I have never seen so many ants of my life. Their shape is very different, small, very small, biting or not. They are everywhere and it is getting annoying. I have to take off the sheet of my bed every night to take them off. They crawl on my legs and arms as soon as i am touching a hard surface, they eat breakfast, lunch and diner with me. As I am writing this blog, I keep squishing them on the screen of the laptop. They have invaded the inside of the computer! When I start the computer, it heats a bit and they start coming out but there are always more next time. I am scared that I am getting ants in all openings of my body while I sleep! They get into my sweets and snacks in every bags I used to protect them! They are evil!
Friday, May 21, 2010
Let’s go fishing!
I am on Bunaken island, a small island of Sulawasi, Indonesia. There are two main line of work on the island: fishing and scuba diving. I had explore the scuba diving already and thought that I should look into the fishing scene while I was here and I had finally some time. I am staying in a homestay and as it happens, the man of the house, Barto, is a fisherman. The plan was to spend a day on his boat with 11 men.
It is not that I am a fan of fishing really. No thrill for me in catching a fish. It is a living animal and I prefer not to be responsible for its death. I will eat fish though… I went fishing already in a rowing boat and it was easy for me to sit there reading, hoping to make enough noise on the bottom of the boat so that my boyfriend will not catch anything. Maybe he was just not very good at it, but we never caught anything!
It is 3:30 am and we have to get up. Of course I slept like crap since I was somewhat excited to do some thing like this and I did not want Barto to wait for me. We walk through dark streets towards the beach and it is strange because there are plenty of people on the street since they are also going fishing. We sat on the beach for quite a while. Some of the fisherman are late and there is one of them that went to drag the boat closer to shore. Not that close though, I had to wet my pants pretty much all the way to get in. Hein, it is a rainy morning anyway so I know I will be getting wet no matter what. And hop we go!
The day is divided in two activities. The first task is to get enough small fishes that will be used as bait for the bigger fish. We got into a shallow area and we waited a little bit. Suddenly the men are screaming like little kids, really excited, pointing in one direction. The boat turns around and one side of the net is dropped in the water with one man. As the net gets unwrapped, more men jump in the water to hold it down so the small fishes do not slip under it. They wear snorkeling mask and keep looking in the water, still excited. Once the net is all in the water, the boat has circled around so the two ends meet at the boat. Two men starts pulling on the net while others make sure that the two sides stay closely together. The small fishes are put in water at the bottom of the boat that I will call the basement since I don’t know what it is in English. You want them alive! That is when I saw the first murders of the day. A trumpet fish, 2 catfishes and a calamari got caught in the net as well and the men decided they would keep them. The amount of small fishes is disappointing. They have to release the net about twelve times before they are satisfied with the quantity in the boat. They are wet are shivering. They change and get dried before eating breakfast and moving toward the deeper ocean to catch bigger fishes.
The second task is to locate the bigger fishes which is not easy at all. For the first two or three hours, it was the dolphins that we followed. The tunas were always closed buy and they were all following groups of small fishes. There are one driver, one who throws the small fishers over the heads of the eight fishermen and one man who keeps on cleaning the deck so that nobody slips on fishes.
It is traditional fishing using bamboo poles. There is still a fishing line that runs all along them and they use homemade colorful bait. When there is no dolphins hanging around the tunas, it becomes more difficult to find them. They jump above the water when they feed on small fishes and when you look at the ocean, there are a lot of areas where they could be. When you see whitish water, you get there as soon as you can and start throwing more small fishes in the water to try to get them to follow the boat. When you hear the fishermen screaming, the chase is on! Or the fishing is on! They lower their poles and move it up and down. They are eight there on the end of the boat so their lines get tangled together sometimes. When a fish bites, the bamboo pole flesh and the fisherman bends backward. It looks pretty exhausting.
The first tuna to hit the floor was impressive. It is much bigger that your regular fish and even if you see them in markets, these ones are moving like crazy! Lots of blood and so I am sure they get hurt. They can not not feel anything, ouch, it is hard to look. I keep on telling myself that that’s their living and they don’t cheat. It was a bit worse when one of the guy started hitting some with a stick so that he could put them in the basement where they died.
They caught 63 tunas that day and everyone was a bit depressed. The whole month of May had been like that. The small fishes are harder to catch and so they bait the tunas a little less. In March and April they used to catch up to 400 tunas. It makes a difference in their wages. We ended the day at the market as the sun was going down. They got 50000 rupias per tuna which is about 7$.
Overall the day was really good. Some awkward moments when all the men kept talking I assumed about me since they kept looking in my direction. I wish I would have understand what they were saying. None of them spoke enough English to translate if there was a joke being told. There is also the time I asked if I could jump in the water, I wanted to pee so bad! They were looking pretty hard at my bikini and my white skin let me tell you. Even the guys on the next fishing boat stared. I did not realized that it would be such a show! I was exhausted, a little sun and wind burned.
Taking some time off in Indonesia
I left Myanmar already, Snif! Snif! It was a love story really but before giving too much money to the government in overstaying fees, I had to move on. It was not without shedding some tears on the way to the airport though!
I had a bad flight schedule because it is quite difficult to plan a trip with connections leaving from Yangon. The number of airlines deserving that city are limited. So I booked a flight to Bankok and then I book a flight from Bangkok to Manado in the Northeast corner of Indonesia with a stopover in Singapore. So far, the Singapore airport is the best. I got there at 1h in the morning and many stores and restaurants were still open. It felt like I was too tired to sleep right away so I went shopping. Life is really good to me I believe…. When I got to the electronic section of a store, I saw what I’ve been shopping for for a year now. There was a 400$ reduction compare to what I would have paid home and no taxes, so I bought a Nikon camera. It’s been few days now and I still haven’t done much pictures with it though, it’s too new and I have no time to read the instructions carefully and actually no time to take the time to use it and learn how to take the best pictures. I have to find something to do during my summer holidays after all! The second reason why I think it’s the best airport, is that I had to find a corner to sleep and they have longing chairs in some areas. Of course when I got there they were all occupied. I laid down on the floor instead and it is carpeted so it was not that bad. I believe I have slept on harder mattress than that in India. A woman actually came around as I was setting up my pillow to give blankets! Isn’t great?
Anyhow, when I got to Manado I was exhausted and dealing with a new country demands energy. I knew I was looking for microlet taxis which are little blue vans that can sit maybe 7-8 people. They are the cheapest way to get around and I had changed just enough money at the airport to cover that cost since the exchange rate was crap. As soon as you get out of the airport 15 people offer you a ride at various prices and when you say I want to take the microlets, they say they don’t come to the airport. Not more than 1 minute after you get onto the street, you see a microlet passing by. Of course, seeing a tourist fresh from the airport, they tell you an outrageous price like 60000 rupias. I had friends giving me very clear instructions about microlets and I knew that it should not be more than 3000 rupias. I showed the driver the 3000 I had in my hand, he shakes his head no, I take my bags out of the car, he says that since I will occupy 2 seats with my bag, I have to pay double, fair enough! Let’s go!
My final destination was the island of Bunaken so I had a ferry to get on to at 14h. I realized that I could not make it so I spent the night in Manado at the Celebes hotel. I will tell you in a minute why I am mentioning the name of the hotel. It was a good stop since I got a 2 hours massage for 20$ which was much better that anything I experienced in India. They need to work on the atmosphere though and not allow kids having a fit in the area where they give the massages! After that, I was a bit wobbly on my legs and I was showered and in bed before 21h. I also had a shower the next morning and when I got out of my room (shower outside my room), I noticed 2 of the employees sitting on the railing looking through the window. Slackers I thought. When I walk back into my room though, a flashback ran through my head and I bent over to look at a crack between the door and the frame. As I am bending to look out, I am thinking: what a paranoid you are!! Believe me or not, as I was to stand back up again, I saw an orange T-shirt and He was going to look at me changing!!!!!!!! I slapped my hand on the door and opened it so fast saying all bad things. They were fast the fuckers!!! I was so pumped up! Then I raised my head and saw that there was also a small window in the right top corner of the room that looked out on a staircase. I was so amazed because there was no way that I could change inside the room without being seen from one of the 2 spots. I told the girl when I checked out but she did not seem impressed. Do not stay in room 303!
One event like that gives you a bad impression of a city or a country when it happens so early in your stay. I was saved though because I walked through the market to reach the ferry and lots of smile reconciled me with the whole world. People on the ferry shared their fruits and led me to my guesthouse once on the island. Since then, everything as been wonderful and I am enjoying my stay.
The reason I came to Bunaken is to do my scuba diving certification. I started 2 days ago and I love it so far. A beautiful world down there! There is still a problem with American bills though! They don’t accept bills older than 2006 and they still need to be crisp.
My guesthouse is in the village and it is a home stay. The price of the room includes breakfast, lunch and dinner and the cooking is absolutely delicious. The fishes come daily and I was promised a barracuda meal soon.
Exploring the west coast of Myanmar
I wanted to spend time on the west coast since I got to Myanmar. I was looking at the days going by a bit fast and wondered if I could get there before my visa expired. It became obvious that I would have to overstay the visa and since the fee is only of 3$ /day, the choice was easy since I wanted to get to Mrauk U so bad. The day my visa expired, I was flying from Inle Lake to Sittway. I had to think about this trip carefully and here is why.
As I was mentioning in the previous blogs, the amount of money available to us is limited because of the boycott by western banks, and the government is really good at tracing a path for tourist to follow. The west coast is lined with a chain of small mountains that separates it from the central part of the country and has numerous rivers that isolates some parts of it.
There is no road that cut across those mountains that are used by buses and especially not by tourists. It means that we have to go around the mountains and the only possibility for tourists is to go back down towards Yangon. There is also no direct flight except from Yangon. Since I was in the eastern part of the country in Inle Lake, I had to buy 2 plane tickets, one from Inle to Yangon and the other from Yangon to Sittway. It starts to get expensive right there because the prices of plane tickets are fixed and there is no reduction even if you have connecting flights. I spent 165$ on plane tickets. I had evaluated if I could afford it but I had also looked at other options. Using buses, you also have to go back towards Yangon (16-20 hrs according to the guidebook from Inle and the price was of about 12$) and go back up towards Thandwe. This is where they lost me. You have to take a bus from Yangon to Thandwe (18 hrs, 15$ and a mention that this bit of roads is the worst in the country). We then take a bus or a pick-up truck to Taunggok (5-6 hrs, 4$) where you have to get on a boat to reach Sittway. They give you a choice though. You can get a fastboat (8 hrs, 40$) or the government ferry (3 days, 9$ and a lounge chair 4$ if you want to sleep on the boat). From Sittway to Mrauk U, You have to hop on another boat and again there is a choice. You can get a fastboat (3 hrs, 20-30$) or the government ferry (6hrs, 4$). When you calculate the time and the money to be spent, you become very tempted by taking a plane.
I spent 3 nights in Sittway since the or the government ferry is only twice a week. These 3 nights were very long!!! First of all, the electricity there is on from 7pm to 11pm. That means that you sleep without a fan at 40 degrees. I was dripping and had to take a shower more than once. The next night, I went to bed earlier to fall asleep before the power was cut. A cockroach woke me up, it was playing into one of the plastic bag and I realized that it had snacked on my banana. They fly those big things! I had to chase it around to finally flush it down the toilet. The third night, the police showed up around 1am and did a check on everybody that was sleeping there except me. They knocked on doors and screamed to get people out of their room asking for the identity papers. It’s exciting don’t you think?
Now, the government ferry. The guy who was selling the tickets was a pain in the butt with no smile whatsoever and since it was pretty early, I lost my smile very quickly as well. He wants me to pay with US dollars but the smallest bill I have is a 20$. There is no way to obtain change in US of course and so he starts talking very loud and looks at me as if I was the problem. I am sorry but if you want US dollars, you should be able to give change. He keeps selling tickets to other passengers and still makes some gestures towards me from time to time. He ignored me for 45 minutes and when the clock read 6:55, I got a little excited and asked him to take my kyats if he could not get me change, I was going to be on the ferry!! Somebody shows up at that point with some autority I guess since he agreed right away but it did cost me a little extra for using kyats…in Myanmar!
The boat is full and we stopped 3 more times on the way with more people getting in at each stop. We are treated like kings and queens as tourist since there is always chairs for us. I suspect that they actually asked somebody to sit somewhere else… Everybody else is sitting on the ground with chickens, dried fish, babies without diapers. There is no space where you can see the floor among that see of people. We have to ask people to stand up to go to the toilets. People looked at me the wrong way for a good part of the trip and I suspect it’s because of my backpack that laid against my chair and was taking up floor space. I believe that they expected my space to be limited to the chair only and when I had my feet on the ground, I had bad stares. Very good thing that I had brought candies and cakes to buy off some of them anyway.
Finally Mrauk U, prononced Mraw oo. It is divided in small islands by the arms of the river extending further inland. The landscapes are extraordinaire with small green hills all around. On top on some of those hills, you can see stupas which makes it even more picture perfect. I went around town for 2 days exploring those hills in the morning and when the sun was lower at the end of the day. I enjoyed a little nap at midday while the sun was unbearable. I spent my last day there on the Lemro River to visit Chin villages. These villages were appealing to me because they are further away and you can meet the last generation of women with tattooed faces.
