After spending 3 days in Gokarna, we really had to get moving. It was hard, because Gokarna is so peaceful! All we did was have breakfast, go for a swim in the sea, have lunch, go for a swim, have dinner, play cards... that's pretty much it. For 3 whole days, this was my schedule and I enjoyed every second of it! Gokarna is only 3 hours away from Goa and a part of me doesn't understand why people go to Goa instead of Gokarna, but a part of me is very happy because we wouldn't want Gokarna to become as busy as Goa.
So on Friday it was time to go. We had to be in Goa by Christmas-eve because Devika had to meet up with her family. We left Gokarna, took a crappy local train to Madgaon and then another train to Thivim. From there we had to take a taxi to Assagao - Badem. We took an expensive pre-paid taxi and even tough he told us he knew the way, he didn't know it at all! Liar! We had to ask several times and so the drive took a bit longer. The idiot wanted extra pay for this, but we refused. He knew where we wanted to go, he said he knew the way... everything else is his fault, his responsibility! And he wasn't even friendly!!
Just in time, around 3PM, we arrived at the flat and my god... this must be what heaven feels like. The flat is light and bright, it has clean and soft sheets, a real washing machine, a big hot shower, we can make our own coffee and tea, our own muesli in the morning... waw! It felt like home straight away! The rooms were for the couples (Nick and Lana, Adriano and Nora) and Devika and me slept on a mattress in the living room. But I couldn't care less, all I wanted was one of those hot perfect showers! Yeah!
After Devika and her family left, we went to the beach in Baga to have a Christmas meal. We were really tired and after drinking just one cocktail and one beer, we were ready to head back. It was a quiet Christmas-eve, but it was all we needed; a good meal, a few drinks and good company!
The next day I met up with my German friend Matthias. We met in a cafe in Anjuna and while we were sitting there and chatting with each other, an old Dutch hippie-ish man sat down at our table. He was drunk and ordered another whiskey. We didn't know him and after he dominated our conversation and started talking dirty to me and Lana, we asked him to leave our table. He did, sat at another table for a while and finally left without paying. So they chased him down the street and made him come back to pay his bill. He didn't have any money and all of a sudden this older Indian man gets up from his table behind us and approaches the Dutch man. He starts shouting at him that he has to pay, this is India and he should respect this country and that as an Indian he can not tolerate how he was disrespecting women (meaning me and Lana) and finally he slapped him twice and poured his coke over him. WOW! An Indian man sticking up for us! The hippie had it coming and none of us felt bad about what happened. Tourists think they can come to India and get away with everything, well, this day an Indian man took it upon himself to let everyone know that you can NOT get away with everything, and if you act like an animal you will be treated as one! Amen!!
Unfortunately he stands alone in his fight. Only a few hours after this we found ourselves in another situation that kind of proved that you CAN get away with almost anything. We have a car in the flat and Devika has been cruising around Goa with it. At an intersection the Police stopped us and asked for her drivers license and the papers of the car. The car is private, but the parents rent it... first mistake; you can not rent a private car and so they were gonna keep the car until the owner came to get it. Then they wanted the papers that we couldn't find... second mistake. Then they asked for a drivers license which Devika didn't bring, but she handed them the one from Nora...third mistake. Wow, if this was Europe we could forget about the rest of our day! But Thank God this is India... Incredible India... and after slipping 500 roepies (not even 10 Euro) to the Police, they gave back the license and let us drive on. As if nothing happened! Everything under control!!
Well, Goa doesn't feel like India but it sure as hell is. The Indian man slapping a tourist, bribing police... it is all so typical India! And these things all happened within a few hours. That's what makes India fascinating, and tiring at the same time. Anyway, I'm still in Goa and we are still cruising with the car. ;-)
Second day here I met up with Annemie and Patrick from Belgium and had a few drinks. That was really nice, to have some company that I knew from back home. You don't have to explain to them who you are and what you're doing and that's a nice change.
I also spent a day with Devika and her family. Her aunt was throwing a party and since Nick and Lana left for Thailand, they invited me to join them. I would have been fine doing something on my own, but they insisted. It was really really nice; beautiful house, big garden, amazing food... this is India the way we tourists don't really get to see it. It's the India from the Middle to Upper class Indians. As real as the beggars, but it couldn't be more opposite! Well, I personally enjoyed it and it was really interesting to be here.
The day before yesterday I was feeling so tired that I stayed in bed and slept till 5 in the afternoon. I got up to shower, get dressed and go eat, but at midnight I went back to sleep. I think the tiredness was getting to me. Not from traveling, but the impressions, the senses-overload. Spending the day in the flat was so relaxing; for the first time since I arrived almost two months ago there were absolutely no stimuli; no noises, no smells, no hassling, no traffic, no nothing, just peace and quietness! I guess I needed that!
Since yesterday it's just Devika and me and so we took a holiday day; swimming in the sea and shopping! Ha! And the next few days will be more of that! We haven't gone out to party yet and I don't know if we will. We are both sleeping a lot and party is not really what is on our mind. But maybe we'll have to put in an effort tomorrow for New Years Eve. We'll see first if we can stay awake that long! ;-)
donderdag 30 december 2010
woensdag 22 december 2010
Varkala - Coimbatore - Ooty - Gokarna
Where to start? Well, last week we spent a few days in Varkala. I ran into Matt, an American I shared a room with in Cochin. He left before me and forgot to pay, so I got my money after all. It was only 5 euros, but Karma is working for me. So getting my money is just good Karma! Maybe Amma has something to do with it. :-)
Varkala is in the South, by the beach. It is beautiful, the town is on top of cliffs where you have an amazing view over the sea. If you go down some little steps you get to the beach. It's weird after all these weeks to be on a beach again among so many Western tourists. I've been in so many places and took so many trains and busses where I was maybe the only white person. But here it's all white! Taking off my clothes and wearing a bikini felt a little awkward. I am always covered to avoid being disrespected by Indian people and here I was wearing a bikini! But the beach is watched by special bikini-police. So if Indian men are on the beach and they stare too much, the police chases them away. A bit weird to know that Indians are not welcome on a beach in their own country, but maybe if they would grow up and learn about the rest of the world, they would be able to handle it more! Something to think about!
