hellotrain

We blame Bollywood. After two weeks surrounded by cameras and self-important men shouting "Action!", going back to still pictures just wouldn't cut it. That was also about the time we discovered that Jenny's point-and-shoot had a video function. Result? "How to Get Lost," a montage of our favorite video clips from India, Thailand, Laos, and Cambodia. Check it out at: http://hellotrain.blip.tv The movie is broken down by country and lined up in order. Production and narration by Randy, music by Randy and Jenny, special cameo appearances by Nadya, Georgia, and a very friendly baby black bear named Paula. Happy watching! ... read more

Wanted: 40 foreigners to go on an all-expenses-paid cruise for two weeks to the postcard-perfect Lakshadweep islands (and sun themselves by the pool in the background of a major Bollywood production). Qualifications: willingness to work 12-hour days and ability to clap hands in rhythm to Hindi pop music. Check and check. Our first time in Mumbai, Bollywood was a distant glimmer of glamour. We’d heard stories of travelers who got recruited to work as extras on movie sets, but we figured they were the lucky few. The second time around, we couldn’t walk ten steps without getting hounded by casting agents. All of a sudden we had the pick of the litter, and the opportunity of a Bollywood-sponsored cruise sounded like the kind of vacation from our vacation that we were looking for. We met ... read more

On the morning of March 5, everything shut down. Buses stopped running. Stores closed shop. Tourists holed up in their hotel rooms, not daring to step foot outside. No, it wasn’t a terrorist threat or political riots, but one of India’s liveliest festivals: Holi, a giant multi-colored waterfight that brings anarchy to all of India. We fell victim to Holi in Pushkar, a small but highly touristed town in Rajasthan. The town’s temples rise around the edges of a tiny gem of a lake; legend has it that the waters sprang from a lotus flower dropped by Lord Brahma himself. Pushkar is one of the region’s most sacred Hindu cities, guaranteeing that the festival would be celebrated here with great fervor. That morning, we dressed in our grottiest clothes (not hard for backpackers), and decided ... read more

When arriving in Baroda, state of Gujarat, we had a bizarre experience right off the bat. While checking in at the hole-in-the-wall hotel office, Randy and the hotel manager were interrupted by a “sadhu” (holy man in search of enlightenment). He was draped a long orange robe and dangling gold jewelry, with a painted face and wild hair. Exactly what happened next remains a mystery since they were speaking in a foreign language, but it went something like this: Sadhu insists manager look through album of naked-sadhu-in-desert photos. Manager protests that he’s busy with customer (Randy). Loud arguing. Manager reluctantly thumbs through photos. Randy pretends not to notice that grown men are discussing naked man photos on desk in front of him. Sadhu performs prayer ritual on manager. Manager begrudgingly complies. Flower petals are thrown and ... read more

Unfortunately this is where our African journey ends. For our final blog we decided to throw together a bit of Hellotrain miscellany. From the buoyant waters of the Dead Sea to the baboon-blanketed slopes of the Simien Mountains; from Jenny getting attacked by a monkey on a leash to Randy getting attacked by a sewer grate; from awful falafel in Egypt to mouth-watering matoke in Uganda…We saw a lot of places and did a lot of stuff. Countries Visited: Turkey - Egypt - Jordan - Ethiopia - Kenya - Tanzania - Uganda - Rwanda - DR Congo Days Traveled: 170 (just shy of 6 months) Dollars Spent: about $5000 each, including plane tickets # of Times Jenny Locked Herself in the Bathroom: 4 # of Times Randy Bumped His Head: too many to remember Confrontations with ... read more

The grass is always greener on the other side…unless you’re in Rwanda. In the “Land of a Thousand Hills,” the scenery is so constantly spectacular that the camera never quite makes it back in the bag. Whether it’s tea plantations, terraced hillsides, or rainforest, there’s something stunning—and green—around every corner. Even in busy downtown Kigali, people go about their daily grind with picturesque views of the surrounding countryside as the backdrop. It’s hard to imagine the horror of the 1994 genocide, in which over one million people were killed, taking place among these streets and gardens. But take place it did—we spent one afternoon at the modern and haunting genocide museum just outside the capital, complete with video interviews and skulls of victims on display to prevent anyone from denying that it happened. It didn’t shy ... read more