Memories of another place

The Animal Kingdom also has another area which is quite reminiscent of another place I have been to, Nepal.

Water is an issue common to many travelers. Makes me remember a time in India. I was traveling daily via public buses to an orphanage where I volunteering. I would drag along a water bottle with me until I discovered a hidden refrigerator at the orphanage. They hardly used it so I asked if I could keep my water bottle in it and avoid dragging it on the buss all the time. Well after about a month of going and finding the bottle filled full of lovely cool water, I suddenly wondered where the water was coming from. The travelers taboo....drinking the local water. AHHHH! I had been drinking it for a month. I tossed in the towel, and continued drinking it. I don't think it did any damage, although did see a freaky CSI last week that had to do with someone traveling to Brazil and worms....and I did have a passing thought, but I do believe after all this time it is safe to say I made it out unscathed.

These are "decorations" that are all over the Nepal area of Animal Kingdom. These decorations are actually Tibetan Buddhist prayer flags. When I was in Nepal I saw many, most often surrounding what looked like a pile of rocks, but in the city they were all over. I remember them most from the Boudanath Stupa in Kathmandu, the largest Buddhist stupa in the world. The flags were fluttering all around it. I was struck with profound sadness at this place. I thought that all those flags fluttering in the wind were people's prayers. I thought of how I have a direct line to God and all the hope that they have is that the wind will direct their hearts requests to the right place. Its a mighty risky way to pray and I felt deep sadness in my heart. When I saw these flags, I saw them for what they were.....

I have deeply fond memories of rickshaws. The first family I stayed with in India insisted that we travel by rickshaw everywhere we went. As you can see they were not that big, bigger than the one Ella is in below but not much bigger than that. There were four of us in total. Three adults and one tween. Ugh. Really I hated that, but on the rare occasion I got past my cheapness (it was cheaper to go by bus) and I used one I loved it. I refused to ever use one where a person manually pedaled it, I used an auto rickshaw. I loved them because inside you had a sense of aloneness and in India, a country of a billion, that meant a lot. It was open so you were exposed to the elements which sometimes was nice. India has many wonderful and unique smells. I love the smell of curry and all the yummie deliciousness coming from all the road side stands. I loved to sit and look at this alien land pass me by. Sometimes I'd wonder if it was all real. If I reached out to touch it would it ripple like my reflection in the water? I'd usually get a slap back to reality in the form of some bus exhaust in my face. It was real alright.


So all this made me remember this. I haven't scanned my pictures of Nepal and India. HTe picture below is in China. It is actually taken in the Fobidden city in Beijing. I miss traveling and missions so much.........