Tuesday, January 20, 2009
Monday, January 19, 2009
Link to India Highlights 2
http://picasaweb.google.com/yogini.enid/IndiaHighlights2?authkey=nQ8fQZS54Ec#
Saturday, January 17, 2009
Video Link - Scene Outside Trivandrum Temple
http://picasaweb.google.com/yogini.enid/OutsideTrivandrumTemple?authkey=Y4sQ5eWJbnA#
Link to video of crows nesting
http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/XdFDr0x5QyczYl3ZBUoJ6g?authkey=Z896qsVYJ04&feat=directlink
This was taken at sunset at the Vivekananda ashram in Kanyakumari
Friday, January 16, 2009
Photos - I hope
http://picasaweb.google.com/yogini.enid/IndiaPhotos?authkey=uLkleDrB-_E#
I am still trying to post the photo highlights on the actual blog...but haven't succeeded...yet. However, I am hoping this link will take you to the photos.
Thursday, January 15, 2009
Tuesday, January 13, 2009
Monday, January 12, 2009
Last Post from India
With my last few wipes I just cleaned the last Indian dirt from my
feet and shoes and feel sad to leave. I look down at the tatto of
mosquito bites on my right ankle and am almost glad that this little
reminder will stay in my body, at least for a few days. Photos galore
will follow.
Namste
feet and shoes and feel sad to leave. I look down at the tatto of
mosquito bites on my right ankle and am almost glad that this little
reminder will stay in my body, at least for a few days. Photos galore
will follow.
Namste
Sent from my iPhone :)
Mumbai
Flight to Mumbai about an hour and a half delayed - but arrived no problems...except for Miriam leaving her camera bag on the plane. fortunately Kingfisher Airlines staff were quickly dispatched and returned it post haste! Our driver was there waiting for us and we are now in the very chic suburb of Juhu - wwhere we had tea and are going to sightsee for a bit - have dinner - and head back to the international airport.
I am happy though because AT LAST I can access data on my iphone so at the airport will be madly posting those photos I have on the phone. You can now see Shakkeer and if you scroll way back, to December at last a photo I attempted to send from Chennai is posted!!! Better late than never - but I plan to keep myself awaake in the wee hours by using the data I have already paid for.
Even at the Cochin airport it seemed very strange to see so many Western faces (maybe a dozen or 2) and the snack bar looked very odd with its assortment of brownies, muffins and sandwiches (along with a few samosas)...but we have not seen these Western foods in over a month. Most strange of all - they were out of tea (to which I have become addicted with hot milk and a TON of sugar) and only had coffee. Can you believe it - in India...I chose to forego the tea...but getting it was our first stop in Mumbai.
I can only imagine how alien things will seem in Paris and DC. Anyway - just made this internet stop to print my boarding passes and will be off to get a little flavor of Mumbai. Already it is SO different from Chennai - with a much more cosmopolitan feel - fancy boutiques, lots of big buildings, wide boulevards, etc...but definitely India. The balconies of the high rises have laundry hanging everywhere - as it is also disssplayed on the metal fences on the median strips of the boulevards. I guess people trust that no one will steal it. There appear to be many more people living on sidewalks than we saw in Chennai, and we have had beggars coming to the car.
But, of course, it is a huge city and, like the blind men exploring the elephant - our impression will only be of the small slice of the city that we see in our few hours here.
I am happy though because AT LAST I can access data on my iphone so at the airport will be madly posting those photos I have on the phone. You can now see Shakkeer and if you scroll way back, to December at last a photo I attempted to send from Chennai is posted!!! Better late than never - but I plan to keep myself awaake in the wee hours by using the data I have already paid for.
Even at the Cochin airport it seemed very strange to see so many Western faces (maybe a dozen or 2) and the snack bar looked very odd with its assortment of brownies, muffins and sandwiches (along with a few samosas)...but we have not seen these Western foods in over a month. Most strange of all - they were out of tea (to which I have become addicted with hot milk and a TON of sugar) and only had coffee. Can you believe it - in India...I chose to forego the tea...but getting it was our first stop in Mumbai.
I can only imagine how alien things will seem in Paris and DC. Anyway - just made this internet stop to print my boarding passes and will be off to get a little flavor of Mumbai. Already it is SO different from Chennai - with a much more cosmopolitan feel - fancy boutiques, lots of big buildings, wide boulevards, etc...but definitely India. The balconies of the high rises have laundry hanging everywhere - as it is also disssplayed on the metal fences on the median strips of the boulevards. I guess people trust that no one will steal it. There appear to be many more people living on sidewalks than we saw in Chennai, and we have had beggars coming to the car.
But, of course, it is a huge city and, like the blind men exploring the elephant - our impression will only be of the small slice of the city that we see in our few hours here.
