India update finally:)

[Ashley Walch]

---------- Forwarded message ----------
From: Ashley Walch <ashw...@gmail.com>
Date: Nov 7, 2008 10:21 PM
Subject: update finally
To: Ashley Walch <ashw...@gmail.com>

Hi Everybody!

 

Hope things are well back in the U.S.After a 40 min bus ride from Basudha, a little remote farm in West Bengal, Erin and I finally made it to an Internet cafe in Bishnapur so we can give you all an update. It has been a fantastic journey so far. We were out in the middle of a rice field in West Bengal when we heard about Obama's victory we were ecstatic! We ended up celebrating the victory with a few glasses of Mahua a kind of liqour fermented from the fruit of the local Mahuha tree!! Even Bengalis were excited about the victory even though they know very little english they knew the phrase Obama Fever lol:)

 

So on to our adventure. It has been a fantastic journey so far. Starting in Mumbai we were lucky to have 3 friends there that showed us around, our first week was filled with crowded markets, racing taxis, screaming bollywood music, and the Diwali holiday fireworks day and night. The city of mumbai never sleeps, and neither did we. We had a blast up until the very last minute when our friends had to jump off of the moving train that would be taking us 36 hours to Durgapor, we pretty much traversed the belly of India from west to east. The train ride was restfull, sleeping, smoking Bidis out the side car and enjoying chai tea and good indian food, it was very nice.

 

Getting off at the Durgapur station we were immediately hounded by children, taxi drivers and shop keepers, we shoved our way directly to the crowded square filled with beeping buses and cries of Bengali towns where they were headed. After repeatedly asking several people for Beliatore (pronouncing it totally wrong of course) we found our  bus and slung our tired bodies in the bus standing with our packs on in the center isle all eyes on us... lol. Eventually, a english speaking passenger told us to throw our bags on top of the bus, relief... 30 minutes later we were hurried off the bus into the streets of Beliatore where we took a taxi to Basudha. We have now spent 7 days in Basudha, a sustainable agricultural research station, in the middle of  remote rice paddies of rural West Bengal. Along with us, the inhabitants of the entirely handmade adobe farmhouse includes Dr. Debal Deb, Erin and I and about 4 other guys who work there. It is a absolutely beautiful and serene. We wake up with the sunrise every day, do research in the field when we can and just relax take in the beauty of nature and at night enjoying music and meaningful conversations with the Dr and his friends. What they are doing at Basudha is absolutely amazing, if you have a chance to check out the website you should. http://www.cintdis.org/basudha.html

 

We are going to spend our day in Bishnapur today and then off to Kolkata tomorrow. After that we will be starting our Vipashna course in Bodhgaya which will last for 10 days. We should have phone service in Kolkata so  hopefully I can reach some of you then.

 

Side notes:

 

Karly, Rainbow, Liz, and Kasey - thank you thank you thank you for your guidance on this trip, the contacts you have given us have been wonderful and have allowed us to see beautiful areas of India of the beaten path and the opportunity to meet people doing amazing things. I am sure this will continue.

 

Karly - I hope to call you from Kolkata to catch up, I miss you so much and hope things are well in Japan!

 

Mom and Dad, Leah, Monica, and Nichelle and the babies - Thank you all for supporting me on this project. I miss you all dearly and think about you often. (Loved the Halloween Pics by the way!)

 

I haven't been able to transfer my pictures from the camera yet but hopefully in Kolkata...

 

Love you all take care - Ashley

 

 

[Rainbow Vogt]

Dear Ashley and Erin,

I'm so glad to hear things are going so well. We are sending you the very best from the new and improved state of existence here and will be wishing you well during your course. Write again soon- it's so great to hear of your experiences---

Much love,
Rainbow

--
The bicycle is the most civilized conveyance known to man. Other forms of transport grow daily more nightmarish. Only the bicycle remains
pure in heart.
—-Iris Murdoch
There never was a good war or a bad peace.
— Benjamin Franklin