Thursday, February 25, 2010
Picture Update
We are having real issues finding an internet cafe that has a computer that works well enough to upload pictures. There are 13 random pictures from Darjeeling coming.
Hopefully we can get some newer and better ones up soon.
Hopefully we can get some newer and better ones up soon.
Monday, February 22, 2010
Weddings, Temples, Daredevils - Oh My!
From Varanasi we travelled to Allahabad, a city which sounded interesting in our guide book. In reality it turned out to be busy, dirty, and not tourist-friendly - not our cup of tea at all. We did get to see the beginning of a wedding parade that started at our hotel. At 10pm one night there was a marching band (complete with men in sequined suits), people carrying (on their heads0 giant light-up lanterns powered by generator carts, and a man singing Hindi into a microphone. All this accompanied the groom and his family who left to pick up the bride at her house. It made Western weddings look a bit dull in comparison!
After two days in Allahabad we wanted out, and Craig did the Indian Extreme Sport of taking a long-distance bus ride (no toilet) with traveller's diarrhea. It took us two days, three buses, and 12 hours of actual bus time to travel the 350 km to Khajuraho, our next destination.
What you need to know about Indian (government) long-distance bus rides: the buses are old (really old), they're busy (we got seats but saw people sitting in the aisle and on the roof), they make a billion stops, and often travel unsealed roads which seem even bumpier without suspension. The good news is: they're cheap, and we survived.
We spent five days in the city of Khajuraho, a small town of around 22,000 people. We found it very relaxing compared to the big cities. Most people were very friendly and loved to wave and say "hello" as we passed them on the street. Our hotel was wonderful - clean, quiet, with a 24-hour restaurant that served food directly to our room or balcony. Andrea did yoga with the resident "yogi" one morning, however it mostly involved air punches (to banish negative thoughts), vigorous hip thrusts (to help improve her "fire chakras"), and lectures on yogis up on mountains and the importance of moving ones bowels.
Khajuraho is well known for its high concentration of 1000-year-old temples with intricate carvings, many of which are erotic. We saw more than a dozen temples scattered around town and were impressed with their size, detail, and beauty.
The town was also hosting a big festival for the anniversary of Shiva's wedding. It had lots of market stalls and a small midway. We went into the freak show/museum, which had jars of preserved specimens, such as a small shark, an iguana, and HUMAN babies. It was so creepy. Next we went to the stunt show, which involved standing at the edge of a 30 foot bowl made of rickety old wooden planks. Three motorcycles and a small car then drove around ON the walls, so the vehicles and drivers were parallel with the ground. It was awesome.
Now we are in Agra, home of the Taj Mahal. We plan to be at the gates at sunrise tomorrow to avoid the giant groups of people who descend on the Taj mid-day. Other than the Taj, Agra isn't all that great, so we are going to Jaipur tomorrow evening.
Just to illustrate how affordable travelling in India is, we figured out that in the last three weeks we have spent an average of $39 CAD/day in total - that is our accommodation, food, train tickets, tourist activities - for both of us. We stay in budget hotels and eat cheaply when we can - but it's great when you take out money from an ATM and it gives you your bank balance back home in rupees, and you feel like a half-millionaire!
Friday, February 12, 2010
That Darjeeling Feeling
Darjeeling turned out to be everything we hoped it would be - just colder and foggier.
We were in Darjeeling for five nights. The city sits at an elevation of 2100 m, so the 88 km jeep ride from the train station took three hours. From Darjeeling you can see the Himalayas, including the world's first highest and third highest peaks (Mount Everest nad Khangchendzonga respectively). Unfortunately for us, in the winter the mountains are often obscured by fog. We were able to get some amazing views of part of the range, including Khangchendzonga, but no Everest.
Since Darjeeling is so high up it is colder than everywhere else here. The temperature was between five and ten degrees celcius (with no central heating). Since the city is built into the hillside, we kept warm by touring around on foot, which involved climbing up all the hilly streets. In fact, we believe New Zealand's claim to the steepest residential street (Baldwin Street in Dunedin) may be incorrect after walking up some of Darjeeling's inclines.
