Blogs from India, Asia - page 2119

India survival guide: 1. pack earplugs and plenty of patience 2. don't look anyone in the eyes 3. get used to being the center of attention 4. revealing your knees (women) is unacceptable but hacking/spitting, picking your nose and yelling outside a hotel room at dawn is okay. We're really outsiders here but like the time we confronted the guy on the bus to Colva who hit his girlfriend, I became personally interested. I needed to help someone look at what it is they're doing and understand why it pisses me off. We're on the train to Darjeeling, near Calcutta. There's a family of five near us, in two seats of course. While I was reading, I picked up some disharmony. I looked up and Mike said, "He just hit his wife." She's being absolutely silent. ... read more

Here is a compilation of some of The Sounds of India: The loudest horns used as frequently as possible. That truly unappetizing sound made by collecting phlegm in the back of the mouth, usually made just before spitting. HHHHHHckhttt! The beating of laundry on a rock, usually near our bedroom window and always at about 6:30 am. Something - anything - on a loudspeaker full blast. Mamallapuram: world-famous for its shoreline temple. But what's not in the guidebook is the eyesore of a chain-link fence ,keeping out the non-Indians who've decided to pass on the $10 entry fee (!!!) Indians pay 10 rupees (about 25 cents). I couldn't possibly satisfactorily describe how disgusting the trash and effluence was, literally FLOWING across the beach. Fortunately, we had already gotten lunch out of the way, where we happened ... read more

The train was a pleasant overnighter into Bangalore where Dan the Canadian stayed to take advantage of the Kentucky Fried Chicken. We hopped on to the bus to Hassan, then another to Belur. Our first bus included a "touching" incident that didn't altogether surprise me but did force me to swing around and confront the asshole who put his hands on me. And it made Mike stand up and yell, "Touch her again and there'll be BIG TROUBLE! Go sit over there." What doesn't make sense is to try for a grope at the beginning of a 4-hour bus ride, instead of on the way out the door. Jerk. Hassan was too big, dirty and noisy so onto Belur it was... We found a little restaurant where all the tables were hidden in secretive little compartments ... read more

Some first impressions of India: The men seem to be raised to be aggressive at times and also openly leacherous. Women always wear something flowing and conservative with sandals. Each looks like a princess to me. Beautiful, thick black hair, dark skin and those royal, colorful clothes! But men dress quite Western. Everyone always likes to be in a crowd. This is the only place I've ever seen people standing around at the beach, fully clothed in large groups. Whether in or out of the water! As a single white woman, I'm never alone for long before some guy invites himself to join me. Obviously, it doesn't matter if I care or not. There's so much time to relax and do nothing, it's now bordering on boring. Our tough daily routine consists of the following: sleeping ... read more

That's it. The last gong has gonged and I returned to real life after 10 days of vipassana. Such sweet golden sound... (though probably even the honking of a truck would have sounded lovely had it symboled the end of meditation sessions). All in all it was a very interesting experience, though it definitely wasn't life changing (one important thing I learned is that an hour is alot of time and that two hours is even more). I tried to think how to describe the atmosphere in the course, what it is most similar to in the outside world, and I came to the conclusion that it most resembles a group of hattifatteners (for those of you who haven't read Moomin books - go read them!). Everyone walks around expressionless (though after a couple of days ... read more