Craig Misses Indian Food More Than He Misses You

To further our post-India culture shock, after spending two days in Kuala Lumpur we headed to Puala Tioman, a small island paradise.

First of all, our bus to the port town of Mersing was about as different to a bus in India as you can get. Instead of 300-decibel Bollywood movies playing over three sets of speakers, we listened to easy-listening Top 40 Malaysian music set at the volume of a baby's fart. No one was yelling at each other or at their mobile phones - most people slept. Instead of missing seat cushions and windows, the bus was quite luxurious and less than 40 years old (in fact, it seemed brand new). And in place of potholed, dirt roads littered with goats and cows, we drove down modern paved highways, smooth as the farting baby's bottom.

Stepping foot onto ABC beach on Tioman, we truly left India's often-frantic pace behind. The beach we stayed at had no road, just a concrete foot path lined with family-run restaurants and bungalow complexes. The odd scooter (many complete with a sidecar full of waving kids) would lazily ferry children to and from school.

We spent our time on the island unwinding, swimming in crystal-clear blue water, and relaxing on the beach in between sampling lots of delicious home-made Malaysian food. We went on jungle treks to explore other beaches, with swinging monkeys overhead and shy six-food-long monitor lizards crossing our path. We even managed to get back into the routine of morning jogs, something we never did in India, since here we no longer have to deal with avoiding random cows and kamikazee rickshaw drivers, or air quality equal to that of a coal factory located at a wastewater treatment plant.

With $10 CAD/night bungalows to rent a mere 20 metres from the beach and meals costing between $1 and $4, Pulau Tioman is the kind of place that can kidnap a person for awhile. After a week of ultimate relaxing, we were ready to jump onto the backpacker circuit of Malaysia, with a three hour ferry ride and a four hour bus ride to our next destination.

We've been in the sleepy mainland beach town of Cherating for three days now. All the rain we didn't get in India is catching up to us, and it's rained on and off all day today.

Tomorrow we leave for our next destination: another island full of beaches and duty-free alcohol. As we follow the east coast highway north, we find the Malaysian backpacker trail to be just our cup of tea: it follows the coast and we never find ourselves too far from a beach.

PS - Yes, Thailand is our next destination. Yes, we know about all the unrest there - our moms keep emailing us articles. And yes, Craig is excited to get some photojournalism action there.

Culture Shock! Trading Indian Chaos for Asian Order

We are in Kuala Lumpur, the capital city of Malaysia, and LOVE it!

We are feeling definite culture shock, coming here after almost three months in India. Instead of squat toilets and dirty bathrooms, there are Western toilets and super-clean bathrooms; instead of garbage on the streets, there are garbage cans everywhere; instead of people trying to cut in front of you in a queue for the metro/subway, there are people waiting patiently in lines; instead of incessant honking, there is... lots of traffic, yet quiet. We are missing our India food and some of the hustle and bustle, but in a way, Malaysia is a good change. This city is probably cleaner than Toronto, and very modern and Westernized.

Today we went and visited the Petronas Towers, home of a Malaysian oil and gas company, the tallest twin towers in the world at 88 floors and 451.9 m tall. They have free tours to the double-decker skybridge that links the 41st and 42nd floors. Looking down at the city from 170 m high was pretty neat.


























The street food here in great - lots of soups and noodle and rice dishes, and meat, yes meat. Although we did not miss meat in India, turns out neither of us are destined to become vegetarians any time soon!

And now, for a Small World Moment: randomly we ran into Erin, the Canadian girl we met in Goa, at the street markets yesterday. Since she's also bouncing around South East Asia until September, I am sure we will run into her again.

Tomorrow we board a bus for the town of Mersing, where we will catch a ferry for Pulau Tioman (Tioman Island). We are in the need of some relaxing beach time to detox from the hustle and bustle of India!

To India, With Love

From the temperate hill station of Kodaikanal we descended back into the full-on Indian heat - it's been at least 37 degrees Celsius every day since.

We spent two days in Trichy, where we visited two GIANT temples. One involved climbing 437 stone-cut steps to a wonderful view at the top. (An information board here claimed that geological surveys dated the rocky mountain at 3500 billion years old.... hmmm....) You can imagine how sweaty we were by the end of the climb. Luckily there was a film crew from Mumbai waiting for us at the top who were filming a documentary/travel show. They enjoyed getting lots of shots of two sweaty, sweaty white people climbing up and down the steps.

Our second-last stop was Pondicherry, the French-Indian town. Its history as a French trading post is still apparent in its many street signs being in both French and Tamil (the state language), businesses that close from 1 - 3:30 PM for a long lunch, and its yearly celebration of Bastille Day. Two days here were enough - we didn't really love it, though we couldn't pinpoint why.

We've been in Chennai now for three days. It's another big city (6.6 million). We've been doing last-minute shopping, exploring, and soaking it all in, as well as trying lots of street food and drinks we hadn't yet tried and indulging in our favourite Indian meals. We fly to Malaysia tonight.


And now...