You will have to look at the pictures on Facebook or Flickr when I will take the time to upload these. The boat trip also allowed me to do some good. I took a little family with me and we stopped to swim for a part of the afternoon. They loved it! The water was so warm, too hot to get refresh at all.
The way back to Sittway was without problems. I saw prisoners being escorted by the military police. He was not a killer I assumed since he seemed free to walk around the boat. He stopped quickly though since his ankles were attached together with shackles. The only part that bug me was the control they did when we got into Sittway. They looked at my passport for 30 minutes, reading all the visas infos with dates of entry and exit. They tried to ask a few questions but the language barrier did not make it easy. They let it go at the end.
I am going back to Yangon tomorrow and will be flying to Indonesia where I should spend 2-3 weeks. I am coming back soon now!!!
Monday, May 3, 2010
A question of money in Myanmar
The currency used in Myanmar is the Kyat, pronounced tchiatte. They have 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500 et 1000 bills. The Canadian dollar is worth about 1000 kyats. The bills that will then encountered the most are bills of 100 and more. It shows when you look at the bills. I still got to take a picture of the worst bill yet although I missed my chance a few times already. The worst I have seen so far were 200 bills with big holes, scotch tape at few places and a texture that arise your imagination. The bills become very thick with dirt, sweat and what else? We have difficulty to tell what’s the number on them! As I was explaining in a previous blog, the international banks left the country in the early 2000 years. We do not have access to our bank account in any way. There is also no companies like Western Union to transfer money but there is now a private shipping company, DHL, that have an office in Yangon. In more prestigious hotels, Visa is accepted to get cash advance but you must pay between 10 and 25% service charge. However, somebody was telling me that these hotels do not offer this service anymore if your are not sleeping there. They stopped the service right after the bombs in Yangon at this year Water Festival. Your only choice is to arrive in the country with money in your pocket, enough money for the duration of your trip. I had 2500$ from Quebec delivered to me in Kathmandu by a lovely person that was coming in for a trek. When I arrived in , I quickly realized that I had less money than I thought! You need US dollars. Some places will accept Euros but it is rare and the rate will be bad. They mentioned in the guide that the money should be fairly new if you want to use it in this country. It is difficult for them to exchange American money in banks so restaurants et hotels spend a lot of time checking your bills before accepting them. What I would consider clean for money bills has nothing to do with what they consider clean. The bills need to be new!! They will refuse bills that were folded in two at one point, there is a line left in the centre! The people that will accept them, if the line is minor, will give a lower exchange rate for it. The bills that have a stamp on them, from banks usually are not accepted. It does happen often enough. I had never taken the time to look at my bills much before! If there is anything hand written on them, forget it. If the serial number starts with CB, it will be refused some places or you will get a lower exchange rate. After all that, I had about 1500$ That I could use in Myanmar!! The exchange counters are useless in this country and the people behind the counter might even tell you to go elsewhere. They are link to the government first of all and their exchange rate is the lowest of all, they take more than they give. The guide talks about an exchange rate of 450 kyats for 1$ but I haven’t checked on that. Of course, there is the black market. This black market is well known and the government is aware of it, it almost seems legal. Since I am a good girl, hearing about black market scared me a bit. What I imagined was close to what you see in gangster movies so I was a little stressed out for the first exchange. The few things to know before hand is that the exchange rate is much better in Yangon and is also better if you exchange 100$ bills. They usually exchange that money in banks or use it to buy merchandise coming from China. It is actually pretty easy. Some hotels will exchange your dollars with an exchange rate of about 930-950 kyats to 1$. The guidebook proposed a popular place to exchange money which is the market place. We set out to get there and we looked for a stall advertising money exchange. A guy walked up to us and asked us if we nneded to exchange money. Yeah, we do! That’s easy enough. He takes us to a stall in a busy area of the market and the guy is sitting with stacks of money in front of him. No alarm button or protecting window or counter…I decide to exchange 500$ and look at how much I will be spending for the first few days. I take the time to count the money and the guy encourage us to do so. Once the money is accounted for, we give our money and he examine it for few minutes. That’s when I understood that I could not use all the money I had with me. The exchange rate we got was of 990 kyats to 1$. We spent the first few days south of Myanmar and stopped in Yangon on our way back. I had a good idea of my spending and decided I would need to exchange an extra 600$ before going to explore the rest of Myanmar. This time though, I ran into problems. We get to the market to realize that it was closed. Crap! Where do we go? We decide to try one of the hotel. Even if their exchange rate is lower, it’s better than the rate that will be given in other cities. Again, a guy walks up to us on the street and after few minutes of general conversation, he asked us if we wanted to exchange money. Yeah! We ended up this time right in front of the train station in a ministore that sold bus tickets. We get an exchange rate of 1020 kyats to 1$. Wow! Better than the first time, good negotiation skills. We waited 30 minutes in the back of an empty store. They needed to get the money from somewhere else, The waiting is long and I bacame a bit nervous. It is hot and my belly is cramping. When they bring the money, I counted it and placed it in piles of 100$ but there is no elastic bands arounf the piles, the bills are loose. Rob is with me exchanging money too. The guys are talking, asking questions, bla, bla, bla… At some point, I turned mu head back to my money and saw one of the guy putting my piles one on top of the other. I got mad since it is a lot of money and he is not supposed to touch it. They want us to leave so they try to pressure us I guess. This atmosphere is one of stress. I would like to recount the money to be sure and have my piles so that it is easy to know how much money I have left afterwards. I told myself that I was paranoid and we spent already so much time in a stuffy room. So I put the money in my bag without recounting before getting to my hotel. That is when I realized that I was missing 200$. I felt so stupid to have believe in their honesty and not my sixth sense. I replayed the scene in my head and could see how it could have had happened. Grrrrr! The problem is that there are so many bills that 200$ worth less was not that easy to miss just looking at it for somebody that is inexperienced. I’ve learned my lessons that’s for sure! Bring rubber bands next time! I am now in the West of the country where the travelling is the most expensive and I have to count my money and plan very well to be sure that I would have enough. It adds some stress to the trip that I did not need. There were some souvenirs that I would have liked to get but it would be for next time!
Saturday, April 24, 2010
Going to Myanmar
Myanmar, formally Burma, is a destination that needs some thinking about. There are many different views on the way tourists affect the country. Is it good or are we encouraging the present government? It depends on how you see it and who you ask to. It is impossible to obtain all the infos we would need to get the real picture. Let me give you a very quick history of Myanmar. Again, I am not an expert in those matters and there are so many events that took place that it will really be a summary to attempt to explain the present situation.
Britain conquered Mandalay in 1885 and they took controlled of the teak , gem, rice and petroleum exports. During their reign they encouraged Indian and Chinese to immigrate in Myanmar and because they were more experienced in business, they succeeded to stimulate the economy. They were so good that Burmese people had difficulties to compete.
Myanmar finally achieves independence from the British in 1948. They had a promising young leader talking about democratic election but he was killed, some say by the military. They had many problems following that. The country inhabited by many different ethnic groups that do not trust the new government started fighting and rebel groups formed. The Chinese also tried to invade border regions. The government took control in the mid 50s finally but the economy was not doing so good. There was a military coup in 1962 and the army took control of the country. They started closing off the outside world and the foreigner’s visa was of 24 hours. In the mid 60s, they made a list of items that would be allowed to be sold only in certain shops. That gave rise to a vigorous black market but many shops owners did not have enough business to survive. Those shop owners were in majority Indians and Chinese… They were thrown out of the country and could not get their money out with them!
It continued to get worst for the economy and the people got fed up in the late 80s. Riots started and at least 3000 deaths were reported. A new political party for democracy was formed and led by a woman, Aung San Suu Kyi. The government got scared and tried to divert the attention of the populace by building new roads and painting buildings, interfering with the election process and postponing the election. All of it did not work. Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in 1989 before the election. The democratic party took 392 of the 485 seats anyway but around 100 of those leaders were arrested, exiled or killed. Those events had the effect of raising the attention of the media and the world.
Under the build up created by all the publicity, Aung San Suu Kyi was released in 1995 and gave few speeches for the democratic political party. As she tried to meet with supporters in 2000, she was again put under house arrest, released for a short time and arrested for a third time after a manifestation in 2003. She is still under house arrest today and it is still forbidden to hang a picture of her in your house! Around the same time, the USA banned new investment of American companies in Myanmar. Other countries followed. Foreign banks packed up and left the country as well. In 1999, there were sanctions to the country for the used of forced labor and because they used civilians as … landmine detectors.
In 2007, the price of gas went up 200% and the people protested. Even the monks marched to support the populace. Guns were fired by the army and one monk was beaten to death. 100 more monks were arrested. The Monks association refused to give alms to military officials after those events! A soldier also shot a Japanese photographer and it was caught on tape. Two days later, the protest had stopped and internet was not accessible anymore.
In 2008, the first election in two decades are to be held. Unfortunately, a cyclone hit Myanmar and 2 millions people are left without shelter and food. Myanmar actually refused some of the international assistance! It will take more than a week before some external aid is able to reach the people in needs. In the meantime, the government still held the election, even after the cyclone, and it was determined that the majority of the voters wanted to keep a military government.
There are few reasons not to come. They used forced labor to build some site to attract tourists. They also relocated thousands of families to be able to built hotels, many of those families being the poor ones. There is a fee to some of the sights to visit and most of the money goes directly to the government. The routes for the foreigners are pretty much determined. They make it easy to travel in one direction and not in the other direction so that the tourist who has not much time will choose the easy route. Some areas require a permit from the government. There are also many regions that are not accessible at all for foreigners, and i am not just talking about transport. They will block the road so that you won’t go there. The reasons behind those restrictions are numerous. In the south, you still have some rebel groups fighting. In the north east region, you have lots of gems that can be dig up by the people owning the land. The government do not want tourists buying gems at low price when he can get a cut. There also some talks about spies going around to ask you where you are going in some smaller villages…
Now, there seems to be more reason to go for me. When I look around the streets, I get the impression that most of the people here are happy to see us. They stop us on the street to shake our hands and they thank us. They want us to like their country, they are proud of it. If they spoke a little more English or if I spoke a little more Burmese, the exchange would be great for their knowledge of the world outside their border. However, we still have to be careful about the subjects we ask about. They could get in trouble if they talk against the government and if we provide outside sources of knowledge like magazines that can put their country in a bad light. We are trying to avoid all hotels that are run by the government so that we contribute to local economy. We try to travel by pick up trucks and buses (private) instead of train (the government takes more than 90% on the fare). We vary our place for food to spread the money around as much as we can. Lastly, the regions that are accessible are beautiful!
How does this type of government affect my travelling in Myanmar? First of all, let me tell you that the visa was not a problem. We applied March 1st in Kathmandu and the visa was ready the next day! They did not even asked for an itinerary and we were in for 28 days of travelling in Myanmar. Since we only have 28 days (with a non-official possibility to overstay for 3$ a day…) we are OK with some regions being restricted, we do not have the time to do it all anyway.
The boycott by many international countries is the main problem really. Imagine being in a country for 28 days without an ATM being available! We had to get money before getting in the country and if your money get stolen, you have to get out of the country my friend! I am pretty nervous about carrying that much money on me knowing especially that I can not easily get more. I will actually write about the money in a shorter story…
The guidebook is absolutely necessary to travel here. There are a limited numbers of guesthouses that can accept tourists. Some town do not have such hotels and you need to move on! It is a little more expensive because of that monopole.
Internet access has also been troublesome. Most internet places have installed programs to unlock the major sites used by locals and tourists. However, some sites are not accessible, they are locked. You need to go through a website that will give your computer an IP address that is outside the country. That makes the process very long and the success rate is about 50%. If it fails, you keep trying and eventually it might go through. It took me 2 hours to check my mails and upload 3 blogs last night! Any download is actually blocked in most internet places.
During the water festival, 3 bombs (or grenades according to rumors) went off in Yangon killing 9 persons. I am not sure if it is related but 2 days later, the internet access was cut off. The official story was that a submarine destroyed the cable!! I haven’t verified that yet…but if some people really believe that, the government has more power than I thought. Anyway, just so that it is clear that, what is supposed to be a half hour business in the smoking room of internet cafes, becomes a 2 hours sit down with lots of patience.
There is overall much more good things than bad things in this country. So far, it’s been great and I would recommend a stop in this beautiful country and to take the time to mingle with the locals. Even as a girl, I would travel in this country with no fear of something happening to me. I know that I have been saying that people were the nicest in every country I visited so far but, it’s true, they are really the nicest!!
Britain conquered Mandalay in 1885 and they took controlled of the teak , gem, rice and petroleum exports. During their reign they encouraged Indian and Chinese to immigrate in Myanmar and because they were more experienced in business, they succeeded to stimulate the economy. They were so good that Burmese people had difficulties to compete.
Myanmar finally achieves independence from the British in 1948. They had a promising young leader talking about democratic election but he was killed, some say by the military. They had many problems following that. The country inhabited by many different ethnic groups that do not trust the new government started fighting and rebel groups formed. The Chinese also tried to invade border regions. The government took control in the mid 50s finally but the economy was not doing so good. There was a military coup in 1962 and the army took control of the country. They started closing off the outside world and the foreigner’s visa was of 24 hours. In the mid 60s, they made a list of items that would be allowed to be sold only in certain shops. That gave rise to a vigorous black market but many shops owners did not have enough business to survive. Those shop owners were in majority Indians and Chinese… They were thrown out of the country and could not get their money out with them!
