India: Where Am I?!?

INDIA: Where am I?  

I have officially been in India for a little over a week now.  In that time I have seen and experienced things that have reshaped my understanding of parts of the world.  When I originally had the thought of "I think I will backpack across India!"  I realize now that I had no idea what I was in for.  Despite having both physical and mental challenges there is an abundance of beauty in this country.  The people are extremely friendly, the forts and palaces are straight from a fairy tale, and the culture is something that no words can really describe with anything less than amazing.

So here is part one of my journey.  I have been writing it in a word document as I go, so the beginning is from the perspective of when I just arrived.  Anyway...Here is India!

Entry 1

I have decided to try and keep a running blog as I go through this trip.  I will not be able to post them as I go since internet is a bit more difficult to come by around here, but I will write them as close to real time as I can and then dump it all into the blog when I can find some precious interweb. 

I got to the Delhi airport at about 3am local time today.  It is now 6am and I am sitting first class on my connecting flight to Chennai.  I don’t know why I am in first class but they told me this was my seat number and I didn’t want to be rude and argue it.  Ok, so I have a 3 hour flight and I haven’t slept for 2 days.  Time to catch up on some sleep before things really get busy around here when I land. 

Chennai: Day 1

That sleep thing didn't work out too well.  I got an hour or so but then we landed and the craziness began.  When I stepped off the plane I looked around and saw tall mountains opposite the airport with many tropical looking trees dotting the landscape.  My first thoughts were that I had landed in jungle!

 It took over an hour for me to find out how to get from the airport to the city, mainly because every time I asked an airport official I was directed to a different official and then a different official and so on.  I had a taxi driver offer to take me for 650 rupees, (about 7$) but I am glad I refused.  I found the train station finally and was able to get a ticket for about 5 rupees (5 cents).

The city of Chennai is the capital of Tamil Nadu in the south of India.  The city is pretty big and as I rode the train in I noticed a variety of colorful architecture stretching out from the tracks.  The train ride was pretty fun for my first train experience in India.  Mainly because I could hang out the door half the time and enjoy a nice cool breeze as I watched this strange new environment passing me by.  The breeze was especially appreciated since it was so hot outside.  It must have been in the 90's F or 40's C. and AC didn't seem to be a common luxury in the places I had seen so far.  When I got off the train everything felt incredibly fast paced.  It seemed like the entire city just stayed in motion.  You had people walking up and down the stairs caring large containers on their heads, people making crafts in the streets to sell, others selling strange fruits that I had never seen before, and everyone was wearing such colorful clothing it seemed like a blur of color as the people rushed by.

I spotted a large mosque looking building on the not too distant horizon and since it looked kinda cool decided that the landmark I would walk towards.  One thing I noticed as I walked was that I got a lot of stares.  I believe this may be because I was the only westerner around.  Literally In the now 3 days since I have been here and am now writing this I have seen only 4 others…  I definitely stuck out a little bit.  (yeah I got a bit behind on the running blog, I am making an effort for it but staying very busy)  

After a few minutes of walking I came to a busy road that led right past the mosque.  Now when I say busy I don’t mean there was a lot of traffic…There was a lot of traffic but the driving in India is INSANE!!  There is no point in having lines on the road because people don’t stay in lines.  It is just a mass never ending flow of vehicles moving in every direction.  What really got me was how other cars would enter these busy roads.  With no hesitation they lay on the horn and pull out right into the middle of it all, like they assume others will just move around them.  And of course somehow they did.  Everywhere I went there was a symphony of horns going off, not in anger, but I imagine because it’s the only way to let other vehicles know you are beside them.  This was not just this road either.  Every single road I have seen has been like this!  Just a crazy tangle of traffic.  Even the people crossing the streets didn't hesitate to walk out in front of the traffic.   I found a group of Indians getting ready to cross and just jumped into their crowd as they went across the death defying streets.

I decided to leave the main road and I picked a small side street that had hundreds of banners going across it and a bunch of small shops.  As I walked I noticed all the shops were the same!   I mean not the same store over and over but they all were the same type of product, paper products.  I found another road where all the stores were selling shoes, and another with fruits.  Interesting way to organize competition,  Just put all the competition on a single street and let market forces decide prices.  Of course very few things seemed to have a set price anyway.  Negotiating is just part of the purchasing process here.

I continued walking and found a shop selling smoothies that sounded perfect for the temperature.  I had not heard of all the fruits being used in it but that is part of the fun.
  