We stayed in Varkala for 3 nights and had a lot of fun. Other solo-travelers joined our 'gang' and so every night we were just hanging out, meeting lots of people and having fun. The guesthouse we were staying at was clean and nice, but the management was a bit weird. In the hall there was a bed and this French guy stayed there. He works partly for the guesthouse keeping an eye out at night, and all of his other time goes to paragliding. But when we first arrived he started warning us about Indians and how they lie and rip you off. He said the owner of this guest house is honest, but everyone else is not and that we don't even want to know some of the scams that are going on. Now, I know he's right. I've been here too long to be naief, but what I don't understand is how you can live here for 4 years when all you do is talk about how you can't trust anyone?! I would go crazy! But he didn't seem to mind that much. When he later told us that he bought a house in the same village as the owner and his family, we started realising that this guy HAS to be in on some of the scams. You don't buy a house in an Indian village because it is so romantic or because it's a good investement. Something was up. So the next nights we only went back to the guest house to sleep and we tried avoid this guy. Maybe he was alright, maybe not... but we were not the ones who wanted to find out!
After Varkala we left to go to Ooty. Ooty is 2200 metres above sea level and it's where you have the big tea plantations. To go there you have to take an old miniature steam train up the hill. So there we went, maybe not realising what we were getting ourselves into. From Varkala we took a train to Coimbatore. So we got on a train at 3:15 PM, but it turned out to be the prior train that was late. We were on the wrong train... so we got off the next big stop and thank god it was on the same route that we had to go. So we waited another hour and then we were on the right train. In total we traveled from noon till nine at night, which is when we arrived in Coimbatore. We decided to sleep there and then take another train in the morning at 5 AM. A lot of places were full but we found one lodge that still had 2 rooms available. They were new, modern, clean, with TV, so we took them with both hands. What we didn't think about was that the room Devika and me were in was on the ground floor and our door came out directly on the street. Once we turned off the lights...we knew. Some guy was selling T-shirts right in front of our door and honestly, you go mental when you hear a guy sceaming right on you doorstep "T-shirt T-shirt T-shirt...". When he finally stopped at midnight some guys were laughing and chatting and at 2AM Devika finally got up, opened the door, told them to 'shut the fuck up' and finally there was silence! O, sweet silence. Yep, 2 hours of silence. The silent night ended for us after only 2 hours, because we had to get up at 3:45AM. We had to take a train at 5AM and had to transfer in some meaningless place to the little miniature train. The drive up to Ooty took another 6 hours, but this was well worth it. The railroad goes right through the jungle and gradually takes you up to 2200 metres. There are no roads, no other traffic, no shops, no nothing... and you can see the nature changing every time we go a little higher. Sometimes it's a bit creepy when the train crosses a little bridge and you just see a black whole underneath you, but that's the price you pay to see such a beautiful landscape. Now, I know this all sounds very romantic, but this is still India. So I may have forgotten to mention that we were packed like sardines in a can in this 'little old train' and by the time we arrived in Ooty we were stiff from sitting in the same position for too long, some people even had to stand for a few hours. Yep, still in India!
So we arrive in Ooty and it's cold, but sunny. We walk around in the village and soon realise that this is a weird place. People look in a way that Indians normally don't look, they look like THEY don't trust US, they stole our look, this is how we should look at them. Very strange. Anyway, we are so tired after only 2 hours of sleep and a whole day of traveling that we just hang out at the guesthouse and go to bed early. The night was cold, very cold and it started raining so everything was damp. I was wearing a top, a longsleeve T-shirt, a sweater, my sjawl, a hoodie on my head, leggings and two blankets and I was still cold. So when we got up the next day we only had one mission. One goal in life and that was to get the hell out of Snooty Ooty!!! Yep, only one wish, but it would take us 3 hours to see it granted. 3 hours is what we had to wait for the bus that was late. 3 hours is what we spend in Ooty busstation where it was cold and wet. 3 hours of my life waisted in Snooty Ooty. At times like that you just turn off your brain, stare at the ground and try to forget where you are. There were people everywhere staring at us and at a certain point Devika and me couldn't take it any longer. So we wrapped our heads in our scarves and covered us up completely, trying to be incognito. Have you ever tried to be incognito in India? Well, it doesn't work. They still stare at you. But at least we had a good laugh doing it! :-D
When we finally got on the bus to Calicut it took us 6 hours, then we had to wait two hours at the trainstation, take a train to Mangalore that took 5 hours, wait 1,5 hours and then take the last train to Gokarna for 6 hours. Seriously, I have never traveled that long in my life before. It was hell. The good thing however is that I am mastering the art of sleeping now. I'm not a master yet because I can't sleep standing up, but I'm doing pretty good. I can sleep sitting straight, even without a headstand. And I sleep through noise and smells. It's like I have learned to block my senses and disconnect from my body. It's very important when you are traveling this much because otherwise you would go crazy from tiredness.
I could tell you some more stories about busses and trains in India and how filthy they are, how people spit throught the window, about the amount of waist they throw out the window, about Indian hands that are in places they are not supposed to be... but I'll spare you the details and skip to the good part!
