Ooty-Mysore

(Lesley) We were cold in Ooty but we survived it. We wore all our clothes and our tuques nightly. The locals did too, it was like Winnipeg in winter without the snow. Sam has probably blogged about some of our adventures. The highlight was a 10 km trek in the hills. It was a day out of town wandering through hill tribe villages and tea plantations. Mhari did well with her knee. She was careful but had no trouble keeping pace with any of the adults. Our guide said he hadn't had any kids on a trek in a while.

After Ooty, en route to Mysore, we drove through The Mudulamai Nature Park and Tiger Reserve. We didn't see any tigers, but we did see about a dozen elephants. It was nice to see lots of forest and parklands with no litter.

Mysore, in Karnataka, is very regal. There is an impressive palace here where we spent the morning. I also went to a silk factory for a tour. The tour was funny; I signed in and got a visitor pass and was let in to go check out the factory. There were a few English words explaining each section of the factory (soaking, threading, weaving,) Other than that I was just allowed to wander through and watch. The workers were used to people venturing in and some of them indicated that I should lean in and try or touch something. I helped the man do the quality control at the end, by looking through the silk in front of a window and two florescent lights. I can attest to the quality of the silk from Mysore!

The market in Mysore was neat too. We were there last night and were impressed. However, the vendors here are a bit too used to tourists; they are persistent, annoyingly so at times.

We have also discovered that train booking as we move north has got a bit trickier. In Kerala, the distances were small so just showing up at a station worked well, but for longer journeys one seems to need to book in advance to get a sleeper spot. We might need to do some planning and purchasing of tickets ASAP.

We are all still enjoying ourselves. And we are still loving India.   

A travel day and more

(Lesley) A few days ago, I was writing about how easy it is to travel in India. Today, I have some examples. I'm sure we won't be this blessed in all our travel day in India, but it was a seamless day of traveling and so we will celebrate it.

We woke up early, skyped a few folks, then set out for a lovely breakfast in Fort Kochin. We ate at a tourist spot because we felt like eating porridge and fruit salad. It was our most expensive breakfast so far in India but it was a change from our usual (masala dosa at the local joint). We then wandered around town one last time before checking out just after 11:00 am. With our packs we only walked 10 paces from our homestay before a rickshaw came by and we got a lift to the Ernakulum ferry dock. We bought our tickets (15 rupees for all 4 of us) and the ferry came within minutes. Off the ferry, we got some samosas and our favourite banana bread balls (which may in fact may be sweet bean balls, but they taste just like a lightly deep fired ball of banana bread -the size of a tennis ball).

We hadn't even got out away from the ferry dock area, when a big rickshaw offered us a ride to the train or bus station. We haggled lightly for the best price and zoomed off to the the train station. There, we bought tickets for Coimbatore just as our train arrived. We found seats and before pulling out of the station, we bought biryanni meals, samosas and lentil cakes from the vendors on the train. The journey was 4 ½ hours long and there was lots of good scenery complimented by a pleasant breeze. So far, so good, for a travel day.

When we arrived in Coimbatore, we asked about trains to Mettepalayam, or Ooty, our real destination. For tomorrow, there was one morning train, fully booked beyond Mettepalayam, but they do save 'tourist tickets' on a first come first serve basis for travellers who can't be bothered to book (like us most of the time). We figured our odds would be better getting the Ooty train if we were first in the line in Mettepalayam, having slept there; so a willing rickshaw driver took us to the bus station. It was a great ride through Coimbatore. We saw lots of whole families on motorbikes and scooters, one with a little 3 year old girl asleep on the tank. We also saw oxen pulling carts, a donkey riding in the back of one small pick up truck and a work crew of 7 painters in another even smaller truck. We arrived at the bus station in time to get seats on a bus leaving for Mettepalayam within two minutes.

That bus ride was fine, as there was always something to look at. No need for ipods and such in India. Upon our arrival in Mettepalayam, we found the closest hotel, Hotel Nandu, were shown a clean room for four at a reasonable price, accepted it and were given a sheet with instructions and directions on how to get the Ooty train. We asked for a restaurant recommendations and were steared close by to one veg and one non-veg. Everything just went tickytyboo all day long in our favour. We didn't even need to haggle for the room price, it was perfecly within budget, spacious and we had hot water and colour TV. Not usual for us. So before we went for supper, we watched a Dracula spoof movie starring Leslie Nielsen and Mel Brooks.

John and Sam bought our waiting list tickets at 5:30 am the next morning, ran back and got Mhari and I to join the queue. We managed to get seats on the Toy train to Ooty! The train that is all booked up for the next few weeks. It is an old train that is pushed, not pulled, by an old steam engine up into the mountains. It was given World Heritage Status by Unesco in 2005. The train doesn't go quickly, but it is a once in a lifetime adventure. One not to miss, if you are in the area.

We were in the last car so we had a good view of the engine. We also got a few blasts of sulfury steam through the window on two tunnels. Yuck! The views however were spectacular; it was lovely to see the changes as we got higher. In Ooty, now we are quite comfortable. It is not hot. In fact, we might be quite cold tonight but that will give us a chance to use our sweaters and justify carrying them. (We have been tempted a few times to ditch them).

John's Observations

(John) Just over two weeks in India for Mhari and I and 4 weeks for Sam and Lesley. I think the one thing that has struck me more than any other is how friendly people are and how interested they are in who we are and where we are from. We had our photo taken at least 5 times today and we spent most of the day travelling. India would be a great place to overcome shyness. Here there is a definite format that starts with the question where are you from and follows with questions about occupation, education and family. You just have to return the question and in moments you have a new best friend. For us this happens about 15 times a day. We have met people from all over Southern India and they all have interesting stories. This happens especially in areas where domestic tourism is high, as people are in a holiday mood. Today we met a man who speaks three Indian and four European languages and is the owner of an incense and essential oils stall in the market. For me who only has command of one language it is very humbling.

Other things that have struck me are the sense of personal safety despite the crowds, the smell of burning, the animals roaming the streets and the traffic.

We are often surrounded by groups of young men who want to meet us, we never feel uncomfortable, they are sometimes very forward but are never threatening and always polite. They usually just want a group shot with us in it.

In many places garbage is swept to the side of the street in piles and then burned, the smell of burning plastic mixed with leaves can be quite pervasive.

It's taken some getting used to but we have almost stopped commenting when we see a cow in the middle of a busy intersection. The goats scampering along the sidewalks in familial groups are so cute and harder to ignore.

Despite the incredible way traffic moves around I have yet to see an accident or anything approaching road rage. Of course the statistics tell a different story and thousands are killed every day on the roads in India. Still, after a while it is possible to get quite relaxed as the auto-rickshaw you are in weaves in and out of buses, cars, motorcycles, cycles, pedestrians, ox carts, cows and goats.