While in town we visited a tea plantation, the zoo, and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. The Institute had an Everest Museum, which celebrated the pioneer climbers, as well as the Nepalese sherpas who make the trek possible. Being near the border with Nepal, Darjeeling has a large population of Nepalese descendants, and you're more likely to hear Nepalese being spoken than Hindi.
On Tuesday we embarked upon another 24-hour journey (including an overnight train) to Varanasi, where we are now. We had reservations about the city as we'd heard the beggars and touts are more aggressive here than in other cities. However, we've found it to be fairly relaxed here - or we're just growing a thick skin.
Our guesthouse is a two minute walk to the Ganges River and you can see the river from our rooftop restaurant (along with lots of monkeys who steal saris that are drying on roofs in the sun, and fighting kites). Walking along all the ghats (stone steps that lead down to the river) along the riverbank feels like a True Indian Experience. The Ganges is a sacred spot for Hindus, who believe it has the power to deliver happiness and salvation. Although the river is highly polluted (95% of which is due to cities along the river allowing raw sewage directly into the river), it still has a magical atmosphere. We've seen both wedding and funeral processions along the shore, as well as large burning ghats where bodies are cremated before the ashes are sprinkled into the river. These cremations are part of a public religious ceremony that anyone can watch. Within a 20 minute period we saw eight bodies being cremated on eight fires. Once again, out of respect, we took no photographs.
Interestingly not everyone is cremated. Children under 12 and pregnant women who die are considered to be "pure" and their bodies will go straight to heaven - so their bodies are weighted down and thrown directly into the Ganges. So no - we did NOT go into the river ourselves.
This morning we took a morning boat trip along the Ganges where we watched pilgrims who come to "Mother Ganges" to drink of her water, bathe away a lifetime of sins, or cremate their loved ones; locals also line the riverbank washing clothes, playing cricket, doing yoga, washing cows, or offering "puja" (blessings).
Our young boat driver was very informative and taught us much about Hinduism and its belief system. When he asked us if life in Canada is "a struggle", we weren't sure what to say. Compared to life for the majority of Indians, most Canadians have so many opportunities. Yet the poorer people here are generally so happy, since family and friends are at the core of their values - not money, vacations, or material possessions. So we told him that life for most Canadians is not a struggle, but some people turn their lives into a struggle by working to hard (he thought workaholics "in Delhi" are funny) or by having misplaced priorities.
Once again, India puts us in our place.
We were in Darjeeling for five nights. The city sits at an elevation of 2100 m, so the 88 km jeep ride from the train station took three hours. From Darjeeling you can see the Himalayas, including the world's first highest and third highest peaks (Mount Everest nad Khangchendzonga respectively). Unfortunately for us, in the winter the mountains are often obscured by fog. We were able to get some amazing views of part of the range, including Khangchendzonga, but no Everest.
Since Darjeeling is so high up it is colder than everywhere else here. The temperature was between five and ten degrees celcius (with no central heating). Since the city is built into the hillside, we kept warm by touring around on foot, which involved climbing up all the hilly streets. In fact, we believe New Zealand's claim to the steepest residential street (Baldwin Street in Dunedin) may be incorrect after walking up some of Darjeeling's inclines.
While in town we visited a tea plantation, the zoo, and the Himalayan Mountaineering Institute. The Institute had an Everest Museum, which celebrated the pioneer climbers, as well as the Nepalese sherpas who make the trek possible. Being near the border with Nepal, Darjeeling has a large population of Nepalese descendants, and you're more likely to hear Nepalese being spoken than Hindi.
On Tuesday we embarked upon another 24-hour journey (including an overnight train) to Varanasi, where we are now. We had reservations about the city as we'd heard the beggars and touts are more aggressive here than in other cities. However, we've found it to be fairly relaxed here - or we're just growing a thick skin.
