A Boxing Day Book Review: The White Tiger by Aravind Adiga

I almost titled this post Boxing Day Blues. I think it’s inevitable that the day after Christmas might feel a little “less than.” The presents are open, the decorations are being boxed away, things are being returned, and the good food is already in leftover stage in the refrigerator.

So today, I took two naps (Doug told me not to admit this to anyone), and finished a book for January book club. Part of the reason why I’m in a book club is because the host, Marko Ayling, chooses books that are really interesting, and also not ones I would normally pick. They are stretching me.

Marko used to be a YouTuber with his brother Alex, and they helped introduce me to the best of the Shetland Islands on their travel videos. I support his writing now, and part of the perks of that financial support is this book club.

This month we’re reading a novel by Aravind Adiga that was the winner of the Man Booker Prize in 2008 and made into a movie in 2021. It’s called The White Tiger, and it’s the story of a boy in India struggling to break free from crushing village poverty and debt to become his own man, his own entrepreneur. He tells his story in a letter to the Premier of Beijing and he commits a horrific crime to gain his freedom.

Afterward, I felt much the same way I did after reading Richard Wright’s Native Son: the taste of despair in my mouth mixed with admiration for the author’s genius. The story shows the injustice, the disparities in between the wealthy and the poor and the difficulties of anyone who wishes to rise above his class, his caste, or the status he was born into.

There’s a moment in the book where the narrator is studying the clothing that his wealthy boss chooses to wear, a t-shirt with plain colors and small lettering. He would have chosen something full of writing and full of color because then he would have gotten the most value from the shirt but he chooses the wealthy clothes and can slip into the mall undetected by the guards because of it.

The narrator says that the poor in India are constantly working on filling their bellies and avoiding starvation while the rich are trying to look more like the poor by trying to exercise their big bellies away. In America, it’s often the reverse, the poor are saddled with obesity from eating nutritionally poor food that is highly processed and cheap to make, while the rich eat all-organic food and hire personal trainers and chefs to keep them in shape.

We live in a time where there is a lot of focus on America’s billionaires and when economic disparities seem to be reflected in every choice. The rich go on luxury vacations, while the middle class and the poor cut back on essentials to get by.

It’s a dark story. It’s a comic story. It’s an absurd story. It’s a philosophical journey. It transcends time.

That’s the story of The White Tiger as well.

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Finding adventure in your own backyard: Northern Montana

I subscribe to the belief that there is adventure waiting everywhere. You just have to challenge yourself to find it.

In November, D. and I went to the Banff Mountain Film Festival that was on its world tour in Great Falls, Montana. They showed 12 short films, and all were moving, but two stood out to me. The first was Gone Tomorrow, the Story of Kentucky Ice Climbing, about adventure climbing frozen waterfalls in Kentucky canyons. “It’s so ephermal,” one climber said. “It’s there today. It’s possibly gone the next day.”

The second was Surfer Dan, about a man who surfs Lake Superior in the winter and why he does it. As the trailer puts it, “In a time when it can feel like you need to fly to the opposite side of the globe to find adventure and challenge, Surfer Dan proves that with dedication, grit and a little creativity you might already have all you need outside you own backdoor.” There is something profoundly beautiful about this film.

“It’s an endless quest. A journey,” says Surfer Dan. Couldn’t agree more.

So, I was thinking of these guys while we were having a week of -25 degree weather, fog, wind gusts about 100 mph and days when melt off and ice made this particular part of Montana almost unbearable.

D. is still grappling with a knee injury but he can walk, so we’ve spent most days walking backroads that crisscross fields to get outside, get some fresh air, clear our heads and connect with nature. And when we had the snow, I cross-country skied in the airstrip. You gotta do, what you gotta do.

Here are a few photos of our winter adventures in our own backyard.

California: Crystal Cove State Park

Crystal Cove State Park

On a whim, I decided to reach out to a friend from college who lived in Orange County California to see if we could get together while I was there for another friend’s wedding.

She lives in Irvine. I was flying into Burbank. She warned me that this was potentially two hours of driving each way. I was still game. And honestly, it wasn’t that bad because I was listening to a good book on Audible.

When I arrived, she took over the driving and she showed me Crystal Cove State Park we we explored the beach, and had lunch. We went to the Shake Shake and I was over the moon to find out that they have gluten-free buns and fries. So good!

There is almost nothing that tastes as good as burgers, shakes, and fries at the beach. Especially a beach this pretty.

If You Go:

- Wear sunscreen even if it’s cloudy.

- Explore the tide pools and look for crabs. They are delightful!

