trip, were there as well.

I kept asking what the sleeping arrangements were like, and got a clearer picture then.  Thank God I didn't ask ahead of time because I probably would have freaked out.

It all turned out fine, just me and my guys.

Think about everything you know about long distance train travel, and throw it out the window.

Step back in time about 50 years, and that is what the train looked like.  I was assigned the bottom bunk of three beds on top of each other.  There were three more right across, making six of us in pretty close quarters.  There were five guys and me.  The man directly above me was a pediatrician.  The man above him showed up with two 13 year old boys who took the top two beds across from me. The bottom bed directly across from me had an old, Santa Claus looking dude, without the cheery face.

The bottom bunk is mine.
The seat back is the 2nd bunk.
The 3rd one is overhead.

This is a view looking down the aisle,
with curtains on both sides.

We chatted for about 15 minutes of so, then we had to get up because the back of our seat was the second bed.  It was held up by heavy chains, with little chance of falling.

Once we were settled in with sheets and blankets - God only knows how many people had already used them - it was lights out.

Almost immediately, the old guy next to me started to snore so loudly, his whole body was convulsing.  It was a nasally, snotty, wet snore.  He was seriously congested.  I'm sure his snoring could be heard at the Taj Mahal, 300 miles away.

Speaking of 300 miles - you'd expect that to take about five hours to drive.  Well, it took 12 hours by this train.  Yep, 12 hours.  The return ride is 450 miles and it is expected to take 17 hours.

Note to self - avoid trips that have the words "adventure and camp," in the description.

Tonight I'm supposed to be in the dessert, sleeping under the stars.

Uh, no thanks.  I live in the desert, have ridden a camel, and been entertained by a belly dancer, so no tent sleeping for me, especially after that long train ride.  I begged off, citing the need for a hotel with Internet connection.

Back to the train for a second.

What was fascinating is that each time I turned over, there were new people sleeping alongside me.  At least three different people were sleeping in each of the other beds throughout the night.  The bed was fine, but the Internet didn't work.

It was a case of musical beds, for sure.

Side note - I arrived home late last night, so these posting are after the fact, but I didn't have Internet service for most of this trip.

More soon.

Jaipur

Jaipur was a fascinating city.

There is a section of it where all of the buildings are painted pink.  It was considered a welcoming color by one of the rulers.

This is a magnificent building, but it's a facade.
It was built for the ladies to view the street,
so that their faces would be hidden.

Side note - There were very informative history lessons at each stop, but I forgot most of the names almost immediately.

I'm sitting in the train station waiting for a train that leaves at midnight.  When my driver picked me up, it was clear he had been drinking.  Thankfully, the ride was only about five minutes.  He was a nice guy though.  He bought me snacks to take on the ride.  A really sweet gesture.

There are lots of people sitting on the curbs and sidewalks outside, and plenty inside, too.  My driver negotiated a deal for me to wait in a special place for the sleep car folks, and so I waited with older, calmer passengers, who looked like me, just wanting to go to bed.

This is the only part of the trip where I am not with an escort or driver.

It was full day of seeing magnificent sun dials, forts and palaces.

This is a sun dial, with a 20 second margin of error.

Another sun dial.
These were fascinating because they were built in 1716!

This one represents my Zodiac sign - Leo.
There were 12 of these, one for each sign.

By 3:00, I was done.  We headed back to the hotel, and I checked out.  There was still eight hours to wait before boarding the train, so I was dropped off at another swanky hotel to hang out there for a while.  If I'd been thinking clearly, I would have just gotten another room to wait in comfort.  Hindsight is 20:20, of course.

Since I arrived in India, here are some things I've seen.  There're in no particular order.

---Heavy duty work trucks painted with bright and colorful flowers and designs everywhere.  They almost all have "blow horn" written across the back of them.

---Elephants with painted faces, in celebration of the ongoing festivals

---Roads that are shared by cars, trucks, tuk tuks, roaming cows, goats, sheep, elephants, bicycle taxis, motorcycles, people walking, school kids, cow-drawn carts, and all kinds of buses.  One of the buses had as many people riding on top, probably at least 75, as were riding inside.  It was a precarious sight to see.

