Writing in retrospect once again.... Can't say what takes up so much of the days in India but the time does go....
Alison & I flew down to the South of India on Oct. 8th, spent a couple of nights in a unmemorable coast town, then followed that up with a week in Varkala. We were looking for someplace laid back and "beachy" and it certainly fit the description. Between all the prep for the trip, moving out of my house and working right up to the very last day, it was our first chance to pause in many weeks.
Varkala is essentially a small "resort" village along the cliffs overlooking the Arabian sea. A bit seedy but friendly and so much more easy going than the cities up north. For those in my generation, think of a spot where Deadheads might go between tours or Amsterdam ala early 80s. Shake, rattle and roll..... While we stayed at a simple hotel, it is still possible to rent a basic room there (some with indoor plumbing even !) for less than $5.00 a day. If a person was looking for a cheap hideout or place to escape to for some time, they could do worse than Varkala.
Unlikely that Varkala will remain the same for much longer. Major hotel complexes are being built further down the beach and once those have arrived, they are likely to push out the small businesses that are there. If for no other reason than they don't have to share the tourists' money with them (or give them an idea of how cheap India can be...).
During our lazy beach week, we did also "manage" to have a couple of day trips. In both cases we arranged with a local tour company to have outings specifically as "non-touristy" as possible. The first one was in a motorized rickshaw (they are everywhere in India !) which took us around a few neighboring villages. We also made a stop at a large lake where a local took us out in his boat to an island with a Hindu temple on it. It happened that the family who "owned" the temple were there that day conducting various ceremonies. The head of the clan apologized to us that the temple had not yet been "prepared" for tourism. Wish I could of made him understand how glad I was for that ! Where India can be so loud and busy, the lake was very quiet and surrounded by a forest of palms. Thought palm trees only came in groves until then...
We also had another day trip to the back waters of Kerala. While it was a less commercial version of a tour (by canoe), I believe I'll let Alison blog on this subject. For me, I think I might have had the same "feeling" if we had been viewing the poor folk that live & work in the Louisiana swamps....
One thing I will never forget about Varkala were the lightning storms each evening. Incredible displays that lit up the entire sky, flashing reflections back off the sea and illuminating the (brave ??) fishermen on their nightly trawls. When the heavy rains followed, the sound through the palm trees was an entire stadium applauding....
Next blog on Kochi....
Brett
Saturday, October 25, 2008
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
The first week cont...
Welcome to India!
We touch down in Delhi 1 1/2 hours late from Abu Dhabi and await our first impressions of India.
The eagerly anticipated breath of the local temperature which always comes with the first step from the airplane doesn't disappoint. We haven't had a summer for 2 years and, maybe subconciously, we half believe that it will be elusive here too.
We are mistaken - it is hot, very hot.
We move forward to the bureaucracy of Indian immigration. We have done our research and are hyper-vigilant for the queues, scams, and confusion that we have been warned against. So, the reality is almost a let-down. The customs official almost smiles a welcome. The baggage checker, looking for evidence that the bags we are trying to leave the airport with belong to us, is a guardian. At the last barrier between airside and our destination there is an orderly line of placards waiting for a variety of 'names'. Where is the anxious crowd of relatives? Where are the ceremonies and reunifications synonymous with arrival halls around the world? This hall is quiet and sparse. Our placard is waiting patiently for us and we meet the man behind it. Mintu will be our driver for the first part of our trip and, reciprocal welcomings over, we leave the rarified atmosphere of 16 hours of international air travel into ...
... Indian reality.
It turns out that space control is regulated here, as it is all over the world, by canny financial disincentives. Space is the premium - demand is high but supply is very limited. If you want to use the precious space you must pay for it (or find a way to circumvent the usual use-of-space rules, but more of that later). There is a 60 rupee fee to enter the airport. 60 rupees can buy you a meal here and six, eight, ten family members waiting for their relatives are, perforce, left to wait outside.
We arrive in the Carol Bagh section of Delhi. Lucikly, we are on the outskirts of this area as it is a notorious tourist 'ghetto'. We arrive just as it is getting dark but decide to take the plunge and go for a wander to stretch our legs. In hindight, this was a gentle introduction to Indian street life as people are curious and attentive of us but leave us to our own devices. Brett almost succombs to some delicious-smelling street food but (my) caution prevails and we agree to acclimatise a little more before immersing ourselves to that degree. But the sights, the smells, the sheer intimate humanity of it all is as many others have spoken of before.
I am surprised that I don't find it as "bad" as i thought it was going to be. At times it is so smelly and dirty and impoverished that it is uncomfortable and discomforting. At first I was drawn to try to 'make sense' of how is life for people here, but soon realised that this was futile. I am travelling within a protected space - no matter how close to the street I might think I am. I am an observer here, not a participant. Although I may have some knowledge, I cannot make sense of the history and politics and language and religion and family etc that are all part of daily life here. My inner thoughts about injustice, infrastructures, rules and culture are only assumptions that cannot be checked out - and so I abandon them.