Sunday, January 11, 2009
Back to Cochin
We arenow back in cochin area - and arrived at our "business class" hotel in the area called Ernakulum. It is very fancy and we were thrilled to see that, for the 1st time in our bathroom we have washcloths!!!!! I plan to scrub, scrub, scrub tonight!!. but alas - the hotel is so fancy and oriented to Western travelers taht it doesn't have the toilet spray hose I've become so fond of. From our window we call look out onto the harbor and will go on a harbor cruise this evening before our last dinner with Shakkeer who said "tomorrow I will be missing you." As we will be missing him.
We went to the area called Fort Cochin to see the Chineese fishing nets and do some last Kerala shopping. While he waited for us, Shakkeer said they were filming a Malaram movie in a building nearby, and he was happy that he got to see 2 of the film stars. He pulled out a DVD he had in the car and said the movie is a sequel.
Lunch was another thali - a more reasonable 70 rupees ($1.50) and each proves to be somewhat different from the last; all have been delicious. Tomorrow morning we leave early for the airport to Mumbai. Will spend the day there where we have a driver for the day - will probably stick to the suburbs - and then a nighttime drop off in the airport where we will struggle to stay awake until we depart...about 1:30 a.m. on the 13th for Miriam - 2:40 for me.
We went to the area called Fort Cochin to see the Chineese fishing nets and do some last Kerala shopping. While he waited for us, Shakkeer said they were filming a Malaram movie in a building nearby, and he was happy that he got to see 2 of the film stars. He pulled out a DVD he had in the car and said the movie is a sequel.
Lunch was another thali - a more reasonable 70 rupees ($1.50) and each proves to be somewhat different from the last; all have been delicious. Tomorrow morning we leave early for the airport to Mumbai. Will spend the day there where we have a driver for the day - will probably stick to the suburbs - and then a nighttime drop off in the airport where we will struggle to stay awake until we depart...about 1:30 a.m. on the 13th for Miriam - 2:40 for me.
Saturday, January 10, 2009
Winding Down
Well, just as we are coming close to the end of our Indian adventure, it occurred to me how unwound we have become. The other day as we were having our leisurely boat ride Alleppey canals we saw a boat transporting 2 young Western women. One was listening to her i-pod,, the other was reading. Miriam and I just looked at each other: it wouldn't have occurred to either of us to do anything to entertain ourselves during the very low-key ride. We were perfectly content to simply "veg out" as swe do most days. stuck in traffic: no problem. slow service - oh well. our pace is just so low key. the only time i turned on a tv was the day i was recuperating from being sick...and then i just sort of flipped through the channels without even watching. if we get a newspaper at our lodging, i page through it...but about the only news from the States I saw was that Michelle Obama and the girls had come to DC and there was no space for them to stay at Blair House. I imagine that got more than a few inches of print in the Washington Post. Otherwise - I'll just have to catch up when I return. When I get the paper I give the sudoku a try (yes - they have sudoku in the paper here!) - but unlike at home where I work it to death - here if it's easy I do it...if I get stuck I set it aside and a few days later just throw it away.
Coming home will be an adjustment, to say the least.
today we went to what was billed as an elephant orphanage. it wasn't exactly waht we expected - there were elephants, but they were chained and we really aren't sure how they were procured. ON the way we say an elephant working - helping bring huge tree trunks across a road. Back in Alleppey, Shakkeer spotted a vast number of huge bats handing upside down in the trees. It must be something at night - as there are certainly enought mosquitos for them to feed on. In any case - it is our last day in this area. tomorrow we drive to Cochin, from which we depart for Mumbai the following day.
As things have turned out - we actually were glad taht Neel departed for Cochin today as originally planned. As you may have picked up - we really were not on the same page as to expectations. While he had billed himself as an expert in Kerala - he actually was not well versed on places to stay, did not organize our itinerary in the most logical way (we had way too much backtracking) and, in short - used this as a nice paid vacation for himself. He had told me that he would show us places that the guide books don't know about, etc. In fact - early in the trip he stopped at a book store to buy a guide book. If that was going to be the case - he at least should have boned up before we met. But all that is behind us now. Fortunately Shakkeer more than made up for Neel's shortcomings. He is the one who was filled with local information. He could give us the names of birds, trees, etc. He spoke Malaram (the Keralan language) as well as Tamil, Hindi and English (and probably more languages we never needed). He was unfailingly attentive, prompt, reliable, courteous - everything you would want. If I randomly mentioned an interest in something, he would pick right up on and tell us where or how we could see it. He will be with us until the Cochin airport and we will have many happy memories of him.