If you are interested in motorbikes at all then there are lots here, although I have yet to see anything bigger than the famous Royal Enfield Bullet, a classic design that is still being made in India. Every other motorbike bike on the road is some version of the Honda Hero. It looks fast but with a 100cc 9 bhp single cylinder, it's really not much more powerful than all the 50cc scooters here. They are however incredibly functional and easily hold and haul a family of four or a truck load of supplies.

I have enormous respect for anyone here who rides a bicycle. Not least because the bikes all way about a ton, but also because of the absolute faith cyclists must have that all the other road users are going to see you and then avoid running you down. Here size does matter. On the road it seems the smaller you are the less right you have to the road. If my stinging eyes and clogged lungs are any indication then air polution is clearly a huge problem in urban areas. Cycling is the only mode of transport not making it worse While in Alleppy, we witnessed a parade of young cyclists riding through the centre of town with placards on their bikes demanding an end to the overuse of oil and promoting the use of bicycles as a solution to the pollution problem. A drop in the attitude ocean but still great to see.

Alappuzha-Ooty (Sam)

(Sam)

Alappuzha

From Ammas Asham, we took the ferry to Alappuzha, the backwater hub. There are lots of people who will try to get you to buy a trip on a houseboat designed like a traditional rice barge. It comes with a driver, a cook and an assistant. They are suppose to be very relaxing but they are expensive. We figured that we would get bored and it seems a bit awkward to be going past people who have nothing in a luxurious houseboat. Instead, we spent 2 days exploring the city. I have no clue how they fit the 300,000 residents in the city because it is no larger than Brandon and has few buildings over three storeys tall. We found a few good restaurants, including our favourite, the Indian Coffee House, an extremely crowded one called “Thaff” that served an all you can eat thali, a more upscale place called “Kreme Korner”, and one called “Mushroom” whose tomato fry was to die for. Our accommodation was two little cottages or “heritage homes”. The employees were a small group of laid back 20 year olds who could not clean to save their lives and were far to cheap to hire a cleaner. Cleaning our room consisted of sweeping the deck, that's all. They didn't even change the sheets. Whenever we walked past them they were sitting outside drinking liqueur and playing cards. There were many empty liqueur bottles around that were used as planters.

Kochi

We are now in Fort Cochin, a wonderfully serene city with a long and prosperous history of trading and colonialism, It is one of the few places where you can see a church, a synagogue, a mosque, a hindu temple and a jain temple all within walking distance of each other. Today we had cold curry with perotta and appam for breakfast and then we went to the Mattencherry area to see a palace and Jew town. The palace was interesting, the best parts were the incredibly intricate murals, unfortunately photos were banned.

The past few days I have been noticing a distinctly Indian way of phrasing things. For example, today I saw a pop bottle and instead of saying “tonic water” it said “sweetened aerated water”. Also on an ad for a t-shirt it said, “For youth who still activily engaged in harmony with the sun and nature”. A school bus is now an “Educational institution bus”. The other day I saw a strange sign about adopting stray dogs, it said “Why would you buy a Dashdund, Poodle, or Labrador? When you can have them all! Adopt an all-in one stray dog today! Another thing that is interesting about India is the livestock that roams the streets, there are goats, chickens, cows, oxen and the usual cats, dogs and rats. I am sure that they must become quite the obstacle whilst driving.

Kochi - Ooty

Yesterday we went east into the hills of the western ghats, as the train drove along the scenery became more and more arid and huge hills started to loom in the background, by the end of four hours there was not a palm tree in sight. We took a bus to Mettupalayam, the starting point for the toy train to Ooty. When I say toy train I mean narrow gauge (width of the tracks), not a train that little children play with. Today my dad and I woke up at 5 AM because the train was fully booked and we did not have tickets therefore we had to line up and hope that there was someone who canceled or that they left a quota of seats empty for last minute travellers. There was already a line up of 6 or so people at the station master's office when we arrived, including Robert and Henriquez our friends from Quebec and Spain who we can't stop running into. It turns out that our general itineraries for the next couple of weeks are nearly the same. Anyways, they told us we had to go and buy a waiting list ticket at the ticket office on the other side of the tracks. We ran across only to be told we needed a slip of paper from the station master as well. We went back across and got that and then returned to the ticket office triumphant with our paper from the station master, Of course When we tried to pay the fee with a 500 Rs bill we were told that we needed a smaller denomination, so I had to run over and borrow some change from Robert and Henriquez. With our waiting list ticket in hand, we went to get Mhari and Mom. The waiting list, it turns out, has no order so when we got back the 5:45 train from Chennai (that used to be Madras in case your wondering) had arrived and there were at least 30 people in the queue. The waiting list has no order so I don't understand why they even do it, if all that matters is where you are in the queue. Luckily for us it turns out that most of the train was unreserved anyways and there were seats for most of those waiting. We were put in a compartment with a nice English couple and an Indian couple who thought that my miming of the big Trivandrum poori (crispy, oily puffed-up pancake thing, hard to explain try googling it) was the most hilarious thing they had ever seen. The husband was so impressed he even shook my hand!

The train journey was absolutely stunning. 46 km in 6 hours through spectacular mountain passes, forests and tea plantations. For the first half of the journey we were pushed up by a steam engine, in the second half we were pushed by a diesel engine. The first half of the journey took 5 hours, and the second took 1 hour, although to be fair the first half was steeper. At one of the stations where we stopped for 15 minutes, the platform was full of monkeys who were running around looking for food. They were quite brave around humans and they were very hilarious.

When we arrived in Ooty we walked to our hotel of choice and got a huge room for a reasonable price. That evening we went to the lake and also went to the Thread Garden. On the sign it proclaimed that it was an art miracle, a garden of flowers made entirely of thread with no use of needles whatsoever! The optimistic adverts made us curious so we bought the 10 Rs entrance ticket and went in to find out what all the hype was about. It turns out that it was 3-D cardboard flower cutouts that were wrapped in thread. It also said that it took 50 artists over 12 years to create, which, as the Lonely Planet book says, is either very impessive, or kinda sad. It was well worth the entrance fee just to see it.

Ooty

Yesterday we went walking, bussing, jeeping and auto-rickshawing in and around Ooty. We started off by going to Dodabeta Peak, the highest peak in the Nilgiri Hills. It was very touristy up there, but the views were good and we remembered that it was Republic Day, the Indian equivalent of Canada day. We walked down the mountain and went to the tea factory and museum. Unfortunately it was not a production day, but there was a decently executed exhibit on the history of tea. We bought a big bag of delicious cardamon tea. We walked down a forest path to get back into town but halfway down it stopped and we had to ask a group of young boys how to get into town. They took us through their yards and down the dirt paths running through their cramped residential neighbourhood. After that close up view on day to day Indian life we wandered through the fruit and veg market to the botanical gardens. Being Republic day, everybody was out in the gardens and they were all feeling very chatty. We meet an Indian man working in Paris as a Japanese chef, a student who wanted Dad to find him a job in Canada and took about 200 pictures of us and various other people. There was also a dog who followed us wherever we went.

