Namaste

We are back in Delhi now and getting ready to make the trip home via Heathrow, Miami and St Maarten. It has been a wonderful trip. It started out hectic, settled down a bit and then hit a really tranquil note in Nepal. We saw a lot, we ate a lot, and Michael purchased a lot. So we are now tired and happy and ready to be home in our own bed with our cats. Until next time, we are heading out
on a wing

and a prayer

we say Namaste!



Hot in Delhi

We arrived back in Delhi last night, but don't fly out until 2:20A tonight. So we thought that we should at least get out of the hotel room and stretch our legs. Armed with the metro map and plans to go to Old Delhi we headed out. Right away we ran into a guy who asked if we needed directions. We said we were going to the metro to Old Delhi. How helpful he was. Pointed towards the metro but told us not to waste our time. He's an employee of the Royal Plaza Hotel (where we are staying and from whence we just came) and was getting off work. But there are demonstrations and strikes and the metro isn't working between here and there. Best that we take a tuktuk (which miraculously appeared in front of us) for only 10 times the cost of the metro fare. Well, we didn't fall off of the puri truck just yesterday. So we said, "No thank you." Walked back the half block to the hotel and asked the concierge if there are strikes and demonstrations and/or any problem with the metro. Nope. No trouble at all.

So off we went again having been warned by our travel agent to avoid the metro during rush our (before 10:30A) because it would be crowded. Suffice it to say that even at noon it's crazy. But we made it to Old Delhi, fought off the tuktuk drivers there and found the Red Fort. Debated going in because who really needs to see yet another red fort. However, we'd come all that way so we figured we should go in. Yup, another red fort. Check, check.

Unfortunately, we were stupid enough to head out on our adventure without a bottle of water so we were dying of thirst in the 107.6 degrees (42 C) heat. Fortunately, we walked past a McDonalds and stopped in to cool off and to split a coke. We sat at the window and watched folks walk by. Just outside one man sat on a curb with what looked like a needle doing something on the side of another man's head. We were intriqued. He was working on the other side so we couldn't see. Was he shaving him? Was he tattooing him? What? Then two more men appeared in the corner of the window, money exchanged hands, and then one of them commenced cleaning out the other guy's ears. No kidding. Seriously. If we hadn't stopped for the coke we would have pushed right past without seeing this for what it was. And it just goes to show you that no matter how much we travel, how many places we go, we can still be surprised.

Patan City

Yesterday we visited a local farming village in the morning and then headed to the last of the three cities (founded when the kingdom of Kathmandu was divided into three separate kingdoms). All three city squares have three elements in common: the royal house, the pagoda temple and a tall column atop which sits the king, himself. Legend has it that the little bird on this guy’s head will one day fly away and then the stone elephants in the square will get up and walk over to the public bath for a drink.

All of the kings apparently spoke 15 different languages and dabbled in writing poetry and studying architecture. In addition, it seems that ‘it is said’ (which is obviously different than saying ‘it is so’) that all of the temples were built out of the ‘timber from a single tree’.

Arriving in Patan City, we were prepared to hear the same stories again. However, there are specific distinctions between the cities. Kathmandu has the Kumari Devi. Bhaktapur has the Palace of 55 windows. And Patan’s temple is NOT built from the timber of a single tree. This King broke with tradition and distinguished himself and his city by building his temple only of stone (no timber at all, no nails, nothing but stone).

Animals

The Hindu religion sees cows as the symbol of life so they can never be killed. As a result cows live a pretty charmed life doing exactly as they please. That’s why we found them everywhere we went - casually walking down the middle of the roads any place from the countryside to the busy streets of Mumbai to the major highways. This revered status means you are not going to find beef on a menu in these parts. (Though here in Nepal, we found that they do eat buffalo – a convenient distinction.)

Sheep and goats are also an acceptable food stuff. Last night we were walking in to the square and passed one of the many butcher shops displaying carcasses and got heads to find a live goat tied up in front of the establishment. Clearly not a good day for the poor fellow. I doubt that he was there seeing off a friend.

Mostly, though, it seems that the folks who eat meat eat mostly chicken. There are chickens everywhere. And not the scrawny chickens that run around Anguilla. These are really big, fat chickens – the fattest chickens I have ever seen. On the streets and living in houses – not hen houses either. People’s houses. In Bhaktapur we went down one little street to see a beautiful example of a carved, wooden window in a popular peacock motif when we saw the big rooster in another window. So in addition to the peacock window we all took photos of the chicken window, That certainly made the locals laugh.

