After 17 hours on the train from Goa, we finally arrive in Alleppy. Things work different here than in Asia, there are not always 100 tuk tuk drivers vying for our business to take us to a guest house (they get a commission if they bring business from the station). In India we actually have to look at the map and figure it out for ourselves, which I like but its not as easy, everything is easy in Asia, everything is handed to you because there are many more travellers. I prefer the challenge. Traveling in India in general is more difficult. Especially right now in the south because we are here during the off season, so alot of locals and tourists have headed north to avoid the 40 degree heat and scorching sun. We will be doing the same. We have decided to fast forward the rest of southern India and head north to get out of this weather, its just too hot. We are in Mallapurnam right now and have a place with cable TV (yay! HBO & Star TV!!), 2 fans in the room and a pool. The pool is dirty and has dead crows hanging form the palm trees, apparently to scare off the other crows. I guess if I saw one of my kind hanging dead off a tree I would probably stay away as well, but really it doesn't make for ideal poolside atmosphere. I was trying to explain the concept of a scarecrow to them but I don't think they got it. Anyway we found another resort where we can pay 150 rupees to use the pool with no dead birds blocking our view. TV and pool are all we can do here because of the heat. Not exactly the "real" India experience. That's why were leaving...
Anyway back to Alleppey, We met some people at the train station going to a guesthouse so we went with them. The next morning the owner invited us to his cousins wedding, he was marrying a Swedish girl. He also asked us to bring cameras and record it for him. No pressure, just filming one of the most important days in someones life.
The wedding was a small Hindu ceremony because the groom was Muslim and the bride was Catholic. Neither of the families agreed the wedding was a good idea so it was just close friends and several people from the guesthouse. Most parents prefer to arrange marriages to women or men of equal or higher social status as their own. However this is fast changing in India as the rate of "love marriages" is rapidly increasing. The ceremony took place at the temple and the after party at a friends house which we were also invited too.
The after party consisted of booze, food, guitar playing (Eagles, Bruce Springsteen, Tom Petty and Bon Jovi) and lots of singing and dancing. These guys are in a cover band so considering their English wasn't very good they knew every word, every ooh and ahh in all the english songs. Later the party moved over to our guest house courtyard where they continued to celebrate though the night giving all of the guests a free all request live concert.
The main draw to Alleppey is the backwater tours. We rented a houseboat overnight to visit small villages on the shores of this maze of rivers. We met 4 Canadians from Vancouver and 2 Americans that came with us, which made renting the boat cheaper. Andrea and I taught everyone the mafia game..this was the best mafia crew ever. We had some beers and everyone was really into it. We played for hours. The boat cruise was OK. We had a chef on board that made our meals for us, vegetable curry, dosa, rice...typical south Indian food. And alot of masala chai tea. We did stop in one village and got to walk around and take some pics and watch a cricket match. The best part of the boat was the people we were with.
When we got back to Alleppy we all went to Periyar Wildlife reserve to try to spot some tigers and elephants. Everyone form the boat came with us. The bus was about 4 hours and up a steep mountain. It looked like we were 2 centimetres from the edge the whole time. Its not exactly reassuring to hear your driver laying on the horn, looking out the window beside you and seeing a truck or car down the side of the mountain rusting, lodged between two trees. Not reassuring at all. Thankfully we made it in one piece, white faced and traumatized but one piece. This is where we first noticed the smell. I don't know how to describe this smell but its everywhere, now and then I catch a whiff. I don't know what it is and it is completely indescribable. Really rancid is all I can say. Really, really rancid.
We got up the following morning at 5:30am, to take a cruise around the wildlife park to see what we could see. We saw elephants, otters, wild buffalo, pumbas and birds (Pumbas being the animal named Pumba from the lion king whose name I cannot remember at this time). Early morning in the mountains is freezing, which I was ill prepared for, so I froze. duh.
