I arrived in Paris today.
I spent the past couple of days with some friends of my parents in Mumbai, Shobahn and his family.
What a city. Beautiful in comparison with Delhi with lots of beautiful colonial architecture coupled with some equally great Indian buildings (I have to be PC, after all).
They took me around to see some of the sites but the highlight had to be some of the fantastic restaurants. I hadn't eaten so well since I got to India. Still have memories of the seafood. Good memories, not the normal recurrences of previous meals I had had on many, many other occassions in India. I'll put up some photos some other point, but at the moment I'm being ripped off for internet time at my hostel here.
So I have now arrived in Paris. I am missing India. Started when I changed $200 for a measly 100 euros. Probably last me little more than two days, whereas in India I could have travelled about for who knows how long with such a fortune.
Continued on the train. In the city of love I was lucky enough to be sitting directly behind a couple of young, lovers kissing very noisily. Such public displays of affection are unheard of in India, and I hadn't realised how much you appreciate that when you're a young single man in a bad mood! It was all I could do to stop myself yelling out a bad french translation of 'get a room!'. Instead, I concentrated on the sky outside, which matched my mood with a resolute grey.
I am back in the same hostel I stayed in three years ago, wearing half the same clothes, paying as much to hire sheets and a towel as I would for two nights in my own room in India. I'm not appreciating suddenly being one of the worst dressed people on the street, compared to India where I looked halfway decent.
I'm sure after a glass of red and a baguette my mood will improve.
Georgia had to travel back to Australia suddenly so for the time being I will be travelling by myself. I don't know where I'll be heading. I have some friends in Belgium, Holland and Germany I'd like to visit.
Hope everyone back home is doing well.
Tom
Thursday, March 30, 2006
Sunday, March 26, 2006
I haven't written for a while. The past couple of weeks I went first to Agra and the Taj Mahal, then up to Rishikesh in the mountains.
I'll write about the Taj when I'm in a position to upload the photos.
Rishikesh was brilliant. Its up in the mountains about 7 hours north of Delhi, in Uttrachnal. The city is situated in a valley with the Ganga running through it. On either bank sit temples and ashrams, which attracts a lot of the hippie crowd and quite a few plain freaks. But some of the people there are great and I had a really good time.
I arrived about 4.30am by bus. Incidentally, the bus was due to depart at 9.30 at night. I was on the bus at 9.30. But buses here hate to take off when their not full. So there I sat, along with some more and more aggravated Indians, waiting for the driver to fill his bus. One extremely old ex-army Indian guy was really getting worked up, walking up and down the bus cursing and reducing everyone else to laughter. Eventually we left at about 12.30apm.
So I got in around 4.30, with no idea where to stay or where I was. I got ripped off by a rickshaw driver, which I'm quite used to by now, who took me to one hotel that had only one extremely expensive room. So I left. On the way out, I ran into a German guy Thomas, who had been on the same bus and was really pretty drunk. Thomas is one of those guys who gives every impression of being completely gay, and at first I was a little worried he was cracking on to me, and wasn't really so keen about him trying to find a hotel with me. But on the other hand I wasn't so keen on wandering the city by myself in the dead early morning. Later I found out he was married with kids, which I found hard to believe but have to admit was also a big relief. Actually he runs tours in India and Africa for Germans and was just hanging around Rishikesh for a couple of days before his next tour started. It was good to hang around with someone with a bit of knowledge of India. I was with him and some other friends of his for the next few days.
My first day in Rishikesh I explored the town and enjoyed the cooking. Heaps of Nepali chefs who seem particularly good at making mexican, so I enjoyed having burritoes for the first time in many months. There are heaps of Sadhus also - sort of Hindi wandering monks I suppose, people who are supposed to have given up the material life and wander the country meditating and living the life of an ascetic. Many of them, at least in Rishikesh, are supposed to also be people on the run from the law. Apparently its a long tradition in India for thieves to adopt the saffron robes of a Sadhu as a disguise for getting around the country. You see the occassional lost Westerner trying to imitate the dress, growing their dreadlocks, not shaving and adopting a spiritual grimace. Amusing.
Second day I did some rafting and went for a few swims in the Ganges, which is beautifully fresh and clean when its so close to the Himalayas. Big contrast to the sorry state it was in in Varanassi.
Third day we rented motorbikes and explored some mountains and temples in the areas.
Then for the next five days I did some trekking. It was great to get into rural India. I headed to a little place about 6 hours further north, in what I suppose is the Indian part of the Himalayas, with a guide and a Israeli woman. I loved some of the road signs along the way:
"After whisky,
driving is risky"
"Not a race or a rally,
Take it easy, enjoy the valley.