It continued to get worst for the economy and the people got fed up in the late 80s. Riots started and at least 3000 deaths were reported. A new political party for democracy was formed and led by a woman, Aung San Suu Kyi. The government got scared and tried to divert the attention of the populace by building new roads and painting buildings, interfering with the election process and postponing the election. All of it did not work. Aung San Suu Kyi was put under house arrest in 1989 before the election. The democratic party took 392 of the 485 seats anyway but around 100 of those leaders were arrested, exiled or killed. Those events had the effect of raising the attention of the media and the world.
Under the build up created by all the publicity, Aung San Suu Kyi was released in 1995 and gave few speeches for the democratic political party. As she tried to meet with supporters in 2000, she was again put under house arrest, released for a short time and arrested for a third time after a manifestation in 2003. She is still under house arrest today and it is still forbidden to hang a picture of her in your house! Around the same time, the USA banned new investment of American companies in Myanmar. Other countries followed. Foreign banks packed up and left the country as well. In 1999, there were sanctions to the country for the used of forced labor and because they used civilians as … landmine detectors.
In 2007, the price of gas went up 200% and the people protested. Even the monks marched to support the populace. Guns were fired by the army and one monk was beaten to death. 100 more monks were arrested. The Monks association refused to give alms to military officials after those events! A soldier also shot a Japanese photographer and it was caught on tape. Two days later, the protest had stopped and internet was not accessible anymore.
In 2008, the first election in two decades are to be held. Unfortunately, a cyclone hit Myanmar and 2 millions people are left without shelter and food. Myanmar actually refused some of the international assistance! It will take more than a week before some external aid is able to reach the people in needs. In the meantime, the government still held the election, even after the cyclone, and it was determined that the majority of the voters wanted to keep a military government.
There are few reasons not to come. They used forced labor to build some site to attract tourists. They also relocated thousands of families to be able to built hotels, many of those families being the poor ones. There is a fee to some of the sights to visit and most of the money goes directly to the government. The routes for the foreigners are pretty much determined. They make it easy to travel in one direction and not in the other direction so that the tourist who has not much time will choose the easy route. Some areas require a permit from the government. There are also many regions that are not accessible at all for foreigners, and i am not just talking about transport. They will block the road so that you won’t go there. The reasons behind those restrictions are numerous. In the south, you still have some rebel groups fighting. In the north east region, you have lots of gems that can be dig up by the people owning the land. The government do not want tourists buying gems at low price when he can get a cut. There also some talks about spies going around to ask you where you are going in some smaller villages…
Now, there seems to be more reason to go for me. When I look around the streets, I get the impression that most of the people here are happy to see us. They stop us on the street to shake our hands and they thank us. They want us to like their country, they are proud of it. If they spoke a little more English or if I spoke a little more Burmese, the exchange would be great for their knowledge of the world outside their border. However, we still have to be careful about the subjects we ask about. They could get in trouble if they talk against the government and if we provide outside sources of knowledge like magazines that can put their country in a bad light. We are trying to avoid all hotels that are run by the government so that we contribute to local economy. We try to travel by pick up trucks and buses (private) instead of train (the government takes more than 90% on the fare). We vary our place for food to spread the money around as much as we can. Lastly, the regions that are accessible are beautiful!
How does this type of government affect my travelling in Myanmar? First of all, let me tell you that the visa was not a problem. We applied March 1st in Kathmandu and the visa was ready the next day! They did not even asked for an itinerary and we were in for 28 days of travelling in Myanmar. Since we only have 28 days (with a non-official possibility to overstay for 3$ a day…) we are OK with some regions being restricted, we do not have the time to do it all anyway.
The boycott by many international countries is the main problem really. Imagine being in a country for 28 days without an ATM being available! We had to get money before getting in the country and if your money get stolen, you have to get out of the country my friend! I am pretty nervous about carrying that much money on me knowing especially that I can not easily get more. I will actually write about the money in a shorter story…
The guidebook is absolutely necessary to travel here. There are a limited numbers of guesthouses that can accept tourists. Some town do not have such hotels and you need to move on! It is a little more expensive because of that monopole.
Internet access has also been troublesome. Most internet places have installed programs to unlock the major sites used by locals and tourists. However, some sites are not accessible, they are locked. You need to go through a website that will give your computer an IP address that is outside the country. That makes the process very long and the success rate is about 50%. If it fails, you keep trying and eventually it might go through. It took me 2 hours to check my mails and upload 3 blogs last night! Any download is actually blocked in most internet places.
During the water festival, 3 bombs (or grenades according to rumors) went off in Yangon killing 9 persons. I am not sure if it is related but 2 days later, the internet access was cut off. The official story was that a submarine destroyed the cable!! I haven’t verified that yet…but if some people really believe that, the government has more power than I thought. Anyway, just so that it is clear that, what is supposed to be a half hour business in the smoking room of internet cafes, becomes a 2 hours sit down with lots of patience.
There is overall much more good things than bad things in this country. So far, it’s been great and I would recommend a stop in this beautiful country and to take the time to mingle with the locals. Even as a girl, I would travel in this country with no fear of something happening to me. I know that I have been saying that people were the nicest in every country I visited so far but, it’s true, they are really the nicest!!
Friday, April 23, 2010
Monday, March 1, 2010
Rajesthan
Our last destination in India was the one that we heard the most about. Rajasthan with landscapes looking more and more desert like as we go, women saris that look more colorful like if it was possible, and the people which are a little bit more conservative than the areas we travelled so far. I tried to be even more careful with my dressing, long pants, long sleeves and scarf but i admit i had to cheat a few times. The weather was just too hot.
We arrived in Rajasthan later than what was planned. We were travelling by bus and it got stopped at some point on our way to Jaipur. It really looked like they were waiting for us since we were the second car to be in line. There was two jeeps accross the road and branches with thorns, real thorns i tell you! That stop was also like a divine manifestation! I had spent the last 30 minutes wishing that the bus was going to stop close to a bathroom. I wanted to pee so bad!!! I am not a fast lerner, i had drank at least three cups of tea that morning. I evaluated the time i had to sneak into the field for a quicky and i decided to take my chances. I walked for five minutes to finally get to growing cereals that were pretty scrany but i had not seen anyone so far, so let’s go. In India, you are never alone… As i am crouching, there is a mad dog coming at me and he was followed by his master, a woman… ''Just peeing'' i said and i guess it's pretty obvious. Since I am a lucky girl, the bus is still there when I get back and we spent a good 45 minutes there. Men and women were carrying sticks and seemed to be mad at policemen in particular. I tried to obtain more information about what was going on but my bus partners did not speak much english. What I got from the conversations, well i am not sure if we can call it conversation when few words are used but many signs, is that, there had been an incident involving a young guy. I am not sure if he had been injured or was dead but the policemen either were responsible for it or made a big mistake that let the real suspect get away. What is the real reason? We will never know.
Jaipur
We did not explore much of the streets in Jaipur but we took a rickshaw to cross the Pink City. It is the oldest part of Jaipur so more chaotic and dirty with many little shops and markets directly on the side of the road. We are too tired to pay too much attention to what is happening but many buildings are stunning and most everything is pink.
We really liked the Amber Fort which is enormous. We could go up there by foot, by Jeep or riding the back of an elephant. They were superbs with their face painted up. I had never seen that many at once and certainly not from that close.
Pushkar
The lake is unfortunately dried up which makes the lanscape a bit less inviting than on postcards. It is a small town or more small village. The main road is lined up with stores for tourists. I did shop and bought pants and a blanket for the cold train nights coming up. I also found the anklets I wanted for so long. The prices were much better there.
We expected so much more from that place since it is very popular and talked about. Ah well!
Bikaner
Ah Bikaner and it’s rat temple! In my head, I imagined a floor covered with fat rats and their poop. I thought that they would be so glad to see me that they would be running over my feet and climbing my legs. I was affraid to be walking on one of them and have to buy a golden rat to give to the temple to be forgiven. We had to see the white rat as well since it is good luck. Some people spend hours looking for that rat. We had to take off our shoes like for all the other temples, but this time, we knew that we would be walking on dirty floors. Indeed, the floor was sticky but we see more pigeon droppings than rats. The floor was not covered with rat either, they tended to stay in corners where most of the food was. They clustered especially around bowls of milk and pieces of cookies left by the tourists. They are scared of us and so the risk of walking on one was very slim. I am very glad to have seen it but I imagined an experience rich in emotions which was not. We have seen the white rat and then everybody came once we said : ‘Hey the white rat’. Does it count for them then?
The old city within the fortified walls is worthed because you see beautiful buildins but especially because of the people we met. This is not the most touristic destination and we did see a huge difference in the interaction with locals. People are so welcoming and they are happy to pose to be photographed.They shake you hand and they all have great smiles.
Jailsamer
We arrived in Jailsamer on a night train around 5h30 am. It is cold and we are not quite awake at that point. Rob has a tout trying to get him to absolutely visit his guesthouse. He insisted so much that Rob got fed up with him pretty quick. We still used his car to get closer to the fort and, well, there was little other option at that time of the day! Even if the rooms were really good, there was not a chance that Rob would have stayed there so we started our quest in the dark for another place to sleep. We are surrounded by a dogs gang that do not like us a bit. They yapped so much that they probably have woken up the whole neibourghood. We finally stopped a car to get directions and he took us on board and dropped us off at his friend’s guesthouse. We need to sleep for an hour or two.
When we finally got up, the view from the rooftop is amazing. The color of the Fort with the surroundings that very much look like a desert. Very small streets lead to the fort entrance and people are nice. I would like to go back there and maybe do a camel safari.
Jodhpur
The blue city. Many of the old city houses are painted in a flashy blue. The view from the fort of the old city is therefor pretty nice. The Fort is supposed to be the best preserved one of Rajasthan and it is really nice. I had a short night though because of bad food and was found in the bathroom most of the night. I would like a few more days in that city for sure.
Ranakpur
What a great place! A friend of ours had advised us to stop in that little place even if the guidebook did not make a big deal out of it. The choice for hotels is limited and they tend to be more expensive but the scenery is worted. And the silence…. We decided to spend one more day there! There is, first of all, a lake which level was a bit low but still looked like a postcard. The pictures are giving justice to the atmosphere and the serenity of the place. We have seen crocodiles
The other attraction that gets people to visit Ranakpur is the presence of beautiful Jain temples. So many carvings in one place is absolutely hallucinating! Wow!
Udaipur
We arrived there in the afternoon and we had to take the plane to Delhi early the next morning. It is too bad because I would have like to walk around a bit more. Zut de Zut! We had time to explore the main street full of shops and I finally splurged on flipflops, jewellery and painting. We had a room with view on the lake and I would have like to take the time to read looking at the landscape. Next time!
We arrived in Rajasthan later than what was planned. We were travelling by bus and it got stopped at some point on our way to Jaipur. It really looked like they were waiting for us since we were the second car to be in line. There was two jeeps accross the road and branches with thorns, real thorns i tell you! That stop was also like a divine manifestation! I had spent the last 30 minutes wishing that the bus was going to stop close to a bathroom. I wanted to pee so bad!!! I am not a fast lerner, i had drank at least three cups of tea that morning. I evaluated the time i had to sneak into the field for a quicky and i decided to take my chances. I walked for five minutes to finally get to growing cereals that were pretty scrany but i had not seen anyone so far, so let’s go. In India, you are never alone… As i am crouching, there is a mad dog coming at me and he was followed by his master, a woman… ''Just peeing'' i said and i guess it's pretty obvious. Since I am a lucky girl, the bus is still there when I get back and we spent a good 45 minutes there. Men and women were carrying sticks and seemed to be mad at policemen in particular. I tried to obtain more information about what was going on but my bus partners did not speak much english. What I got from the conversations, well i am not sure if we can call it conversation when few words are used but many signs, is that, there had been an incident involving a young guy. I am not sure if he had been injured or was dead but the policemen either were responsible for it or made a big mistake that let the real suspect get away. What is the real reason? We will never know.
Jaipur
We did not explore much of the streets in Jaipur but we took a rickshaw to cross the Pink City. It is the oldest part of Jaipur so more chaotic and dirty with many little shops and markets directly on the side of the road. We are too tired to pay too much attention to what is happening but many buildings are stunning and most everything is pink.
We really liked the Amber Fort which is enormous. We could go up there by foot, by Jeep or riding the back of an elephant. They were superbs with their face painted up. I had never seen that many at once and certainly not from that close.
Pushkar
The lake is unfortunately dried up which makes the lanscape a bit less inviting than on postcards. It is a small town or more small village. The main road is lined up with stores for tourists. I did shop and bought pants and a blanket for the cold train nights coming up. I also found the anklets I wanted for so long. The prices were much better there.
We expected so much more from that place since it is very popular and talked about. Ah well!