We are in Gokarna now! Kudle Beach! And it is everything I want right now. We have a room in a house behind a restaurant owned by Nepali people and I can tell you with my hand on my heart; they are just a hundred times friendlier than Indians. And we are right at the beach, and it's hot and sunny and yesterday we saw the sunset over the sea and the full moonrise over the hills... oooooh, how beautiful life can be! :-))
I do realise that to enjoy the good you have to put yourself through some bad every now and then, so even Ooty seems all worth it now! For sure! Haha!
Varkala is in the South, by the beach. It is beautiful, the town is on top of cliffs where you have an amazing view over the sea. If you go down some little steps you get to the beach. It's weird after all these weeks to be on a beach again among so many Western tourists. I've been in so many places and took so many trains and busses where I was maybe the only white person. But here it's all white! Taking off my clothes and wearing a bikini felt a little awkward. I am always covered to avoid being disrespected by Indian people and here I was wearing a bikini! But the beach is watched by special bikini-police. So if Indian men are on the beach and they stare too much, the police chases them away. A bit weird to know that Indians are not welcome on a beach in their own country, but maybe if they would grow up and learn about the rest of the world, they would be able to handle it more! Something to think about!
We stayed in Varkala for 3 nights and had a lot of fun. Other solo-travelers joined our 'gang' and so every night we were just hanging out, meeting lots of people and having fun. The guesthouse we were staying at was clean and nice, but the management was a bit weird. In the hall there was a bed and this French guy stayed there. He works partly for the guesthouse keeping an eye out at night, and all of his other time goes to paragliding. But when we first arrived he started warning us about Indians and how they lie and rip you off. He said the owner of this guest house is honest, but everyone else is not and that we don't even want to know some of the scams that are going on. Now, I know he's right. I've been here too long to be naief, but what I don't understand is how you can live here for 4 years when all you do is talk about how you can't trust anyone?! I would go crazy! But he didn't seem to mind that much. When he later told us that he bought a house in the same village as the owner and his family, we started realising that this guy HAS to be in on some of the scams. You don't buy a house in an Indian village because it is so romantic or because it's a good investement. Something was up. So the next nights we only went back to the guest house to sleep and we tried avoid this guy. Maybe he was alright, maybe not... but we were not the ones who wanted to find out!
After Varkala we left to go to Ooty. Ooty is 2200 metres above sea level and it's where you have the big tea plantations. To go there you have to take an old miniature steam train up the hill. So there we went, maybe not realising what we were getting ourselves into. From Varkala we took a train to Coimbatore. So we got on a train at 3:15 PM, but it turned out to be the prior train that was late. We were on the wrong train... so we got off the next big stop and thank god it was on the same route that we had to go. So we waited another hour and then we were on the right train. In total we traveled from noon till nine at night, which is when we arrived in Coimbatore. We decided to sleep there and then take another train in the morning at 5 AM. A lot of places were full but we found one lodge that still had 2 rooms available. They were new, modern, clean, with TV, so we took them with both hands. What we didn't think about was that the room Devika and me were in was on the ground floor and our door came out directly on the street. Once we turned off the lights...we knew. Some guy was selling T-shirts right in front of our door and honestly, you go mental when you hear a guy sceaming right on you doorstep "T-shirt T-shirt T-shirt...". When he finally stopped at midnight some guys were laughing and chatting and at 2AM Devika finally got up, opened the door, told them to 'shut the fuck up' and finally there was silence! O, sweet silence. Yep, 2 hours of silence. The silent night ended for us after only 2 hours, because we had to get up at 3:45AM. We had to take a train at 5AM and had to transfer in some meaningless place to the little miniature train. The drive up to Ooty took another 6 hours, but this was well worth it. The railroad goes right through the jungle and gradually takes you up to 2200 metres. There are no roads, no other traffic, no shops, no nothing... and you can see the nature changing every time we go a little higher. Sometimes it's a bit creepy when the train crosses a little bridge and you just see a black whole underneath you, but that's the price you pay to see such a beautiful landscape. Now, I know this all sounds very romantic, but this is still India. So I may have forgotten to mention that we were packed like sardines in a can in this 'little old train' and by the time we arrived in Ooty we were stiff from sitting in the same position for too long, some people even had to stand for a few hours. Yep, still in India!
So we arrive in Ooty and it's cold, but sunny. We walk around in the village and soon realise that this is a weird place. People look in a way that Indians normally don't look, they look like THEY don't trust US, they stole our look, this is how we should look at them. Very strange. Anyway, we are so tired after only 2 hours of sleep and a whole day of traveling that we just hang out at the guesthouse and go to bed early. The night was cold, very cold and it started raining so everything was damp. I was wearing a top, a longsleeve T-shirt, a sweater, my sjawl, a hoodie on my head, leggings and two blankets and I was still cold. So when we got up the next day we only had one mission. One goal in life and that was to get the hell out of Snooty Ooty!!! Yep, only one wish, but it would take us 3 hours to see it granted. 3 hours is what we had to wait for the bus that was late. 3 hours is what we spend in Ooty busstation where it was cold and wet. 3 hours of my life waisted in Snooty Ooty. At times like that you just turn off your brain, stare at the ground and try to forget where you are. There were people everywhere staring at us and at a certain point Devika and me couldn't take it any longer. So we wrapped our heads in our scarves and covered us up completely, trying to be incognito. Have you ever tried to be incognito in India? Well, it doesn't work. They still stare at you. But at least we had a good laugh doing it! :-D
When we finally got on the bus to Calicut it took us 6 hours, then we had to wait two hours at the trainstation, take a train to Mangalore that took 5 hours, wait 1,5 hours and then take the last train to Gokarna for 6 hours. Seriously, I have never traveled that long in my life before. It was hell. The good thing however is that I am mastering the art of sleeping now. I'm not a master yet because I can't sleep standing up, but I'm doing pretty good. I can sleep sitting straight, even without a headstand. And I sleep through noise and smells. It's like I have learned to block my senses and disconnect from my body. It's very important when you are traveling this much because otherwise you would go crazy from tiredness.
