Thought for the day
Save water, save yourself. Something like this is found in every hotel bathroom I've been in. I guess to remind us to conserve water.
Reality. You have to run water for 10mins< to have a 5 min shower with hot water.
Anyone else see the contradiction?
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Showing posts with label India. Show all posts
Tuesday, February 14, 2012
Monday, February 13, 2012
City of God/City of Sin
Quick stop in Mathura today before heading onto Agra for the night. Mathura is the supposed birthplace of Krisnha - the Hindu Jesus, and has a very Mecca-Ish feel to it. It's also the capital of the Hare Krisnhas - you know, the guys in the airport who try to sell you flowers?
So, before going to the main temple, we stopped at a few smaller ones for photos. The thing that surprised me about the city was how aggressive the touts are.
We were stopped at a train crossing for about 15 mins, and through that time "guides" kept coming up to our car and pestering us for tours. In every other city I've been to, you say no and they will (eventually) walk away, but here they put their hands in your car so you can't drive away, follow you when you try to get out, and even open your car door!
The 3 experiences we had with them were enough to give me a bad vibe about the city.
Then we reached the temple. This place supposedly has the rock that Krishna was born on, and because it's such a holy place security is very tight: no cameras, phones, or other electronic devices are allowed in, and before you do go in, you're patted down twice.
Whites beware: the second pat down is very personal, especially if you stand out.
After you get in, the first thing you'll notice are all the guards standing around with their assault rifles. Like I said, the place is protected.
Suji went to the main temple and said her prayers, and then deposited a gift of money, which she was told not to give to the priest because they tend to take it for themselves.
Finally, after that, we went down a long tunnel to the chamber that held the stone. It was very intricately carved, but after a minute the priest drew a curtain for prayers. Exit me. Stage right.
When Suji finished her prayers we walked around some more and got some lassi - Krisnhas favorite drink, apparently. Our driver gave us a quick history lesson about Krishna and then we made our way back to the car...followed by more touts of course.
We later found out that these guides spend all their money drinking and are, essentially, beggars.
The whole time we were there, I was surprised; it's really sad that this is how corrupt such a holy place could be become.
So, before going to the main temple, we stopped at a few smaller ones for photos. The thing that surprised me about the city was how aggressive the touts are.
We were stopped at a train crossing for about 15 mins, and through that time "guides" kept coming up to our car and pestering us for tours. In every other city I've been to, you say no and they will (eventually) walk away, but here they put their hands in your car so you can't drive away, follow you when you try to get out, and even open your car door!
The 3 experiences we had with them were enough to give me a bad vibe about the city.
Then we reached the temple. This place supposedly has the rock that Krishna was born on, and because it's such a holy place security is very tight: no cameras, phones, or other electronic devices are allowed in, and before you do go in, you're patted down twice.
Whites beware: the second pat down is very personal, especially if you stand out.
After you get in, the first thing you'll notice are all the guards standing around with their assault rifles. Like I said, the place is protected.
Suji went to the main temple and said her prayers, and then deposited a gift of money, which she was told not to give to the priest because they tend to take it for themselves.
Finally, after that, we went down a long tunnel to the chamber that held the stone. It was very intricately carved, but after a minute the priest drew a curtain for prayers. Exit me. Stage right.
When Suji finished her prayers we walked around some more and got some lassi - Krisnhas favorite drink, apparently. Our driver gave us a quick history lesson about Krishna and then we made our way back to the car...followed by more touts of course.
We later found out that these guides spend all their money drinking and are, essentially, beggars.
The whole time we were there, I was surprised; it's really sad that this is how corrupt such a holy place could be become.
Sunday, February 12, 2012
Distance is Relative
You don't appreciate how good highways are back home until you've been to India.
In Canada, if the sign says 300km to your destination, you know you've got a 3ish hour trip ahead of you. Maybe less, no more.
Here, with narrow roads, lax traffic laws, and people/pedestrians who constantly run across the road, 300km can = 6+ hours of travel. It's seriously like a game of frogger here, and my respect for our driver has doubled after seeing what he has to put up with on the road.
Still, you'll never appreciate how long those last 10km of a trip can be til youve been down an Indian highway.
They say time is relative, but spend some of it here and you may start to disagree...
In Canada, if the sign says 300km to your destination, you know you've got a 3ish hour trip ahead of you. Maybe less, no more.
