aloha! or however they say hello in bali - i just got here so i'm still learning!
i wrapped up my last week in india at a 5-day silent meditation retreat in the himalaya mountains. it was the 4th time i've been to this place and this retreat was easier than the 10-day retreats i've done, but it was lacking in the 1-hour discussion group where you can actually talk at one point in the day, and there was no yoga this time...but a really enriching experience led by a knowledgeable, fun teacher...and i did manage to make some friends [everything is relative, even 'silence' ;]
and i hit the road: overnight bus from dharamsala in the himalaya mountains where i became a truly seasoned traveler by wretching out the bus window - not even a drop got in the bus - no applause, please! followed by 1 full day in delhi. and don't get me wrong, i love the magic that india has to offer in all of her obscure and difficult ways, but delhi is a different beast. it's dusty, hot, and unforgiving in so many ways. so i took a cab to the airport with a few folks from the overnight bus, and we played cards in the a/c for about 7 hours before my overnight flight to bali.
i was tired when i got here. i think i slept for 11 hours last night, whew! my cousin amy has a super sweet little house with lots of wooden carvings, and even a washing machine. and the sheer joy of unpacking my bag for 2 weeks, good heavens it's better than ice cream!
today amy's working so i'm on a bike adventure to the beach. i'm sitting at a big warehouse-type building which is a grocery store in front, furniture store in back, and "computer lab" upstairs. these little balinese boys are playing a game with a mop handle (i love their creativity and quick smiles) and there's a lame dog hobbling around up here as well. bali's pretty sweet: as you can see it's go some character, but generally paradisical (a real word i do not know?)...friendly happy people, orchids growing naturally kind of a place.
will have stories of snorkeling and yoga to come, mehopes!
Friday, April 15, 2011
Saturday, April 2, 2011
Final Thoughts on an Incredible Adventure
Final Thoughts on an Incredible Adventure
I began writing this on the train from Thrissur to Mumbai on Thursday and will finish it today, Sunday, April 3. This will be my last email of the trip as I fly home early tomorrow morning. I've tried to summarize my journey with some final thoughts.
The sun has just set on our northbound journey to Mumbai. The villages hidden among palm and banana trees are beginning to disappear. Some homes still have a faint glow in this period of civil twilight. My journey is also beginning to fade into twilight. Only a couple of days left and Mother India will reside in my memory as does Nepal and Tibet. What I have seen in the past three years and how each of these trips have changed me in so many ways.
I called her Mother India because everyone else did. But having spent the past almost six weeks of my life in her arms I now know why. From the moment you arrive she takes you by the hand and sometimes she takes you by the throat. Mostly she's held my hand very gently. She is a most beautiful country, a most beautiful and colorful culture, and above all she is a most beautiful people. She is the most populated city in India, Mumbai. Full of trucks, cars, motorcycles, and rickshaws all seemingly blowing their horns at the same time. She is the trash piled on the side of the railway tracks and littering every street in India. She is the bicycles transporting everything from twenty foot sections of rebar to a chai walla delivering chai to four 25 pound bags of ice (they don't ride the bicycles they use them as a transport vehicle). She is the beaches and colorful fishing boats of Varkala and Kovalum. She is the beautifully decorated elephants at the festivals. She is the Hindus and the Muslims and the Christians that all live in here. She is the large beautiful Hindu temples and the small but still beautiful roadside shrine. She is the Muslim mosque. She is the Catholic church. She is the colorful markings on one's forehead showing they've worshipped at the temple. She is the cows, goats, dogs, cats, and rats that walk the streets as if they owned them. She is the man on the sidewalk that will re-stitch your soccer ball. She is the cobbler on the sidewalk that will repair your shoe while holding it with his feet as he works on it with his hands. She is the man on the street who will repair your umbrella instead of just throwing it away. She is the boys playing cricket and soccer on the same dirt field in their bare feet (shoes are used as the wickets in cricket and goal markers in soccer). She is the men of India who work every back-breaking task in sandals or flip-flops and still carry most everything heavy on their heads. She is the women of India who work every back breaking task in a beautiful sari. And She is hot, She is one very hot lady.
Before this trip I never had much contact with the Indian culture. I guess the first Indian I knew was my teacher for Introduction to Digital Circuits in the late 70's. Akshay Jain, I still remember his name, and he was a really nice person and a good teacher. I've never gone to many Indian restaurants because I thought all the food was made with curry.
Having spent a bit of time in India and travelled to numerous cities, towns, and villages, stayed at all sorts of hotels, guest houses, and house boats, travelled by air, train, taxi, rickshaw, motorcycle, by just plain walking, I've discovered this: The Indian people are the most genuinely happy and friendly people I've ever met. The smiles and accompanying head wobbles from side to side are genuine, the wanting you to take their photo followed by it's viewing and the subsequent smile and head wobble are genuine. They will go out of their way to help you. Even when they tell you to turn right while they point to the left, they are genuinely trying to help. They say that a foreigner in their country is their God; this saying is really genuine. I can't say enough to describe how genuinely kind the Indian people have been to me.
How my perception of Indian food has changed. I've enjoyed every meal I've eaten here in India. My food experience in Dharamsala last July provided me much concern before I arrived. It didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't going to get sick from everything I ate. Truth is, after six weeks I only had one day where my stomach felt a bit funny. It was probably from the grease of lamb dish I ate at a restaurant in Mysore. Most of the food I've eaten has been vegetarian. Lots of lentils, potatoes, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, and a lot of other vegetables I never heard of before. The Indians cook everything with such a variety of spices. You would taste ginger in one bite, cilantro in another, the flavors of cumin, turmeric, curry leaves, and green chilis would explode in your mouth. Sometimes all in a single dish. I brought a 96 pack of tums with me. Two weeks into the trip I poured half of them out. I've taken maybe three or four the entire trip. There's a lot more to Indian food than curry. One more note on food, the best meal I had here was at the Trattoria Restaurant in Varkala. It was a filet of fresh butterfish cooked in spices and wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in a clay oven. I actually ordered it twice.
Mother India loves the game of cricket. India has been hosting the matches for The World Cricket Cup since I arrived. I've watched enough matches to have developed a pretty good understanding of the game. The sign of a true sportsman. As you know from yesterday's email, India won.
Heather planned our trips to Southern India for a reason. The people and the food. She couldn't have made a better choice for a first timer to India. So I would say go to Kerala and get your feet wet there. If I had to pick a favorite location from my experience it would certainly be the backwaters. Heather put it best before our first visit there, when she said, "the backwaters are idyllic". I spent a total of six nights there. The beauty of the canals lined with palm and banana trees, hibiscus flowers, plumerias, jack fruit trees, and the occasional iridescent blue kingfisher diving in the water for it's meal was, well...idyllic. The everyday life of the backwater inhabitants was life standing still. People bathe at the water's edge. Men bathe with a light towel around their waist, women bathe fully clothed, and kids bathe in their birthday suits. They wash their clothes by soaping them and then rolling them on a flat stone. They rinse them in the water and then slap them hard on the flat stone for the final rinse. The slapping down of a shirt or pant on that a flat stone echoed throughout the canals. They wash their dishes, metal plates and cups in the canals as well. Kids have few toys if any. They just entertain themselves with what they have which is the nature around them. Materially they don't have much but they're all very happy, and they're rich, very rich.
I'd like to say to my traveling companion of the last six weeks how much I've enjoyed my time with this recovering gypsy. Heather has been an absolute pleasure to travel with. It would not have been the same experience without her at my side. I will forever treasure these six weeks with her. She did a marvelous job of planning and coordinating our activities, many times by the seat of her beautiful Ali Baba pants. She has always been the consistently beautiful and wonderful Heather we all know. Even when Mother India would grab her gently yet firmly by the hand and re-arranged her intention, she would just wobble her head from side to side and smile. She is a beautiful soul. Safe travels and come home soon as all your yogi friends in San Diego who miss you dearly. Thank you so much and my love to you always Miss Mev.
To Heather's Father and Mother, you did an outstanding job raising your daughter. She talked fondly of the both of you throughout the trip.
Thanks to all of you on my undisclosed recipients list for taking your time to read my, at times, lengthy emails. It has been a pleasure to share my experiences with you.
See you all soon.
Happy Trails and Safe Travels - Mike
PS. And lastly, thank you Mother India for adding so much more to my life.
I began writing this on the train from Thrissur to Mumbai on Thursday and will finish it today, Sunday, April 3. This will be my last email of the trip as I fly home early tomorrow morning. I've tried to summarize my journey with some final thoughts.
The sun has just set on our northbound journey to Mumbai. The villages hidden among palm and banana trees are beginning to disappear. Some homes still have a faint glow in this period of civil twilight. My journey is also beginning to fade into twilight. Only a couple of days left and Mother India will reside in my memory as does Nepal and Tibet. What I have seen in the past three years and how each of these trips have changed me in so many ways.
I called her Mother India because everyone else did. But having spent the past almost six weeks of my life in her arms I now know why. From the moment you arrive she takes you by the hand and sometimes she takes you by the throat. Mostly she's held my hand very gently. She is a most beautiful country, a most beautiful and colorful culture, and above all she is a most beautiful people. She is the most populated city in India, Mumbai. Full of trucks, cars, motorcycles, and rickshaws all seemingly blowing their horns at the same time. She is the trash piled on the side of the railway tracks and littering every street in India. She is the bicycles transporting everything from twenty foot sections of rebar to a chai walla delivering chai to four 25 pound bags of ice (they don't ride the bicycles they use them as a transport vehicle). She is the beaches and colorful fishing boats of Varkala and Kovalum. She is the beautifully decorated elephants at the festivals. She is the Hindus and the Muslims and the Christians that all live in here. She is the large beautiful Hindu temples and the small but still beautiful roadside shrine. She is the Muslim mosque. She is the Catholic church. She is the colorful markings on one's forehead showing they've worshipped at the temple. She is the cows, goats, dogs, cats, and rats that walk the streets as if they owned them. She is the man on the sidewalk that will re-stitch your soccer ball. She is the cobbler on the sidewalk that will repair your shoe while holding it with his feet as he works on it with his hands. She is the man on the street who will repair your umbrella instead of just throwing it away. She is the boys playing cricket and soccer on the same dirt field in their bare feet (shoes are used as the wickets in cricket and goal markers in soccer). She is the men of India who work every back-breaking task in sandals or flip-flops and still carry most everything heavy on their heads. She is the women of India who work every back breaking task in a beautiful sari. And She is hot, She is one very hot lady.
Before this trip I never had much contact with the Indian culture. I guess the first Indian I knew was my teacher for Introduction to Digital Circuits in the late 70's. Akshay Jain, I still remember his name, and he was a really nice person and a good teacher. I've never gone to many Indian restaurants because I thought all the food was made with curry.
Having spent a bit of time in India and travelled to numerous cities, towns, and villages, stayed at all sorts of hotels, guest houses, and house boats, travelled by air, train, taxi, rickshaw, motorcycle, by just plain walking, I've discovered this: The Indian people are the most genuinely happy and friendly people I've ever met. The smiles and accompanying head wobbles from side to side are genuine, the wanting you to take their photo followed by it's viewing and the subsequent smile and head wobble are genuine. They will go out of their way to help you. Even when they tell you to turn right while they point to the left, they are genuinely trying to help. They say that a foreigner in their country is their God; this saying is really genuine. I can't say enough to describe how genuinely kind the Indian people have been to me.