Goddesses

This is our last night in Nepal. Tomorrow we go back to Delhi and then start traveling home. It’s been a different kind of whirlwind here. In India we were traveling every day for hours on end so I had plenty of time in the van to blog. Here in Nepal, my Blackberry doesn’t work and even though our guide here likes to start out at the civilized hour of 9:30AM, we have been out and about all day so I’ve sort of fallen behind - posting mostly photographs without a lot of narrative. I will endeavor to throw in some stories now.

I will start with the Kumari Devi…the living goddess who resides in Durbar Square here in Kathmandu. This young girl is chosen at a very young age based on over 30 different criteria ranging from eye color to the shape of her teeth and the sound of her voice. In spite of these stringent requirements apparently more than one girl is found to be suitable so a contest of demeanor and will takes place. All of the eligible girls are placed in a dark room along with a bunch of grotesque, bloody, buffalo heads while a bunch of old men run around outside of the room making scary noises. The girl who remains most calm is anointed as the Kumari living goddess.

She and her family then move into the Kumari residence and are supported by the temple through donations made in her behalf. She is tutored within the residence and only ventures out to make certain public appearances. Her “reign” as the goddess comes to an end the minute she reaches puberty and a new goddess is selected to replace her. She reverts to being mortal but doesn’t leave empty-handed. She receives a substantial dowry from the temple as a parting gift. Unfortunately, it is considered to be very bad luck to marry an ex-Kumari Goddess (the joke being that maybe it’s just not wise to marry someone who has lived such a favored existence).

Since I don’t have a photo of the current Kumari Living Goddess, I’m offering up images of three, regular, every day Nepali goddesses.

Bhaktapur

This morning after the Mountain Flight to Everest and breakfast back at the hotel, we went to see the biggest Stupa in Nepal. Then we went to Pashupatinath Temple where the cremation Ghats are located. They perform between 20-40 cremations each day there. It costs about $50US in a world where 45% of the population lives under the poverty level which is only $150/year. I'm not going to post a picture of one of the cremations but here's the temple.

Apparently this whole area was one kingdom back in the day. Then the king died and his three sons fought over who should be the next king and rather than killing each other, they just split the kingdom. So yesterday we saw Kathmandu. And today we visited Bhaktapur. It’s like Luang Prabang, Laos only much bigger and more interesting. If I ever come back to Nepal, I will stay in a little guest house (our guide, Pipin recommends Shiva Guest House) in Bhaktapur. The Palace, the squares and the temples are lovely. There are little winding streets everywhere. Lots and lots of shops and markets. It's just as picturesque and as interesting as can be.

 

 



As the saying goes here in Kathmandu, "I did not climb Mt. Everest...but touched it with my heart."

Just to let you know that we survived the flight. More later.

Kathmandu

Well, we made it. Flying along the Himalayas was impressive. I’m not sure I’ve ever flown along a mountain range before (as opposed to flying over it) so it seemed to go on forever. From the air Kathmandu looked pretty humdrum metropolitan, but on the ground it is very cool.

First we went to visit the Buddhist Stupa up on the hill. (We can see it from our hotel room.) Really lovely and the street vendors there accept credit cards!

Then into Hanuman dhoka Durbar Square which is, architecturally, exactly what you’d expect in Nepal. We even walked the 3km back over this evening to walk around, have a beer and a bite to eat and then walk back. Michael took precious few photos of the buildings though so I’ve mostly got photos of guys carrying heavy packages on their heads

And old hindu men

We even met a hindu dog

That's really, really where I'm going to

K-K-K-K-K-K-Kathmandu.
At the airport waiting for our Air India flight to Nepal. All five other local flights have been/are on JetAirways except this one. And the Air India pilots are calling in sick (striking). Many international flights have been canceled. While ours is delayed (could have slept in a bit later than 3:30A if we had known), ours does appear to be flying so 'if I ever get out of here, I'm going to Kathmandu'.
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Mirrored mosaics

