Ice-Creaming

Drewzie has done a fine job letting you know what has been going on, and I will add some of our recent experiences to it...

ICE-CREAMING (be afraid, very afraid)
Sarita, Drew and I went to see the Sun Temple today. It is yet another beautiful Indian temple with thousands of years of history and mythology attached to it. In case you are wondering, Eddie stayed behind. He had a GI situation. For those who saw the pictures of Khajuraho, the tantric temple, The Sun Temple had some of the same themes. What made today's visit exciting was our guide. He was about 50 and very well informed of the history of the temple.

Our tour took about an hour and consisted of detailed explanations of each of the 1,000+ statues in the walls of this temple. Astrology, history, Hinduism, and even the impact of Colonialism was discussed. Yet, perhaps most odd was the intensity with which the guide described the tantric nature of the statues. Imagine the three of us and the guide walking among hundreds of families, school groups and religious folks. Every time he needed to explain something in detail he asked us to lean in and whispered:

"Note the penis being inserted in the vagina."

Then a child would run by and we would have to lean closer.

"Look at that statue. The man is inserting his large penis in the woman's leg."

He would describe many important statues among the tantric ones. Here is the architect statue, the woman holding child, and " this woman is holding the man's penis while this other woman is holding his scrotum because he has a hernia."

This was all very surreal. Important, historical, fascinating, and surreal. At one point Drewzie said to me, "Did he say 'hot cum' was going into the the woman statue?" I nodded, "yup." Then, the one that made me nearly lose it. He pointed firmly toward a statue of a woman giving oral sex to a man and said, "Now, look carefully at this statue. Do you see that the woman is ice creaming the men's penis?"

It was a great tour and we later learned from Sarita that the lineage of this man was one in which he himself really believes in the tantric aspects of the religion. This is a concept tough for judeo-christian societies to fully grasp, but a definite part of what makes up the many religions that exist in India.

"OH, IS THAT THE HOLLYWOOD WRITER?"
Drewzie also got to experience the fame of foreigners in small towns today. While at the temple, three different sets of people asked us if we could take pictures with them. You may remember these experiences from when Tricia wrote for the blog. There was a lot of hand-shaking, lots of cameras, flash, action, thank yous and fame all around.

UP NEXT...
Tomorrow we go back to Kolkata. We will do some shopping and some more site seeing. We will also stay there for New Year's with Sarita and Eddie's family.

Lots of hugs to all. Happy ALL Holidays and have an AMAZING NEW YEAR.

Cheers,

Drewlio

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
www.brazilbean.net

Shantiniketan, He Wrote -- By Drew Z. Greenberg

All right, Sports Fans, the tour continues, and it just keeps getting more and more exciting. I know what you're thinking: MORE exciting than the Indian equivalent of a Big Mac? Drew, you are likely saying to your collective selves, we do not understand how such a thing is even POSSIBLE. Fret not, I am here to explain it all.

Since our last visit to the world wide web, Jules and I had an opportunity to travel from Delhi to the sleepy town of Shantiniketan, near Kolkata. When I say "sleepy town," do you conjure up images of Angela Lansbury baking pies while solving curious mysteries? Do you think of homey, slow-paced, just-down-home folks? Well, if you do, the joke's on you - this is India, silly, not New Freakin' England. The rickshaws are just as eager to run you over in sleepy towns as they are in big cities. But Shantiniketan is a small university town, famous for its culture placing an emphasis on art and writing. Unfortunately, the museums evidencing such culture close on Wednesdays. Can anyone guess what day we were in Shantiniketan? Oh, that was too easy. Hey, kids, when traveling, always check to make sure there are no local holidays or regular closings in the particular sleepy town you plan to visit. And do it BEFORE you go.

Now, the visit was not a waste of time. Far from it. In fact, Jules and I took advantage of the peace and quiet (some might say "spooky, Jason-in-a-hockey-mask-like") nature of our accommodations. We ate, we worked a lot of Sudoku puzzles (thanks Drew T. and Jerry!!), we walked the main road to the train station marveling at the local sweet shops and abundance of cell phone ads. We tried our best to figure out why our tiny little guest-house had a ginormous restaurant with a kitchen staff-to-guest ratio of about twenty-seven to one. I got to see local Indian life in a way I hadn't in the cities, and that was nice. And then we left for Kolkata.