Glacier National Park: A Hike to Poia Lake at Many Glacier

Poia Lake in Glacier National Park

Sometimes the best things happen when you can't do what you originally intended to do. Many Glacier was full this weekend and the park service were making people turn around at the entrance.

But ... there was one parking space left at the turnout before the entrance and we decided to scrap our plans and do the hike that started right there at the entrance to Poia Lake.

It was a hell of a hike - 1,400 feet in elevation gain in the first mile, but well worth it. The trail went up up up and then down down down to Poia Lake, one of the prettiest lakes in Glacier. And all of the wildflowers were blooming. We've never been there before, and it turned about to be the perfect day to do it. And for the most part, we were the only people on the trail.

I highly recommend this trail. It’s only 8 miles long and will get you in shape with a lot of elevation gain and beauty.

Glacier National Park: A Hike to Cobalt Lake

The first time I hiked to Cobalt Lake was 24 years ago. I was working at East Glacier Lodge, making salads, and hiked any time I could. My fellow cold prep chef, Karis, who sometimes sang musicals with me to pass the morning hours assembling potato, or macaroni, or fruit salad, went with me to Two Medicine to hike the 5.7 miles up to the lake.

I remember the plants on the trail being so wet with rain that my pants were completely soaked and it was so foggy that we could barely see the lake when we got there. Still, it was beautiful, and we were in the wilderness, and it was one of my favorite memories of the summer.

Bear Grass smells like honey along the trail to Cobalt Lake.

I’ve since been to Cobalt Lake, or on the trail to Cobalt Lake, at least a dozen times. D. and I usually hike 4 miles up to a scenic lookout we call Anniversary Point and sometimes turn back from there, or other times hike up the remaining 1.7 miles, which are steep, and can be snow packed.

Rockwell Falls

The first 2.5 miles of the trail are a very easy, gradual uphill in the forest next to Two Medicine Lake. You’ll pass by a turnoff to Paradise Point on the lake, beaver ponds, open meadows, and a trail that leads to Aster Falls. Keep going unless you want a side tour. The signage at Aster Falls is somewhat confusing and we literally asked a blind man and his companion for directions once. Chalk that up to most embarrassing ask for directions ever, but he kindly gave them to us.

The beginning stretch of the trail which can be accessed from the visitor’s parking lot at Two Medicine Lake, near the boat ramp, is quite popular, but about 2.5 miles in as the trail reaches the very end of the lake and you have the option to turn and go left towards Cobalt Lake and Rockwell Falls, the crowds thin and you’ll have a lot of the trail to yourself.

Along the trail to Cobalt Lake

It’s 11.7 miles roundtrip and took us 6 hours to complete with about an hour at the top to sit and enjoy the scenery and enjoy a picnic. Make sure you avoid feeding the marmots and the squirrels at the lakes. This marmot took one of my hiking poles off into the brush with him when i wasn’t looking and had a good nibble!

Montana: A Photo Tour of the Marias River, Town of Conrad, and Gallup City

The Marias River near Shelby, Montana

You know how you can live somewhere your whole life and not see the things people travel to your home town to see? Well, on Friday, I took the day off work to join my mother’s Shutterbug trip to see the things I haven’t seen within 30 miles of where I live.

My mom organizes a trip once a year for amateur and professional photographers to take photos and learn about a new area of Montana. This year we went to see the Marias River near Shelby, Montana that was named by Captain Meriwether Lewis for his cousin Maria when the Corps of Discovery was trying to decipher whether the Marias was the Missouri or not.

The Marias River has been tamed by Tiber Dam, but it’s getting a re-wilding by grizzly bears moving south and east from the mountains as their populations grow. This particular section, just north of Shelby has one of the highest concentrations of grizzly bears in the area. On Shelby’s golf course, they say, you can see both a grizzly bear and a rattlesnake in one day.

From the Marias we traveled 20 miles or so south on the Interstate to Conrad, Montana, a farming town founded in the late 1800’s by William Conrad, who made his fortune in real estate, mining, and cattle. We did a historical tour of the main street in town, hosted by the local museum.

A mural in downtown Conrad at Ed’s Tavern

A few things stood out to me. Conrad is home to the longest continuously running soda fountain in the United States. You can still get an ice cream soda, or just plain ice cream at Olson’s drug store in Conrad. And the Orpheum Theatre has been re-done, and shows both movies and live theatre and music shows. You can also get gluten-free, allergy-friendly food at Joe’s Steakhouse in Conrad, which makes its own gluten-free batter. Hello onion rings!

The oldest continuously running soda fountain in the United States, still open at Olson’s Drug in Conrad, Montana.