India In Five Words


Friendly

We weren't fully prepared for all the attention we'd attract here. Being white, we stand out in any crowd as painfully obvious tourists. However, this means that there are loads of people who want to talk to us, take their picture with us, and ask us the Usual Questions: Where are you from? What is your good name? Is this your first time in India? How long are you here for? How are you enjoying your trip? We could answer the questions in our sleep by now, but it's great meeting people. Often there were times we were trying to get directions/bus info/train info/etc and we'd attract a giant crowd of people wanting to help (or watch). The children are the best; walking down a street, they often call out greetings to us, shake our hands, and try out their limited English.


Challenging

All friendliness aside, India is not without its challenges and frustrations. For every wonderful person we've met, we've also encountered at least ten not-so-wonderful people who try to rip us off any way they can. For rickshaw drivers to apple sellers to shop owners, white skin usually means MONEY and its close to impossible to get a fair price. We've been ignored, given the crappy seats on a long-distance bus ride (we've even been lied to about the destination of a long distance bus just to get us to fill empty seats - we discovered this half way to the wrong town), and had people try to cut in front of us in almost every line we've ever stood in. The racism (is that what it is?) can be extremely frustrating. Add to that language barriers, erratic bus schedules, Delhi belly, and the ubiquitous Indian head wobble (which means yes, or no, or I don't speak English, or anything else), and it adds up to a challenging 11 weeks. We've joked that "surviving" India should be something worth putting on a resume since it requires so many skills!

Any people thinking of traveling to India together need the ability to differentiate between being angry at your travel partnet vs. being frustrated at a situation; the ability to have important conversations regarding travel plans with at least 20 Indians watching/listening; and the willingness to unashamedly discuss your bowel movements together.


Sense-ational

India is, without a doubt, a definite assault on the senses!

Sights: Vibrant colours abound in India, from spectacular saris to the rainbows of fruit and veg stalls to the colour-throwing festival of Holi, with much more in between.

Smells: Walking down any street the smells range from mouth-watering restaurant meals to open sewers (they're EVERYWHERE) to fresh flowers in women's hair to cow and dog poop.

Tastes: Ahh, Indian food. Craig says it's the best food in the world - and Andrea just might agree. The range of dishes here is incredible, and unlike any "Indian" food we've ever had back in Canada. We've both been mostly vegetarian here, since so many restaurants are pure veg, and since the veggie food here is so good even Craig hasn't missed meat (much). Add to the food the spicy, milky chai (tea) and bakery sweets, and you have 11 weeks' worth of unforgettable meals. That said, somehow (maybe due to the 10 km + of walking we do daily) we've each lost at least 10 pounds.

Sounds: India is LOUD. City buses have air horns, and cars and motorbikes have unnecessarily loud DOUBLE horns. And everyone seems to honk them every five seconds, often for no reason. There is random music BLARING out of public speakers. Many cities have a VERY loud call to prayer at 5 am. And long-distance buses play Bollywood movies WAY above the threshold of hearing damage. We are certain we've both suffered hearing loss here. So speak up, will ya!

Touches: As we said, we shake hands with many strangers (adults and children) daily. Luckily, all restaurants have hand-washing stations. Most people eat with their hands here (even rice!), and we've only managed non-utensil eating for a few dishes - for rice, we still have to ask for a spoon. The hand-washing stations are especially lucky since toilet paper is not widely used here, but the "hand in bucket (of water)" technique is used. Even for number twos. (We always carry our own toilet paper.)


Perspective-Changing

India has put us in our place countless times. Although this country has the world's fastest-growing number of millionaires, a third of the population subsists on less than 45 rupees ($1 CAD) per day. (Our budget is 2000 rupees per day - and that's considered budget.) Poverty is everywhere, as are beggars. It gets a bit soul-tiring seeing upwards of 20 - 30 beggars a day (at least). We've heard accounts of parents purposely crippling their children so they can have a "good career" as a beggar. Government schools here have between 40 - 50 students in a class (and Ontario teachers complain!). People suffering from leprosy and polio - diseases unheard of in Canada - are everywhere. If we take anything away from this trip, hopefully our memories of India will make us complain a bit less about our "first world problems" and be more grateful for our fortunate lives in Canada.


Unforgettable

Like the Indian dust that settles into your clothes and bags and doesn't budge no matter how often you wash them, this country gets under your skin. You learn to love it or hate it - and we've definitely met travelers who are, unfortunately, hating it. Even though there are things we will miss about India there are also things we won't miss - but it's all a part of the experience. We can confidently say we LOVE India, and hope to return one day - maybe even with kids in tow, for some perspective-changing of their own.


And finally, because this post isn't already long enough...


Indian Math

$36 CAD/day spent
13 train rides
14 bus rides
41 rickshaw rides
23 cities visited
3 delicious, mouth-watering meals a day
1 Bollywood movie acting experience
7698 photographs taken of India by Craig
189 photographs taken of us by strangers
_________________________________

76 INCREDIBLE days in India

Heads in the Clouds

Turns out the next two towns we visited were also super touristy, but in the best possible way: they were India-touristy and chock full of Indian families on vacation. This means heaps of authentic cheap food; tons of friendly people; and barely any other Western tourists. It also means heaps of things to see and do.