Later on in the evening I caught my first auto to go and search out some food and internet.  An auto is a three wheeled vehicle with one driver seat and just enough room for two in the back.  I have come to realize that riding in the traffic is just as terrifying as trying to cross it.  A couple of times I was sure we would have a head on collision but just in the nick of time the crash is avoided.
I picked a restaurant that looked like it might have AC and ordered some chicken tikka masala which was nice and spicy and delicious.  After which, I finally found an internet café but didn't have time to write up anything.  I spent most of the time just checking emails and looking up stuff I was planning to see.

After my hour of internet was used up, I crossed the street to the train station to catch an overnight train to Madurai.  The train I booked was an AC sleeper car with 8 bunks per compartment.  I got the top bunk and despite wanting to stay up and watch the scenery go by, I was tired enough to hit the pillow and crash.

Madurai: Day 2

I woke up on my train at around 6am, just before the sunrise started and took a look out the open train door at the countryside we were passing through.  All I could see was a mystic looking mountain rising up from the dark jungle around it.  The site sent a few shivers down my spine as I looked out in awe of it.  I still had a couple hours so I crawled back in bed for a while longer.

And then there was Madurai.  This is a smaller city a 10 hour train ride south of Chennai.  The second I stepped off the train I felt the differences between the two cities.  It was still very hectic but lacked the giant urban center feel that Chennai had given me.  I got to Madurai with the only knowledge of the place being that there is a large temple right in the middle.  So I left the station at around 8am when we arrived and caught an auto straight to the temple.  When I got there I thought at first it was just a single tower full of carved images of the hindu gods but as I walked around I discovered that the tower was one of many and the temple itself was huge.  I walked around the outside for about 10 minutes just trying to figure out how to get in.  I found what appeared to be a locker room like area and went in to ask if this was the way in.  The guy manning the counter told me it was, but I would need to check my shoes, socks and bag at the counter.  No shoes in the temple.  Also since I was wearing shorts I needed to put on a skirt like thing that wrapped around my lower half.  After all of this I finally was allowed to enter.

From the outside all I could see were a few large towers decorated with many figures.  The inside though was quite massive.  I walked in and kept walking for about 2 hours, just exploring various passageways and chambers.  There were many long halls lined in pillars with fierce faces carved at the top.  Everything was incredibly colorful though, so it lessened the intensity of the faces a bit.  One chamber was a large square pond surrounded by a columned walkway.  Beside the pond sat a small food stand with about 4 items to choose from.  I hadn't had breakfast yet so I figured I would try something.  I didn't recognize any of it but 3 of the 4 looked like some type of fried dough and the 4^th was something wrapped in a banana leaf.  I took a chance on the banana leaf in hopes that it was something more filling than the others since this was my breakfast.  The salesman told me to open the leaf and eat the sweet mush that was inside it.  I still have no idea what this sweet mush was but it tasted alright.  It had the consistency and color of oats but tasted nothing like them, it just tasted like sweet mush.  I sat down by the pond and had another new experience.  I looked around after realizing I had no fork and saw that everyone else was just using their hands and scooping blobs of the stuff right into their mouths.  I had heard of this custom before and realized it was time to try it myself.  I took a deep breath and scooped up a handful of the mush and messily jammed it in my mouth.  It really was not so bad, but learning the technique later helped a lot. 

                So after I ate I wondered around a few more long halls until I heard some chanting which of course I proceeded to walk towards.  Not everyday you are standing in an ancient temple hearing hindu chants echoing through the halls.  I found it was coming from a group of meditating monks sitting in a chamber about half the size of a football field.  The meditating was cool but what really drew my attention was what was standing at the other end of the hall.  There standing in between a couple of columns with a small group standing around it, was an elephant!  I noticed the group around it were feeding it some kind of fruit that looked like a large cashew.  Others would give the elephant cash which it picked it up with its trunk and gently gave it to the handler standing beside it and then proceeded to pet the giver on the head with its trunk!  I had to try this so I fished out 10 ruppees, (10 cents) and handed it to the elephant.  The elephant grabbed it from my hand with its trunk and then tapped me on the head with it.  I could feel the weight behind it but it was still very gentle of a tap.  I later learned that this is supposedly a blessing from the elephant.  Not much could top an elephant blessing but I did see a parade going through the temple that included a few chanters, some drums, and a cow that was decked out in beads and had painted horns.

