Had a special thali for dinner, which means a big bundle of rice, something like a chappati (roti) and about eight small dishes of who know's what. You just throw it on your rice and taste. A couple were normal-ish veg stuff, most of the others sauce. When you finish one you get a refill. As much as you can eat for 50p, can't say fairer than that. Also included was a strange pink drink/sauce I wasn't sure, I took a sip but decided to stick to my grape juice, which was brown, mustn't be the right season for grapes.
All this comes complete with a waiter standing a metre away watching you intensely, ready to whip away any empty dishes. Or just stare at the white guy dribbling food down his tshirt?
I walked down to the temples of Madurai, hard to miss as you walk down the street, and made my first major (well knowingly!) faux pas. I have got used to ignoring all the street vendors who wan't to sell you stuff, or clean your shoes etc. However, I guess I shouldn't ignore everybody!
Reading my Lonely Planet it had informed me that the touts were tenacious so when I heard a guy saying "Shoes" I just ignored him, thinking he was wanting to polish my shoes (Why I would polish trainers with white stripes on them is an unexplained mystery). I wandered on and somebody tugged at my bag, I shrugged him off thinking, yep the guide books are right. Again he pulled harder at my bag which contained my camera. I swung around sharply to confront the man, nearly knocking him off balance. He again pointed at my shoes, a second later I realised my mistake, I had walked into the Hindu temple with my shoes on. I muttered my apologies and exited sharply. Woops!
I walked quickly outside and away feeling embrassed. I pondered whether to try and explain. But with no Tamil and probably little English from the guard, I decided against. I had visions of me saying "Yes. I thought you wanted to clean my shoes!" which probably wouldn't of helped matter greatly. I walked round the perimter of the temple and decided to enter at the other side, this time without shoes!
Around the four side of the temple lie, ludicriously ornatetly decorated towers stacked upto 50metres tall.
Depicted on the entrances are a good deal of the 330million or so Hindu gods(Every three people in India have a god each)!
Within the temple features a room the 1000 pillared hall. Indeed I did count around 30 across and the room was squarish so probaby not an exaggeration. In the corner stood the musical pillars, which the attendant happily knocked out a tune with his bit of wood. "Same stone!", he marvelled as the different tones resonated through the pillars. I decided not to mention the fact that they had different girths.
After a couple of days I moved onto Trichy. Trichy also has some large Hindu temples. At first glance, it looks similar to Madurai, but once inside, the scale of the complex is apparent from the rooftops. It's huge! 60 hectares, if that means anything to anybody. I didn't have much time to go round as I said to the autorickshaw driver I would be back soon, and as I had left my shoes with him, I decided I better make it back on time. It seemed complicated to get around as most of the passages were Hindu only. Strangely they don't seem to mind that shops have been setup in the temple, selling the usual junk, which to me seems totally out of place.
I got the driver to drop me off at the shore temple on the way back. After the usual argument about the fare, where I no doubt got ripped off, I ascended the five hundred odd steps to the top of the shore temple. Another hindu temle, so no shoes to climb the stairs, not so bad on the way up, but not used to going down stairs with no shoes. At the top you get a good view across Trichy and in the distance you can spot the Sri Ranganathaswamy temple (is it any wonder the drivers look confused when I ask for the Sri Ranganathingy temple?) Nice sunset from up here.
I tried to wander back to the hotel and got hopelessly lost as usual. Ended up squashed in a throng of people walking up and down a bazaar. They had a few carnival type rides, like a 10m circle of track on which a car goes round! On closer inspection it doesn't even go on the track, but just a rotate round the track via a large metal beam fixed horizontally to spin the car round. Seemed to be mostly guys who you would of thought to be to old on them.
Gave up trying to get back and jumped in an auto who then tried to go back down through the crowds. Lots and lots of horn beeping and shouting as a traffic jam ensued. A few people jumped out their stationary vehicles and pushed parked richshaws out the way to get past. Eventually made it back to the hotel.
Friday, March 18, 2005
Tuesday, March 08, 2005
Munnar
Looking at past entries, (Kochi, Kollam, Kotayam, Kumily) you make think I went to Munnar just to prove that not everywhere in Kerala begins with a 'K'.
I got to the bus station at 13.30 for the bus to Munnar, turns out it didn't leave till 14.45 and took longer than I thought arrived around 19.15, another day gone!
I had phoned for some accommodation that George from Kottayam had given me, but they were full they seemed to think I should of turned up yesterday. George must of reserved me a room when I said I would of being going to Munnar, although he didn't tell me it was next to this. Still somebody jumped on the bus and approached me asking if I was Holly, nope, somebody else. I shooed him away thinking he was another tout, then he showed me his card for the homestay, aah, he means Colin. So I got off the bus with him and told him I had phoned and they had no rooms. He said "Come, come" I asked again about rooms and he said "No". Hmm strange. Turned out they were full but I could sleep in the living room. Met a guy from Toronto, Norm and a girl for Netherlands, Dieuwke (www.dieuwke.tk) also staying there and went for dinner.
The next day we went for a walk throught the tea plantations. We arrived at a small village where the kids were jumping up and down and shouting. Dieuwke was wearing a sari, which seem to amaze everybody we met. People would stop and speak and the only word we would recognise was sari. We were invited in for some tea, by the school teacher, We asked for a photo of Elizabeth (or Maybol, said Elizabeth was her company name?) and her husband. Her husband got changed, combed his hair, selected his best jacket, decided against it and then went outside for the photo.
Strangely when we left the children decided they no longer liked us and threw stones at us, Watch your back! Maybe because we didn't give them a pen? Or just up to mischeive, who knows?
We wandered on for some more and eventually spotted the road where we walked for a bit more past a temple where five guys were "gi'eing it laldy" on the drums. Some sort of small festival presumably. Passing a typical market stall.
Went back for dinner and had some beef which was like galvanised rubber, the chicken the night before was much tastier!
Next day we were going to go to a waterfall but there is no water (I guess it's relegated to being a cliff), so we went to Echo Point. This basically consisted of a forested lake where with lots of Indians shouting across it.
There was a film crew from Kairla TV station who gave us a lift to the end of the lake, after filming us and the rest of the tourists (Fame at last!) Then a large group of guys on holiday offered us a lift upto Top Station, so twelve of us somehow crammed into a jeep. The driver could talk English fine as his wife worked in Ireland. Some of the rest however appeared to have been drinking a bit and were in high spirits. Instant best friends! They didn't speak much English though.
One gave me a try of his sunglasses. I just said "Thanks very much!" which shut them up for a bit. I think only the rich Indians would have sunglasses. At the very edge of the cliff stood a gate where a man tried to charge people for looking at the view, seemed completely pointless as you could see the view fine from the path. Still anything for a quick buck, eh?
I saw the route that Aaron from the rafting must of hiked, he must be very fit! There goes that idea.
Know I now why the bus takes seven hours to go only about 60km. It's down one mountain and up another taller one!
We declined a lift back down in the jeep opting for the bus. As we crossed a dam the guard, as usual asked name, country and then excitedly showed us the dam gutter. When you shout along the wall you get a small echo. Echos seem to be a big thing in India? He then ushered us down to the bottom of the dam. He most of told another group of Indians my name as on the way back up, people were shouting "Colin! Colin!", "How are you, Colin?". Erm "Fine"
Waiting for the bus at 17.30 it turned up at 16.30 but going the wrong way. The conductor asked us where we were going, replied Munnar. He ushered us on the bus, "Yes, yes Munnar. Please sit." as expected it went off for half an hour in the wrong direction before looping back past where we were. Still had a quick look at a small village, Kovilloor. Seemed to be full of ruind jeep being cannabilised fir spare parts, I didn't want to even think about how they got in such a state. Eventually made it back and went for dinner with another Torontoian, if that's the word. Another veg banana leaf place but quite tasty.
I opted against going to Kodiakanal and decided to go straight to Madurai, so back down to the plains, which means get the suntan lotion on again!
I got to the bus station at 13.30 for the bus to Munnar, turns out it didn't leave till 14.45 and took longer than I thought arrived around 19.15, another day gone!
I had phoned for some accommodation that George from Kottayam had given me, but they were full they seemed to think I should of turned up yesterday. George must of reserved me a room when I said I would of being going to Munnar, although he didn't tell me it was next to this. Still somebody jumped on the bus and approached me asking if I was Holly, nope, somebody else. I shooed him away thinking he was another tout, then he showed me his card for the homestay, aah, he means Colin. So I got off the bus with him and told him I had phoned and they had no rooms. He said "Come, come" I asked again about rooms and he said "No". Hmm strange. Turned out they were full but I could sleep in the living room. Met a guy from Toronto, Norm and a girl for Netherlands, Dieuwke (www.dieuwke.tk) also staying there and went for dinner.
The next day we went for a walk throught the tea plantations. We arrived at a small village where the kids were jumping up and down and shouting. Dieuwke was wearing a sari, which seem to amaze everybody we met. People would stop and speak and the only word we would recognise was sari. We were invited in for some tea, by the school teacher, We asked for a photo of Elizabeth (or Maybol, said Elizabeth was her company name?) and her husband. Her husband got changed, combed his hair, selected his best jacket, decided against it and then went outside for the photo.
Strangely when we left the children decided they no longer liked us and threw stones at us, Watch your back! Maybe because we didn't give them a pen? Or just up to mischeive, who knows?
We wandered on for some more and eventually spotted the road where we walked for a bit more past a temple where five guys were "gi'eing it laldy" on the drums. Some sort of small festival presumably. Passing a typical market stall.
Went back for dinner and had some beef which was like galvanised rubber, the chicken the night before was much tastier!
Next day we were going to go to a waterfall but there is no water (I guess it's relegated to being a cliff), so we went to Echo Point. This basically consisted of a forested lake where with lots of Indians shouting across it.
There was a film crew from Kairla TV station who gave us a lift to the end of the lake, after filming us and the rest of the tourists (Fame at last!) Then a large group of guys on holiday offered us a lift upto Top Station, so twelve of us somehow crammed into a jeep. The driver could talk English fine as his wife worked in Ireland. Some of the rest however appeared to have been drinking a bit and were in high spirits. Instant best friends! They didn't speak much English though.
One gave me a try of his sunglasses. I just said "Thanks very much!" which shut them up for a bit. I think only the rich Indians would have sunglasses. At the very edge of the cliff stood a gate where a man tried to charge people for looking at the view, seemed completely pointless as you could see the view fine from the path. Still anything for a quick buck, eh?
I saw the route that Aaron from the rafting must of hiked, he must be very fit! There goes that idea.
Know I now why the bus takes seven hours to go only about 60km. It's down one mountain and up another taller one!
We declined a lift back down in the jeep opting for the bus. As we crossed a dam the guard, as usual asked name, country and then excitedly showed us the dam gutter. When you shout along the wall you get a small echo. Echos seem to be a big thing in India? He then ushered us down to the bottom of the dam. He most of told another group of Indians my name as on the way back up, people were shouting "Colin! Colin!", "How are you, Colin?". Erm "Fine"
Waiting for the bus at 17.30 it turned up at 16.30 but going the wrong way. The conductor asked us where we were going, replied Munnar. He ushered us on the bus, "Yes, yes Munnar. Please sit." as expected it went off for half an hour in the wrong direction before looping back past where we were. Still had a quick look at a small village, Kovilloor. Seemed to be full of ruind jeep being cannabilised fir spare parts, I didn't want to even think about how they got in such a state. Eventually made it back and went for dinner with another Torontoian, if that's the word. Another veg banana leaf place but quite tasty.
I opted against going to Kodiakanal and decided to go straight to Madurai, so back down to the plains, which means get the suntan lotion on again!
Kumily
Close to Kumily lies the Periyar Wildlife Sanctuary. I had arranged with a driver to give me a lift into the park at 6.30 so as to get the first boat which sails around the lake, however my alarm didn't go off and I woke up at 6.40 and jumped out of bed for an extremely quick shower and ran out the door. Unfortunately the driver had left, but as I trudged back resigned to getting the next boat another driver passed. I told him I needed to get to the boat landing in ten minutes. Thankfully he understood and hurtled along the road towards the jetty. I quickly grabbed a ticket and ran down to the boat leaping down the many stairs, breathlessly arriving at the boat at exactly seven o'clock. Success! Of course it was another ten minutes before it actually left.
The early morning boat ride along the lake was beautifuly serene. Rippling along through scenery the sun rose higher, we encountered a few playful otters at the edge of the lake and later a wild elephant with a young baby. A group of German birdwatchers kept excitedly pointing at the trees and peering through their giant binoculars. The lake was artifically created over a hundred years ago for a maharaja who wanted some hunting grounds, alright for some. Some hundred year old tree trunks still stand in the lake making ideal perching points for birds. Some of the landscapes didn't look too disimiliar to Scotland, but warmer! I continued snapping away with my camera, with some wild boar in the far distance.
After doing the boat ride, I returned to the hotel and met the driver who hadn't waited for me! He had other guests who wanted to get to the boat landing that morning, so fair enough. I wouldn't of waited either!
After some cornflakes (not a very Indian breakfast!) I went on to a spice garden via a viewpoint at which you could see into the next state, Tamil Nadu. Also there were some plants which curled up when touched. The driver proclaimed these were called 'Touch-me-nots' I'm pretty sure that's not the latin name.
At the spice garden we wandered around sniffing, smelling and tasting a large variety of spices. Including the bark of the cinnamon tree, green cloves (I had only seen dried black cloves before), curry leaves (smaller than I thought), white green black pepper (picked at different times), mango (not yet in season, so I didn't taste these), gooseberries (very sour!), ginger (well a patch of dirt where it had been harvested), aniseed, coffee (don't smell of much before roasting), banana flower (used in curries), papaya, coconuts, allspice (had assumed this was just a mix of spices, not a real plant), pineapple, cashew, betel nut, chilli, lemongrass,
vanilla (has to be manually pollinated), nutmeg and cocoa. A lot of plants! Also there was sap being drawn to make rubber which is then mixed with acid and put through a press to create sheets of rubber.
All in all, an informative visit!
After dark, I went night trekking through the forest, there was just me and two other tourists, along with a guide and an armed guard!