Bikaner
Ah Bikaner and it’s rat temple! In my head, I imagined a floor covered with fat rats and their poop. I thought that they would be so glad to see me that they would be running over my feet and climbing my legs. I was affraid to be walking on one of them and have to buy a golden rat to give to the temple to be forgiven. We had to see the white rat as well since it is good luck. Some people spend hours looking for that rat. We had to take off our shoes like for all the other temples, but this time, we knew that we would be walking on dirty floors. Indeed, the floor was sticky but we see more pigeon droppings than rats. The floor was not covered with rat either, they tended to stay in corners where most of the food was. They clustered especially around bowls of milk and pieces of cookies left by the tourists. They are scared of us and so the risk of walking on one was very slim. I am very glad to have seen it but I imagined an experience rich in emotions which was not. We have seen the white rat and then everybody came once we said : ‘Hey the white rat’. Does it count for them then?
The old city within the fortified walls is worthed because you see beautiful buildins but especially because of the people we met. This is not the most touristic destination and we did see a huge difference in the interaction with locals. People are so welcoming and they are happy to pose to be photographed.They shake you hand and they all have great smiles.
Jailsamer
We arrived in Jailsamer on a night train around 5h30 am. It is cold and we are not quite awake at that point. Rob has a tout trying to get him to absolutely visit his guesthouse. He insisted so much that Rob got fed up with him pretty quick. We still used his car to get closer to the fort and, well, there was little other option at that time of the day! Even if the rooms were really good, there was not a chance that Rob would have stayed there so we started our quest in the dark for another place to sleep. We are surrounded by a dogs gang that do not like us a bit. They yapped so much that they probably have woken up the whole neibourghood. We finally stopped a car to get directions and he took us on board and dropped us off at his friend’s guesthouse. We need to sleep for an hour or two.
When we finally got up, the view from the rooftop is amazing. The color of the Fort with the surroundings that very much look like a desert. Very small streets lead to the fort entrance and people are nice. I would like to go back there and maybe do a camel safari.
Jodhpur
The blue city. Many of the old city houses are painted in a flashy blue. The view from the fort of the old city is therefor pretty nice. The Fort is supposed to be the best preserved one of Rajasthan and it is really nice. I had a short night though because of bad food and was found in the bathroom most of the night. I would like a few more days in that city for sure.
Ranakpur
What a great place! A friend of ours had advised us to stop in that little place even if the guidebook did not make a big deal out of it. The choice for hotels is limited and they tend to be more expensive but the scenery is worted. And the silence…. We decided to spend one more day there! There is, first of all, a lake which level was a bit low but still looked like a postcard. The pictures are giving justice to the atmosphere and the serenity of the place. We have seen crocodiles
The other attraction that gets people to visit Ranakpur is the presence of beautiful Jain temples. So many carvings in one place is absolutely hallucinating! Wow!
Udaipur
We arrived there in the afternoon and we had to take the plane to Delhi early the next morning. It is too bad because I would have like to walk around a bit more. Zut de Zut! We had time to explore the main street full of shops and I finally splurged on flipflops, jewellery and painting. We had a room with view on the lake and I would have like to take the time to read looking at the landscape. Next time!
Orccha and Bundi
We took a night train to Jhansi. We were a bit better prepared for the cold with long underwears and double pair of socks. I still got the chills and the runny nose though. It was still a short night since the train stopped too many times and people do not always get that they are getting into a ''sleeper'' train! We then jumped into an autorickshaw for an 1/2 hour ride to Orccha. The city is small and is barely mentionned in my guidebook but a friend had mentioned that it was worth it. It is really!! We spent quite a bit of time at the Cenotaphs site while the sun was going down. Beautiful!
The next stop was Bundi which is somewhat similar to Orccha. The paintings of the Palace were were very impressive since the Palace was built early 1600. I also really liked the street markets and the people we met at small stands. They answered questions and made me taste what seemed strange looking like sugar cane sold as big squares and peanuts snacks. That is also where i started to feel that i should start shopping.
The next stop was Bundi which is somewhat similar to Orccha. The paintings of the Palace were were very impressive since the Palace was built early 1600. I also really liked the street markets and the people we met at small stands. They answered questions and made me taste what seemed strange looking like sugar cane sold as big squares and peanuts snacks. That is also where i started to feel that i should start shopping.
Hair Cut (sequel)
I was at a point where my hair was a little messy when i got up. It was time to refresh my haircut. I asked so many barbers if they had a electric clippers but many of them just work out from a booth rather than a real barber shop. I did not want to spent too long on the chair but i almost try the hand clipper. It worked a bit like a scisor with the two big loops that you squeeze. I changed my mind thinking that it could be pulling at my hair a bit.
One of the barber was more insistent and said yes when i asked if he had a clipper. Once i sat down, he started cutting my hair with scisors. We never know how much they understand when you speak english to them so i stayed there thinking it was maybe a misunderstaining. Moreover, he had already made his mark on the top of my head. It takes time and the result is not that satisfying, both sides are not quite even. I start getting up since he looks like he is done but he has to shave my neck. So i pointed out to my neck and he said ‘Yes, yes’ and put some cream on my face. I said ''NO'', i am in a hurry, which was also true. I let him do his thing for 2 minutes so that he can wipe that cream. He put some more instead. I said ''NO'' a little louder, i am in a hurry and I tried to get up. He stopped me putting his hands on my shoulders and continue to massage the cream on me. He does it with lots of determination and I ended up with some cream in my eyes. He wiped my face with a dirty rug that scraped my skin a bit, sprayed water on my skin so I tought, yeah, it’s over! The massage continued. Shit, I will need to be more firm maybe get mad! He used a thread to get cream off it seems of fine hairs. He keeps ''Nice?''. '' i am in a hurry and I don’t want this!'', ''two minutes, two minutes''. I finally got up after 10 or more minutes, it seemed to last forever. The other barber felt that I was really getting pissed off and that I was trying to see through the cream I had in my eyes and he convinced my barber to finally stop. I took out money and to make it worst, I don’t have the correct change. He looks at me and asked for more since I got a super facial! I am fed up at that point and told him that we had agreed on a price and that i said i did not want the face massage. ''OK, OK'' he said keeping all the money i gave him. Euhhh! No mister! I successed in getting some money back but i am so mad that i had to leave before i ended up kicking his ass. I could have taken him believe me! He continues to ask ''Happy? OK?'' Arrrgh! He then said ''Come back later for shoulder massage'' Yeah right.... I was ready to show him the major finger when Rob shows me one of the rug he uses. On it, you can see lices!!! I don’t believe it was the rug he used on me but still, they must all be in the same state. That was the cherry on the Sunday, my body starts itching everywhere and the walk to the guesthouse was pretty quick. I took a shower and changed my clothes! I will have to be more clear next time and maybe more direct, but you never want to be rude which can be useful sometimes.
One of the barber was more insistent and said yes when i asked if he had a clipper. Once i sat down, he started cutting my hair with scisors. We never know how much they understand when you speak english to them so i stayed there thinking it was maybe a misunderstaining. Moreover, he had already made his mark on the top of my head. It takes time and the result is not that satisfying, both sides are not quite even. I start getting up since he looks like he is done but he has to shave my neck. So i pointed out to my neck and he said ‘Yes, yes’ and put some cream on my face. I said ''NO'', i am in a hurry, which was also true. I let him do his thing for 2 minutes so that he can wipe that cream. He put some more instead. I said ''NO'' a little louder, i am in a hurry and I tried to get up. He stopped me putting his hands on my shoulders and continue to massage the cream on me. He does it with lots of determination and I ended up with some cream in my eyes. He wiped my face with a dirty rug that scraped my skin a bit, sprayed water on my skin so I tought, yeah, it’s over! The massage continued. Shit, I will need to be more firm maybe get mad! He used a thread to get cream off it seems of fine hairs. He keeps ''Nice?''. '' i am in a hurry and I don’t want this!'', ''two minutes, two minutes''. I finally got up after 10 or more minutes, it seemed to last forever. The other barber felt that I was really getting pissed off and that I was trying to see through the cream I had in my eyes and he convinced my barber to finally stop. I took out money and to make it worst, I don’t have the correct change. He looks at me and asked for more since I got a super facial! I am fed up at that point and told him that we had agreed on a price and that i said i did not want the face massage. ''OK, OK'' he said keeping all the money i gave him. Euhhh! No mister! I successed in getting some money back but i am so mad that i had to leave before i ended up kicking his ass. I could have taken him believe me! He continues to ask ''Happy? OK?'' Arrrgh! He then said ''Come back later for shoulder massage'' Yeah right.... I was ready to show him the major finger when Rob shows me one of the rug he uses. On it, you can see lices!!! I don’t believe it was the rug he used on me but still, they must all be in the same state. That was the cherry on the Sunday, my body starts itching everywhere and the walk to the guesthouse was pretty quick. I took a shower and changed my clothes! I will have to be more clear next time and maybe more direct, but you never want to be rude which can be useful sometimes.
Cremation on the shore of the river
I haven’t done all the research to back my story here so… it’s meant to be entertaining even if not 100% accurate.
After death occurs, the deceased is washed and covered with a cloth from head to toe usually (although we have seen some faces of dead people in the streets!). The skull also has to be cracked open to let the soul leave the body. The stretcher on which the deceased is layed, is covered with pieces of colourful cloths that are shinier and look more festive. Numerous flower guarlands are also placed on the body followings prayers and blessings. The body is then carried to the Holy river, The Ganges. This process is supposed to take less than 24 hours.
The bed is made with branches, which is ideally Sandalwood, but since it is the most expensive one, most people only sprinkle sandalwood on the body. Then the cloths are removed from the body and only the sheet stays. The water from the river is then used to wash and bless the corpse before it is place onto the pier. The amount of wood used to make the pier is always different since the cost goes by weight. Of course, there is a minimum required to allow a body to burn completely and they say that it is an art to determine the correct amount. No accelerant is used to help the burning but they do use natural products like coal. They also poored a white liquid on the deceased which looked like cream but i did not get confirmation on that.
There is a person that is going to start the fire. It is always a man, usually the oldest son. He must have his head shaved to the skin, keeping just a bit on the top there, if he is Hindu. He also was in the Ganges before getting dressed in white. He will get the flame into a sacred fire from a temple and carry the flame to the woodenbed, no matches here. A body takes about three hours to burn. The ashes will be collected and thrown into the Ganges or the ocean thirteen days after the death, time needed for the family members to be purified.
The women are usually more expressive after death and can not be present when the burning take place. For the soul to leave the body and rise, there should not be any crying going on. Reincarnation is then possible and the pursuit of a better Karma is essential in their religion.
Five types of persons are not burned. Kids, which did not have time to gather enough wisdom to get a better Karma in another life; pregnant women, they are carrying a baby so same reasons than above; Sadhus, they are saints that have already a good Karma, lepers, that are blessed by certain gods, people who die from a cobra bite, it is a sacred animal.
After death occurs, the deceased is washed and covered with a cloth from head to toe usually (although we have seen some faces of dead people in the streets!). The skull also has to be cracked open to let the soul leave the body. The stretcher on which the deceased is layed, is covered with pieces of colourful cloths that are shinier and look more festive. Numerous flower guarlands are also placed on the body followings prayers and blessings. The body is then carried to the Holy river, The Ganges. This process is supposed to take less than 24 hours.
The bed is made with branches, which is ideally Sandalwood, but since it is the most expensive one, most people only sprinkle sandalwood on the body. Then the cloths are removed from the body and only the sheet stays. The water from the river is then used to wash and bless the corpse before it is place onto the pier. The amount of wood used to make the pier is always different since the cost goes by weight. Of course, there is a minimum required to allow a body to burn completely and they say that it is an art to determine the correct amount. No accelerant is used to help the burning but they do use natural products like coal. They also poored a white liquid on the deceased which looked like cream but i did not get confirmation on that.
There is a person that is going to start the fire. It is always a man, usually the oldest son. He must have his head shaved to the skin, keeping just a bit on the top there, if he is Hindu. He also was in the Ganges before getting dressed in white. He will get the flame into a sacred fire from a temple and carry the flame to the woodenbed, no matches here. A body takes about three hours to burn. The ashes will be collected and thrown into the Ganges or the ocean thirteen days after the death, time needed for the family members to be purified.
The women are usually more expressive after death and can not be present when the burning take place. For the soul to leave the body and rise, there should not be any crying going on. Reincarnation is then possible and the pursuit of a better Karma is essential in their religion.
Five types of persons are not burned. Kids, which did not have time to gather enough wisdom to get a better Karma in another life; pregnant women, they are carrying a baby so same reasons than above; Sadhus, they are saints that have already a good Karma, lepers, that are blessed by certain gods, people who die from a cobra bite, it is a sacred animal.
Varanasi
Here is a city that I was excited about. We stayed in the most touristic area around the Gange. The small streets are full of life and of cows. One of them even attacked me, without reason really, if it was not for the red T-shirt…
We get the cultural shock pretty quick. We started by going for a short stroll along the river to get some air and look at the sunset. We took lots of pictures and at some point, I raised my head because i see smoke from the corner of my eye. Some people are carrying a stretcher which was in fact a bambou ladder. As we got closer, we can easily distinguish a body on that stretcher, an old woman covered by colorful cloths. She will be cremated on the side of the Holy river, the Gange. You can follow her story in the next blog.
It gives a shock even if you knew that you were going to see death so openly. We have seen many of those stretchers in the next few days going through the streets. The men carrying it sing prayers and blessings. The body must be taken care of within 24 hours usually unless you keep it on ice. For the people who can not afford the wood to be burnt, there is also a crematorium which cost about 10 times less.