                After a few hours of exploring I left the temple to explore the rest of the city. All along the way salesmen would push products under my face asking if I wanted to buy.  Normally a gentle no was sufficient to disperse them.  One man, named Ganeesh approached me to help pull me out of a crowd of salesman and we ended up talking for a while.  He offered me some chai tea and showed me a place where I could get an overview of the temple from the top of a building.  The view was alright but there were a few too many trees to get a clear picture.  I spent an hour looking around the shop afterwards, which I imagine was his real intention.  The shop had all kinds of cool handmade crafts.  One floor was dedicated entirely to hand embroidered and knotted rugs that were beautifully made.  Another floor had carved furniture and another had jewelry and colorful clothing.  The owner told me he had an import export license and would ship anything I bought back to the US for cheap, which seemed to great of a deal to pass up.

                After some shopping, Ganeesh showed me his shop where he works as a tailor making handmade shirts.  I ordered one to be made and he then helped me to find a rickshaw which he negotiated to take me to a few of the hotspots around the city while he was working.  The rickshaw was a manual, meaning it was a bicycle with a cart on the back.  It was a tad slower than the auto but I still got a nice breeze as we went.  We crossed over a huge bridge sitting just above a broad swamp land and weaved through the traffic for a few minutes before reaching the first destination. 

The first stop, and what ended up being my only stop was at the Gandhi museum.  The museum had highlights of the history of India and the robes Gandhi was wearing when he was assassinated.  This ended up being my only stop because I met a new friend in the first room of the museum.  Fazil was there with his sister and young cousin and saw I had a giant backpack and looked tired so he offered me lunch at his home as his guest of honor!  We talked for a while and I found out he was about the same age as me and studying in Chennai at the time.  I thought about it carefully and since I was getting hungry I decided to go for it.  I think it is always important to trust your gut and mine told me this guy was just really excited for an opportunity to show off the Indian culture to a western traveler. As usual my gut was right and this ended up being an amazing experience! He instructed the rickshaw how to get to his house and we were on our way.

                After another chaotic 15 minutes of passing through traffic, I arrived at Fazil’s house.  A beautiful three floor building with apartments up top and a sewing shop in operation downstairs where his many uncles and cousins were busy making backpacks to sell to local shops.  His family was more than welcoming and everyone seemed excited to have me there.  Some of his friends even came over through out the day to meet the foreigner and I was happy to meet them all.  Ikbull (I apologize for the spelling Ikbull) is a friend of Fazil’s that works in education reform trying to bring education to the poor areas of the city!  Seemed like some interesting work and we talked for a while about it.  I was surprised at the excellent English that everyone spoke.  I am sure that I talked a bit too fast for some but I could understand what they were saying quite well.

 For lunch a mat was rolled out on the floor and the men all sat down around it as the women of the house brought in the food as is the tradition in their household.  The meal consisted of white rice, and three or four sauces to put on it.  They offered a fork but I thought it would be better to try and adapt to the local customs so opted to use my hand just like everyone else.  Fazil says that he cannot trust that a spoon is clean or know who else has used it, but a hand is as clean as you make it and is only used by you.  They showed me a more proper technique which involved scooping with three fingers and pushing the food in your mouth with your thumb.  This was much better than trying to dump it in, which ended pretty messily. 


We all finished eating and then spent some time chatting about the plans for the rest of the day.  Fazil offered to take me to a few of the highlights around the city on his bike which sounded a lot better than an auto or rickshaw so I was happy to accept.  We were wizzing around all through the city, weaving in and out of traffic like it was nothing.  We made a few pitstops so he could run some errands and I met a few more members of his family and some of the friends of the family as well.

After a while we went to a small restaurant in town because I apparently had to try this food called idly.  Fazil says the place we went makes the best in town and for both of us combined it only came to about 73 cents!  Idly is a traditional south Indian food that is made from steaming rice and then forming it into a round patty that is almost like bread.  It was served on a large banana leaf as a plate and with four different chetnies (sauces) to dip it in.  I don’t have anything to compare it too to say it is the best in town but it was definitely really good.  Each sauce had a different flavor ranging from spicy to sweet coconut.

After this we went back to the temple to talk to Ganeesh about the shirt.  According to Fazil I was being ripped off really badly on the shirt I had ordered and he insisted on talking to Ganeesh about it.  I was going to pay 1000 rupees, (10$) for the hand tailored shirt but apparently it was not worth more than 200!  Fazil was able to discuss it with them but it didn't really end to well.  The manager gave me back the 500 I had paid down on it and we left without a shirt at all.   That is ok though, just a lesson learned on the accurate price of some things.  Tourist prices are hard to avoid when you don’t know how much you really should be paying.  Especially when there are no prices marked and everything is up to the negotiations.  This is a pattern I have noticed in the prices so far.  If it sounds like a reasonable price in the western world then you are probably getting ripped off by a lot.
 

