Sign In
Blogs from Maharashtra, India, Asia - page 7
Advertisement
August 8th 2012
I caught an evening sleeper train from Varanasi which arrived at Bhopal at 8am the next morning. I had decided to stop for a while in Bhopal mainly to break the journey from Varanasi to Mumbai so I had booked two separate sleeper trains to do the journey. Bhopal is the site of the Taj-ul-Masjid mosque, designed at it's inception to be the largest mosque in the world. It was started by one of Bhopal's three female rulers in 1877 but she died before it was finished. Before heading towards the Taj-ul-Masjid I had put my large rucksack into the left luggage storage department at Bhopal railway station. Left luggage at railway stations is a very useful and cheap facility - usually only 10 rupees for up to 24 hours - when back-packing and you want ... read more
July 16th 2012
Undertakers with double careers as ambulance drivers or sculptors. Wallahs – those who make tea are chaiwallahs; those who make dresses are dresswallahs, and those who fix flat tires are puncturewallahs, to name a few. The precision with which water is poured into mouths from cups held inches above parted lips. Fingertips impervious to heat that can grab a roti fresh off the fire without flinching, theatrically tossing it between their hands, or panting, “Hot! Hot! Hot!” Toenails that are filed into luxuriously painted daggers. Great teeth shown off by great smiles. Babies wearing bangles. Cardamom. One side of entire conversations can be carried out using various intonations of Hanh. Nai, na? The unique Indian usage of the English language that allows for such grammatical gems as unless and until, the salt is lesser, th... read more
July 1st 2012
Bombay. Mumbai. The city of seven islands, and even more names. Legend has it that when the Portuguese first anchored their ships in the natural harbor created by a series of mangrove-covered islands off India’s western coast, they called the area Bom Bahia, the good port. Anyone with a working knowledge of the Portuguese language can tell you that there’s a discrepancy between the masculine adjective and the feminine noun in this name, but so the story goes. Throughout its long history, the island city has additionally been known as Mamba Raksasha, Manbai, Mambe, Mumbadevi, Bambai, and countless other names, until 1995, when the native Maharashtrians christened it Mumbai. But everyone I met still calls it Bombay. Forgive me if I follow suit. There’s nothing I can say about Bombay that hasn’t already been said (better). ... read more
July 1st 2012
Happy Canada Day everyone! I've been looking at pictures of friends on Facebook, mostly in Canada, some elsewhere (my best friend is in Scotland and has been posting some lovely pictures-- hey girl!), and I've come to the conclusion that things seem so easy there compared to here! I think I mentioned in my last post that I was feeling constantly tired; when I think about how busy it is here (the time I spend concentrating on my security, the constant traffic and people, exchanging prices, breathing polluted air) I think it's understandable that compared to India, I find Canada is much calmer. We were supposed to have a Canada Day celebration at our place yesterday, then maybe head out to continue the party, but a few hours before people came over we found out it ... read more
Week 1 - St. Xavier's & Bandra Life
Published: June 20th 2012Asia » India » Maharashtra » Mumbai » Bandra
June 20th 2012
Hey all! It's only been 13 days since I've arrived, and only 9 since I started college here, but I already have a million stories to tell! I'm sure I'll forget half while writing this, but hopefully the ones I remember, and the thoughts I've had so far will do. As some of you might know, I've left my Nunni Uncle and Lovleen aunty's place, and finally found a place! Jonny and I stayed in hotels for 2 nights while looking, so as to be closer to the school and to make it easier to travel to different apartments. On the first night we stayed at the West End Hotel, (where the toilet somehow got plugged **cough**Jonny**cough**. On top of that, there was a few hours where Jonny went missing and I thought I was going ... read more
Advertisement
June 14th 2012
Tuesday 20:39 – Abu Dhabi Flight was great. No turbulence, good company, good films and good food. Only criticism was the service, it was good, but there wasn’t a constant supply of drinks. You had to ring the annoying buzzer which alerted the whole plane that there was either an annoying f****r on board. Or a pisss head. I stuck with my 2 cups of tea and a stubby Heineken. 8 out of 10. AD Airport – Free, easy to use/quick wifi. Checked facebook, sent mum and dad an email and skyped Bigs and Alex. Got all the typical western facilities as imagined. Clean/modern/compact and very air conditioned. Only aspect of the airport reminding you that you are not at home is the Islamic (?) prayer music which floats around, giving a cultural but eerie tone ... read more
June 14th 2012
I’d been in Bombay for over week by the time I realized that I hadn’t actually been to Bombay. The true city – as well as its major tourist destinations – lies at the southern end of the seven islands. I hadn’t left the northern suburbs since my arrival and, for some reason, I didn’t feel the need to. I preferred to stay at home and teach my CS host how to bake a cheesecake than line up with all the sightseers, hawkers and beggars on Colaba Causeway. If I hadn’t received an invitation to dine at the infamous Leopold Café (the hang-out spot of the author of Shantaram), I might never have made it there on my own. The fastest way to get downtown was a trip on the local train. I hadn’t yet utilized ... read more
June 10th 2012
I arrived in Bombay a week before the monsoon was due. For those of you who have ever visited or lived in a tropical climate, I don’t have to tell you that it’s the worst time of year to turn up. It’s hot and humid, thick and sticky. It gives you the impression that you’ve turned into a steamed vegetable. Just sitting and staring at the fan is enough make you sweat; ingesting gallons of water becomes a daily requirement to replace the fluid lost in perspiration from your upper lip alone. Every day, you search the sky for a sign that the rains will come and cool you down. But, this year, the search was in vain. The monsoon was late in Bombay. To escape the heat one day, a few friends and I went ... read more
Monday 4 and Tuesday 5 June
Published: June 9th 2012Asia » India » Maharashtra » Pune » Koreagon ParkJune 9th 2012
Monday On Monday I went to my first slum community. I have no sense of direction in this city beyond my mental image of google maps so I have no idea where it was. I am still really hung up on sticking out like a sore white chick thumb and added to advice not to stare I can't report too much on what the place looked like. We entered by scooter off one of the main roads and straight away you are on dusty lanes about 3-5 metres wide. These are full of women preparing stuff outside their shacks, kids in various states of dress, other vehicles and your standard helping of scruffy dogs. I met a group of teenage boys who are attending a class once a week on gender equality. It was only then ... read more
June 9th 2012
Today I was going to go to Agakahn Palace where the British held Gandhi for awhile. Instead I went shopping, which I think is an equally good cultural experience! My first destination was the Koregaon Park Plaza to buy a backpack to carry my laptop in more easily. Turns out this is a VERY swanky mall and hardly anyone was in it. Tommy Hilfiger, Next, Swarovski, Accessorize, Levis and various other Western brands were selling at Western prices. Went to the Spar Hypermarket (yes, there are BIG versions here) and picked up a bag for 500 INR (the exhange rate is rougly £1:85 INR), some lychees, a mango and a papaya for another 200 (which is pretty pricey). Had a coffee then headed out to MG Road with a friend. Much more "normal" area where locals ... read more