Today, we went on an all-day trek through the Nilgiri Hills. We saw lots of tea plantations, Eucalyptus trees and climbed up a mountain that had the most incredible views ever. We had a thali for lunch in a small town and there were 4 dogs that came with us up the mountain so as to get their daily biscuits from our guide. Our guide's name was Anthony and he had been leading the same trek for 16 years. He had quite the system going with the locals, in exchange for being allowed to pass through their property, he gave them various things, usually it was just sweets for their children (all the kids waited for us to come by) although at a few places that were different. The trek was a great way to get out of the city and the it was great to clean the pollution out of my lungs.

Ashram and Alleppey

(Lesley) Well, John has blogged and I don't really have much to add, except my opinions, of course.

I enjoyed the last week; the Ashram was a neat experience. We met people there who make an effort to return for a month or two every year. I can see how people would enjoy that. The Ashram had a very communal lifestyle, which I enjoyed, especially as it allowed for a lot of individual time, meditation personal pursuits as well, even after your seva (selfless sevice, or perhaps, selfless engagement in voluntary services, something like that. It will be on the website).

Not having met Amma, and not being into gurus in general ....I'm not sure I wouldn't have felt like a bit of a poser staying for a long time. Fact is, I wasn't dissappointed that she wasn't there. I was, in fact, quite ok to witness the Ashram as a place, sans the personality, for a first visit. Upon leaving, I thought it would be neat to return one day when the guru herself is around. Apparently it is bustling when she is there.

Alappuzha/ Alleppey, our next stop, was also quite nice. The ferry there through the backwaters was enjoyable. Of course here, in Allapuzha, the big thing to do is rent a house boat and do a backwater tour. These trips are decadent, not cheap and very popular. John and I decided that without a small group of interesting people, we wouldn't enjoy being pampered cruising along in a floating hotel with a cook, a driver and an assistant. We actually figured we would be a bit bored. We don't do the pamper thing very well. For me it would feel wasteful, extravagant, silly and in too big a contrast to the lifestyle of the locals. So, we stayed in Alappuzha/Alleppey. We walked about, found some good restaurants, went to the beach, and we enjoyed reading our books and relaxing at the Lemon Dew Heritage Home instead. I would like to do a houseboat trip one year but with a small group. I will work on convincing some friends to come along in a few years time.

A backwater scene not the houseboat.

More backwater scenes on the main artery between Kochin and Alleppey.

We left Alleppey around noon today and took a bus to Ernakulam then a ferry to Fort Cochin. The bus ride was loud and dusty, but there was lots to see. Ernakulam is quite a big city. We have often arrived at new places by trains, from which you don't see much of the city. On the bus, arriving just as school ends, we saw the city and its busy streets. It gave us a real sense of the place. The ferry over to Fort Cochin was simple; easy to find and cheap too. There are a lot of Europeans here in Fort Cochin. We are hearing a lot of French. It is touristy, we wouldn't need to eat Indian food if we didn't want to. However it is not touristy like Varkala or Kovalum: the beach resorts. It seems many of the tourists here are older or the young ones are hippies who want to see things and 'be' in India and eat Indian foods, and experience India. They aren't here just to tan on the beach.

I have to say India travels well. Buses are easy and trains are even nicer. English, gets you what you need and even allows for basic conversations with most folks. Food is everywhere and pretty tasty too. At home, I always pack a lunch on an outing to save money. Here, well, I can afford to buy as I go. We got cold mango juice and mneral water along with nuts, peanut brittle, two apples and some vegetable and lentil patties, all within arms reach of the bus window. And that was just what we bought. There were other splendors within arms reach (deep fried bananas or chillies, banana bread balls (well, that's what I call them. I'm not sure what the Indian name for them is, but boy o boy are they good.

Toilets are the one hard thing for travellers in India. They are few and far between and rarely clean when available. After a year travelling in Asia in budget hostels 22 years ago, I never developed particularly high standards for cleanliness while travelling. In many places in India, the cleaning of toilets and bathrooms amounts to spraying the bathroom with water or tossing a bucket of water over the whole bathroom. One bucket full over a dirty toilet does not do much to clean off months or years worth of grime. We have stayed in a few hotels where this thinking is accepted. However, we have also stayed in some pretty clean and lovely places too. Tonight we have lucked into a clean one.

(John) The Fort Cochin/Mattencherry area has proved endlessley fascinating. It has a concentrated area of tourist hotels that include budget and swanky accomodation. There are many restaurants that cater to Europeans but you only have to step slightly outside of the tourist zone to find local restaurants that serve traditional fare that is good, cheap and without any of the frills. This morning we had breakfast in a Muslim restaurant then past a church and a Hindu Temple then into Mattencherry which has a Jewish quarter with a synagogue that we visited. There was also a museum in what is known as the Dutch Palace for 10 rupees for all four of us. We spent an hour there reading all about the history of Kochin and Kerala and viewing countless artifacts. It was cool inside, the floor standing fans were super powered so we may have lingered longer than necessary. We stopped on our way back to the hotel to sample some Indian sweets. Further along we passed a kitchen where men were making the treats we had just eaten. They were happy to let us take their picture. Eventually we were lost enough and hot enough to decide that it was time to jump in the next autorickshaw for home.

Making sweets. Mmmm.

India (Mhari)

My new outfit.

Breakfast, well tea to start.

We are in India now! So far it has been great. A little too hot for my likings but other than that, fine. The streets are insane to walk on and to cross. You think that you are on the right side of the street, and that cars won't come right behind you, but, one happens to pass, then a car and zooms by behind your ear, and even when they are coming in front of you, the cars still seem to take you by surprise. When walking on the side of the road were no cars should be, you are still confused and almost get hit by motorbikes backing out. O.K., I am exaggerating a bit, its only during rush hour in biggish towns, on the main drags. In cities, they sometimes have sidewalks so only crossing the street is a big problem. Sometimes however motorbikes are parked on the sidewalks.

Okay, enough complaining, India is great. We are in Alapuzha and when you talk to the tourist information people instead of saying “Elephant ride?” they say “ boat trip?” Everywhere you look, they want to talk you into a boat trip in the backwaters.