Remember God."
"Life is God's gift."
"Slippery road ahead. Please slow down."
And 50 metres later:
"Thanks"
Actually I'm reminded of a great sign on the bus seats in Delhi:
"Look under your seat.
There might be a bomb.
Report to driver, earn reward."
Which always sounds to me like some sort of really messed up Haiku.
Anyway, we were hiking in an area a couple of thousand metres up and extremely cold. The life that the people live up there is pretty rough. Most have no electricity or running water, and live in pretty basic huts with perhaps a cooking fire at night to keep them warm. I was there in mid March and it was really just freezing once the sun went down, and these people without heaters and half without shoes. They seem to keep themselves warm by working extremely hard. Every night I had to go to bed at 8 simply because it was too cold to stay out.
We spent a few days doing some pretty tough walking first up to a high altitude lake, Devital, then from there to a famous temple a few hours walk from a town called Chopta. This temple was like something from a movie - perched on a mountain top 3600 metres up, abandoned because of the cold when we were there, and covered in several feet of snow. Really breathtaking views. You can imagine how it might be a good place for achieving some sort of spiritual enlightenment. You certainly feel closer to God up there.
Our guide was great as were the people we stayed with. My Hindi's improved a lot over the past month. I'm now an expert curser and can understand when I'm being insulted, which is handy when taking rickshaws.
Anyway I returned to Rishikesh and spent one more day enjoying that peaceful town, before returning last night to the post-apocalyptic nightmare that is Delhi.
I was reading a magazine in Delhi this morning. Tips for weight loss for Delhiites:
"If you own a dog, try taking him for a walk yourself, rather than sending your servant.
Similarly, if you have to go out for water, rather than sending your peon, go yourself."
Peon. I couldn't believe it.
So, I take the train to Mumbai tomorrow, before heading to France Wednesday night.
I am completely over sitting on buses and trains. In the past two weeks, I have spent, without exaggeration, about 20% of my time going from one place to another. And I have another 20 hours tomorrow on the train before another 14 odd hours on the plane.
Still, the past few weeks I have done some great travelling, and I'm not really looking forward to settling down in London.
I'll write about the Taj when I'm in a position to upload the photos.
Rishikesh was brilliant. Its up in the mountains about 7 hours north of Delhi, in Uttrachnal. The city is situated in a valley with the Ganga running through it. On either bank sit temples and ashrams, which attracts a lot of the hippie crowd and quite a few plain freaks. But some of the people there are great and I had a really good time.
I arrived about 4.30am by bus. Incidentally, the bus was due to depart at 9.30 at night. I was on the bus at 9.30. But buses here hate to take off when their not full. So there I sat, along with some more and more aggravated Indians, waiting for the driver to fill his bus. One extremely old ex-army Indian guy was really getting worked up, walking up and down the bus cursing and reducing everyone else to laughter. Eventually we left at about 12.30apm.
So I got in around 4.30, with no idea where to stay or where I was. I got ripped off by a rickshaw driver, which I'm quite used to by now, who took me to one hotel that had only one extremely expensive room. So I left. On the way out, I ran into a German guy Thomas, who had been on the same bus and was really pretty drunk. Thomas is one of those guys who gives every impression of being completely gay, and at first I was a little worried he was cracking on to me, and wasn't really so keen about him trying to find a hotel with me. But on the other hand I wasn't so keen on wandering the city by myself in the dead early morning. Later I found out he was married with kids, which I found hard to believe but have to admit was also a big relief. Actually he runs tours in India and Africa for Germans and was just hanging around Rishikesh for a couple of days before his next tour started. It was good to hang around with someone with a bit of knowledge of India. I was with him and some other friends of his for the next few days.
My first day in Rishikesh I explored the town and enjoyed the cooking. Heaps of Nepali chefs who seem particularly good at making mexican, so I enjoyed having burritoes for the first time in many months. There are heaps of Sadhus also - sort of Hindi wandering monks I suppose, people who are supposed to have given up the material life and wander the country meditating and living the life of an ascetic. Many of them, at least in Rishikesh, are supposed to also be people on the run from the law. Apparently its a long tradition in India for thieves to adopt the saffron robes of a Sadhu as a disguise for getting around the country. You see the occassional lost Westerner trying to imitate the dress, growing their dreadlocks, not shaving and adopting a spiritual grimace. Amusing.
Second day I did some rafting and went for a few swims in the Ganges, which is beautifully fresh and clean when its so close to the Himalayas. Big contrast to the sorry state it was in in Varanassi.