Anyway after the shirt incident we traveled to the palace of Madurai.  Thanks to Fazil’s connections in the city we were admitted for free and arrived just in time for a light show being performed inside.  The inside wasn't exactly inside though.  We walked through a large door and into a courtyard surrounded by huge columns that must be at least 10 foot in diameter.  The courtyard was about a football field in size and had a golden throne for the king sitting right up front.  There are no kings now but the light show was about the history of the kings and was pretty interesting stuff. 

To round off the night I went back to Fazil's for dinner before heading to the train station.  We went back and I taught him and his friend Bandiraju (again sorry about the spelling) how to play poker and blackjack, and they taught me how to play a different version of war.  Fazil’s mother made a delicious hot milk mixture which contained black pepper and some other types of spices that was like nothing I had tried before.  I never would have thought that having black pepper in milk could be so great!

                We had a different type of rice for dinner called idiomada (may not be right but it’s a guess) which is steamed and then turned into really thin noodles.  We had two versions, the first was spicy and the second sweet like a dessert and again we ate everything with our hands and sitting on the floor. 

                After all of this I grabbed my backpack and hopped on the back of Bandiraju’s bike and the three of us took off through the hectic traffic to the train station.  I thanked Fazil for the generosity and kindness his entire family had shown me and told him I would mention him in this blog here.  (Fazil thanks again buddy, had a great time in Madurai) I arrived just in time and hopped into my train bunk to get some much needed sleep on the way to Bangalore.

Bangalore: Day 3

Today did not start quite is magically as the day before.  I didn't get much sleep and woke up feeling pretty rough.  The spice in the food had finally caught up to me and my stomach was not handling it all to well anymore.  I had been warned to watch what I eat while in India and thought I had been careful, but apparently not careful enough.  I will spare the world the details.

I got off the train at the main station in Bangalore and instantly felt the summer heat.  This is a huge city that is north of Madurai and west of Chennai and really feels like an urban place.  The station was packed and people were sitting on the floor all around the place waiting on trains or taking naps.  The second I walked out the door I was approached by auto drivers asking if they could take me somewhere.  

On a brighter note, this is the day I met up with my friend Varun!  We have known each other since we both studied in Germany a few years back and I had not seen him in person since then.  Since he had to work until late, I just had to find something to do until he got off so we could meet up.  

Unsure of what to do and in need of a phone charge I paid 45 rupees to sit in the "relaxation room" at the station where I could get AC and an outlet to charge.  No internet here though unfortunately.  I had a couple cups of chai, which tastes so much better here than the stuff I get at home,  I have completely switched off of coffee in favor of the tea here it is so good.  Which for anyone who knows me and my coffee addiction that is quite an accomplishment.

After a couple of hours of relaxing and trying to get my medicine to kick in, I felt guilty for sitting so long and packed up my stuff to go hit the city.  I found a map of the city and saw that there is a royal palace not too far off, so I negotiated a price with an auto driver and took off for it.  I love that the side of the autos are open I had my head out for most of the trip, just watching the scenery go by as we weaved through the traffic.  This city felt a bit more modern than the other two I had visited so far.  It still had the chaotic traffic and lots of markets but the buildings felt a little newer and there were many parts that looked very well maintained.  

I got to the palace and realized there was a wedding going on at the time.  Only the courtyard had been rented out though so I could still tour the historical portion.  The courtyard had a huge tent set up in it with colorful streamers and decorations hanging everywhere!  The palace itself felt more like a castle since it was built so heavily fortified.  I got to the ticket booth and saw that there was both an Indian entrance fee of about 20 rupees and then the foreign visitor fee of 400.  This is how almost every attraction seemed to be so I have gotten use to it now.  I paid the foreigner entrance fee and grabbed an audio guide. 

The first thing I notice is a giant elephant head mounted on the wall above the entrance.  Apparently the old king of Bangalore was an avid hunter, and this was one of many of his trophies.  He was also very close to the British and had many extravagant ball's that took place in the large halls of the palace.  The garden is also a highlight and was planted to have colorful flowers growing in it year round so that there is never a dull season.

Anyway, it is a pretty nice palace but I couldn't spend all day there.  I caught another auto who took me to a couple of the markets to look around a bit, and then to a street full of fast food restaurants since I was trying to take a short break from the spice.  I saw my first Indian McDonald which I had to take a picture of but opted for KFC to eat instead.  I lucked out that the american restaurants had toilet paper, since most places in India do not, and I took the opportunity to stock up a bit.  I figured they would not miss a roll.  