But it is fun and the hustle and bustle is exciting. One time, we arrived at the restaurant in which we were to have lunch during Friday prayers (1:00-1:30). The restaurant was close to where they were going to pray (mosque or temple, I don't know). At 1:30 we were caught in the middle of a small crowd of people leaving after prayer, which was fun. Only problem was then the restaurant was full and we had to wait a bit for lunch.

We are now in north of Alleppy and here there are ice cream sellers everywhere selling mango double and what not. Mmmm!

Bye bye,

Mhari 

Varkala to Amma's

Travelling North

(John) We have started to move north from the southern beaches of Kerala.  Trivandrum was a wonderful introduction to India and Kovalam with its purpose built resort was a great day out.  While the ocean was fun and the beach was sandy the best bit for me was the bus ride there and back and lunch.  I didn’t expect much from the  seaside restaurant especially when I picked it because it seemed to be the cheapest one out of many.  However, my Fish Byriani was excellent.  We caught the train the next day to Varkala where we got a taxi to the Helipad.  The Helipad is a large asphalt spot on a cliff top that probably does not see many helicopters but is where tourists enter the cliff top resorts of Varkala.  We spent three nights in very pleasant accommodation, spending our days lazing around, swimming, and walking, once into the town of Varkala, in a vain attempt to take money out of an ATM and then along the coast to other more secluded beachs.   The only downside was that our hotelier disputed the price of the hotel when we tried to pay.  He wanted double what we thought was the price.  It had been a misunderstanding because we were told that the price was 800 IR for both rooms and although we were sure we had stressed that 800 would be the total, it was clear from the reaction of the hotelier and his wife that that was not what he meant and in fact he had wanted 800 IR for ‘each’ room.   It led to a frustrating and sometimes comical negotiation that we eventually realised was not worth fighting over.  The hotelier’s brother and neighbours were conciliatory and understanding, while the hotelier was clearly incensed and his behaviour showed it.  He was pacing around the  courtyard, coming in and out of the picture, throwing in a comment or two to then be ushered out by a neighbour while we continued to negotiate calmly with the brother.  He created quite a scene by going up the street remonstrating with other people loudly defending himself.  We were trying to come to a compromise but in the end we decided that we would just pay what he was asking and put him out of his misery.  It was an expensive mistake on our part not to have got the price in writing.  Although we realised because we had been asked to fill out the long registration form ourselves that the hotelier had not written it down because he may not have been able to.   Still in dollar or sterling terms it was still a bargain for a weekend in paradise. 

We left early the next morning in good time to catch the 8.30 train to Kollam.  Lesley and Mhari queued for tickets while Sam and I went for snacks.  We casually got a cup of chai on the platform and then the train arrived, we boarded and it left at 8.15. 

In Kollam, a taxi driver introduced us to a British woman and suggested we share a cab, so we did.  We were all going to catch the ferry to an Ashram in Amritapuri where the guru is the hugging mother Mata Amritanandamayi Math.  Rose, the cab sharing Brit, was wonderful company and after we had all stowed our luggage on board the ferry, we walked a few steps into the town and went for breakfast.  In touristy Varkala at the resort we had been paying 350 – 400 IR for breakfast for all four of us - here we paid 106 IR. 

The ferry trip to the Ashram took 2 hours including a designated lunch stop.  Imagine Lake of the Woods on the hottest day of the summer.  The other differences were, the water was salty, the trees had coconuts, the canoes were made out of the trunks of trees, the house boats had thatched palm leaf roofs and the cottages on the shore line were much more humble.  It was absolutely gorgeous. On the Ferry we met some lovely people locals and travelers.  One woman was called Katherine from Ireland, she went to the Ashram too so we had lots of friends for our visit there.

As I write, Sam and I are in our room at the Ashram, hungrily waiting to hear the breakfast bell.  Lesley and Mhari have gone to Yoga – women only.   There is lots to do at the Ashram and lots of people to help you do it.  There is meditation twice day on the beach.  At 4.50 you can get up and go  chant the 1000 names of the divine mother for an hour.  Later in the day, the women can sing devotional songs in the temple while the men chant in the auditorium.   Traditional Indian meals are served three times a day and every one must sign up for Seva which is selfless service at least once a day.   Also, there are places to read spiritual material; there is a second hand clothes store, a gift store and an Internet room.  On the edge of the Ashram is a lovely swimming pool set in a shady garden.  Women and men have different designated times to swim and when we went it was surprisingly quiet.  People were obviously too busy with other pursuits.  For example, you can see an astrologist and get ayurvedic treatments and take yoga and martial arts classes. The Guru known to all as just Amma (mother) is currently not in residence.  We were shown a video describing her mission and listing her accomplishments which are vast. 

Our room is in a 17 storey high rise block on the 10^th floor.  It is spacious, breezy and comfortable.  We have an ocean view and an elevator to get here.  To be here we pay 200 IR each, which includes three meals a day.   There are strict rules to adhere to.  Clothing must be modest, no smoking, or alcohol is allowed.  We are asked to respect the Indian tradition and practice Brahmacharya.  This means that Ashram residents observe celibacy as part of their spiritual practice so we are asked to refrain from any public displays of affection or sexual contact anywhere in the Ashram.  We are not permitted to eat outside of the Ashram and must avoid contact with the villagers.  We cannot feed the animals, take photographs or swim in the sea.  There is a curfew of 11.00pm.  As a result of these rules it is clear that the Ashrams thousands of foreign visitors have a limited impact on local traditional village life while the schools and the hospital in the Ashram that serve the villagers are hugely beneficial. 

Visitors can come for one night or stay until their visas run out.  We have met people who have been here for years.  But many like us are here for just a couple of days.  

Dad and Mhari and an ashram (Sam)

(Sam)

13^th January 2011

Today was reunion day, Dad and Mhari arrived. After we ate breakfast we got a rickshaw to the airport and sat outside for 30 minutes waiting for their plane to arrive. When they arrived we were all very happy and my mom was in tears. Later that day we returned to the zoo, this time there was a rhino to see as well. We took Dad and Mhari out to our favourite Trivandrum restaurant for supper and had the best Indian meal I've ever eaten. We had all sorts of delicious dishes that I had never heard of before along with naan and perotta.

14^th January 2011

Today we went to Kovalam and sat on the beach, I had a delicious fish biryani and I got a sunburn. We also saw our friends from Spain and Montreal again.

15^th - 17^th January 2011

We spent three days relaxing in Varkala, we ate lots of good food and went for a long walk to explore less crowded beaches north of the main one. Upon leaving, we had an argument about hotel price with the owner but I was not really involved so you might want to check my parents blog.