City Palace

Amber Palace

But this seemingly reckless behavior was not the exception, but rather, the rule. There were people crowded tight as could be in whatever the mode of transportation they were on, and those that couldn't fit inside, held on to something and hung out the moving vehicle.

The most precarious sight was a family of five on a motorcycle.  There was the dad driving with a toddler in front of him. Directly behind him was a younger toddler, with the mother riding sideways holding an infant.

Mercy me!

Mirrored Wall

Closeup of wall

---Like in Egypt, it is extremely rare to see a traffic light.  Folks just govern themselves on the road.

---Monkeys with the red bottoms were hanging out along the roads and on the grounds of the monuments

---Little squirrels that fit in the palms of your hands, including their tails.  They were brown with light strips, looking very much like skunks.

And . . .

---Women in the most beautiful, bright clothes, brighten the already colorful landscape

The adventure continues with more soon.

The Tantalizing Taj - Part 2

Once inside the Taj Mahal, which is a glorious mausoleum from a king to his wife, it is striking how small it is.  I was expecting a large open space like the Grand Mosque in Abu Dhabi, but instead there were small walkways for viewing the tomb.

It was dark inside as there is no light, except for one fixture that hangs over the queen's tomb.

It was hot and stuffy because of the mass crowds inside.  The cooling relief came when we stood on the back side - the back porch, if you will - overlooking a river. Then there was a marvelous breeze.

Thousands of Indians waiting to enter.
They have a different entry.

Again, comparing it to the Grand Mosque, I was expecting the exterior marble to be snow white.  It's not.  It's speckled tan, made from translucent marble that shows variation of color when the sun hits hit. I was there at sunset, when at first it seemed beige, then it had an orange tint, followed by a reddish tint.

Just beautiful!

There is an ornate symbol on the top that represents the three dominant religions in the region - Hinduism, Islam and Christianity.

Switching gears -

Every local person I have met has been kind, gracious, and welcoming.  There were teenagers hanging out at one of the monuments, they were on holiday from school because of the festival, and they were horsing around, like kids everywhere.  The guide kept admonishing them to behave in front of guests (mostly me).

After visiting the Taj, I went home and sleep hard.  A bed has never felt so good.

The next day, we visited Agra Fort, which is really a walled city.  It was massive, and pristinely kept.  It sits on 94 acres and its walls are 70 feet high.  It is surrounded by a moat that was filled with alligators, as their first line of defense from invaders.

View of top of fort

Landscape view of entryway

Colonnade where the king held court

Landscaping in one of the courtyards that looks like a puzzle

It was extraordinary!

We left there and visited craftsmen, whose ancestors worked on the Taj.  One place worked with inlaying marble - incredible work, and the other with intricate embroidery. In the later, I saw a hand-embroidered rug that was inlayed with precious stones that was on display at the New York Metropolitan Museum in 1987.  At that time, it was worth 1.5 million dollars!

75 year old craftsman.
It was his father who made the priceless rug.
He has 11 children and all of them  are craftsmen.

Hand-embroidered picture of the Taj.
It is layered and textured and absolutely beautiful!

This is a closeup of the piece above.
The pictures don't do it justice.

I know these posts from India have been longer than usual.  Thanks for hanging in there with me.  I'm having a wonderful time, and like a kid at Christmas with a new toy, I want you all to see and share these experiences with me.

I'm in Jaipur today for a city tour, and then I'll board a train at midnight tonight for Jaisalmer which is a 12 hour train ride!

More soon!

The Tantalizing Taj!

The Taj Mahal is . . .

Majestic!
Magnificent!
Extraordinary!
Transcendental!
Grandiose!

Yes.  I had to pull out the thesaurus to help me try to convey just our incredible this monument is.

Before I get into more detail, let me set the scene.