After quickly deciding that the best chance of spotting animals would be to be directly behind the guide, I maneouvered myself into first place. I spotted some barking deer, samba deer, wild boar(or pork as the guide referred to them) and a brief glimpse of a porcupine, with an even briefer glimpse of a leopard cat. To be honest, I just saw a black shape run away extremely quickly!
But by being behind the guide at least I caught a glimpse, the other two saw nothing. The guide thought he had seen it reappear and the guide and I chased after it stealithly as the sheet lightning briefly illuminated the plains in the ever present humidity. However as we got closer, it turned out to be just some more pork.
Also we passed through a field with hundreds of fireflies flashing their way through the night, producing an eerie green glow as the blipped on and off. The guide expertly grabbed one (just like Karate Kid without the chopsticks) and showed it to us up close.
Unfortunately for the next hour and half, we saw nothing else, as we trudged through the woods in the dark Still after hearing about the night trekking I wanted to do it, because it was unique and glad I did.
Apparently the group before had seen nothing at all, I remembered it had poured down with rain the previous night.
The next day I had a full day in the park doing bamboo rafting and trekking. Again this was excellent as six of us trekked to a different area of the park and then onto a bamboo raft lashed together with string. Another couple of guides had a small two man raft alongside which we would later be thankful of. A couple of extra paddles were handed to us and we took turns of rowing through the water. Not long after we left our raft was grounded un a tree stump submerged just below the water, not this one. After a while, I was wondering if it was time to learn how to swim. However, the second raft ferried people the short distance to shore to lighten the load. After a large Welshman named Garfield moved to the back the raft (You couldn't make this up!), the raft was freed and we returned back aboard. I had rolled up my trousers and taken my shoes off as the bottom of the raft was wet (the seats are raised)
Despite spending weeks in Goa in shorts and not getting so much as an inkling of a tan my legs got burnt. In fact they are kinda crispy now! Probably the water magnifying the heat on an already scorching day. Ouch! I must of used up a couple of gallons of aftersun by now. Of course it never even occured to me to put sunscream on my legs, besides the water would of washed it off anyway.
When we landed at the otherside of the lake, we trekked some more through the forest hunting for elephants which were not to be found. After a while we returned to the lake and had lunch upon which the elephants appeared at the other side of the lake to taunt us.
We returned back across the lake and hiked back passing a samba deer which had been killed by a tiger a few days before. According to the guide the tigers wont eat fresh meat, preferring instead to leave it for four or five days. As somebody says it would taste a bit more gamey. That is if much is left after the flies have been at it. Euurgh! Also got quite close to a buffalo, probably because we where directly behind it, hence the photo of it's bum. I sneaked after a bird to get this photo.
We returned back at the main park centre and decided to just walk the few more km's out the park rather than get a rickshaw. I was walking along with an Isralei, Aaron, who had also done the rafting when he spotted a giant squirrel. He pointed it out and soon caused a traffic jam as any passing car stopped and everybody jumps out with their camera.
Aaron told me he had hiked from Kodiakanal to Munnar. I had a vague idea that that might be good, but I was going in the other direction which meant over a 600m incline, hmmm. Maybe not!
The early morning boat ride along the lake was beautifuly serene. Rippling along through scenery the sun rose higher, we encountered a few playful otters at the edge of the lake and later a wild elephant with a young baby. A group of German birdwatchers kept excitedly pointing at the trees and peering through their giant binoculars. The lake was artifically created over a hundred years ago for a maharaja who wanted some hunting grounds, alright for some. Some hundred year old tree trunks still stand in the lake making ideal perching points for birds. Some of the landscapes didn't look too disimiliar to Scotland, but warmer! I continued snapping away with my camera, with some wild boar in the far distance.
After doing the boat ride, I returned to the hotel and met the driver who hadn't waited for me! He had other guests who wanted to get to the boat landing that morning, so fair enough. I wouldn't of waited either!
After some cornflakes (not a very Indian breakfast!) I went on to a spice garden via a viewpoint at which you could see into the next state, Tamil Nadu. Also there were some plants which curled up when touched. The driver proclaimed these were called 'Touch-me-nots' I'm pretty sure that's not the latin name.
At the spice garden we wandered around sniffing, smelling and tasting a large variety of spices. Including the bark of the cinnamon tree, green cloves (I had only seen dried black cloves before), curry leaves (smaller than I thought), white green black pepper (picked at different times), mango (not yet in season, so I didn't taste these), gooseberries (very sour!), ginger (well a patch of dirt where it had been harvested), aniseed, coffee (don't smell of much before roasting), banana flower (used in curries), papaya, coconuts, allspice (had assumed this was just a mix of spices, not a real plant), pineapple, cashew, betel nut, chilli, lemongrass,
vanilla (has to be manually pollinated), nutmeg and cocoa. A lot of plants! Also there was sap being drawn to make rubber which is then mixed with acid and put through a press to create sheets of rubber.
All in all, an informative visit!
After dark, I went night trekking through the forest, there was just me and two other tourists, along with a guide and an armed guard!
After quickly deciding that the best chance of spotting animals would be to be directly behind the guide, I maneouvered myself into first place. I spotted some barking deer, samba deer, wild boar(or pork as the guide referred to them) and a brief glimpse of a porcupine, with an even briefer glimpse of a leopard cat. To be honest, I just saw a black shape run away extremely quickly!
But by being behind the guide at least I caught a glimpse, the other two saw nothing. The guide thought he had seen it reappear and the guide and I chased after it stealithly as the sheet lightning briefly illuminated the plains in the ever present humidity. However as we got closer, it turned out to be just some more pork.
Also we passed through a field with hundreds of fireflies flashing their way through the night, producing an eerie green glow as the blipped on and off. The guide expertly grabbed one (just like Karate Kid without the chopsticks) and showed it to us up close.
Unfortunately for the next hour and half, we saw nothing else, as we trudged through the woods in the dark Still after hearing about the night trekking I wanted to do it, because it was unique and glad I did.
Apparently the group before had seen nothing at all, I remembered it had poured down with rain the previous night.
The next day I had a full day in the park doing bamboo rafting and trekking. Again this was excellent as six of us trekked to a different area of the park and then onto a bamboo raft lashed together with string. Another couple of guides had a small two man raft alongside which we would later be thankful of. A couple of extra paddles were handed to us and we took turns of rowing through the water. Not long after we left our raft was grounded un a tree stump submerged just below the water, not this one. After a while, I was wondering if it was time to learn how to swim. However, the second raft ferried people the short distance to shore to lighten the load. After a large Welshman named Garfield moved to the back the raft (You couldn't make this up!), the raft was freed and we returned back aboard. I had rolled up my trousers and taken my shoes off as the bottom of the raft was wet (the seats are raised)
Despite spending weeks in Goa in shorts and not getting so much as an inkling of a tan my legs got burnt. In fact they are kinda crispy now! Probably the water magnifying the heat on an already scorching day. Ouch! I must of used up a couple of gallons of aftersun by now. Of course it never even occured to me to put sunscream on my legs, besides the water would of washed it off anyway.
When we landed at the otherside of the lake, we trekked some more through the forest hunting for elephants which were not to be found. After a while we returned to the lake and had lunch upon which the elephants appeared at the other side of the lake to taunt us.
We returned back across the lake and hiked back passing a samba deer which had been killed by a tiger a few days before. According to the guide the tigers wont eat fresh meat, preferring instead to leave it for four or five days. As somebody says it would taste a bit more gamey. That is if much is left after the flies have been at it. Euurgh! Also got quite close to a buffalo, probably because we where directly behind it, hence the photo of it's bum. I sneaked after a bird to get this photo.
We returned back at the main park centre and decided to just walk the few more km's out the park rather than get a rickshaw. I was walking along with an Isralei, Aaron, who had also done the rafting when he spotted a giant squirrel. He pointed it out and soon caused a traffic jam as any passing car stopped and everybody jumps out with their camera.
Aaron told me he had hiked from Kodiakanal to Munnar. I had a vague idea that that might be good, but I was going in the other direction which meant over a 600m incline, hmmm. Maybe not!
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
Kotayam
The next day I left Alappuzha to go on another boat ride to Kotayam.
This time only two and a half hours. More fancy houseboats and some distant and close canoes. But this time the ferry was used by local people unlike the Kollam-Alappuzha cruise which was entirely tourists. After all why go on a ride that takes eight hours on a boat when the bus takes less than a couple of hours, if you're not a tourist?
Also passed a massive bundle of hay, underneath which a boat peeped out. This ferry made many stops where people alighted and joined. We cruised over a large lake which felt like you were almost at sea. Passed a man with a great white moustache, somebody skinning up a coconut tree, people taking it easy and lots of ducks being herded by a man in a canoe! Also saw a few other birds, perhaps comorants and the brilliant blue of the kingfisher (which eluded my camera). As we neared Kotayam we went through more narrow canals again, some were completely covered in green plants, looking like solid ground.
Another tourist on the boat, Barbara, had told me where they were staying and so I tagged along with them, it sounded like a good place and it was. Despite the offers from the rickshaw drivers about his great hotel! After agreeing twenty rupees he now wanted fifty as he realised he was getting any hotel commisions from us.
If you agree twenty that's what you get!
George was the friendly owner of the homestay, set in a village backing onto farmland. Unforturnately I had just missed a festival where the others had gone last night. However the next day Barbara, George and I went to a temple. I'm sure I would never of got there myself as the bus have only Malayalam script for the destinations. However before we got there, after crossing a dodgy bridge, we had a look at George's boat, inscripted in Malayalam, which is used for the Keralan snake boat race. It must be an amazing spectacle to see. The boat is giant! I expected a modest sized rowing boat, but this is a 30-35m boat housed in a large open barn!
Upto thirty boats each with upto a hundred rowers cram onto the canals and race. Unfortunately it takes place in August not Feburary.
Later on we saw another similar boat, but with a garland of flowers handing from the bow. Housed in a concrete building, besides some jackfruit trees, with a copper carving and painted murals adorning the walls. The boats are coated in fish oil to keep them from rotting, or maybe to keep them smelly?
Back at the temple. the walls are covered with innumerable candle holders. It must look great at night, with all the candles lit around the four sides of the temple. There was also a tall golden pillar with small figurines at the base, and intricately carved wooden statues atop tall veritcal poles.
The ground was also very hot as even through my socks I could feel it. Barbara had no socks and was running from shade to shade. There was also some mirrors not made from glass but metal alloys. If you put a pen against it then there would be no gap as in a mirror. This reminded me of something else but I forget.
Tried to take a photo of the moon, but it looks very small!
This time only two and a half hours. More fancy houseboats and some distant and close canoes. But this time the ferry was used by local people unlike the Kollam-Alappuzha cruise which was entirely tourists. After all why go on a ride that takes eight hours on a boat when the bus takes less than a couple of hours, if you're not a tourist?
Also passed a massive bundle of hay, underneath which a boat peeped out. This ferry made many stops where people alighted and joined. We cruised over a large lake which felt like you were almost at sea. Passed a man with a great white moustache, somebody skinning up a coconut tree, people taking it easy and lots of ducks being herded by a man in a canoe! Also saw a few other birds, perhaps comorants and the brilliant blue of the kingfisher (which eluded my camera). As we neared Kotayam we went through more narrow canals again, some were completely covered in green plants, looking like solid ground.
Another tourist on the boat, Barbara, had told me where they were staying and so I tagged along with them, it sounded like a good place and it was. Despite the offers from the rickshaw drivers about his great hotel! After agreeing twenty rupees he now wanted fifty as he realised he was getting any hotel commisions from us.
If you agree twenty that's what you get!
George was the friendly owner of the homestay, set in a village backing onto farmland. Unforturnately I had just missed a festival where the others had gone last night. However the next day Barbara, George and I went to a temple. I'm sure I would never of got there myself as the bus have only Malayalam script for the destinations. However before we got there, after crossing a dodgy bridge, we had a look at George's boat, inscripted in Malayalam, which is used for the Keralan snake boat race. It must be an amazing spectacle to see. The boat is giant! I expected a modest sized rowing boat, but this is a 30-35m boat housed in a large open barn!
Upto thirty boats each with upto a hundred rowers cram onto the canals and race. Unfortunately it takes place in August not Feburary.
Later on we saw another similar boat, but with a garland of flowers handing from the bow. Housed in a concrete building, besides some jackfruit trees, with a copper carving and painted murals adorning the walls. The boats are coated in fish oil to keep them from rotting, or maybe to keep them smelly?
Back at the temple. the walls are covered with innumerable candle holders. It must look great at night, with all the candles lit around the four sides of the temple. There was also a tall golden pillar with small figurines at the base, and intricately carved wooden statues atop tall veritcal poles.
The ground was also very hot as even through my socks I could feel it. Barbara had no socks and was running from shade to shade. There was also some mirrors not made from glass but metal alloys. If you put a pen against it then there would be no gap as in a mirror. This reminded me of something else but I forget.
Tried to take a photo of the moon, but it looks very small!
Kochi
I found a hotel at the third time of asking as the other two were full. I went for a look about and decided to see if I could find a cheaper hotel as I fancied staying here for a few days. I bumped into Paula whom I met from Goa who was leaving tomorrow, but she mentioned her hotel was cheap so I moved in there the next day. I've even got a balcony here. Although I could certainly do without the mozzies buzzing in my ear when I'm trying to sleep.
It is very warm being back down at sea-level again. It doesn't get cold at night which I find makes sleeping hard. Still I can always go for a siesta!
I went down to the harbour and had a look at the chinese fishing nets. These huge nets pivot into the sea, counterweighted by large rocks, each requires at least four men to operate it. It is also next to the ferry port where people are ready to jump off the ferry at first land!
One night I went along to a Kathakali performance. 'Katha' means story and 'Kali' means play. The make-up begans 90 minutes before the start. This performance was for the tourists and so they showed you how the make-up is made from natural rocks mixed with coconut oil and ground into a paste which makes vibrant colours.
The performance is almost like sign language which movements performed and faces pulled. At the start they demonstrated a few movements as the announcer called out. 'King!', "Honey from a lotus!', 'Fear' etc...
Here are the photos:
1
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3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
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19
Then onto the main story, although this was in fact just an excerpt full performaces can last a bum-numbing nine hours!