We touch down in Delhi 1 1/2 hours late from Abu Dhabi and await our first impressions of India.
The eagerly anticipated breath of the local temperature which always comes with the first step from the airplane doesn't disappoint. We haven't had a summer for 2 years and, maybe subconciously, we half believe that it will be elusive here too.
We are mistaken - it is hot, very hot.
We move forward to the bureaucracy of Indian immigration. We have done our research and are hyper-vigilant for the queues, scams, and confusion that we have been warned against. So, the reality is almost a let-down. The customs official almost smiles a welcome. The baggage checker, looking for evidence that the bags we are trying to leave the airport with belong to us, is a guardian. At the last barrier between airside and our destination there is an orderly line of placards waiting for a variety of 'names'. Where is the anxious crowd of relatives? Where are the ceremonies and reunifications synonymous with arrival halls around the world? This hall is quiet and sparse. Our placard is waiting patiently for us and we meet the man behind it. Mintu will be our driver for the first part of our trip and, reciprocal welcomings over, we leave the rarified atmosphere of 16 hours of international air travel into ...
... Indian reality.
It turns out that space control is regulated here, as it is all over the world, by canny financial disincentives. Space is the premium - demand is high but supply is very limited. If you want to use the precious space you must pay for it (or find a way to circumvent the usual use-of-space rules, but more of that later). There is a 60 rupee fee to enter the airport. 60 rupees can buy you a meal here and six, eight, ten family members waiting for their relatives are, perforce, left to wait outside.
It is almost home from home as we step into a major construction site. We had just left 'Europe's biggest building site' (thanks Martin) and walked into the development zone for the 2010 Commonwealth games. The fact that we have just arrived in a developing country is communicated loud and clear as we negotiate potholes, tyre ruts, refuse and myriad forms of transport between the airport and our first hotel. I think I will dedicate a separate section to the traffic and driving later as it is a fantastic experience that deserves some attention.
We arrive in the Carol Bagh section of Delhi. Lucikly, we are on the outskirts of this area as it is a notorious tourist 'ghetto'. We arrive just as it is getting dark but decide to take the plunge and go for a wander to stretch our legs. In hindight, this was a gentle introduction to Indian street life as people are curious and attentive of us but leave us to our own devices. Brett almost succombs to some delicious-smelling street food but (my) caution prevails and we agree to acclimatise a little more before immersing ourselves to that degree. But the sights, the smells, the sheer intimate humanity of it all is as many others have spoken of before.
I am surprised that I don't find it as "bad" as i thought it was going to be. At times it is so smelly and dirty and impoverished that it is uncomfortable and discomforting. At first I was drawn to try to 'make sense' of how is life for people here, but soon realised that this was futile. I am travelling within a protected space - no matter how close to the street I might think I am. I am an observer here, not a participant. Although I may have some knowledge, I cannot make sense of the history and politics and language and religion and family etc that are all part of daily life here. My inner thoughts about injustice, infrastructures, rules and culture are only assumptions that cannot be checked out - and so I abandon them.
Saturday, October 11, 2008
FIRST WEEK
Well, if location is everything then it makes some sense to get down some thoughts from last week. Our current location, Varkarla on the Southern coast, is relaxed (in an Indian, hippy kind of way) and a major change of scenery from what came before.
We covered the so called golden triangle our first week. Delhi, Jaipur and Agra (Taj Mahal). This was the "organized" part of the trip with pre-booked hotels and a driver to take us across the 700 Km.
I'll keep the "touristy" comments short for now other than to say that I was most impressed with the Amber Fort in Jaipur. And, while the Taj Mahal is extremely eye catching, I've always had a "thing" about grandiose tombs. I prefer structures that celebrate the living.... A Greek myth describes the narrator going down to the underworld and meeting Achilles there. Achilles tells him that he'd rather be a street cleaner in the overworld than the greatest general in the underworld. I can relate to that type of sentiment....
Most of what one reads about the large cities and mid section of India are true. The poverty-overwhelming, the colors and sound- vivid and LOUD, the absolute frantic and teemimg activity- ever present.... But, how to describe the vastness and depth of it ??
Imagine a plow of epic proportion, or better yet, a tectonic plate depositing a sub continent's worth of flotsam, jetsam and detritus into a place and you start to get a picture of what the cities, villages and roadsides look like in central India. And yet.... For all the stink, chaos and hardship, I do believe something is rising there, not decaying. It sure ain't pretty but the people are using whatever resources come their way. And they use those things (everything from scrap metal to cowshit) to build something. As the "junk" pushed their way gets better and if the government would spend more on infrastructure, I would bet on their lives continuing to improve....