I boarded the plane in Dubai at midnight Tuesday/Wednesday morning.  Yes. Another redeye.

I have never been able to sleep while flying until I bought one of those neck pillows. Thank God, now I can.

The plane was full.  About 300 folks.  I was in an aisle seat in the back, sitting by a pleasant couple.  I went to sleep immediately, but kept waking myself up with the jerk of my head when it fell forward.  So the rhythm was sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk-sleep-jerk.

No problem.  The flight was only three hours.  I knew very soon after landing, I'm be in bed.

Note to self.  Read the itinerary carefully in the future.

Side note - The airport in New Delhi is beautiful!  There is a striking display that greets you that is some kind of sign language.  It's simply gorgeous!  Slumdog Millionaire must have been a serious exaggeration by the folks in Hollywood because so far, India is beautiful.

Although you can't tell, this display is huge.
The explanation of the symbols can be found in this link:
http://online.wsj.com/public/resources/documents/DIALmudras.pdf

I got through customs, the passport check, and met the man who would be driving me to the hotel.  As an aside, just making conversation, I asked how long the drive would be.  He said four, YES, f-o-u-r hours!

OK.  No problem, I was so tired, I'd sleep the whole way.

No so.

The driver was fierce!  This dude could be driving for any racing organization.  He was weaving in and out of traffic at full throttle, only to brake real hard when he got to speed bumps, which occurred about every two miles.

So he was driving like a bat out of hell, then braking hard, on bumpy, uneven pavement.  Driving, braking.  Driving, braking.  And blowing the horn incessantly. We slowed down in traffic and it looked and sounded like this.

I loved this guy.

Side note 2 - I've never been car sick, but came very close during this trek.

The slums started to appear as we were leaving New Delhi, and they continued off and on for the next three hours.

We stopped about halfway to eat at a place that called itself a hotel/restaurant.  It was larger than a whole in the wall, but it had that rustic, dusty look and feel about it.  There were three or four other tourists eating, so I figured it was OK.  I was hungry and needed the coffee for my (pounding because of a lack of sleep) headache.

At this point, my expectations for the hotel I'd be staying in dropped way down.  It was supposed to be a 5-star, but I'm thinking stars don't necessarily mean the same worldwide.

Then, after driving forever, we turned the corner and I see this . . .

Wyndham Grand Agra - Photo from online

It was unbelievably beautiful!

Photo I took

What a treat!

My tour guide met me at the hotel.  I explained that I'm exhausted and I had to get some sleep, so we arrange to see that afternoon Taj Mahal at sunset.

The complex sits about a mile from the road, and we could hire a tuk yuk or walk. We decide to walk. There were some merchants along the way, but you can't take any of that stuff inside, so it was a great excuse not to partake.

The area is enclosed and is entered through huge gates.  Below is a shot of the main gate as seen from the Taj Mahal.

My back is to the Taj.

I'm in one of the garden areas.

There were thousands of people waiting to see the Taj.
Most were Indians because it was a national holiday.

A closeup of the Taj

It was incredible!

I'll leave you with a video of some of the festival festivities going on in the street, followed by one showing some of the fruits and vegetables and the way they are sold.

India Here I Come!

I'm headed to India tonight for a six day trip to see the Taj Mahal.  My prayer, besides being safe, is that I don't see much of the country that was portrayed in "Slumdog Millionaire.

More after I arrive.

Another Great Article

This one is from the New York Times.

It reminds me of the integration of schools in the South, where it was realized (too late, maybe?) that just because you were in class with students of different ethnic backgrounds, didn't mean you got the same education as everyone else in that class.

It's long, but worth the read.

http://www.nytimes.com/2012/10/21/nyregion/for-minority-students-at-elite-new-york-private-schools-admittance-doesnt-bring-acceptance.html?src=me&ref=general

Summer School

When Ben and Frankie were in elementary school, every summer they would work on the school curriculum that would be taught the following year.  I wanted to be sure that they were solid academically.

As black boys growing up in America, I knew they would be labeled, and as much as I could, I wanted to control those labels.