Kolkata was a fun experience that Jules detailed somewhat in his recent entries, so I'll let his word stand. And remember, he's always an accurate reporter, but no more so than when he talks about how great I am. (Spending this time with him, I will say here, and I mean all of this time, this whole trip, has been downright fun. And he knows I think that. He's not just making me say that because it's his blog.)

And now, Jules and I are currently in a small Orissa town (south of Kolkata) with Eddie and Sarita. We didn't intend to come here; the four of us left Kolkata yesterday with every intention of spending a few restful days in the beachside town of Puri. A lovely vacation in what we were told was a lovely resort seemed the best way to relax in the middle of our respective trips. Ha, ha! It turns out that someone's definition of "resort" is different than mine (and Julio's and Sarita's and Eddie's). For example, we did not know that "resort" COULD mean "weird place where the rooms look like closets, smell like urine and have blood-stained sheets." "Oh," that dictionary might hasten to add, "also little hairs and cruddy-things on all the pillowcases." Now, look: Jules has been to some low-cost places, and I've gone with him to some of them. We're not THAT high-maintenance. I just like MY blood-stained sheets dry before I climb on top of them. Luckily, Eddie and Sarita felt the same way. We left a large Julio-and-Eddie-and-Sarita-and-Drew shaped hole in the wall and quickly went into overtime to come up with other plans. I'm pleased to say we did a rather good job. We found a lovely resort far from the beach but also with little evidence of homicidal activity, which is SO important. Pools, a lake, five restaurants, a shower, friendly staff... it turned out to be a lot of fun. More later. love to you all, especially the ones who are still reading.

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
www.brazilbean.net

New India

Kolkata, 12/23.

And, I return...

The trip since Tricia's departure and Drew's arrival has been full of exciting events and new experiences in this big and vast country. I still love India, but I will say that I am ready for Vietnam, Vicky, Cambodia and "other Asia." I know they will also be tumultous, but I think I need a different kind of noise, smell and tastes. I need change. Funny to say that, but we humans are odd in this way, aren't we?

At this point I can only do this in excerpts since I cannot even begin to remember the details all that has happened to me in the last 2-3 weeks.

OSHO:
As some of you may recall I went to OSHO again for 5 days between Tricia and Drew. It was to be a time for me to breathe on my own, meditate, dance, go crazy, and have some chocolate croissants. I did all of these things, and more. For one, I met Arya, an amazingly intelligent, fun and beautiful woman and we hung out for a lot of the time. At the same time I had a lot of time by myself. I almost purposely did not want to meet any more people. I wanted to be in my own space.

The OSHO experience had many peaks and valleys. Well, for me (since I think valleys are always an opportunity to learn about myself) there were a lot of peaks which consisted of a great deal of sobbing, a lot of laughing and a lot of just letting emotions circulate. I knew going into that experience that it was the time in my travel to let go of a lot of past caca that had been following me around for years. Mainly, it was time to get rid of the tons of caca I gathered from a certain job I had, and A LOT OF CACA I gathered from a certain relationship I had. I knew that this needed to happen in this trip and I think the OSHO time was a great launching pad for it. I felt ligther after it, as I do now, more able to move in my own body, heart, and soul about the world so readily available for me to discover and in which I should always participate fully. I felt more myself than I had felt in a long time. Mindy, I felt then and do today, more like the Julio you have been searching for in the last few years.

Is the work over, am I cured of these evils? No, of course not. The kind of life experiences I had such as walking in on my boyfriend "doing it" with someone else, being told I did not "have the degree" to participate in a conversation at work are not the ones that disappear in one breakthrough. But, these moments of clarity awaken us to what is important and valuable in life. And, focusing on these events is neither of these things. So, as I so often say, candidly, JULIO, MOVEON.ORG! (Credit goes to all of you - Mindy, Nicole, Tricia, Sarita, Ana, Drew, My mother, Father, and so many of you who love me - and who told me all throughout these ideals - MOVEON.ORG) Thanks for being there and letting me run my own course. Also, thanks for not being there sometimes too. I especially remember Mindy saying, "I love you, and, therefore, I will not longer have this conversation with you." Thank you. Thank you for not feeding the monster.