We also explore the Gange’s ghats at sunrise. It is at sunrise that most citizens of the old city take a bath in the river and they also do their prayers and blessings since it is a Holy river. It is also really polluted. Of course, there are already some fires burning bodies right beside people enjoying a morning chat. I feel a bit worry that i am intruding into the intimacy of those people although, they smile and talk to everybody, not caring who is watching. I think i can see worst tourist around me anyway!
I stay with a feeling of having been robbed in Varanasi. Many events led to that feeling involving vendors, rickshaw drivers, barbers and ‘guides’ who always take you to a shop. It is a continual task to say ‘No thank you’ to these people but they kept insisting. So…
We met few silk vendors, silk being one of Varanasi speciality. Silk is though to evaluate. There are so many different qualities and I don’t know anything about it. The vendors gave very good demonstrations and I did compare many different pieces of bed spread believe me. I was not conviced in the ned and did not buy anyting at that point. I will look for it somewhere else.
It is also in Varanasi that i took some Tablas lessons. First try at drums so far and i will need lots of practice. I decided to buy a pair of drums to do just that when i go back home. The whole story around those drums gave me a bad taste in my mouth. When we took the first lesson, the teacher was very nice and I could not explain why I had a feeling about him. Rob thought he was great and so I took a second lesson as well before deciding to buy the Tablas. The teacher assured us that it was the best quality but we have not taken the time to look around much to compare or even to get good informations elsewhere. Many little details of the conversation we had with the teacher or littles events while we where dealing the Tablas came back to me afterwards. I was convinced that i had paid too much! On top of that the teacher became more and more a pain in the butt once we had giving him the money. I will one day be able to play…
We avoided a huge line up at the post office the day we were leaving. We had to ship the tablas home since they are heavy! One of the employee let us in through the back door before the office even opened, a little money helped. He also took care of the payment and included another extra fee. He said the size of the box was not standard!! When we look at the official receipt a little later, the amount did not include fees for the size of the box. We had been warned and we need to get over that. Let’s forget it all.
It’s bad for the next persons that we ran into because we were already exhausted of the extortions of money that never end. We got less patient with the people that kept asking for money and try to get their little piece of the tourist pie.Even the music teacher wanted us to buy his super DVD to learn to play tablas better. Dawn it, he just got a huge cut on the tablas, he could have given it to us! I take so much time usually to choose and decide what i want…what happened to me in Varanasi?
I still met old women that were smiling at us so i think i will have to go back at some point to get a better impression of that city that has so much culture and is so unique.
We get the cultural shock pretty quick. We started by going for a short stroll along the river to get some air and look at the sunset. We took lots of pictures and at some point, I raised my head because i see smoke from the corner of my eye. Some people are carrying a stretcher which was in fact a bambou ladder. As we got closer, we can easily distinguish a body on that stretcher, an old woman covered by colorful cloths. She will be cremated on the side of the Holy river, the Gange. You can follow her story in the next blog.
It gives a shock even if you knew that you were going to see death so openly. We have seen many of those stretchers in the next few days going through the streets. The men carrying it sing prayers and blessings. The body must be taken care of within 24 hours usually unless you keep it on ice. For the people who can not afford the wood to be burnt, there is also a crematorium which cost about 10 times less.
We also explore the Gange’s ghats at sunrise. It is at sunrise that most citizens of the old city take a bath in the river and they also do their prayers and blessings since it is a Holy river. It is also really polluted. Of course, there are already some fires burning bodies right beside people enjoying a morning chat. I feel a bit worry that i am intruding into the intimacy of those people although, they smile and talk to everybody, not caring who is watching. I think i can see worst tourist around me anyway!
I stay with a feeling of having been robbed in Varanasi. Many events led to that feeling involving vendors, rickshaw drivers, barbers and ‘guides’ who always take you to a shop. It is a continual task to say ‘No thank you’ to these people but they kept insisting. So…
We met few silk vendors, silk being one of Varanasi speciality. Silk is though to evaluate. There are so many different qualities and I don’t know anything about it. The vendors gave very good demonstrations and I did compare many different pieces of bed spread believe me. I was not conviced in the ned and did not buy anyting at that point. I will look for it somewhere else.
It is also in Varanasi that i took some Tablas lessons. First try at drums so far and i will need lots of practice. I decided to buy a pair of drums to do just that when i go back home. The whole story around those drums gave me a bad taste in my mouth. When we took the first lesson, the teacher was very nice and I could not explain why I had a feeling about him. Rob thought he was great and so I took a second lesson as well before deciding to buy the Tablas. The teacher assured us that it was the best quality but we have not taken the time to look around much to compare or even to get good informations elsewhere. Many little details of the conversation we had with the teacher or littles events while we where dealing the Tablas came back to me afterwards. I was convinced that i had paid too much! On top of that the teacher became more and more a pain in the butt once we had giving him the money. I will one day be able to play…
We avoided a huge line up at the post office the day we were leaving. We had to ship the tablas home since they are heavy! One of the employee let us in through the back door before the office even opened, a little money helped. He also took care of the payment and included another extra fee. He said the size of the box was not standard!! When we look at the official receipt a little later, the amount did not include fees for the size of the box. We had been warned and we need to get over that. Let’s forget it all.
It’s bad for the next persons that we ran into because we were already exhausted of the extortions of money that never end. We got less patient with the people that kept asking for money and try to get their little piece of the tourist pie.Even the music teacher wanted us to buy his super DVD to learn to play tablas better. Dawn it, he just got a huge cut on the tablas, he could have given it to us! I take so much time usually to choose and decide what i want…what happened to me in Varanasi?
I still met old women that were smiling at us so i think i will have to go back at some point to get a better impression of that city that has so much culture and is so unique.
We are going Nort
It’s been a few days that we are in Northern India. We took a plane from Trivandrum to Delhi. The train would have taken more than 40 hours, which means in fact, probably more like 60 hours. We slept in the cheapest hotel in the area of Connaught Place which had a shared bathroom. The problem is... the room, toilet and shower are on the roof. We arrived arrived at the airport at 8pm but the rickshaw driver had no clue where the guesthouse was. He asked to many people and we turned around and around and around. Finally, we took the guidebook and told him where to turn. We were at the guesthouse at 10pm! It is 15 degrees. I went to the bathroom and i almost froze my ass off so i decided to wait for a shower, i was pretty sure that there would be no hot water. I got cold in the bed too. I slept with my socks and fleece but it was not enough. We had to get up at 5h30 am the next morning to catch a rickshaw to the train station. It was still really cold, probably closer to 10 degrees. The rickshaw ride lasted maybe 30 minutes with wind coming in…grrrrr!
Finally, we get some sun when we got into Agra. It is nice enough to go around wearing a T-shirt so I my blood start flowing again. We leave our bags to the train station and get a ride to the Taj Mahal. This was a stop that i did not want to miss but I tought, couple pictures and then Red Fort, it was going to be quick. Eh no! The entrance is set up in a way that after a stretch of grass you have to pass through a first huge gate before getting on the ground of the Taj. This first gate does not allow you to see the Taj untill you’re have passed through the gate, and only, when your eyes got used to the light after the dark passageway of the gate. I had such a weird feeling in my belly on the way to the gate, I almost cried in anticipation. Emotional! Once your eyes can see again, the Taj is …there and it was beautiful! I took so many pictures to try to get the perfect one.
The Red Fort is next on the list and will be the last stop for the day. We have to get a night train to Varanasi. A night that i will not forget! I already knew that it was going to be cold, but not that cold. Air was coming in through some doors and windows that could not close completely. My feet and legs were numbs and my nose was running. Of course, i did not sleep much. I will have to get ready for the next train.
Finally, we get some sun when we got into Agra. It is nice enough to go around wearing a T-shirt so I my blood start flowing again. We leave our bags to the train station and get a ride to the Taj Mahal. This was a stop that i did not want to miss but I tought, couple pictures and then Red Fort, it was going to be quick. Eh no! The entrance is set up in a way that after a stretch of grass you have to pass through a first huge gate before getting on the ground of the Taj. This first gate does not allow you to see the Taj untill you’re have passed through the gate, and only, when your eyes got used to the light after the dark passageway of the gate. I had such a weird feeling in my belly on the way to the gate, I almost cried in anticipation. Emotional! Once your eyes can see again, the Taj is …there and it was beautiful! I took so many pictures to try to get the perfect one.
The Red Fort is next on the list and will be the last stop for the day. We have to get a night train to Varanasi. A night that i will not forget! I already knew that it was going to be cold, but not that cold. Air was coming in through some doors and windows that could not close completely. My feet and legs were numbs and my nose was running. Of course, i did not sleep much. I will have to get ready for the next train.
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Cochin (Kochi)
I had seen a documentary about Cochin and was very excited about it. What i remembered the most were the suspended fishing nets and the spices. As soon as we got down the ferry, we saw the fishing nets but they were not in function at that time. The area is very lively and we see mainly tourists on the street. We even found the best coffee place ever serving excellent breakfast as well. We did spent a lot of time there in the morning...we had to wait a long time to be served!
There are maybe 30 fishing nets aligned on the coast. They are a structure similar to a four fingers hand, one finger attached to each corner of the net. The hand has an arm with weights (rocks of different dimensions) at the end of it to balance the whole thing. When the arm goes down, the hand opens and the net sinks into the water. It stays down for about 5 minutes before the fishermen starts pulling on the rocks to make the net come back up again. We spent a good 2 hours watching the nets going down into the water and back up, very often containing no fish at all.
I also rented a bike to visit the older part of Fort Cochin, Jew town. Lots of antiques shops but what i was looking for were spices storage rooms. I went in 2 places where women where sifting pepper. The air was filled with dust and i could not stay very long before starting sneezing. Great people and i would have stayed one more day.
There are maybe 30 fishing nets aligned on the coast. They are a structure similar to a four fingers hand, one finger attached to each corner of the net. The hand has an arm with weights (rocks of different dimensions) at the end of it to balance the whole thing. When the arm goes down, the hand opens and the net sinks into the water. It stays down for about 5 minutes before the fishermen starts pulling on the rocks to make the net come back up again. We spent a good 2 hours watching the nets going down into the water and back up, very often containing no fish at all.
I also rented a bike to visit the older part of Fort Cochin, Jew town. Lots of antiques shops but what i was looking for were spices storage rooms. I went in 2 places where women where sifting pepper. The air was filled with dust and i could not stay very long before starting sneezing. Great people and i would have stayed one more day.
Alleppey
They compare Alleppey to Venice. It is known for its 900 km of canals going inland and linking remote villages to the coast. The canals cross rice patties, fields of coconut trees and banana trees. They are still used by the local population as a highway to transport cashews, coconut and rice. However, the villagers use the water to bath and to cook and drink. Since cruises are the most important tourist attraction, the water quality is starting to decline. We decided to rent a canoe to be more nature friendly. We had a great time relaxing and observing the life within the small villages. There are also more and more plants growing on the surface of the water cutting out light underneath, plus all the garbage floating around... We still swam to cool us down but my bathing suit came back greyer than before!
Massages in Varkala
Before getting any further, i have to explain a little something about Indians i met so far in India. They are very sensitive! Not in a bad way, just that they take what you say very seriously. Which means that i never voiced any complaint. It would just make them sad really, so no reason to try explaining what was wrong especially with their poor understanding of English.
My own massages
I went to a place that was out of the most touristy area and chose the Rejuvenation massage that was described as a full body massage using oil. First of all, the massage table had no sheet, Ok. Second, as soon as I walked in, the woman ask me to strip down. Usually, the therapist leaves you alone 2 minutes to get undressed and slide under the sheet but, OK. She put some kind of diaper to try to hide my genitals. It has a rope that ties on the lower back with a long piece of material hanging down in between your legs. They go behind you and get the piece of material to go between your legs and on your bum’s crack. She was gentle and it wasn’t pulled too tight. I am sitting on a chair for 15 minutes while she massaged my head while talking to me. Then another woman comes in and they start massaging the rest of the body. Hot oil is poured from my toes to my neck. The amount is excessive but it smells good and the sensation is really good. First place they started massaging is the chest and they went right to the breasts. They did circular massages followed by the up and down motion from the shoulders to the waist being sure NOT to avoid the breasts. It lasted a good 5 minutes! They moved to the arms and legs before I got to turn over. I ended up being legs apart for a good part of the massage and I don’t feel that the diaper helped very much in hiding anything. Their moves are always from one end to the other and it felt more like a rubdown than a massage. At the end of the massage, they told me to relax 5 minutes before the shower. Hmmm, they also started talking and laughing while my legs are still apart, how i am supposed to relax? It took me about 40 minutes to wash most of the oil. I forgot my ears though! Since i was unsatisfied with the experience, i decided to go someplace else and be more verbal about my needs.
A little difficult with the limited English of the therapist. The girl who was to massage me, had her boss explain to her how to do the type of massage i wanted. The amount of oil was just enough but she obviously didn’t feel comfortable with what she was doing. I would probably compare her moves to a crab motion, pinching the skin instead of massaging. If i add to that the fact that the rooms are separated by a thin wall made of palmtree branches, that we can perfectly hear a guy pee on the other side of the wall and that the boss, a man, comes in to check if I like the massage every 10 minutes, well, it is not a relaxing moment! Let’s give it another try.