They gave you an outline of the story in English so you could try and follow along, albeit perhaps with limited success.
Here is the outline:
Arjuna - Priding over his skill inarchery by Goddess Parvathy, Lord Shiva goes to the destory the egotism of Arjuna- simultaneously Arjuna's rival king Duryodhana plans to kil him. He sends a demon Mockasure in the form of a pig for killing Arjuna. The pig approaches Arjuna attacks. The savage (Shiva) shoots an arrow, pig killed, Arjuna also sends arrow - Savage gets angry, dispute follows. Terrible clash Arjuna beaten and defeated-now free from egotism, humble. Lord Shiva reveals himself - blesses and offers Arjuna powerful arrow Pasupatham.
I went for a wonder round town and came across a field with a large crowd, a fire engine and a big bundle of hay. So as I looked on curiously, a man told me that a magican was performing. After various speeches by the governor (who drove a Skoda) and a lot of hanging about eventually the show began. Suresh was tied up and a large JCB-type vehicle with a long arm picked him up and lowered him inside the tunnel of hay. After about five minutes the arm retracted. Another few minutes of shoo-ing people away from the hales and bay and then the lit the fire. The bales went up quickly and Suresh re-appeared in the crowd. The crowd threw him up in the air for a bit and cheered. Then quickly began to disperse. Meanwhile Suresh clambered against the crowd to get to the initial platform and do a lot of jumping about and bowing, but by this time the crowd had thinned.
Another day, I walked down through the streets where the spice traders are assembled. The mixtures of strange smells was interesting although sometime you get a whiff of not so pleasant smells from the gutters running alongside the road! I looped back up and past on of the oldest churches in India, the bright blue Santa Cruz Basilica
It is very warm being back down at sea-level again. It doesn't get cold at night which I find makes sleeping hard. Still I can always go for a siesta!
I went down to the harbour and had a look at the chinese fishing nets. These huge nets pivot into the sea, counterweighted by large rocks, each requires at least four men to operate it. It is also next to the ferry port where people are ready to jump off the ferry at first land!
One night I went along to a Kathakali performance. 'Katha' means story and 'Kali' means play. The make-up begans 90 minutes before the start. This performance was for the tourists and so they showed you how the make-up is made from natural rocks mixed with coconut oil and ground into a paste which makes vibrant colours.
The performance is almost like sign language which movements performed and faces pulled. At the start they demonstrated a few movements as the announcer called out. 'King!', "Honey from a lotus!', 'Fear' etc...
Here are the photos:
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
Then onto the main story, although this was in fact just an excerpt full performaces can last a bum-numbing nine hours!
They gave you an outline of the story in English so you could try and follow along, albeit perhaps with limited success.
Here is the outline:
Arjuna - Priding over his skill inarchery by Goddess Parvathy, Lord Shiva goes to the destory the egotism of Arjuna- simultaneously Arjuna's rival king Duryodhana plans to kil him. He sends a demon Mockasure in the form of a pig for killing Arjuna. The pig approaches Arjuna attacks. The savage (Shiva) shoots an arrow, pig killed, Arjuna also sends arrow - Savage gets angry, dispute follows. Terrible clash Arjuna beaten and defeated-now free from egotism, humble. Lord Shiva reveals himself - blesses and offers Arjuna powerful arrow Pasupatham.
I went for a wonder round town and came across a field with a large crowd, a fire engine and a big bundle of hay. So as I looked on curiously, a man told me that a magican was performing. After various speeches by the governor (who drove a Skoda) and a lot of hanging about eventually the show began. Suresh was tied up and a large JCB-type vehicle with a long arm picked him up and lowered him inside the tunnel of hay. After about five minutes the arm retracted. Another few minutes of shoo-ing people away from the hales and bay and then the lit the fire. The bales went up quickly and Suresh re-appeared in the crowd. The crowd threw him up in the air for a bit and cheered. Then quickly began to disperse. Meanwhile Suresh clambered against the crowd to get to the initial platform and do a lot of jumping about and bowing, but by this time the crowd had thinned.
Another day, I walked down through the streets where the spice traders are assembled. The mixtures of strange smells was interesting although sometime you get a whiff of not so pleasant smells from the gutters running alongside the road! I looped back up and past on of the oldest churches in India, the bright blue Santa Cruz Basilica
Sunday, February 20, 2005
Kollam
I arrived in Kollam, passing Allapuzha, and opted for the ambitously named Hotel Shine. Still it was fairly clean in my 'semi-deluxe' room. The 'ordinary' rooms had a few too many ants for my liking!
I bought a ticket for the eight hour cruise down the backwaters from the hotel, my main objective in Kerala. As I boarded the ferry the next day, a guy took my ticket and looked at it suspicously. I was a bit wary of buying the ticket from the hotel rather than direct from the jetty. I went to take the ticket back and he rather tetchily waved me away on to the boat. As I was sitting on the boat I was wondering why he had taken the tickets for the people in front of me. I was wondering if I was getting ripped off and would have to buy another ticket.
I saw the ticket collector give somebody back their ticket and then when he came round to me he looked at me, recognised my face and then went back and took the ticket off the original guy and asked if I was Mr. Colin. Yep, so all was fine. But sometimes you get a bit paranoid when you don't know what is going on!
Unforutnately I had buried my camera at the bottom of my bag, so no pictures from this boatride. In retrospect I should of probably dug it out as the scenery was excellent. We rode pass fancy houseboats, some costs the same as five-star hotels. Although they are brilliantly constructed. The cruise I was on is just a public ferry. The houseboats in contrast, have their own private chefs, dining tables etc. I even rode past one with somebody reclining on on a huge bed in the sun, on the fore of the boat.
We stopped for lunch at a riverside hotel where we got a thali. Then back to cruising down the water, I think the top speed is around 12km/hour, so not exactly flying along. Later on we stopped again for a snack, as long as you like your food fried. I opted for a fried banana in batter, which was tasty, along with the obligatory chai.
As you sail along all the children shout out "One pen! Gimme one pen!", well except for one excitable young girl who danced about and flashed her knickers, much to the amusement of the people on the boat.
We proceeded along past more chines fishing nets and the occasional canoe. Then as we approached Aluppuzha through more narrow canals and eventually to the jetty. Overall a very enjoyable ride and a good way to spend a relaxing day.
I had arranged with a guy at the chai stop to stay at his hotel
, so I got a free pickup and drop off. The touts aren't all bad!
At the hotel they had two large fish tanks, one with a large sturgeon fish in with what seemed to be a diminishing number of minnows. The other tanks had two giant shrimps who lazily snapped at large cichlids.
I bought a ticket for the eight hour cruise down the backwaters from the hotel, my main objective in Kerala. As I boarded the ferry the next day, a guy took my ticket and looked at it suspicously. I was a bit wary of buying the ticket from the hotel rather than direct from the jetty. I went to take the ticket back and he rather tetchily waved me away on to the boat. As I was sitting on the boat I was wondering why he had taken the tickets for the people in front of me. I was wondering if I was getting ripped off and would have to buy another ticket.
I saw the ticket collector give somebody back their ticket and then when he came round to me he looked at me, recognised my face and then went back and took the ticket off the original guy and asked if I was Mr. Colin. Yep, so all was fine. But sometimes you get a bit paranoid when you don't know what is going on!
Unforutnately I had buried my camera at the bottom of my bag, so no pictures from this boatride. In retrospect I should of probably dug it out as the scenery was excellent. We rode pass fancy houseboats, some costs the same as five-star hotels. Although they are brilliantly constructed. The cruise I was on is just a public ferry. The houseboats in contrast, have their own private chefs, dining tables etc. I even rode past one with somebody reclining on on a huge bed in the sun, on the fore of the boat.
We stopped for lunch at a riverside hotel where we got a thali. Then back to cruising down the water, I think the top speed is around 12km/hour, so not exactly flying along. Later on we stopped again for a snack, as long as you like your food fried. I opted for a fried banana in batter, which was tasty, along with the obligatory chai.
As you sail along all the children shout out "One pen! Gimme one pen!", well except for one excitable young girl who danced about and flashed her knickers, much to the amusement of the people on the boat.
We proceeded along past more chines fishing nets and the occasional canoe. Then as we approached Aluppuzha through more narrow canals and eventually to the jetty. Overall a very enjoyable ride and a good way to spend a relaxing day.
I had arranged with a guy at the chai stop to stay at his hotel
, so I got a free pickup and drop off. The touts aren't all bad!
At the hotel they had two large fish tanks, one with a large sturgeon fish in with what seemed to be a diminishing number of minnows. The other tanks had two giant shrimps who lazily snapped at large cichlids.
Coonoor
I arrived in Coonoor in the afternoon and has a quick look around. The next day heavy rain curtailed my explorations. During my time in Coonoor it seemed to be under near perpetual atmospheric fog. In a fit of optimism I set off through the mist the next day and headed out to Dolphin's Nose a viewpoint overlooking the valley. I hoped as I walked the 12km, past a moutain, there that the fog would lift and permit me spectacular views, not so, although people gave me a wave through the mist. When I eventually arrived I was greeted by a view of dense greyness, although it did briefly lift a bit for a few minutes, this is as good as it gets. Oh well, I dug my banana out of my bag for a snack and the monkey quickly noticed. I managed to grab my bag just before it was snatched away, although I don't think the small monkey near would of been able to drag it far!
I considered getting the bus back as I had seen a busstop about a kilometre back but as I was walking I decided I would just walk the whole way back as at least the misty weather made for amiable temperatures. I approached a chai shop where I had stopped previously on the way there. I was invited to a game of Caranibs. I watched other playing a game, then had a go myself. The object is to shoot your checkers into the corner pockets a bit like table snooker. I wasn't very good at it. I then asked if I could have a photo and all hell broke loose! Guys seem to appear from nowhere at the mention of a camera. Everybody crowded round me for the group photo. Then I was dragged in front of the shop for the promotional photo.
Finally I returned to the YWCA, where I was staying despite not being a young woman!
It is one of the few budget options in upper Coonoor, set in an old colonial house. I got caught up in a game of cards after dinner, with an English couple and the excitable young girl who lived there with her parents. I think she knew at least three languages (Malayalam, Tamil and English, probably some Hindi too) and she was only seven. Also living there was a ickle kitten
The day before I left to go to Kochi via Combiatore, I went to Simms Park. This was quite similar to the Botanical Gardens at Ooty. It had been started over 120 years ago and made for a pleasant stroll, through the plants and stuff!
I considered getting the bus back as I had seen a busstop about a kilometre back but as I was walking I decided I would just walk the whole way back as at least the misty weather made for amiable temperatures. I approached a chai shop where I had stopped previously on the way there. I was invited to a game of Caranibs. I watched other playing a game, then had a go myself. The object is to shoot your checkers into the corner pockets a bit like table snooker. I wasn't very good at it. I then asked if I could have a photo and all hell broke loose! Guys seem to appear from nowhere at the mention of a camera. Everybody crowded round me for the group photo. Then I was dragged in front of the shop for the promotional photo.
Finally I returned to the YWCA, where I was staying despite not being a young woman!
It is one of the few budget options in upper Coonoor, set in an old colonial house. I got caught up in a game of cards after dinner, with an English couple and the excitable young girl who lived there with her parents. I think she knew at least three languages (Malayalam, Tamil and English, probably some Hindi too) and she was only seven. Also living there was a ickle kitten
The day before I left to go to Kochi via Combiatore, I went to Simms Park. This was quite similar to the Botanical Gardens at Ooty. It had been started over 120 years ago and made for a pleasant stroll, through the plants and stuff!
Tuesday, February 15, 2005
Snooty Ooty
As I stepped off the bus it most of taken all of five seconds before I was befriended by a man who had rooms. As I hadn't looked at my guide book I went along and got a room. I was charged an extra twenty rupees tax. This is basically the touts 'finding fee' as it only applied the first night. I had a quick look around Ooty. I have seen it described as having fading Raj grandeur. To be honest it's more like faded grandeur. Still I wandered off to an old restaurant to sample a step back in time to the good old days, tallyho!
The restaurant had old furniture in the corners, a grandfather clock, china plates pinned to the walls and a gramaphone. At first I thought they were playing tunes from the forties but later on as I listened more closely I realised it was an accordion playing a selection of the standards, such as Happy Birthday and The Birdie Song. Very strange.
Things didn't get any better when the waiter arrived acting like a cross from a Stephen King film and Fawlty Towers, whilst wearing a Val Doonacan sweater. He definitely seemed a little odd. Still the meal was okay although the plastic plates seemed conspicously out of place.
I was only here for a day and one of the few places I didn't get lost it in. This is due to the fact that it is built round a large racecourse which helps for orientation.
I popped into a nice shop called Hot Breads which had tasty fresh pastries and a very yummy chocolate bun. Now if I could just find somewhere that does a good bacon roll and sells Irn-Bru I'd be a happy bunny!
I like this 24hour checkout that some hotels have, as I didn't get into Ooty till about four o'clock and the next day I was getting the train at three. This meant that I could leave my luggage in my room for the morning and come back later. I walked up to the Botanic Gardens, where I got stuck behind about fifty OAPS in the queue. Maybe this is where the Indians retired to? I nosied about for a bit, there are a lot of plants, and had my lunch, I think I picked up a bit more sunburn. At this altitude (2200m) you probably get burnt a bit easier than you realise. Then I headed back to share my room with a big spider
Later on I caught the train along to Coonoor, on an ageing steam train for the princely sum of seven rupees. I was expecting to be crammed in like sardines after seeing the amount of people that got of the carriage. It reminded me of one of these comedy sketches where twenty people come out the back of the taxi. Forntuately it was a lot quieter going back down and I had plenty of space and a good view out of the window. With my head sticking out the window to see where I was going, I probably looked like a dog in a car, except I managed to keep my tongue in.
The restaurant had old furniture in the corners, a grandfather clock, china plates pinned to the walls and a gramaphone. At first I thought they were playing tunes from the forties but later on as I listened more closely I realised it was an accordion playing a selection of the standards, such as Happy Birthday and The Birdie Song. Very strange.
Things didn't get any better when the waiter arrived acting like a cross from a Stephen King film and Fawlty Towers, whilst wearing a Val Doonacan sweater. He definitely seemed a little odd. Still the meal was okay although the plastic plates seemed conspicously out of place.