Here, with narrow roads, lax traffic laws, and people/pedestrians who constantly run across the road, 300km can = 6+ hours of travel. It's seriously like a game of frogger here, and my respect for our driver has doubled after seeing what he has to put up with on the road.
Still, you'll never appreciate how long those last 10km of a trip can be til youve been down an Indian highway.
They say time is relative, but spend some of it here and you may start to disagree...
Saturday, February 4, 2012
Killing Time in the Khuri
It's quarter to 3 now and I still have 2 hours of waiting before I can go to the bus station for my ride to Jaipur. Waiting sucks.
This morning I went back to the fort and checked out the Jain temples - a series of seven connected temples in the middle of the fort itself. I was hoping that this might kill a few hours, but they were much smaller than I expected and only took 30 mins to see.
After that it was just walking around the markets; fun I'd you plan to buy something, but boring if you don't intend to spend money. I did cave and buy a phone and sim card for an "in case of emergency" kind of thing, but the rest of the time has just been waiting...soon to be followed by sitting.
* for anyone who wants to buy a card and phone in India, it's easy difficult. The phone is no problem and can be bought at a bevy of shops ranging from $3-100s of dollars. The real pain is the sim - the card which locks you into one of Indias mobile networks. To get the sim you must present a copy of your passport, a photo of yourself, as well as a reciept from your hotel. Without even one of these the shop won't sell to you. Fortunately, they're easy to get. Just annoying to find.
Sim cards are availible at all phone shops and most corner stores and Internet cafes. The best two networks are vodaphone and airtel, which apparently have great range over the entire country. Airtel seems to be the best plan, with the Sim and 100 ruppes of talk time costing 500 ruppees. After those minutes have expired, you can top up with cards ranging from 200-1000 rupees.
Even with a lot of wifi options out there, you might find that a phone is a good thing to have.
This morning I went back to the fort and checked out the Jain temples - a series of seven connected temples in the middle of the fort itself. I was hoping that this might kill a few hours, but they were much smaller than I expected and only took 30 mins to see.
After that it was just walking around the markets; fun I'd you plan to buy something, but boring if you don't intend to spend money. I did cave and buy a phone and sim card for an "in case of emergency" kind of thing, but the rest of the time has just been waiting...soon to be followed by sitting.
* for anyone who wants to buy a card and phone in India, it's easy difficult. The phone is no problem and can be bought at a bevy of shops ranging from $3-100s of dollars. The real pain is the sim - the card which locks you into one of Indias mobile networks. To get the sim you must present a copy of your passport, a photo of yourself, as well as a reciept from your hotel. Without even one of these the shop won't sell to you. Fortunately, they're easy to get. Just annoying to find.
Sim cards are availible at all phone shops and most corner stores and Internet cafes. The best two networks are vodaphone and airtel, which apparently have great range over the entire country. Airtel seems to be the best plan, with the Sim and 100 ruppes of talk time costing 500 ruppees. After those minutes have expired, you can top up with cards ranging from 200-1000 rupees.
Even with a lot of wifi options out there, you might find that a phone is a good thing to have.
Wednesday, February 1, 2012
Gems of A One Day Stopover
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| Jodphur - The Blue City |
So I took my first Indian flight today as well, from Mumbai - Jodphur. At the comedy show the night before they slammed Air India, the company I was flying with, and I really didnt know what to expect. Again, maybe because I live in Vietnam and I'm used to poor service, I was actually impressed by how good they were. Nice, comfy seats, an inflight meal for a 2 hour flight, constant attention from the air hosts...it puts other budget airlines like Airasia to shame!
After the very short flight, I got to Jodphur around 2pm. I arrived at my hotel, the blue house, I which is a lovely B - B (Bed no Breakfast). The hotel is run by the Jain family and their mission is to make you feel like your staying at their home and not a hotel. Mission accomplished. They were so helpful and friendly and it was a joy to stay there.Now Jodphur wasn't even in my original plan, and was intended to be a rest day in the hotel, but I decided to book a tour thru the guest house and see the major sites. Wise decision.
Jodphur is exactly the kind of place you want to see when you go on a holiday. It's a walled city overshadowed by a giant fortress on the far hill, and a small, but still huge palace on the right. The whole city is walled, with a lot of the houses built into those walls. Streets are about 2 meters wide, barely enough for the auto rickshaw I was taking on the tour, and certainly too small when cows, people, or carts blocked the wall. The general vibe of the city was just "exotic", and I could certainly see it being a place where some word blocked writer might go for inspiration.
