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Published: December 19th 2006
Our third night in India. Wow. We've done so much acclimating that it feels like we've been here much longer. Already we've traveled by auto-rickshaw, taxi and train. We’ve eaten with our hands, befriended fellow travelers, and learned to look the reverse directions when crossing a street. We’ve been blessed by an elephant. I’ve purchased a salwar kameez (pants, tunic and scarf outfit). And we’ve learned a few Berenstein Bears-esque “here’s what not to do” lessons…
Our first day in India, we got in from the red-eye, cleaned up a bit and stubbornly went out on foot at about 11 am to the train station 4 km away to secure the next day’s ticket, and to see Thiruvananthapuram / Trivandrum while we were at it. Ineptly following directions, utterly clueless, and without a street sign in sight; we didn’t realize that we weren’t on M.G. Road -which I now know would never have a section as far as the eye could see without wall-to-wall stalls—duh.
When after walking 3 km or so in the morning sun we triple-confirmed amongst ourselves that we were lost, we asked a police receptionist to direct us to the train station. Surprisingly enough, it was just a couple blocks away! We walked down a disconcertingly empty street to find a train station. Perfect! Only thing was, at the top of the fares board was listed “Trivandrum Central Station.” That was kind of weird, but we didn’t think too much of it.
So we thankfully sat down in the shade at the station, drank water and opened the Lonely Planet. We tried to convince ourselves that we were in the right place, but the map promised a bus stand across the street from the train station. And we couldn’t imagine how a bus stand could have ever existed on that deserted street. After resting, then watching a train go by, we asked a woman -and a man who spoke English jumped in, only to inform us that Central Station was 2 km away. So we got up and walked there.
We found that you can’t make an advance reservation for the Trivandrum-Kanniyakumari / Kanyakumari bus, and the station was too crowded for us to figure it out. We were hot and hungry and wary of what was safe eat, so we returned to the air-conditioning of the hotel. I wandered out again while my brother napped, only to again go in an unintended direction. LESSONS LEARNED: 1) Walking back to a place is easier than finding your way out to somewhere new, even if it’s close by. 2) At midday, staying in the shade is smarter than not.
We also had a little bit of an adventure finding dinner that night. It’s created something of a love/hate relationship between us and St. Joseph, and is a story that is too long to tell at the moment.
Jeanne, thank you for helping me envision the experience. Just as you mentioned, people just light up as they smile back at you. Jennifer and Will, thanks for selling me on the Ex-Officios!
I uploaded a couple pictures of Doha to the "Gallery." One of the world’s largest coffeeshop in the City Center Mall -and one of the standard equipment that comes with a rental car… Unbelievable!
Much love, -k
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Jared Brown
non-member comment
What an adventure!
Wow, Kate! That's a LONG walk, in the heat, with no sense of direction, or safe meal in sight. I would have been freaking out!!