Friday, January 9, 2009
Random Memories of India
- the wearing of knitted woolen hats, especially in the morning when it's "cold" (maybe 70 degrees)
- men wearing scarves around their necks with weather well into the 80s
- girls wearing bangles
- men wearing lughis - often in groups wearing all black or all orange when they are visiting a temple
- houses and stores in ALL colors, especially turquoise, yellow, blue, green, pink, orange, lavender
- roofs of thatch or terra cotta
- signs painted on stucco walls - especially black on yellow
- total fluidity in the "lanes" of traffic - all directions
- wash bucket and spout pitcher in every bathroom
- toilet spray hose
- stores selling buckets, pitchers, containers in all assorted bright colors
- strings of jasmine and other flowers
- boys and girls in groups in their school uniforms - always walking, walking - in mountains, in cities, everywhere
- autorickshaws
- cows, goats, dogs everywhere
- oranges, bananas, coconuts everywhere
- lots of dirt and trash
- brooms made from the spine of the coconut frond
- of course - the TATA trucks
Another random note - at our hotel in Kanyakumari I noticed the sink and the floor drain each had a mothball deposited - which I found very strange. Hating the odor, I was about to take them from the room and throw them away. Then I thought (I have been here a month after all) - I'm in India - there is probably a reason for them. I asked Neel and he right away said - yes - they're to keep away cockaroaches!!!! I put up with the smell.
Ah well - off for an Ayurvedic massage -an hour long for less than $20. How could I pass it up?
Additions to the Lists
More things carried on the head:
- woven baskets - carried 2 high
- iron pots of various sizes
- pile of cut lumber
- what appeared to be practically a whole palm tree
- stack of folded cloth
- folded sari cloths in ther packages
- giant bucket of rubble
- 2 large cans of cooking oil
- huge basket filled with clay jugs
- buckets of gravel
Things transported on a bicycle
- stack of straw mats
- pile of burlap
- many (at least 6-8) large cans of cooking oil
- 2 HUGE rice sacks
- 2 big milk cans
- ice cream vendor
Alleppey
Alleppey is referred to as the "Venice of the East" because of the extensive network of canals...although that is about where the similarity ends (I imagine, never having been to Venice). Our hotel is my favorite of the entire trip, and it's nice to be at the end when we are getting a bit road-weary. It is called Raheem Residency and is a small boutique hotel converted elyfrom a private residence built over a century ago. It has just 10-12 rooms and the service is very individuadlized. As soon as we arrived there was no laborious check-in: they knew who we were, asked us to be seated in teh living room, brought a lovely refreshing minty-limey chilled tea, etc. The setting is beautiful, furnished with antiques and interesting touches, yet has all the modern conveniences (AIR CONDITIONING!!!!!)
It took us awhile to figure out how to lock our door from inside. On the outside there is an old-fashioned looking heavy padlock. When you go inside, the double heavy wooden doors close and you then slide 4 long wooden panels across like an old fortress. I felt like I was barring the castle door. There is no extra charge for the geckos in the room (Miriam was not quite as fond of them as I am.)
This morning we went on a 3-hour leisurely boat ride through the canals of Alleppey, watching the tyupical village life take place - bathing, washing clothes and cooking pots, catching and selling and scaling/cleaning fish, there even was a "floating store" - a boat that cruises around with various items for sale. One experience we won't have on this trip is a stay in a houseboat - of which there are many, many, many in the area - ranging from 1-bedroom love nests to large 4-bedroom boats. They are fully air conditioned and come with a staff of 4 to meet your every need: captain, cook, maid, and - well I don't know what the 4th person does, but Shakkeer (our driver) told us there are 4 staff. It could be a great way to relax.
Tomorrow we may (still not sure) visit an elephan orphanage that care for elephans that were wounded in the wild and need rehabilitation..will keep you posted on that. We had a bit of a scare when Shakkeer told us that the petrol tankers are on strike (or some branch of the distribution system) and we could see the line snaking for 2 blocks of people trying to buy gas from the one pump that still had a supply. Fortunately while we did a bit of afternoon shopping, Shakkeer was able to fuel up - though he said it took a full hour! We should be in good shape for the rest of the trip.
So - our latesty culinaray adventure has been the discovery that many restaurants serve a "thali" at lunch time. A large round stainless steel tray contains an assortment of small portions of curries, dals, pickles, yogurt, soup, served with rice, bread, dessert, etc. We were impressed with our 1st one in Kanyakumari which featured 17 different items for what we thought was the ridiculously low price of 120 rupees (less than $2.50 - in an Indian restaurant Alleppey at a nice clean restaurant and had their 14-15 item thali for 50 ruppes ($1)!!! Today we went to a restaurant here - where the thali (again about 14 items) started to sound expensive (not really) at 90 rupees! All were delicious and way more food than either of us could possibly consume. By the way - in Kerala they serve "Kerala rice" which is a brown rice that is soaked and parboiled first. Then when it's cooked and served it had thick puffy grains that have a bit of a reddish tint in places. I'm hoping that it has more nutrition, as the husk hasn't been removed, since we aren't getting a ton of protein. In any case - it's nice to try the local specialty.