Back in town we found a restaurant that served brown bread which was so exciting for us since we have not seen it since home. We ate brown bread and peanut better for the next 2 days.
The Canadian girls were leaving that night so we all showered (you know its a special evening when..) and put on half decent clothes and went out for dinner. We thought it would be nice to eat at this fancy resort and spoil ourselves but once we got there and heard the price we decided otherwise. The price was 700 rupees - which really, is like 12$ or something. At home it seems like a steal but here it feels like a 300$ meal. We are used to paying about 50 - 100 rupees for a dish. So we found a restaurant more our style. We were all dressed up to spend 2$ on dinner. I love it.
I have to touch on food here for a second. The vegetarian food here is to die for, many Indians are veggie so there is a high demand here for good options. They never eat cows because cows are a sacred Hindu symbol. I have been eating only vegetarian, considering my average meal costs under 3$, I doubt the meat is grade A. I have not gotten sick yet, but I can only speak for myself. I have met many people who have had, ahem .."issues" including my comrade. There is a dish called Paneer Butter Masala that is cheese balls (like bocaccini) in a spicy yogurt based sauce that I am totally addicted to, as well as bread called Parotta, which is like a flat bread that you rip up with your hands and use it as a scoop for the curry. Everyone eats with their hand. Right hand to be exact, because in India (and many other countries) it is considered rude to eat with or shake hands with you left hand because people wipe their bums with it. They do not use toilet paper. Anyway back to food...haha: There is also Mushroom Gobi which is Ans favourite. This is mushroom in a cauliflower / spinach spicy sauce. Oh! and Kashmiri Masala, which is cut up fruit in curry sauce that tastes so much better than it sounds. We have been eating Indian food every day since we got here, I may need a break soon but at this price, and being so delicious who could resist? At home its about 60$ for a good Indian dinner for 2.
Cows in India are like dogs. There are stray ones roaming the street, They hang out in living rooms with families, people walk them, they nap under the shade of picnic tables, etc... They paint the bulls horns many different colours and patterns and dress them up in fancy cow clothes as well. The cows are also used for dairy and farm work but look very well fed and loved. Its cute, we should let our cows into our homes and onto our streets, although we tried that once at Maria's place and it didn't go over so well with the farmer and the neighbors... and the poo would become a problem. Anywhoo.
So from Periyar we went to Pondicherry on a bus. The bus blared Bollywood movie after Bollywood movie until about 1:00am. Which was entertaining for about an hour, the movies are all musicals that start off pretty serious and normal then the whole cast bursts into song. Every Bollywood movie I have seen so far has been like that. Its pretty funny, but not so funny at 1:00am after listening to it on max volume for 5 hours. We arrived at 5:30am, there were many homeless people sleeping in the streets at this time, we were shocked at the amount. The bus station was desolate except for a couple of rickshaw drivers sleeping in there rickshaws. We got one and asked him to take us to an Ashram. It was closed until 8:00am. he took us to 5 other hotels that were all full and he ripped us off about 100 rupees on the fare. We slept outside the Ashram on our bags for 2 hours and actually caught one of the most amazing sunrises I have ever seen over the ocean (pics on my flickr!). By the time we woke the ashram was open and we checked in. An ashram is supposed to be an escape, like a spiritual place of peace and serenity where people meditate and do alot of yoga, this one was right on the ocean and we had a spectacular view. Later in the day wandering the streets and taking pictures we came across these 4 ladies selling little statues. They asked us to take pictures of them, we took a ton and they loved seeing the pictures on the screen after. Thank god for digital cameras is all I can say. It is the best travel accessory. It is an excellent conversation starter with the locals (who rarely shy away from conversation or are not willing to talk your ear off) and a great way to interact with them. I had a father come up to me and ask me to take pictures of his kids, he even fixed his daughters hair for the picture, just so she could see herself. After I took the picture and showed the girl, the look of shock and disbelief on her face was priceless. After our photo shoot with the ladies, they asked us for copies of the pictures. The next day An and I printed out copies for all of them. They were like children just staring and giggling at these photos of themselves. They gave us a couple of the statues they were selling as a thank you gift.