There is a place recommended by the Lonely Planet guide book, it has to be good! Same thing than the last girl, it will be her first time doing the type of massage. She demonstrated what she can do on my shoulders and i thought ‘’Not bad’’!!! I made the mistake to say that i liked it hard! She started massaging my arms and it was perfect. The problem arose after 10 minutes. Her fingers are dead already so her solution to keep the hard part in the massage, was to use her knuckles. Again OK when it is applied on a muscle, not OK when she passes too many times at the same spot and especially not OK when she does it on my rib cage. I gasped when it happened. I tried to explain in simple terms what was wrong but she just didn’t get it for too long. She did tone it down while doing the belly part but i felt like she was making sure that the towel covering my genitals was displaced. There was also a weird moment while i was exposing my back to the mistreatment. She somehow made a move allowing my but crack to be exposed. She might have been looking at the whiteness of the whole thing and the contrast it gace to the pinkinsh color of my asshole!!! I spent the rest of the time concentrating to stop thinking about the pain. At the beginning, i had asked to avoid the face and the head but when I felt like getting up and leave from the pain, i tried to get the face and the head done as well. I thought she could not mess it up since they do it all the time. She smiled and i understood that she would do it ... but only after 60 minutes of body massage, ‘’No money!’’ she said. Crap, could not get out of that one! The last move of the massage consisted in the massaging of the chest. She placed herself at my head and tried to reach to my waist about 10 times. Each time, i got her full breasts stamped to my face, to a point that i had to stop breathing for few seconds. The facial was great but it was overshadowed by the bruises showing the next morning! She was very happy to tell me that i got 30 minutes extra treatment and that i should tell my friends to come see her. No more massages in India!
Other’s massages
Baldur got a massage at the same time as i did at the place with the very thin walls. I could actually hear his skin being rubbed and at some point the table was squeaking!!! He was being massaged by a guy of course! He had to be naked as well and at some point the guy touched him on the arm to ask him to replace his penis so that he could massage the rest of the thigh. A special Moment. The massage guy didn’t speak very much English but Baldur had asked his boss to get a hard massage so he would stop once in a while, look into Baldur’s eyes and ask with a smile on his face: “ok, is it hard?”...which Baldur felt awkward laying there on his penis.
Daniel’s experience was somewhat better since he had been warned of the basics by Baldur. He still found it a bit weird to be sitting naked on the edge of the table facing the therapist who started rubbing him from shoulders to thighs. It always bring some sort of sensation when somebody you don’t know rubs the inner thighs.
Jenna and Nicky are friends since primary school. They had to strip in the same room and received their head massage sitting down facing each other. The girls were trying to keep their eyes closed but they burst out laughing when the women started massaging their breasts in circular motions. It is a situation where you feel a bit uncomfortable even if you are very good friends. When came the time for the final shower, they went back to their room, they thought it was enough sharing for the day.
Billy was lucky, he got the same type of cloth tied to his hips than i did for my first massage. However, when the guy pulled the long piece of material in between his legs, he yanked it back and it ended up being a bit tight and revealing. At some point, the therapist asked him to lay on his front with his legs spread open as well as his arms. He got numbed hands from that position.
My own massages
I went to a place that was out of the most touristy area and chose the Rejuvenation massage that was described as a full body massage using oil. First of all, the massage table had no sheet, Ok. Second, as soon as I walked in, the woman ask me to strip down. Usually, the therapist leaves you alone 2 minutes to get undressed and slide under the sheet but, OK. She put some kind of diaper to try to hide my genitals. It has a rope that ties on the lower back with a long piece of material hanging down in between your legs. They go behind you and get the piece of material to go between your legs and on your bum’s crack. She was gentle and it wasn’t pulled too tight. I am sitting on a chair for 15 minutes while she massaged my head while talking to me. Then another woman comes in and they start massaging the rest of the body. Hot oil is poured from my toes to my neck. The amount is excessive but it smells good and the sensation is really good. First place they started massaging is the chest and they went right to the breasts. They did circular massages followed by the up and down motion from the shoulders to the waist being sure NOT to avoid the breasts. It lasted a good 5 minutes! They moved to the arms and legs before I got to turn over. I ended up being legs apart for a good part of the massage and I don’t feel that the diaper helped very much in hiding anything. Their moves are always from one end to the other and it felt more like a rubdown than a massage. At the end of the massage, they told me to relax 5 minutes before the shower. Hmmm, they also started talking and laughing while my legs are still apart, how i am supposed to relax? It took me about 40 minutes to wash most of the oil. I forgot my ears though! Since i was unsatisfied with the experience, i decided to go someplace else and be more verbal about my needs.
A little difficult with the limited English of the therapist. The girl who was to massage me, had her boss explain to her how to do the type of massage i wanted. The amount of oil was just enough but she obviously didn’t feel comfortable with what she was doing. I would probably compare her moves to a crab motion, pinching the skin instead of massaging. If i add to that the fact that the rooms are separated by a thin wall made of palmtree branches, that we can perfectly hear a guy pee on the other side of the wall and that the boss, a man, comes in to check if I like the massage every 10 minutes, well, it is not a relaxing moment! Let’s give it another try.
There is a place recommended by the Lonely Planet guide book, it has to be good! Same thing than the last girl, it will be her first time doing the type of massage. She demonstrated what she can do on my shoulders and i thought ‘’Not bad’’!!! I made the mistake to say that i liked it hard! She started massaging my arms and it was perfect. The problem arose after 10 minutes. Her fingers are dead already so her solution to keep the hard part in the massage, was to use her knuckles. Again OK when it is applied on a muscle, not OK when she passes too many times at the same spot and especially not OK when she does it on my rib cage. I gasped when it happened. I tried to explain in simple terms what was wrong but she just didn’t get it for too long. She did tone it down while doing the belly part but i felt like she was making sure that the towel covering my genitals was displaced. There was also a weird moment while i was exposing my back to the mistreatment. She somehow made a move allowing my but crack to be exposed. She might have been looking at the whiteness of the whole thing and the contrast it gace to the pinkinsh color of my asshole!!! I spent the rest of the time concentrating to stop thinking about the pain. At the beginning, i had asked to avoid the face and the head but when I felt like getting up and leave from the pain, i tried to get the face and the head done as well. I thought she could not mess it up since they do it all the time. She smiled and i understood that she would do it ... but only after 60 minutes of body massage, ‘’No money!’’ she said. Crap, could not get out of that one! The last move of the massage consisted in the massaging of the chest. She placed herself at my head and tried to reach to my waist about 10 times. Each time, i got her full breasts stamped to my face, to a point that i had to stop breathing for few seconds. The facial was great but it was overshadowed by the bruises showing the next morning! She was very happy to tell me that i got 30 minutes extra treatment and that i should tell my friends to come see her. No more massages in India!
Other’s massages
Baldur got a massage at the same time as i did at the place with the very thin walls. I could actually hear his skin being rubbed and at some point the table was squeaking!!! He was being massaged by a guy of course! He had to be naked as well and at some point the guy touched him on the arm to ask him to replace his penis so that he could massage the rest of the thigh. A special Moment. The massage guy didn’t speak very much English but Baldur had asked his boss to get a hard massage so he would stop once in a while, look into Baldur’s eyes and ask with a smile on his face: “ok, is it hard?”...which Baldur felt awkward laying there on his penis.
Daniel’s experience was somewhat better since he had been warned of the basics by Baldur. He still found it a bit weird to be sitting naked on the edge of the table facing the therapist who started rubbing him from shoulders to thighs. It always bring some sort of sensation when somebody you don’t know rubs the inner thighs.
Jenna and Nicky are friends since primary school. They had to strip in the same room and received their head massage sitting down facing each other. The girls were trying to keep their eyes closed but they burst out laughing when the women started massaging their breasts in circular motions. It is a situation where you feel a bit uncomfortable even if you are very good friends. When came the time for the final shower, they went back to their room, they thought it was enough sharing for the day.
Billy was lucky, he got the same type of cloth tied to his hips than i did for my first massage. However, when the guy pulled the long piece of material in between his legs, he yanked it back and it ended up being a bit tight and revealing. At some point, the therapist asked him to lay on his front with his legs spread open as well as his arms. He got numbed hands from that position.
Varkala
Beach time again! It has nothing to do with the need to get some rest this time. Do we actually need a reason? Varkala beach is bordered by red cliffs and most of the action happens up those cliffs. There is a path right on the edge, and along that path, are found tons of restaurants, cafes and clothing stores. It is the main road and it offers a great view on the ocean while drinking coffee. We didn’t think that we could find better relaxing place than Palolem but I think we were wrong. The beach itself is niceand quiet, there are only people selling fruits and tea walking on the beach! Maybe the water is a bit more rough but you only have to go a little further out to avoid the filling up of your bikini with sand! I preferred to take my late night swim with other people around... You can rent chairs and umbrellas which are a very good idea since there is always a bit of a breeze on the beach to cool you down and it is easy to forget that the sun hits you hard.
We rented a sweet place further away and we have direct access to the beach. There is also a great restaurant right beside it where we have breakfast and snacks when we want to get out of the sun. Loving it! We decided to skip Kovalam since we liked the place so much. We got into Varkala has a group of 11 people coming from the same guesthouse in Alleppey. There were Rob and I, Daniel (met on the way to Cochin), Baldur (met first in Anjuna, then in Palolem and finally in Mysore), Adam, Kate, Jenna, Nicky, Billy, Valerio and Adrian (all met in Alleppey). We had very good diners eating Tuna Tikka Masala and going for drinks. Days were going fast!
The Kerala province is known for being the richest one and it is where Ayurvedic treatments all started. Ayurveda means ‘’the knowledge of life’’. It talks about intrinsic balance which can be accomplished by dosing the 3 ‘’doshas’’ of the body, wind or air, fire and water\earth. There are 2 ways to obtain the balance we need to avoid diseases: internal purification (detox) and herbal massage. The detox requires a minimum of 2 weeks to be completed and i wasn’t so much interested in therapeutic vomiting through a special diet or elimination of toxins through the nose by flushing it with oils. However, i do enjoy massages! Let me give you some highlights of the experiences I had or other people I am travelling with had in the next blog.
We rented a sweet place further away and we have direct access to the beach. There is also a great restaurant right beside it where we have breakfast and snacks when we want to get out of the sun. Loving it! We decided to skip Kovalam since we liked the place so much. We got into Varkala has a group of 11 people coming from the same guesthouse in Alleppey. There were Rob and I, Daniel (met on the way to Cochin), Baldur (met first in Anjuna, then in Palolem and finally in Mysore), Adam, Kate, Jenna, Nicky, Billy, Valerio and Adrian (all met in Alleppey). We had very good diners eating Tuna Tikka Masala and going for drinks. Days were going fast!
The Kerala province is known for being the richest one and it is where Ayurvedic treatments all started. Ayurveda means ‘’the knowledge of life’’. It talks about intrinsic balance which can be accomplished by dosing the 3 ‘’doshas’’ of the body, wind or air, fire and water\earth. There are 2 ways to obtain the balance we need to avoid diseases: internal purification (detox) and herbal massage. The detox requires a minimum of 2 weeks to be completed and i wasn’t so much interested in therapeutic vomiting through a special diet or elimination of toxins through the nose by flushing it with oils. However, i do enjoy massages! Let me give you some highlights of the experiences I had or other people I am travelling with had in the next blog.
Mysore
We are really happy to have decided to stop in Udupi to cut the travelling time short. We left Udupi by bus around 11h30 and it is supposed to arrive at destination around 18h. We did stop a lot for 5 minutes at a time and the road is under construction for quite a distance. On top of that, we had to drive across the region of Kodagu where the road is pretty narrow and goes up and down mountains with ravines lining the side of the road. It becomes dangerous to pass other cars and so we stayed behind tractors for a while. The landscapes are awesome though! We got to Mysore 4 hours late. We are starving after having skipped lunch and dinner. We finally found a rooftop restaurant to eat something before crashing into bed. The food is awful, but full of tourists. I guess the view of part of Mysore was pretty good.
This city is descibed as flamboyant in the guide book and it has many palaces. The oldest one, Jayachamarajendra, is now a art gallery. It is notvery impressive when compared to the newer palace, the Maharaja’s Palace. Very impressive! There is so many people there with groups of students. One of them has Micheal Jackson’s look with a leather jacket and 2 others are wearing what looks like winter jackets, to be stylished we assumed since it is 30 degrees! We also walked through the city markets, one that they called the old market and the other which is much bigger, the Devaraja. There are so many stands selling exactly the same things. Flowers for the offerings in temples, fruits, vegetebles, colored powders, essential oils (?) and eggs. How can they make money when there is so much competition? We had an excellent Thalli served on banana leaves. Portion of rice with oil and spices, a bit of lentils, vegetables, pieces of fried cheese (???) and few hot peppers. We have to mix whatever we want with the rice and squeeze the rice between your fingers to eat it. Delicious!
Mysore is also where we witnessed a street fight. There are 2 women and 4 guys. The victim is wearing a beige shirt (Mr.B). The first thing we saw was Mr. B laying on the ground after one of the guy stamps its foot in Mr. B’s face. Mr.B gets up and he received a fist in the face, on the temple and in the belly from the guys. There is about 5 secondes in between each hit and it is weird that Mr.B don’t make any move to protect himself. One of the woman is screaming and she slapped him pretty hard. Yeah! The police is coming! Oupss, it looks like the policeman is running after the woman who hit the guy and he is slashing her back with a 4 feet-long stick. She disappeared finally and the policeman turned towards Mr. B that hasn’t reacted yet. Mr. B got got the stick treatment a few times before he starts running away with the other woman. It is the best way to end a fight!