Our guesthouse is a two minute walk to the Ganges River and you can see the river from our rooftop restaurant (along with lots of monkeys who steal saris that are drying on roofs in the sun, and fighting kites). Walking along all the ghats (stone steps that lead down to the river) along the riverbank feels like a True Indian Experience. The Ganges is a sacred spot for Hindus, who believe it has the power to deliver happiness and salvation. Although the river is highly polluted (95% of which is due to cities along the river allowing raw sewage directly into the river), it still has a magical atmosphere. We've seen both wedding and funeral processions along the shore, as well as large burning ghats where bodies are cremated before the ashes are sprinkled into the river. These cremations are part of a public religious ceremony that anyone can watch. Within a 20 minute period we saw eight bodies being cremated on eight fires. Once again, out of respect, we took no photographs.
Interestingly not everyone is cremated. Children under 12 and pregnant women who die are considered to be "pure" and their bodies will go straight to heaven - so their bodies are weighted down and thrown directly into the Ganges. So no - we did NOT go into the river ourselves.
This morning we took a morning boat trip along the Ganges where we watched pilgrims who come to "Mother Ganges" to drink of her water, bathe away a lifetime of sins, or cremate their loved ones; locals also line the riverbank washing clothes, playing cricket, doing yoga, washing cows, or offering "puja" (blessings).
Our young boat driver was very informative and taught us much about Hinduism and its belief system. When he asked us if life in Canada is "a struggle", we weren't sure what to say. Compared to life for the majority of Indians, most Canadians have so many opportunities. Yet the poorer people here are generally so happy, since family and friends are at the core of their values - not money, vacations, or material possessions. So we told him that life for most Canadians is not a struggle, but some people turn their lives into a struggle by working to hard (he thought workaholics "in Delhi" are funny) or by having misplaced priorities.
Once again, India puts us in our place.
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
India - A Whole New Level of Travel
India: where to begin?
So far, India is the most intense place we have ever been. Ever. Delhi and Calcutta make Bangkok seem like a sweet little kitten, and put Khao San Road to shame. It is busy - everywhere. Crossing a main street is like playing Russian Roulette - every time. The roads are filled with people, children, cows, dogs, goats, scooters, cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws (tuk tuks), people rickshaws, buses, and cars. Often streetlights don't matter. There is no such thing as "pedestrian crossings". The sidewalks are nonexistant, or filled with stalls or urinals (yes, actual urinals) or piles of bricks and sand or makeshift shacks (although we haven't yet figured out how they sometimes have power), so you walk on the street - somehow.
We landed in comfortable, 18-degree Delhi and spent three nights there. First we stayed in Majnu-ka-Tilla (a Tibetan colony) and then moved to the Paharaganj area. We braved the underground metro (crowded, clean, easy to navigate) to explore Old Delhi, where we visited the Red Fort. This giant sandstone fort was built in the 1600s, with walls 2 km long and up to 33 m high. It houses many beautiful buildings, from royal baths to halls of audiences to a mosque, which feature marble inlays and intricate carvings. We also walked around Connaught Place and window shopped in "expensive" stores (where the clothes were all still well under $100 CAD).
Two nights ago we took the overnight 17-hour train to Calcutta. What a great experience! For $38 CAD each, our train ticket included a sleeping bunk with bedding and four yummy meals (evening tea, dinner, morning tea, and breakfast). It was clean and comfortable. Our bunks were not full, but we shared with a wonderful Indian man in his 70s who loved to look at our Lonely Planet and tried to teach us Hindi, and a young Indian woman with her playful one-year-old son.
Last night we stayed at a real dive of a hotel, which was still a good value by Calcutta standards. Yestearday we walked around for hours, exploring Chowringhee and BBD Bagh areas. Today we went to the Birla Planetarium, and for $0.75 CAD each we saw a stars and planets show. Then we sat on a stoop drinking mango juice and watched Calcutta pass us by.