18^th - 19^th January 2011

We had an early start this morning so that we could catch the train to Kollam in time to catch the 10:30 AM boat to Allepey via the backwaters: a network of lakes, canals, and rivers. We woke at 7 AM, packed up and headed over to get a taxi to the train station. Unfortunately though there were many taxis there was only one driver and he was pre-booked. He told us that the other drivers were having a shower break. We managed to call aside a rickshaw and then amazingly managed to fit all 4 of us and our luggage into the tiny rickshaw made to carry two people, although I had to share the front seat with the driver. We did get our train and were in Kollam by 8:40. We got to the dock soon after and so we had time to have a round of masala dosa (rice flour crepe with potato and squash inside), tomato utthappams (rice flour and coconut milk pancake with tomato) and vadas (deep-fried lentil and chilli doughnuts) before we left. The boat ride was beautiful. We passed fishermen in their canoes, many small villages and hundreds of devices that look like spiders with fishing nets attached to their legs, which are lowered into the water to scoop up fish. We got off the boat before we arrived in Allepey because we wanted to stay a night in an Ashram that had been recommended to us by a couple from Manchester (I find that funny, although I do not know why, perhaps I should spend some more time in the Ashram so as to figure it out). For those of you who are unsure, going to an Ashram does not necessarily mean doing yoga 10 hours a day and meditation the rest of the time, although it can if you choose. Instead it was more like living on a commune. You get waterey rice and curry for breakfast, lunch and supper, you do you your own dishes and the place is run entirely by people visiting. You are asked to sign up for a chore every day to keep the place running, we got pizza rolling. There are also yoga and meditation classes and an Ayurvedic hospital (traditional herbal medicines). Also, the more spiritually dedicated would wake up at 4 AM and by 5 AM they were chanting in the temple. After the first night we decided it was interesting and booked another night. The Ashrams Guru is “Amma” one of Indias few female gurus and she is very famous for her humanitarian work, We heard that she is also the Ambassador of the Hindu religion in the UN court of religions. There are pictures of her everywhere, I counted nine in our room alone, in the gift shop you can buy her doll, postcards of her, her hand or her toes, or rings with with her photo in them.

At meals, I usually ate the Indian food although a couple of times I ate that and then went to a cafeteria where they sell Western food just for something to bridge the gap between meals.

On our third and final day my mom kept asking me whether I wanted to buy one of the ashrams shoulder bags as a souvenir, I would simply repley that I liked the bag but not enough to spend three times more than what I did on my India cricket shirt. In the end she took matters into her own hands and bought one without telling me, she then showed me the bag and said that I did not need to pay her back right now but she expected it sometime. I decided that the bag was quite nice so I just paid her in full straight away. 

John -back on the blog

Varkala

(John) Now that we are a team again, it's time to write about what we have been up to. Mhari and I had a good trip to Trivandrum where we met up with Lesley and Sam. We drove with my parents to Heathrow through nasty wet weather. They dropped us off then continued on to a funeral near Crawley. We are very appreciative of all the support they have given us. Checking in to Heathrow was a breeze. We were pulled out of line and led to the First class check in desk. For a spit second I though they might have decided to upgrade us. They did, but only as far as the check in desk. After that it was Economy all the way. We flew on Jet Airways, an Indian Airline and as far as it goes it was pretty good. The food was great, nice and spicy. On arrival in Mumbai we were met by a man from the hotel who led us to the pick up area and phoned a friend. We sat for a while and watched Mercedes, BMW's and assorted big SUV's pick up other groups of people and wondered what we would be travelling in. Mhari spotted it first. She said “I bet that's ours” pointing at a rusty battered Daihatsu micro bus that was limping into the pick up zone. We proudly got on board, shoving our back packs through the passenger door as the rear gate wouldn't open. Our hotel was entered through a large door with a speakeasy style peephole. The driver obviously knew the password because the door opened up and we were shown the stairs that led to the hotel. After the check in procedure we were shown to the room by three men who would not stop making our beds and turning on lights and A/C and showing us the toilet and shower until to tired to fight, I gave them 100 rupees and they went away. Sleep would have been nice, but beneath our window was a chicken run and the rooster crowed all night long. On the other side of the room, outside our door, people were cleaning and chatting. To get to sleep that night I would have needed drugs that I didn't have. The wake up call came at 7.50 am 10 minutes earlier than requested. I ordered breakfast that came to the room very promptly. When we came down to leave we were told breakfast was complimentary and the car was waiting, too tired to complain about being too tired, we hopped in a slightly less beaten up micro bus and were driven to the airport. It was the briefest glimpse of Mumbai that we were given during those trips to and from the airport but still fantastic and jaw dropping.

The airport inMumbai provides a study in contrasts. It is quiet and serene. Security was thorough and friendly and we were quite relaxed by the time we boarded. The two hours it took to get to Trivandrum flew by (pun not intended), our bags came off the plane very early and it wasn't long before were walking out and into the arms of Lesley and Sam and the tears of joy flowed.

The taxi trip to the hotel in Trivandrum was crazy as every trip in a taxi or an auto rickshaw has been since. There is so much to see, so many people, and dogs and chickens and vendors and traffic and motorbikes and noise and litter, so much litter.

We have spent two days on the beach and an afternoon at the zoo, we have been on a train and several local buses. We have eaten a lot of delicious food and sampled many different kinds of tea. All lots of fun and most of it very new. I haggled for a sarong, beat the poor guy down to a ridiculously low price but still could have got it cheaper if I had only tried harder. So just three days in and I'm hooked.

By the way, Mhari never did get the MRI. We went for her appointmant to be told that her MRI was in two days time and that we were only there for a pre MRI appointment and we should have have received a phone call about the actual MRI. However, the consultant examined her knee and said she should avoid sports for one month and carry on as normal without the aid of a walking stick. She was fine to fly and all was well.

(Lesley) John saved a man in the sea today. We were on the beach watching the kids playing in the waves when we noticed the beach police whistling and signaling. We thought they had a problem with our kids, so John went over to see what was up and explain about Sam and Mhari, but in fact they were eyeing a man furthur out who appeared to be in difficulty. They asked John to go check if he was ok and signal if help was needed. John swam out and in fact the man was asking for help, he couldn't swim and had been pulled with the current well over his head. John had him roll onto his back, and signaled for help then began to tow him in. The beach patrol saw John's signal and sent two good swimmers in to help John bring the man in. I swam out as well after seeing John swim beyond the kids and furthur out towards a little head bobbing in the sea, but John had it under control. The little oriental man was very tired and needed the assistance. He was cooperative, exhausted, scared but not panicking. He was fine once ashore, but potentiallythe situation could have gone badly. Yay, John our hero!

Proof that she has arrived in India.

Relaxing in front of our room.