After exploring Conrad we headed to the historical remains of what once was an oil field boomtown called Gallup City. The town was only up and running for only six years, between 1927 - 1933. It was named for a Montana Governor, Hugo Aronson, who was originally born in Sweden and who owned an oil rig that he advertised under the name of the “Galloping Swede.”

An abandoned oil rig at Gallup City

The area produced approximately 400 million barrels of oil in its first 60 years of operation and we toured at least one place that was still pumping oil. Nearly 1,000 people once lived there, and now it’s turned back to grass and prickly pear cactus.

The Shetland Islands: A 10 Day Itinerary

Before our 10 day adventure to the Shetland Islands, I spent months researching, reading and watching YouTube channels about Shetland so that I could decide how to spend our time on the island. Honestly, this was almost the best part!

A few beliefs guided me:

1. Travel is better when you go deep. We could have tried to do all of Scotland, or added Orkney or added highlights in England, Wales, Scotland, and Shetland in two weeks. But what I find is that when you try to skim over places instead of going deep, the experience ends up feeling like drinking skim milk. You’re just not satisfied at the end. I wanted to go deep with Shetland, to really experience what I could with the place, and I encourage you to do the same.

2. Travel is better when you plan it yourself and go alone (or as a couple). Now listen, I know the majority of travelers do not venture alone. They go on a cruise, or a bus tour, or with a group and a guide of some sort. They do that because it saves time in the planning stages. Plus they have an instant guide. It feels safer. It may even be cheaper. Those are good reasons. However, it’s not an adventure if everything feels safe (like Disneyland) and it only becomes an adventure if something terrible happens and you survive it (think Titanic). Travel is a great way to grow, and you won’t grow if you stay in your comfort zone, so do it alone if you can or with a partner or a friend so you can grow!

3. Travel is better when you learn something while you’re there. Here’s the thing. If you just want to go drink a cocktail on a beach somewhere, that is okay. We Americans spend way too much time working and as a result a lot of us are burnt out and just need a mental vacation for a while. However, travel can be so much more fun if you decide you’re going to use it not only to take a break, but to learn something new. Your brain will thank you for it. Decide you want to know something about the place (every place has a history), its culture, its wildlife, its architecture, its food, its language, its people. Once you know more about what you really want to learn about that will help guide the planning of your trip.

With that said, here is a suggested 10-Day itinerary for the Shetland Islands based on our latest experience, and what we would like to do when we go again (which I hope is soon).

Day 1: Fly into Sumburgh, explore Sumburgh Head

Shetland has three airports, but the main airport is at the very southern tip of the island. It’s easy to get in and out of because it’s tiny, and there is a nice restaurant in the airport.

We arrived from a connector flight from Inverness, Scotland. You can take a ferry and it will be less expensive, but it will add 12 hours to your trip. The flight from Scotland is only an hour, that’s why I recommend the flight. When you have limited time, it’s worth the money to fly.

Check in at the Sumburgh Hotel, just a five minute drive from the airport. Make sure and get reservations at the hotel for dinner. The food is excellent and there is nowhere else to eat nearby.

At the hotel doorstep is one of the finest archaeological sites in Shetland, called Jarlshof. Budget about an hour to fully explore the ruins of centuries, take photos of the Shetland ponies nearby, and learn about the ancient history of the island.

Then drive the one lane road up to the Sumburgh Head Lighthouse, and look for puffins and other rare sea birds.

Finally, end your day with a short walk around the Ness of Birgi to the remains of an Iron Age settlement.

Day 2: Walk the Tombolo to St. Ninian’s Isle and take the Storm Petrel Tour of Mousa Broch

St. Ninian’s Isle is a short drive from Sumburgh Hotel, and one of the most scenic walks on the island. It will take you a few hours to explore the Tombolo beach, St. Ninian’s Isle, and the ruins on the Isle. Take care with the arctic skuas and raise your hand high if you find large birds suddenly attacking you.

Mousa Broch is worth seeing at any time, but if you can get on a dusk tour in June to see the storm petrel birds return from many days feeding at sea to their nests in an ancient Scottish broch, it will be well worth your time. Just know that you likely won’t get back to your hotel until 1 or 2 a.m. in the morning and book your tour well in advance of your trip.

Day 3: Sea Kayak the Shetland Coast and Explore Scalloway, the Ancient Capital of Shetland

Our half day of sea kayaking was an exciting, fun adventure, and Sea Kayak Shetland caters to beginners. If the weather is not in your favor, and your trip is cancelled, then reschedule for another day and spend some time at one of the local leisure centers or find a scenic walk nearby in the book, Walking On The Orkney and Shetland Isles by Graham Uney.