The poverty here is much more apparent than in Delhi, with beggars and homeless people on every street. We watched people bathing in the Hooghly River at Babu Ghat, which is a river filled with garbage (but took no pictures out of respect). We walked past many "homes" on sidewalks and in parking lots made of ramshackle bricks or tarps. We watched people whose entire day's work consists of smashing large rocks and bricks into smaller rocks to make gravel. India sure puts our first-world, Western-style "problems" into an entirely new perspective.
The food is incredible. Andrea was on the "Delhi Belly" diet plan for a few days, where nothing agreed with her stomach, but luckily that passed. Indian cuisine is so much more than what we call "curries" back home. Vegetarian restaurants are prevalant and for us two meat-eaters, it's some of the best food we've ever had. A sample of the food we've tried thus far: chai (which is just the general name for tea), dhal (curried lentils), uttapam (thick, savoury South Indian rice pancakes with finely chopped onions, green chillies, coriander and coconut), naan and chapati (breads), paneer tikka (spiced chunks of unfermented soft cheese), masala dosa (savoury crepe with spiced potato inside), and barfi (sweet fudge). And that is just the beginning!
Our friend Sami warned us about this, but it's very difficult to get used to: Andrea gets stared at. A lot. On the metro, train, or the streets, most of the men stare at her like she is a celebrity. This is with her wearing no make-up and dressing conservatively. Twice we have been asked by Indians to have our picture taken by or with them, although we've noticed others just taking our picture without asking. We're more than happy to oblige, and stop and pose with them - then we just take their picture too!
Another thing we'd read about and been warned about are scammers and touts. Within a minute of getting to the arrivals hall of the Delhi airport, when we obviously couldn't find our pre-booked taxi driver, a taxi tout offered to "call" our hotel for us to see where the driver was. Well, he called his friend who pretended to be our hotel saying we had no reservation. Luckily we knew about this scam to try and get us into a taxi that would take us to an overpriced hotel that drivers get kickbacks from - we just wanted to see the scam in action. A nice lady told us about the other arrivals hall (two arrivals halls??) where we found our real driver, no problem. In Delhi there are also lots of young men who walk beside you for a few minutes ignoring you, then eventually strike up a conversation about where you are from, then try to take you to their shop (overpriced travel agency or fake government agency, sari shop, suit shop, etc). Now we usually talk to no one and ignore all the stall owners who shout as us as we walk by - you either get hardened quickly, or get really tired. That said, we've also met some very helpful, genuine people when we've needed help - but unfortunately they seem to be the great minority.
Tonight we are taking another overnight train to Siliguri, and then catching a transfer tomorrow to Darjeeling. We are looking forward to exploring a smaller city - Darjeeling's population is 110,000, while Delhi's is 18 million and Calcutta's is 15 million. Darjeeling is surrounded by tea plantations and the Himalayas, so it sounds just about perfect.
So far, India is the most intense place we have ever been. Ever. Delhi and Calcutta make Bangkok seem like a sweet little kitten, and put Khao San Road to shame. It is busy - everywhere. Crossing a main street is like playing Russian Roulette - every time. The roads are filled with people, children, cows, dogs, goats, scooters, cycle rickshaws, auto rickshaws (tuk tuks), people rickshaws, buses, and cars. Often streetlights don't matter. There is no such thing as "pedestrian crossings". The sidewalks are nonexistant, or filled with stalls or urinals (yes, actual urinals) or piles of bricks and sand or makeshift shacks (although we haven't yet figured out how they sometimes have power), so you walk on the street - somehow.
We landed in comfortable, 18-degree Delhi and spent three nights there. First we stayed in Majnu-ka-Tilla (a Tibetan colony) and then moved to the Paharaganj area. We braved the underground metro (crowded, clean, easy to navigate) to explore Old Delhi, where we visited the Red Fort. This giant sandstone fort was built in the 1600s, with walls 2 km long and up to 33 m high. It houses many beautiful buildings, from royal baths to halls of audiences to a mosque, which feature marble inlays and intricate carvings. We also walked around Connaught Place and window shopped in "expensive" stores (where the clothes were all still well under $100 CAD).
