Archive for June, 2010
There is no need to get 4 season tents for gentle summer camping. Even if there is a heavy downpour, the use of sleeping pads combined with adequate planning should keep everything fairly dry. The important thing is to not camp at the bottom of a hill, to make sure the rain fly is secure, and to take advantage of natural cover.
But, a four season tent can be a nice thing to have for extreme conditions, and if you have the money to spend on one, it is a luxury that can really improve your camping experience.
Basically, the difference between 4 season tents and regular tents is that a 4 season tent is tighter, with heavier outer walls. When it is all zipped up, there is no space anywhere for the elements to get in.
In addition, 4 season tents are often stabler so that they can resist extremely heavy storms if need be. This does not mean, however, that you cannot use 4 season tents in nicer weather. Many styles of 4 season tents come with the ability to unzip the outer fly so that you can keep cool on summer days, while still braving near-arctic temperatures in the winter.
You will find, however, that the more extreme the conditions for which it was designed, the more specialized a 4 season tent will be. For example, some true mountaineering 4 season tents are not things that you would like to take camping on a warm summer night.
Read the rest of this entry »
Do you know how many turkeys are eaten during the holiday season? Below are a few interesting facts regarding the volume of turkeys eaten, cards sent, and much more.
Christmas Cards
Do you enjoy receiving cards in the mail? How many do you think you get each season? There are roughly 1.9 billion Christmas cards sent in the United States every year to friends, family members, and acquaintances, making Christmas the #1 card sending occurrence, followed by Valentine’s Day.
Packages
The number UPS is expected to deliver this year is over 340 million. The busiest day is expected to reach 20 million deliveries, which translates to 230 packages being delivered every second during that day.
Turkey
There are approximately 60 million turkeys consumed in the United States through the holiday season. Each American eats around 13.7 pounds of turkey every year! You think you are tired of turkey once Christmas is over? This may be why.
Christmas Trees
Next time you are lugging your tree home, remember this little fact. There are 20.8 million Christmas trees cut in the U.S. every year, with Oregon being the largest producer. Tree farmers retail roughly $506 million from the sale of trees. There is $69 million worth of artificial trees imported from China alone. Artificial Christmas trees have outsold real trees every year since 1991.
Christmas Tree Ornaments
China is the largest importer of Christmas ornaments which totals $561 million between January and August. Apparently those little trinkets are purchased year-round to have handy when Christmas time approaches.
Read the rest of this entry »
We arrive to the land of 1000 languages and 1000 gods. At the Intercontinental, the women in my group are welcomed with marigolds and branded with the typical red dot on our foreheads. This hotel is an oasis of luxury in a polluted city of 14 million people. Two days are spent touring Delhi. The obligatory sites include Gandhi’s Tomb and many UNESCO World Heritage Sites. No where else have ancient traditions blended with the modern on a scale so evident as in Delhi. Fat sacred Brahma bulls block traffic creating delays. In this Hindu land, cows rule. Dogs, monkeys and children cross at their own risk.
I love spiced food and begin each day with a 3 alarm-curry breakfast. We head by coach for Rajasthan, the beautiful desert state where cows are replaced by camels. The air is sweeter and everything more colorful. Here is a microcosm of all that India is. The people are genteel with a humility if spirit and still light up at the sight of foreigners. We continually wave through our windows to those who stare with curiosity and seem to say, “why have you come here?” As a fan of the third world, this place has been on my dream list for years. I now vividly enter that element of travel that provides me astonishment.
We’ve come to attend the annual Camel Fair in Pushkar that has taken place for a thousand years. As the world’s largest, it has at its peak attracted 50,000 camels with 200,000 traders. We unpack at our camp called Exotic Adventures. Our spartan tents did have ensuite toilets but toilet paper was at a premium. There was a 24 hour guard outside who stingily rationed our quota. In the desert, nights are frigid and afternoons sweltering. I confided to a guest there from the American Embassy that I felt like I was in an episode of “Survivor.” She laughed assuring me that it was all worth it. Soon my shock turns to awe as I enter the fairgrounds.
Set on miles of shifting sand dunes with festooned camels and a flood of pilgrims, the scene looks totally surreal. Its like a State Fair on steroids. There is a flurry of horse, bullock and camel races, contests for milking, animal decorating, turban tying, tattooing as well as snake charmers, free carnival rides, mystics, astrologers and dazzling stalls of handicrafts at giveaway prices. The ground reverberates with activities. Thousands of Rajasthani woman have arrived dressed in their finest clothes in near neon colors. I watch trained monkeys, painted cows and cobra’s dance. No words can adequately describe how this helter skelter overwhelms my 5 senses. Others can have Europe with its cathedrals and museums. For me, this exotic exposure and cultural immersion is the ultimate travel!
Covered in dust, we return to camp. Each night there is entertainment under the stars with musicians, folk dancers, puppet show or fire eaters. No alcohol is allowed here and all meals are vegetarian buffets. An Ayurveda Center offers us treatments to cleanse body toxins. We decline them: induced vomiting, enemas, nasal drainage and blood letting.
We tour the holy city of Pushkar with its sacred lake created by Lord Brahma. Pilgrims come from afar to bathe in the ghats and worship round the clock. We learn about religions here: Zorastrism, Sihkism, the mystic Sufi’s, Jainists who won’t kill a mosquito, Hinduism that claims no absolute truth and the caste system. We tour temples at the lake; some are “blessed” by priests. Later, a highlight for me was a one hour Camel Cart Safari behind the scenes of the fair. Children line our route shouting to us “hi, hello, one pen please!” We see a camel slaughtered and half naked people washing. Back inside the grounds, we visit an orphanage and scatter individually to get lost in the feverish revelry. We ride huge spitting camels that provide us a heightened perspective of it all. I purchase a dozen garnet necklaces and silver ankle bracelets. Teenage boys approach Terry to photograph him. He’s 6’5’’. One politely as him, “Sir, what do you eat?”
Our group was wonderful!
There are endless food courts however we must pass all enticements to prevent “Delhi Belly.” I find the cacophony of chaos delightful. Pushkar is truly a party affair for the locals and we are just observant guests. I’m so grateful to experience such but time to proceed on with our busy itinerary.
Read the rest of this entry »