I could tell you some more stories about busses and trains in India and how filthy they are, how people spit throught the window, about the amount of waist they throw out the window, about Indian hands that are in places they are not supposed to be... but I'll spare you the details and skip to the good part!
We are in Gokarna now! Kudle Beach! And it is everything I want right now. We have a room in a house behind a restaurant owned by Nepali people and I can tell you with my hand on my heart; they are just a hundred times friendlier than Indians. And we are right at the beach, and it's hot and sunny and yesterday we saw the sunset over the sea and the full moonrise over the hills... oooooh, how beautiful life can be! :-))
I do realise that to enjoy the good you have to put yourself through some bad every now and then, so even Ooty seems all worth it now! For sure! Haha!
donderdag 16 december 2010
Fort Cochin - Allepey - Amritapuri
Oooh, Fort Cochin was a breath of fresh air. Shopkeepers would talk to you without trying to sell you stuff. Every time they would come up to me, I would be waiting... waiting... waiting... when are they gonna ask the question?? But it never came. So it was relaxing to wander the streets, have a talk, drink a chai, eat in good restaurants and there is just a general atmosphere that makes you want to stay there. It's a fishing town, so you can go to the sea and see how they pull in the fresh fish in the morning and at night. Then they start bargaining and selling and that is just to fast to follow. But it's interesting to see.
We also went and took a Yoga class with Abe. Yes, Abraham is in his sixties, has a long grey beard and long grey hair and he is like most Indians; very tiny and small. But his body is in better shape than most people I know. He lives a bit out of town so when we got there it was a private house and we didn't know if we should go in. But he was expecting us, so we just went upstairs and there he has his own studio. His class was two hours and every now and then Devika and me would start laughing. Most of his students are very advanced and so it was obvious that we were the new kids in town. But he would just laugh along with us and make some jokes himself. The best thing about his class is that he took the time to help you on an individual level. He came and corrected you and pushed you to go further. After Yoga he invited us to stay for dinner, unfortunately we had a riksjaw waiting outside so we had to go. But next time I'm in Cochin, I will definitely go back to him! "Yoga with Abe"! :-)
I was also sick in Cochin. From the Airco on the nightbus I got a cold and then I probably ate something wrong so I had my first stomach-issue. Luckily the stomach only protested one day, so that went away pretty fast. The cold however is still with me, and traveling on open busses and ferries doesn't really help. But today I will go and get some Ayurvedic medicine, and if you believe what they tell you, I will be better tomorrow! Ha! :-D
I met some really nice people in Cochin and I'm still traveling with one of them, Devika. She has the same sarcastic humor as me and so we are just laughing our heads off. We have to. Because if you take India too serious, you might end up with a heart attack. Now for example when Indians lie to us, we just laugh and lie back to them. Haha, it's like a game. For me, this is good. After Mysore I was doubting if maybe I should leave India a bit earlier, but now I know how to handle the bad stuff. Just joke about it and laugh it away!!
We ended up staying in Fort Cochin for 3 nights and I did my first shopping there. I think my borther's kids will be the best dressed kids in Belgium when I get home next spring. Haha!
On Sunday we left Cochin and took the bus to Allepey. There is absolutely NOTHING to see in Allepey, but this is the town where you can go and take a trip through the backwaters. So we had to be there. When we walked around on Sunday there were hardly any people on the street, so we just thought that's because it's Sunday. After a little walk we ended up in a big city hallway where they had all these posters from a certain Guru. So we went in and asked around, but nobody spoke English. The best we could understand was that this man was gonna be there in 10 minutes and give a teaching about 'the art of living'. And since it was Sunday and there was absolutely nothing else to see, we decided to wait and see this guy. Well, the guy is Ravi Shankar, which is apparently a very well known Guru around the world. And after sitting on the steps outside for an hour and a half, we finally got the message that this Guru was NOT coming, but they were celebrating his birthday. We got up to leave when all of a sudden we heard music and there came the parade. It was crazy! Probably everybody who lives in Allepey was in this parade carrying pictures of Ravi, signs with his quotes on ("One world, one family"), there were people dressed up like Gods and Goddesses dancing, there was live drums and other music... waw! All the women were wearing white Sarees. It was beautiful. And they let us take pictures without any problems. You see, it was a win-win situation. We took pictures of them and so they took pictures of us. They were Our attraction and we were Their attraction! Ha!
So we went back to the hall to see the celebration, both ended up buying one of his books and being surrounded by interested non-english-speaking Indians. So a boring Sunday ended up being a really interesting afternoon.
The next day two friends of Devika joined us, Nick and Lana, and the four of us went on a boattrip through the backwaters. You can take a big houseboat but they are expensive and too big to go through the smaller canals, so we took a small canoe without an engine. It might be slower that way, but at least we were not polluting the backwaters. They are so beautiful, but the way the number of boats are growing... there might not be any backwater anymore in 10 years. The pollution is really bad and the canals in the centre of Allepey are black and very stinky! (Thank God I still had a cold, so I didn't really smell it, we will just have to take Devika's word on that...) There are about a thousand big houseboats and who knows how many other boats, all sailing those backwaters. So people, if you go there, please take a canoe!
When we got back to our Guest House that night, we were gonna have a home-cooked meal. Our host, Biju, promised us the day before that he would cook for us. So we were expecting a nice and relaxing evening 'at home'. But you see, in India things are never what you expect them to be. So this guy starts drinking while he is cooking, even tough none of us were drinking anything. He got a friend to help him, that ended up cooking the whole meal and by the time the food was ready Biju was behaving like a big baby. He didn't like us because we didn't give him enough attention and we were talking amongst ourselves too much and so on and on... Jezus! This was supposed to be nice and relaxing?! Well, after dinner I just went to bed. I couldn't be bothered! The next day he apologized and told me it wasn't me he was angry at, just my friends and that we should stay in touch and he wanted to be my friend and blablabla... I just couldn't wait to get out of there.