Palace exterior

Amber Fort and Palace

Lost connectivity somewhere in Jaipur but have restored it now on the way back to Delhi. Hard to imagine that we are nearing the end of two weeks in India and will be on a plane to Nepal tomorrow morning.
To finish up then:
Arriving in Jaipur, we settled into a Ramada hotel with the least personality of any hotel thus far. Some of the group ran off to do some shopping but some of us stayed back to hang by the pool or to work out. Yesterday we had a 'full day city tour' of Jaipur. At the outset, we had planned to end our tour at the Taj Mahal. The way it ultimately worked out, though, the Amber Fort acquired the distinction of having to follow that icon of India in the order and I was concerned that it would suffer for the comparison.
That was not the case. I'm not going to say that they are equal because we'd be comparing apples and oranges: one was a monument and one was a residence. But as a home, the palace is lovely.
The fort and massive walls were built around and across the valley in order to defend what was the capital of the Mughal Empire at the time. Our tour started with a slightly rocking ride up to the Palace on our elephant, Madonna. The original Palace was expanded with additions in the 16th, 17th, and 18th centuries. There were entertaining areas, swimming pools, receiving pavilions, gardens ands lakes. The Mughals incorporated troughs along the walls of their winter residence where they (well, their servants) poured boiling water for heating and situated waterfalls under wind passages for cooling in the summer place.
The Emperor's wives were so weighed down by heavily embroidered garments and jewelry that they could hardly walk let alone climb stairs so wheelchair ramps were built everywhere so the servants could haul them around (which was certainly a welcome addition as far as we tourists were concerned).
Frescos still retain color (inside and out) and one room is covered (walls and ceilings, inside and outside) with stained glass, mosaics made of mirrors, and gold painted edges.
We rounded out the day's sites with the museum (part of the residence of the 14 year old current figurehead emperor). And checked out the royal observatory which made for a very full day of sightseeing considering the 40+ Celsius temperature. Kathmandu will seem downright chilly tomorrow.

Taj Mahal

Last night we arrived in Agra. I had researched hotels probably two years ago and found only two that professed to possess rooms with views of the Taj. The Gateway Hotel and the Oberoi – the latter for many times the price of the former. To be sure, I asked the Gateway to send me a photo of the view from one of the rooms. You know you can never be sure until you see for yourself, however, so as Michael opened the door I was pushing him ahead to the window to see the view. And there it was. Just like the photos. Absolutely beautiful.

We had arranged the trip specifically to coincide with the (near) full moon so we could go in at night to see the Taj glowing in the moonlight. Just ten of us total went in at 8:30P. Unfortunately, this time of year the air quality is so bad that we never saw a single slip of moonlight let alone the moon itself. Nevertheless, we sat quietly for 30 minutes looking at the silhouette of the Taj and listening first to the call to prayers nearby and then simply to the quiet. This morning we returned at sunrise, though, and saw it in all of its glory.

I’ve been fortunate enough to see a fair number of ‘wonders’ in my life, But I have to say that the Taj Mahal exceeds expectation. It is absolutely the most gorgeous structure I have ever seen. I don’t know if that is because you always hear that it is the most beautiful building in the world or because it truly is. But no matter. The effect is the same.

It is magnificent! It is larger than I imagined  - much larger. I also had no idea of the decoration and detail. Even what appears to be reasonably impressive filigree work is, on closer inspection, intricate patterns of inlaid , colorful, semi-precious stones! The ceilings are detailed, the columns have zig zag patterns, and the lower walls are covered in carved relief. Having just told you that photos cannot do it justice, I still give you this completely un-retouched image from Michael’s camera.

Had we not been with a guide and on a schedule, I might have sat for an hour or so just taking it in; and if I ever return, I promise that I will.

Farewell to the Forest

Our last morning game drive was sadly lacking in another tiger sighting. We had rare sightings of Wild dogs and a Jungle cat (about half the size of our Ritz and probably even smaller than our petite little French kitty, Morbier.) But that was it.
Of course some folks walk away not even having seen one tiger so we will count our blessings.
One.
Meanwhile, here's a silhouetted Crested Serpent Eagle to send us on our way.

Parallel lives

Just to finish up with the Kanha tiger park area before moving on to Agra....
As always, it is amazing how different peoples independently develop strikingly similar dress, music, food, religion, fill-in-the-blank. The last night we were at the lodge one of the local village tribes put on a dance exhibition. You can see that their costumes and head dresses are not that different from what you might see among American Indians. And you can take our word for it that the drum beat, chants and dance were also quite similar even though the two groups are a half of a world away.

tiger again

tiger.jpg

At Last!