Scalloway is a short drive from Lerwick, and is the colorful, ancient capital of Shetland. Explore the local castle and museum, and have dinner at the Scalloway Hotel.

Day 4: Take a Walking Tour of Lerwick and go to Mareel Arts Centre

My favorite thing to do in large, historical cities is to take a walking tour (preferably a ghost tour) and Lerwick has a number of tours to choose from including both a wildlife boat tour and a walking tour around Lerwick. We had a blast with Les Sinclair from Roundabout Shetland. Try to time your trip to Lerwick on the weekend so you can take in a show, or see some live music, and experience the arts. A good place to do that is at the Mareel Arts Centre.

We loved two coffee shops in Lerwick: Peerie Shop Cafe and Fjara Cafe and Espresso Bar. Both of them had excellent gluten-free options (including gluten-free bread). From Fjara you can walk over by the grocery store Tesco and sometimes see grey seals as well. There is also gluten-free fish and chips served at Harbour Fish and Chips in downtown Lerwick.

Day 5-6 : Go to an outlying island for a few days: Fetlar, Bressay and Noss, Foula, Papa Stour, the Skerries, or Fair Isle

We decided to go to the island of Papa Stour off of the West Coast for several days because we wanted to go somewhere really remote while on Shetland. Plus, it was one place I could find accommodation (there is an AirBnB there). However, there are a number of outlying islands that are well worth exploring to get a flavor of Shetland. You can get help planning your trip at the all encompassing website about Shetland that goes over each area.

Day 7: Explore the Wild West Coast

The lighthouse at Eshaness, the walk around Muckle Roe, and the coastal walk at Sandness were some of our favorite experiences on Shetland. The west coast is more remote and the waves can be seen crashing into the cliffs and rocks there. Plus, do not miss the most northerly fish and chips shop in Britain in the town of Brae. Frankie’s Fish and Chips is a must-stop! Call ahead if you’re gluten-free. They have a dedicated fryer.

Day 8: Have fun in Yell

Yell is a beautiful island that often gets missed because people are too busy trying to get through it to get north to Unst. Stop at the Old Haa Museum for tea, visit the shops at Aywick, and have coffee and dinner at LJ’s Diner & Pizzeria in Mid-Yell. Check the Lerwick newspaper for local events. We were there when Yell was hosting a Regatta and there were games, music, and food for all comers.

Day 9: Visit Hermaness National Nature Reserve on Unst and become a Viking.

Unst was the most touristy island we visited on Shetland but you can see why when you climb the hill at Hermaness and see thousands of sea birds flying off the cliffs. It’s spectacular. Do not rush the experience. It’s well worth spending every minute with all of the puffins and other birds.

On the way to the northernmost part of the island stop and visit the Viking replica ship and longhouse along the side of the road and get coffee and refuel at The Final Checkout shop and restaurant in Haroldswick.

Day 10: Return South

It doesn’t take long to cross Shetland, no matter which way you go, but there are ferries involved when you go island to island so make sure that you have a solid day to travel south before you fly out just in case any unexpected trip hiccups slow you down.

One thing to note. Shetland rental cars do not come with spare tires, so that’s also a consideration when traveling. If you’re traveling by car to one of the outer islands, try to do so mid-trip so that you have plenty of time to repair your vehicle if anything goes wrong. You’ll also want to plan for weather delays or fog if flying. But otherwise, everything should be grand!

Day 14 of The Shetland Diaries: The Return Trip Home

Today I’m writing about jet-lag while being jet-lagged.

I really didn’t think it would be as bad as it is, but I’m on my third day, and I can definitely recommend that people give themselves three days of recovery going west. Going to Shetland wasn’t that bad, but coming home has felt like a slog through a mental mud pit.

It also didn’t help that I decided to give up my three cups a day of tea habit that I started in Shetland (when in Rome, you know), so I’m also caffeine deficient. Or that the airline served four glasses of water, one of which I missed while sleeping. I’ve been drinking water in the gallons to catch up.

When we left, I felt pretty good. Our driver didn’t have to arrive at a terrible hour. He picked us up at 8:30 a.m. after I texted him detailed directions to make sure he didn’t get lost. For once, we had an easy going ride to the airport. Asfand was very laid-back.

But when we got to the airport, nothing was laid-back. We had to ask for directions to find Air-Transat. Once there, we checked in our carry-on bags, and got our boarding passes, and then an employee with Air Transat asked us to weigh them. Combined, our two bags each had to weigh under 10 kilos. They did not.