We left very early anyway because this was the BIG DAY!!! Joehoe, we were on our way with the ferry to the Ashram of Amma. She is a female Guru, which is very rare in this male-dominating country and she gives blessings by hugging everybody! "The hugging mother" is what they call her. We called the Ashram and knew she was "home' so decided to drop by and get a hug. On the way there on the ferry all of a sudden you see a huge collection of big buildings, all pink, and a pink bridge. That's the Ashram. I couldn't believe how big it was. But apparently there are around 2000 people living in the Ashram permanently. They are students and devotees. And then there are a few hundred visitors, long term or short term. It's a well oiled machine, especially if you know it is run by volunteers. The Americans dominate the place tough, and that's a bit weird to see; white people going around telling Indian people what to do. I guess Amma knows that Indian people are just not that efficient and are not to be trusted... hihi. We checked in and that evening there was 'singing'. Yep, an hour and a half of singing about blessings and gods and so on. But you know what... I enjoyed it. The feeling of sitting in between a thousand people all singing the same songs, it has something magic. I don't think it's the Ashram, a football stadion filled with hooligans singing the same song probably has the same magic effect. But I can't deny that I liked it. After singing it was dinner and after that you had two more hours before they lock the place down at 11 PM. Us 3 women slept in one room that had little plastic matrasses on the floor. It looked uncomfortable, but I slept really well. We did have to keep the bathroom door shut because of the rats, but apart from that it was ok there on that 10th floor! ;-) The next morning we got up at 4:30, Devika and Lana went to the chanting in the main temple and I went to see the Pooja at 5 AM. That is a prayer/ritual performed by a Brahman. You participate partly by sacrificing flowers to the fire and getting your bindy (dot on your forehead). It's a special atmosphere, so early in the morning, still dark, everybody is completely silent... definitely a unique experience.
After morning meditation on the beach it was finally time for our hug. We had to wait in line at 9AM to get our token that says we could get a hug today. There is a system and people who are leaving the Ashram get to go first. She would start hugging at 11AM and we were gonna be up first. But again... this is India. So we turn up at 11AM and these older Indian women ask us when we are leaving. Honestly we tell them we have a bus at 2 PM to go to Varkala. Now Varkala is not that far from the Ashram so they know we can go a bit later if we have to. So they tell us to come back at noon, that we have to wait because we still have time. Okay, so we do a bit of shopping and go back at noon. Again they tell us we have to wait and come back at 1PM. Finally we go back at 1PM and they put us in line, a line that will take forever. But we have to go and want to take a bus at 2:30. If we miss that one, the next one is around 5. So at 1:30 Devika is fed up with it (and so am I) and she just goes to the old ladies and tells them Indian style that we have an overseas plain to catch and that we have to be there on time so we have to see Amma RIGHT NOW!! No problem; a little signal here and there and all of a sudden we are in the front of the line right next to Amma...we are pushed on our knees and five minutes later someone is grabbing my head and pushing it in Amma's bosom. I got to stay there for 3 minutes, she kisses me, blesses me and that's that. Really bizar! You see, I don't adore this Guru, but I was feeling really happy after the hug. Yes it's true, we had to lie to get it, but then again this is still India, no matter how hard they try to make this Ashram into an island of peace and light. So we just did what we had to do in this country to get things done! And no, I don't feel bad about it! :-D
We did leave before they could question us some more and took the bus to this godforsaken town where we had to take a train. The bus dropped us at the busstation and when we wanted to ask people how to get to the trainstation... they all ran away from us. Huh? Are we lepras all of a sudden?! What is wrong with this town? Well, I'll tell you what is wrong! It's muslim and so you are not allowed to talk to women and as a woman you're not allowed to talk to men. So... we had to ask the police. But wait, they didn't speak English. What to do? Finally a Riksjawdriver took us there and after waiting for an hour the train finally came.
It only took us an hour to get to Varkala and here it is peace and tranquility. So I'm gonna go now and enjoy that!
We also went and took a Yoga class with Abe. Yes, Abraham is in his sixties, has a long grey beard and long grey hair and he is like most Indians; very tiny and small. But his body is in better shape than most people I know. He lives a bit out of town so when we got there it was a private house and we didn't know if we should go in. But he was expecting us, so we just went upstairs and there he has his own studio. His class was two hours and every now and then Devika and me would start laughing. Most of his students are very advanced and so it was obvious that we were the new kids in town. But he would just laugh along with us and make some jokes himself. The best thing about his class is that he took the time to help you on an individual level. He came and corrected you and pushed you to go further. After Yoga he invited us to stay for dinner, unfortunately we had a riksjaw waiting outside so we had to go. But next time I'm in Cochin, I will definitely go back to him! "Yoga with Abe"! :-)
I was also sick in Cochin. From the Airco on the nightbus I got a cold and then I probably ate something wrong so I had my first stomach-issue. Luckily the stomach only protested one day, so that went away pretty fast. The cold however is still with me, and traveling on open busses and ferries doesn't really help. But today I will go and get some Ayurvedic medicine, and if you believe what they tell you, I will be better tomorrow! Ha! :-D
I met some really nice people in Cochin and I'm still traveling with one of them, Devika. She has the same sarcastic humor as me and so we are just laughing our heads off. We have to. Because if you take India too serious, you might end up with a heart attack. Now for example when Indians lie to us, we just laugh and lie back to them. Haha, it's like a game. For me, this is good. After Mysore I was doubting if maybe I should leave India a bit earlier, but now I know how to handle the bad stuff. Just joke about it and laugh it away!!