I was only here for a day and one of the few places I didn't get lost it in. This is due to the fact that it is built round a large racecourse which helps for orientation.
I popped into a nice shop called Hot Breads which had tasty fresh pastries and a very yummy chocolate bun. Now if I could just find somewhere that does a good bacon roll and sells Irn-Bru I'd be a happy bunny!
I like this 24hour checkout that some hotels have, as I didn't get into Ooty till about four o'clock and the next day I was getting the train at three. This meant that I could leave my luggage in my room for the morning and come back later. I walked up to the Botanic Gardens, where I got stuck behind about fifty OAPS in the queue. Maybe this is where the Indians retired to? I nosied about for a bit, there are a lot of plants, and had my lunch, I think I picked up a bit more sunburn. At this altitude (2200m) you probably get burnt a bit easier than you realise. Then I headed back to share my room with a big spider
Later on I caught the train along to Coonoor, on an ageing steam train for the princely sum of seven rupees. I was expecting to be crammed in like sardines after seeing the amount of people that got of the carriage. It reminded me of one of these comedy sketches where twenty people come out the back of the taxi. Forntuately it was a lot quieter going back down and I had plenty of space and a good view out of the window. With my head sticking out the window to see where I was going, I probably looked like a dog in a car, except I managed to keep my tongue in.
Friday, February 11, 2005
Mysore
I arrived in Mysore and tried the Parklane hotel, but it was full, however, as is usually the case the rickshaw driver knew somewhere else. I however wanted to have a look at another hotel. The other hotel wasn't much cop so I ended up going with to the tuk-tuk drivers choice, which was about 50m from the original hotel. Round and round in circles.
I had a look at the Maharaja's Palace(1,2,3,4) during the day and also popped into the markets, where the vendors try to persuade you to buy incense and oils. At the end of the day my hands were covered in various smelly oils. However, I refused the paints which they want to decorate you with!
I happened to be there on the Sunday night which is when the lights at the Palace (1,2,3,4,5) are turned on for an hour, almost a 100,000 of them!
Some would say it was gaudy, others spectacular, perhaps spectacularly gaudy? Still it certainly lit up the sky!
I went to the post office to send home a CD, but as usual a simple task ends up taking ages!
Of course, the post office don't sell envelopes. So I wandered outside and found a vendor of all sorts of stuff. He had envelopes but only giant ones. I purchased the large envelope and then as I was going to post it. I realised I didn't have a pen on me and the envelope didn't have a sticky seal. So I nipped back to the hotel and packaged it up. At least this time they allowed me to post it, the other time they refused saying it wasn't good enough packaging and would be broken when stamped. I had images of an angry, muttering man in the stamping department crushing everybodys packages!
At dinner I noticed many of the small differences from the UK. They gave me a menu before coming back and lighting a candle so I could actually read it. The way the waiters 'borrowed' the flame from my candle to light another one. The waiter asked half way through whether I wanted any dessert or coffee. The bill was settled in the foyer of the hotel. No huge difference just a myriad of small ones, and that rounds up my cultural analysis of waiting staff in India!
Motorbike is King in India, although finding where you parked your bike could be a bit harder.
Next stop Ooty!
I had a look at the Maharaja's Palace(1,2,3,4) during the day and also popped into the markets, where the vendors try to persuade you to buy incense and oils. At the end of the day my hands were covered in various smelly oils. However, I refused the paints which they want to decorate you with!
I happened to be there on the Sunday night which is when the lights at the Palace (1,2,3,4,5) are turned on for an hour, almost a 100,000 of them!
Some would say it was gaudy, others spectacular, perhaps spectacularly gaudy? Still it certainly lit up the sky!
I went to the post office to send home a CD, but as usual a simple task ends up taking ages!
Of course, the post office don't sell envelopes. So I wandered outside and found a vendor of all sorts of stuff. He had envelopes but only giant ones. I purchased the large envelope and then as I was going to post it. I realised I didn't have a pen on me and the envelope didn't have a sticky seal. So I nipped back to the hotel and packaged it up. At least this time they allowed me to post it, the other time they refused saying it wasn't good enough packaging and would be broken when stamped. I had images of an angry, muttering man in the stamping department crushing everybodys packages!
At dinner I noticed many of the small differences from the UK. They gave me a menu before coming back and lighting a candle so I could actually read it. The way the waiters 'borrowed' the flame from my candle to light another one. The waiter asked half way through whether I wanted any dessert or coffee. The bill was settled in the foyer of the hotel. No huge difference just a myriad of small ones, and that rounds up my cultural analysis of waiting staff in India!
Motorbike is King in India, although finding where you parked your bike could be a bit harder.
Next stop Ooty!
Sunday, February 06, 2005
Honey Valley
I had phoned Honey Valley from the bus stop, but got cut off as the owner was explaining how to get there. I would of phoned back but the bus was getting ready to leave. I knew that I should get off at a village called Kakkabe (turns out the next village, Kabinnakad is closer) and the only way to get ther are by jeep or by using your plates of meat.
So I arrived in Kakkabe and asked a local what way to Honey Valley and they pointed me down the road and so I started walking. A long wway later I arrived at Kabinnakad, the next village. Then I walked upto Honey Valley with my backpack, trust me, phone and get the jeep up!
As I arrived, sweaty and breathless, three large dogs ran down barking loudly to meet me. One dog, placed its front paws on me chest and stared into my face. I stood very still!
The owners, Suresh and Sushella, calmly explained that the dogs tended to get excited at new people. That may be the case, but it's not going to wash the pawprints from my t-shirt!
The dogs were called Rocky 1,2 & 3 \. They often come on walks with you, if it wasn't too near feeding time, in which case they totally ignored you.
Honey Valley is situated in the Kodagu region of Karnataka, about 1200m above sea level. This means that it is slightly cooler than down in most cities. It also used to be one of the largest honey producers in Asia until the bees were chased away by bigger bees (or something). Now it has changed to tourism and coffee bean production. Also has a few peppers, banana, papaya(top right) trees dotted around. Honey Valley consists of a variety of huts and some old houses. Recently they have been expanded with a new dining hall and kitchen and extra rooms. We were there for the inauguration of the new kitchen, they can now cook chapatis at warp speed!
It was a nice change from the cities, to be out and about in the countryside. Supplied was a book of walks with directions and maps, but I still got lost numerous times. Still that's half the fun.
On my first day I climbed up a hill adjacent to Honey Valley. Here there are huge plants.
I eventually got to the summit and was well chuffed.
I could take arty black and white photos up here.
Although there is plenty of colourful plants around, also lots of flowers and creepers along with the occasional spider.
This red leaf caught my eye, whilst above the foliage was thick.
It was very green with good views. The dogs like to pose on rocks, even when you ignore them.
Still some good views to be had, and blue skies.
I came across the remains of a cow?
Up at the summits you could see a long way.
There was a walk down to a natural swimming pool, which was covered in skating beasties, but it didn't seem to deter the hardened swimmers for getting a dip. Another walk was along a mountain ridge where good panoramic views were visible. A lot of the walks were through shaded forested paths, crossing small streams, the trees providing some relief from the sun. One day a few of us tried to get to the top of a waterfall, but lost the path and we had to blaze a trail through the forest! Luckily we came out in a patch of plantations eventually. It was strange to be about 5m from a clearing and not realise it util you popped out the other side of the bushes, so thick was the vegetation in places. Still be regained our bearings and climbed back up to a familiar ridge for a packed lunch of tomatoes, bananas and bombay mix. I ate a humungous dinner that night, as I hadn't planned to miss lunhc and had to nick some food off the others.
There was a good mix of people there when I arrived and I ended up staying longer than I initially thought I would. After all that walking you certainly work up a good apetite. The only trouble was dinner wasn't server until about eight, by which time I was gnawing my own hand as the full moon rose. When I first arrived in India I was amazed at the amount of rice people were putting away, but now I seem to be the same!
Dinner is server in a communal dining room, with lots of passing of plates amongst the hunger people. You have to be quick to get in their first, but thankfully they refill the empty plates.
Sometime we had a bonfire and a few beers after dinner. Staring up at the stars, it was hard to believe that I was still in India with peace and quiet. Usually about that time the dogs would start snarling and barking at each other, although they also enjoyed peacefully sleeping round the warm fire, in their calmer moments.
One day the dogs came along for a walk and started their usual snarling at each other. But this time it was a full moon and they decided to really go for each other. As two dogs locked jaws and tumbled about, the third came in and nipped at their legs. It looked bad as one came past with a gashed lip and dripping blood while the other had a bloodied nose, however they were sitting side by side the next day.
On my last day I decided to go up a mountain, and so set off early after breakfast.
Passed an isolated little farm house in these beautiful surroundings. After a week of walking I made the summit in under two hours, somewhat suprising myself (although it was probably the smallest peak). I walked along a steep sided ridge to get to the top, passing a massive bee! (it was THIS size, stretches out arms) I got to the summit just in time to get good views in all directions. Just five minutes later the weather moved in and the clouds poured up over the mountain peak. I sat in an area where the clouds were streaming across, the hope of some cool cloud vapour, but it didn't seem to make any difference. I headed back down and past an area where I had previously caught a glimpse of some wild deer, but none today, so back to the ranch for a hearty lunch, as the light danced in the clouds. I stopped off briefly at a stream, with moss like a forest to the passing ants.
In Honey Valley you can see quite a variety of birds, but most of the time you can only hear them, especially those woodpeckers. Also butterflies meander through the forest and the flowers, but getting them to stay still for a photo is a bit harder, but sometimes they briefly obliged.
Honey Valley is surrounded by coffee plantations, which are harvested and then dried on the grounds. To go for walks you have to walk past the drying coffee beans and the occasional sunbathing lizard and past the vibrant flowers. These are laid out for around ten days to dry, but have to be gathered up each night to prevent the damp getting to them. I even ended up drinking a lot of coffee which sure tasted a lot better than the stuff for meetings in work!
After a while I decided it was time to leave though, and so back to the hustle and bustle of the cities, next stop Mysore. Just as I was about to get on a bus an Indian couple, Deepak and Laxmi, who were also staying at Honey Valley drop past me and very kindly offered me a lift to within 30kms of Mysore and they were heading back to Bangalore. so that served as a gentle re-introduction to the noise and clamour, and more pleasant than being stuck on a bone-jarring bus for hours.
So I arrived in Kakkabe and asked a local what way to Honey Valley and they pointed me down the road and so I started walking. A long wway later I arrived at Kabinnakad, the next village. Then I walked upto Honey Valley with my backpack, trust me, phone and get the jeep up!
As I arrived, sweaty and breathless, three large dogs ran down barking loudly to meet me. One dog, placed its front paws on me chest and stared into my face. I stood very still!
The owners, Suresh and Sushella, calmly explained that the dogs tended to get excited at new people. That may be the case, but it's not going to wash the pawprints from my t-shirt!
The dogs were called Rocky 1,2 & 3 \. They often come on walks with you, if it wasn't too near feeding time, in which case they totally ignored you.
Honey Valley is situated in the Kodagu region of Karnataka, about 1200m above sea level. This means that it is slightly cooler than down in most cities. It also used to be one of the largest honey producers in Asia until the bees were chased away by bigger bees (or something). Now it has changed to tourism and coffee bean production. Also has a few peppers, banana, papaya(top right) trees dotted around. Honey Valley consists of a variety of huts and some old houses. Recently they have been expanded with a new dining hall and kitchen and extra rooms. We were there for the inauguration of the new kitchen, they can now cook chapatis at warp speed!
It was a nice change from the cities, to be out and about in the countryside. Supplied was a book of walks with directions and maps, but I still got lost numerous times. Still that's half the fun.
On my first day I climbed up a hill adjacent to Honey Valley. Here there are huge plants.
I eventually got to the summit and was well chuffed.
I could take arty black and white photos up here.
Although there is plenty of colourful plants around, also lots of flowers and creepers along with the occasional spider.
This red leaf caught my eye, whilst above the foliage was thick.
It was very green with good views. The dogs like to pose on rocks, even when you ignore them.
Still some good views to be had, and blue skies.
I came across the remains of a cow?
Up at the summits you could see a long way.
There was a walk down to a natural swimming pool, which was covered in skating beasties, but it didn't seem to deter the hardened swimmers for getting a dip. Another walk was along a mountain ridge where good panoramic views were visible. A lot of the walks were through shaded forested paths, crossing small streams, the trees providing some relief from the sun. One day a few of us tried to get to the top of a waterfall, but lost the path and we had to blaze a trail through the forest! Luckily we came out in a patch of plantations eventually. It was strange to be about 5m from a clearing and not realise it util you popped out the other side of the bushes, so thick was the vegetation in places. Still be regained our bearings and climbed back up to a familiar ridge for a packed lunch of tomatoes, bananas and bombay mix. I ate a humungous dinner that night, as I hadn't planned to miss lunhc and had to nick some food off the others.
There was a good mix of people there when I arrived and I ended up staying longer than I initially thought I would. After all that walking you certainly work up a good apetite. The only trouble was dinner wasn't server until about eight, by which time I was gnawing my own hand as the full moon rose. When I first arrived in India I was amazed at the amount of rice people were putting away, but now I seem to be the same!
Dinner is server in a communal dining room, with lots of passing of plates amongst the hunger people. You have to be quick to get in their first, but thankfully they refill the empty plates.
Sometime we had a bonfire and a few beers after dinner. Staring up at the stars, it was hard to believe that I was still in India with peace and quiet. Usually about that time the dogs would start snarling and barking at each other, although they also enjoyed peacefully sleeping round the warm fire, in their calmer moments.
One day the dogs came along for a walk and started their usual snarling at each other. But this time it was a full moon and they decided to really go for each other. As two dogs locked jaws and tumbled about, the third came in and nipped at their legs. It looked bad as one came past with a gashed lip and dripping blood while the other had a bloodied nose, however they were sitting side by side the next day.
On my last day I decided to go up a mountain, and so set off early after breakfast.