Reunited in Trivandrum

John and Mhari arrived at last; Hello Hippo -A zoo visit

(Lesley) Yesterday, John and Mhari arrived. Sam and I went to pick them up at the airport. I was totally choked up just before we saw them, it was quite funny. It was nice to be reunited. We are a family again! We took them straight to our hotel, shared stories and gave them an hour to shower. Then we took them off to the zoo where it was quiet and clean and peaceful. There were lots of neat animals to see too. We bought Mhari some sandles on the way home, because she left hers in Leamington. And one cannot do India in shoes and socks. Impossible.

That night we went out to a nice restaurant, a good one just next to our hotel, and for just over $12.00 canandian we had our fill of fantastic Indian grub. Better than any I've ever had before. Sam and I had eaten there once before and really enjoyed it.

Today Jan 14th, we got up, had breakfast at our favourite joint, The Indian Coffee House, and headed off to Kovalum Beach for the day. Being so close, we figured we just had to take Mhari and John to see it. (Sam and I had been before to see it but we aren't good at sitting on beaches and all the restaurants are more expensive there, so we hadn't stayed long. But today, we made a day of it and even rented beach chairs. Mhari and I went shopping and bought her some pj bottoms, light trousers and a scarf. She had been instructed to bring very little as most of her clothes were old and falling apart, too warm or too small. She now has cute turquoise pjs that were made to measure by a tailor. I had fun too because I have wanted to try getting stuff made was but a) don't need clothes and b) don't have room in my bag to carry extra stuff. Although with John here, Sam and I can share out the first aid kit, the computer, the mosquito net, etc and lighten out loads. But Mhari got to be our guinee pig at the tailor shop. I may just have to try it out myself at some point. Maybe later, once I'm sick of my clothes.

John and Mhari did well today and made it through to 8 pm without getting cranky -not bad for a first full day in India. Goodnight.

Some Kanyakumari that I hadn't posted

(Lesley) The trains are fun in India. It is a relaxing way to travel. On the way down to Kanykumari, I read and snacked and even dozed off for a few minutes. I made Sam promise to stay awake if I slept. The scenery was nice, rice paddies, some mountains, lots of dry red earth. We met a nice family with a 4 year old boy. The mother teaches at a government school and has 50 students in her grade 4 class. The father works for the government in revenue. Land stuff mostly. Their son was super cute. Each time it went dark in the train (under bridges or in tunnels) he would say it was night, then when it got light again he would say it's morning. His father translated because he wasn't speaking in English.

Sam tried mango the other day and liked it. He never used to like it in Winnipeg. I ate a banana too. I usually don't eat bananas unless I'm doing a triathlon. Someone convinced me I need the potassium when racing, so despite not enjoying them I suffer them for my body's sake. Sam and I also tried coconut water. It wasn't a favourite for either of us, but having bought it not wanting to be wasteful we drank it up.

Have I mentioned how much older Sam looks than the kids his age? Probably. He looks 20 years old, according to the Indians. No one can believe he is 13. Their 13 year olds look so much younger. I expected this but find myself explaining to people and they always ask about my husband and if I have more children. Half the population now knows about Mhari and her injured leg and our family reunion in a few days time.

Sam and I went to Suchindram, the temple today. It was neat to see, very detailed. Lots of columns inside. Again, Sam had to take off his shirt.

And today, Sam and I did get up early to see the sunrise. But once again it was too humid to actually see the sun. It was however, fun to join the throngs of pilgrims at the waters edge in the dark and wait in anticipation of the big event.

In answer to a blog question:

Was Gandhi from the south? No, Gandhi wasn't from the south, he was from the north, Gujarat. He did however come south, well he went all over I gather. After he was killed, some of his ashes were brought her to be scattered in the 3 seas. There is a memorial here in Kanyakumari, with a small hole in the roof and on October 2, his birthday, the sun shines in and lands diredtly on the spot where his ashes were kept just before they were thrown in the seas.

Kanyakumari

(Sam) January 9^th

We have made it to the tip of India! Go south from here and you will go straight to the south pole. Kanyakumari is the name of the city and it is full of tourists. Only unlike Varkala, there are few foreign tourists, they are mostly Indian tourists. It is also a major pilgrimage destination and it seems that every second person you pass is wearing the black, pilgrim outfit. Since there are not many westerners here, we are very popular and everybody wants a photo with us. Yesterday we could not get away from a big group of college students. And today there were pilgrims wanting our photo, we feel like movie stars

Yesterday, we went to an island with a memorial to Vivekananda, a religous leader. On the neighbouring island there is a 133 foot high statue of Thiruvallur, a Tamil poet. Like an Indian Colloesseus of Rhodes. While we were waiting for the ferry, we met two travellers, one from Montreal and one from Spain. We had a thali with them at a local restaurant after visiting the memorial.

After lunch we left them and went to Gandhi memorial where we got the royal treatment. We got to skip the line at the place where you keep your shoes, (no shoes inside) and we got a tour of the place too.

At sunset we joined the thousands of people on the beach to watch the sunset, which was covered up by clouds at the last minute. A real disappointment.

January 10^th

After we had a delicous breakfast of Masala Dosa with potato and squash, we went to the tourist office to see what there was to do out of town. While looking at the map our friends from yesterday came in. We both decided to see the same thing, a fort and beach 6 km out of town. The fort was built by King Marthanda Varma in the 18^th century and was later captured and strenthenged by the Dutch. It was a super peaceful place, and other than an Indian couple getting wedding photos taken, we were the only ones there. We were asked to be in the couples' wedding photos (have I mentioned that we feel like movie stars here?). After the fort, we went onto the abandoned beach, with palm trees all the way back and beautifuly warm yet still refreshingly cool water callied us in. I felt like I was in the South Pacific. After the most refreshing swim ever, we walked along the beach to a small fishing village, said hello to all of the locals and went back home.

Mom, Robert and the Pilgrims

January 11^th

Today, we went to the Suchindram temple, recomended to us by the tourism man and the Spainard and the Canadian. It was an easy bus out, half an hour and 5 rupees each (10 cents). At the temple entrance there was a very tall 7 storey gopuram. It is very hard to describe what it looked like so you should just google it you want to know. Essentially it is a thin but wide tower that gets smaller as you go up. It was adorned with sculpures. When we went in we were immediately looked after by a local Hindu who knew what to do. He showed us all of the architecural features and the holy things in the temple. There were lots of holy statues and some musical pillars too, you put your ear up and he hits a neighbouring column and it makes musical notes. There are seven pillars all cut from a single rock. At the end, he asked for a generous tip so we gave him a little less than he asked for but twice what Lonely Planet said was reasonable for that sort of thing (spontaneous, unsolicited guides are common in India, one helped us in Kanniyakumari also).