How my perception of Indian food has changed. I've enjoyed every meal I've eaten here in India. My food experience in Dharamsala last July provided me much concern before I arrived. It didn't take long for me to realize that I wasn't going to get sick from everything I ate. Truth is, after six weeks I only had one day where my stomach felt a bit funny. It was probably from the grease of lamb dish I ate at a restaurant in Mysore. Most of the food I've eaten has been vegetarian. Lots of lentils, potatoes, carrots, green beans, cauliflower, and a lot of other vegetables I never heard of before. The Indians cook everything with such a variety of spices. You would taste ginger in one bite, cilantro in another, the flavors of cumin, turmeric, curry leaves, and green chilis would explode in your mouth. Sometimes all in a single dish. I brought a 96 pack of tums with me. Two weeks into the trip I poured half of them out. I've taken maybe three or four the entire trip. There's a lot more to Indian food than curry. One more note on food, the best meal I had here was at the Trattoria Restaurant in Varkala. It was a filet of fresh butterfish cooked in spices and wrapped in a banana leaf and baked in a clay oven. I actually ordered it twice.
Mother India loves the game of cricket. India has been hosting the matches for The World Cricket Cup since I arrived. I've watched enough matches to have developed a pretty good understanding of the game. The sign of a true sportsman. As you know from yesterday's email, India won.
Heather planned our trips to Southern India for a reason. The people and the food. She couldn't have made a better choice for a first timer to India. So I would say go to Kerala and get your feet wet there. If I had to pick a favorite location from my experience it would certainly be the backwaters. Heather put it best before our first visit there, when she said, "the backwaters are idyllic". I spent a total of six nights there. The beauty of the canals lined with palm and banana trees, hibiscus flowers, plumerias, jack fruit trees, and the occasional iridescent blue kingfisher diving in the water for it's meal was, well...idyllic. The everyday life of the backwater inhabitants was life standing still. People bathe at the water's edge. Men bathe with a light towel around their waist, women bathe fully clothed, and kids bathe in their birthday suits. They wash their clothes by soaping them and then rolling them on a flat stone. They rinse them in the water and then slap them hard on the flat stone for the final rinse. The slapping down of a shirt or pant on that a flat stone echoed throughout the canals. They wash their dishes, metal plates and cups in the canals as well. Kids have few toys if any. They just entertain themselves with what they have which is the nature around them. Materially they don't have much but they're all very happy, and they're rich, very rich.
I'd like to say to my traveling companion of the last six weeks how much I've enjoyed my time with this recovering gypsy. Heather has been an absolute pleasure to travel with. It would not have been the same experience without her at my side. I will forever treasure these six weeks with her. She did a marvelous job of planning and coordinating our activities, many times by the seat of her beautiful Ali Baba pants. She has always been the consistently beautiful and wonderful Heather we all know. Even when Mother India would grab her gently yet firmly by the hand and re-arranged her intention, she would just wobble her head from side to side and smile. She is a beautiful soul. Safe travels and come home soon as all your yogi friends in San Diego who miss you dearly. Thank you so much and my love to you always Miss Mev.
To Heather's Father and Mother, you did an outstanding job raising your daughter. She talked fondly of the both of you throughout the trip.
Thanks to all of you on my undisclosed recipients list for taking your time to read my, at times, lengthy emails. It has been a pleasure to share my experiences with you.
See you all soon.
Happy Trails and Safe Travels - Mike
PS. And lastly, thank you Mother India for adding so much more to my life.
Saturday, April 2
Saturday, April 2
We have just been dropped off at our hotel from a brief tour of the dobi wallas area and the of the Dharavi slum. The dobi wallas area is a huge area where laundry from all over Mumbai comes to have it washed by hand by the dobi wallas. These people work hard for 356 days a year washing clothes by hand. Each garment is tagged and sorted by color then washed and then returned to the proper "clothes basket". There were hundreds of these little cubes that are rented out to the dobi wallas.
The tour of the Dharavi slum was for me the least enjoyable part of the trip. Least enjoyable from the point of view that it was like walking through a landfill, a hazardous waste dump, a toxic waste area, and an industrial area all rolled into one. This was the first part of the tour. The slum has actually been turned into a huge money making enterprise by performing the recycling of plastic, aluminum, five gallon paints cans, large metal cooking oil containers, just to name a few. Each of these are performed in separate areas and provide needed work for the residents of the slum. The working conditions by Western standards would be grounds to have each of these operations shut down. Ill lit work areas, poor ventilation, cramped and unsafe working conditions were the norm at each recycling activity we were shown. Because today has been declared a national holiday as the India cricket team made it to the final none of these activities were in operation or were in limited operation. Just as well. Having said all of that the workers at each facility were the typical friendly smiling Indian we've encountered everywhere.
We also visited the residential arena. Many of the people how work in the slum also live in the slum. A typical living space would be ten feet by 20 feet and a family of five or more would live there. The residential area we visited also would not be acceptable by Western standards. They have electricity but do not have bathroom or bathing inside their homes. The home is really a small 10' x 15' area where perhaps a family of five would live. A common water faucet is shared and on for three hours a day. And having said all that the residents seemed happy and well taken care of. The conditions reeked of poverty but the people who live in the slum considered middle class (according to our tour guide). I personally wouldn't consider anyone I saw in the slum today middle class. Because it is so expensive to live in Mumbai no one who lives here is considered poor. I guess things are relative.
I was going to send this out earlier today but I decided to wait until I knew the outcome of the World Cricket Cup Championship. Well this certainly means nothing to everyone who is on my list but India has won and the residents of Mumbai and no doubt the rest of India are going crazy. It's been 28 years since they won the last championship and they are really happy. Once again, Mother India has provided us another magic moment.
yep, that was wild
hey y'all...i know uncle mike (as i've come to call him over the past month or so) has brought you up to date on most of the details of the trip...but speaking of t r i p, i just gotta reiterate that that snake ritual that CA Menon took us to in the middle of nowhere was straight from outer space! i like to think that in the year i've spent in india over my five visits, that i've been around the block and seen a lot. but this took the cake.
it was set in a little local village where the people greeted us shyly and excitedly on their doorsteps - not used to westerners, they stammered their hello's and showed us to the back of the house where there were drums and horns, about 50 candles lit against the night, and people moving in a procession. CA Menon (our man "who helps other people" and didn't want to be called a "guide") had told us that people would be entranced but who knew what to expect? about 30 people moved in a procession moving with a beat, and 3-4 people were pretty easily spotted in their trance...just out of it. one man kind of started growling and pawing at his face and head. one woman grabbed a stick and started smacking people with it...she eventually fell over and smacked her head pretty hard against a stone. the 2 other people were more mellow but definitely...somewhere else. with the drums and the candles and everything, you just can't describe the energy in the place, it was palpable and strong, and very much devotional.
and then after the people came out of their trance they were just walking around like nothing happened. w i l d, i tell you.
we did have a 24-hour train ride, business as usual. mumbai was 110 degrees last week and today it's about 80 - thank you mother india, for that huge blessing! leaving kerala struck my heart a little bit because that's my home away from home away from home, and the people are so sweet and lovely there, as is the land. we only have one more full day left in mumbai. today we visited the largest slum in asia, which was a good educational experience. the thing i notice there is that the people are underprivileged, but man they're happy. so quick to smile so genuinely. makes me wonder what really does make us happy. the guide told us that a lot of people have the means to move out of the slum but choose to stay there because of the community that they're part of.
as i type away, the world cup for cricket is taking place about a mile away from our hotel - india made it to the finals, so the whole country is abuzz. this is of superbowl proportions. india is at bat right now (for the next 3.5 hours) and they've got some catching up to do. i've got my fingers crossed that tomorrow is a very happy india...it's our last full day for the tour and what a way to go out. we'll see what's up mother india's sleeve for this one...may even wander out to the street to have a gander at the scene - little crowds of men craning their necks to look at a little tv in a shop, may just explode with joy in a few hours...fingers crossed, once again!
happy day!
it was set in a little local village where the people greeted us shyly and excitedly on their doorsteps - not used to westerners, they stammered their hello's and showed us to the back of the house where there were drums and horns, about 50 candles lit against the night, and people moving in a procession. CA Menon (our man "who helps other people" and didn't want to be called a "guide") had told us that people would be entranced but who knew what to expect? about 30 people moved in a procession moving with a beat, and 3-4 people were pretty easily spotted in their trance...just out of it. one man kind of started growling and pawing at his face and head. one woman grabbed a stick and started smacking people with it...she eventually fell over and smacked her head pretty hard against a stone. the 2 other people were more mellow but definitely...somewhere else. with the drums and the candles and everything, you just can't describe the energy in the place, it was palpable and strong, and very much devotional.
and then after the people came out of their trance they were just walking around like nothing happened. w i l d, i tell you.
we did have a 24-hour train ride, business as usual. mumbai was 110 degrees last week and today it's about 80 - thank you mother india, for that huge blessing! leaving kerala struck my heart a little bit because that's my home away from home away from home, and the people are so sweet and lovely there, as is the land. we only have one more full day left in mumbai. today we visited the largest slum in asia, which was a good educational experience. the thing i notice there is that the people are underprivileged, but man they're happy. so quick to smile so genuinely. makes me wonder what really does make us happy. the guide told us that a lot of people have the means to move out of the slum but choose to stay there because of the community that they're part of.
as i type away, the world cup for cricket is taking place about a mile away from our hotel - india made it to the finals, so the whole country is abuzz. this is of superbowl proportions. india is at bat right now (for the next 3.5 hours) and they've got some catching up to do. i've got my fingers crossed that tomorrow is a very happy india...it's our last full day for the tour and what a way to go out. we'll see what's up mother india's sleeve for this one...may even wander out to the street to have a gander at the scene - little crowds of men craning their necks to look at a little tv in a shop, may just explode with joy in a few hours...fingers crossed, once again!
happy day!
Friday, April 1, 2011
Thursday, March 31
Thursday, March 31
We have departed Thrissur to Mumbai by way of a 22 1/2 hour overnight train ride. We are currently on board and into hour number one. We are in an air conditioned sleeper car and will not get kicked out because our names were posted on a dot matrix printer list at the entry door. We have five sleeper bunks, numbers 10, 11, 13, 14, and 15. They've already passed out our two sheets, blanket, and pillow. I've already put on my PJ bottoms so I'm set. I told Heather that I have actually looked forward to this train ride even before I left for the trip. Let's see how I feel in 21 1/2 hours.
The time leading up to bed was pretty much just sitting talking, the girls reading tarot cards, I was plugged in to my iPod and generally eating non-stop. Heather and I went to a local market and picked up bananas, oranges, almonds, pistachios, mangoes, and an assortment of biscuits and sweets so we had plenty to eat.