We got up the next morning and decided to head to the beach to escape the unbearable heat. We wound up taking the boat with a family of about 20 uncles, brothers, cousins and sisters, sons, daughters... They all had the day off and had only been to the beach once before in their lives (they live 20 minutes from the beach). We were the only people on the boat who were not part of this family. One little girl was dancing on the boat and they asked us to sing a song for her to dance too. She was doing traditional Indian dancing and our rendition of "hot, hot, hot" kinda threw her off I think, but it was so funny, as if we were on a boat singing "hot, hot, hot" to an Indian family. They pretty much accosted us for the day, shared their food and drinks with us, we all sat together. The little girl was teaching me Indian dance moves and I took her swimming in the waves since no one in her family could swim. By taking her swimming I mean holding her up over the waves in water just above my knees. Every time I tried to stop and go sit on the beach or something she would drag me back in the water, we had so much fun. We were in the water for literally 2 hours crashing around in the waves. An and I swam in our sarongs and tank tops - we were the only westerners there and everyone else went in with all there clothes on. We didn't want to be the only ones in bikinis, we would have looked so out of place. A few women in the group even worked up the courage to ask An and I to take them in the water. They held on to us for dear life. We were in water up to our knees but the waves were pretty strong. With sari's on, the water was pushing the ladies around pretty good and it took alot of effort to hold them up. That night An and I tried meditation in a group for 30 minutes, oddly enough it was the fastest 30 minutes of my life, even though we were just sitting there doing nothing.
we are going this afternoon to a local orphanage to play with the kids and bring food and supplies. We are bringing our cameras so that should be fun.
One thing I have learned her is to expect the unexpected, and the people are so kind and generous. Everyday is truly another adventure in India.
Saturday, March 17, 2007
Monday, March 12, 2007
coffee, coffee, chai, chai
Ok...where was I...We left Cambodia and hit the islands in the south of Thailand for a week of R&R before the madness of India. First we went to Koh Samui, where there were lots of old western perverts and lady boys (oh and a beautiful beaches and fresh seafood restaurants). We even went to a lady boy cabaret show. interesting to say the least. Honestly some of these guys - you cannot tell there men at all, they do a fantastic job of looking and sounding like women. But the best part was none of them actually new the words of the songs they were singing. They were classic drag / karaoke songs like private dancer and various Cher tunes..but their mouths were completely off the whole time, I don't think they were even mouthing words at all, just random mouth movements but they were so passionate and into it, we were rolling on the floor. It was hilarious. I made a small video clip of each great performance, this was not to be missed by anyone. We got out of there after one day and went to Koh Phangan. The first two nights we were in Hat Rinn beach which is where the monthly full moon parties happen. There is usually about 10,000 people at this party every month - its a big rave and totally not our scene, to many people too much madness and debauchery. 5 years ago I would have loved it. We rented a motorbike to explore the island and look for a better place to stay cause our beach was all rocky. I drove the bike and An was on the back, we were too cheap to rent 2 bikes (yet another lesson learned the hard way) the next thing we know we came over this big hill and the other side is suddenly all rocks and sand. The bike skidded out and landed on my LEG. OW. Yah it hurt. No it wasn't broken. No I didn't get it checked out (well I did, but by a Canadian med student, not a Thai doctor). It seems to be healing nicely, its just all scraped up and bruised. An got a couple of scratches as well. We had to pick the bike up and get it back up the hill, which was the worst part of the whole ordeal because we didn't want to even go near the stupid bike. Turns out we blew the back tire out and had to have it fixed on the way back, that was pretty cheap. They did charge us about 100$ when we returned the bike for all the scratches, but we still got out better than expected. Lesson learned, lucky we didn't get hurt...and we did actually end up finding a great place to move to for the following day.
