How weird is this? I hadn't seen any snow since the October shocker here in New York. And then last weekend I went to Seattle to visit friends. There, the city, accustomed to being sodden with winter drizzle, came to a virtual standstill with the accumulation of a mere two inches of snow. Over a two-day period, I saw only a couple of snow plows, both of them on major highways. Beyond that, it was up to the intrepid among us to negotiate the slushy and rutted hills that define the city by the bay. Jeff and I slipped and slid our way downtown on Saturday afternoon to check out some sights and were wowed by the Seattle Central Public Library building designed by the brilliant Rem Koolhaas (who has the awesomest name for an architect I could ever imagine). As for the breathtaking design, I'll let the accompanying pictures speak for themselves. But as for the function, let me say that Seattle has managed to redefine the metropolitan library as a place where people of all walks of life can seek both knowledge and refuge. Inside the soaring, light-filled space, we found the usual bookworms and students and tourists like us. But the frigid temperatures and snow clearly had motivated all kinds of nomads to come inside. Overflowing hikers' backpacks defined the Occupy Movement protestors; stuffed shopping bags and ragged overcoats defined the homeless; paint-spackled workclothes defined the day laborers, speaking mostly Spanish. They weren't just hanging around. They found seats at the hundreds of public computers -- provided for them, whether they had paid the taxes to build the municipal library or not. On the third floor -- or whatever floor it was you got to after taking two of the longest escalators I've ever seen -- there was a job resource center with a staffed help desk and hundreds more computers -- all of them in use. The library was as hushed and serious as any. But its colorful decor was a perfect backdrop for the diversity of its patrons, who seemed right at home taking shelter from the storm. In a few weeks from now you'll find me sitting down at the gates of the White House, with a few hundred like-minded people, waiting to get arrested. Why? Because I believe NASA's James Hansen and a whole cadre of eminent climate scientists when they tell me that if President Obama green lights a new pipeline from the Tar Sands of Alberta, Canada to oil refineries in Texas, he will be guaranteeing our children a future on a dangerously overheated planet. President Obama has the unilateral authority to decide, as early as September, whether to "light a fuse to the largest carbon bomb in North America," to quote the folks at tarsandsaction.org. And we need to raise our collective voices and insist that our president honor his campaign pledge to transition us to a clean-energy economy and put the brakes on the kind of environmentally destructive and energy intensive practices being used to mine Canada's vast pristine forests and bogs for this dirtiest form of petroleum fuel. The development of the 1,700-mile-long Keystone XL Pipeline would invite the full exploitation of the Alberta Tar Sands, the world's largest oil reserve outside of Saudi Arabia and the our country's single greatest source of oil. From August 20th to September 3rd, thousands of Americans from all over the country will take turns joining in peaceful protest with dedicated environmental activists like Bill McKibben, Danny Glover and David Suzuki. They will risk arrest by getting within shouting distance of the White House to demand that the tar sands be left in the ground in order to give the planet a fighting chance to get back to a stable climate. So I'm giving three days of my time to the movement-- not much, given the high stakes. If anyone wants to join me, I'm going down on August 21st. But there are three weeks in which to act. So choose a time that's convenient for you. This issue needs your voice. Click here to sign up: http://www.tarsandsaction.org/sign-up/ Before we went to India we heard all kinds of opinions from people who'd done the trip before us. Many said they were glad they'd been there once, but wouldn't go back -- too much destitution and too much filth. Some said they preferred the north of India, others said they loved the south. People were split on whether it was worth going out of the way to see the Taj Mahal on a relatively short trip. Others said it was an absolute highlight not to be missed. So, for those of you who are considering a trip to India, here are my two cents, or rupees. I think Jeff, Sylvia and Ben would agree with me. First of all, I'm so glad I went and I would go back again. The sites are otherworldly, the people warm, hospitable and soulful. There's a large and growing middle class in evidence everywhere, and they're proud and excited to share their country with foreigners. Yes, there's squalor and noise, but they are part of the tableau that has to be experienced by all five senses and can't be conveyed by the limited dimensions of film and radio -- or even a multi-media blog -- as good as those depictions might be. As Americans we can't possibly know what it's like for the developing world without standing in the middle of it, and even then, we still can only imagine what it's like to live in the shoes of the more than a billion have-nots in the world. We loved the richly-spiced food and though we ate heartily, we all found we had shed a few pounds by trip's end. If you're a woman, bring scarves and tunics, leggings and long skirts, because you'll want to blend in as much as possible. But buying colorful local clothing was easy and inexpensive, too, and supported the local economy, so pack lightly and indulge.
