Blogs from India, Asia - page 1928

When last I wrote, I was about to bid farewell to the eternal Taj Majal to begin the heavily touristed Rajastan circuit. Well, I'd like to clarify that statement. It is heavily touristed *in the right season*. It is unlikely that the present time would qualify as that. I deliberated for quite a while about whether I was prepared to endure the 100 - 110 degree weather that I could expect. (that's 38-43 for the non-Americans reading this). It would be, I decided, a character building experience. Besides, it is a dry heat, which makes it much more tolerable, and I could bail out at any time I wanted, and go to the mountains, which aren't that far to the north. Rajastan, which translates to "Land Of Kings" was so named because of the high concentration ... read more

Ok. The longer Hampi post... What was really striking about Hampi was that just a few hours on from the train journey, I find myself in some past life, Quantum Leap style. From Panaji, an Indian town that feels more like somewhere on the Med, to the India you see on travel documentaries - cows by the score, oxen-pulled carts, huge temples, crumbling buildings, and touts, touts, touts and then, for good measure, a few more touts. It is a very, very strange environment. Like stepping back 500 years. Or maybe like going to the Glastonbury Festival three months after its finished. Or, maybe, it's like visiting the former centrepiece of an incredibly wealthy and populous civilisation that has fallen into ruin, and slowly been recolonised by Hindu pilgrims, travellers, and the assorted stalls, travel agents ... read more

Leaving Ireland was fine, a bit tear soaked for Emma and her Mom (mothers are the same everywhere!) and it turned out that our 6 hour wait in Heathrow was a perfect length of time to allow for shopping and stocking up on last minute supplies. Our flight with Gulf Air was very pleasant, my expectations for the airline were fulfilled...nice spacious seats, effectual-yet-pleasant-though-not-over-the-top-nice staff...all very satifying -especially considering the price with Gulf Air was by far the cheapest for this route on the market by a couple of hundred pounds! Abu Dhabi airport is by far the most quizzical airport i've yet seen; from the window as the plane taxied to the terminal it was as though you were looking at a giant mud built domed house straight outta Luke Skywalker's home planet of Tatooine, ... read more

Well I guess I had this coming, I do tend to be a gymp in most situations. I'm having some pretty bad pains in my neck and shoulder, actually i took friday and saturday off because I was having some serious trouble lifting my right arm. Jayakumar seems a little confused about the whole thing, I told him last week that my shoulder was starting to hurt and he said, "wear a jacket in the winter season". Now first of all I do wear my fleece on my scoot to class in the morning, and secondly WINTER SEASON come on I'm Canadian for crying out loud. India in March is not exactly what I'd call winter, it's possibly warmer then most of our summer. Never fear though, I'm being as resourceful as I can possibly be, ... read more

Got off train Got hassled by rickshaw touts Got out of station Got hassled by more rickshaw touts Got in a rickshaw Got to Hampi Got hassled by hotel touts Got a room Got my bearings Got bitten by the most vicious mozzies in all of India Got dinner Got food poisoning Got no sleep Got better Got hassled by tour touts Got bitten by more mozzies Got hassled by rickshaw touts offering tours Got a rickshaw tour Saw some old stones Got a train to Bangalore... read more