We spent two days in Cape Comorin, the southernmost point in India. It's seven degrees north of the equator and it was SUPER hot - over 40 degrees Celsius. You can stand at the shore and look out at what appears to be the nexus of the universe, where three seas (the Arabian Sea, the Indian Ocean, and the Bay of Bengal) mingle and dance with the eloquent beauty of a drunken ballerina. There were islands with giant statues and temples just offshore. We got mobbed by many Indian families, and became the main tourist attraction when everyone wanted a "snap" with us. One family treated it like wedding photos, and kept trading family members in and out of the pictures to get many different combinations of everyone in a photo with us. They even got one of just Andrea and the baby. A group of 20 12-year-old girls on a school trip spent half an hour with us, and even got Andrea to sing the Canadian national anthem (no small feat - Andrea does NOT sing in public), and then they sang us the Indian national anthem. Luckily, Craig got most of the encounter (and all of the singing) on film. He, however, somehow managed not to sing.

For the past five days we've been in the hill station town of Kodaikanal (elevation 2100 m). The weather here is glorious - 25 degrees during the day, around 15 degrees overnight. We have done a different walk every day, around lakes, to viewpoints, and even past a golf course full of monkeys (we suspect golf balls get stolen often there).

The food here is incredible, and super cheap: teas and coffees for 5 rupees ($0.12), fresh bakery delights for 6 rupees ($0.15), yummy Indian breakfasts for 15 rupees ($0.40), and all-you-can-eat Indian lunches called thalis where they bring the refills straight to your table - the best kind of buffet ever - for 50 rupees ($1.25).

Everyone here is very friendly. We've met locals and shopowners who love us, so we feel welcome being recognized as we walk down the street. In a town of only 30,000 people, it's not hard to stand out as two of the few white people around.

This past weekend was a holiday weekend, so the town was hopping with well-off Indian families on vacation. We got asked to pose for pictures a lot - one girl even knocked on our hotel room one morning to get a "snap" before she checked out. Man, India is good for your self-esteem! We feel like celebrities!

Looking back, we wish we had visited more hill stations other than just Darjeeling and Kodaikanal. The weather up here is wonderful, the air is clean, and the people are so genuine.

We have only one week left in India before we fly to Malaysia. Our final three stops are planned (Trichy, Pondicherry, and Chennai). It's going to be difficult to say good-bye to such a colourful, bustling country as India.

Feeling Hot, Hot, Hot!

Although Palolem Beach had less of a laid-back, hippy vibe and more of a European package tourist feel, we ended up enjoying our four days there. We found three great restaurants we became short-term "regulars" at that served excellent, authentic, cheap Indian - one place came complete with a local cow who showed up every night to be fed by the cook. Once again, we met a fellow Canadian who we shared a few meals and drinks with - but this time, we did not have our own apartment where we could entertain.

Next up we headed south on an overnight train where we shared our berth with a very friendly Indian nun (Christianity is fairly common down here in the south) who, as usual, had many questions for us about Canadian culture and our impressions of India. When we awoke we were in the southern state of Kerala, home of the world's first freely elected communist government in 1957. The state has the highest literacy rate of any developing nation (91%), a life expectancy 10 years higher than the rest of India, and an infant mortality rate 1/5 of the national average.

Kerala has become a major tourist hot-spot, which unfortunately has made it not our cup of tea.

At our first town, Kochi, we got to see old cantilevered Chinese fishing nets in action. We met a bunch of people doing the Rickshaw Run, a charity event that involves driving a tuk-tuk across India in 14 days (crazy - see www.rickshawrun.com). Talking to these folks made Craig insanely jealous that he had not yet driven a tuk-tuk himself, so as part of our bartering that afternoon our rickshaw driver let Craig do a few laps around the neighbourhood in the rickshaw on our way back to our hotel. Also in town we did a day boat tour of some of the 900km of backwaters in the area, narrow rivers that are a highway network of sorts for many village residents.

Next up was the beach town of Varkala. This town felt as touristy as Kochi. By "touristy" we mean that it had no authentic Indian food (just expensive "Chinese/Italian/Continental") and everything was way overpriced. It almost felt like a resort town, since everything felt so Western-tourist-geared. Two days here was enough.

Today is our second day in the state capital of Trivandrum. We walked around town today and visited the zoo. Strangely, this zoo had many large empty enclosures, and kept the big cats (lions, tigers, and jaguars) in the smallest cages we'd ever seen. The animals were pacing and making lots of noise. It was sad.

During the day, the temperature has been soaring well into the mid/high 30s. It is HOT here! We sweat like mad, while the locals wear pants and sometimes even a jacket or a turtleneck!

Tomorrow we head for Cape Coromin, the southernmost point of the country. With a population of 20,000, we are excited to get back into real small-town India.