“Can you get rid of 3 kilos out of there?” she asked.

We looked befuddled. I asked about that price for checking a bag.

“50 pounds” she said.

“Okay, we’ll try.”

Thus ensued a hilarious comedy of us putting on as many pieces of clothing as possible (I was wearing one long-sleeved shirt and two sweaters, plus both winter jackets and D. was wearing two pairs of pants). Plus, D. put the rocks that were in his pack which he had suggested tossing and I told him were irreplaceable into his jacket pocket. And I threw out all of my socks and underwear, and was even prepared to throw out the pair of jeans I had brought, but was fortunately saved by the scale.

The rocks in D.’s pockets

Exactly 10 pounds.

That took a half hour to do, while we were in front of all the other passengers, mind you. I was expecting some sort of sticker that said, “Approved!” or “Cleared!” I really wanted a gold star after all that effort. All I got was, “Great, now go to security.”

What? After all that effort I was just going to security as if nothing had happened?

Of course we were thoroughly patted down in security, which I couldn’t feel because of all the layers, and then our bags were checked as well. D. said they didn’t ask him about the rocks in his pockets, which struck both of us as very funny.

By the time we got through I was sweating through all three layers.

“Let’s go to the bathroom,” D. suggested, “and take all of this off.”

So that’s what we did. We undid all of that effort at check-in with another 15 minutes of trying to move around in a bathroom stall carefully undressing without touching anything.

This is why they tell you to come three hours early to the airport when you fly internationally.

We had just enough time to sit down for a quick breakfast, and D. ordered the full English breakfast with the tomato, beans, and everything, while we watched stag party after stag party sit down next to us. I counted at least six brides with girlfriends and that many grooms. They almost all had on costumes of some sort.

“When did this become a thing?” I asked D. as a party of five men in Scottish wigs, and fake kilts with hairy somethings hanging off the front apparently to symbolize hiding their “manhoods” escorted another man (presumably the groom) in a Guinevere wig and green dress to breakfast.

Meanwhile I was obsessively checking the flight app to see when our boarding gate would be announced. In England, the airlines don’t let you know where you’re boarding until the very last minute, which caused a whole lot of flight anxiety for me.

D. decided, thankfully, that we definitely needed provisions for the flight. Word to the wise, if you’re gluten-free or have any other sensitivities you need to place your meal order at least 72 hours in advance with the airline to get something special. Which, by the way, we did not, which meant that I ate two portions of rice and had a glass of wine during the flight. D. purchased 4 small bags of potato chips and some Green & Black chocolate bars (both gluten-free and peanut-free) and we headed to our gate.

Thus started the endless standing in a crowd of people in front of a barricade, which was only really opened to 90% of us when Group 7 was announced. I’ve never been with a group of people waiting to get on a plane who all laughed at the same time when a boarding group was announced.

It did have a particularly livestock-feeling as we boarded a large crowd into a funnel of sorts. The man checking our passports occasionally grilled random passengers.

“Why are you going to Canada?” he asked a teenager from Italy.

She muttered something unintelligible to me and he looked at her, looked at the passport, looked at her, looked at the passport until finally he decided she was safe to go.

It was as if he was saying to her, “Well, I’m letting you on here against my better judgement. You better be a model world citizen on this plane.”

In general, I liked our Airbus plane better than the Dreamliner we flew over on with WestJet. It had more space in the seating area, and I could actually stretch out my legs. Not that this had anything to do with the plane, but this time I put on compression socks and my legs felt a lot better at the end.

The flight was completely smooth for 9 hours. Not even a bump of turbulence, and I slept for about 40 minutes in between watching various television shows and movies. I haven’t watched that many hours of television in a row in years. It felt both necessary and decadent at the same time.

But inevitably, by the time we arrived, I was feeling pretty grubby, sweaty, and tired. We stood in line for 45 minutes to clear customs in Canada and then somehow ended up in a line to get back on a plane and when the agent asked for our boarding passes D. looked panicked because he had left his on the plane. Phew!

This is what international travel is these days. Long … harried … uncomfortable … possibly close to some medieval forms of torture.

By the time my sister picked us up I was entirely ready for home (and a shower).

We had wanted to stay a while to visit her and my family but our petsitter had already left, so we headed south for the five hour drive home to make sure the cats and dog were okay, which was compounded by another hour long wait at the border behind semi-trucks trying to also cross at 11:00 p.m. at night.

By the time we reached home it was past midnight and we had been traveling for 24 hours straight by automobile and plane, and I felt like we were incredibly lucky to make it home without accident.

The pets all agreed.