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Published: April 18th 2009
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Our first impressions of India: dirty, busy, loud...we truly asked ourselves "what are we doing?" Well, this wasn't fair of us to pass judgment so early. We arrived very late in Bangalore from Singapore (1am local time, 4am Singapore time) and set off on our journey to find accommodation.
It is always more difficult when you arrive in a new city, let alone a new country when you have NO idea about the prices and value for your money. Bangalore was just not the place to find good value for your $ when it comes to accommodation. We paid 800rs ($20 CAD) for a dark, dingy, 1/10 on cleanliness, and the shadiest staff ever! So, we didn't start off on the right foot, but stayed one night and put on many kms the next day walking around the illogical streets to check out the sights.
We had a great meal at a standing only roadside restaurant (busy with locals) where we got to try ourselves with eating with our right hand only. It is kind of ironic because we were taught when we were young NOT to eat with our hands and here we were in a country where
you ARE to eat with your hand...bread, rice, and even liquids. It is quite a skill we are sure we will have mastered by the end of our journey. We made a good effort, but didn't want to stay another night, so off we went to Mysore.
The bus was great (so we thought) as we spread out at the back of the bus, the whole back row was open. However, we now know what it is like to ride on a "buck board". First of all, Erin was having a hard time with the roller coaster ride, secondly, she was trying to focus on the road while having a conversation to a young local guy who changed seats to sit right next to her...it was a little odd for someone to move and sit right between us. At a pit stop, we got out to grab a drink and stretch our legs. Erin said "hello" to a local working there only then to see this same guy 10 minutes later, as we are pulling out of the station, jumping up and down to wave goodbye to Erin...next thing you know, he is doing what Trevor swears to be
the international breast squeezing hand signal. YES, he was now jumping up and down with both hands squeezing open and shut. It was quite amusing...not sure we can say it was flattering or a form of sexual harassment...regardless, we had a good laugh.
Once again, we arrived very late into Mysore, which we should learn by now to never do because we tend to just settle on accommodation. Our room once again sucked; however, we were paying only 500rs. We were in search for some drop-in yoga to prep us for our yoga ashram in a couple days, but nobody knew where we could go. It was quite shocking as Mysore is the birthplace of Ashthanga. On day 2 we managed to find a drop in Ashthanga yoga studio. The practice was very traditional, but good, and we were feeling the 1.5h practice for the next 2 days. In the past 5 months of traveling our form of exercise has consisted of walking and the odd trek, so this was quite the change.
Mysore as a city was crazy and we really did not like it, but a more peaceful area was only a 15min walk away. We
had quite the experience in Gokulum, where (for the yogis) Sri Phutabi Jois, the legendary Ashthanga yoga instructor who taught Madonna, has his studio. First, you have to book 2 months in advance, Second, it costs 27,000rs ($675) for one month (double what it costs at others) and to be honest, the staff there was not very pleasant. Although, to be fair, we met many people attending the course and felt it was amazing.
We still have thoughts of returning to practice yoga in Mysore with Guru BNS Iyengar, who practices in a temple. Yoga, pranayama (breathing techniques), and philosophy classes are what is offered by the 82 year old Guru, and he still teaches 6 days a week!
After Mysore, we were off to the old Portuguese fort town of Kochi. The bus ride was a twisty, ride through a wildlife sanctuary. During the middle of the night, the bus came to a stop and shut down the lights and engine in the middle of the road. Most people were sleeping, but Trevor was awake and saw 5 or more wild elephants surrounding the bus. The night was deathly quiet, except for the gentle steps of these
Local Food Stand
It was actually one of the best Indian food we had! lumbering giants. The silence was broken by the trumpeting of these magnificent beasts. We thought to ourselves, these are wild here!!! It was a great experience, and we will surely remember the sounds coming from the darkness that night.
Once in Kochi, we had a small ferry ride to the fort. We were surprised to see the many huge ships that were steaming past us throughout the narrow channel. Kochi has a major port in the area, this dates back to the trading days of the Portuguese settlement. Trevor even recognized a ship, that lays fiber optic lines on the ocean floor, he had seen on discovery channel.
Kochi was a great place. Very quiet and peaceful. It almost seemed that time stood still here. The streets were clean and almost devoid of any kind of activity. Even the water front market seemed empty. The world financial situation is certainly being felt around India. The worst part is that the people traveling right now pre-booked and pre-paid for these trips. How bad is it going to be next year? The locals do not understand what is going on, only that they are not making as much money. They
are in for a rough time ahead.
Anyway, the Portuguese town had a few churches, old fort, and other buildings from that area. The Portuguese first came to India in 1498, and was in power in the south in the early 1500's. This history here has been very well preserved, with many buildings still intact, and those that need repair are usually fixed. We spent a couple days around, riding bikes up and down the small side streets, watching locals live their lives and watching the children play cricket. Kochi was a nice place, a certain refuge from the chaos that India can be, but time goes on, and next stop is Trivandrum, the capital city of Kerala state.
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