Marlys' Visit to India

Let it be known to the world that Maryls Tibboel travels India wonderfully! Greg’s mom was here for two weeks. The first week we spent in Mumbai. She celebrated the Parsi new year with a lot of ASB staff and our friend’s Khush and Gilan, who were the hosts and are Parsi. Lots of socializing and eating. She had my most scary train experience…scary because I was responsible for her with only a day and a half under my belt and I had to get her through the huge, aggressive crowd of females trying to get on the train car we were getting off of. They were relentless and I held tight onto Marlys as she was being swept back on the train. Two quotes: “Now I see what you mean,” and “I don’t think I knew I should have been scared.” Needless to say, she made it off safely, no casualties other than my nerves and she was still open to getting on a train again. Greg took her on a Dhuravi slum tour and before she left we took her on a short tour of the Dhobi (laundry) ghats, which was a first for us too. The day she arrived, she was game for a shopping excursion, then she went back for more with the elementary school principal’s wife a couple days later…then back for more and more and more. J India is a shopper’s heaven. She did not need an extra bag upon leaving, so was very responsible with her purchases. She was even here during the extraordinary event of the World Cup cricket final: India vs Sri Lanka. We all bought and wore our India jerseys and celebrated a great game and win for India!!!!

Then…we went to…Darjeeling. We had a wonderful time there for about four and a half days. Our friend, Rory, joined as well and we enjoyed views and cool weather. Greg and I wore some of our warmer layers we brought, which have been sitting, neglected. Very sad indeed. Our first day had some drizzle, but we were still able to walk down, down, down to the Tibetan Refugee Center. (Darjeeling is built on steep hillsides and paths switch back along the slopes to access houses and businesses. It’s quite wonderful). I hold the Tibetan people pretty high up and the more I learn about them and their trials, the more I am in awe of them. The refugee center was created by Tibetans who sought refuge in India after the invasion in Tibetan in the late 50s, early 60s. These people crossed over the Himalayas, trying to escape the Chinese. The landscape that they had to deal with was harsh, rugged, and had few hiding points. Many parents left their children and returned to Tibet to take care of other family members. The Tibetans seem to be a tight community that have worked together to continue their cultural survival. At the refugee center, many people are employed in making various Tibetan handicrafts. They are sold here and all proceeds go back to the community. We saw them start with spinning sheep wool, dying it, and then creating beautiful carpets. We bought one, though we have to patiently wait until October, when it will be delivered. Greg and I find it so much more meaningful to use our consumer power to directly help people, rather than just buy for the sake of buying. Unfortunately we did not take a picture of our carpet, but we have a couple pictures of two carpets that Marlys is thinking about purchasing.

After the Tibetan Refugee Center, we hiked up to a wooded high point across from our guest house. There were thousands of prayer flags, but the temples ended up being Hindu. A great example how the different religions borrow from each other. We took Marlys around, showed her how Hindus give their respect to their gods, and then one of the men watching over the temples took us down to a cave with more shrines. He recited prayers while we crawled around, then we were all blessed and Marlys received her first sandalwood mark on her forehead.

The second day, we had a busy day. We visited the Himalayan Zoological reserve that houses fauna indigenous to the Himalayas, including a snow leopard, tigers, barking deer, Asiatic bear, and red panda. Right next door was the Himalayan Mountain Institute, where there is a museum about mountaineering in the Himalayas and where courses in mountaineering are run. In the afternoon we headed to Happy Valley Tea Estate. We had a winding hike down to the building where tea is processed. Afterwards we did a tasting with a wonderful, lyrical woman, who was one of the highlights of the trip. So many times in our travels, it’s the people you encounter that make the trip amazing. We were introduced to 5 second tea, which was amazing. Steeped for 5 seconds, the tea is a bright orange, no bitterness and surprisingly sweet. Delicious!

The morning of day three, Marlys, Greg and I took a 4:30am jeep ride to the highest point in Darjeeling, called Tiger Hill. We were there along with hundreds of others to watch the sun rise. We had an excellent view of Kachenjunga, the 3^rd tallest peak in the word and then of to our left we could see the very tippy top of Everest, way off in the distance. These mountains are spectacular and make the Rockies look like foothills…which they are comparatively! Greg and I are very excited for trekking this summer. 30 minutes after the sun rose, everyone disappeared. We decided to walk back to our guest house so we could look at some Tibetan Gompas (monasteries) on the way back. The first part of the hike was very relaxing, since Tiger Hill was part of a reserve. We had views of the mountains the entire way down. We visited the oldest gompa in Darjeeling and the largest. We had a surprise at one of the newer gompas. Just as we arrived, the monks were getting ready to do their morning prayers, so we decided to stay to listen and watch for awhile. I don’t know if anyone has heard Tibetan monks before, but it’s this wonderful, low and musical chanting in which at times they stop to play cymbals, drums and horns before chanting again.

Another visual treat was at the largest gompa. They had a café, so we ordered some chai and sat outside, enjoying the warm air and breath taking views. There was this energetic, cocker spaniel puppy chasing flies around. A monk decided it was time for the pup to go back in his kennel, so called him over and opened the door. First the pup jumped on the monk and gave him kisses, then he jumped and then right out. He ran around and then hid. The monk called for him and the pup ran around then hid again. This happened two more times. The monk then walked over talked to the pup briefly, gave him a stern look and the pup got up, ran over to the kennel and hopped inside. I loved seeing the patience and respect the monk gave the pup, as well as the relationship the two have. The monk never used force with the pup.

Our last full day, I relaxed and read while Marlys, Rory and Greg hiked around. Marlys and Rory came back early, while Greg continued on to the Japanese Peace Pogoda. The three of us took the opportunity do a little bit of shopping, including taking Marlys to a shawl shop, an experience in itself. Rory and I had to push the shopkeeper to keep showing us shawls, but we had a great experience and walked away with some goods.

Greg and I were sad to leave the cool, refreshing mountain air and the views of the Himalayas. Greg is buckled down for (now) seven more weeks of school. Marlys has been back in Iowa for a week and over her jet lag. Thanks for visiting us!!!