We ended up staying in Fort Cochin for 3 nights and I did my first shopping there. I think my borther's kids will be the best dressed kids in Belgium when I get home next spring. Haha!
On Sunday we left Cochin and took the bus to Allepey. There is absolutely NOTHING to see in Allepey, but this is the town where you can go and take a trip through the backwaters. So we had to be there. When we walked around on Sunday there were hardly any people on the street, so we just thought that's because it's Sunday. After a little walk we ended up in a big city hallway where they had all these posters from a certain Guru. So we went in and asked around, but nobody spoke English. The best we could understand was that this man was gonna be there in 10 minutes and give a teaching about 'the art of living'. And since it was Sunday and there was absolutely nothing else to see, we decided to wait and see this guy. Well, the guy is Ravi Shankar, which is apparently a very well known Guru around the world. And after sitting on the steps outside for an hour and a half, we finally got the message that this Guru was NOT coming, but they were celebrating his birthday. We got up to leave when all of a sudden we heard music and there came the parade. It was crazy! Probably everybody who lives in Allepey was in this parade carrying pictures of Ravi, signs with his quotes on ("One world, one family"), there were people dressed up like Gods and Goddesses dancing, there was live drums and other music... waw! All the women were wearing white Sarees. It was beautiful. And they let us take pictures without any problems. You see, it was a win-win situation. We took pictures of them and so they took pictures of us. They were Our attraction and we were Their attraction! Ha!
So we went back to the hall to see the celebration, both ended up buying one of his books and being surrounded by interested non-english-speaking Indians. So a boring Sunday ended up being a really interesting afternoon.
The next day two friends of Devika joined us, Nick and Lana, and the four of us went on a boattrip through the backwaters. You can take a big houseboat but they are expensive and too big to go through the smaller canals, so we took a small canoe without an engine. It might be slower that way, but at least we were not polluting the backwaters. They are so beautiful, but the way the number of boats are growing... there might not be any backwater anymore in 10 years. The pollution is really bad and the canals in the centre of Allepey are black and very stinky! (Thank God I still had a cold, so I didn't really smell it, we will just have to take Devika's word on that...) There are about a thousand big houseboats and who knows how many other boats, all sailing those backwaters. So people, if you go there, please take a canoe!
When we got back to our Guest House that night, we were gonna have a home-cooked meal. Our host, Biju, promised us the day before that he would cook for us. So we were expecting a nice and relaxing evening 'at home'. But you see, in India things are never what you expect them to be. So this guy starts drinking while he is cooking, even tough none of us were drinking anything. He got a friend to help him, that ended up cooking the whole meal and by the time the food was ready Biju was behaving like a big baby. He didn't like us because we didn't give him enough attention and we were talking amongst ourselves too much and so on and on... Jezus! This was supposed to be nice and relaxing?! Well, after dinner I just went to bed. I couldn't be bothered! The next day he apologized and told me it wasn't me he was angry at, just my friends and that we should stay in touch and he wanted to be my friend and blablabla... I just couldn't wait to get out of there.
We left very early anyway because this was the BIG DAY!!! Joehoe, we were on our way with the ferry to the Ashram of Amma. She is a female Guru, which is very rare in this male-dominating country and she gives blessings by hugging everybody! "The hugging mother" is what they call her. We called the Ashram and knew she was "home' so decided to drop by and get a hug. On the way there on the ferry all of a sudden you see a huge collection of big buildings, all pink, and a pink bridge. That's the Ashram. I couldn't believe how big it was. But apparently there are around 2000 people living in the Ashram permanently. They are students and devotees. And then there are a few hundred visitors, long term or short term. It's a well oiled machine, especially if you know it is run by volunteers. The Americans dominate the place tough, and that's a bit weird to see; white people going around telling Indian people what to do. I guess Amma knows that Indian people are just not that efficient and are not to be trusted... hihi. We checked in and that evening there was 'singing'. Yep, an hour and a half of singing about blessings and gods and so on. But you know what... I enjoyed it. The feeling of sitting in between a thousand people all singing the same songs, it has something magic. I don't think it's the Ashram, a football stadion filled with hooligans singing the same song probably has the same magic effect. But I can't deny that I liked it. After singing it was dinner and after that you had two more hours before they lock the place down at 11 PM. Us 3 women slept in one room that had little plastic matrasses on the floor. It looked uncomfortable, but I slept really well. We did have to keep the bathroom door shut because of the rats, but apart from that it was ok there on that 10th floor! ;-) The next morning we got up at 4:30, Devika and Lana went to the chanting in the main temple and I went to see the Pooja at 5 AM. That is a prayer/ritual performed by a Brahman. You participate partly by sacrificing flowers to the fire and getting your bindy (dot on your forehead). It's a special atmosphere, so early in the morning, still dark, everybody is completely silent... definitely a unique experience.