When we reach the staging location for the elephants it is mayhem - elephants, vehicles and ladders everywhere. One elephant is standing next to a vehicle as five Indian tourists scramble down to the ground. When riding we will sit sideways one on each side facing out but how many people can you fit on an elephant? Obviously the driver but Vijay tells us that the number of passengers depends on the size of the people and then politely adds 'and the size of the elephant' as he instructs us that we will only have two to an elephant.
Our elephant arrives, a ladder materializes, people scramble down. Guides gather round. Hurry! Hurry! Up! Up!, they urge. So I scurry up the ladder onto the 'saddle' throw my legs over the side and get into position as Michael follows (weak ankles, bad knees and fear of ladders and heights all pushed aside for now).
The bar on his side drops down into place like the safety harness on a Disneyland roller coaster and we are off into the forest with the sound of the drivers grunting instructions to the elephants replacing the sound of the motorized chain pulling you to the summit in this analogy of a wild ride.
We are crunching through the forest and then there she is, the TIGER! She is stunning, absolutely breathtaking as she looks about without actually seeing us on top of the elephant not 20 feet from where she lays. By shear luck Michael and the camera are facing the elephant. I can turn and he can get the photos. The tiger is in bushes, of course, which makes properly focusing the camera like threading a needle while moving. The mahawat has done this before, though, so he stops the elephant and says 'take, take, take'. Then he has the elephant take two baby steps. Again, he orders Michael 'take, take, take'. Over and over until we are past the tiger. Then we are off to the road again for the next of the group to take their turn.
We are down the ladder and walking to our vehicle when I stop in my elation to give Michael a quick hug and a congratulatory kiss but suddenly we are being pushed back to car. 'Get in. Get in! The tiger is moving! Get in the wehicle now!
We scramble up and turn back and sure enough there she is walking across the road between the line of waiting tourists' vehicles and then she is gone. In the end, only four and one half vehicles of people (three of our four couples included) got up on the elephants in time. And only a few others caught a glimpse of her leaving.
We are SOLUCKY!

The Tiger Sleeps Today

I'm sorry. Did I leave you hanging there? Completely unintentional, I am sure :-) We are now doing a more metropolitan circuit ( or more accurately triangle ) of Delhi, Agra and Jaipur that brings us back round to Delhi.
But back to sitting and listening to the sounds of the forest. Armed with our new understanding of the tiger-finding process we round a corner and come to a halt. An alarm call. Then suddenly alert deer. Then running deer. Then noise. The mahawats (the elephant guys) are tracking a tiger. We wait for confirmation that the tiger has stopped moving and is lying still. Then we, along with every other vehicle in the area, drive back to the check-in station to pay for a place in line for the Tiger Show - a ride on one of the elephants in order to go into the forest to see said tiger.
There must be 20 vehicles. Four to eight people per vehicle. We are not optimistic. The odds seem good that before we get our turn the tiger will become weary of sitting in the vortex of a whirlpool of circling, stomping elephants and will move on.
Miraculously, however, we find out that we are first in the second wave (though we have no idea how many vehicles constitute a wave). It may be that we, as international tourists, again receive special priority (pay more?) than the multitude of 'domestic tourists'. No matter the reason. We are just happy to have a chance of seeing the tiger and hurry back to the site with mounting anticipation.
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If It Were Easy It Wouldn't Be Hard

On a 4-1/2 hour bumpy ride back to the airport in Raipur to fly on to New Delhi.
Where did I leave you? Oh yes, this monkey clinging to a tree.
I will try to catch up: Day Two we learned a little more about the process. It turns out that the reason my inquiries as to how to spot a tiger's stripes or the swish of the white tip of his tail were met with such blank stares is because finding a tiger is not so much about seeing as it is about hearing.
You see four different kinds of deer. You SEE wild bison, wild boar, jackals and monkeys. You even SEE leopards in trees or sunning on rocks and lions lounging about on huge savannah plains. But unless a tiger jumps out in front of you, you don't SEE a tiger. He's hiding out on the forest floor. You can't see him. Instead you have to hear that he is coming. Yes, I typed that correctly. It is not a mistake from touching teeny Blackberry keys. You here THAT he is coming - not that you hear him coming.
That's what the guides were doing looking straight ahead of the moving vehicle or standing arms crossed staring blankly into the forest during those stops. They were waiting and listening to all the birds chirping and monkey's breaking branches and peacocks screeching and deer rutting to pick out the alarm calls - the particular sound that is the monkey up high or the wee barking deer down low warning everyone else that the Tiger is on the move!
And so we continued driving and stopping and waiting and listening for hours on end in our search for the elusive cat.....
Opps, we are here. Gotta run. Later.