DREW
Oh, it is so wonderful to have Drewzie here. We have been having such a great time. I feel he has really gotten tastes of the many experiences I have had here - the pollution, the amazing kindness of India, the madness of the streets, the peace of the small towns, the yumminess of the spices in the foods, the constant scare of the water. This was very important to me since as "the boyfriend" I really wanted him to know first hand what I have been experiencing. I think he has really enjoyed it. Oh, he has also been a total badass and outdone me on the health side. Yes, Reny (mom), Drew is taking on India like a champ while I have had a cold for the entire time he has been here. Note that now that we are in Calcutta and the sun is out and I have a t-shirt on the cold is going away quickly. I am my mother's son, a tropical flower.

INDIA as a COUPLE
Being in India as a couple has also meant I have gotten to see a different India, which has been wonderful. When you are in a 1.5 year trip every day with your beau is critical time so we have decided to stay a nicer places instead of spending much of "our" trip dealing with the madness of India. Don't take me wrong, we have had our share of cultural dirt, bugs and etc, but we have been staying a nicer hotels with HOT WATER, yes, HOT WATER, lots of it, lots and lots, and clean sheets and room service, and buffets, and cable TV, and white towels, yes, one that are actually white, not just by name, and we have a bathtub, and toiletries, and newspaper in the morning. WOW, I had no idea this India existed. Well, I knew it existed, but wow, wow. I truly feel I have ran the gamut of places to stay - from very little and very dirty, minus three star places to the Taj Hotel's 5-star with a view of the Taj Mahal. Also, from sleeper train with the "people" of India to a 1st AC train ride with constant meal service and electricity.

Ooops, internet time has ran out...........promise I will be back soon to continue this with "experiences"!

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
www.brazilbean.net

India (By Guest Writer Drewzie Z. Greenberg)

Hello all! Guest writer Drew here. Now, former-and-current-bloggers Tricia and Julio and Kushal might be a bit intimidated by having me sit down to contribute to this writing effort, but I want to reassure them that I am just like any other blogger on the internet: I put on my Starfleet uniform one leg at a time.

The last week has been fun in so many ways. Julio sells himself short when he says it doesn't sound exciting -- we saw the Taj Mahal, for crying out loud! It's, like, one of the most famous structures in the world, up there with Mt. Rushmore and the Eiffel Tower and that weird striped house that Madonna built that one time. Anyway, it was magnificent, and seeing it with Jules and Sarita and Eddie and Sarita's family was an amazing way to do it -- they were great traveling companions, particularly because I found in Eddie a co-conspirator in my perpetual search for masala-flavored crunchy snacks. But also because they're all really fun. We've laughed a lot and eaten a lot (I won't even begin to get into the details of last night's Great Multiple Servings of Rice Experiment, but, um, rest assured,when we finished dinner? I was full.)

Of course, it's impossible to be here and witness such majestic sites as the Taj Mahal and other palaces, all of which were sumptuous in their grandeur, without noting the irony of what's invariably outside the palace gates. The poverty and neglect and general (and,in some cases, literal) crumbling infrastructure have to give you pause. And they do. No tag-line joke here. That part sucks.

Coming up, we'll be visiting Puri and Calcutta, and I think we're both looking forward to that part of the journey as well. For me, getting to spend time with Julio has been the highlight of this trip, and it reminds me how much I wish he would hurry up and have his life-changing growth experience seeing the world, blah blah blah and come home. I kid. Except not really.

Oh! Also? For all my friends in LA who wanted to know the answer, this one's for you: yes on the McChicken, no on the Big Mac. But they do have Chicken Maharajah Mac. And the most delicious thing called a Chicken Curry Pan. I'll try to bring a crate home if I can get it through customs.

Miss you all.