Passed an isolated little farm house in these beautiful surroundings. After a week of walking I made the summit in under two hours, somewhat suprising myself (although it was probably the smallest peak). I walked along a steep sided ridge to get to the top, passing a massive bee! (it was THIS size, stretches out arms) I got to the summit just in time to get good views in all directions. Just five minutes later the weather moved in and the clouds poured up over the mountain peak. I sat in an area where the clouds were streaming across, the hope of some cool cloud vapour, but it didn't seem to make any difference. I headed back down and past an area where I had previously caught a glimpse of some wild deer, but none today, so back to the ranch for a hearty lunch, as the light danced in the clouds. I stopped off briefly at a stream, with moss like a forest to the passing ants.
In Honey Valley you can see quite a variety of birds, but most of the time you can only hear them, especially those woodpeckers. Also butterflies meander through the forest and the flowers, but getting them to stay still for a photo is a bit harder, but sometimes they briefly obliged.
Honey Valley is surrounded by coffee plantations, which are harvested and then dried on the grounds. To go for walks you have to walk past the drying coffee beans and the occasional sunbathing lizard and past the vibrant flowers. These are laid out for around ten days to dry, but have to be gathered up each night to prevent the damp getting to them. I even ended up drinking a lot of coffee which sure tasted a lot better than the stuff for meetings in work!
After a while I decided it was time to leave though, and so back to the hustle and bustle of the cities, next stop Mysore. Just as I was about to get on a bus an Indian couple, Deepak and Laxmi, who were also staying at Honey Valley drop past me and very kindly offered me a lift to within 30kms of Mysore and they were heading back to Bangalore. so that served as a gentle re-introduction to the noise and clamour, and more pleasant than being stuck on a bone-jarring bus for hours.
Monday, January 31, 2005
Madikeri
I arrived in Madikeri in Coorg. just as the sun was going down. I had planned to arrive earlier but was late dragging myself out of bed. Then I decided to walk down to the bus stop as I thought I new where it was, however I went to the wrong bus stop! Only private buses left from here and I needed a goverment bus. So I hopped into a tuk-tuk and caught the correct bus. Four or five hours later I eventually arrived in Madikeri. The last fifteen kilometers took over half an hour as the bus slowly crawled its way up the road.
I got a room in Hotel Cauvery but it wasn't that great. At 23.00 the room became mysteriously illuminated. It turned out what I intuitively assumed was a wall actually had a window looking through to the dining hall from where the light and noise of the staff came. That would explain the two set of curtains!
I moved into Hilltown Hotel the next day a pleasant hotel for not much more dosh. You even get a free paper slipped under your door in the morning.
I decided to try and find a hotel listed in the Lonely Planet which has a terrace and is a good place for a sunset drink. I stumbled across it and wandered in. The terrace appeared to be next door to the garden I was currently in and the view back across the valley was obscured by hedges. So I traipsed back indoors and asked the staff for the terrace where I was pointed up the stairs and to the left. I appeared higher up, but on a building site! I guess the terrace is being reconstructed. I just can't see being allowed onto a bulding site in Britain, never mind being directed by the staff! But I guess that's what makes India a bit different.
I had a look about town coming across a typical Indian corner shop where I wondered if the cat was also for sale. I found the macros button on my camera and took some closeups.
Later I came across an even better cat with execellent eyes.
I went to a museum where they had a couple of large elephant statues. Then I went for a walk out of town into the greenery with big spiky plants.
I headed back to the park for a good view of the valley. Coorg covers only 2% of Karnataka but has 40% of the ecological biodiversity. The landscape is a mixture of forests and green fields set in rolling hills.
Next stop is into the forest!
I got a room in Hotel Cauvery but it wasn't that great. At 23.00 the room became mysteriously illuminated. It turned out what I intuitively assumed was a wall actually had a window looking through to the dining hall from where the light and noise of the staff came. That would explain the two set of curtains!
I moved into Hilltown Hotel the next day a pleasant hotel for not much more dosh. You even get a free paper slipped under your door in the morning.
I decided to try and find a hotel listed in the Lonely Planet which has a terrace and is a good place for a sunset drink. I stumbled across it and wandered in. The terrace appeared to be next door to the garden I was currently in and the view back across the valley was obscured by hedges. So I traipsed back indoors and asked the staff for the terrace where I was pointed up the stairs and to the left. I appeared higher up, but on a building site! I guess the terrace is being reconstructed. I just can't see being allowed onto a bulding site in Britain, never mind being directed by the staff! But I guess that's what makes India a bit different.
I had a look about town coming across a typical Indian corner shop where I wondered if the cat was also for sale. I found the macros button on my camera and took some closeups.
Later I came across an even better cat with execellent eyes.
I went to a museum where they had a couple of large elephant statues. Then I went for a walk out of town into the greenery with big spiky plants.
I headed back to the park for a good view of the valley. Coorg covers only 2% of Karnataka but has 40% of the ecological biodiversity. The landscape is a mixture of forests and green fields set in rolling hills.
Next stop is into the forest!
Sunday, January 16, 2005
Munching in Mangalore
I arrived in Mangalore after a quick 5 hour train journey. I was sitting in the wrong compartment for the first hour until the ticket collector informed me, so I trotted off and I had a bed to lie on and snooze. I still haven't entirely worked out the different classes on the trains. I thought I would only get a seat but the train was coming from Delhi to Trivandrum in the south of India a long, long way.
I was staying at Manorama, a huge 7 floor concrete monster of a hotel. I was up on the fifth floor in line with the tops of the palm trees. I could almost lean out the window and pluck a coconut, well maybe if I had go-go gadget arms! Anyway the lift worked everytime I got it which was a bit of a suprise as Mangalore seems to be quite prone to power cuts.
I had read in the Lonely Planet about the "famed Mangolrean seafood" so I decided to head off to a posh hotel, Taj Manjarun, to sample said decilicacies. I opted for "Catch of the Day" and was presented with one bowl face up with fish soup and another face down with the rice along with a small side salad. I can't say I was overly impressed with the meal, decidely average. Still after eating the fish I realised I didn't actually know what type it was and so asked the waiter...
Colin: "What's this?" pointing at large fish bone.
Waiter: "Catch of the day, Sir!"
Colin: "No but what type of fish?"
Waiter: "Yes fish." looking perplexed
Colin: "But what type of fish?"
Waiter: "You want fresh??" looking more perplexed
Colin "No, no what TYPE of fish?"
Waiter: "Aaah, it is sharkfish"
After that the waiter brought a small dish of warm water with lemon in it and so I washed my hands, halfway through I had the worrying thought that it might be lemon tea! Still, I think, nobody noticed.
The next day I decided to try the restaurant beside my hotel, this was much more earthy and busier. I had some mushroom masala and some sort of raitia, a good mix, as the raitai cools down your palate nicely. Also had a couple of chappatis which after, watching other people, I awkwardly tore using only my right hand.
I've still to try some south Indian thali's which is a mixture of small dishes with rice. Rest assured when I do I shall pen an immediate report. hmmm, who would of thought that this blog would turn out to be so full of culinary insights.
I also vegged out in my hotel and watched some footy Liverpool-Man U. I even had a fruit & nut chocolate bar to enjoy. Although room temperature chocolate in India isn't so great, unless you like eating your chocolate through a straw.
The next day I had a mission to accomplish, get some more malaria tablets. I wandered around and found a chemist and he said come back in a few hours. Suprisingly easy! Well except from getting AWAY from the chemists!
He was curious about me travelling around India, and about my family. He gave me some food which tasted like chewy cornflakes, he called it prasad. Then the conversation turned to religion and he asked about my God, I explained that I have none and he just looked at me pityingly. He then asked me if I could get him a visa, and so I spent about about 5 minutes trying to explain how you have to apply to the goverment. After that he says "Aaah, I think your father can help." So get to it Dad, put in a quick word with Immigration please.
The next night I could hear music getting louder and louder I opened my door and the volume increased I popped my head out the hall window and there, in the dark, was all sort of people marching along the streets singing and dancing with a calvacade of cars and trucks intersperced by more people jamming up the streets. I headed down to the street to have a gander. I asked a nearby spectator if this was a festival, but he replied only temple and pointed in the direction they were heading. One thing I've noticed after being in Goa for a while there is a lot less English outside, spoken and written. A lot of signs are in Telu a curvy script or Hindi or Keralan or one of the other 15 languages! Not so handy when your trying to get a bus somewhere. I tried to take some pictures of the festival but it was quite dark and they didn't come out so good.
Next stop is Madikeri, in Coorg (The Scotland of India apparently!)
I was staying at Manorama, a huge 7 floor concrete monster of a hotel. I was up on the fifth floor in line with the tops of the palm trees. I could almost lean out the window and pluck a coconut, well maybe if I had go-go gadget arms! Anyway the lift worked everytime I got it which was a bit of a suprise as Mangalore seems to be quite prone to power cuts.
I had read in the Lonely Planet about the "famed Mangolrean seafood" so I decided to head off to a posh hotel, Taj Manjarun, to sample said decilicacies. I opted for "Catch of the Day" and was presented with one bowl face up with fish soup and another face down with the rice along with a small side salad. I can't say I was overly impressed with the meal, decidely average. Still after eating the fish I realised I didn't actually know what type it was and so asked the waiter...
Colin: "What's this?" pointing at large fish bone.
Waiter: "Catch of the day, Sir!"
Colin: "No but what type of fish?"
Waiter: "Yes fish." looking perplexed
Colin: "But what type of fish?"
Waiter: "You want fresh??" looking more perplexed
Colin "No, no what TYPE of fish?"
Waiter: "Aaah, it is sharkfish"
After that the waiter brought a small dish of warm water with lemon in it and so I washed my hands, halfway through I had the worrying thought that it might be lemon tea! Still, I think, nobody noticed.
The next day I decided to try the restaurant beside my hotel, this was much more earthy and busier. I had some mushroom masala and some sort of raitia, a good mix, as the raitai cools down your palate nicely. Also had a couple of chappatis which after, watching other people, I awkwardly tore using only my right hand.
I've still to try some south Indian thali's which is a mixture of small dishes with rice. Rest assured when I do I shall pen an immediate report. hmmm, who would of thought that this blog would turn out to be so full of culinary insights.
I also vegged out in my hotel and watched some footy Liverpool-Man U. I even had a fruit & nut chocolate bar to enjoy. Although room temperature chocolate in India isn't so great, unless you like eating your chocolate through a straw.
The next day I had a mission to accomplish, get some more malaria tablets. I wandered around and found a chemist and he said come back in a few hours. Suprisingly easy! Well except from getting AWAY from the chemists!
He was curious about me travelling around India, and about my family. He gave me some food which tasted like chewy cornflakes, he called it prasad. Then the conversation turned to religion and he asked about my God, I explained that I have none and he just looked at me pityingly. He then asked me if I could get him a visa, and so I spent about about 5 minutes trying to explain how you have to apply to the goverment. After that he says "Aaah, I think your father can help." So get to it Dad, put in a quick word with Immigration please.
The next night I could hear music getting louder and louder I opened my door and the volume increased I popped my head out the hall window and there, in the dark, was all sort of people marching along the streets singing and dancing with a calvacade of cars and trucks intersperced by more people jamming up the streets. I headed down to the street to have a gander. I asked a nearby spectator if this was a festival, but he replied only temple and pointed in the direction they were heading. One thing I've noticed after being in Goa for a while there is a lot less English outside, spoken and written. A lot of signs are in Telu a curvy script or Hindi or Keralan or one of the other 15 languages! Not so handy when your trying to get a bus somewhere. I tried to take some pictures of the festival but it was quite dark and they didn't come out so good.
Next stop is Madikeri, in Coorg (The Scotland of India apparently!)
Thursday, January 13, 2005
Palolem & around
I've spent a bit longer than I intended in Palolem, it's once of these places that is hard to leave!
It has a postcard picture beach in a curved bay fringed by swaying palm trees. I had a wander down to the beach south, Patnem, which was slightly quiter and then continued south onto the beach which is owned by a big fancy hotel called Intercontinental and then doubled back through the roads, it was close to exercise. The owner at my beach hut said that for one night in Intercontinental I could spend a month here. Although my beach hut doesn't have a private golf course or tennis courts, it does however boast a waiter who does a great Michael Jackson impersonation. This mostly consists of him saying "Michael Jackson!" and maybe raise an arm in the air.
Over the rickety bridge to my shack, in amongst the rocks I spotted a crab. Probably end up on somebody's plate tonight.
Back from the beachfront you can see pigs scavenge around through the trees.
Sitting in a cafe, I took some photos of the plants and a cactus & moped.
As I was in a cafe, I deem them art!
Exiting the cafe, I walked past a large white tree
and a painted rock. The sun set on another day as a few straggling fishermen came back in the fading light giving a warm orange glow to the beach as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.
I decided to rent a bike for a couple of hours one day. This was a clunky "Atlas" Indian bike with no gears. It didn't like going up hills, me neither. Still I managed to trundle down, past brilliant green rice paddies, to the next beach along, Agonda. This beach was absolutely deserted! Definitely the place for peace and quiet. Although when I arrived I was beetroot cheeked and dripping in sweat, not quite as serene as the beach demanded, so I proceeded back to Palolem....well that was the plan. But it seemed boring to come back the way I arrived so I took a different route. However the new route got less and less road like and more like a dirt track as it rose upwards. I ended up pushing my bike over red dusty rocks among green vegetation. Soon I was lost in the middle of the vegetation and the path kept dividing. After a few wrongs turns I eventually escaped the dusty mountain and made it back to the main road and fairly zoomed along back to Palolem. It was fun going over the speed bumps on a bike with no suspension, a bit like holding a pneutmatic drill I imagine.
I finally got round to looking into leaving Palolem, after taking even more sunset photos, and heading down to Managlore. It turned out that to get the express train I would have to head back north to Margoa. I then decided I would be better staying on the coast at Colva beach instead of in Margoa town. I had a walk around there and the next beach down, Benaulim, which had some people out fishing and carried the fish back from the small boats. Walking along the beach I came across this little fella in amonst the sea gulls. In the back paths of Colva, you may notice a whiffy smell I turned the corner and there was the answer. There is lots of dead fish lying drying in the sun!
I had "Dave's Super Special Steak" at the Lucky Star hotel where the menu was translated into German for some reason.
However after much research I can exclusive reveal that the winner of the Colins Goan Steak award goes to....
