India Was Great!

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I've now spent more time outside of India than I spent in the place. The thing about that is I still remember all the places and characters and major events, but I've forgot most of the details and especially all those little emotions. Anyway, I can still write about it. Looking back, I can even say conclusively that India is the perfect place for someone in search of that shocking cultural immersion and diversity of experiences that I was after when I went to Thailand. I guess that's a tip for other travellers like me--and an indication that I'll have to come back again.

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Here's a quick summary of the adventures we had. Enjoy the photos!


Kolkata

We got into Kolkata early in the morning with a plane load of deportees and a few crazy backpackers. There were a pair of fried-brain Spanish hippies who joined up with a Japanese guy with a mohawk and a couple others. They had a wooden saxaphone, an acoustic guitar, and a drum, and they started jamming on Bob Marley songs. We took the craziest bus in the world with them, boarded a packed Indian subway, and arrived at Sudder Street (the backpacker nexus of Kolkata). We had to leave them there, though, and meet up with Vijay Sharma, our first Indian host (whom we found on couchsurfing.com). We stayed with Vijay for a couple days, had a night alone on Sudder Street, but then had to leave the lovable madness of West Bengal for something a little more tidy and relaxing.


Puri

After the worst bus ride imaginable, we settled down at Rangers on the highway between Puri and Konark. These are two heavily-trafficked beach-front tourist towns. The temples attract millions of Indian pilgrims throughout the year, and we saw our fair share. Best Indian food I've ever had, and it was unbelievably cheap. Great friends, great conversation, great relaxation. Our six days in Puri were heavenly.


Hyderabad

We started to see just how HUGE India really is on our 28-hour journey to Hyderabad. The train was definitely a good choice. Things looked grim, however, when we arrived to discover an absent host and we couldn't even find a decent hotel. After a couple nights in the drunks' motel under the freeway overpass, we moved uptown to stay with Deepak and Ipsita. We had great fun with them and their baby Jaduh, but mounting worries about Chelly's onward-travel visa had us travelling again quickly. I'd highly reccomend Hyderabad to other travellers, though. The mix of Muslim and Hindu cultures is fascinating, and the relative wealth of the area means you'll find a lot of great urban leisure activities.


Mumbai

As soon as we got off the train in Mumbai, we were jumping in a taxi and heading for the German embassy. We'd learned about the Schengen treaty between fifteen E.U. nations and we figured a visa for Germany would be easiest for Chelly because she had friends there to invite her and to vouch for her. They turned us away however, saying that a Kenyan would have to apply for the visa from Kenya. We then tried to find the Greek embassy and found they'd moved to the suburbs. We called them and got the same bad news as the Germans had given. Then we met up with our host Pawan for one great night out on the town in the suburb of New Mumbai.

It's a crazy, crazy town, full of movie stars and monstrous slums. There was enough old British stuff to make me feel like I was in Victoria, British Columbia, but then there were the mobs of beggars taking up multiple lanes of highway to build their shacks. We spent a few days in the cool, old part of town, chasing after shipping companies and private yachtsmen. However, our desperate attempts to find a boat to Kenya were futile and we ended up spending our last rupees on Air India tickets. We flew out after only three short weeks in India, still tasting that last delicious curry...

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