Third day we rented motorbikes and explored some mountains and temples in the areas.
Then for the next five days I did some trekking. It was great to get into rural India. I headed to a little place about 6 hours further north, in what I suppose is the Indian part of the Himalayas, with a guide and a Israeli woman. I loved some of the road signs along the way:
"After whisky,
driving is risky"
"Not a race or a rally,
Take it easy, enjoy the valley.
Remember God."
"Life is God's gift."
"Slippery road ahead. Please slow down."
And 50 metres later:
"Thanks"
Actually I'm reminded of a great sign on the bus seats in Delhi:
"Look under your seat.
There might be a bomb.
Report to driver, earn reward."
Which always sounds to me like some sort of really messed up Haiku.
Anyway, we were hiking in an area a couple of thousand metres up and extremely cold. The life that the people live up there is pretty rough. Most have no electricity or running water, and live in pretty basic huts with perhaps a cooking fire at night to keep them warm. I was there in mid March and it was really just freezing once the sun went down, and these people without heaters and half without shoes. They seem to keep themselves warm by working extremely hard. Every night I had to go to bed at 8 simply because it was too cold to stay out.
We spent a few days doing some pretty tough walking first up to a high altitude lake, Devital, then from there to a famous temple a few hours walk from a town called Chopta. This temple was like something from a movie - perched on a mountain top 3600 metres up, abandoned because of the cold when we were there, and covered in several feet of snow. Really breathtaking views. You can imagine how it might be a good place for achieving some sort of spiritual enlightenment. You certainly feel closer to God up there.
Our guide was great as were the people we stayed with. My Hindi's improved a lot over the past month. I'm now an expert curser and can understand when I'm being insulted, which is handy when taking rickshaws.
Anyway I returned to Rishikesh and spent one more day enjoying that peaceful town, before returning last night to the post-apocalyptic nightmare that is Delhi.
I was reading a magazine in Delhi this morning. Tips for weight loss for Delhiites:
"If you own a dog, try taking him for a walk yourself, rather than sending your servant.
Similarly, if you have to go out for water, rather than sending your peon, go yourself."
Peon. I couldn't believe it.
So, I take the train to Mumbai tomorrow, before heading to France Wednesday night.
I am completely over sitting on buses and trains. In the past two weeks, I have spent, without exaggeration, about 20% of my time going from one place to another. And I have another 20 hours tomorrow on the train before another 14 odd hours on the plane.
Still, the past few weeks I have done some great travelling, and I'm not really looking forward to settling down in London.
Wednesday, March 08, 2006
Last night, after writing my last post, it finally rained. And what rain - a real tropical storm. I was out buying train tickets at Okhla station, and while I waiting it started raining. After fifteen minutes, the streets around the station were flooded. The dirt roads had at least a few inches of water rushing down them.
Some of the power lines must have been knocked out, so the whole area around the station was blacked out. I ended up wading through ankle deep water with who knows what floating through it in the dark. Serves me right for wishing it would rain.
Some of the power lines must have been knocked out, so the whole area around the station was blacked out. I ended up wading through ankle deep water with who knows what floating through it in the dark. Serves me right for wishing it would rain.
Tuesday, March 07, 2006
Only three more days of work left here. Although I'm looking forward to heading on to Europe, there are a lot of things I'll miss about living in India.
Definitely the rickshaws. I'm come to enjoy zippng around in the little gizmos. Bargaining I'll be glad to see the end of. But I'm sure I'll miss them next time I'm forced to pay for a taxi.
General lifestyle. Very relaxed at work here. I'm sure its not the same for all people in India, or every job, but in general, I think it would be fair to say that most Indians have a pretty relaxed attitude when it comes to work. Even when its busy, its rarely particularly stressed.
The music. Amazingly, its grown on me, I could never imagine liking the high pitched Bollywood tunes before I came.
The weather. At the moment, its perfect. I can't imagine Europe will match it, even though its coming in to Spring. I do miss it raining once in a while though...twice a month, at least, would be nice. I've seen it rain three times only here, and only once particularly heavily.
Of course, there are some things I can't wait to leave behind.
The bureaucracy. For instance, buying a train ticket. I am impressed at how extremely difficult they have managed to make such a simple act. Bloody nightmare. Don't get me started.
Crossing the street. Traffic in general. Another bloody nightmare. Don't get me started, again.
The dust, noise, pollution. Nightmarish. Can't wait to leave that behind. London will seem untouched in comparison to Delhi.