Two nights ago we took the overnight 17-hour train to Calcutta. What a great experience! For $38 CAD each, our train ticket included a sleeping bunk with bedding and four yummy meals (evening tea, dinner, morning tea, and breakfast). It was clean and comfortable. Our bunks were not full, but we shared with a wonderful Indian man in his 70s who loved to look at our Lonely Planet and tried to teach us Hindi, and a young Indian woman with her playful one-year-old son.
Last night we stayed at a real dive of a hotel, which was still a good value by Calcutta standards. Yestearday we walked around for hours, exploring Chowringhee and BBD Bagh areas. Today we went to the Birla Planetarium, and for $0.75 CAD each we saw a stars and planets show. Then we sat on a stoop drinking mango juice and watched Calcutta pass us by.
The poverty here is much more apparent than in Delhi, with beggars and homeless people on every street. We watched people bathing in the Hooghly River at Babu Ghat, which is a river filled with garbage (but took no pictures out of respect). We walked past many "homes" on sidewalks and in parking lots made of ramshackle bricks or tarps. We watched people whose entire day's work consists of smashing large rocks and bricks into smaller rocks to make gravel. India sure puts our first-world, Western-style "problems" into an entirely new perspective.
The food is incredible. Andrea was on the "Delhi Belly" diet plan for a few days, where nothing agreed with her stomach, but luckily that passed. Indian cuisine is so much more than what we call "curries" back home. Vegetarian restaurants are prevalant and for us two meat-eaters, it's some of the best food we've ever had. A sample of the food we've tried thus far: chai (which is just the general name for tea), dhal (curried lentils), uttapam (thick, savoury South Indian rice pancakes with finely chopped onions, green chillies, coriander and coconut), naan and chapati (breads), paneer tikka (spiced chunks of unfermented soft cheese), masala dosa (savoury crepe with spiced potato inside), and barfi (sweet fudge). And that is just the beginning!
Our friend Sami warned us about this, but it's very difficult to get used to: Andrea gets stared at. A lot. On the metro, train, or the streets, most of the men stare at her like she is a celebrity. This is with her wearing no make-up and dressing conservatively. Twice we have been asked by Indians to have our picture taken by or with them, although we've noticed others just taking our picture without asking. We're more than happy to oblige, and stop and pose with them - then we just take their picture too!
Another thing we'd read about and been warned about are scammers and touts. Within a minute of getting to the arrivals hall of the Delhi airport, when we obviously couldn't find our pre-booked taxi driver, a taxi tout offered to "call" our hotel for us to see where the driver was. Well, he called his friend who pretended to be our hotel saying we had no reservation. Luckily we knew about this scam to try and get us into a taxi that would take us to an overpriced hotel that drivers get kickbacks from - we just wanted to see the scam in action. A nice lady told us about the other arrivals hall (two arrivals halls??) where we found our real driver, no problem. In Delhi there are also lots of young men who walk beside you for a few minutes ignoring you, then eventually strike up a conversation about where you are from, then try to take you to their shop (overpriced travel agency or fake government agency, sari shop, suit shop, etc). Now we usually talk to no one and ignore all the stall owners who shout as us as we walk by - you either get hardened quickly, or get really tired. That said, we've also met some very helpful, genuine people when we've needed help - but unfortunately they seem to be the great minority.
Tonight we are taking another overnight train to Siliguri, and then catching a transfer tomorrow to Darjeeling. We are looking forward to exploring a smaller city - Darjeeling's population is 110,000, while Delhi's is 18 million and Calcutta's is 15 million. Darjeeling is surrounded by tea plantations and the Himalayas, so it sounds just about perfect.
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