Snail email

Sorry I cannot post the monkey photo but internet is ridiculously awful here. Hard to imagine that all those outsourced tech support and customer service jobs can exist here. Of course I am in the middle of nowhere but still my blackberry has never failed me anywhere before.
Here I can get connectivity for a minute or two in one exact spot at a time. Lift or lower the blackberry an inch and I lose it. Turn 5 degrees to the left - it's gone. Then to find a signal again I have to take one step and wait. Then take another step and wait. It's like an adult version of Mother May I.
Then again nobody else has any access so I'll shut up now and just send photos later.
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Fishing for Tigers

Day 1 of our search teaches us a few things. Some we learn quickly. Some take more time.
First, ENGLISH SPEAKING does not necessarily imply ENGLISH UNDERSTANDING. From the gents who showed up late to fetch us at the airport and then turned our 'quick let us buy some munchies for the ride' into a sit down lunch for themselves while we stood waiting on the side of the road holding our cheetos bags in the hot sun to the drivers and guides on the game vehicles - communicating was a significant problem.
Second, TIGER HUNTING IS MORE LIKE TIGER FISHING but without the bait. We drove apparently aimlessly through Kanha Park stopping occasionally for what appeared to be no particular reason. In addition, nobody and no vehicles are equipped with any means of communication. Staggering in this day and age, but if one vehicle miraculously stumbles across a tiger, there is no way to alert any other vehicles to its presence.
After two game drives our spirits are really low. Not so much because we were so sure we'd see a tiger immediately. We knew it wouldn't be easy peasy. But we did not understand the process and so had no faith at all in its ability to succeed.
At dinner. Out on the lawn under the full moon light, we asked the lodge manager why things are the way they are here, and he explained that the park service, given their druthers, would not allow anyone into the park. Their compromise is apparently to let some people in but to stifle their abilities. Further, guides have to come from the local community so that education, training and competence can be less than ideal.
Tomorrow Vijay, the lodge's naturalist, who speaks excellent English, is coming with us. So just like this black-faced monkey clings to this tree we cling to hope. (Sorry, I have to send this without the monkey picture. But you get my drift.)
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Breaking News!

Sitting in the airport in Cochin reading the paper. Just posted the elephants in a row photo and now see a report of 62 women and children (hmmm why were no men injured???)were injured when an elephant ran amok during the losing ceremonies at the Thrissur pooram. 'Unnippilly kalidasan' was a late entry replacement player that was not on the final approved list of participating elephants. There will certainly be an investigation into the issue.
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And then Allepey and the Houseboat

This morning we left EARLY again and headed to Alleppey. Along the way we stopped to see cardamom bushes, cashew tree, cocoa plants, pepper trees. You name it, we saw it along the road.
Now we are touring through the waterways amid the rice paddies and trying to rejuvenate a little bit. Due to a change in tiger parks (they are conducting the census at the original one which disrupts both the tourists and the tigers and thus the viewing) we leave even earlier tomorrow. So I will post these photos tonight and then likely have little to say tomorrow until we see a tiger Saturday morning (positive thinking, positive thinking). So until then....

All 15 elephants in a row

The Long Road to Munnar

The estimated drive times on this trip were significantly underestimated so we found ourselves once again driving for well over 7 hours to get to Munnar. Along the way we did stop at a temple to see more elephants. They live there. Some of the over 50 years old and being fed chopped up, softer food since their teeth are worn down (the resultant starvation being one of the primary causes of death in older elephants in the wild.
When we stopped for lunch, the rest of the group went to eat in the air-conditioned hotel restaurant while Michael and I went walking through town. We bought two samosas and four 'puffs' at local bakeries for 40 rupees (about 80 cents US) and Michael snagged 4 bananas for 10 rupees.
By the time we got to Munnar it was nearly 4P and the mist and rain had begun to settle in. But tea plantations are striking nonetheless. They keep the plants about hip height to the local women who harvest the leaves with undulating paths between them so rather than being in neat rows or terraced sections they just spill over the hills like water droplets running down glass and look like exotic and tropical versions of well-tended English gardens. Absolutely lovely!