That night back in Hat Rinn beach we did what people do there which is drink "buckets" where they put a small mickey of vodka, soda water and some red bull into a bucket with straws and you share with a bunch of people. After a couple of those we were up dancing to the grease soundtrack on the beach (by dancing I mean hobbling on one leg and gyrating awkwardly). Definitely one of my prouder moments in life.
The next day we got up early and moved to Thongsala beach. Beautiful bungalows right on the water. We read, swam and recovered from the accident for 3 days. it was really relaxing, not many people around, alot of Jack Johnson playing everywhere, white sand and palm trees swaying - hammocks on every post and tree. I think An finished three books while we were there?
As much as we loved Thongsala, the show must go on and we were getting really excited for India, although I could have spend another 2 months in South East Asia, there is so much to do and see. Cambodia is the one place I wish we had more time and will definitely go back. I would have also loved to go to Burma, maybe next time. Although I would also love to go the the Arctic and the moon so..who knows.
I will miss the banana pancakes dearly. And the photocopied books that cost 2$. Oh..and the Thai massages and facials. Yes I will miss it all, even the smell of fish sauce all over Vietnam, which actually tastes alot better than it smells. mmm...fish sauce.
We took the sleeper train back from the islands to Bangkok where we flew from Bangkok to Columbo, Sri Lanka. Slept for 3 hours in a hotel room, went back to the airport at 2:45am to catch a flight to Goa, India.
Arriving in Goa was madness, there was so much going on at the airport, 50 taxi drivers grabbing our bags trying to get us in their cab, us trying to change money and not get totally ripped off. We finally found the bus stop and travelled by bus for 3 hours to the town in Goa we wanted to go to (Palolem). We were the only foreigners on the bus and most of the people were going to school / work. I chatted to one guy on the bus who mentioned that everyone is getting excited for the world cup of cricket which will take place in the West Indies. Sorta like the soccer world cup but huge in India and many other countries. Canada actually has a team in it. Should be fun here once it starts. We spent 2 days on the beach in Goa where we met alot of Indian people who were just as interested to talk to us as we were them. One guy invited us in his shop, made us chai tea then took us out to play pool after the shop closed. Another waiter at a restaurant didn't have the dish we were looking for and told us to come back the next day and he would have it for us. We came back the next day and he had it. I have noticed the people are very talkative, they talk a mile a minute and talk about deep stuff, Iike family problems, spirituality, religion or love. They also like to know personal things about us..like marriage status, religion etc.
And the food, oh god. Its so good. Fish curry and fresh naan and pakoras, every night. We have been eating so much Indian food, each dish better than the next. We have decided to try one new thing every day so we usually order something safe - like fish masala and something else we cannot even pronounce. Last night we ordered ginger fish which was the first bad dish we have had since we got to India. The rest has been so good, I don't think I can get sick of Indian food.
So we spent our 2 days in Goa eating, swimming and boogie boarding. The waves there were perfect for it and we howled like hyenas every time we caught a big one. It was so funny. I think we were just laughing more at us laughing. If that makes sense.
Then we took a 17 hour train to a town called Alleppey. The train was supposed to arrive at 11:00pm, it actually arrived at 12:30am which is apparently normal here, everything is late. We had pre-booked 2 upper lever sleeping bunks so we have privacy and it is supposed to be the best place to sleep. We got on and there is some guy in my bed sleeping refusing to get out. Lucky the Indian guys in the same bunker as us were really nice and basically told him to get out of my bed in a not so nice way, I was just glad to get a bed. I would not recommend top bunk for anyone who is claustrophobic as you are about 1 foot from the ceiling of the train and the fan is blowing right beside your head. The privacy part was nice - but that's really it. Thank god for gravol, we popped two and were out for twelve hours. We woke up to the sound of vendors walking up and down the isles selling biriani rice and masala chai tea for breakfast.