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| You get walk up there!....Yay? |
My driver, a nice guy who spoke basic English in a very thick Hindi accent, took me first to Merangarh Fort. A giant fortress that served as the Maharajah first home and is built on top of a mountain. The fort was fantastic, and again, you really get that old world India feel as your walking through the rooms. Of course being on a mountain, you can expect a lot of uphill climbing, with no steps either. Just steep uphill incline = me tired.
After that, we went across the way to Jaswant Thada, a cenotaph or small temple made of stone. After all the hecticness of my first three days it was strange to be in this lakeside temple in absolute quiet. Very refreshing.
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| I'd have been more impressed if they'd let me see more than 2 rooms |
From there the last place we went was Ra Ka Bag Palace, the last palace built here. Today, the palace has become a super exclusive hotel, so only a fraction of it has been opened to the general public. Because of that, I was a bit underwhelmed here. Only a small wing was open, and while the Maharaj who built and lived here had an impressive life - it couldn't compare with the places I'd just been.
After we finished the palace, it was getting late, but like any good tour guide, the tour couldn't be completed without a trip to the local markets. I managed to get away from the tailors shop, but wasn't as lucky with the handicrafts shop, and ended up buying a few things that I now regret having to carry for the rest of my trip.
The last stop on the tour made the shopping worthwhile, as I was taken to a local Spice Shop - one that Gordon Ramesay had visited when he came to India last year. That was a lot of fun, as the owner took me through all the spices and teas they made, as well as giving me samples. I kind of let myself go here, and bought a lot including a tea that's supposed to be good for hangovers!
Finally it was getting dark, so we headed back to the guest house where, before going in, I gave the driver a tip of 100 rupees for the trip ( about 2 USD). With a five am wake up for my bus to Jaisalmer, there's not much else I can do except for sleep. Yeah, one stereotype that definitely isn't true of India? It's extremely cold. I'm hunkered down under a very heavy blanket and am still cold. I can't believe it; I thought Canadians were immuned to this!
Tomorrow morning: Jaisalmer!
Saturday, January 28, 2012
Asteroids in Real Life
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| The inside of an auto-richshaw. Takes notes: You'll be using these a lot! |
Not a lot to report right now, I'm still pretty knocked out from last night, and because I can't sleep on moving vehicles = still going on 3 hours of sleep from yesterday.
So I'm pretty knackered right now.
But, that said, I did have my first Indian experience tonight: riding in a car! I've always heard how dangerous it is to drive in India, and 've seen all the amazing race/ travel shows that give you proof that it's not a wise thing to do. Brother, TVs got nothing on the real thing!
Remember the game Asteroids that used to be in every arcade in the 80s? For any of you who can't recall, in Asteroids you are the pilot of a small rocket ship as you try to find your way out of an asteroid storm. You can shoot the rocks to make them smaller, but the end result is the same: there's a shit ton of stuff constantly moving towards you...see where I'm going with this?
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| Just change the ship to taxi and the rocks to others cars and it's like you're in India! |
It's absolutely crazy! I thought Vietnam was bad, but these guys actually SPEED UP when something's in front of them! At first I found it kind of quaint - a little queerity that belonged to India, but when we almost hit a woman and tried to run down a kid on a bike (to be fair he wasn't yielding), I got that "so this is how it ends" thought in my head.
Thankfully we got to the hotel okay, which has to be a testament to the drivers skill and not the worn breaks or tiled roads we drove on... Yeah, the roads are tiled here, not paved. Doesn't that make them more slippery?
Anyway, the main thing is I made here and learned a valuable lesson: no matter how bad you think drivers in your country are, there always be worse ones somewhere else .
Friday, January 27, 2012
Day 0 - Sleepless Nights, Big Feet, and A Touch of Meat
Well,after months of planning D-Day is finally here. Yesterday was a mad rush to finish a million errands that should've been taken care of weeks ago...what can I say? I procrastinate.
I had A LOT of clothes that needed buying for this trip, and stupidly forgot that yesterday was the last day of the Chinese New Year - a holiday I spend 500km trying to get rid of. I spent most of my time at a small "resort" in Mui Ne, and stupidly believed that when I got back on Thursday, that I would've missed the brunt of shops closing. Wrong!
All the major stores were still closed yesterday afternoon, so I wasted a good four hours trying to find the clothes i needed at the roadside stalls.
I managed to get TWO shirts that fit and a pair of shoes that feel half a size too small. Lucky for me too, because these are going to be my "trekking shoes" too. At least I got a discount on them.