Grippy Feet atop Elephant

Pooram part 3

First, my sincere apologies for leaving you all on the edges of your seats like that. It's been a long day of driving. I was blogging from the van but had to take a break. Then when I might have commenced writing we started climbing up into the hills on switch backs with crazy drivers passing on the blind curves (ours included) and it just wasn't going to happen.
But back to the pooram. Let's pick up where two sets of 15 elephants and their entourage of musicians, flag men, yak tail guys and peacock feather fan wavers are going into battle.
One group removes one set of umbrellas and replaces them with a new set. The crowd goes wild. Team B counters by changing out their umbrellas for a different set. The crowd goes wild again. Then Team B goes first and tosses up a different pattern of umbrellas. Mayhem ensues until Team A tosses up their next set and the momentum shifts. Now imagine this goes on back and forth and forth and back for TWO HOURS!
It's like a tennis match but way noisier and you have to crane your neck or stand up or sit down or climb on your chair to see what is happening - even though it means precious little to you what color or pattern the next display of umbrellas reveals.
Yet, if you are lucky, as I was, you will have an enthusiastic young Indian chap standing on the next chair and he will have an infectious enthusiasm for not only the beauty and ahtleticism of the competition but also the strategy of the order of the umbrellas. He will tap you on the shoulder and declare, "oh look they've put up the white ones" as if those are the trump-cards of all of the parasols. Or he will exclaim, "oh, my, look! Look! Team B has balloon umbrellas! Magnificent! Those are the secret special ones that noone but the manufacturer knew about until this very minute!"
And you will find yourself trying to look simultaneously both left and right so as not to miss what comes next and especially eager to see what 'secret special' umbrellas Team A will pull out of their proverbial hat and when they will make this move.
Then when it is all done and the crowd disperses and the elephants head off you may find yourself doing math in your head and calculating 200 years of Thrissur poorams with even an average of 200 foreigners per year (which is surely a generous estimate) and you'll realize what a nearly-secret, truly special group you just joined.

Party attire (pooram part 2)

From 1p until 5p there was nothing much to do but to sit in our plastic seats, drink boat loads of water and constantly alter our positions and our umbrellas in an attempt to stay out of the sun.
There were drum demonstrations back inside the gate but the line snaked forever and would have required standing out in the sun so we passed and kept our seats.
Just around 5:30p the umbrella competition, the highlight of the evening, commenced. The two biggest temples compete (although there is no declared winner). One temple's troupe of elephants comes through the south gate out on the street preceded by drummers, horn blowers and oil lamp bearers. The horns and drums provide rhythm (and lots of it) but certainly no melody. The elephants come through the gate single file and then line up 15 across, 3 riders on each elephant. One holds the umbrella, one holds the yak tail tassels and the last one holds the peacock fans. The last two guys stand up from time to time to execute some showy maneuvers with their tassels and fans. Always the same routine that they've been doing over and over and over all day long in the sun, wearing dhobis (long sarong skirts), and balancing by their toes on the bare backs of the elephants.
The first line of elephants slowly works its way down the street and the crowd pours in right behind them. Somehow the elephants manage to turn around in the crowded street (all 15 of them) and line up again facing the gate where their competitors emerge to form their line. And the duel begins.

Are you ready?

Here is (as we say in Anguilla) a representative cross section of attendees at the Thrissur Pooram (aka Elephant Festival). They were expecting at least 10 lakh (1 lakh is 100,000) to show up, and I'd be hard-pressed to argue that number.
We arrived around 10:30A to witness the arrival of some of the smaller temples' elephant delegations. It was BEASTLY hot. And around 1 o'clock we broke for lunch and retired to the 'gallery' which was the viewing grandstand outside of the south gate where they isolate the 'international tourists' from the true revelers.
And dare I say that once the crowds filled in every other available square inch of the area and once we quit trying to calculate the load-bearing capacity of the structure on which we were all standing, we were damn grateful to be where we were.

Chinese Fishing Nets

pink elephant

decorations on Display

Kathkali dancer

Getting Ready for some Crazy

Heading out shortly for the Pooram Festival. Got the VIP treatment yesterday. Went under ropes and jumped lines to see the elephants being prepared for the festival, saw the display of the umbrellas, nettipattams and other decorations that will be used and visited the temple. Rumor has it that there will be 1M to 2M people at the festival with usually about 200 to 300 foreign tourists...but the European holiday isn't falling in line this year so tourism is down already and we were the ONLY non-Indians we saw yesterday.
Gonna post some photos from yesterday.
Get ready.