It took us awhile to figure out how to lock our door from inside. On the outside there is an old-fashioned looking heavy padlock. When you go inside, the double heavy wooden doors close and you then slide 4 long wooden panels across like an old fortress. I felt like I was barring the castle door. There is no extra charge for the geckos in the room (Miriam was not quite as fond of them as I am.)
This morning we went on a 3-hour leisurely boat ride through the canals of Alleppey, watching the tyupical village life take place - bathing, washing clothes and cooking pots, catching and selling and scaling/cleaning fish, there even was a "floating store" - a boat that cruises around with various items for sale. One experience we won't have on this trip is a stay in a houseboat - of which there are many, many, many in the area - ranging from 1-bedroom love nests to large 4-bedroom boats. They are fully air conditioned and come with a staff of 4 to meet your every need: captain, cook, maid, and - well I don't know what the 4th person does, but Shakkeer (our driver) told us there are 4 staff. It could be a great way to relax.
Tomorrow we may (still not sure) visit an elephan orphanage that care for elephans that were wounded in the wild and need rehabilitation..will keep you posted on that. We had a bit of a scare when Shakkeer told us that the petrol tankers are on strike (or some branch of the distribution system) and we could see the line snaking for 2 blocks of people trying to buy gas from the one pump that still had a supply. Fortunately while we did a bit of afternoon shopping, Shakkeer was able to fuel up - though he said it took a full hour! We should be in good shape for the rest of the trip.
So - our latesty culinaray adventure has been the discovery that many restaurants serve a "thali" at lunch time. A large round stainless steel tray contains an assortment of small portions of curries, dals, pickles, yogurt, soup, served with rice, bread, dessert, etc. We were impressed with our 1st one in Kanyakumari which featured 17 different items for what we thought was the ridiculously low price of 120 rupees (less than $2.50 - in an Indian restaurant Alleppey at a nice clean restaurant and had their 14-15 item thali for 50 ruppes ($1)!!! Today we went to a restaurant here - where the thali (again about 14 items) started to sound expensive (not really) at 90 rupees! All were delicious and way more food than either of us could possibly consume. By the way - in Kerala they serve "Kerala rice" which is a brown rice that is soaked and parboiled first. Then when it's cooked and served it had thick puffy grains that have a bit of a reddish tint in places. I'm hoping that it has more nutrition, as the husk hasn't been removed, since we aren't getting a ton of protein. In any case - it's nice to try the local specialty.
Thursday, January 8, 2009
No Cell Phone Reception :[
I am now in Alleppey for the next 3 nights. Neither Miriam nor I have cell phone reception at the hotel...don't know whether it will work elsewhere in the area. In case of emergency - the hotel is Raheem Residency and the number is 00-91-477 22 39 76 7
will be home soon!
Wednesday, January 7, 2009
Itinerary Changes
January 8-10 Alleppey - Raheem Residency [91-477 223 9767] - lovely heritage hotel
January 11 Taj Residency - Ernakulam (near Cochin airport) [0484 237 1471]
We were able to change our flight from Cochin to Mumbai. Instead of traveling late at night on January 10th - we are able to extend our time in Kerala and fly the morning of January 12.
We will arrive at the Mumbai domestic airport around mid day, collect our bags and meet our driver who will take us to a suburb near the airport that is supposed to be pleasant and relaxing for the afternoon. That evening we will be driven to the international airport for our flights home. We have had enough of cities and will be much happier spending the time in Kerala and having just a fefw hours outside the Mumbai airport. It has been a long and full trip and we will be ready to return home.
January 11 Taj Residency - Ernakulam (near Cochin airport) [0484 237 1471]
We were able to change our flight from Cochin to Mumbai. Instead of traveling late at night on January 10th - we are able to extend our time in Kerala and fly the morning of January 12.
We will arrive at the Mumbai domestic airport around mid day, collect our bags and meet our driver who will take us to a suburb near the airport that is supposed to be pleasant and relaxing for the afternoon. That evening we will be driven to the international airport for our flights home. We have had enough of cities and will be much happier spending the time in Kerala and having just a fefw hours outside the Mumbai airport. It has been a long and full trip and we will be ready to return home.
Kanyakumari
Our trip down to the very sourthern tip of India - Kanyakumari - brings us back into Tamil Nadu. As we approached there were dramatic mountains to the east of us and some beautiful scenery...although the population density of India is truly staggering, as there are short distances between one crowded town and the next. We checked into our hotel, which was to our satisfaction and has a stunning view of the convergence of the Bay of Bengal to the east, the Arabian Sea to the west, and the Indian ocean to the south. We sat in armchairs watching the tides converge, the birds soar, and the boats bob...with a view of the Swami Vivekananda temple, built on a rock and a huge statue on another rock of someone whose name I can't spell (sorry...so much to see, so little time). We drove to a location to see the sunset - that and sunrise (which we are supposed to be able to see from our room...but it was too overcast6 today) being the primary attractions of Kanyakumari.