Well we've made it through the overnight part of the train ride. We were awoken by "chai chaiee, chai chaiee" followed by "coffee coffee coffee". It's around 7am and Shauna and I are up, Heather, Genny, and Yurie are still sleeping. I feel like I was awake off and on all night but feel rested and alert. The rocking and swaying of the train at times felt like someone was pushing me trying to wake me up. The second coffee walla passed by and I ordered two cups. The coffee and chai are served in small paper cups and is served very hot. Both come pre-mixed with milk and sugar (lots of sugar). Delicious.
Breakfast has just been delivered. I'm having a bread omelet which as it sounds is an omelet between two slices of plain white bread. I also ordered a masala dosa which consists of a filling of potatoes and spices wrapped in a round tortilla-like bread, kind of like a burrito.
I guess I should say something about the toilets on the train. There are two for each train car. There is a squat over type which have pedestals shaped like shoe soles so you position yourself correctly for the eight inch hole that empties directly onto the train tracks below. And there is also a Western style that also empties directly on the tracks below. They didn't smell like roses but they served us well.
Our cabin was swept and mopped once, swept again, and the trash was collected twice. The toilets were cleaned at least twice. Overall the overnight train ride was actually very enjoyable. Clean conditions, good food, plenty of chai and coffee, and once the lights went out the railway car we were in was pretty quiet. I have no complaints.
We're back in Mumbai at the Welcome Hotel. I hear it is close to where the final between India and Sri Lanka will be held for the World Cricket Cup starting tomorrow at 2:30 pm. It's like the Super Bowl, but 1 billion Indians will be watching this event. We're going to be picked up at 8 am for our visit to the Dharavi slum. My guess is that traffic here tomorrow will be a nightmare. I'll let you know. Also I have wifi in my room so there will not be a repeat of earlier this week of going to an internet and be told they have wifi only to show the next and be told they don't have wifi. Oh that Mother India.
Tuesday, March 29
Tuesday, March 29
We departed Cochin for Thrissur this morning. Heather had set the intention to visit a local village prior to arriving the Ernakulum train station. She was to coordinate this visit with a couple of rickshaw drivers. Before leaving Oy's La home stay I knew this could be problematic as the rickshaw drivers English isn't always the best, but certainly better than my Malayalam or Hindi. We set out with loaded backpacks into the morning sun and heat. We quickly flagged down two rickshaw drivers. The dialog began to explain to these two gentlemen that we wanted to go to a local village where there would be no Westerners and we were not interested in doing any shopping. We were looking for a similar experience as the one we had at Varkala. So understandings agreed upon off we went. The first stop was at a local shop probably belonging to this drivers cousin. We said no shopping needed and off we went again. This was my fourth visit to Cochin so I had travelled the local roads a few times, so when he made the left turn towards a bridge I knew we were headed in the direction of train station. We pulled off to the side of the road for one more attempt to explain what we were in search of. I think at this point they understood us but at this point we decided to just head to the train station.
The train ride from Ernakulum to Thrissur was the smoothest yet. We found seating together and the train got us Thrissur on time.
For the past month, Heather had been coordinating activities for our return visit to Thrissur with a Mr. C. A. Menon. C.A. was born in Indonesia but moved to India when he was five. He arrived while we were at lunch and said we must depart immediately as he had a number of activities planned. Little did we know but this evening would turn out to be the absolute best experience yet.
A very comfortable air conditioned seven passenger van provided our transportation needs for the evening. A brief stop to his house so he could pick up medication for a small stroke he had on the 18th of March. He said he had some difficulty in talking but otherwise he was fine. His English was excellent but we did have trouble with has accent at times. Off we went to a festival with three elephants.
We arrived just minutes before the musical entourage and the elephants. I have a twenty minute video of the event. It is simply amazing. There were thirty or so musicians walking just ahead of the elephants. We could hear the drums counting cadence in the distance as the procession advanced towards us. What a spectacle as the turned the corner. Thirty bare chested Indian men all with while lungi's wrapped around them carrying various types of drums, tablas, cymbals, and curved trumpets being followed by three huge Indian elephants. Each elephant had their foreheads all beautifully decorated and each elephant carried three men. One commanded the elephant, one held these white round feather-looking yak-hair decorations in each hand and the last held a staff with a large parasol on top. The entire procession stopped directly in front of us and proceeded to play some deafening but powerfully beautiful music. Drums and tablas pounding, trumpets blaring, cymbals clanging all in perfect rhythm. At various times during the music the men on the elephants would stand up and perform with the white round feathery decorations. It was again simply amazing. With a prompt from C.A. off we went.
The next stop was to the second richest temple in India. It is a pilgrimage site for Hindus. The temple is located in Guruvaya and is a good hours drive from Thrissur. We couldn't go inside the temple but according to C.A., if we tell someone we've been to Guruvaya they would be impressed. C.A. left us to be entertained at an auditorium adjacent to the temple while he went to pray. We watched three beautiful ladies dance in traditional Indian costumes and their faces beautifully made up in traditional make up and nose rings on both sides of their nose. We were able to go back stage and take a couple of pictures. Awesome.
We arrived at our next stop around 9 pm and it will no doubt be the pinnacle of the trip. If you've been following my travels you know I've had some amazing experiences but what I am about to tell you will simply astound you.
There is a small clan of families that perform a snake dance ritual. There are no snakes at this ritual. These families meet from time to time at various locations and perform this ritual. They all live and eat together and have no sex during this ritual time. We were the first Westerners ever to witness this ritual in this village and I was the first to ever video it. Think about that for a second. There was some discussion at first over whether I could video the ritual but I was approached by two men who basically said have fun and record away. I was later asked if I would be so kind to provide them a copy. Here I am recording their sacred ritual and they were so humble in asking me for a copy. So typical of the very gracious Indian people.
There was a large cube like frame in the center of a small courtyard. It was open on all four sides as well as the top. All parts of the frame were about four feet in length. It was like on open air temple or alter. Hanging from all four sides were long strands of white flowers and other hand made white origami type decorations. Inside the frame on the ground at the center was an oil lamp. From that lamp there were other eight other oil lamps each positioned at North, South, East, West, Northeast, Southeast, Southwest, and Northwest all outside the frame of the alter. They had created a beautiful mandala both on the inside of the alter and on the outside of the alter. The mandala was made from various type of spices and rice. There were the colors of burgundy, light green, light orange, browns, and white which formed this beautiful tapestry which would be destroyed at the end of the evening. Placed around the alter were offering of food and flowers.
Across from the alter were three musicians. One man played a string instrument with a clay pot as the body of the instrument, one man played the cymbals, and there was one female singer.
On the perimeter of the courtyard was a small temple and other small out buildings.
We arrived just as they were beginning the ritual. A procession of about twenty five to thirty people forming a long single line departed in front of us. I am guessing that this long single line forms the snake ritual. Soon the procession returned and passed directly in front of us. It was led a man playing a violin type instrument. He was followed by other men carrying cymbals, bells, and other ritual articles and symbols. The men were followed by the women who carried food offerings and small oil lamps, they were followed by the girls who also carried food offerings and small oil lamps. There was one man and two women who had gone into a trance and they too walked with the procession. The man in the trance was supported and assisted by two other men as were the two women in the trance supported and assisted by women.
The procession weaved its way first passing clockwise around the temple then around a small building, then into the small courtyard passing again clockwise around the altar then past the musicians. They then exited the small courtyard, passing again in front of us to complete the circle they were to walk again and again.
I don't know at what point the two women came out of their trance but the man remained in his trance much longer. They stopped in front of the alter while the others attempted to bring him out of his trance. He carried this curved stick that he placed behind his neck and held the two ends with each hand. He would sway back and forth raising his hands and the curved stick overhead and wave his arms from side to side. At one point he dropped the curved stick and began to violently run his hands through his hair and at another he became violent and swung his arms attempting to resist the help from the others. Eventually he passed out and was carried away and was laid down on the steps of that small out building. There was another man dressed in red who wore a large arrangement of bells around his waist and carried what looked like a large metal staff. He would jump up and down and twirl his staff and shout unrecognizable phrases. He too became tranced and later passed out and was carried off to recover.
After each of the tranced individuals came back to their normal self a series of dances were performed around the alter. A group of men and a larger group of younger boys performed a dance later followed by a man who performed a series fire dances. The ritual then settled down to listen to some traditional music. At the request of C.A., I was asked to record one particular song which I did.
Our group was invited to dinner but only Heather and I accepted. Much like at the Swami's in Trivandrum, we were sat at the head of the table. As always the food was delicious. They asked both of us if we would like spoons but we opted to eat with our fingers much to the delight of our hosts.
I hope my descriptions of the snake ritual was sufficient to give you a visual of the event. I am so grateful that they allowed me to record the event. I am still in a bit of a shock that we were the first Westerners every to watch this ritual. Thank you Mr. C.A. Menon for a remarkable evening.
Tomorrow we depart Thrissur for Mumbai on a 20 hour overnight train ride. Could there possibly be something to write about in that?
Sunday, March 27, 2011
A Week's Worth of Catching Up
March 22-23, Tuesday - Wednesday
The big news of today was Mr. Warren Buffett (the third richest men in the world) arrived at the Bangalore airport shortly after I did and I was able to record his reception as he arrived in the main concourse. There were two dancers in traditional Karnataka dress who performed for him. I have a video which I probably not so spectacular. The noteworthy part is that Mr. Buffet and his entourage positioned themselves directly in front of me for a photo shoot. I could have put my hand on his shoulder so it probably looks like I'm part of the entourage. So if anyone wants to Google "Warren Buffet Bangalore Airport" and see if I'm standing behind him in one of those photos.
I had forgotten what a long ride it was from the Cochin airport to Fort Cochin. It was an hour and a half of night driving in India. This activity is not for the faint of heart. First off everyone drives just as crazy at night as they do during the day. It is very difficult to see as most streets are either dimly lit or no lit at all. The trucks and cars have various degrees of working lights. Some not at all, some have front lights but no rear lights. Some trucks have running lights and some don't, same is true for front and rear lights. Then there's the motorcycles which most working lights but bicyclist have no lights anywhere. Many people drive with the high beam lights on all the time so these oncoming vehicles on add to the degree of difficulty of driving at night. Horn blowing is the national pastime and at night flashing your high beams on and off adds to the dexterity of the driver. My driver must have flashed his high beans on and off the entire one and a half hours ride. Just the clicking was enough to pluck one's nerves. All of this and add in that most roads are in need of serious repair make for one harrowing night driving experience.
After a night's rest at the Delight home stay I departed Cochin for a couple days stay at the Green Palm home stay in the backwaters. Fortunately there were six people from France traveling from the Green Palm to Cochin so I was able to catch a ride back in and shiny new air conditioned version of India's SUV. He dropped me off directly across from the home stay where I caught the public canoe across the canal. My plans are to do as little as possible.
My afternoon was spent watching the residents go about their lives in the back waters of Kerala. Afternoon bathing and washing dishes along side the canal are activities most observed. The women bath fully clothed, the men wrap a thin oversized towel around them and the little kids are naked.