Love, Drew and Julio

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
www.brazilbean.net

Drew & The Golden Triangle

Dear all,

It has been so long I don't even know what to write. I will start by saying that it's GGGRRREEEEEAAAAATTTTT to have Drewzie here. As is the case for all who do this type of travel, it seems like he has been here for a month already, but it has not even been a week. He arrived in Delhi at nearly midnight, we left at 8am to our tour of the Golden Triangle - Agra and Jaipur and Fatehrpur Sikri for the next 4 days - and we are now back in Delhi trying to get some business out of the way before leaving for Kolkata and Puri.

I am sorry for those whose individual emails I have not answered. I have not used the internet for about 8 days. Every time we thought we would have access, we didn't. So, today, Sunday, when everything is closed in Delhi, we found a random place that was open.

The only way I can do this is to do snippets:

--My 5 days in Pune at the OSHO Retreat Center was really great. I spent a lot of time by myself, and a lot of time with a wonderful new friend, Arya. The week consisted of a great deal of dancing, shaking uncontrollably, eating lots of croissants, crying a lot, and spending time in the OSHO pool. It was what I needed to rest from Tricia's and my India and get ready for India with Drew.

--Drew arrived early and I had a lot of CODE 31's with the taxi driver. (Code 31: information lost in communication with hands and hindi and english). I arrived at the airport late and Drewzie was looking around for me. I felt awful, but he was, of course, fine, if totally shocked like all of us who arrive in India after nearly 30 hours of travel. We made it home in one piece.

--The Taj Mahal was all it promised to be. Part of it is that is started with us staying at the Taj View Hotel where we had a full view of the Taj Mahal from our room. It was beautiful. And, the room was beautiful with lots and lots of hot water and a bathtub. I wanted to make sure Romina knows I took a really hot shower for her for a really long time and a long hot bath for Maria. It was outstanding.

The Taj Mahal was breath-taking in the way that other Wonders of the World are. For a moment you just stand there awe struck by the beauty of it, its magnitude, its historical power, and how clean it looks in the midst of such a polluted city. It is truly amazing. We took tons of pictures. To come in the future.

--Jaipur was also beautiful. We had another wonderful hotel room that looked over the Maharajah's hunting grounds (this means it was a beautiful building built in the middle of a lake). This place also had lots and lots of hot water and HBO! The Maharajah's Palace was beautiful and our visit to Fatehrpur Sikri, an vast planned city, was outstanding.

--Other than sites Drew and I have had a great time with Sarita and Eddie and Sarita's mom and dad. We have laughed a great deal, met lots of family members, eaten the yummiest home cooked meals, and drank lots and lots of tea.

--Health wise I have been sick for a week now. I got a cold from the 26 hour Pune-Delhi 2-AC train and have not been able to shake it off since we are now in cold India. Drewzie is remaining strong having been able to keep away my cold or any grastro issues of the millions that could arive.

--We are Delhi just kind of waiting for tomorrow morning when I can go to the Vietnamese Embassy to turn in my passport for a visa. After that we should be off to Kolkata where we will be for 2 days beforing going to stay at a resort in Puri, a beach a bit more southeast in the state of Orissa. We will stay there for about 6 days before coming back to Kolkata for New Years, then Delhi so that Sarita, Eddie and Drew can go back to the States and I can leave for Vietnam.

That's the news. Sorry if I did not make it sound exciting. I am still under the weather.

Kisses from both Drew and myself,

Julio

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
www.brazilbean.net

PHOTOS: FIVE different cities...THANK YOU MINDY!!!

These photos are of five different cities. The links below are NOT active for some of you. Cut and paste them into your browser and they should work. Enjoy!

RISHIKESH:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1i2bgirz.b9zymj1r&x=0&y=mtihu9

ORCHHA:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1i2bgirz.22dh6q1b&x=0&y=4k4rh0

KHAJURAHO:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1i2bgirz.8uhvk1qf&x=0&y=-6cvhf7

VARANASI:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1i2bgirz.9truxojr&x=0&y=cpimfl

BODHGAYA:

http://www.kodakgallery.com/I.jsp?c=1i2bgirz.7964npgn&x=0&y=-9hft1q

"Into the Woods to Find the Giant..."
www.brazilbean.net