Kerala

We are now in the midst of the 'if it's Tuesday, this must be Belgium' portion of the trip.
Traveled yesterday from Mumbai to Cochin without incidence and with an exceptionally tasty samosa. Cochin is a port town in a tropical clime. Pretty bustling. But pretty clean.
Went to the Cochin Cultural Center to see a performance of Kathkali. Kind of like Kabuki with less screaming and more intricate facial expressions. Then dinner. Then bed.
Today was Cochin City Tour. Church. Synagogue. Huge cantilevered Chinese fishing nets. And the Dutch Palace with beautiful wall murals hundreds of years old but still vibrant colors (from natural dyes) and amazing detail - very reminiscent of Angkor wat.
And shopping. Of course some shopping. Picked up some of the candied fennel seeds. And Michael bought a small rug.
Now with lunch out of the way we are in the bus driving north towards Thrissur. Our printed itinerary says it's a 2 hour drive. Our guide said 3 hours and our driver says maybe 4!!! Hopefully not since tomorrow is the Pooram, Elephant Festival and that will be a REALLY long day what with fireworks at 2:30AM.
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Mumbai

The trip was your typical 24 hours of traveling with a reroute through Chicago instead of New York and a quick shower in Heathrow. But the flight from Heathrow to Mumbai was atypical. The plane was nearly empty. A big 777 with probably 56 business class seats but only 9 business class passengers. It was like having a private jet. It also made us wonder why nobody was flying to Mumbai.

Well, we wonder no more. Having arrived at 1am, we didn't see much on the way to our airport hotel but what we did see was pretty run down and sad looking. But we withheld judgment hoping that by the light of day things would appear less bleak. Not so. Pretty bleak. After catching some sleep and a quick breakfast we grabbed a cab to take us to a couple of the relatively rare tourist spots here over an hour away from the airport downtown at the harbour. Still a pretty bleak place. In fact, I'd probably have to place Mumbai at the bottom of my ratings list of the "Cities I've Visited". And remember that I've been to Bangkok and Hanoi and Cairo.

Nevertheless, we saw Victoria Terminus and the Gateway to India arch below.

Outside the pier at the arch are all the hawkers trying to sell youballoon s. No idea why. And not regular balloons and not helium filled balloons but just big, honking balloons. (Not the ones the woman is blowing up in the photo below. Look at the green one behind the guy on the right or the one the guy is holding in front of himself in the back left.) Of course, as is always the case in these situations, there are 6 or 7 people within 50 ft of each other trying to sell you the exact same balloons as if, having walked past the first 5 of them, you will suddenly be taken by the urge to purchase a massive balloon from this, the 6th one. Michael politely told the guys thanks but he already has a big one!



After a brief escape into the air-conditioned Harbour Bar at the Taj Hotel for a beer, we headed back to our hotel. This evening we ventured out across crazy, crowded busy streets teeming with people, cars, buses and tuk-tuks to a local restuarant called the Seven Flags, though, and had a wonderful meal. Michael ordered tandoori chicken, some fried potatoes and a vegetable curry. I remembered to ask for the curry to be medium-hot. THANK GOD. The chicken was absolutely wonderful. The potatoes were fried potatoes (you can't go wrong there.) And the curry was great; but if that's medium-hot, there'll be no eating the really hot stuff! And the whole bill with drinks was $14US - less than the beers at the Taj Hotel.

While there we chatted with an American sitting at the next table (apparently locals start showing up at 8:30P). We remarked on our impressions of Mumbai, and he told us that it's the nicest place he's been in India so far. Woah. But he's been to Varansai (not going), Chennai (not going) and some other places I hadn't heard of (so clearly not going).

We on the other hand, head south to Kerala tomorrow. By all accounts, it should be beautiful there. Fingers crossed.

Next bed, Mumbai

So, I'm testing the blog before we leave this hemisphere.
Initially we were scheduled to depart St Martin today to NY and on. But Michael got a speaking engagement in DC so we arrived here for what appears to have been the most lovely, sunny day of the week for a nice visit with my brother Gregg and his wife, Beth.
Now I'm dressed in my uber flattering travel clothes waiting in the lobby while Michael presents two hours of lectures. Then he'll do a Clark Kent to Superman change of his clothes and we'll ship one small bag UPS on its way home and head out to the airport with just what we need.
DCA to JFK to LHR to Mumbai and our next real bed at about 6PM eastern time tomorrow (Friday) night. Until then, happy trails.
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