 I didn't do a whole lot more in Bangalore since I was still feeling pretty sick.  For the sake of brevity, I will sum it up.

So after I ate, I searched for an internet cafe for about an hour since I had no other way of contacting Varun.  I think this was the first time I have seen a McDonald's that did not offer Wifi!  I found a mall and a small coffee shop where I was able to contact him and arrange a place to meet.

All I had to do was get back to the train station to get my backpack out of the luggage room, and then find an auto driver to take me to the place we had agreed upon.  I got to the meeting point and after a few minutes Varun pulls up on a motorbike.  Somehow we manage to stuff my 65 liter backpack in front of him and we took off for his house.  It is not an easy task caring a giant backpack plus two people on a motorcycle while weaving through the Indian traffic during rush hour... but we made it work.

When we got to his house I met his parents who both were very welcoming.  I was very lucky that his mom is a nurse and was able to give me some better medication. (If you are reading this Mrs. Thamba then thank you again and God Bless you!)  Not much later I was fast asleep in the guest bedroom they were kind enough to let me use.

Day 4: Bangalore to Jaipur to Bikaner

The next morning I was still feeling really rough but decided the show must go on and I was not going to let it ruin the trip.  Varun and I had a lot of traveling to do to get to the end of the night's destination of Bikaner.  We started off with a trip to the airport to catch a plane to Jaipur.  This is the capital city of Rajasthan, which is a desert state in the western part of the country.   However we were not staying here this night.  We had a couple of hours to spend before we needed to catch our next train to Bikaner.  

During our wait, we walked along the busy strip outside of the train station and explored some of the small restaurants and street vendors in the area.  We had dinner at one of the stands which consisted of a flat bread called "Roti" (may not be right), and three different sauces to go with it.  I stuck with the most mild of the sauces which still had a little kick to it but not to much, in hopes that it would give mercy to my stomach.  No such luck unfortunately.  

After dinner we walked around a bit more and I bought some fruit from one of the many fruit stalls on the side of the road.  The stands had, apples, bananas, and mango all stacked in a neat pyramid ready to sell.  It was great to be able to stock up on some of the only food I could find without spice in it. 

I also tried a small snack that Varun recommended that was like a crispy fried ball with spicy juice in side.  I think it was made of some type of dough and before I tried it I thought it may taste like a doughnut...I was wrong it was nothing like a doughnut... but it tasted alright anyway.    

Our train ride was in an AC sleeper car and despite Varun and I booking separately we lucked out and had seats right beside each other!  Knowing that we only had about 5 hours to sleep we both went straight to bed once we got on the train.   

We woke up at 4am since our stop was at 4:30.  Bikaner is a smaller desert city further west from Jaipur.  The further west you go the more desert like the terrain becomes.  This place was not full of sand dunes but it was really warm even in the middle of the night when we got there and had a dry arid feel to it.  The train station was decorated in large murals depicting some of the culture of the area that I snapped some pics of on our way out.  

 Varun used his keen Indian negotiation skills to find us a hotel room for the night and an auto driver to take us around the city the next day for around a thousand bucks (rupees).  This seemed like a great deal since it included giving us until around 9am to get some sleep first!

The auto driver drove us through the dusty town to a small hotel near the center of town.  Our room consisted of a full size bed and an Indian toilet but that was all we really needed for the night.  An Indian toilet by the way is pretty much a hole that you squat over.  It has a place for your feet on each side and is flushed by dumping water from a bucket down the hole after your done.  Some are nicer and have a button to flush but most that I have seen do not have this.

This next day turned out to be pretty exciting.  Varun had not been to this part of India either yet so all of this was new for both of us!  Of course it was a lot more new to me.  However this blog has gotten extremely long already so I will save this for Part 2.

I hope you enjoyed the first few days of India.  The next 4 were twice as busy and action packed so this really is just an introduction, just as it was for me.  Just a few days to get a feel for what to expect.  Next up we have ancient desert fortresses in distant western cities, camel rides, a rat temple, and more!

Four things I have learned so far in India:

1. Always negotiate, and watch out for tourist price gauging.
2. Be careful what you eat or drink, it may taste great but have some nasty side effects.
3. The people are not shy so get use to being asked for pictures and introductions.  Its great how friendly many people are to foreigners.
4. And finally it is a challenge and a bit of a culture shock, but it's definitely worth taking on.


Thanks for reading World!!