I did take a short walk Wednesday afternoon and encountered a young boy squatting over a rock crushing a bag of crackers with a rock. I asked him what he was doing. He looked up and said "Playing." The closest item that resembles a toy are bicycles but they are used for transportation. The world cricket matches are going on right now and it is huge over here. I've seen kids playing cricket, some have an actual cricket bat and ball, but some use a ball that's just a bunch of string held together somehow and the cricket bat is made from a palm prawn. All the kids I've met here in the back waters have been very friendly, very well mannered, love to talk to Westerners, and really love to have their photo taken. All speak Hindi, Malayalum, and English. Some speak better English than others.
March 24, Thursday
Ate breakfast at 8 and talked to Thomas until 9. Sat under the shade of the boat dock until noon watching the water taxi cross from bank to bank and watched boats of various shapes and sizes move up and down the canal. Ate lunch at 1, took a nap around 3, tea time at 4, took another nap around 5, ate dinner at 8, went to bed at 10. Pretty much what I was looking to do.
March 25, Friday
Met back up with Heather, Genny, Yurie, and Shauna at the boat dock for a second house boat adventure around 2 pm. It was pretty much the same as the other house boat adventure so I won't repeat.
March 26, Saturday
We were dropped off at the dock of the Green Palm home stay around 10 am. I moved back into my same room of Wednesday and Thursday night. Not much to report as we stayed close to the air conditioning. I did take quite a few pictures of the wonderful family and their workers that have taken such good care and have fed up such wonderful food the past few days.
I do have one story to tell. I had thought how nice it would be to be able to give those boys had a real cricket bat and ball to play with. One of the young boys whom I met that was playing cricket with the palm stem and tattered ball, was named Sandeep. He was particularly polite and endearing. During the house boat cruise Friday night we stopped at a local village which happened to have a toy store. I bought a nice wooden cricket bat and four balls for Sandeep. The next day, I thought that I would just walk down to where he was playing and would give him the bat and balls. As it turned out he lived across the canal so it looked like I would be leaving the bat and ball with Manu at the guest house and he would see to it that Sandeep got the gift. Well, just after 7 pm I look up and saw Sandeep is crossing the canal in the taxi. As he approached, I told him to meet me at the dock and that I had something for him. He beamed when he saw the wooden cricket bat and the balls. To put it mildly, he was overjoyed. He said that this was my bat and that he would take care of it forever. He even had me autograph it for him. It was a nice feeling to do something like that for such a fine young man. I have pictures of him crossing the canal in the taxi, bat in hand. It was a nice story to tell.
Tomorrow we leave for Cochin. I've already been there three times but for the new group it will be their first visit. There's plenty to see and do there. Plus they have a internet cafe and the wifi is 30 rupees for an hour (that's less than a dollar) so I can catch you up on my travels.
Sunday, March 20, 2011
Hap-py Ho-li!
Happy Holi Gang! It's the springtime festival in India, where we throw powdered paint on one another...this is a tradition that's normally celebrated in the north of India for the first day of spring, but we did our own celebration at the ashram today, featuring Bollywood music and oodles of color being thrown on everyone's faces, arms, and in each other's hair, until your friends are no longer recognizeable to you = g o o d t i m e s ! We then proceeded to dance our booties off on a dance floor made of cow dung (what else?), and then hopped in the lake where a crocodile was recently sighted (always a li'l element of danger to keep things real) to rinse off.
Whew!
Tomorrow I leave the ashram at 2am to fetch Yurie and Shauna at the airport, and Day One of the 3AC Tour (read: Get Down 'n' Dirty) begins.
Yip Yip!
Whew!
Tomorrow I leave the ashram at 2am to fetch Yurie and Shauna at the airport, and Day One of the 3AC Tour (read: Get Down 'n' Dirty) begins.
Yip Yip!
Saturday, March 19, 2011
March 19-20, Saturday-Sunday
March 19-20, Saturday-Sunday
Jonathan showed up while I was eating breakfast this morning. Last time I saw him was October last year so it was good to see him again. He needed to pick up a pair of thai pants at a local tailor so I hitched a ride on the back of his 250cc Honda motorcycle. The driver is required to wear a helmet but not the passenger(s). So off I went, breaking every motorcycle safety principle I've practiced, never ride without a helmet and and certainly not wearing flip flops. It was all I had. I held my video camera in my right hand and held on the the bar behind the rear seat and recorded the ride to the tailor. With all the traffic you never really get going that fast anyway.
Today starts the Holi Festival. It is celebrated the day after the first full moon in March. Holi got it's name from the festival of colors by Lord Krishna, who liked to play pranks on the village girls by drenching them in water and colors. The festival marks the end of winter and the abundance of the upcoming spring harvest. This is one of those festival days that they smear or splatter various color powder all over themselves and every one else who happens along. Before I left the hotel this morning I was warned that the locals particularly love getting the Westerners so I knew before the day was done I'd be targeted. Another rite of passage in India.
After the tailor we headed to a hole in the wall restaurant for lunch. We ordered thali which is the same type of food Heather and I ate at the aurvedic restaurant a few weeks ago on our first trip to Kochin. Before the restaurnat we stopped at a small store for water. I approached a group of young men for a picture. They had been celebrating Holi as they were covered in all colors of powder. After a picture or two they enjoyed very much smearing blue powder all over my face and had particular joy in smearing it in my goatee and mustache. I have a picture. I had to take a shower to get all of the blue out.
I was joined later in the evening by Jonathan, Natasha, and Amber. Natasha and Amber are students at Jonathan's shala. They are both from San Diego and I met them once before when Leela and I went to the Mystic Kava Coffee bar in North Park for a yoga practice taught by Jonathan. We all went to the Maharaja's Palace to see it lit up by some 60,000 white light bulbs. We got there just in time to watch them go out. I did get a couple of pictures before the blackout. They only light it up for 30 minutes as I'm sure the electric bill is pricey.
Got my properly washed clothes back this morning. The simplicity of clean clothes.
The weather here in Mysore is a lot like SD. Very pleasant temperatures and low humidity. What a contrast as I went from sweating while doing absolutely nothing, to my skin feeling all dried out. I'll take it though, as I return to the heat and humidity of Kerala on Tuesday evening.
Jonathan picked me up this Sunday morning and we're at a coffee shop that has free wifi, so with the free wifi I'll send this out.
Friday, March 18, 2011
Friday, March 18
Friday, March 18
I have left my traveling partner, Heather, for a solo venture to Mysore (where I am now writing this). I have watched and learned much from this veteran India traveler and feel I am now prepared to go it alone. My friend Jonathan Patriarca from San Diego is in Mysore teaching at his Bheemashakti yoga center until the first of April. My plans are to stay in Mysore and visit with Jonathan until the 22nd of March. Heather is going back to the ashram for the next three days and then head into Trivandrum to meet the next three members of the second half of our India experience. She'll then return to the ashram with the three in tow for another three days. Heather is happiest at the ashram. Jen headed back home to San Diego today with a carry on full of mine and Heather's India souvenirs. Thanks Jen for lightening my load these final couple of weeks.
The ride from the hotel to the airport was a harrowing ride with this very young taxi driver. Fortunately the street were pretty deserted at 06:30 am but there were times he must have hit 50 mph on streets sparsely lined with people, bicycles, motorcycles, cars, trucks, dogs, and a few goats (of course he was dialing and talking on his cell phone). I have learned it does no good to tell them to slow down that you're not in a hurry. It's in their DNA to haul ass and pass everyone ahead of them. I just sat there with no seat belt and knew he would deliver me safely to the airport.
At the airport this morning the Trivandrum I met this young lady from Berlin. She had been in India for four months and was returning home. She told me she had only planned to stay at the Sivananda Ashram for a few days but ended up staying there long enough to complete their Yoga Teacher Training program. She had never practiced yoga before she came to the ashram. How these past four months have changed this young lady forever. She hopes to start teaching yoga and hopefully one day open her own studio.
The Royal Orchid Metropole is an 120 year old colonial structure that was built by the Maharaja of Mysore to entertain foreign guests. I feel like Ernest Hemingway looking out over the courtyard between the two wings of the building. There are rattan chairs and wooden tables sitting on the brick patio, a huge mango tree that extends over the second story and the Indian staff dressed in their black pants, white collarless shirts, and purple aprons with arms folded behind them waiting for me to glance their way to provide me with immediate service. I doubt Mr. Hemingway was using an iPad and a wireless keyboard but I'm sure he would have had they been available. I've been sitting here catching up on my writing for the past couple of hours and enjoying what is some delightfully enjoyable weather. It must be ten degrees cooler here and the humidity is much lower as I've gotten farther inland away from the sea. It will be a nice recharge for my system until I return for the final two weeks in the oven of India.
I've gotten pretty good at washing my clothes in the sink of every hotel from Trivandrum to Mumbai. But the hand washing with bar soap hasn't really gotten the clothes clean or the odors removed. At present, have three shirts and two pair of pants. Two of my shirts and the other pair of pants are getting a proper washing from the hotels laundry services, which means I'll be wearing my remaining pants and shirt all of today and tomorrow. Socks and underwear can be easily washed in the sink. Actually, it's been too hot to wear either of these items so they've stayed pretty clean in my backpack. TMI.
I just ordered my first beer in three weeks. They've had Kingfisher beer at most of the places we've been but I hear they put glycerin in it and Heather says they put formaldehyde in it so I've avoided it. The only other beer they have is Budweiser so what the hell. Budweiser delivered and it tastes pretty good.
March 14-17, Monday - Thursday
March 14-17, Monday - Thursday
After a 07:30 am meditation and yoga practice we enjoyed a late breakfast with two young men and a young lady from Germany. They were headed to Varkala from where we just came. Our plan was to enjoy the day around Cochin. Our tour guide Heather directed us to one of the local bicycle rentals where we rented three bicycles that looked similar to the Wicked Witch of the West bicycle complete with baskets (well Heather's and Jen had one anyway). So off we set out to Jew Town (that's the name) during the hottest part of the day. Besides the heat it really was the best way to cover a lot of ground and really see the streets and goings on. We lasted a couple hours and headed back to the comfort of our air conditioned rooms.
Late afternoon we returned our bicycles and headed to the local fish market and the area where the famous Chinese fishing nets are located. I'll do my best to describe the operation of the fishing nets. The center support is a huge A frame that serves as a pivot point (think swing set). The support the goes between the two A frames supports the fishing net on one end and a group of hanging boulders that are roped together on the other. There are four or five separate ropes each with six or seven boulders attached. The poles that connect to the fishing net and the boulders are lashed together at either end to form an upside-down V shape. When the fishing net is in the water the boulders are suspended above the fishing platform. When they want to raise the fishing net out of the water, four or five guys just pull down on the ropes and with the weight of the boulders the fishing net is lifted from the water. So any fish they catch are the ones that just happen to be swimming by the moment the fishing net is raised up. The whole apparatus is huge. If my description is clear as mud then please Google it.
We departed Cochin for Allepey on Tuesday morning a bit after 09:00 am to catch our departing house boat at 11:30 am. We requested a cab with A/C but about half way through the trip we all concluded that it was cooler with the windows rolled down.