Fortunately the sea is beautiful, because, as I had been warned, the town itself is not very appealing. In some ways, it's remarkable to me that we have been in India for a month and have seen almost no beggars and have rarely been accosted by aggressive hawkers selling trinkets, etc. The streets nearby and the market stalls are crowded with such activities and I am not sorry that our exposure to this aspect of India has been limited.
This morning we visited the Gandhi memorial in Kanyakumari - constructed in such a way that the building has architectural aspects that resemble a Christian church, a Hindu temple, and a Muslim mosque. The aged guide insisted on a detailed tour for us Westerners. Gandhi's ashes were held in this memorial until they were distributed and scattered. The building has a hole in the roof designed for the sun to shine down a on the spot where his ashes were held on his birthday (October 2) each year.
We had an amazing spectacle last night - better than the sunset - when we dropped Neel at the Vivekananda ashram where he is staying. IT was dusk and the crows were gathering to roost for the night. The sound of their cawing was raucous as they attempted to find their perches for the night. I took a short video, which I will try to post when I get home.
A nice conversation on the boat ride back from the Vivekananda memorial this morning. I was speaking to a young man who asked where I was from and how I was enjoying my visit to India. When I told him that the Indian people were the friendliest people I had encountered anywhere I'd traveled, he responded that this was the highest compliment that the country could receive. He went on to say that while the country is very overcrowded, its people are its greatest strength and its greatest weakness. I concur!
Separate post will give our final itinerary changes.
Monday, January 5, 2009
Long Ride Today
We spent most of the day in the car today, as we journeyed from Kumarakom to Trivandrum, the capitol of Kerala. We had no idea that this "good" road would go through city after city and offer only the occasional scenic view. But we did accomplish 2 things. First - we secured a hotel in Alleppey for the nights of Jan 8 and 9... and possibly Jan 10, if we are able to delay our flight to AMumbai by 1 day (still need to check this out). The hotel is a heritage hotel...which are generally very nice hotels in historic buildings. This one was found by Neel's stepdaughter and we checked it out and it met our standards. For those following our itinerary - it will replace what was to have been Waterscapes and the Bolgatty Palce in cochin, since we would prefer to stay in one place longer and can easily make our flight from cochin driving from Alleppey - since we don't depart until after 9 pm.
We then embarked on a long drive to Trivandrum, and were delighted to see that the MAscot Hotel (a government run hotel) is indeed a top notch hotel. As a matter of fact - I am using their computer and it is easily the cleanest and fastest computer I've used the entire trip...although the hotel does not have the promised wi-fi. I am so mad at AT&T that I have been completely unsuccessful except for those few occasions in Chennai to connect to data from the iphone and thus you have seen few photos. At this point, I am resigned to getting my photos up on a site when I return and posting the site on the blog.
Since this has been a mostly uneventful day - I will take a minute to comment on the TATA trucks of India. Apparently the Tata family is one of the wealthiest families in India, as Tata manufactures many...most? of the motor vehicles in India. Most of the trucks and buses appear to be TATA. The trucks may be plain, but most have customized painting - from simple to amazingly elaborate. Many have a lotus flower or other simple flower designs. Others have practically every spare inch covered in elaborate and colorful flower patterns. Others have a large Hindyu deity, or a tiger, or an elephant. One could easily spend a year just traveling around India photographing the trucks. I hope I will have some good examples to post...unfortunately I often see them while I'm in the car and can't get a good shot.
My other random thought - where else can you see men walking around in what is basically a flowered skirt feeling perfectly manly? Of course they're not called skirts...they're call lugies (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong) byut it's the male equivalent of the sari...but is only wrapped around the waist. It usuallyt is kept long, at least in teh morning,a nd then rolled up to a shorter length as the day grows warmer. Ceratinly in the areas we've travelled, it is just as likely to see men in this traditional garb as it is to be in trousers. Women are very rarely seen in Western garb. today I finally inaugurated my "punjabi" outfit that I had made in Chennai. It's very comfortable and I don't think it looks half bad...though maybe I've been in India too long!!!
We then embarked on a long drive to Trivandrum, and were delighted to see that the MAscot Hotel (a government run hotel) is indeed a top notch hotel. As a matter of fact - I am using their computer and it is easily the cleanest and fastest computer I've used the entire trip...although the hotel does not have the promised wi-fi. I am so mad at AT&T that I have been completely unsuccessful except for those few occasions in Chennai to connect to data from the iphone and thus you have seen few photos. At this point, I am resigned to getting my photos up on a site when I return and posting the site on the blog.