Domingoes in Baga!
Smugglers Inn at Palolem also gets a honourable mention for having giant folded steaks.
Back at the Lucky Star it was my lucky night as the entertainment was on tonight. This consisted of a one man band with a casio keyboard playing bad songs. I left Colva the next day.
I have now arrived in Mangalore and added adverts to my blog so I can soon rake in the millions, sweet! :)
It has a postcard picture beach in a curved bay fringed by swaying palm trees. I had a wander down to the beach south, Patnem, which was slightly quiter and then continued south onto the beach which is owned by a big fancy hotel called Intercontinental and then doubled back through the roads, it was close to exercise. The owner at my beach hut said that for one night in Intercontinental I could spend a month here. Although my beach hut doesn't have a private golf course or tennis courts, it does however boast a waiter who does a great Michael Jackson impersonation. This mostly consists of him saying "Michael Jackson!" and maybe raise an arm in the air.
Over the rickety bridge to my shack, in amongst the rocks I spotted a crab. Probably end up on somebody's plate tonight.
Back from the beachfront you can see pigs scavenge around through the trees.
Sitting in a cafe, I took some photos of the plants and a cactus & moped.
As I was in a cafe, I deem them art!
Exiting the cafe, I walked past a large white tree
and a painted rock. The sun set on another day as a few straggling fishermen came back in the fading light giving a warm orange glow to the beach as the sun finally dipped below the horizon.
I decided to rent a bike for a couple of hours one day. This was a clunky "Atlas" Indian bike with no gears. It didn't like going up hills, me neither. Still I managed to trundle down, past brilliant green rice paddies, to the next beach along, Agonda. This beach was absolutely deserted! Definitely the place for peace and quiet. Although when I arrived I was beetroot cheeked and dripping in sweat, not quite as serene as the beach demanded, so I proceeded back to Palolem....well that was the plan. But it seemed boring to come back the way I arrived so I took a different route. However the new route got less and less road like and more like a dirt track as it rose upwards. I ended up pushing my bike over red dusty rocks among green vegetation. Soon I was lost in the middle of the vegetation and the path kept dividing. After a few wrongs turns I eventually escaped the dusty mountain and made it back to the main road and fairly zoomed along back to Palolem. It was fun going over the speed bumps on a bike with no suspension, a bit like holding a pneutmatic drill I imagine.
I finally got round to looking into leaving Palolem, after taking even more sunset photos, and heading down to Managlore. It turned out that to get the express train I would have to head back north to Margoa. I then decided I would be better staying on the coast at Colva beach instead of in Margoa town. I had a walk around there and the next beach down, Benaulim, which had some people out fishing and carried the fish back from the small boats. Walking along the beach I came across this little fella in amonst the sea gulls. In the back paths of Colva, you may notice a whiffy smell I turned the corner and there was the answer. There is lots of dead fish lying drying in the sun!
I had "Dave's Super Special Steak" at the Lucky Star hotel where the menu was translated into German for some reason.
However after much research I can exclusive reveal that the winner of the Colins Goan Steak award goes to....
Domingoes in Baga!
Smugglers Inn at Palolem also gets a honourable mention for having giant folded steaks.
Back at the Lucky Star it was my lucky night as the entertainment was on tonight. This consisted of a one man band with a casio keyboard playing bad songs. I left Colva the next day.
I have now arrived in Mangalore and added adverts to my blog so I can soon rake in the millions, sweet! :)
Monday, January 03, 2005
Lifes a beach
I arrived first in Panaji and had a quick look around. I stumbled across the
Church or our Lady of Immaculate Conception. And the view the other way looks like this.
I've spent the past few weeks in Anjuna, Goa. It was good to settle in one place for a longer time and not have to bother about packing bags, hopping on trains and getting new accommodation every few days. I even share my room with a lizard and the occasional sighting of a frog in the bathroom. Anjuna has a large flea market every Wednesday. I went along and it seems like the usual junk they were trying to sell. The most interesting thing I saw was a decorated bull (nandi) dancing to a tune played on the flute. Okay it was quite dancing like Saturday Night Fever but it was bouncing it's head back and forward to the music.
I ventured down to the next beach Baga a few times. One time I had a steak and after 6 weeks of mostly veg or chicken it tasted supremely delicious mmmmm.
In Goa there is also the addition of fish dishes to the menus, I've had some nice mackrel and kingfish food. I tasted calamari but it was like fishy chewing gum, eurgh.
As you progress along south from Baga to Calungute things become more commercialised with big brick hotel unlike the wooden hut I was staying in. There is also a big increase in Union Jacks and strangely named restaraunts such as Rovers Return and Only Fools and Horses.
I met a few people who came and went when I was staying there. I'll try a quick memory test and see if I can name them. Donnie, Will, Paul, Sam, Paula, Steve, Simon, Helen, Mark, Dan, Damien, Shaleen, Ty & Daaaaave. hmmm my memory is better than I thought! A few people returned to Anjuna at New Year which was good.
We went to a club called Nine Bar for the bells. Somewhat bizarrely it shut at 00:10am. There is strict licensing laws in Goa, that loud music can't be played in most places (except clubs) after 10pm. Still we moved on to Disco Valley and then Hilltop which was open all day & night on the 1st, too much for me! As the first day of 2005 dawned on India I went to my bed. The next day in Anjuna from my guesthouse in the shade of a palm tree, I could see a cow talking a beach side stroll, not sure if it knew it was being followed.
A group of Indian guys tried to get me into some sort of gem scam. Where I can make a 100% profit! Yeah, right.
I don't think there math was too good, they claimed that they had to pay 250% tax, but if I was to fly back to England (they use Scotland and England interchangeably) then I could double my money and they would only have to pay 150% tax (which would still make any export loss making!). They would pay for my plane ticket and accommodation at home and then I could do another flight! Anyway I just told the guy "I'm not interested, it's a scam and I don't trust you" which seem to shut him up.... for a few minutes.
I've now moved down to Palolem which is another white sand, blue water, swaying palm tree sorta place. Yep, it's a hard life sitting on the beach reading a book, drinking cheap beer and eating good food (disclaimer: a friend ate a dodgy curry yesterday!) . Still someone has to do it and why not me? :)
Church or our Lady of Immaculate Conception. And the view the other way looks like this.
I've spent the past few weeks in Anjuna, Goa. It was good to settle in one place for a longer time and not have to bother about packing bags, hopping on trains and getting new accommodation every few days. I even share my room with a lizard and the occasional sighting of a frog in the bathroom. Anjuna has a large flea market every Wednesday. I went along and it seems like the usual junk they were trying to sell. The most interesting thing I saw was a decorated bull (nandi) dancing to a tune played on the flute. Okay it was quite dancing like Saturday Night Fever but it was bouncing it's head back and forward to the music.
I ventured down to the next beach Baga a few times. One time I had a steak and after 6 weeks of mostly veg or chicken it tasted supremely delicious mmmmm.
In Goa there is also the addition of fish dishes to the menus, I've had some nice mackrel and kingfish food. I tasted calamari but it was like fishy chewing gum, eurgh.
As you progress along south from Baga to Calungute things become more commercialised with big brick hotel unlike the wooden hut I was staying in. There is also a big increase in Union Jacks and strangely named restaraunts such as Rovers Return and Only Fools and Horses.
I met a few people who came and went when I was staying there. I'll try a quick memory test and see if I can name them. Donnie, Will, Paul, Sam, Paula, Steve, Simon, Helen, Mark, Dan, Damien, Shaleen, Ty & Daaaaave. hmmm my memory is better than I thought! A few people returned to Anjuna at New Year which was good.
We went to a club called Nine Bar for the bells. Somewhat bizarrely it shut at 00:10am. There is strict licensing laws in Goa, that loud music can't be played in most places (except clubs) after 10pm. Still we moved on to Disco Valley and then Hilltop which was open all day & night on the 1st, too much for me! As the first day of 2005 dawned on India I went to my bed. The next day in Anjuna from my guesthouse in the shade of a palm tree, I could see a cow talking a beach side stroll, not sure if it knew it was being followed.
A group of Indian guys tried to get me into some sort of gem scam. Where I can make a 100% profit! Yeah, right.
I don't think there math was too good, they claimed that they had to pay 250% tax, but if I was to fly back to England (they use Scotland and England interchangeably) then I could double my money and they would only have to pay 150% tax (which would still make any export loss making!). They would pay for my plane ticket and accommodation at home and then I could do another flight! Anyway I just told the guy "I'm not interested, it's a scam and I don't trust you" which seem to shut him up.... for a few minutes.
I've now moved down to Palolem which is another white sand, blue water, swaying palm tree sorta place. Yep, it's a hard life sitting on the beach reading a book, drinking cheap beer and eating good food (disclaimer: a friend ate a dodgy curry yesterday!) . Still someone has to do it and why not me? :)
Friday, December 24, 2004
Merry Christmas!!
And a Happy New Year!
Wishing everybody all the best. Hope the snow's not TOO heavy :)
It ain't half hot over here, still never mind, eh?
Hope Santa brings you something good.
p.s. I just found out that it did actually snow, it was just a joke honest!!
Wishing everybody all the best. Hope the snow's not TOO heavy :)
It ain't half hot over here, still never mind, eh?
Hope Santa brings you something good.
p.s. I just found out that it did actually snow, it was just a joke honest!!
Wednesday, December 15, 2004
Murky Mumbai
I managed to get a ticket down to Mumbai from Ahemabad. I recently found it you can check availability online, so I looked up the train and the news was not good, no seats for the next week!
It seems to be that the website doesn't include the quota set aside for foreigners though, so I was able to get a ticket anyway.
It was my first sleeper train, and while I didn't get much sleep it wasn't too bad a journey, however I did arrive at Mumbai feeling knackered and not in the mood for another big, noisy city. I think I slept most of the first day in Mumbai as I was feeling lethargic.
I felt better the next day and set off early to the train station to get a ticket to Goa.
The main backpacker area (i.e. where the cheaper hotels are) is called Colaba, it's actually a lot quiter than I expected in that area. I thought it would be like Pahar Ganj in Delhi, all hectic and full of touts, but not too bad, or maybe I'm getting used to waving away the touts.
After about an hour of wandering about I finally found the Victoria Terminus (VT) train station built by the British and now renamed CST. Very grand and ornate for a train station. Still when I got there I realised that I had forgotten my passport and so jumped in a taxi to the hotel and back. I then joined a queue of only about 6 people, but everybody seemed to behaving problems and taking 10 minutes each. I though I was going to have problems with the trains to Goa being fully booked up, but when I finally got to the front of the queue I got the train ticket in 2 minutes. Don't know why everybody else was taking so long.
I had decided just to head off that night down to Goa, so I only had the day to look about Mumbai. However despiting setting off at 08:00 it was lunchtime by the time I got my ticket. I decided to head across to Elephanta Island departing close to India Gate which took longer than expected to trundle through the murky Mumbai waters and so the afternoon was also gone.
Elephanta Island have rock cut caves which the scientists and historians don't seem to know to much about. I had a quick look about this strange place. It is mostly hindu gods that are carved, so if you can't tell your Krishna from your Shiva its all a bit of a mystery.
It has pillared halls and decorative animals.
Back at the bay, people lurked silhouetted in the muddy harbour.
My train for Goa set off at 23.00 and the 2nd class looks absolutely mobbed, not where I fancy being for an eleven hour train journey. You get guys approaching you asking to check your ticket. I was having none of that! They'd whip your ticket off you in a flash I reckon, not sure what good it would do them though. When the ticket man arrived he has a list of names to check the seats against.
I was in the upper berth this time, a bit less space than before, but at least there are straps at the side of the bed, to stop your tumbling out.
Finally I arrived in Goa, where I shared a taxi to Panaji. I stayed there a night, and then headed down to Anjuna beach where I am just now. I stayed for one night in the first guesthouse I found and then had a look about. I moved the next morning to a nice guesthouse on the beach. I think I'll be staying here for Christmas and New Year. I think it will be nice to be in one place for a while and not have to pack your bags and arrange tickets every few days, so I'm looking forward to it.
I'm off go-karting this afternoon, there is about six of us, so we should have a good race.
It seems to be that the website doesn't include the quota set aside for foreigners though, so I was able to get a ticket anyway.
It was my first sleeper train, and while I didn't get much sleep it wasn't too bad a journey, however I did arrive at Mumbai feeling knackered and not in the mood for another big, noisy city. I think I slept most of the first day in Mumbai as I was feeling lethargic.
I felt better the next day and set off early to the train station to get a ticket to Goa.
The main backpacker area (i.e. where the cheaper hotels are) is called Colaba, it's actually a lot quiter than I expected in that area. I thought it would be like Pahar Ganj in Delhi, all hectic and full of touts, but not too bad, or maybe I'm getting used to waving away the touts.
After about an hour of wandering about I finally found the Victoria Terminus (VT) train station built by the British and now renamed CST. Very grand and ornate for a train station. Still when I got there I realised that I had forgotten my passport and so jumped in a taxi to the hotel and back. I then joined a queue of only about 6 people, but everybody seemed to behaving problems and taking 10 minutes each. I though I was going to have problems with the trains to Goa being fully booked up, but when I finally got to the front of the queue I got the train ticket in 2 minutes. Don't know why everybody else was taking so long.
I had decided just to head off that night down to Goa, so I only had the day to look about Mumbai. However despiting setting off at 08:00 it was lunchtime by the time I got my ticket. I decided to head across to Elephanta Island departing close to India Gate which took longer than expected to trundle through the murky Mumbai waters and so the afternoon was also gone.
Elephanta Island have rock cut caves which the scientists and historians don't seem to know to much about. I had a quick look about this strange place. It is mostly hindu gods that are carved, so if you can't tell your Krishna from your Shiva its all a bit of a mystery.
It has pillared halls and decorative animals.
Back at the bay, people lurked silhouetted in the muddy harbour.
My train for Goa set off at 23.00 and the 2nd class looks absolutely mobbed, not where I fancy being for an eleven hour train journey. You get guys approaching you asking to check your ticket. I was having none of that! They'd whip your ticket off you in a flash I reckon, not sure what good it would do them though. When the ticket man arrived he has a list of names to check the seats against.