We were dropped off at the "finishing point." This is where the Kerala snake boat races finish. In this case the boats are manned by up to 120 men. I just got this out of one of color brochures from a man working at the pavilion. It is also were our house boat picked us up to start our "backwaters" experience. The backwaters are 650 square miles of man-made islands and canals. They've built up the canals over many years by digging mud from the canal floor and piling it up on the banks. They've also built concrete and stone walls along side the banks to hold back the water. There are pathways along side the edge of the canals and homes and small shops have been built sometimes within a few feet of the waters edge while some larger homes are set back 20 to 30 feet. We paddled around one of these islands and it took us about two hours. This might give you an idea as to how big these islands are. The water pretty much stays at the same level year round except once a year they let in the salt water from the ocean to flush out the backwaters. It also flushes out all the trash as well. I haven't done so but I hear Google Earth shows these canals really well.
About 100 feet back from the water's edge begin the rice fields which are below the water level of the canal. They have gates that they raise when they need to water the fields. They get two rice yields each year so each takes 4 months and they let the field lay fallow the other 4 months. The backwaters are the "rice bowl" of India. Coconuts are also a very important commodity for the locals. In addition to the milk and the edible part coconut, then also use the outer shell for jewelry and bowls, they've combined rubber from the local rubber trees and coconut fibers to make some very nice doormats. The fibers are also used as stuffing for mattresses (no wonder the beds here are so hard). They also use the palm prawns for roofing material (but many homes now use red brick tile). The hard branch part of the palm prawn is used for fire material. Coconut palms start producing in 45 days and with coconut palms everywhere you can harvest somewhere most every day. Banana trees start producing in a little over a year and once the single bunch is harvested the tree is cut down. One single banana tree produced a number of offshoots so the banana population thrives here also.
Anyway, back to the house boat. These house boats have become big business for the backwaters. Our boat had two full bedroom complete with toilet/shower and air conditioning. There was a sitting area on the front deck with a couple nice padded chairs to relax in and a small dining table with four chairs and an area with a small flat screen tv. There was a covered upper deck but it was too hot to sit up there. In the back was a small galley where our food was prepared. We were taken care of by three men, Shrijoo, Fasil, and Joseph. We spent the next 20 hours or so slowly cruising the backwater canals. We tied up near a shady row of palms trees for lunch and then later in the afternoon we stopped at a very small local market where I bought two huge prawns and six smaller prawns which were cooked for our dinner. Around 5:30 pm we stopped for the evening and departed the boat for a walk along the canal. Not far down the path a young lady of 17 invited the three of us into her backyard to enjoy the sunset. We were soon joined by her entire family. I wish I could include pictures along with these writings because my words cannot describe the beauty of the people and of their back water surroundings. Back to the boat for dinner and then to bed. As it has been throughout these past almost four weeks it was hot that evening but a quick start of the boat's generator and the air conditioning came to life and provided a most restful nights sleep. From my cabin window I looked East over the palm trees reflecting in the still canal waters during the night. The full moon was about a week away so there was enough moonlight to illuminate the surroundings. I got up before sunrise to watch the backwaters come to life. There were many varieties of birds and waterfowl flying over the length of canal where we were docked. I must have seen a hundred birds fly by in the 20 minutes I stood on the top deck. Then the water taxi's filled with commuters appeared and then boats towing two large canoes each filled with people going to work. Larger working boats and a couple of small canoe's with two men passed by. I have video of this all with the sun coming up in the background which I hope will capture them moment. A quick breakfast of a masala omelet and the second half of a fresh pineapple left over from the previous evening and we were off to slowly cruise the canals until we were dropped off at our home stay around 9:30 am. It must have been laundry day as many women and a few men were washing (beating) their clothes against the rocks along side the shoreline. I believe the women who do this for a living are called dobi wallas. Heather says if you have an article of clothing you want broken in just give it to at dobi walla.
We spent the next 24 hours at the Green Palm home stay in the village of Chennamkary. Our gracious host Thomas greeted us on the dock as we departed our house boat. My plans are to return there next week for a two days and just enjoy doing absolutely nothing on Wednesday and Thursday, rejoin Heather on Friday for yet another house boat cruise and then enjoy one final night at the Green Palm. The Green Palm is built on one of those man made islands I described about with the canal in the front and the rice fields in the back. At 5:30 pm Thomas took us for a walk and talk around his neighborhood for a very educational glimpse of life in the backwaters. Much of what he told us I have already mentioned above.
We departed the next morning for Trivandrum. A rickshaw was called to pick us up at 10:00 am. He arrived promptly and awaited across the canal to take us to the train station. But first had to cross the canal on a small canoe/taxi which picked us up at Thomas' dock and delivered us dry and safely to the opposite shore. There were seven of us on this water taxi which in my estimation was plenty. Thomas said you could get 18 Indians in that same boat.
The three hour train ride to Trivandrum took almost four and on this train we had to pleasure to share our compartment with a number of cockroaches that crawled around and on us during the ride. Ah, Incredible India.
Thursday, March 17, 2011
first class, check. 3AC, on deck...
just dropped jen in a rickshaw this morning and away she goes back to the land of clement weather and big bananas...mike departed for mysore for a brief sojourn to visit a buddy and to relax first class style, before he meets back with the 3AC tour in a few days. as for me...i'm kicking around with 3 days at the ashram before the 3AC folks start to show up.
i'm looking forward to getting on a local bus to be among my people, and settling into the comfort that a routine offers at the ashram, even if the routine does include a 5am wake up bell ;)
i'm also making my travel plans for the ten days i have after the 3 ac tour, which was going to include tromping about in india proper, but it looks like i'm heading back up to the mountains of dharamsala once more, as it's the only place that will be less than 100 degrees in the entire country, which sounds like a great reason to me!
i was looking into transport options - a train, an authentic indian experience of 20 hours, only $12 ticket. waiting list for the train, however, is 37 people. and the airplane option of only 2 hours, $60, no waiting list. looks like i'm gonna have to pull the gringo card for this one ;)
i'm looking forward to getting on a local bus to be among my people, and settling into the comfort that a routine offers at the ashram, even if the routine does include a 5am wake up bell ;)
i'm also making my travel plans for the ten days i have after the 3 ac tour, which was going to include tromping about in india proper, but it looks like i'm heading back up to the mountains of dharamsala once more, as it's the only place that will be less than 100 degrees in the entire country, which sounds like a great reason to me!
i was looking into transport options - a train, an authentic indian experience of 20 hours, only $12 ticket. waiting list for the train, however, is 37 people. and the airplane option of only 2 hours, $60, no waiting list. looks like i'm gonna have to pull the gringo card for this one ;)
Monday, March 14, 2011
conversation with the boy sitting next to me on the train
on this 5 (or so:) hour train ride, i found myself talking to an indian boy sitting next to me, who was forlornly musing about his mother's cooking, which he wouldn't have for another 65 hours (his train ride significantly longer), and he said he was lonely...as he was travelling with 4 of his classmates i asked him:
you're lonely even though you were travelling with friends?
him: yes, friends are not like family. nothing is like family. i miss them very much.
me: how long have you been away from home?
him: 7 days
me: how old are you aashish?
him: 31.
and there you have it: a 31-year old male who is homesick after one week away from his mother's cooking and misses his family like crazy. of course i do miss my family and my mama's cooking...but living 2500 away from my parents and travelling out of the continent for over two months must just seem like utter nonsense to these people.
wouldn't be india w/o the contrast... :)
you're lonely even though you were travelling with friends?
him: yes, friends are not like family. nothing is like family. i miss them very much.
me: how long have you been away from home?
him: 7 days
me: how old are you aashish?
him: 31.
and there you have it: a 31-year old male who is homesick after one week away from his mother's cooking and misses his family like crazy. of course i do miss my family and my mama's cooking...but living 2500 away from my parents and travelling out of the continent for over two months must just seem like utter nonsense to these people.
wouldn't be india w/o the contrast... :)
March 11-13, Friday-Sunday
March 11-13, Friday-Sunday
Varkala take two. We arrived Varkala Friday afternoon after a two hour taxi ride from the ashram. Heather was in the first stages of a bout of "Delhi belly." So far Jen and I have survived the trip with the anti-diarrhea pills still in the blister pack (we intend to keep it that way). Heather spent Saturday morning to afternoon close to the hotel, so Jen and I walked the beach and negotiated with the store keepers along the cliff path.
At dinner Saturday night I told Heather and Jen that I always kept my toothbrush in it's case at night (not sure how we got on this topic). Jen didn't say anything at the time but was thinking that I was perhaps a bit too cautious or maybe paranoid. Jen and Heather left for the hotel and I stayed behind to talk to Leela on Skype. While walking back to the hotel I meet Jen coming out of a small grocery store with a brand new toothbrush in hand. As it turned out when she got back to the hotel a big cockroach had taken a liking to the bristles of her toothbrush. The damsel in distress did manage to find a brave Indian gentleman who gently pinched the antenna of the cockroach between his fingers and released it unharmed outside. I probably would have smashed it like I did to the one I woke up to in my bathroom at the spa in Kovalum. Guess it's pays to be a bit cautious or maybe paranoid sometimes.
Next time I hear someone in SD complain about the heat I'll give them typical day in south India. Pretty much the only time your not dripping sweat and your clothes aren't sticking to your body are the nine or so hours after you've taken a shower and are inside your air conditioned hotel room for the evening. Otherwise it's 85+ degrees everyday and there's enough humidity to make your clothes totally stick your skin. After three weeks you just get used to it (kinda). Nice to know in three weeks from tomorrow (Monday) I'll be back in beautiful SD.
We did practice yoga for the three mornings we were at Varkala. The hotel has a second floor restaurant that overlooks the sea. Fortunately, the restaurant isn't being used so the somewhat dirty floor made a good yoga studio with a beautiful view of palm trees and waves crashing on the beach.
There was a local temple festival about a half hour's walk from the hotel. So Saturday afternoon we trekked to the Devi temple just in time to witness a pre-marriage ceremony. We watched them pour rice from one container to another and then again to another container to symbolize good blessings for the marriage. We were allowed to go inside the temple (men are required to take off their shirts which I really enjoyed not having it stick to me for a few minutes) and watch the puja (fire ceremony). There were four men playing drums (very loudly) and one man playing a small set of cymbals. And the ceremony also included an elephant. He stood just in front of the entrance to the temple. The elephant's was adorned with what looks like a gold shield outlined in red, green, and brown that started on the bridge of his trunk (just below where his tusks started) and extended a couple of feet above the crown of his head. There was a Brahmin priest sitting on the elephant and another (his owner/trainer) sitting on the ground near his front right leg. While we were in Trivandrum, Rajesh told us not to go looking for temple festivals as they would find us.
Babu (our taxi driver who drove us from Varkala to Trivandrum) showed up again and provided our transportation on Saturday afternoon and Sunday. He was asked to take us to a local village where no white people were. On our way to the train station he took us down this dirt road not a half mile from the main street. He drove for maybe a quarter mile and stopped. There were small cinder block looking homes many with palm prawn roofs on both sides of the street. Right in front of the car was a woman washing clothes on a rock next to a water faucet. I was a bit apprehensive to get out of the car and told Heather "you go first." We were immediately surrounded by twenty or more boys and girls whose ages ranged from two to twelve. "photo, photo, photo!" they yelled. So there we stood taking picture after picture of all these beautiful brown boys and girls. After every picture we took we had to show it to them. I took a couple of videos which they really enjoyed. There was a young man who spoke really good english who told me that what we were doing was a very special thing for most of these children. He said that most of the younger children had never left their village and had thus never seen a white person. Towards the end a couple of older men showed up and wanted to take me down the street with them but at that point we had to go. We were thanked for taking the time to come and visit and provide these children with morning that many will never forget. Neither will Heather, Jen, and myself. We said goodbye to Babu as he dropped us off at the train station.