Later today, I bought an India cricket jersey at the market for 90 rupees (just over 2 dollars!) (Don't worry, Dad, I will keep it in my bag while we're in England). We also went to a local ashram to see an exhibit they have about Vivekananda, the wondering monk. The exhibit was closed so we went for a walk around the ashram grounds and through the peacock sanctuary. We also had a delicous meal at the ashram cafeteria where we met a couple from Manchester, a couple from Hyderabad and a man from Bangalore. There was a delicous green banana salad, and some butter milk, straight from the cow's udder (Grandpa, you would have loved it, although it was very different from the supermarket kind).

Suchindram Temple

More fun in Kanykumari

(Lesley) Today, we went to an old Dutch Fort located in Vattakotai about 6 kms from Kanykumari.  We also had a great swim in the Bay of Bengal on a deserted tropical beach.  Of course I swam Indian style in full long pants and long sleeve shirt, just in case any locals happened to come by.  They didn't, but boy, the water was refreshing!  Sam is still enjoying the food,  as are the servers enjoying watching him eat at our favourite local restaurant.
We still haven't actually seen the sun rise in the East because it is so humid that one can't see the sun until it has been up for a bit.  Well, that and at 6:00 am when we look out, we sort of hope it is humid so that we can just go back to sleep and wait another day.  Of course one day soon we do plan to go for an early morning walk.
Gotta go, some others are waiting for the internet.  Bye for now, Lesley

Kanyakumari

(Lesley) We made it to the end of India.  We are where the three waters meet.  The Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and thee Arabian Sea.  We went into the water last night at sunset along with lots (thousands) of other folks.  That is the thing to do here.  That, and see the sunsets and sunrises. We ate mango and bananas and ice cream  on the waterfront.
We went to a temple today.  We had been abit unsure because non-hindus aren't allowed in all the temples and we are unfamiliar with the rules, but we met two men from Montreal and  Spain who are travelling together.  They are very interested in temples so we went along with them and they showed us how temples are done.  Sam even had to take his shirt off before entering the inner santum/ santuary area.
We also took a ferry out to see the Vivekananda Rock memorial.  That's where the wandering monk spent a few days on a rock meditating.
Gosh we also went to the Gandi memorial too.  We have had a busy day and we didn't get up before 10 am.  Most people here are up at sunrise because it is a special place to see sunrises and sunsets.  Turns out because of the humid weather there was no sun to see anyways, it was too cloudy.
We found a great place for food.  Sam loves the thalis and it is always slightly different so it is hard to get bored of it.
We are still enjoying things and the people are very friendly.  Sam was like a movie star today.  Everyone wanted their photo with him.  I hope it doesn't go to his head.

Trivandrum and Varkala (Sam)

Trivandrum is a very interesting. It has more people than Winnipeg but is much, much smaller. Also, other than on and just off the main drag, it feels more like a forest than a large city. There is cover of palm trees and dogs and goats running around. It is very polluted and there is garbage everywhere. Before we came to India I expected things to be sharper, not pointier, but sharper smells and bright colours. Instead things are more of a blur. There are lots of smells and sounds and colours, but they are all mixed together, although the heat and humidity may have something to do with that.

Today I saw the best stereo system ever, 4 amplifiers tied to the roof of a jeep. It was playing what I think was radio but do not know as it was in either Hindi or Malayalam.

Today we had breakfast at the Indian coffee house. The building is red on the outside and a mix of white and very light green and pink inside. It was shaped in a 4 storey corkscrew shape (like the tower of Babel). The seating twirls upwards around a central column. It has fast service and yummy food. Yesterday I had a masala dosa, a crispy crepe like thing with potato beetroot curry, and today I had an egg and onion omelete with toast with jam, not very Indian, but good nonetheless.

Later we went to train station to go to Varkala, a very popular beach town but the locals said that it was very beautiful. We accidentally booked on second class which is the lowest class, we think that they don't ever stop selling those tickets no matter how many they sell. We thought we were buying one class up (sleeper) but we got the names mixed up. Anyways we could not even fit onto the train so we went to the sleeper car and got in because we learned we could upgrade when the ticket man came round. He never came so we got a cheap ride, 50 percent off, so we saved 50 cents each!

When we arrived in Varkala we walked along the beach until we got to the main tourist beach. We climbed up the stairs to the hotels and restaurants on the cliff above and stopped in a restaurant for a cold drink. Later, when we were walking along the cliff looking for a hotel, a boy in a shop asked us if we were looking for a room, so we said yes. His aunty showed us the room they had on the top floor of their family home and we took it. It costs much more than our hotel in Trivandrum but Varkala is very touristy and the location is great. Everything here is more expensive than Trivandrum, but compared to Europe it is dirt cheap, And the area we are staying in is very beautiful.

We rented boogie boards and played in the surf today and yesterday. That was fun. We also looked around town and got some souvenirs, I got a funky lampshade and my mom bought a few gifts for friends, (and a few for herself).

Pictures from Trivandrum (Sam)

Photos: Sam -A hot day at the zoo; Meat men at the market; A major banana shortage in Trivandrum!

Pics.. then another day

There is Sam's lunch I wrote about.

The river, note our favourite breakfast joint on the right.

(Lesley) Well tonight or this morning, depending on whose perspective you are coming from, John and I tried some new things. We tried using Skype from the laptop in India to his parents' landline in England. Sam and I could hear John clearly but he had trouble hearing us. So we switched to simultaneous e-mail using the same account (our g-mail account). It felt slightly frantic because I wanted to be quick so as not too cause great delays or lags, but wanted to provide lots of info and details too. What was neat was that even if John hadn't sent the email yet, I could access what he was writing by pressing the refresh button. It was great to hear from them. Sounds like all is well in England and that John and Mhari are looking forward to joining us.

In internet cafes, I have seen headsets that include a mic. I think that would have been handy for the Skyping. Perhaps we will look into getting one of those or using them at the cafes to Skype to landlines it may make it easier and clearer.

The hotels here don't have Wifi like they did in France. Sam and I were lucky to find a restaurant that had it. Well, I'm sure the good ones do but the cheap hotels don't. There seem to be internet cafes around. They aren't hard to find and they vary in price from 20 rupees-40 rupees an hour.

Oh yes, Sam and I moved on north from Trivandrum. We took a train for an hour and it was great fun. It was nice to see the countryside from the train window. We bought the wrong class of tickets though so we had a bit of a last minute worry about whether we would get on. We ended up buying second class tickets, the really cheap ones, when we meant to buy sleeper tickets. So when we realized we were suppose to cram ourselves into the last three carriages with the other thousand people waiting to pile in, we asked if upgrading was possible once on the train. It is apparently, so into the sleeper car we went, no problems. In the end the ticket collector never made it round so no one collected our upgrade money.

We have been swimming in the Arabian Sea. It was lovely. Excellent waves! Quite big ones. We were very careful as there is quite a current and we don't have a lot of big wave bathing experience. We will enjoy some more swimming tomorrow I'm sure.