As a concerned parent, I once shared with an administrator that if three boys walked into a school - one Asian, one White and the other Black - the assumptions would be the Asian kid is above average, the White one at least average, and the Black one, below average and a behavior issue.

I was not going to let those assumptions describe my boys.

So, the journey began of preparing them.

Let me stop now and say, I screwed up in many ways over the years, in my role as parent.  So please don't see this as bragging or boasting.  It's just I believe this is one area I got right.

I was reminded of this yesterday, when I briefly took over a class of 5th grade boys. They were rowdy and energetic, but the thing that was most apparent, was how low they were academically.

Yes, the school, and the school system, have a responsibility to provide a sound educational experience, but the role of the parent is crucial.  It is a rare kid who wants to learn for the sake of learning.  The importance of getting an education has to be affirmed and drilled into kids by their parents or other significant adults in their lives.

Although there are exceptions throughout the ages of students defying the odds and excelling without a strong parental framework, but it is rare.

As much as I, too, believe that education is in need of reform, those necessary changes must include the role of parental responsibility.

Students with active, involved parents, attending to the academic achievement of their kids, do better in school.

That's a fact.

So, if you're an educator in a situation where parental support is not there, do you throw up your hands and give up?  Of course not.  You do the best you can and hope it's enough to thrust the kids forward.

To all of you out there who are not teachers, let me share something that every teacher knows - this is one of the hardest jobs on the planet.

So take a moment to salute teachers.

They deserve it.

A Sacramento Kid

A genius among us and the argument against acceleration.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FSYCwxt78jY

http://parenting.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/10/14/against-accelerating-the-gifted-child/?src=rechp

Thoughts?

What If Money Was No Object?

Fascinating!

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/what-do-you-desire.html

Agree?

Surfing in the UAE!

Surfing in the UAE!

I love this picture!

Although the UAE coastline has to be one of the most beautiful in the world, you rarely see nationals taking advantage of its beauty.  There is a huge issue of modesty in dress at all times while in the public, but these ladies are not letting their clothes prevent them from having fun in the sun.  One of them is a 31 year old mother of four.  Two of her kids were paddle boarding with her.  Below is the whole article from today's paper.

http://www.thenational.ae/news/uae-news/surfing-in-an-abaya-its-a-swell-idea-for-dubai

Enjoy!

Tidbits

Things you won't find here -

Hardware stores.

There's an Ace in one of the malls, but it should be against the law for them to call themselves a hardware store.  If you have something that needs fixing, you call someone and they take care of it.  I'm guessing these folks have to buy supplies, but where they get them from is a deep, dark secret.

You won't find -

Beauty supply stores.

Like a Sally's or the many storefront beauty supply stores in the US that sells hair and nail products.  Again, there are many salons that provide these services, so there are few folks who do it themselves.

You won't find -

Bluetooth devices for cell phones.  Somehow having the wire hang down out of your ear is cool.

You won't find -

Monthly rent.

Rent payments for housing and commercial property are paid up front once, or if you're lucky, twice a year.  One of the property managers in Dubai just ran off with the checks for 7000 tenants!  Yes, Interpol is looking for him.

Housing for all teaching staff is provided.

You will find -

Starbucks.

They're in the malls, but we have one that is a stand alone with a real drive thru. YEAH!  The only other drive thru places have employees who hang around outside to take orders and deliver the food.

You will find -

McDonalds.

With added Arabian choices on the menu.

Burger King.

Kentucky Fried Chicken.

Pizza Hut.

Appleby's.  

TGIF.

And . . .

You will find -

Movie theaters.

They're in the malls and some of the hotels.  And they have assigned seating, even if you're the only one there.

Speaking of movies, there's a film festival going on in Abu Dhabi this week, and Richard Gere was there promoting his new film, "Arbitrage."  It is available to rent on iTunes, so I watched it.  It was better than expected, and it gets my recommendation, for all that's worth.

Anyway . . .

These, my dear blogging buddies, are the tidbits for today.