The train ride from Varkala was similar to the ride from Thrissur to Varkala last week. The train was pulling out of the station as we boarded so we jumped in the first door available. We ended up in a sleeper car so it was somewhat more closed in with small compartment of six fold up/down bunks. We sat in a compartment with four young men who worked for an Indian telecommunications company. They were on a fifty-six hour ride to Lucknow. It made our four hour train ride seem inconsequential. As the ride progressed and passengers came and went two older Indian ladies sat across from us so the ride became more cozy. There were a few times during the ride that we just stopped along the track and "enjoyed" the heat of the day. One of the young men wrote this in Heather's book "We are Indians, we believe in ATITHI DEVO BHAV, which means Our Guests Are Our God."
After a four hour plus train ride and a bone jarring rickshaw ride from the train station we arrived back at the Hotel Delight in Cochin. Dinner at a local restaurant and a stop at a market for water and biscuits and we are in for the night. There's something comforting about coming back to someplace you've been before.
Thursday, March 10, 2011
Monday-Wednesday, March 7-9
Monday-Wednesday, March 7-9
Beach at Kovalum
We weren't disappointed by getting up before sunrise to go to the beach and watch an event that has been played out for most likely hundreds of years. It took us awhile to figure out what was going on but what we saw was not watching the previous evenings boats return with their catch. There were two groups of twenty men maybe 200 yards apart on the beach and one boat with maybe five men in it that worked one fishing net. The net was put in the water maybe a half mile offshore. The very large row boat retrieved one end of the line attached to the net and brought it ashore to one group of men. The boat crew then went to retrieve the other end of the line attached to the other side of the net while the first group of men started pulling in the net. So the net basically formed a bit of a "U" shape. Eventually the other group of men got the other end of the line and they started pulling. These guys must have pulled for easily over an hour before the small floats keeping the top of the net on top of the water could be seen. At the center was one big float to which one guy had been hanging to for the whole time. I guess he marked the center of the net. What they pulled in were hundreds of tiny silver and blue fish about two inches long. I guess they dry them and sell them. They put the fish in these large metal bowls and dumped them on the beach where a group of women in colorful beautiful saris were waiting. The women then put them into another large metal bowl and placing them on top of their heads walked off the beach. I have at least an hour's worth of video of the event. While I was videoing the event one of the men monitored me to join in pulling in the net. So I did. You start at the front of the rope near the water's edge and hold on to one section of the rope and then walk while pulling until you are at guy whose sitting on the beach coiling the rope. You then let go of the line and then walk back to the front and pull again. I made five or six rotations until my hands started feeling the wet nylon rope. It was heavy hard work. None of these guys wore gloves and they were all solidly built as one would expect if you did this every day. None of these spoke a word of English.
We said our goodbyes and heading for breakfast and then a checkout and then a forty-five minute ride to the Ashram.
March 8-10, Tuesday-Thursday
March 8-10, Tuesday - Thursday
The Sivananda Yoga Ashram
At this writing we've been at the ashram for two and a half days and will leave tomorrow to head back to Varkala. It has been an enjoyable and enlightening experience. The ashram was established in 1978 by Swami Vishnu-devananda (1927-1993) and is dedicated to the practice and dissemination of yoga as taught by his guru Swami Sivananda (1887-1963).
The Basic Ashram Schedule:
05:20 am Wake up bell
06:00 am Group meditation, chanting, talk
07:30 am Tea time
08:00 am Yoga Class
10:00 am Vegetarian meal
11:00 am Karma yoga (volunteer work)
12:30 pm Coaching Class (optional)
01:30 pm Tea time
02:00 pm Lecture
03:30 pm Yoga
06:00 pm Vegetarian meal
08:00 pm Group mediation, chanting, talk
10:30 pm Lights out
This pretty much sums up life at the ashram. There is a mixed group of people staying here. There is a large group going through yoga teacher training. They are easily identified by their white pants and yellow t-shirts. The rest are considered on a yoga vacation. That would be us. I'd say most are in their early twenties, with a few 30's and 40's and only a couple my age. Those not wearing white pants and t-shirts dress like a yogi or yogini with the girls wearing billowy brightly colored pants and the guys wearing below the knee yoga pants. Lots of hippie looking but very nice people. They are from all over the world.
The yoga classes are much different than those in SD. They practice pretty much that same routine in each class so you can learn 11 basic asanas or poses. It makes remembering a basic yoga routine or practice easy. In addition to the 11 asanas there are two types of breathing exercises practiced and lots of resting postures (savasana) interspersed between the 11 asanas. It's a good system but I'll be glad to get back to my mixture of classes at the studio.
The two dining experiences are well just that. They roll out these long narrow straw mats that form four long lines the entire length of the dining room. You walk in single file and sit on the straw mat on the floor in front of a plate of already served food. They request you eat in silence. You eat with your fingers unless you brought a spoon with you from home (which I did). You sit across from each other and get to watch people eating with their fingers. As you sit and eat there are people who walk between the mats with large pails and buckets of food for anyone who wants seconds or thirds. All the meals were vegetarian and all tasted pretty good. They tend to give four or five selections for the brunch meal and only two selections for dinner. After dinner you wash your large metal divided plate and metal cup.
They held a neti pot, nose flossing, and tongue scraping class in the courtyard the first day. For those who don't know what a neti pot is, it's a small pitcher like pot that holds about a cup of water (warm) to which you mix a bit of salt. You place the spout in one nostril and pour the water in until it comes out the other nostril. You then repeat the opposite nostril. So they had someone talk and another guy demo the neti pot. The nose flossing (not going there) demo was interesting. You use a small sterile piece of rubber the size of a catheter and push it into one nostril and hope it comes out the other nostril and not down your throat or into your brain. He actually got it to come out the other nostril so at this point you floss you nostrils like you would your teeth. I didn't see the tongue scraper demo but plan on using a toothbrush for that.
The morning and evening group meditation, chanting, and talks were interesting. They are held in a large open air room. Each is started with a half hour meditation, followed by a call and response type of singing or chanting, and then a talk from the director of the ashram or a presentation (evening only). I couldn't get comfortable enough to come close to doing any meditating. Sitting up on a rolled up yoga mat and a part of another yoga mat to cushion my feet and ankles from the concrete just didn't afford the padding I needed. Plus it was hot, hot, hot.
Then there is karma yoga, which is basically volunteering to assist with chores around the ashram. Heather and Jen volunteered for kitchen duty and I volunteered to roll out the large (5' and 40') straw mats which people sit on during the group meditation and chanting sessions. I also volunteered that last night to help clean the dining hall after dinner where I ended up mopping the floor with six or seven other people. It didn't take long.
There is a lion park across the lake from the ashram and many times during the day you can hear them mating. At least that's what Heather says is going on and I have to believe her given the roaring, and moaning and groaning and then the sighing at the end. Pretty crazy to be sitting in morning meditation and hear that sound in the background. The birds around the ashram were beautiful and unlike any birds I've seen before. There were birds everywhere and most of them were pretty large about the size of the big stellar jays in SD. There were of course the very large crows just like those in SD. The birds along with the lions made for a real jungle environment.
I started this last night at the ashram and am finishing it tonight as we are now back in Varkala. On the ride from the ashram to Varkala there were many things we saw along the road I could write about but I'll only mention two. The first were a group of six men trying to balance a very large chunk of rock (I guess it was a 12 inches thick, 18 inches long and a 15 inches wide) on the top of the head of this man. No doubt this boulder easily weighed 200 pounds and no doubt he was either barefoot or wearing sandals. Think of the worst road in Tijuana and he was going to walk down this road with a 200 pound rock balanced on his head. The other was this man herding his very large elephant down one of the national highways in India. This section of national highway was a two lane road with a yellow stripe down the middle.
Sunday, March 6, 2011
Sunday, March 6
Sunday, March 6
We met at the #1 yoga hall at 8 am to attend a scheduled yoga class. There was no one there at 8:10, so Heather led Jen and I through a nice practice. After the practice we read the note on the board stating that the class was to be held at the #2 yoga hall. Oh well. Sweaty from the class we headed straight to breakfast. After a brief time getting our daily dose of the internet we took a walk around the "neighborhood." Not far down the road we stopped in a local tailor shop and I had him make me a jubba. It's a cotton short sleeve shirt with no collar three buttons neck to mid chest and a bit longer than a t-shirt. He made the shirt in a little over two hours and it cost me $13. Heather picked out a nice pale orange material. It will be a nice addition to my wardrobe as all I brought with me were t-shirts.
Speaking of my wardrobe, so far, I've lightened my backpack by leaving/donating three t-shirts, two pair of Prana pants (bought on sale), four pair of socks, and one long sleeve t-shirt to various hotel staff along the way. Practicing non-attachment.
The resort we are staying in has been built in a jungle along the coast. It is a dense lush jungle filled with palm and mango trees, all nature of beautiful smaller plants many adorned with red, yellow, and white flowers. Orchids are happy here. Birds are really happy here as are the geckos. I am amazed how few bugs (specifically mosquitoes) there are here. At dinner tonight there was a kathakali performance, which is a traditional Kerala performance between a man and a woman. The costumes are very ornate and the man's face is painted a bright green. Google it. Anyway they had these bright lights on the performers but there were only a couple of bugs flying around. Hopefully they're using an ayurvedic approach to pest control.
So far the food along the way has all be fresh, delicious, and not spicy at all. I'm a total wimp when it comes to spicy foods. I brought a 96 pack of Tums and I haven't taken one. Oh yeah, I poured out half the bottle last week so I down to 48. I'm getting used to room temperature showers. At the last hotel didn't know I needed to flip a switch 20 minutes before I wanted to get in the shower, so three showers there were without hot water. At the resort they have the same switch system for heating water, but the water heater is the size on one you'd have in an RV so the hot water doesn't last long. So I just pretty much dive in. The days here have been hot and not so humid but humid nonetheless, so that makes taking a room temperature shower feel pretty good.
I have a really nice room here at the spa. Only problem is the head of my bed face is against the wall and the elderly German couple next door also have the head of their bed opposite mine. The wall must be a piece of wood because I can hear every snort and cough. It really sounds like they're in the room with me. Weird. Thankfully I brought earplugs with me.