After morning meditation on the beach it was finally time for our hug. We had to wait in line at 9AM to get our token that says we could get a hug today. There is a system and people who are leaving the Ashram get to go first. She would start hugging at 11AM and we were gonna be up first. But again... this is India. So we turn up at 11AM and these older Indian women ask us when we are leaving. Honestly we tell them we have a bus at 2 PM to go to Varkala. Now Varkala is not that far from the Ashram so they know we can go a bit later if we have to. So they tell us to come back at noon, that we have to wait because we still have time. Okay, so we do a bit of shopping and go back at noon. Again they tell us we have to wait and come back at 1PM. Finally we go back at 1PM and they put us in line, a line that will take forever. But we have to go and want to take a bus at 2:30. If we miss that one, the next one is around 5. So at 1:30 Devika is fed up with it (and so am I) and she just goes to the old ladies and tells them Indian style that we have an overseas plain to catch and that we have to be there on time so we have to see Amma RIGHT NOW!! No problem; a little signal here and there and all of a sudden we are in the front of the line right next to Amma...we are pushed on our knees and five minutes later someone is grabbing my head and pushing it in Amma's bosom. I got to stay there for 3 minutes, she kisses me, blesses me and that's that. Really bizar! You see, I don't adore this Guru, but I was feeling really happy after the hug. Yes it's true, we had to lie to get it, but then again this is still India, no matter how hard they try to make this Ashram into an island of peace and light. So we just did what we had to do in this country to get things done! And no, I don't feel bad about it! :-D
We did leave before they could question us some more and took the bus to this godforsaken town where we had to take a train. The bus dropped us at the busstation and when we wanted to ask people how to get to the trainstation... they all ran away from us. Huh? Are we lepras all of a sudden?! What is wrong with this town? Well, I'll tell you what is wrong! It's muslim and so you are not allowed to talk to women and as a woman you're not allowed to talk to men. So... we had to ask the police. But wait, they didn't speak English. What to do? Finally a Riksjawdriver took us there and after waiting for an hour the train finally came.
It only took us an hour to get to Varkala and here it is peace and tranquility. So I'm gonna go now and enjoy that!
woensdag 8 december 2010
Mysore
Leaving Hampi last weekend didn't go without a struggle.
First at the busstop in Hospet I met a German girl and we decided to go get some dinner before spending 9 hours on a nightbus. We went into a restaurant and they simply refused to serve us. After some commotion we got tea and the bill at the same time, making it clear that we could drink the tea but then had to leave. I think it's because we were 2 women alone without a man. I had been in that restaurant before with Matt and it was fine that day. They were friendly and talked to us, but this time, without a man... no, we were not welcome. :-(
Then when I arrived in Bangalore I took a local bus to go to Mysore. I was the only tourist on the bus, but that was fine. People stared, but they left me in peace. I think they saw I was just really tired. When the bus stopped halfway at a busstand they gave us 15 minutes to go to the toilet, have a drink or something to eat. I bought some tea and went standing next to the busstop to have a smoke. In India it's not aloud anymore to smoke in public places, but if you set one foot outside then you can smoke. So I did when all of a sudden I heard a little girl screaming. When I looked up I saw a police officer throw a little girl, about 6 years old, of a bus, my bus, and while he was holding her arm he was hitting her with a stick. Apparently she was begging on the bus and people complained. This is the kind of situation that breaks your heart, but you are powerless. It's the way things work here in India. These people don't seem to have the right to be here, anywhere, and they are treated like animals. I haven't even seen one Indian hit a cow the way they hit this girl. Yet on the other hand, the beggars have no morals, because they have to survive. So it's a vicious circle; the harder they get, the harder they are treated, the harder they get, the harder... :-(
Then I finally arrived in Mysore and everybody tried to sell me something and tried to warn me for others. The same old story. But one guy in particular told me I should be careful because there were men that would try to sell me drugs and take me to a place where you can smoke. But, he told me, it's illegal here in Mysore so don't go there!! Well, thank you for that good advice. He gave me his name and number and if I wanted to take a tour I should just call him. When I got to the hotel I slept a few hours and met up later with a German guy, Christian, for dinner. When we were walking towards the restaurant a guy, the guy who tried to warn me about the drugs, was walking next to Christian. He told him if he wanted to smoke some hasj he could take him to a nice place, relaxing, no problem???! Huh, the guy who warned me about this in the afternoon, was here, six hours later, doing it to my travel-companion?! And he saw me but didn't care, because now I was traveling with a man and then the woman has no voice. Great! :-(
Mysore is not a very friendly place for women, or at least that was my experience. They tried to touch me, grab me, shouted stuff at me on the street... and I was wearing long trousers and long sleeve loose shirt, very decent. When I was walking with Christian, everything was fine.
Despite that the sights are really beautiful. The palace is lit on Sunday night and it is amazing. On Monday we went inside and it's so beautiful, it makes you dream of times gone by when princes and princesses got married in the big hall and big balls were given in honor of the maharani.
Tuesday I decided to go on a tourist tour. You know; see all the sights in group taken there by a Mini Van. Or at least that's what I thought I was gonna do. It turned out I was the only 'white' tourist and so they put me in a Mini Van with 6 other Indian tourists. A family and 2 young men. No problem, everything was in Hindi AND English and as long as they took me to the different sights I was happy.
First stop was an Art Gallery. I almost cried because the Art Work was so damaged. Holes in painting, carvings in furniture, the building was leaking, yellow staines on all the pieces due to the dust that came pilling in... But there was more to come so I was being optimistic. Next stop was a shop. Yep, a silk shop. A bus pulled up at the same time with some 60 Indian tourists and they all went into the shop and bought like crazy! One woman even bought 6 sarees! Crazy crowd. Little did I know that I would be spending the rest of the day with these people. Yes, they moved me and my 6 Indian tourists to join the big bus and form one group! So there was one big bus, one driver, one busboy, two guides, 62 Indian tourists... and ME! They put me in the front of the bus next to the driver. An honorary seat where you HAVE the best view and at the same time you ARE the best view. Jippie! :-D
It all turned out fine tough. There was one family from Kerala and a couple from Andreh Pradesh who spoke english and they took me under their wings. They translated for the guides and so I just had to follow the crowd. Off we went from one temple to the next. We saw 3 in total and spend most of the time there. For Indians visiting temples is the most important thing when they are traveling. And I, well I saw and waited. We drove past some of the other sights, like a summer palace and a museum, but there was no time left to go in. Of course after the silk shop and the three temples, we now had to hurry to go to Brindavan Gardens. We had to be there on time to see the dancing fountain at 7! Oh yes, you do NOT want to miss the dancing fountain! It is a real fountain with real disco music in the background and the fountain moves on the rythm of the music! And it has different colors and shapes and waaaaw! The crowd went WILD! Haha! So cheesy! :-)
But you see, in the end I had a wonderful day because I got to spend it with some really nice Indian people. They really took care of me and before departing the mother gave me a present, a picture of the dancing fountain. That was really nice, because it was sincere. I've got the daughters email adress and if I want to go and visit them in Kerala, I am more than welcome! So meeting them and seeing the sights made my trip to Mysore worth it.
