Hello there and welcome to the secret life of a gap year teenager.
So after our adventures in Jaipur our friend Rishiji , led us to the beautiful city of Udaipur (which he claims is ‘the venice of india’). Our first night we explored the beautiful lakes and architecture that’s sprinkled throughout the ‘old town’ and dined like kings and queens on a rooftop overlooking tiny island hotels, singing along… Read More
Salutations from The magical city of Udaipur!! Although it has been only a few days since the last blog post, many significant events have transpired in the meanwhile. We had an UNBELIEVABLE couple of days in Jaipur, staying in homestays. On our second homestay adventure of the trip, we were split up into pairs and were able to share the experience with a buddy. Being the only two boys, Matt… Read More
Namaste North America! Matt from Boston here! After an amazing week in Calcutta, we took a domestic flight back to Delhi and then a train to Rishikesh. We spent 7 days just outside of the city at the Phool Chatti Ashram, which is a silent yoga and meditation retreat. While having to wake up every day at 5:30am, the rigid schedule, and the speaking limits were all challenging aspects of… Read More
Our time in Bodhgaya was delightful and a much needed rest stop for our group. During our three day stay, we visited the Bodhi Tree, the 80-foot statue of Lord Buddha, rode bikes throughout town, and spent a couple hours wandering around and looking at different Buddhist monasteries from around the world. It is an incredibly peaceful place and allowed us to re-group after a very busy week in Varanasi.… Read More
Here are several photos from our stay in Varanasi. They are the burning ghat, the sunrise over the Ganga, Paffy and I on the boat, and our fire dancing instructor Krishna in action!… Read More
I heard the clean snip of the scissors and gazed up into the mirror of the barber shop into the eyes of a tall, cheery Indian man. With sparking eyes, and eccentric smiles, he and Payton held up my pony tail. Ten minutes later, I was officially bald…
Namaste family and friends!
Megan (the recently bald group member) here. This week was as fast paced and hectic as ever. We… Read More
Namaste, everyone! It’s Walker here sending love and well wishes on behalf of the entire Shiva group! I’m so thankful that I found an Internet cafe tucked above the bustling chaos of Amritsar before we head off this afternoon to catch our night train to Agra (aka home of the Taj Mahal!).
This past week has been an absolutely beautiful whirlwind. After leaving Deer Park Institute on October 13th, we… Read More
Namaste my fellow Americans.
Evangeline here (I’m the New Yorker that lacks the fun accent and has a confusing other identity known as “Eva”), this week I get the honor of sharing our latest adventures with you! Every week the Carpe students rotate specific roles and this week I’m the blogger! Other roles include “hot wheels”(responsible for our transportation), “cribs”(our housing), “gratitude”(expressing thanks to all our contacts along the journey),… Read More
Namaste everybody!
This week has been full of surprises and fun activities. We attended the teachings of His Holiness the XIVth Dalai Lama, adventured to an amazing waterfall in Bagsu, and we drank boatloads of chai (as usual). We have all been learning Hindi, and apprenticing in trades such as Tibetan Massage, Tibetan cooking, and jewelery making. We had the opportunity to watch a documentary that explained the Chinese occupation… Read More
Hello all! We are all showered and cleaned up as we just returned home to McLeod Ganj after five days spent trekking in the beautiful Himalayas. We started out from our guest house in town, met up with our guide Anil and began the ascent right from town! The first night was spent at Triund where we were all taken away by the incredible views, delicious food, and steaming chai,… Read More
Greetings! The group has just settled in on our first night in the quaint yet mystical McLeod Ganj nestled just below the Himalayas. I think I can speak for the group when I say we are all exuberantly happy here. This picture sums up our brief orientation atop the Tara Guest House in Delhi. Many memories were made looking out onto colorful prayer flags flapping in the wind, the occasional… Read More
Hey ya’ll!! Greetings from Brad, Evangeline, and Walker. After 4 planes, a day tour of Singapore during a lay-over, and a long and frightening taxi ride through Delhi, we arrived in Majnu Katila at Tara House. We spent the last 2 days soaking up the endless excitement and chaos of Delhi. One of the highlights so far has been last night when we sprawled out on the rooftop, shared our… Read More
Megan, Matt and Payton here. We are in the Incredible India tourist information center with our new and helpful friend Samir. After taking a rickshaw into the center of town, we have been running around to a local bazaar, seeing a few temples, and in general getting a bit lost. We have already fallen in love with crazy, busy, wonderful India. Our quaint guest house in Old Delhi, specifically the… Read More
The mighty Shiva group has successfully gathered together at the San Francisco airport and checked in for their long flight to India. We’re wishing them traveling mercies on the journey. Stay tuned to hear from them from India. … Read More
Namaste Shiva-Crew, Family & Friends!
Let loose on a scavenger hunt around the streets of Portland, we – Matt and Avy – have been embracing the experiences of the day while eagerly anticipating our soon to be shared adventures in India! From having our hair brushed by a Himalayan breeze alongside a Tibetan prayer flag to watching India race by while we drink chai in a train, the sights and… Read More
Hey there followers of this crazy Indian journey! HOLY COW what an amazing journey this has been. Right now we’ve all transitioned into our next phase of life. To some of the group that is reuniting back home with friends and families in the states, working jobs, going back to school, or just relaxing and recouping from the magnificent craziness that is traveling in India. Some of our friends… Read More
Typing the words and thoughts of my 11 fellow companions for the past three months once and then twice after the internet crashed and rebooted(hey, this is India) is scrambling my brain a little bit. With every word I type I recall an amazing day, a weird bowel movement, an inside joke, or a panorama of towering mountains. I remember our airport farewell. The 12 of us laughing and crying… Read More
We’ve just received word from the leaders that the celebrated Spring 2013 India group has boarded their return flight from Delhi. And with this, the trip, like all good things, has come to an end.
Here in the Carpe Diem office, we are wishing everyone traveling mercies as they return to their homes or wherever their onward destinations may be. Our thanks go out to all those who directly or… Read More
After the clank-boom-steam of ever moving Amritsar, the group found repose in the humble atmosphere of Mcleod Ganj. Nestled in the Himalayas, Mcleod is marvelously scenic, especially the upper portion, which offered us some lovely walks and fine views. Known for being the home of H.H. The 14th Dalai Lama and the Tibetan government in exile, it radiates a certain warmth through it’s thoroughly Tibetan culture. Originally established in the… Read More