More soon.

Motivation

I want one of these!

http://www.youtube.com/watch_popup?v=yEH4Yum4nN4

Helping to save a life or doing this?

I don't know.

Kidding!  Kidding!

Hat tip to AB.

Saving Lives

Saving lives one video at a time.

Huge thanks to Ann, once again, for sharing these lifesaving videos.  This one is on what to do when someone is suspected of having a heart attack.

http://www.heartrescuenow.com

In case you missed the earlier video one on the new cpr techniques, it follows.

http://ahsc.arizona.edu/node/730

School Supplies

A fixture among supplies for the US school is crayons.  They are a rare find here. I'm guessing it's because it's so hot, they would melt.  Instead the students use colored pencils.

Butcher paper is nonexistent.

Same with construction paper.

I searched high and low for filler paper, and finally found some.

The binders are two-hole instead of three.  I'm not a fan.

Students use notebooks that are about 8" X 6".  They buy their own.

There are no electric pencil sharpeners.  The manual crank ones are available, but the small hand-held ones are what's used the most.

A standard size piece of paper is referred to as A4.  The large 12" X 18" size is called A3.  The smaller size I referred to earlier is A5.

Finding whistles was a real chore.  When I did finally find a store that sold them, I bought them all.  A whistle is a must in school crowd control.  We issued them to all staff at my schools in the US.

We're still waiting for textbooks.  We have whole classes without them.

There is no book or set curriculum to teach English.  This makes for interesting living.  Our current Western staff comes from Houston, Phoenix, Detroit, San Diego, Omaha, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Sacramento (me), Huntsville (AL), Columbia (SC), the U.S.Virgin Islands, South Africa, Ireland, Haiti, Canada, and Australia. We all speak English, but the way we approach teaching and learning is as varied as the places we come from.

The folks who are over curriculum for the government schools are from New Zealand, where this methodology of no set curriculum is used.  Apparently teachers utilize whatever books/curriculum they want, with no evidence of whether they were successful in reaching their students or not, apart from their records. They don't give country-wide exams until 10th grade, whereas we begin state-wide testing in 2nd.

Different way of doing things, for sure.

It's only 6:30, but I'm tired and headed to bed.

There were eight teachers absent on my side alone, with one sub.

Crazy day.

We have a break in a couple of weeks, and I'll be on the road again.

I'm looking forward to it.

Good morning to you.

Good night to me.

This and That

It has cooled down to a high of 102, with lows in the low 70's.  While shopping today, I noticed all the heavy winter gear - sweaters, coats, boots, etc. for sale.  I'm guessing any temperature below 70 is cause for alarm and plenty of winter clothes.

The kids have been complaining that it's cold in the building, but for all of us Western folks, it's just right.

I also noticed that lawn furniture is on sale now.  It's way too hot to consider sitting outside in the summer, so now that it's cooling off, it lounging time.

Finally . . .

Yesterday I had to leave work early and followed one of the busses from our school. It stopped right in front of the building to let a kid off.  This child could have been home a half hour earlier, if he had simply walked home.  In fact, it was a longer distance to walk through the building to the designated area to catch the bus, than to walk to his home across the street from the entrance of the school.

Remember, living across the street or not, every student rides the bus.

OK.  These really are my parting words . . .

At the end of last year, all eleven busses continued to run their routes four times a day, even though there were no kids the last four weeks of school.

Amazing.

Tempering Enthusiasm

How do you temper enthusiasm without dousing someone's flame altogether?

How do you say, "Whoa.  Slow down.  Everyone is not where you are."

How do you deal with people who think they have to ride folks to get the best out of them?

How do you teach people to recognize and appreciate the gifts and talents of those around them?

How do you teach folks to "walk a mile in other people's shoes."

How do you teach people that leaders are in service to those they lead?

How do you teach folks that their job is to support, not pile on with unnecessary and meaningless work, so that they can check a box off somewhere.

Another day with lots of questions, and few answers.