We walked to the beach tonight to watch the fishermen shove off in their boats for a nights fishing. There boats are maybe 30 feet long and five feet wide at the center and like everything in India are brightly painted. When I say shove off...well, they really do. They use these large wooden rollers about four feet wide and as thick as a telephone pole to roll them through the sand to the shore. Once they get them to the edge of the surf they wait for a big swell and three or four push like hell. Once in the water they all jump in and a couple of guys grab the oars and, once again, paddle like hell to keep the bow pointed out to sea, while the guy in the back is trying to start two 9.9 hp motors as quickly as possible before a big swell comes and capsizes the boat or pushes them back on the beach. It was quite a spectacle as maybe fifty boats were put to sea this evening. They travel offshore about 40 miles and fish all night. They return around 4 am the next day but sit off shore until around 6 am when they start coming ashore with the nights catch. We're getting up early to watch them when they arrive. Should be quite an event to witness at sunrise. Having said that off to the room temperature shower I go.
Saturday, March 5
Saturday, March 5
Heather and I returned to the yoga studio for a 6:30am class. The studio's swami (like a monk) taught the class. The first fifteen minutes was a lesson on yoga philosophy where the swami explained the difference between Arian and Dravidian yoga. Arian yoga is pretty much what I've been practicing. He briefly explained Dravidian yoga by holding up his right hand and said the little finger represents good physical condition of the body, the ring finger represents positive emotional self, the middle finger for continued intellectual practice, the index finger represents maintaining intuition, and the thumb a spiritual practice. He said we were experiencing an ancient form of yoga. The class he taught was similar to the previous evenings class only we did not do any jumping jacks or running around during this class. We'll practice the Arian style at the ashram later this week.
The Swami also explained the three colors often seen on the forehead of many of the Hindu's. These are placed on the forehead while worshiping at the temple. The brown horizontal color represents the sandlewood used in the funeral pyre, the red color represents the fire, and the grey color represents the ash of the fire. They are all a reminder that we're on this earth for a fleeting time - carpe diem!
After breakfast we packed our things and at 11:30 am we were picked up by a taxi and transported to the Somatheeram Ayurvedic Health Spa. This resort is really nice and I have to continue to remind myself that I'm still in India. One of the first things we had to do before scheduling our treatments was to meet with the resident doctor. She asked a few basic health questions, took our blood pressure, and pulse and put us down for a 6pm treatment. Each of us are going to get a massage by foot, a massage by hand, and warm oil drip to our foreheads.
Rajesh escorted me to the treatment room. It was an large open air brick building with a thatched roof. There was one small compact fluorescent tube illuminating the room. He had me undress (this time there was no loin cloth), and sit on a small stool facing an alter where a oil lamp and incense were burning. There were four parts of the massage which again consisted of using lots warm ayurvedic oils. First, sitting on the bench for a head massage, second laying face down and then face up on a large mat where he gave me a massage with his foot, then face down and then face up on a table where he massaged me with his hands, and finally the oil drip to the forehead. The entire treatment was done with great respect and felt absolutely wonderful. I have a second scheduled for tomorrow as it's part of the package. Another nice day in India.
Friday, March 4
Friday, March 4
The third member of our "First Class Tour" arrived this morning. After picking her up from the airport and dropping her backpack off at the hotel we ate lunch and headed to "The Museum." The Museum in Trivandrum contains a number of old statues of the many Hindu deities, some beautiful ivory carvings, a section on Buddhist statues, Balinese art and statues, and a small section on Asian statues. There was a yoga festival at the Museum Auditorium but after receiving directions from ten different people we never did find it so we caught a rickshaw and headed back to the hotel. The highlight of the day was a 630 pm yoga practice at a small yoga studio we discovered the previous day. There were six of us in the class. The yoga mats were a type of woven plastic, kinda like a straw mat but plastic. During the hour long class, we practiced various types of breathing exercises, laid down savasana four times, held maybe three other postures, and at the end we did jumping jacks, kicked our right foot into our left hand and then our left foot into our right hand (I actually kept kicking my right foot into my right hand and my left foot into my left hand. I finally figured it out at the end). We did the twist and finally ran around the room in a circle for a bit. Upon returning to our mats we assumed the final relaxation posture. Definitely a different yoga experience. A quick dinner and back to the hotel.
day 4 - good bye schwanky spa, hello austere ashram
we're wrapping up a super relaxing stay at the somatheeram spa, where they greeted us with fresh jasmine garlands [most intoxicating smell on the planet] and young coconut water. we got ayurvedic massages, complete with about 2 cups of ayurvedic oil, and my first ever indian foot massage. if you've conjured an image of us getting our feet massaged, think again about iNdiAn foot massage, whereupon they massage you with their feet. it's rather delightful, but i cannot say that i've ever before had a woman massage my bare chest with her foot. jen was fortunate to have a massage therapist with extremely calloused feet, so she received an exfoliation with her foot massage, no extra charge!
we did venture into the village for some shopping and rubbing elbows with the local natives. the children here have learned important words, like, "hello", "one school pen?" [not sure why they are always asking for this], and "money". who can blame them for trying, when our plane tickets alone cost more than what a typical indian household earns in a year?
today we are shoving off for the ashram, where we'll be expected to abide by a strict schedule starting with morning meditation bell at 530am. it includes 2 sessions per day of: chanting, yoga, meditation, and meals, but offers a quiet lush surrounding to deepen your yoga practice for real, not just the asanas/poses.
there are many taxi drivers vying to transport us to the ashram, but i've selected one with a jheri-curl mullet, for an amazing photo opportunity. by the way, jen googles everything, and has verified the proper spelling of the aforementioned "jheri-curl".
thank you.
we did venture into the village for some shopping and rubbing elbows with the local natives. the children here have learned important words, like, "hello", "one school pen?" [not sure why they are always asking for this], and "money". who can blame them for trying, when our plane tickets alone cost more than what a typical indian household earns in a year?
today we are shoving off for the ashram, where we'll be expected to abide by a strict schedule starting with morning meditation bell at 530am. it includes 2 sessions per day of: chanting, yoga, meditation, and meals, but offers a quiet lush surrounding to deepen your yoga practice for real, not just the asanas/poses.
there are many taxi drivers vying to transport us to the ashram, but i've selected one with a jheri-curl mullet, for an amazing photo opportunity. by the way, jen googles everything, and has verified the proper spelling of the aforementioned "jheri-curl".
thank you.
Friday, March 4, 2011
First Class Tour Day One: "Always Be Happy"
Today the official First Class tour began...Mike and I only had to wait one hour outside the airport for Jen to arrive, and away we went...I thought she would need sleep and a shower, but she was ready to go so we hit the town and visited a museum with lots of cool statues of Indian deities, some shops, and then wandered around and had some chai and biscuits [pack of biscuits featuring a very cool press-on tattoo of a lion's head, mrrarrr!!]
we went to our first yoga class in india, and i never know what to expect, but we did some chanting, some lying around, about 4 yoga postures, and some breathing exercises. the instructor kept saying "be happy always, smile, your mind is your friend" . . . good instructions! the last "pose" that we did started out with running in place, running around in a circle, jumping jacks, doing the twist (even gettin' down low;), and the we dropped into savasana. unique, to say the least...i'll have to try that sequence when i get back!
tomorrow we are off to the ayurvedic spa for two days, which shouldn't be too painful - catch you on the flip side, yo ;)
we went to our first yoga class in india, and i never know what to expect, but we did some chanting, some lying around, about 4 yoga postures, and some breathing exercises. the instructor kept saying "be happy always, smile, your mind is your friend" . . . good instructions! the last "pose" that we did started out with running in place, running around in a circle, jumping jacks, doing the twist (even gettin' down low;), and the we dropped into savasana. unique, to say the least...i'll have to try that sequence when i get back!
tomorrow we are off to the ayurvedic spa for two days, which shouldn't be too painful - catch you on the flip side, yo ;)
Thursday, March 3, 2011
Wednesday, March 2
Wednesday, March 2
Today we travel to Trivandrum to await the arrival of the third member of the First Class tour, Jen. Our plan was to take a rickshaw to the railway station and catch a 1030 train to Trivandrum. At the station the previous day we were told there was construction going on and to catch the 1030 train or wait until 1500 but not to come in between. At checkout we met Babu who had an air conditioned cab waiting outside the gate of the hotel. We negotiated 100 rupees which is about double what a richshaw would charge but I agreed to spring for the cab ride to the railway station. Once inside the cab, Babu said he would give us a ride to our hotel in Trivandrum, an hours ride, for 1000 rupees (about $20). I said let's go. Heather was happy with the turn of events. Something told me to avoid the railway station and a door to door cab ride just felt like the right call.
Once in Trivandrum we checked out a couple of hotels for the 3AC tour (refers to train sleeping with three tiers of bunks with A/C), ate lunch, and waited for Heather's friend Rajesh to arrive sometine after 4pm. They a met at the ashram we're going to in a couple of days. Rajesh is a local tour guide so Heather is using his expertise to finalize the details of both upcoming trips. The day was pretty un-eventful until we left the hotel in Rajesh's car.
Today is Shivaratri day which is the huge Hindu day of celebration. It is said that Shiva ingested a poison, but did not swallow it, that would have destroyed the world. This is why Shiva is blue. Rajesh first took us to a small Hindu temple where he explained beautifully the basic premises of the Hindu religion. As non-Hindu's we could only walk around the perimeter of the temple but were able to peer inside where we could see Hindu's praying and chanting and two musicians playing a drum and what sounded like a trumpet.
From here he took us to an ashram that is run by Swami Tattwa. The Swami runs a small ashram for fourteen young boys. Dressed in an orange, he greeted us at top of the steps of his ashram. He's 44 years old with a full black beard, shortly cropped salt and pepper hair, a beautiful smile and an infectious laugh. We talked briefly about yoga, philosophy, and meditation on the porch at a small desk which might have been his office. We were joined by his German born wife who invited us to join the Swami, staff, and the boys for dinner. From the porch we entered a room which was lined on two sides by long tables and bench seating where the boys studied. To the right was an large alter which was decorated ornately with candles, pictures of Holy men, and draped with orange chrysanthemums. We turned to the left and entered the kitchen area. The Swami sat looking at the boys and staff with Heather and I to his left. We sat on the concrete floor on small thin straw mats. In front of our mat was rectangular metal dish divided in several small sections and one large area. We were served by two of the boys. The Swami was served first, then Heather and I, then the rest. The rice was placed in the large section and three other types of cooked vegetables were placed in separate sections at the top of the dish. Finally a soup was added to the rice. Basically, you mixed it all together and did your best to eat it all with your right hand. Heather showed me a technique of using your thumb to shovel what food you were able to pick up with your fingers into your mouth. I really have no idea what I ate except for the rice. Dessert was a small portion of what tasted like a sweet rice pudding. Everything was delicious. Once dinner was finished you went outside where you washed your dish with the soapy fibers of a coconut husk. Once rinsed and dried you put it back on drying racks in the kitchen. All the plates were numbered so you put them back in their proper slot. Mine was number 50 which is the year I was born. Auspicious. We returned to the porch and chatted briefly before we left. As I was leaving I told him that I wasn't sure how to say goodbye to a Swami. He said he as just a man and added he considered himself, "A Holy Hobo." With that I shook his hand and said goodnight. It was around 8:30 pm.