Looking different. Don't get me started. Well, actually, I should explain this one. Sometimes its good to be a 'gora' here. Its great, for instance, because you can get into a shopping mall, nice hotel, or nightclub, even if you forgot to have a shower this morning, haven't shaved in a week and are wearing you're worst, moth-eaten t-shirt. It's still assumed you probably have cash. On the other hand, because people assume you have cash, you of course get the touts and the rip offs. More than that though, it can be tiring to always be looked at as different. Sometimes its nice to blend in and not feel self-conscious.
The food. Bloody nightmarish. Actually, I don't mind the food, but four is an unlucky number and I needed one more to round it out to five. I am definitely looking forward to some good pastas, baguettes and coffees.
Definitely the rickshaws. I'm come to enjoy zippng around in the little gizmos. Bargaining I'll be glad to see the end of. But I'm sure I'll miss them next time I'm forced to pay for a taxi.
General lifestyle. Very relaxed at work here. I'm sure its not the same for all people in India, or every job, but in general, I think it would be fair to say that most Indians have a pretty relaxed attitude when it comes to work. Even when its busy, its rarely particularly stressed.
The music. Amazingly, its grown on me, I could never imagine liking the high pitched Bollywood tunes before I came.
The weather. At the moment, its perfect. I can't imagine Europe will match it, even though its coming in to Spring. I do miss it raining once in a while though...twice a month, at least, would be nice. I've seen it rain three times only here, and only once particularly heavily.
Of course, there are some things I can't wait to leave behind.
The bureaucracy. For instance, buying a train ticket. I am impressed at how extremely difficult they have managed to make such a simple act. Bloody nightmare. Don't get me started.
Crossing the street. Traffic in general. Another bloody nightmare. Don't get me started, again.
The dust, noise, pollution. Nightmarish. Can't wait to leave that behind. London will seem untouched in comparison to Delhi.
Looking different. Don't get me started. Well, actually, I should explain this one. Sometimes its good to be a 'gora' here. Its great, for instance, because you can get into a shopping mall, nice hotel, or nightclub, even if you forgot to have a shower this morning, haven't shaved in a week and are wearing you're worst, moth-eaten t-shirt. It's still assumed you probably have cash. On the other hand, because people assume you have cash, you of course get the touts and the rip offs. More than that though, it can be tiring to always be looked at as different. Sometimes its nice to blend in and not feel self-conscious.
The food. Bloody nightmarish. Actually, I don't mind the food, but four is an unlucky number and I needed one more to round it out to five. I am definitely looking forward to some good pastas, baguettes and coffees.
Thursday, March 02, 2006
I haven't written an update for a while...I haven't been on too many trips lately, just hanging around in Delhi. I was going to go to Agra last weekend but one of my wisdom teeth was playing up and I had to get it pulled which was very pleasant.
I'm still enjoying life here. The house has been good, lots of cultural exchange going on. For instance, last night Mauri shared some Napolitan wisdom with us all: "A woman without tits is like a man with no balls." I'm pretty sure that particular Italian proverb dates back to Roman times.
Bush is over here now making bad nuclear deals with India, there is a lot of protesting going on which has apparently been disrupting traffic, but to be honest in a city this big I noticed no change.
Yesterday I got fitted for a suit. I'm sure to make a splash when I arrive in London with some custom-made Indian threads.
I have only one week left of work. I'm not sure what I'll be doing after that. I'm tempted to head down to Goa. I fly out of India on the 30th of March, so I've got about three weeks. This weekend I'm headed to the Taj Mahal.
Completely unrelated to my trip, but I got a letter published in the International Herald Tribune today, which I'm sure is uninteresting to everyone but my parents. Anyhow, you can read it here. The original article I was commenting on is here.
I'm still enjoying life here. The house has been good, lots of cultural exchange going on. For instance, last night Mauri shared some Napolitan wisdom with us all: "A woman without tits is like a man with no balls." I'm pretty sure that particular Italian proverb dates back to Roman times.
Bush is over here now making bad nuclear deals with India, there is a lot of protesting going on which has apparently been disrupting traffic, but to be honest in a city this big I noticed no change.
Yesterday I got fitted for a suit. I'm sure to make a splash when I arrive in London with some custom-made Indian threads.
I have only one week left of work. I'm not sure what I'll be doing after that. I'm tempted to head down to Goa. I fly out of India on the 30th of March, so I've got about three weeks. This weekend I'm headed to the Taj Mahal.
Completely unrelated to my trip, but I got a letter published in the International Herald Tribune today, which I'm sure is uninteresting to everyone but my parents. Anyhow, you can read it here. The original article I was commenting on is here.
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