Sam got rid of his jeans today. We gave them to the hotel boy at our place in Trivandrum. It is too hot here for jeans and they are heavy to carry so he ditched them. I left a navy shirt too. One doesn't need more than one or two dark shirts in this heat. Frankly I'd leave my brown trousers somewhere too if they didn't have such good pockets. I have six excellent pickpocket proof pockets on those pants which might come in handy later along the way.

Some photos

She said hello and so we replied and took her picture.
We showed her the shot and she seemed to like that.

Great breakfast joint especially when you figure out how to order.

India Day 2

(Lesley) Today, Sam and I had lots of adventures in India. We went to a great coffee house for breakfast. We got tea easily but made a muddle of the food ordering part. We did order, but our attendant obviously didn't speak English because we waited a long time then had to reorder to finally get some food.

We then went to an ATM to retrieve some money but failed miserably at that. Fortunately, we have some travellers cheques to use to get by until we can sort out ATM use. You would think that should be simple enough, but it is not, really!

We went to a market and then visited the zoo. We saw lions, tigers, hippos, a jaguar, elephants, monkeys, various birds, vultures, hyenas and jackals, but no giraffe. Unless the giraffe was hiding.

We had a nice lunch: lots of small tastes. Each little pot was varied; one sauce was sweet and cardamom, another was very coconut, some had bits of okra, others clearly just lentils with different spices. There were at least 9 different little pots around our plates/platters. We had these with some rice, a chapati and a poppadum.

After lunch it was raining so we hopped on a bus to check out Kovalum Beach. It is quite touristy there, and we weren't really planning on going but the bus pulled up with Kovalum written on it and we jumped on. Sam went for a swim and I got my feet wet. The waves were fantastic. And the ride there and back on the bus was worth doing.

We saw lots of fun stuff today while walking around. The traffic in town is really interesting to negotiate. At one point Sam and I wondered about hiring an auto rickshaw just to get across the street. Navigating through traffic is not really terrible, but at certain corners, on certain streets, you really have to be careful and cautious yet quick and assertive at the same time. I'm really hoping Mhari's leg is improving; the surfaces here are challenging for able bodied people who haven't been thrown off by growth spurts or recent accidents. We will keep things easy to begin with; don't worry, girl!

Sam is really noticing the pollution and fumes. I think when you combine that with the heat, it is very noticeable. Big cities are often that way and when you come from a place like Winnipeg with low population density and clean air, it quickly becomes quite apparent how fortunate we are. Now Sam has just been looking up the pollution thing and apparently Indian diesel contains 50 to 200 times more sulphur that European diesel.

We miss John and Mhari. Yesterday evening, Sam kept thinking they were here. He kept saying: Oh yeah, Dad and Mhari aren't here. We looked into accommodations for us all once they do arrive. We haven't booked anything, but we have been scouting.

And tonight, we splashed out on supper: 230 rupees! That's five dollars for both of us including chai! But don't laugh it really was a treat and far costlier than our previous meals. In fact, just for fun, we calculated what we spent today. And if you have been reading this blog, you will have noticed that we did a lot today. We figure we spent 16 dollars today not including our hotel, which is about 11 dollars a night. I know, you are probably all thinking that we are so cheap! And not in a complementary way. I have to admit I am inclined to be a bit of a spendthrift. Right, Janet? Of course, Sam influences me too. He is good at bargaining with rickshaw drivers and doesn't have expensive tastes. We also don't mind walking so we don't always take the rickshaws. But more seriously it is interesting. I know in planning this trip we had no idea how to budget for it. It is hard to predict costs. We knew we could never afford to travel in Europe for a year. So now we are trying to add some examples of costs into the blog, in case others are wondering how feasible a trip like this is for a family.

India

(Lesley) Sam and I are in India.  We made it safe and sound and sweaty.  Sam got to the computer before me so you should read his blog for news.  I will take my turn in a few days.  India may have changed a lot since I was last here about 22 years ago but... It is still India and from what I've seen, in less than 24 hours, much of India is still the same as it was long ago.  Sure, there are more cars, more cell phones, and lots of name brand things that weren't here 22 years ago, but the smells, the noise, the pollution, dirt and dust, well... the sensory stuff is still very much the same.  I'm pleased about that.  I'm not complaining. I think I would have missed it or certainly misssed the fact that my kids might not have a chance to experience it. Well that's all for now.
But I will  make you all jealous, Sam and I had a nice meal out for less than two Canadian dollars tonight. Combined, including chai.  mmm!

India (Sam)

Well, Mom and I are in India now. Mhari and John will join us after her MRI scan in a couple of weeks. We are very excited even though the first day was hard. We had to wake up a 4:30 to drive to Heathrow, and then we spent nine hours on a flight. The flight was about as good as it gets when on a plane for nine hours in Economy class. We got blankets, entertainment systems with movies, tv, and video games, as well as two meals. For the first meal they had run out of chicken curry so I got the First class prawn(shrimp) curry. It was very good. 

When we got off our flight in Mumbai it was 1:00am due to the time change. It took an hour or so to get our luggage and after that a worker at the hotels desk said that he did not think that there was a shuttle bus to our hotel (they had promised one). So we went outside to look. Luckily there was a man waiting with a sign for “Mr Lesley Ball”. 

On the way to the hotel I just sat watching in complete shock, culture shock that is. Despite being 2:00am there were people everywhere, sitting around fires, sleeping on the streets or slowly wandering through the road, unaware of the cars weaving around them. There were stray dogs everywhere, although they were not aggressive at all. I watched them wander up to strangers sniff them then walk away, and people would just ignore them and continue doing whatever they doing. And I still do not know how one makes a living as an auto-rickshaw driver because it seems everyone owns one. I must have seen a couple thousand during that 15 minute drive. 

Before our trip people were all saying how hectic the driving was in India. But it was not that bad on some major roads. They even have lanes marked! (although they didn't really use them) Also, a couple of times I saw people using turning signals! At our hotel we bought an internet card so we could e-mail. But when I scratched off the silver bit (like a scratch and win) to uncover the code, It also scratched off the number! The following morning I showered under the shower which is more powerful than Niagra falls, had breakfast at the hotels breakfast buffet (I never thought I would see cornflakes right beside dahl in a buffet) and went to the airport to get our next flight to Trivandrum in the south of India. We are now sitting on our flight way above India. Today I learned, while reading the paper, that last year in the state of Maharashtra, the number of car crashes have gone down by a huge amount this year, in 2010 there were only 65,000! Gone down from 72,000 the year before.

Mumbai fun fact

The population density in Mumbai is 29 000 people per square km. 

In Manitoba, it is 1.5 people per square km.  What a difference.