Since this has been a mostly uneventful day - I will take a minute to comment on the TATA trucks of India. Apparently the Tata family is one of the wealthiest families in India, as Tata manufactures many...most? of the motor vehicles in India. Most of the trucks and buses appear to be TATA. The trucks may be plain, but most have customized painting - from simple to amazingly elaborate. Many have a lotus flower or other simple flower designs. Others have practically every spare inch covered in elaborate and colorful flower patterns. Others have a large Hindyu deity, or a tiger, or an elephant. One could easily spend a year just traveling around India photographing the trucks. I hope I will have some good examples to post...unfortunately I often see them while I'm in the car and can't get a good shot.
My other random thought - where else can you see men walking around in what is basically a flowered skirt feeling perfectly manly? Of course they're not called skirts...they're call lugies (I'm sure I've spelled that wrong) byut it's the male equivalent of the sari...but is only wrapped around the waist. It usuallyt is kept long, at least in teh morning,a nd then rolled up to a shorter length as the day grows warmer. Ceratinly in the areas we've travelled, it is just as likely to see men in this traditional garb as it is to be in trousers. Women are very rarely seen in Western garb. today I finally inaugurated my "punjabi" outfit that I had made in Chennai. It's very comfortable and I don't think it looks half bad...though maybe I've been in India too long!!!
Oops
That link actually takes you to our team journal...which also is interesting, but I will have to search to find the video...although it might be there somewhere.
Link to Video of SEAMs
http://indiateamjournal.blogspot.com/
This link should take you to a video that was made while we were volunteering in Chennai using the kids at the SEAMs home. Many of the children I worked with are featured in the video.
This link should take you to a video that was made while we were volunteering in Chennai using the kids at the SEAMs home. Many of the children I worked with are featured in the video.
Sunday, January 4, 2009
From Bad to Wrose to Better
The morning we left Periyar, my frequent bathroom visits should have warned me taht something was brewing. On the windy mountain roads I became very queasy, so we stopped for me to take some dramamine and get a soda. My stomach settled, but the large volume of liquid consumed required a stop which finially initiated me to the "Indian toilet." It was quite a feat of engineering to roll up my pants legs, roll down the top, and carefully tiptoe across the urine-slick floor to find my "perch" on the pink porcelain foot pads over the hole. Let's just say that squatting position did not improve the aroma. I left as quickly as possible, found a water spigot and cleaned not only my hands, but the soles of my shoes...yuck.
When we arrived at our hotel I understood why many web sites say to avoid the government-run hotels in kerala (which, by the way means land of coconuts...for a good reason...coconut trees are EVERYWHERE and coconut is a major ingredient in many, many foods). Anyway - suffice it to say: WHAT A DUMP! If the odor redolent of mold and insecticide weren't enough, the falling down ceiling, group of backpacking students checking in, and the line of ants marching through the room clinched our hasty exit from the premises. Fortunately our trusty driver, Shakkeer, recommended a private hotel that he thought would meet our needs. As is becoming usual, he knew more to remedy the situation than our "guide," Neel...who had purchased a guide book a few days earlier and was thumbing through it for the names of other hotels. We weren't sure if Shakkeer's recommendation would meet our standards, since he was trying to steer us away from some of the other hotels because he said they were too expensive. When we discovered taht the cheapest room at the Radisson was over $400 a night, we decided to check out the Backwater Ripples, which, indeed, was lovely and - while much more than we have been paying - was much more reasonable than the Radisson.
It proved to be one of the best moves we made, as that night I became violently ill with eruptions from both ends. I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say, I was glad to be in a hotel in which I was comfortable sitting on the bathroom floor for almost the entire night. The next day I felt much better, but was certain that I would never want to eat again. I stayed in the nice room, sipped gatorade and 7 UP and prayed for the nausea to pass. By this morning I was all better, and ate a few biscuits, and even felt up to our planned canoe ride through the backwater canals in the Kumarakom backwaters. It was absolutely lovely and we spotted many kingfishers, egrets, purple moor hens, and some sort of woodpecker. Even more interesting was seeing the daily life along these canals in which people bathe, wash their clothes, clean their cooking pots, and probably much more. I saw someone wtih a small fish, scaling it against a flat, rough rock. I think in India, you have to be strong to survive.
The weather here has been amazing - it is not too hot, there are breezes, and remarkably few mosquitoes, given that there is water everywhere. It was fortunate that we had 3 nights here so that I had time to recover before we hit the road again. Tomorow we drive to Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala and, apparently a large city. I think we have both had enough of India cities, but it will provide a stopping point on our way to Kanyakumari - the southern tip of India which joins the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea.