This city is descibed as flamboyant in the guide book and it has many palaces. The oldest one, Jayachamarajendra, is now a art gallery. It is notvery impressive when compared to the newer palace, the Maharaja’s Palace. Very impressive! There is so many people there with groups of students. One of them has Micheal Jackson’s look with a leather jacket and 2 others are wearing what looks like winter jackets, to be stylished we assumed since it is 30 degrees! We also walked through the city markets, one that they called the old market and the other which is much bigger, the Devaraja. There are so many stands selling exactly the same things. Flowers for the offerings in temples, fruits, vegetebles, colored powders, essential oils (?) and eggs. How can they make money when there is so much competition? We had an excellent Thalli served on banana leaves. Portion of rice with oil and spices, a bit of lentils, vegetables, pieces of fried cheese (???) and few hot peppers. We have to mix whatever we want with the rice and squeeze the rice between your fingers to eat it. Delicious!
Mysore is also where we witnessed a street fight. There are 2 women and 4 guys. The victim is wearing a beige shirt (Mr.B). The first thing we saw was Mr. B laying on the ground after one of the guy stamps its foot in Mr. B’s face. Mr.B gets up and he received a fist in the face, on the temple and in the belly from the guys. There is about 5 secondes in between each hit and it is weird that Mr.B don’t make any move to protect himself. One of the woman is screaming and she slapped him pretty hard. Yeah! The police is coming! Oupss, it looks like the policeman is running after the woman who hit the guy and he is slashing her back with a 4 feet-long stick. She disappeared finally and the policeman turned towards Mr. B that hasn’t reacted yet. Mr. B got got the stick treatment a few times before he starts running away with the other woman. It is the best way to end a fight!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
HairCut
A decision has been reached concerning this new haircut of mine in Hampi. Many reasons were considered. 1st: It is very hot here and it would be wonderful to feel the wind passing over my neck, forehead and scalp, 2nd: Even if it’s stinking hot, i never appreciated to take ice cold shower. Since most accommodation we rent don’t have hot water, it is often the case and if my hair was shorter, i would have to spent a bit less time under the shower, 3rd: Before leaving on my trip, i had already thought about shaving and i have experienced that haircut more than once before. Not such a big deal. 4th: It was getting to a point that the difference between the color of my face and my scalp would be too much. I have no regrets so far. I wear a little hat to protect my head from the sun!
OM beach, Gokarna
We arrived at night and the beach is a lot less touristy than expected. It`s pitch dark on the beach. We wake up with a new view, a nice beach, quiet and clean with a lot less vendors than in Palolem. It is hot, so much that i decide to spend the day under a tree. I had red cheeks anyway at the end of the day, even after wearing my hat. I want to move more than that and there is so much to see still in India. We left the next day by train to get to Udupi. It is going to be a short stop since we use that city to cut the long trip to Mysore.
Badami
Badami is not so much of a tourist destination. We haven’t seen that many other white faces while we walked the streets. We became an attraction for all the locals but mostly for Indien tourist coming to visit the cave’s temples. There are only 4 caves and it should not take that long to visit usually. We have been asked so many times if they could take our picture! The funniet thing is more that they want to take a picturewith us but using our cameras! We could not simply stop for 5 minutes to admire the view since we were causing a jam in the stairs. After 3 hours of that, we thought it was a little crazy and my cheeks were hurting from all that smiling which was a bit forced at the end.
The reason why we decided to go to Badami was for its red sandstone cliffs. We had read in our guide book that there was a climbing school where we thought we could rent a rope. Well, it existed at some point but was no longer there. We saw from far away 2 guys dangling from a rope on one of the cliff, Andrew and Harry (same Harry that made a topo for the climbing in Hampi...small world!), and they allowed Rob to get a shot at the problem they were doing. Lack of muscles from his last 6 months of travelling didn’t allow him to get to the top. I have great pictures of that but he said it would be blackmailing and he would take revenge. I decided not to try since my muscles haven’t appeared yet.
We decided to stay only for 2 nights promising ourselves that we would come back with gears but especially muscles. We feel like we haven’t rested enough maybe and so, we choose a destination on the coast, Om beach of Gokarna.
The reason why we decided to go to Badami was for its red sandstone cliffs. We had read in our guide book that there was a climbing school where we thought we could rent a rope. Well, it existed at some point but was no longer there. We saw from far away 2 guys dangling from a rope on one of the cliff, Andrew and Harry (same Harry that made a topo for the climbing in Hampi...small world!), and they allowed Rob to get a shot at the problem they were doing. Lack of muscles from his last 6 months of travelling didn’t allow him to get to the top. I have great pictures of that but he said it would be blackmailing and he would take revenge. I decided not to try since my muscles haven’t appeared yet.
We decided to stay only for 2 nights promising ourselves that we would come back with gears but especially muscles. We feel like we haven’t rested enough maybe and so, we choose a destination on the coast, Om beach of Gokarna.
Hampi and its temples
We leave Margeon by train. The trip lasted almost 7 hours. There are 3 beds on each wall and we reserved the bed closest to the ceiling and the one in the middle. We found out that the one in the middle doesn't exist during the day, it serves as the back of a big seat which is the lower bed. In theory, there supposed to be 3 persons sitting on that bench. We had during the trip from 4-5 people sitting there and one person laying down on the upper bed. They are so thight in other compartment that they decided to invade the comfy section! It is hot and we can smell the toilets continuously. Our brain don't like doing abstraction of that smell for some reasons. I tried to sleep for the most part of the trip to avoid all that smell, heat, questions and cell phones playing very loud Indian music. The problem is that our backpacks are on the top bed as well which doesn't leave that much room up there. I squeezed in the best i could with my legs on top of the bags and my hips against the railing. I knew that my body would protest after that treatment. My back was soar for few days not allowing me to sleep and i had bruises on the hips from the banging against the railing. Since we were going to Hampi to do some climbing i got into my pharmacy kit and took muscle relaxant pills. I felt a little dizzy the first morning, it's strong!
We spent the first night in downtown Hampi it sounded like. We had a room with 2 windows opening up on 2 different alleys. People went to bed very late and they seemed to have a competition on the noise they could make. I used my iPod for the first time in India.
We decided to change room to get closer to the climbing spot. We had to cross the river with a ferry which is more of a small boat able to sit maybe 20 people. It's a paradise for climbers so we drop our bags and rented a crashpad and hop we go. We met up with 2 american girls (Rob was happy). OUCH! My muscles, well i thought i had muscles... I am so weak at the end of the day...my arms feel heavy, my hands have cramps and my skin is scratched and its burning. I needed some rest really bad and miracle! It was raining the next morning. We ended up climbing only few hours which was enough. We spent the next day touring temples. Hampi has great landscapes with boulders everywhere and the temples were actually interesting to visit. Even after that rest day, we are not fit to climb again so we decide to leave for Badami, that would give one more day to my skin to get better! Oh la la! When we got to the ferry, there was more than a hundred people waiting to cross. There was a festival going on in town. We thought we would have to wait about an hour since everytime that more people arrived, they went to the front of the line. Eventually, faster than we thought anyway, we succeeded in cutting in, we had our backpacks and were taking a lot of space. People are almost fighting to get in the boat so when we tried to get onboard, the boat was moving non-stop. I untied my bag from my hips because i was sure to end up in the water!
We spent the first night in downtown Hampi it sounded like. We had a room with 2 windows opening up on 2 different alleys. People went to bed very late and they seemed to have a competition on the noise they could make. I used my iPod for the first time in India.
We decided to change room to get closer to the climbing spot. We had to cross the river with a ferry which is more of a small boat able to sit maybe 20 people. It's a paradise for climbers so we drop our bags and rented a crashpad and hop we go. We met up with 2 american girls (Rob was happy). OUCH! My muscles, well i thought i had muscles... I am so weak at the end of the day...my arms feel heavy, my hands have cramps and my skin is scratched and its burning. I needed some rest really bad and miracle! It was raining the next morning. We ended up climbing only few hours which was enough. We spent the next day touring temples. Hampi has great landscapes with boulders everywhere and the temples were actually interesting to visit. Even after that rest day, we are not fit to climb again so we decide to leave for Badami, that would give one more day to my skin to get better! Oh la la! When we got to the ferry, there was more than a hundred people waiting to cross. There was a festival going on in town. We thought we would have to wait about an hour since everytime that more people arrived, they went to the front of the line. Eventually, faster than we thought anyway, we succeeded in cutting in, we had our backpacks and were taking a lot of space. People are almost fighting to get in the boat so when we tried to get onboard, the boat was moving non-stop. I untied my bag from my hips because i was sure to end up in the water!
Saturday, January 16, 2010
Indians offended
When i packed my bag, I chose to bring very few clothes and i used 2 main criterias for the selection. 1st- Clothes that i didn’t want to take back home, 2nd- Clothes that were not too revealing.
I had bought new pants/shorts, you know the ones you can unzip the legs and take them off to make shorts... Well, i took off the bottom parts one day in Mumbai! A little short those shorts. Before that moment, the pedestrians looked at my feet, that day, they were looking up my legs. I felt really naked and haven’t taken off the bottom parts since then.
I had bought new pants/shorts, you know the ones you can unzip the legs and take them off to make shorts... Well, i took off the bottom parts one day in Mumbai! A little short those shorts. Before that moment, the pedestrians looked at my feet, that day, they were looking up my legs. I felt really naked and haven’t taken off the bottom parts since then.
Beggers
A little boy holds his sister in his arms and he asks for money first, then for food, finally he wants a balloon that i just bought while practicing my bargaining skills. I found the idea pretty good since he might spend some time playing with that instead of begging. We went back the same way maybe 20 minutes later and the balloon was on the sidewalk, the little boy still begging. Maybe he wasn’t able to blow it...it was a big balloon!
Efficient shopping
On the way to the airport, a boy came running to the car window with books he wants to sell. We negotiated for one and then for 2. We gave him our price and he wiggles his head so we thought we reached a deal. We took money out of our pockets just as the red light is about to change and gave it to the boy. He then kept close to the taxi screeming and arms in the air so maybe that our price was not his!
Mumbai
Also known under the name of Bombay
Population of 16,4M of which 60% are living in the slums
Day 1- Out of our element but so amazing at the same time
After 14 hours flying and 16 hours spent in airport, I found myself under the sunny sky of Mumbai. It is noon and it is 25 degrees. My friend Rob is there which is really reassuring. It turns out to be easy to get a taxi and find the hotel. No need to negociate since it was a prepaid taxi. We will learn later on that it is best to negociate! Rob had booked a 3 * hotel so we started the trip in luxury and confort, air conditionning, hot water, doorman... We dropped our bags, took a ahower, ooofff needed with a change of underwear even more important... and we went on our first exploration tour of the area close to the hotel. 1- It's dirty with garbage everywhere, 2- It smells like urine and goats but some good smells of food altenate with the bad smells. Add to that the smell of incent and you're set for a bit of an olfactory surcharge. 3- We need to be very careful to where we put our feet. Holes, kids that grab our arms, people sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk. 4- Lots of men saying ''hello'', ''Which country'', ''Your name''. They want their picture taken.
Seems we are not in a highly touristic area, we take the risk to eat in a local restaurant. Huummmm!! Indian food! Chana Masala for me please...no cramps afterwards! We then walk to the Chowpatty beach where families and couples eat and enjoy some fresh air. No swimming since the water there is supposed to be toxic! They have some rides that are running with arms power but the kids scream even if it is not fast at all. We have food on the beach and after Masala dosa, no cramps!
Day 2- Exhausting day in Colaba
Old buildings are photographed even if we don't always know which ones are which. We end up at the Sassoon Dock and the experience is interesting. It doesn;t look like they are visited that often because people are watching closely where we go and what we look at. It smells like fish a lot! It is amazing how they do to cramp so many boats in a tiny port and especially be able to take them to sea without too much damage. There's also the question of when do these guys sleeps? They come back from the sea early morning and they are still repairing nets and cables in the afternoon. We had to get the India's Gate where the atmosphere is extraordinaire. We eat a papaya looking at other tourists, mostly Indians. Peolple again take our picture, we feel like Stars. The way back to the hotel is long, street food again, no cramps!
Day 3- Rich area of Mumbai
Getting up is hard! My legs are hurting from all the walk of the last days, i have blisters... We get to Malamba Hill where the tallest appartment buildings do not fit at all with the simpliest houses. Real smiles though all the way there and back with nice temples hidden away. We were impressed by the biggest washing area of Mumbai, Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat and la mosquee Haji Ali which is reachable only during low tide. After that day, my legs are done. I wore my running shoes to make it easier on the blisters. I am getting old... or i should do more exercise. Watchout when I come back though!! I will need to keep it up.
Day 4- Elephanta Island
The experience started with the train experience. It is not rush hour so the experience isn’t one after all. Nothing to do with the number of people that we were expecting. It is difficult to imagine that in a city that looks so poor from the outside, that the train routes are monitored with an hitech GPS system and that the railways are taken care of by robots. We left Mumbai Central station and stopped at Churchgate station where i was hoping to see Dabba-Wallahs. They deliver about 200 000 lunch boxes a day everywhere around Mumbai. They first pick them up at the door and are able to reach work places without that making that many mistakes, 1 in 6M deliveries!