The rest of yesterday was spent finishing up the other websites work, which took a lot longer than expected. I didn't eat anything until 10ish last night, and then I made the mistake of drinking pepsi = caffeine rush... Yeah, I'm going on three hours of sleep right now
But that's okay! I've made it to the airport, gouty my way through Viets who can't understand why people would ever queue for something when they could jump the line instead, gone through customs and ate at the first Burger King in Vietnam!
That will probably be my last taste of meat for quite a while. It seems like everything Indian I've ever met is a vegetarian so I'm expecting a lot of veggies when I get there. And no Beef. For a month. Me = Sad face.
Yup, in q few more minutes my flight will leave from Saigon, and after a layover in Kuala Lumpur, I'll be arriving late tonight in Mumbai. Can't wait as the 21 Days of India starts today!
I had A LOT of clothes that needed buying for this trip, and stupidly forgot that yesterday was the last day of the Chinese New Year - a holiday I spend 500km trying to get rid of. I spent most of my time at a small "resort" in Mui Ne, and stupidly believed that when I got back on Thursday, that I would've missed the brunt of shops closing. Wrong!
All the major stores were still closed yesterday afternoon, so I wasted a good four hours trying to find the clothes i needed at the roadside stalls.
I managed to get TWO shirts that fit and a pair of shoes that feel half a size too small. Lucky for me too, because these are going to be my "trekking shoes" too. At least I got a discount on them.
The rest of yesterday was spent finishing up the other websites work, which took a lot longer than expected. I didn't eat anything until 10ish last night, and then I made the mistake of drinking pepsi = caffeine rush... Yeah, I'm going on three hours of sleep right now
But that's okay! I've made it to the airport, gouty my way through Viets who can't understand why people would ever queue for something when they could jump the line instead, gone through customs and ate at the first Burger King in Vietnam!
That will probably be my last taste of meat for quite a while. It seems like everything Indian I've ever met is a vegetarian so I'm expecting a lot of veggies when I get there. And no Beef. For a month. Me = Sad face.
Yup, in q few more minutes my flight will leave from Saigon, and after a layover in Kuala Lumpur, I'll be arriving late tonight in Mumbai. Can't wait as the 21 Days of India starts today!
Friday, December 30, 2011
Beginnings: A Half Assed Plan and "Mission" Statement
When you think of your holidays, usually the first things that come to mind are relaxing on beaches, sleeping in late, or eating whatever the hell you want to. I can honestly say that whenever the idea of a holiday first pops into my head, these are the things that I think about, never the planning.
Planning has got to be one of the most stressful parts of any vacation. Arranging everything and putting it in it's proper place so that you can have that dream holiday you've been working towards all year...well, it's definitely no picnic.
I'm by nature a procrastinator, so of course it's only in the last few weeks that I've gotten serious about getting things sorted for my trip. Yeah, I'd bought my travel book (Lonely Planet baby!), and put a little thought into what I wanted to see. Here's how my itinerary stands at the moment:
With only a few weeks left before I go there's still a lot to do and buy before I think I'm going to be ready. Still, one thing I've learned is that whatever you put into something, it will come back doubly to reward/haunt you and I, for one, can't wait for this trip to start!
Planning has got to be one of the most stressful parts of any vacation. Arranging everything and putting it in it's proper place so that you can have that dream holiday you've been working towards all year...well, it's definitely no picnic.
I'm by nature a procrastinator, so of course it's only in the last few weeks that I've gotten serious about getting things sorted for my trip. Yeah, I'd bought my travel book (Lonely Planet baby!), and put a little thought into what I wanted to see. Here's how my itinerary stands at the moment:
- I have 21 days to explore India, concentrating mostly on the midlands and major tourist attractions
- My trip is starting in Mumbai, moving north into Rajahstanh where I'll visit Jasalimer and Jaipur, then heading to Delhi/Agra for a few days before going South again to Varanasi and then finally flying out through Calcutta.
- My budget is going to be between $2000-3000 USD (<100,000 Rupees), which works out to a little more than $100 a day. It sounds like a lot, but this will include food, transport, and hotels.
- Most places I'll have an average of 2.5 days to visit so I'm planning on doing A LOT of tours to maximise things.
With only a few weeks left before I go there's still a lot to do and buy before I think I'm going to be ready. Still, one thing I've learned is that whatever you put into something, it will come back doubly to reward/haunt you and I, for one, can't wait for this trip to start!
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