A FEW CORRECTIONS: The bird I liked in Periyar is a scarlet minivet (not minuet). Also I was off by about 224 years on teh founding of the synagogue in Cochin's "Jew Town"...I alone am responsible for any other errors!!!
Just one additional funny note: today as we were on a brief (and futil;e) shopping expedition so that Miriam could get a cheap suitcase in which to bring home her many purchases our group of 2 Jews, a Hindu and a Muslim were approached by a man on the street telling us taht Jesus Christ was the one true God. It cracked us up!! Waht an unlikely Indian scenario. But more and more it seems like this is a place in which anything can happen (except to find a Western meal when our tummies have been upset)...although - sorry = one more note...we did find a supermarket of sorts and went into raptures of ecstacy when they had Silk soymik on the shelves!!! An Indian family next to us became curious as to this strange product that made the Western women so excited.
When we arrived at our hotel I understood why many web sites say to avoid the government-run hotels in kerala (which, by the way means land of coconuts...for a good reason...coconut trees are EVERYWHERE and coconut is a major ingredient in many, many foods). Anyway - suffice it to say: WHAT A DUMP! If the odor redolent of mold and insecticide weren't enough, the falling down ceiling, group of backpacking students checking in, and the line of ants marching through the room clinched our hasty exit from the premises. Fortunately our trusty driver, Shakkeer, recommended a private hotel that he thought would meet our needs. As is becoming usual, he knew more to remedy the situation than our "guide," Neel...who had purchased a guide book a few days earlier and was thumbing through it for the names of other hotels. We weren't sure if Shakkeer's recommendation would meet our standards, since he was trying to steer us away from some of the other hotels because he said they were too expensive. When we discovered taht the cheapest room at the Radisson was over $400 a night, we decided to check out the Backwater Ripples, which, indeed, was lovely and - while much more than we have been paying - was much more reasonable than the Radisson.
It proved to be one of the best moves we made, as that night I became violently ill with eruptions from both ends. I will spare you the details. Suffice it to say, I was glad to be in a hotel in which I was comfortable sitting on the bathroom floor for almost the entire night. The next day I felt much better, but was certain that I would never want to eat again. I stayed in the nice room, sipped gatorade and 7 UP and prayed for the nausea to pass. By this morning I was all better, and ate a few biscuits, and even felt up to our planned canoe ride through the backwater canals in the Kumarakom backwaters. It was absolutely lovely and we spotted many kingfishers, egrets, purple moor hens, and some sort of woodpecker. Even more interesting was seeing the daily life along these canals in which people bathe, wash their clothes, clean their cooking pots, and probably much more. I saw someone wtih a small fish, scaling it against a flat, rough rock. I think in India, you have to be strong to survive.
The weather here has been amazing - it is not too hot, there are breezes, and remarkably few mosquitoes, given that there is water everywhere. It was fortunate that we had 3 nights here so that I had time to recover before we hit the road again. Tomorow we drive to Trivandrum, the capital of Kerala and, apparently a large city. I think we have both had enough of India cities, but it will provide a stopping point on our way to Kanyakumari - the southern tip of India which joins the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean, and the Arabian Sea.
A FEW CORRECTIONS: The bird I liked in Periyar is a scarlet minivet (not minuet). Also I was off by about 224 years on teh founding of the synagogue in Cochin's "Jew Town"...I alone am responsible for any other errors!!!
Just one additional funny note: today as we were on a brief (and futil;e) shopping expedition so that Miriam could get a cheap suitcase in which to bring home her many purchases our group of 2 Jews, a Hindu and a Muslim were approached by a man on the street telling us taht Jesus Christ was the one true God. It cracked us up!! Waht an unlikely Indian scenario. But more and more it seems like this is a place in which anything can happen (except to find a Western meal when our tummies have been upset)...although - sorry = one more note...we did find a supermarket of sorts and went into raptures of ecstacy when they had Silk soymik on the shelves!!! An Indian family next to us became curious as to this strange product that made the Western women so excited.
Thursday, January 1, 2009
Into the Wild...sort of
At some point I will try to get a photo of our Kathakali dance performance - which was quite bizarre. It apparently is the dance form specific to Kerala...and my earlier comment about a "drag" performance was somewhat prescient: Think 3, 6 foot tall men in huge Scarlett O'Hara type hoopp skirts, 5 foot long wigs, and lots of makeup. Basically - not much movement - but a lot of costumes.
The next day we left on our long drtive to Thekkady which turned out to be through very mountainous terrain, as it is at nearly 3,000 feet. Thanks to our very trusty and calm driver - Shakkeer - we were in good hands - although the narrow, windy roads, like everywhere in India, are shared with pedestrians, cows, buses, etc. Miriam and I adore Shakkeer - who is knowledgeable, polite, considerate and able to speak about 5 languages (more than our "guide" Neel - who sometimes has his own agenda...but more on that some other time.)