I was in the upper berth this time, a bit less space than before, but at least there are straps at the side of the bed, to stop your tumbling out.
Finally I arrived in Goa, where I shared a taxi to Panaji. I stayed there a night, and then headed down to Anjuna beach where I am just now. I stayed for one night in the first guesthouse I found and then had a look about. I moved the next morning to a nice guesthouse on the beach. I think I'll be staying here for Christmas and New Year. I think it will be nice to be in one place for a while and not have to pack your bags and arrange tickets every few days, so I'm looking forward to it.
I'm off go-karting this afternoon, there is about six of us, so we should have a good race.
Monday, December 06, 2004
Ahemabad
I arrived at Ahemabad after another long bus journey from Udaipur.
I was close to getting scammed again, but just escaped it!
I got a taxi to the travel agents from where the bus left. The bus was an express bus (5 hours) leaving at 08:00 as my ticket said.
I showed my ticket to a guy from the travel agency who said to wait here for the bus. In India different travel agents sell bus tickets for the company who actually runs the bus, all kinda confusing and with little comeback if something goes wrong.
There was a bus already there going to Ahemabad waiting there but when I asked about it I was told that was the deluxe bus and cost 300rps, my ticket was 180rps. I could pay the difference if I was in a hurry, otherwise the bus would be here at 08:30, even though my ticket said 08:00.
Just as the bus was about to leave, and the travel agent was indoors I showed my ticket to the guy at the bus waiting, where I promptly got onboard.
I get the feeling that if the travel agent had seen me he would of shouted (in Hindi) to not let me on without paying more money! And as everybody seems to get a cut of the comission it would of been in his favour to make me pay. Or maybe I'm just getting paranoid!!
Still I was happy to get onboard the express bus, as I had seen other agency sell tickets for the 08:30 bus, which took another hour or so.
So when I arrived at Ahemabad as the bus guy had thrown my luggage in the hold I didn't have a chance to find a hotel from my guide book.
So I ended up standing in the bus station reading my guide book, with four or five taxi drivers surrounding me watching intently and sometime throwing in suggestions for their hotels.
Anyway once I had selected my hotel, one driver seemed to be chosen based on my hotel choice. So he took me to the hotel for a reasonable 20rps and I don't even think he got comission as my hotel was the stated price. I was very suprised! However the hotel was a bit of a dump and I resolved to look for a better place tomorrow.
I went to the train station to try and reserve a ticket but the office had closed at 14:00, as it was Sunday, and it was now nearer three. When I say it was closed, it was closed in a way that only an Indian office could be closed. There was one member of staff remonstrating with everybody that came in that the office was closed! Still I managed to get a reservation form from him. For some reason forms can only be got from behind a counter. Usually at the train station you see people shoving their way to the front to get a form from staff whilst they are dealing with another customer. Sometimes you think they are making things awkward just for the sheer hell of it! Being all very British and unaccostommed to jumping to the front of the queue and shouting at the staff for a form, whilst they are dealing with someone else, it takes me ages just to get a reservation form. You need to sharpen your elbows if you want to get ahead in India!
As trains must be reserved at least 24 hours in advance, and my train was leaving at 22:00 then on the Sunday I couldn't get a train till the Tuesday night. This led me to think about the hotel situation, if I could find a hotel with 24 hour check out then I may as well go to a better hotel tonight, instead of tommorow. So I checked into a new hotel at 21.00 on Sunday where I should be able to stay until 21.00 on Tuesday and catch my train. It's still just two nights with the advatange that I have a room up until my train. Well I think thats how it should work out!
I went for to a fancy restaurant last night called Agashiye at the House of MG (http://www.houseofmg.com/agashiye.php)
It was more posh than I expected! There was a set price of 300 rps for the menu (100 rps more than my guide book said, still keeps out the riffraff!!) which changes every day.
I was led to the rooftop where the starter was served. I don't know what half the food was though! After the started I moved through to the main outside dining area, which had mosiaced tiled seats which reminded me of ones I seen in Parc Gaudi. There I was and waiters covered the table in food! I couldn't believe how much there was. I had a main plate with 2 bowls of soup, a veg dish and some potatoes and peas. There was also curd, poppadoms, parantha and another form of bread. Also a bowl of herbs and spices to add, a large bowl of something that looked like turnip, a small bowl of fancy decorated food and a coconut drink. I think I'm forgetting another couple of dishes.
When I finshed anything a waiter immediately appeared offering to top it up! And then can another waiter with a giant bowl of rice turned up, ugh too much. Although still a small room for some ice-cream with came with about 8 bowls of decorations like nuts, raisins, etc.
I finally waddled back to my hotel and flopped on my bed. Definitely the fanciest meal I've had in India!
I was close to getting scammed again, but just escaped it!
I got a taxi to the travel agents from where the bus left. The bus was an express bus (5 hours) leaving at 08:00 as my ticket said.
I showed my ticket to a guy from the travel agency who said to wait here for the bus. In India different travel agents sell bus tickets for the company who actually runs the bus, all kinda confusing and with little comeback if something goes wrong.
There was a bus already there going to Ahemabad waiting there but when I asked about it I was told that was the deluxe bus and cost 300rps, my ticket was 180rps. I could pay the difference if I was in a hurry, otherwise the bus would be here at 08:30, even though my ticket said 08:00.
Just as the bus was about to leave, and the travel agent was indoors I showed my ticket to the guy at the bus waiting, where I promptly got onboard.
I get the feeling that if the travel agent had seen me he would of shouted (in Hindi) to not let me on without paying more money! And as everybody seems to get a cut of the comission it would of been in his favour to make me pay. Or maybe I'm just getting paranoid!!
Still I was happy to get onboard the express bus, as I had seen other agency sell tickets for the 08:30 bus, which took another hour or so.
So when I arrived at Ahemabad as the bus guy had thrown my luggage in the hold I didn't have a chance to find a hotel from my guide book.
So I ended up standing in the bus station reading my guide book, with four or five taxi drivers surrounding me watching intently and sometime throwing in suggestions for their hotels.
Anyway once I had selected my hotel, one driver seemed to be chosen based on my hotel choice. So he took me to the hotel for a reasonable 20rps and I don't even think he got comission as my hotel was the stated price. I was very suprised! However the hotel was a bit of a dump and I resolved to look for a better place tomorrow.
I went to the train station to try and reserve a ticket but the office had closed at 14:00, as it was Sunday, and it was now nearer three. When I say it was closed, it was closed in a way that only an Indian office could be closed. There was one member of staff remonstrating with everybody that came in that the office was closed! Still I managed to get a reservation form from him. For some reason forms can only be got from behind a counter. Usually at the train station you see people shoving their way to the front to get a form from staff whilst they are dealing with another customer. Sometimes you think they are making things awkward just for the sheer hell of it! Being all very British and unaccostommed to jumping to the front of the queue and shouting at the staff for a form, whilst they are dealing with someone else, it takes me ages just to get a reservation form. You need to sharpen your elbows if you want to get ahead in India!
As trains must be reserved at least 24 hours in advance, and my train was leaving at 22:00 then on the Sunday I couldn't get a train till the Tuesday night. This led me to think about the hotel situation, if I could find a hotel with 24 hour check out then I may as well go to a better hotel tonight, instead of tommorow. So I checked into a new hotel at 21.00 on Sunday where I should be able to stay until 21.00 on Tuesday and catch my train. It's still just two nights with the advatange that I have a room up until my train. Well I think thats how it should work out!
I went for to a fancy restaurant last night called Agashiye at the House of MG (http://www.houseofmg.com/agashiye.php)
It was more posh than I expected! There was a set price of 300 rps for the menu (100 rps more than my guide book said, still keeps out the riffraff!!) which changes every day.
I was led to the rooftop where the starter was served. I don't know what half the food was though! After the started I moved through to the main outside dining area, which had mosiaced tiled seats which reminded me of ones I seen in Parc Gaudi. There I was and waiters covered the table in food! I couldn't believe how much there was. I had a main plate with 2 bowls of soup, a veg dish and some potatoes and peas. There was also curd, poppadoms, parantha and another form of bread. Also a bowl of herbs and spices to add, a large bowl of something that looked like turnip, a small bowl of fancy decorated food and a coconut drink. I think I'm forgetting another couple of dishes.
When I finshed anything a waiter immediately appeared offering to top it up! And then can another waiter with a giant bowl of rice turned up, ugh too much. Although still a small room for some ice-cream with came with about 8 bowls of decorations like nuts, raisins, etc.
I finally waddled back to my hotel and flopped on my bed. Definitely the fanciest meal I've had in India!
Saturday, December 04, 2004
Udaipur Mark 2
The French toast was proper French toast mmmmm.
Now that the suspense is out the way I'll tell you why I've got a blister on my finger.
I was walking past a shop looking at the instruments and I saw that they do lessons, so I decided to take a quick sitar lesson, although things in India never seem to quite that straightforward...
The shop I was looking at was shut at the time, when a young man saw me looking at the signs for lessons and led me off to his "brothers" shop. I arranged at this shop to come back in 30 minutes. The young guy, Krishna, suggested we go for a quick tea. I mentioned that I wanted to post a letter so we went for tea and then try to find the postoffice. After whizzing through the streets on the back of his new motorbike, I got to the postoffice. The man said that I couldn't post the CD, as it would get smashed under the stamp to be put on the envelope, even though the CD is in a plastic case. Maybe one day I'll be able to post the CD home. I'll need to get more cardboard and box it up first.
Anyway, as we were quite far from the music shop he suggested we go to the other branch. (It all seems so obvious now in hindsight) So I ended up taking a lesson at a different shop.Later I got a tour round some of Udaipur on the back of Krishna's bike. He wanted 200rps for fuel, I didn't mind paying him for his time as the bike ride was fun, but he insisted it was just to cover his fuel costs, yeah right.
The sitar lessons was good no that I could play anything, but it was interesting to give it a go. I at least learned how to sit with the instrument properly. The hardest bit was that for are supposedly to look only at the back of the neck for the fretting and not peek over the neck to see where your fingers are. Also on your right hand you wear something akin to a paper clip for plucking, it also cuts off your circulation though.
I later walked past the orignal shop and they guy was asking why I didn't turn up, so I explained how I got taken to his other branch but ofcourse he didn't have another branch.
I later bumped into Krishan again, he was wearing red jeans and a blue jumper so easy to spot. I dragged him back to explain to the orignal shopkeeper about what had happened. It turned out he was cousins with the orignal shopkeeper. Well that's what their story was, I'm none the wiser. Still at least I got my sitar lesson in the end.
I also visited another fancy temple and saw the famous lake palace hotel although the lake unfortunately was a bit dried up. Next went to a museum which had grand stained glass windows for the maharaja. At night you could see a distant castle on a hill illuminated but it kinda looked like it was just floating in the night sky.
The next day I decided to visit Shilpgram an arts & crafts village. There was musicians singing and playing.
Also some female musicians swung bells round their arms rythmically clanging all whilst balancing pots on their heads! One man was painting an elephant on the side of his shop. Whilst back at the entrance a large group had begun to perform with lots of dancing and noise.
And in case your wondering where all these places are here's a map.
http://www.lib.utexas.edu/maps/middle_east_and_asia/india_rel01.jpg
The purs
Jodhpur was orginally home to the Brahmins who liked to paint their homes blue, this is still very much in effect and provides a mesmerising view at sunset. Also it looks spectacular when illuminated at night.
I thought I would attempt to shake off the tuktuk driver as they take commision from your hotel and therefore the price is increased. I asked to get dropped off at the clock tower but he took me to a hotel anyway! Still the hotel didn't look too good, so I left to find one on my own, much to the drivers bemusment.
I had spotted a sign shortly earlier for a hotel I had heard of in my guide book, so I followed the signs but they were full. Luckily there was plenty of other hotels in the vicinty. As I was wondering about with my backpack another tout soon latched onto me. This hotel was a building site, so I just walked back out. It might actually of been okay past the hall, but I managed to shake off another tout!
I then found a place to stay, the Sunrise Hotel. I opted for a room with a balcony (not much view though!) which was a mistake as I paid more for a noiser room, still live and learn, eh?
Besides being a blue city the other thing which immediately stands out is Meherangarh, a huge impenetrable fort rising above the city. Just one look at it and it is no suprise that it has never been captured. Besides having great views back over the city, there was also an interesting musuem with an audio guide telling the history. The musem contained some large fancy chairs for carrying the important people, as well as various other artifacts such as swords and weird statues. In another room the emperor's ceiling was decorated with disco balls. Outside the fort has detailed marble lattice screens and inside stained glass windows. From the top of the fort you can get a good view over the surrounding landscape. Also on the roof, wheeled cannons dominated the surface. When I was there a part of the fort was being used for shooting a Bollywood film. It seemed to have hundreds of people behind the scenes all milling about. Then all the tourists were taking pictures of the actors and actresses dressed up in period costumes, annoying the film people. Although it did lend a medeival feel to the occasion. And here is a photo of a wall.
Just about every hotel claimed to have the highest rooftop restaurant in Jodhpur. I think I went to the highest one, where I had a strange chow mein. If Heinz made chow mein this is what it would of tasted like. It seemed like chopped up sphagetti in tomato sauce rather than noodles were used.
I was planning to take a train down the line to Mount Abu, but after getting confused at the train station a change of plan.It seemed that the only train would arrive at some unearthly hour, besides the weekly train, all the way to Bangalore, which left yesterday.
So with that in mind, I decided to head to Udaipur, which meant another six hour bus journey, hurrah!
Udaipur has a famous lake palace (suites only $900/night), unfortunately a drought means the lake is pretty much dried up.
Strangely, a lot of the hotels have nightly screening of Octopussy, which was partly shot in Udaipur!
You can tell when your in a more touristy spot, as most menus have continental food, pizza & burgers, and shops selling english books. Looks like a good place to swaps some books, they get heavier carrying them around after being read.
French toast is on the menu here, but will it be sweet American French toast (yes such a thing exists) or proper French toast (not as eaten by the French, though)?
And on that cliffhanger, I'll end!
I thought I would attempt to shake off the tuktuk driver as they take commision from your hotel and therefore the price is increased. I asked to get dropped off at the clock tower but he took me to a hotel anyway! Still the hotel didn't look too good, so I left to find one on my own, much to the drivers bemusment.
