So, I have yet to publish anything regarding my trips that I have taken over the last month. As I go through everything there isn't just one particular story that really sticks out - could be cuz I waited so long to write about everything that I have moved on to bigger and more pressing problems....
(I have posted this photo because it strikes me as funny...if you can't read it - it says a Vegetarian Paradise and yet has a photo of what suspiciously looks like a hamburger. I am also unsure what Exotic Landscaping would be and why this is important enough to advertise.)
I did get sick once - dehydration sickness in Ranthambor National Park. well Im calling it dehydration sickness even though it was probably what is commonly called Travlers diarrhea. But as I don't like the word diarrhea yet keep saying it, diarrhea, I will call it something else. I am also unaware of where I could have contracted it from. So I blame it on the heat. It was 40 C out and my guides chose to spend the majority of the day resting up on top of a hill with no shade except that which was provided by a small house. There were better options - such as down under the trees on the river, but a problem arose when I asked about this option from us not being able to communicate well. You see, as my time here extends, my Hindi is decreasing. No one on campus speaks to me in Hindi or is
willing to speak to me in Hindi. So, I have to find a private tutor which means I have to find time...there is so much to do and so little time. But I digress...Back to the liquid butt. Lucky for me I have a friend named Terry who is working in public health in Delhi. Also lucky for me he is attached to his cell phone (much like EVERY other person in this country) and he did not mind a text at 10pm at night talking about my leaky butt...I mean dehydration sickness and what med's I should take. He recommended some (arithromyacine,
ciprofloxacin or norfloxacin) and I wrote them down so I wouldn't have to speak the name and went to a chemist - Gotta love India - no doctors note needed! Self medication is the way to go sometimes. Handed over a piece of paper with the names and in bad hindi asked if he had any. 2 things to note - ALWAYS check expiration date! and according to Terry - know the drug companies! know them by name so you get "reliable" drugs. Terry gave me some suggestions for drug companies but I forgot them and just had to deal. Got me 3 pills and ORP (oral rehydration powder - YUCK) and was saved by 10am the next day. Which was a good thing because I boarded a 5hr train at 7am and then by 2pm was on a 7hr bus ride back to Dehradun. Having no bathroom on a bus sucks, the train wasn't so bad.
Over the next couple of days I will post photos from my travels so the posts will not be in chronological order (if you are someone who is concerned over this). And if you don't read this post until after you have read about my adventures in Orissa and Rajastan, then things are really going to be confusing.
You can not expect the buffalo to know that he is going down the wrong side of the road. This is how it is in India on the roads...if there is space move into it regardless of the direction and flow of traffic or people. Use every inch of space possible even if this means you will hit a human - they will move right??
We also learned about Chilka Inida's largest freshwater lake. The ecology and restoration management for this lake is quite the story - but would probably bore most of you. So to highlight while on the lake we learned about the fishing industry and I got to see dolphins! There is much contriversy over the shrimping/fishing industry with overharvesting, no regulations, no enforcement of the little regulations they do have, no monitoring, no standardizations, and danger to those that do try to regulate the harvest.
Also, along the beaches in this area are spots of mass nesting for turtles, particularly Olive Riddly turtles. When I say mass nesting I mean 1,000's of turtles nesting in the course of 3 nights. 90 turtles is "nothing" - has to be over 800 to be mass nesting (ok there is no magic number but when I was impressed by 90 I was laughed at and told "thats not MASS nesting")...for someone who's never seen turtles nesting 90 seems impressive. With turtle nesting you are not allowed to take photographs because the light messes with turtle ecology (for those of you who don't know - turtles that are nesting are attracted to the light the moon provides - which is why there is a concern of light pollution and the light from factories attracting turtles to the wrong locations for nesting and nests fail etc.) But we did get to see some nests that actually we spooked a jackal off from raiding. Therefore the forest service sent a guy to transplant the eggs to a nursery where they will be helped. This is the ideal anyway. There are a lot of issues with the methods (there aren't any), with who they hire to help (usually some random uneducated guy someone knows - not anyone with the proper knowledge behind turtle conservation), with consistancy of collection an monitoring, with proper documentation of how many eggs from which clutch, from which beach, from what day - which plays a huge part because 50some days later the eggs hatch and there needs to be someone there to make sure the baby turtles can get to the water without the crabs eating them. Anyway, its a big mess and yet another example of how India is a developing country.