Next we headed to a very large Hindu temple to witness and be part of the celebration of Shivaratri. There was a long queue to enter the temple but we just followed Rajesh and eased our way to the front of the line and into the temple, after removing our shoes of course. There were no pictures allowed and I can hardly begin to describe what I saw except to say that it looked like a sea of humanity was circling the temple. And it would go on all night. Most of the men were dressed in long pants and a collared shirt but some wore a long white cotton material wrapped around and tied at the waist which extended to the floor and naked from the waist up. Almost all women wore a beautiful sari. We circled the temple three times. On the second loop a man next to me told me to chant as I walked, "Om Shree Om Namah Shivaya, Om Nomo Om Namah Shivaya," which I did. I was given a piece of paper which I'm to write 108 times, Om Namah Shivayah go to the temple is to recieve energy from it. Heather and I certainly felt and received great energy from this night at the temple. We left, retrieved our shoes and made our way back to the hotel.
What started out as a rather uneventful day, could well be one of the best days of the trip, so far.
Wednesday, March 2, 2011
Tuesday, March 1
Tuesday, March 1
Yoga finally. Heather led us through a beautiful yoga practice this morning. There is a raised concrete patio at the edge of the hotel property adjoining the path along the cliff where we chose to practice. It was not only a beautifully led and enjoyed practice but adding the view of fish jumping from the Arabian Sea, the background noisy birds looking for breakfast, palm trees laden coconuts and blue skies overhead, a warm breeze and the sun rising at our backs, well it was the definition of bliss. Oh, and let me not forget the many small ants and an occasional large black ant that joined us throughout our practice. Laying in the stillness of savasana was a bit challenging with an ant crawling on you somewhere. It was still bliss nonetheless.
A full day in Varkala. The plan today is to book our railway tickets from Thrissur to Mumbai the end of the month and check out hotels when the "First Class Tour" returns late next week. On the way to the train station Heather informed me that all trains were fully booked leaving April 1 (no April's Fool). Another punch to roll with. At the station the Station Master directed us to the reservation desk where we were able to book four tickets on 31 March which means we have an extra day in Mumbai. Across the street from the railway station was a small stand selling water, cookies, candy, and what we wanted: bananas. The bananas are sold while still attached as a whole bunch. We asked the man for four. Grabbing a large knife he reached into the bunch, held a group to bananas and made his cut. Out came seven to which he said "you get seven." We hailed a rickshaw which took us to Temple Circle, which turned out to be just one big intersection. It was a short walk past the Hindu Temple and on to the beach.
I hear the beach in Varkala is the nicest in Kerala. I'm sure they're referring to the sandy part which was nice and wide and pretty clean. What they weren't referring to were the cliffs which have been used as a dumping area for all the businesses above the cliff. A bit reminiscent of Mexico. Anyway I put my feet into the warm waters of the Arabian Sea. Interesting to think while growing up on the East Coast to look East over the Atlantic and think Europe is in that direction, and now living on the West Coast to look West and think Hawaii or Asia is in that direction and now for the first time to look West and think Africa is in that direction. Just an observation. A short walk on the beach and up the stairs to the top of the cliffs to a nice restaurant that has free wifi. We ended up eating breakfast, lunch, dinner, and breakfast there. The food was excellent.
There is large fishing community in Varkala and at night you can see the fishing boats dotting the horizon with their lights across almost the entire horizon. The must be hundreds. A large variety of freshly caught whole fish, shrimp, crabs, and lobsters are displayed on ice along the walking path in front of a number of restaurants. Some of the fish are so large that they cut you off a filet of any size you want and cook it for you. I had king fish for lunch and large jumbo shrimp for dinner while Heather enjoyed her vegetarian fare.
We're returning to Varkala so I'll write more about the shopping available there at that time. I will say the bargaining is expected.
Monday, February 28, 2011
Mother India, She Laughs
mother india, she laughs
i wasn't sure if i was going to have any "aha!" moments when i got to india, this being my fifth trip...mostly because i've learned to expect nothing when i visit this land, land where the hot water faucet is [usually] on the right instead of the left, and "hot" means lukewarm more than actually hot...land of light switches [usually] being in the off position to actually mean turned on...land where we see boys playing soccer with bare feet but soles having been hardened over years of wear...this is india to me...the hardened sole of a foot, grown tough, trodden over sharp pebbles and stones until this too feels natural and almost comfortable. if taht's my comparison for india...my analogy for america? well that sort of arose when mike and i were talking about ben and jerry's ice cream, which is sweet, yummy, and easy to take in...but makes you sort of fat and unhealthy when enjoyed with too much abundance. i'm fortunate and blessed to live in america; i know this...but right now i'm in a land of opposites that forces you to see the good in the bad, the bad in the good...take the shizah with the sugar, if you will ;)
circumstances that have tested my patience and sense of humor:
* well there was the time about 4 days ago that i showed up at the mumbai airport with my confirmation number and e-receipt in hand, only to be told that my reservation to fly south to kerala did not exist. i'd booked on yatra (like an india expedia), and after a frantic phone call to my parents to get online, while mike's iphone searched for a connection at the mumbai airport to retrieve my flight details, and heated phone call to yatra - - - i came to accept that i did not actually have a reservation [hahaha says mother india ;] but i was fortunate enough to be able to buy a seat on the nearly-full flight, and a few bucks cheaper at that!
* and then there was the time, 2 days ago i think, that we arrived at the train station with plenty of time to make our train, only to be told that the train was running 4 hours late [mother india issues a belly laugh here], and we hopped a rickshaw to the bus station, where it was hot and crowded, but at least we had seats...and i met a sweet keralan girl, and we chatted about arranged marriages and keralan culture...all's well that ends well!
a couple more days of sussing hotel rooms and train bookings until the group tour 'officially' begins. i'm proud of mike's progress in learning the indian culture - he ate a whole meal with his hands the other day, and is starting to use the indian head-bobble, and asking questions using the "is possible...?" version, understood anywhere in india...
so far [knock on wood], i feel i'm in good with mother india...understanding her little pokes and jokes on me, rolling with the punches, and happy to receive a break when it shows itself...we're in varkala right now, where the living doesn't get any easier...it's a westernized touristy beach spot, where the ladies dress like harlots: strapless dresses, oh my! mike called me a 'sloozy' for wearing a tank top today, but when in india, do as the indians do...and when in varkala, do as the floozy western tourists do...
last but not least - happy shivaratri, birthday of hindu god shiva...om namah shivayah!
i wasn't sure if i was going to have any "aha!" moments when i got to india, this being my fifth trip...mostly because i've learned to expect nothing when i visit this land, land where the hot water faucet is [usually] on the right instead of the left, and "hot" means lukewarm more than actually hot...land of light switches [usually] being in the off position to actually mean turned on...land where we see boys playing soccer with bare feet but soles having been hardened over years of wear...this is india to me...the hardened sole of a foot, grown tough, trodden over sharp pebbles and stones until this too feels natural and almost comfortable. if taht's my comparison for india...my analogy for america? well that sort of arose when mike and i were talking about ben and jerry's ice cream, which is sweet, yummy, and easy to take in...but makes you sort of fat and unhealthy when enjoyed with too much abundance. i'm fortunate and blessed to live in america; i know this...but right now i'm in a land of opposites that forces you to see the good in the bad, the bad in the good...take the shizah with the sugar, if you will ;)
circumstances that have tested my patience and sense of humor:
* well there was the time about 4 days ago that i showed up at the mumbai airport with my confirmation number and e-receipt in hand, only to be told that my reservation to fly south to kerala did not exist. i'd booked on yatra (like an india expedia), and after a frantic phone call to my parents to get online, while mike's iphone searched for a connection at the mumbai airport to retrieve my flight details, and heated phone call to yatra - - - i came to accept that i did not actually have a reservation [hahaha says mother india ;] but i was fortunate enough to be able to buy a seat on the nearly-full flight, and a few bucks cheaper at that!
* and then there was the time, 2 days ago i think, that we arrived at the train station with plenty of time to make our train, only to be told that the train was running 4 hours late [mother india issues a belly laugh here], and we hopped a rickshaw to the bus station, where it was hot and crowded, but at least we had seats...and i met a sweet keralan girl, and we chatted about arranged marriages and keralan culture...all's well that ends well!
a couple more days of sussing hotel rooms and train bookings until the group tour 'officially' begins. i'm proud of mike's progress in learning the indian culture - he ate a whole meal with his hands the other day, and is starting to use the indian head-bobble, and asking questions using the "is possible...?" version, understood anywhere in india...
so far [knock on wood], i feel i'm in good with mother india...understanding her little pokes and jokes on me, rolling with the punches, and happy to receive a break when it shows itself...we're in varkala right now, where the living doesn't get any easier...it's a westernized touristy beach spot, where the ladies dress like harlots: strapless dresses, oh my! mike called me a 'sloozy' for wearing a tank top today, but when in india, do as the indians do...and when in varkala, do as the floozy western tourists do...
last but not least - happy shivaratri, birthday of hindu god shiva...om namah shivayah!
Monday February 28
Monday, Feb 28
Today is a travel day to Varkala. It was a 5-turned-six hour ride from Thrissur. After a breakfast and a brief stop at the local travel agency to research festivals in Thrissur the end of March. The book of festivals in India is as thick as the Bible. Fortunately, there is one so we will return. There is also an Indian film festival during that time. We caught a rickshaw from the travel agency back to the hotel to retrieve our backpacks and off to the train station. We were lucky to get two adjacent seats in the air conditioning. My ipod is introducing Heather to Randy Newman. He came up in conversation a couple of days ago when our train to Thrissur was not and we ended up on the bus. I often recall his lyrics, "you have to roll with the punches white boy." Heather had never heard of Randy Newman so here she sits with her eyes closed listening to Randy Newman as the lush tropical jungles of India pass by outside (as best you see thru the grime on the window). This is as far as today has progressed.
Not ten minutes after I wrote the last sentence we were busted in Aluva. At the train station in Aluva the owners of the two seats in the A/C class had showed up. We were quickly pointed the way to the next car which was second class and no A/C. Once the backpacks were stowed in the overhead we looked for two seats together but there were none. Women need to sit next to women so they directed Heather to the rear of the car where a shuffle of Hindu and Muslim bodies took place. I think there were seven people who got up and moved around to make room. They directed Heather to the empty bench seat and motioned for me to come join her. How thoughtful is that? That all those people got up and moved around to make room for two westerners and that they were happy to do so.
As it turned out the second class seating was actually more enjoyable than the A/C section. There is no glass on the windows so there was a nice breeze and the view was unobstructed. Our seats were in the rear of the car the last row in front of the exit so we could stand by the doors and hang out of the doors like you see in every railway scene in India. The people (almost all men) were friendly and pleasant and made the entire 6 hour ride a very memorable event. I almost forgot the chai and coffee walla's walking the aisles uttering "chai chai chai" or "coffee coffee coffee." The farther south we got the more beautiful the scenery became. There are pineapple fields, banana trees, and rice paddies all along the way. We passed one large body of water that was dotted with long slender wooden fishing boats with small white sails. It was absolutely beautiful. Finally arriving at Varkala we hopped on another rickshaw and made our way to yet another hotel. The Krishnatheeram hotel which sits above a cliff overlooking, which happened to be my first view of, the Arabian Sea. After dinner at a vegetarian restaurant we headed back to our rooms to complete yet another fascinating day. I think we're staying here two nights.
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