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Published: March 29th 2007
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Welcome to India!
After China’s endless claims of OLDEST, LONGEST, BEST PRESERVED, at various tourist sites, it is a great feeling to be in the world’s BIGGEST democracy. After China’s endless claims of OLDEST, LONGEST, BEST PRESERVED, at various tourist sites, it is a great feeling to be in the world’s BIGGEST democracy. This does have occasional drawbacks, most often when trying to get something done: the downside of a bit of healthy democracy is that everyone has his or her own opinion about how things should be done …. So it takes that bit longer to actually do it. At times Clare possibly sounded like a raving NIKE fan, ‘just do it!’
I know from your feedback about previous blog entries (thanks for being honest!) that most of you are far too busy to read the detailed insights of our travels, so I keep it brief this time (this also helps me as I my former high speed typing ability has diminished a little during the course of the last few months)
Starting at Thiruvananthapuram … or Trivundrum for short, we trundled our way north through Kerala and Karnataka wiggling inland and back to the coast in Goa & up to Mumbai before going soft & avoiding a 36+ hour train journey in favour of a couple of domestic flights upto the Punjab & Dharamsala.
Dawn cricket practise
Not going to reach the team for the next World Cup unless we keep up the practise The pie needed to be culturally sensitive where necessary while touring India, keeping a low pie-publicity profile so as not to offend the non-beef-eating locals, and the numerous cows wandering down the middle of the road, through the hotels, into the temples & basking on the beach in Goa. Where it was appropriate for the pie to be spied, it attracted A LOT of attention: at the Gateway to India for instance, where it's presence nearly outshadowed Liz & Aruns' wedding party.
India is a very sacred place & therefore has many thousands of temples, shrines, churches & other religious spectacles ... we scratched the surface & visited a few of these - but it does get confusing trying to remember the names of all the gods, buddhas etc. It does lead to some feelings of "OH NO, NOT ANOTHER ONE!' at times, but there is ample opportunity in most places to assume yourself by wandering around local markets, traffic dodge (yet another different approach to crossing the road ... if you cannot hear a ear-drum piercing shrieking, horn, it is probably safe to walk out onto the road, as most vehicles moving have a permament horn tooting
Now, if you're really smart you can do a spot of juggling too
We tried to do this with our backpacks, but it would've ended in tears & a medical claim which make far more noise than their engines).
We were fortunate enough to be in Dharamsala during the Dalai Lama's annual teaching sessions which last for 2 weeks. Having almost turned back because there was 'no room at the inn' we persevered & found a cosy place eventually. All the people, from old monks at Tibetan temples to the Brahmins at the Hindu temples, have been eager to share information with us novices! However, a few of the pious foreign Buddhists looked at us incredulously & gave major ‘tuts’ as if to say ‘don’t you know anything, you’re not fit to be in this sacred place’ when we asked stupid questions about their faith …… maybe we have a better idea than they have about understanding & benevolence? Perhaps the 2 week teaching sessions were just going in one ear & out the other…. I blame that on the local ear-cleaning process that many tourists are trapped & subjected to. When a little man comes upto you & starts peering into your ears & then hands you a liitle book of ‘reccommendations’ like ‘everything is twice as loud as it was before!’ … and ‘ I can’t believe I
Heave!
The morning catch is pulled in by the villagemen while they encourage the fish with mellow chanting sounds had a mushroom in my ear, I wonder how long it’s been there?’ …. RUN!!
We were glad to be able to pick up some new 'English' words while in India ... Clare discovered new ones on a daily basis when she tried to test her cryptic crossword prowess in the local English papers. For instance, although we had travelled extensively before coming to India, it was here where we first ever 'deplaned' rather than simply left the plane, or exited the aircraft. I am also thinking of buying a car here from a 'pre-owned car' showroom: as I think it sounds far more acceptable than 'used car' showroom.
The International Toilet Museum in Delhi is a ‘must visit’ site. We had to miss that trip & head to the nearby airport as the display items in the museum were not functional enough to cope with our immediate needs - I won’t expand further. Yep, we got a bit ill, so headed for a few days comfort c/o Ali & Radhika in Chennai.
Here the pie found it's own religious experience at the Fray Bentos shrine. A few of you have commented ‘what’s with the pie thing?’
Messin' about on the river
Here we are with Mike & Yasmin from Canada aboard our 'almost luxurious' rice barge …. This is it! Us Brits abroad really miss our FRAY BENTOS PIES: they are the closest thing to your mum’s homemade specials that you can buy. Thousands of Fray Bentos Pies were consumed by & fuelled many a student through university: students loved them because the pies require NO cooking aptitude! So when, a few years down the road, we find ourselves working in far flung corners of the world, the Fray Bentos Pie is a real treat and taste of home and many ex-pat stock up on these luxuries on trips home & are willing to pay excess luggage charges so that larders become shrines to Fray Bentos, not unlike this example in Chennai.
Most of the transport experiences were smooth, but a couple of long BUMPY bus journeys tested our ability to keep in the seat, and using local buses proved a useful exercise in improving our agility and stamina: having to run & cling to the side of a moving bus & hauiling oneself up into the bus where, inside one learned how to turn onseself into a sardine.
Arriving back in KL & boarding the little train into town I realised something felt amiss
keralan backwaters
a great way to spend a few lazy days bird watching & watching people work along the river bank, while you don't have to! with the seat ... after a minute or so I realised that ... I was comfortable!! The seat was actually wide enough to fit the width of our backs!
So we are back in KL, treating the giardia to some antibiotics!
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