9 km from the coast, Elephanta island is reached after 1 hour boat trip during which we can finally get some rest from all the walking around Mumbai. The island should be called the Monkey island really. They are everywhere and they keep fighting and keep trying to get at my bottle of orange pop! After too many stairs to be climbed when it’s this humid, we arrive at the first cave. There are 5 but only the first one is of some interest. It has many temples carved into the rock dedicated to various Gods. Work of art!
That night, first bad Indian food experience. Maybe we chose a restaurant in an area a bit too touristy. I never thought that bad indian food existed and certainely not in India.
I haven’t shop and will leave Mumbai with only Ballons which were more a test of bargaining that a real need. My friend Sophie could not do the same and that’s a fact.
9 km de la côte, on doit embarquer pour une heure de traversée qui enfin nous donne un peu de repos. L'île devrait s'appeler l'île des singes puisqu'il y en a partout. Ils se chamaillent et veulent ma bouteille de Fanta à l'orange. Après une série de marches interminable avec cette humidité, nous arrivons à la grotte 1. Il y en a 5 mais seulement la première est d'intéret réel. Il y a plusieurs temples faconnés dans la roche de la montagne qui sont dédiés à plusieurs Dieux. Impressionnant!
Ce soir là, première mauvaise expérience de resto. Un quartier un peu trop touristique peut-être...on peut manger de la mauvaise bouffe indienne même en Inde!
Sophie, je quitterai Mumbai pour la province de Goa sans avoir fait d'achat. Pourtant plus de variété qu'au Maroc et je crois bien que nous pourrions sortir nos talents de négociatrices! Tu vois que c'est toi qui me fait dépenser!!!
Day 5- We are going South
Our first idea was to take the train to get to Madgeon in the province of Goa. The waiting list was of over 300 names so we decided to catch a flight. More expensive but so much time saved without talking about the energy level. Time is money!
The most complicated thing was to find our guesthouse tucked behind other stores and this even knowing the address. We had some scary moments in the taxi getting there since we circulated on a two ways road that i would have compared to a bicycle patch at home.
We decided to start with Anjuna as a starting point. It is supposed to be a party place but we decide to just relax and get prepared for the rest of the trip.
Population of 16,4M of which 60% are living in the slums
Day 1- Out of our element but so amazing at the same time
After 14 hours flying and 16 hours spent in airport, I found myself under the sunny sky of Mumbai. It is noon and it is 25 degrees. My friend Rob is there which is really reassuring. It turns out to be easy to get a taxi and find the hotel. No need to negociate since it was a prepaid taxi. We will learn later on that it is best to negociate! Rob had booked a 3 * hotel so we started the trip in luxury and confort, air conditionning, hot water, doorman... We dropped our bags, took a ahower, ooofff needed with a change of underwear even more important... and we went on our first exploration tour of the area close to the hotel. 1- It's dirty with garbage everywhere, 2- It smells like urine and goats but some good smells of food altenate with the bad smells. Add to that the smell of incent and you're set for a bit of an olfactory surcharge. 3- We need to be very careful to where we put our feet. Holes, kids that grab our arms, people sleeping in the middle of the sidewalk. 4- Lots of men saying ''hello'', ''Which country'', ''Your name''. They want their picture taken.
Seems we are not in a highly touristic area, we take the risk to eat in a local restaurant. Huummmm!! Indian food! Chana Masala for me please...no cramps afterwards! We then walk to the Chowpatty beach where families and couples eat and enjoy some fresh air. No swimming since the water there is supposed to be toxic! They have some rides that are running with arms power but the kids scream even if it is not fast at all. We have food on the beach and after Masala dosa, no cramps!
Day 2- Exhausting day in Colaba
Old buildings are photographed even if we don't always know which ones are which. We end up at the Sassoon Dock and the experience is interesting. It doesn;t look like they are visited that often because people are watching closely where we go and what we look at. It smells like fish a lot! It is amazing how they do to cramp so many boats in a tiny port and especially be able to take them to sea without too much damage. There's also the question of when do these guys sleeps? They come back from the sea early morning and they are still repairing nets and cables in the afternoon. We had to get the India's Gate where the atmosphere is extraordinaire. We eat a papaya looking at other tourists, mostly Indians. Peolple again take our picture, we feel like Stars. The way back to the hotel is long, street food again, no cramps!
Day 3- Rich area of Mumbai
Getting up is hard! My legs are hurting from all the walk of the last days, i have blisters... We get to Malamba Hill where the tallest appartment buildings do not fit at all with the simpliest houses. Real smiles though all the way there and back with nice temples hidden away. We were impressed by the biggest washing area of Mumbai, Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat and la mosquee Haji Ali which is reachable only during low tide. After that day, my legs are done. I wore my running shoes to make it easier on the blisters. I am getting old... or i should do more exercise. Watchout when I come back though!! I will need to keep it up.
Day 4- Elephanta Island
The experience started with the train experience. It is not rush hour so the experience isn’t one after all. Nothing to do with the number of people that we were expecting. It is difficult to imagine that in a city that looks so poor from the outside, that the train routes are monitored with an hitech GPS system and that the railways are taken care of by robots. We left Mumbai Central station and stopped at Churchgate station where i was hoping to see Dabba-Wallahs. They deliver about 200 000 lunch boxes a day everywhere around Mumbai. They first pick them up at the door and are able to reach work places without that making that many mistakes, 1 in 6M deliveries!
9 km from the coast, Elephanta island is reached after 1 hour boat trip during which we can finally get some rest from all the walking around Mumbai. The island should be called the Monkey island really. They are everywhere and they keep fighting and keep trying to get at my bottle of orange pop! After too many stairs to be climbed when it’s this humid, we arrive at the first cave. There are 5 but only the first one is of some interest. It has many temples carved into the rock dedicated to various Gods. Work of art!
That night, first bad Indian food experience. Maybe we chose a restaurant in an area a bit too touristy. I never thought that bad indian food existed and certainely not in India.
I haven’t shop and will leave Mumbai with only Ballons which were more a test of bargaining that a real need. My friend Sophie could not do the same and that’s a fact.
9 km de la côte, on doit embarquer pour une heure de traversée qui enfin nous donne un peu de repos. L'île devrait s'appeler l'île des singes puisqu'il y en a partout. Ils se chamaillent et veulent ma bouteille de Fanta à l'orange. Après une série de marches interminable avec cette humidité, nous arrivons à la grotte 1. Il y en a 5 mais seulement la première est d'intéret réel. Il y a plusieurs temples faconnés dans la roche de la montagne qui sont dédiés à plusieurs Dieux. Impressionnant!
Ce soir là, première mauvaise expérience de resto. Un quartier un peu trop touristique peut-être...on peut manger de la mauvaise bouffe indienne même en Inde!
Sophie, je quitterai Mumbai pour la province de Goa sans avoir fait d'achat. Pourtant plus de variété qu'au Maroc et je crois bien que nous pourrions sortir nos talents de négociatrices! Tu vois que c'est toi qui me fait dépenser!!!
Day 5- We are going South
Our first idea was to take the train to get to Madgeon in the province of Goa. The waiting list was of over 300 names so we decided to catch a flight. More expensive but so much time saved without talking about the energy level. Time is money!
The most complicated thing was to find our guesthouse tucked behind other stores and this even knowing the address. We had some scary moments in the taxi getting there since we circulated on a two ways road that i would have compared to a bicycle patch at home.
We decided to start with Anjuna as a starting point. It is supposed to be a party place but we decide to just relax and get prepared for the rest of the trip.
Wednesday, January 13, 2010
Anjuna / Palolem
Anjuna, finally a beach where we can get into the water without being scared of diseases. It was quite needed with this heat that I find difficult to adapt to. The hotel is 10 minutes away from the beach. It could be much closer but it has been made sothat wehave to go through a little bit of shops with vendors wanting us to stop so bad. It gets annoying quickly since they do it in way that is a little rude. We sleep in a guesthouse recommended by Hostels World but euhhh... It's maybe that i haven't travelled enough...but i think the room is way too expensive to sleep on a matress as hard as wood! The night is short!
The plan for the first day was to visit the Fort in Chapora but... life being life, we are stopped on the side of the road by a guy on a scooter who gives us cards to scratch. He says that everyone is a winner. Yey right! Well it was true. Rob won a bottle of wine and i won 1 week accomodation in one of the resort he was promotting. The only thing we had to do is go to the resort and visit the place! They even paid for the taxi to get there and back. I will have to claim my price within a year and will have to reserve it 2 months in advance. It's seems like a good reason to come back next year!!
We still visited the Fort where the view on Vagatore and Arambole's beaches is amazing. Since the atmosphere there was not what we were expecting, we decided to go a little further down south on Palolem beach. Wow and rewow! We are somewhere else that is not India, anyway not the India that we see in documentaries. More tourists it seems than people from there but still quiet. We rented a hut directly on the beach. We spent 5 days without the need of wearing shoes. We were on the beach for most of our time there, went on a dolphins excursion, drank pinapple and mango shakes and went to silent discos. The music needs to be turn down after 23h so the bars rent headphones on which you can choose from 3 different channels\DJs. It's weird since you can have a very normal conversation once you take the headphones down and you can hear people singing the words of the songs playing. On top of that, nobody has the same rythm and it gets very entertaining to watch! Palolem is also the place where my intestines started working again but they seem to do some overtime for a whole night. Well the hut was close buy and we didn't feel like eating too much since it was so hot. Only good souvenirs remaining! After 5 days of sun, too much for me, we decided that the next destination was to be Hampi to move a little more. A bit of climbing is on the schedule and temples hopping.
The plan for the first day was to visit the Fort in Chapora but... life being life, we are stopped on the side of the road by a guy on a scooter who gives us cards to scratch. He says that everyone is a winner. Yey right! Well it was true. Rob won a bottle of wine and i won 1 week accomodation in one of the resort he was promotting. The only thing we had to do is go to the resort and visit the place! They even paid for the taxi to get there and back. I will have to claim my price within a year and will have to reserve it 2 months in advance. It's seems like a good reason to come back next year!!
We still visited the Fort where the view on Vagatore and Arambole's beaches is amazing. Since the atmosphere there was not what we were expecting, we decided to go a little further down south on Palolem beach. Wow and rewow! We are somewhere else that is not India, anyway not the India that we see in documentaries. More tourists it seems than people from there but still quiet. We rented a hut directly on the beach. We spent 5 days without the need of wearing shoes. We were on the beach for most of our time there, went on a dolphins excursion, drank pinapple and mango shakes and went to silent discos. The music needs to be turn down after 23h so the bars rent headphones on which you can choose from 3 different channels\DJs. It's weird since you can have a very normal conversation once you take the headphones down and you can hear people singing the words of the songs playing. On top of that, nobody has the same rythm and it gets very entertaining to watch! Palolem is also the place where my intestines started working again but they seem to do some overtime for a whole night. Well the hut was close buy and we didn't feel like eating too much since it was so hot. Only good souvenirs remaining! After 5 days of sun, too much for me, we decided that the next destination was to be Hampi to move a little more. A bit of climbing is on the schedule and temples hopping.
Sunday, January 3, 2010
6 months backpacking
Hey! It`s been about a week now that i am travelling in India. I love it so far!! Let me explain a bit how everything together so well that i decided to take a leave of absence.
Last summer i obtained my permanence after 5 years of teaching. With that status, things seemed much easier. My friend Rob had talked about spending a year travelling starting in July 2009. Very interesting i thought and it made me start to think about the possibility to join him sometimes in January. Just what i needed actually...tall guy to protect me, he travelled a lot before so will be able to help me out a bit in the planning of things. On top of that, we`ve lived together before for 1 year and a half ans so, i think that travelling together, spending lotsssss of time together will be possible. I am still young enough to do something of the sort, no kids or boyfriend so here i am.
I flew into Mubai on December 30th where my friend Rob was waiting for me coming from Egypt. We explored a bit this huge city with just too many things to see in the amount of time we had planned there. We stayed 4 days and had to limit our exploration. We left for the province of Goa where we are now. You can read the other stories that will be coming up soon to actually follow me on the trip. There will be a journal version, more the day to day of what is happening but i will also try to write down stories of what stikes us to be different from home. So Welcome!
Last summer i obtained my permanence after 5 years of teaching. With that status, things seemed much easier. My friend Rob had talked about spending a year travelling starting in July 2009. Very interesting i thought and it made me start to think about the possibility to join him sometimes in January. Just what i needed actually...tall guy to protect me, he travelled a lot before so will be able to help me out a bit in the planning of things. On top of that, we`ve lived together before for 1 year and a half ans so, i think that travelling together, spending lotsssss of time together will be possible. I am still young enough to do something of the sort, no kids or boyfriend so here i am.
I flew into Mubai on December 30th where my friend Rob was waiting for me coming from Egypt. We explored a bit this huge city with just too many things to see in the amount of time we had planned there. We stayed 4 days and had to limit our exploration. We left for the province of Goa where we are now. You can read the other stories that will be coming up soon to actually follow me on the trip. There will be a journal version, more the day to day of what is happening but i will also try to write down stories of what stikes us to be different from home. So Welcome!
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