I had spotted a sign shortly earlier for a hotel I had heard of in my guide book, so I followed the signs but they were full. Luckily there was plenty of other hotels in the vicinty. As I was wondering about with my backpack another tout soon latched onto me. This hotel was a building site, so I just walked back out. It might actually of been okay past the hall, but I managed to shake off another tout!
I then found a place to stay, the Sunrise Hotel. I opted for a room with a balcony (not much view though!) which was a mistake as I paid more for a noiser room, still live and learn, eh?
Besides being a blue city the other thing which immediately stands out is Meherangarh, a huge impenetrable fort rising above the city. Just one look at it and it is no suprise that it has never been captured. Besides having great views back over the city, there was also an interesting musuem with an audio guide telling the history. The musem contained some large fancy chairs for carrying the important people, as well as various other artifacts such as swords and weird statues. In another room the emperor's ceiling was decorated with disco balls. Outside the fort has detailed marble lattice screens and inside stained glass windows. From the top of the fort you can get a good view over the surrounding landscape. Also on the roof, wheeled cannons dominated the surface. When I was there a part of the fort was being used for shooting a Bollywood film. It seemed to have hundreds of people behind the scenes all milling about. Then all the tourists were taking pictures of the actors and actresses dressed up in period costumes, annoying the film people. Although it did lend a medeival feel to the occasion. And here is a photo of a wall.
Just about every hotel claimed to have the highest rooftop restaurant in Jodhpur. I think I went to the highest one, where I had a strange chow mein. If Heinz made chow mein this is what it would of tasted like. It seemed like chopped up sphagetti in tomato sauce rather than noodles were used.
I was planning to take a train down the line to Mount Abu, but after getting confused at the train station a change of plan.It seemed that the only train would arrive at some unearthly hour, besides the weekly train, all the way to Bangalore, which left yesterday.
So with that in mind, I decided to head to Udaipur, which meant another six hour bus journey, hurrah!
Udaipur has a famous lake palace (suites only $900/night), unfortunately a drought means the lake is pretty much dried up.
Strangely, a lot of the hotels have nightly screening of Octopussy, which was partly shot in Udaipur!
You can tell when your in a more touristy spot, as most menus have continental food, pizza & burgers, and shops selling english books. Looks like a good place to swaps some books, they get heavier carrying them around after being read.
French toast is on the menu here, but will it be sweet American French toast (yes such a thing exists) or proper French toast (not as eaten by the French, though)?
And on that cliffhanger, I'll end!
Camels and Cuisine
Onwards to Bikaner. I arrived late at night by train. The train was strangly empty in my posh "chair class". There was about sixty seats between four people. This class is air conditioned. i.e there are lots of big fans on the ceiling making the carriage cold. I was assigned a seat almost directly below a fan, but moved back a bit. Just before the train left I spotted a book seller, so I grabbed The Brethren by John Grisham. The choice was pretty much between Grisham or Clancy!Still it made the journey go quicker.
I was reading through my Lonely Planet trying to decide where to stay and thinking the train should of arrived by now when a man ushered me off. Because of the lights inside, tinted windows and darkness outside I didn't realise I had arrived. Also I was looking out the wrong side of the train!
As I exited the train station, the usual descdending of touts began, as the autorickshaws drivers get commision from the hotels, they are keen for your business. The first guy had a card from a hotel I had read about and so I was whisked off. I even managed to bargain down the room from five hundred to four hundred. Not bad when I just wanted to sleep. (I was later to learn of people staying for three fifty, so I've still to improve!)
The next day, I just had a lazy day and wandered around town and then ate in the hotel restaurant. I came across a disgusting pond which you could hardly see the water fir the plastic bags, the smell was horrible, it was stinking of sulphur.
The hotel has a good resturant, so I've tried a few bits and bobs.Aloo matter seems to be pea curry as far as I can work out.Missi roti seems to be like a flat dry bread. I thought is would be a dough ball like in my guide book, but I don't know what the missi bit means and roti is just bread. (Turns out I had roti mixed up with bati)
Also I had stuffed paratha, which I'd had before at a roadside place. Not quite as nice here, or perhaps I wasn't as hungry!Finally I had potato raita which is like yoghurt, good with pulou (flavoured rice), but not much use on its own. Its a bit like just the sauce from a meal.As you can see I'm slowly learning a bit more about the cuisine. Still haven't found where I can get a beefburger though :)
I was chatting with a couple of English guys (Richard and Mike) who are travelling through India, one has motorbiked from England and he's the sensible one!The other just jumped on the back of his bike!
Like a lot of people they are heading down to Goa from Christmas, definitely seems to be THE place to be at Chrimbo, so I think I'll head down that way myself. Another possible option is Diu (another former Portugese colony) but it is in a bit of a dead end.
Anyway, I'm just back from the desert!
I spent three days doing a desert safari on a camel. It was good fun, but probably a one off, as being bounced up and down on a camel is pretty painful, especially on day three.
I had looked up a safari agent and found the shop which was a good walk out of town, but when I told him, what hotel I was staying at he was relucant to do a safari. It seems to be the way of things in India. So I had to go through the hotel (although I suppose I could of change accomodation)
Still day one, we headed off early and got a jeep into a village on the edge of the desert. On the way we stopped at the Karni Mata temple, otherwise known as the Rat Temple!
As it is a religous temple, its off with the shoes and in with the rats. There is acutally not too many running about, although in the corner there is plenty of them hiding under a piece of wood. Also in another corner is a small bowl of milk where there are having a quick drink. So I joined them for a photo. Its good luck to spot a rare white rat, but alas not my day.Although I did nearly stand on one, but luckily for both of us, it escaped my crushing foot just in time.
Outside the temple there was statues of Maharaja, but as you can see I was still keeping an eye on the rats.
So back to the safari, we pulled up and there are two camels tethered to the trees,
For the first two days I had an English speaking guide, Wasim (perhaps more of an interpreter!) and two camelmen who's names I had difficulty getting my tongue round.
The senior camelman was wearing earings that would put the Beckhams to shame. Seems to be the style in Rajastan and particularly Bikaner. The muslim guide told me it was a Hindu thing.
After a bit of hanging about while the camels snacked, it was up onto the camel. The camelman made some tut tut noises at the camels and it jerkily dropped to its knees. I then jumped aboard by throwing one leg over the side and then hoisting myself level. Then I had to hold tight on the harness and the camelman tut tutted at the camel and it rose in two stage, back legs where you are leaning forward about forty five degrees and then back legs when its fully upright.
My first though was it's a long way down! Then it started moving and my next though was arrgh! It certainly takes a bit of getting used to but after a while you learn to relax which seems to help a great deal. So off into the sandy desert
Once you relax you can get into the swing of things. After a whle though I was quite happy to jump in the cart being pulled by the other camel.
By the end of the first day I was happy enough that I didn't have to cling on with white knuckles. I even managed a drink of water aboard a moving camel!
The first night we stopped at a dune and some tarpaulin was thrown over the cart for a makeshift tent. The night was a bit foggy but with a near full moon.
The desert wasn't quite like the pictures you see of the sahara with nothing but dunes, I had been warned not to expect this.They land was perhaps more like arid scrub with bushes dotted about and much of the land, although looking like sand, had been ploughed. At first I though my camel was hungry as he kepy veering off to nearby branches only to be pulled back in line.
Later on I found out that he was tring to lose files that gather around their face (must be very irrating)When we stopped for a break and the harnesses were freed, the first thing the camels would do is roll around like crazy in the sand to rid themselves off the flies, effectively washing themselves in the sand. Then they looked very contented (or dead)! As the sun began to set, the cook made dinner, and quiet fell throughout the camp.
Next day the camels rose somewhat reluctantly.
The camels would drink from a trough, where I half expected to see a slowly appearing figure approach and shoot the camelman from afar ("He drank from my well!"). We stopped at a concrete building for some lunch and some shade. After lunch we chose a path through the desert.
I had 24 bottles of mineral water for three days. I probably drank about 10 over three days, so no worries there. The second night we stopped and as arranged the guide left (I could of paid extra for another day, but I was nice and quiet without him)That night it was clear and I fell asleep under thousands of twinkling stars, simple yet memorable.
Next morning it was back on the camel for the twenty five km back to the village, however I was feeling somewhat tender so I spent most of the day lounging in the cart as a camel towed it across the sands, which was strangely relaxing just watching the world pass by. Still I was glad to be back on firm earth, and thankful that I hadn't done anymore days. (Some people do a fifeteen day safari to Jaisalmer) Three days in the desert was enough for me, I've even got souvieneers, three spider bites.
I was reading through my Lonely Planet trying to decide where to stay and thinking the train should of arrived by now when a man ushered me off. Because of the lights inside, tinted windows and darkness outside I didn't realise I had arrived. Also I was looking out the wrong side of the train!
As I exited the train station, the usual descdending of touts began, as the autorickshaws drivers get commision from the hotels, they are keen for your business. The first guy had a card from a hotel I had read about and so I was whisked off. I even managed to bargain down the room from five hundred to four hundred. Not bad when I just wanted to sleep. (I was later to learn of people staying for three fifty, so I've still to improve!)
The next day, I just had a lazy day and wandered around town and then ate in the hotel restaurant. I came across a disgusting pond which you could hardly see the water fir the plastic bags, the smell was horrible, it was stinking of sulphur.
The hotel has a good resturant, so I've tried a few bits and bobs.Aloo matter seems to be pea curry as far as I can work out.Missi roti seems to be like a flat dry bread. I thought is would be a dough ball like in my guide book, but I don't know what the missi bit means and roti is just bread. (Turns out I had roti mixed up with bati)
Also I had stuffed paratha, which I'd had before at a roadside place. Not quite as nice here, or perhaps I wasn't as hungry!Finally I had potato raita which is like yoghurt, good with pulou (flavoured rice), but not much use on its own. Its a bit like just the sauce from a meal.As you can see I'm slowly learning a bit more about the cuisine. Still haven't found where I can get a beefburger though :)
I was chatting with a couple of English guys (Richard and Mike) who are travelling through India, one has motorbiked from England and he's the sensible one!The other just jumped on the back of his bike!
Like a lot of people they are heading down to Goa from Christmas, definitely seems to be THE place to be at Chrimbo, so I think I'll head down that way myself. Another possible option is Diu (another former Portugese colony) but it is in a bit of a dead end.
Anyway, I'm just back from the desert!
I spent three days doing a desert safari on a camel. It was good fun, but probably a one off, as being bounced up and down on a camel is pretty painful, especially on day three.
I had looked up a safari agent and found the shop which was a good walk out of town, but when I told him, what hotel I was staying at he was relucant to do a safari. It seems to be the way of things in India. So I had to go through the hotel (although I suppose I could of change accomodation)
Still day one, we headed off early and got a jeep into a village on the edge of the desert. On the way we stopped at the Karni Mata temple, otherwise known as the Rat Temple!
As it is a religous temple, its off with the shoes and in with the rats. There is acutally not too many running about, although in the corner there is plenty of them hiding under a piece of wood. Also in another corner is a small bowl of milk where there are having a quick drink. So I joined them for a photo. Its good luck to spot a rare white rat, but alas not my day.Although I did nearly stand on one, but luckily for both of us, it escaped my crushing foot just in time.
Outside the temple there was statues of Maharaja, but as you can see I was still keeping an eye on the rats.
So back to the safari, we pulled up and there are two camels tethered to the trees,
For the first two days I had an English speaking guide, Wasim (perhaps more of an interpreter!) and two camelmen who's names I had difficulty getting my tongue round.
The senior camelman was wearing earings that would put the Beckhams to shame. Seems to be the style in Rajastan and particularly Bikaner. The muslim guide told me it was a Hindu thing.
After a bit of hanging about while the camels snacked, it was up onto the camel. The camelman made some tut tut noises at the camels and it jerkily dropped to its knees. I then jumped aboard by throwing one leg over the side and then hoisting myself level. Then I had to hold tight on the harness and the camelman tut tutted at the camel and it rose in two stage, back legs where you are leaning forward about forty five degrees and then back legs when its fully upright.
My first though was it's a long way down! Then it started moving and my next though was arrgh! It certainly takes a bit of getting used to but after a while you learn to relax which seems to help a great deal. So off into the sandy desert
Once you relax you can get into the swing of things. After a whle though I was quite happy to jump in the cart being pulled by the other camel.
By the end of the first day I was happy enough that I didn't have to cling on with white knuckles. I even managed a drink of water aboard a moving camel!
The first night we stopped at a dune and some tarpaulin was thrown over the cart for a makeshift tent. The night was a bit foggy but with a near full moon.
The desert wasn't quite like the pictures you see of the sahara with nothing but dunes, I had been warned not to expect this.They land was perhaps more like arid scrub with bushes dotted about and much of the land, although looking like sand, had been ploughed. At first I though my camel was hungry as he kepy veering off to nearby branches only to be pulled back in line.
Later on I found out that he was tring to lose files that gather around their face (must be very irrating)When we stopped for a break and the harnesses were freed, the first thing the camels would do is roll around like crazy in the sand to rid themselves off the flies, effectively washing themselves in the sand. Then they looked very contented (or dead)! As the sun began to set, the cook made dinner, and quiet fell throughout the camp.
Next day the camels rose somewhat reluctantly.
The camels would drink from a trough, where I half expected to see a slowly appearing figure approach and shoot the camelman from afar ("He drank from my well!"). We stopped at a concrete building for some lunch and some shade. After lunch we chose a path through the desert.
I had 24 bottles of mineral water for three days. I probably drank about 10 over three days, so no worries there. The second night we stopped and as arranged the guide left (I could of paid extra for another day, but I was nice and quiet without him)That night it was clear and I fell asleep under thousands of twinkling stars, simple yet memorable.
Next morning it was back on the camel for the twenty five km back to the village, however I was feeling somewhat tender so I spent most of the day lounging in the cart as a camel towed it across the sands, which was strangely relaxing just watching the world pass by. Still I was glad to be back on firm earth, and thankful that I hadn't done anymore days. (Some people do a fifeteen day safari to Jaisalmer) Three days in the desert was enough for me, I've even got souvieneers, three spider bites.
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