Up, Up, and Away - Part 2

This is a quick video of my balloon ride.  I'm on the left dressed in black with the hat.

Up, Up, and Away . . . in My Beautiful Balloon

I have always been fascinated with hot air balloons.  There is an annual hot air balloon festival in Lake Tahoe or Reno that I always wanted to go to, but the date was always Labor Day Weekend, and I was preparing for another school year that began the day after Labor Day, so I never made it.

Well, today I made up for those lost opportunities.

I was with 15 other people flying high over the desert in a hot air balloon.

What a sight!

This is the buddy balloon.
I'm in the basket of our balloon
as we're flying next to it.

I met the group at 5:00 this morning, about an hour from home.  We then drove deep into the desert where the balloons were laying flat on the ground.  A controlled blast of fire/heat was used to inflate the balloon and there were ropes that formed the framework of the balloon that were used to steer it once we were airborne.  Mostly, the altitude and direction was controlled by the frequent blast of blistering heat.

The crew is inflating our balloon.

The basket holding us was divided into five parts, two on either side, with the captain housed in the center.  Each part held 3-4 people.  There were 16 folks in our balloon, including the captain.

There was a second balloon that had about the same number as ours.  It was on its maiden voyage.  I was fine riding in the older one.  It had a proven track record.

Once we were all inside, the ropes keeping the balloon tethered to the ground were unfastened, and off we went.  Regular blast of the intense flame kept us high and on track.

Buddy balloon as it's taking off.

It was such a serene experience.  Very calming, almost mystical.  The ride lasted about an hour, but I could have stayed in that ballon all day . . . just floating around.

View of a camel farm.
The camels didn't like the noise that the blast of fire caused.

We had a briefing before we boarded the ballon, demonstrating the position we needed to be in when landing.  We had to face in the opposite direction of the way we were landing.  So, with our backs to the target, we held on tight to the ropes that lined the inside of the basket.

Great view of the thousands of sand dunes.

Buddy Ballon sailing away.

And down we went.

One bounce.

Two bounces.

Three bounces.

And we're on the ground, then . . .

We're tossed on our backs.

Although this position was a little disconcerting, it ended up being great because it made climbing out of the basket a breeze.

This was so much . . . fun!

I loved every minute of it

And

I'd do it again in a heartbeat.

Cocktail Trees

Have you heard of this?  A tree that bears four different kinds of fruit?

http://andrewsullivan.thedailybeast.com/2012/10/an-orchard-in-a-single-tree.html

Amazing!

Driving Blindfolded

In one of my earlier posts, I mentioned that there are no addresses in this country. This fact makes it really colorful trying to find places.

I was in Abu Dhabi today looking for a conference hall.  I searched the internet for more than two hours last night trying to find GPS Coordinates of the building or something nearby.

No luck.

As a last resort, I got directions from Google Maps.  Because of all of the building in the area, they were useless.

Another challenge to finding places is remembering street names.  Below are examples of some.

Sheikh Zayed Bin Zayed Street
Khaled Bin Sultan Street
Zayed the First Street
Hazza Bin Sultan Street
Nhayyan Al Awwal Street

Stopping for directions is pretty pointless.  Folks assume you know your surroundings and rattle off landmarks and names that mean nothing in isolation.

I wonder if the lack of addresses has something to do with the desert.  There are no landmarks in the desert.  Just mounds and mountains of sand that shift with the blowing wind.  Somehow the locals had to figure out where they were and where they were going.  I'm guessing, when they starting building the cities, creating a way to find them for outsiders wasn't considered.

So, round and round we go.

It just occurred to me (ding dong, ding dong) to search for a gps app for my phone.  I found several. I'm hopeful that my days of driving blindly are over.

While driving around, I saw some amazing sights though.

The bluest water I've ever seen.

Yas Island.

The Port of Abu Dhabi.

And Ferrari World.

So, all was not lost.

Excuse the pun.

Now that I have these handy apps, I hope to spend less time sightseeing and more time efficiently getting from point A to point B.

Have a great day!