That night back in Hat Rinn beach we did what people do there which is drink "buckets" where they put a small mickey of vodka, soda water and some red bull into a bucket with straws and you share with a bunch of people. After a couple of those we were up dancing to the grease soundtrack on the beach (by dancing I mean hobbling on one leg and gyrating awkwardly). Definitely one of my prouder moments in life.
The next day we got up early and moved to Thongsala beach. Beautiful bungalows right on the water. We read, swam and recovered from the accident for 3 days. it was really relaxing, not many people around, alot of Jack Johnson playing everywhere, white sand and palm trees swaying - hammocks on every post and tree. I think An finished three books while we were there?
As much as we loved Thongsala, the show must go on and we were getting really excited for India, although I could have spend another 2 months in South East Asia, there is so much to do and see. Cambodia is the one place I wish we had more time and will definitely go back. I would have also loved to go to Burma, maybe next time. Although I would also love to go the the Arctic and the moon so..who knows.
I will miss the banana pancakes dearly. And the photocopied books that cost 2$. Oh..and the Thai massages and facials. Yes I will miss it all, even the smell of fish sauce all over Vietnam, which actually tastes alot better than it smells. mmm...fish sauce.
We took the sleeper train back from the islands to Bangkok where we flew from Bangkok to Columbo, Sri Lanka. Slept for 3 hours in a hotel room, went back to the airport at 2:45am to catch a flight to Goa, India.
Arriving in Goa was madness, there was so much going on at the airport, 50 taxi drivers grabbing our bags trying to get us in their cab, us trying to change money and not get totally ripped off. We finally found the bus stop and travelled by bus for 3 hours to the town in Goa we wanted to go to (Palolem). We were the only foreigners on the bus and most of the people were going to school / work. I chatted to one guy on the bus who mentioned that everyone is getting excited for the world cup of cricket which will take place in the West Indies. Sorta like the soccer world cup but huge in India and many other countries. Canada actually has a team in it. Should be fun here once it starts. We spent 2 days on the beach in Goa where we met alot of Indian people who were just as interested to talk to us as we were them. One guy invited us in his shop, made us chai tea then took us out to play pool after the shop closed. Another waiter at a restaurant didn't have the dish we were looking for and told us to come back the next day and he would have it for us. We came back the next day and he had it. I have noticed the people are very talkative, they talk a mile a minute and talk about deep stuff, Iike family problems, spirituality, religion or love. They also like to know personal things about us..like marriage status, religion etc.
And the food, oh god. Its so good. Fish curry and fresh naan and pakoras, every night. We have been eating so much Indian food, each dish better than the next. We have decided to try one new thing every day so we usually order something safe - like fish masala and something else we cannot even pronounce. Last night we ordered ginger fish which was the first bad dish we have had since we got to India. The rest has been so good, I don't think I can get sick of Indian food.
So we spent our 2 days in Goa eating, swimming and boogie boarding. The waves there were perfect for it and we howled like hyenas every time we caught a big one. It was so funny. I think we were just laughing more at us laughing. If that makes sense.
Then we took a 17 hour train to a town called Alleppey. The train was supposed to arrive at 11:00pm, it actually arrived at 12:30am which is apparently normal here, everything is late. We had pre-booked 2 upper lever sleeping bunks so we have privacy and it is supposed to be the best place to sleep. We got on and there is some guy in my bed sleeping refusing to get out. Lucky the Indian guys in the same bunker as us were really nice and basically told him to get out of my bed in a not so nice way, I was just glad to get a bed. I would not recommend top bunk for anyone who is claustrophobic as you are about 1 foot from the ceiling of the train and the fan is blowing right beside your head. The privacy part was nice - but that's really it. Thank god for gravol, we popped two and were out for twelve hours. We woke up to the sound of vendors walking up and down the isles selling biriani rice and masala chai tea for breakfast.
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