We ended up at our destination in the Periyar Wildlife Reserve where we are staying in one of the 2 hotels actually on the grounds. That has the advantage of convenience...but the hotel (supposedly the better of the 2) is somewhat reminiscent of a 1930s-era state hospital. Notusually a comcplainer - I insistged that they change the sheets on the bed (I'm just not a fan of crumbly little bits on the sheets) and after the 1st night, we asked for a different room...which we are much more satisfied with...and the food at the hotel is FABULOUS!!!
The highlight, of course - is being surrounded with wildlife...many birds, but also very entertaining monkeys all over the place.a Each room has a warning to leave your windows shut when you go out - lest the monkeys come in...whicih they clearly will do - if given half a chance. Yesterday after breakfast there was a window open in the hallway. As we were snapping photos, I set my sunglasses down on the windowsill. One of the little fellows tried to reach around and grab them!!! We have seen 2 varieties - the smaller ones (whose names I dont' remember) and the larger macaques - black monkeys with a white ruff around the neck. They don't some so close and stay in the trees.
In the evening I was luckt to see a group of 4 elephants across the water. Sadly - my camera isn't strong enough to capture more than a copule of gray blobs. Still - it was a thrill to see elephants int eh wild. This morning we rang in the new year by going on a 3 and ahlaf hour nature walk. It started with the rental of "Leech socks" (for 20 rupees each - about 40 cents)...canvass socks that go over the foot and tie at the knee. I don't think we needed them - but who wants to tak a chance. Then - in the morning mist we, in groups of 5 - each with a guide - took a bamboo raft across the river. It was lovely...very lord of the rings crossing the river in the mist.
We saw many birds - the lovliest was a scarlet minuet - small birds - the male is red and black, the female is yellow and gray. OUr guide could hear an elephant and after muck standing and quiet stalking - we saw - far in the distance in teh trees could see a large gray shape moving its ears. Miriam couldn't see it - but later it trumpeted and made a "tock-tock" sound that our guide told us was the sound of it flapping its ears...so she knew it was there. I was able to photograph elephant poop - of which there was plenty.
Anyway we are starving for lunch - so more to come.
The next day we left on our long drtive to Thekkady which turned out to be through very mountainous terrain, as it is at nearly 3,000 feet. Thanks to our very trusty and calm driver - Shakkeer - we were in good hands - although the narrow, windy roads, like everywhere in India, are shared with pedestrians, cows, buses, etc. Miriam and I adore Shakkeer - who is knowledgeable, polite, considerate and able to speak about 5 languages (more than our "guide" Neel - who sometimes has his own agenda...but more on that some other time.)
We ended up at our destination in the Periyar Wildlife Reserve where we are staying in one of the 2 hotels actually on the grounds. That has the advantage of convenience...but the hotel (supposedly the better of the 2) is somewhat reminiscent of a 1930s-era state hospital. Notusually a comcplainer - I insistged that they change the sheets on the bed (I'm just not a fan of crumbly little bits on the sheets) and after the 1st night, we asked for a different room...which we are much more satisfied with...and the food at the hotel is FABULOUS!!!
The highlight, of course - is being surrounded with wildlife...many birds, but also very entertaining monkeys all over the place.a Each room has a warning to leave your windows shut when you go out - lest the monkeys come in...whicih they clearly will do - if given half a chance. Yesterday after breakfast there was a window open in the hallway. As we were snapping photos, I set my sunglasses down on the windowsill. One of the little fellows tried to reach around and grab them!!! We have seen 2 varieties - the smaller ones (whose names I dont' remember) and the larger macaques - black monkeys with a white ruff around the neck. They don't some so close and stay in the trees.
In the evening I was luckt to see a group of 4 elephants across the water. Sadly - my camera isn't strong enough to capture more than a copule of gray blobs. Still - it was a thrill to see elephants int eh wild. This morning we rang in the new year by going on a 3 and ahlaf hour nature walk. It started with the rental of "Leech socks" (for 20 rupees each - about 40 cents)...canvass socks that go over the foot and tie at the knee. I don't think we needed them - but who wants to tak a chance. Then - in the morning mist we, in groups of 5 - each with a guide - took a bamboo raft across the river. It was lovely...very lord of the rings crossing the river in the mist.
We saw many birds - the lovliest was a scarlet minuet - small birds - the male is red and black, the female is yellow and gray. OUr guide could hear an elephant and after muck standing and quiet stalking - we saw - far in the distance in teh trees could see a large gray shape moving its ears. Miriam couldn't see it - but later it trumpeted and made a "tock-tock" sound that our guide told us was the sound of it flapping its ears...so she knew it was there. I was able to photograph elephant poop - of which there was plenty.
Anyway we are starving for lunch - so more to come.
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