Two weeks is not long enough to cover both the north and the south. If you have the luxury of a month, then go for it, and spend a little more time in each place than we did, adding a few more stops to the southern route to cover the technology centers in the southeast. But if it's two weeks you have, then we'd suggest sticking to the north and adding, perhaps, Varanasi and/or Jaipur and Rathambore National Park. Instead of early January, I'd suggest waiting till it warms up a bit in February and there's less morning and evening fog -- especially if you want to be sure to see the Taj Mahal at its best. We got lucky. And speaking of the the Taj Mahal, you have to see it with your own eyes. It's magical. Don't miss it. One of my mother's well-traveled friends, Rita, who has a great eye for art and beauty, said if she could only visit one sight in the whole world, it would be the Taj Mahal. And Ben, who has seen many of the natural and man-made wonders of the world in his travels, is inclined to agree. So go, and enjoy. And don't hesitate to contact me if you have any questions. As you no doubt have gathered, I've always got a lot to say! It's a good idea when you go to a new city -- especially one where prices are subject to change on a whim -- to familiarize yourself with the fare system before you board your vehicle of choice. We didn't take that advice. But fortunately, we were paying in rupees and not in Euros. Sylvia and Ben paid 20 rupees (50 cents) for a rickshaw ride that cost me and Jeff 100 rupees ($2) for the exact same route when we mis-read the meter. We thought it was a bargain to pay 200 rupees ($4.50) for a five-minute cab ride to Victoria Station, until we found out it was supposed to cost 16 rupees (35 cents). Oops! Imagine accidentally paying $100 for a $10 cab ride in New York City. The fare for the first class train to the seaside suburb of Bandra was $1 each, and we actually paid the right amount this time. But there wasn't a single ticket-taker on the 20-car train, so for everyone else, it was free! Oh well, any which way, we made some hard-working people very happy that Sunday afternoon. And we enjoyed the pretense of traveling like real Indians and blending in with the crowds. Check out other Mumbai experiences and photos at "India Diary:" /days-9--10----mumbai.html
Okay, as usual, I overpacked. Who doesn't? But in my own defense, how can you pack lightly when you have to bring layers enough for temperatures that range from 45 to 85? I will say, though, I have a packing system that should be taught at the university level. The cornerstone is a collection of velcro-sealed "envelopes" that keep clothes compact and organized. Inside the envelopes, the clothes are rolled, not folded, which keeps them wrinkle-free and crams 40 percent more in the same space. Believe me, I've done the comparison. When you're moving around a lot, like we are, you can just keep everything in their pallets and move them from suitcase to drawers and back. Simple! Not to be too graphic about it, I put laundry in one of those roll-up vacuum bags that compresses everything and keeps it hermetically sealed off from the rest of your stuff. I recommend microfiber underwear, which washes and dries in no time. And If you're a traveler and you don't own a pair of wool socks, you need to listen up. I know this sounds gross, but you can wear a pair of quality all-wool socks for four, five, even six days, unless you're slogging through the Amazon or running marathons. I like the Smart Wool brand, which come in all kinds of colors and styles for women and men. And no, they're not a sponsor on my website, though if they want to make me an offer, I'm all ears. I like to think that when airport security opens up my suitcase for a look, they whistle in awe at the neat puzzle inside and, out of respect, just close it back up, undisturbed.
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