The most challenging part of dealing with Indian cities and major tourist sites is the lack of freedom to simply wander around, browse and ponder. One is constantly approached, pushed, pulled and shouted at for attention. A pity really because among all those trying to hawk stuff or scam you, there are also plenty of younger Indians that are genuinely curious and only want to talk to you about where you are from or try out their English. It's just very difficult to tell the difference all the time...
There is much about the general Indian culture that reminds one of a very smart and very unruly child. (I hope that doesn't sound too "Kipling paternalistic" !) People are in turns delightful, infuriating, hopeful and devious. And, 900 million of them all want your attention RIGHT NOW....
So... next message from the cliffs & beaches in Varkala.
Brett
We covered the so called golden triangle our first week. Delhi, Jaipur and Agra (Taj Mahal). This was the "organized" part of the trip with pre-booked hotels and a driver to take us across the 700 Km.
I'll keep the "touristy" comments short for now other than to say that I was most impressed with the Amber Fort in Jaipur. And, while the Taj Mahal is extremely eye catching, I've always had a "thing" about grandiose tombs. I prefer structures that celebrate the living.... A Greek myth describes the narrator going down to the underworld and meeting Achilles there. Achilles tells him that he'd rather be a street cleaner in the overworld than the greatest general in the underworld. I can relate to that type of sentiment....
Most of what one reads about the large cities and mid section of India are true. The poverty-overwhelming, the colors and sound- vivid and LOUD, the absolute frantic and teemimg activity- ever present.... But, how to describe the vastness and depth of it ??
Imagine a plow of epic proportion, or better yet, a tectonic plate depositing a sub continent's worth of flotsam, jetsam and detritus into a place and you start to get a picture of what the cities, villages and roadsides look like in central India. And yet.... For all the stink, chaos and hardship, I do believe something is rising there, not decaying. It sure ain't pretty but the people are using whatever resources come their way. And they use those things (everything from scrap metal to cowshit) to build something. As the "junk" pushed their way gets better and if the government would spend more on infrastructure, I would bet on their lives continuing to improve....
The most challenging part of dealing with Indian cities and major tourist sites is the lack of freedom to simply wander around, browse and ponder. One is constantly approached, pushed, pulled and shouted at for attention. A pity really because among all those trying to hawk stuff or scam you, there are also plenty of younger Indians that are genuinely curious and only want to talk to you about where you are from or try out their English. It's just very difficult to tell the difference all the time...
There is much about the general Indian culture that reminds one of a very smart and very unruly child. (I hope that doesn't sound too "Kipling paternalistic" !) People are in turns delightful, infuriating, hopeful and devious. And, 900 million of them all want your attention RIGHT NOW....
So... next message from the cliffs & beaches in Varkala.
Brett
Wednesday, October 1, 2008
The Before...
So.... Sitting in a London internet cafe, passing time while the rain falls outside and the temp is in the mid-60s. Tomorrow in Delhi and the weather report is for 95 degrees ! every day for the next week
Have mostly been too busy these last weeks to dwell on anything else but what was needed for that particular day ( or hour, or minute). Any time I did peer "outside" , the world was doing its best to look vulnerable and unpredictable. I seem to recall that the Bhagvagita version of the end of the world is marked by when people start eating their own children. Things not quite that grim yet ! but, it's not a bad metaphor for what has been happening in the financial world.
Is doubt the ugly sibling of knowledge and judgement ? One could spend a lot of hours deciding these if times require staying closer to home & business and whether it is "OK" to be taking a long break to travel to far away places. And, being who I am !, I've spent at least a few hours pondering such....
My conclusion: It's probably a very good time to go away. There's really not much more we could have done to make our lives more secure and being plugged in to the information pipeline only makes us feel more insecure (if better informed) without really giving us any tools to change the reality of the day.
And so begins a search for newer perspectives in older places... Next message from India !
Brett
Have mostly been too busy these last weeks to dwell on anything else but what was needed for that particular day ( or hour, or minute). Any time I did peer "outside" , the world was doing its best to look vulnerable and unpredictable. I seem to recall that the Bhagvagita version of the end of the world is marked by when people start eating their own children. Things not quite that grim yet ! but, it's not a bad metaphor for what has been happening in the financial world.
Is doubt the ugly sibling of knowledge and judgement ? One could spend a lot of hours deciding these if times require staying closer to home & business and whether it is "OK" to be taking a long break to travel to far away places. And, being who I am !, I've spent at least a few hours pondering such....
My conclusion: It's probably a very good time to go away. There's really not much more we could have done to make our lives more secure and being plugged in to the information pipeline only makes us feel more insecure (if better informed) without really giving us any tools to change the reality of the day.
And so begins a search for newer perspectives in older places... Next message from India !
Brett
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