But as a city, Mysore has nothing more to offer. The last hour I was there someone, a young woman, even squatted in front of me, in the middle of the street and did a number 2. Just like that. No shame, no fuss. Jezus! It was time for me to get out of there!
And so I did, I took a nightbus to Cochin - Kerala where I arrived this morning at 6. And what a relief to be here. Kerala is what I expected it to be. We had just crossed the border last night and made our first stop to have dinner and I knew we arrived in Kerala. It was a pink building, with pink tables, pink curtains, fake flowers on the frontdesk, music, smiling faces, hardly any staring... oh, I am in Kerala! Joehoe! :-))
First at the busstop in Hospet I met a German girl and we decided to go get some dinner before spending 9 hours on a nightbus. We went into a restaurant and they simply refused to serve us. After some commotion we got tea and the bill at the same time, making it clear that we could drink the tea but then had to leave. I think it's because we were 2 women alone without a man. I had been in that restaurant before with Matt and it was fine that day. They were friendly and talked to us, but this time, without a man... no, we were not welcome. :-(
Then when I arrived in Bangalore I took a local bus to go to Mysore. I was the only tourist on the bus, but that was fine. People stared, but they left me in peace. I think they saw I was just really tired. When the bus stopped halfway at a busstand they gave us 15 minutes to go to the toilet, have a drink or something to eat. I bought some tea and went standing next to the busstop to have a smoke. In India it's not aloud anymore to smoke in public places, but if you set one foot outside then you can smoke. So I did when all of a sudden I heard a little girl screaming. When I looked up I saw a police officer throw a little girl, about 6 years old, of a bus, my bus, and while he was holding her arm he was hitting her with a stick. Apparently she was begging on the bus and people complained. This is the kind of situation that breaks your heart, but you are powerless. It's the way things work here in India. These people don't seem to have the right to be here, anywhere, and they are treated like animals. I haven't even seen one Indian hit a cow the way they hit this girl. Yet on the other hand, the beggars have no morals, because they have to survive. So it's a vicious circle; the harder they get, the harder they are treated, the harder they get, the harder... :-(
Then I finally arrived in Mysore and everybody tried to sell me something and tried to warn me for others. The same old story. But one guy in particular told me I should be careful because there were men that would try to sell me drugs and take me to a place where you can smoke. But, he told me, it's illegal here in Mysore so don't go there!! Well, thank you for that good advice. He gave me his name and number and if I wanted to take a tour I should just call him. When I got to the hotel I slept a few hours and met up later with a German guy, Christian, for dinner. When we were walking towards the restaurant a guy, the guy who tried to warn me about the drugs, was walking next to Christian. He told him if he wanted to smoke some hasj he could take him to a nice place, relaxing, no problem???! Huh, the guy who warned me about this in the afternoon, was here, six hours later, doing it to my travel-companion?! And he saw me but didn't care, because now I was traveling with a man and then the woman has no voice. Great! :-(
Mysore is not a very friendly place for women, or at least that was my experience. They tried to touch me, grab me, shouted stuff at me on the street... and I was wearing long trousers and long sleeve loose shirt, very decent. When I was walking with Christian, everything was fine.
Despite that the sights are really beautiful. The palace is lit on Sunday night and it is amazing. On Monday we went inside and it's so beautiful, it makes you dream of times gone by when princes and princesses got married in the big hall and big balls were given in honor of the maharani.
Tuesday I decided to go on a tourist tour. You know; see all the sights in group taken there by a Mini Van. Or at least that's what I thought I was gonna do. It turned out I was the only 'white' tourist and so they put me in a Mini Van with 6 other Indian tourists. A family and 2 young men. No problem, everything was in Hindi AND English and as long as they took me to the different sights I was happy.
First stop was an Art Gallery. I almost cried because the Art Work was so damaged. Holes in painting, carvings in furniture, the building was leaking, yellow staines on all the pieces due to the dust that came pilling in... But there was more to come so I was being optimistic. Next stop was a shop. Yep, a silk shop. A bus pulled up at the same time with some 60 Indian tourists and they all went into the shop and bought like crazy! One woman even bought 6 sarees! Crazy crowd. Little did I know that I would be spending the rest of the day with these people. Yes, they moved me and my 6 Indian tourists to join the big bus and form one group! So there was one big bus, one driver, one busboy, two guides, 62 Indian tourists... and ME! They put me in the front of the bus next to the driver. An honorary seat where you HAVE the best view and at the same time you ARE the best view. Jippie! :-D
It all turned out fine tough. There was one family from Kerala and a couple from Andreh Pradesh who spoke english and they took me under their wings. They translated for the guides and so I just had to follow the crowd. Off we went from one temple to the next. We saw 3 in total and spend most of the time there. For Indians visiting temples is the most important thing when they are traveling. And I, well I saw and waited. We drove past some of the other sights, like a summer palace and a museum, but there was no time left to go in. Of course after the silk shop and the three temples, we now had to hurry to go to Brindavan Gardens. We had to be there on time to see the dancing fountain at 7! Oh yes, you do NOT want to miss the dancing fountain! It is a real fountain with real disco music in the background and the fountain moves on the rythm of the music! And it has different colors and shapes and waaaaw! The crowd went WILD! Haha! So cheesy! :-)
But you see, in the end I had a wonderful day because I got to spend it with some really nice Indian people. They really took care of me and before departing the mother gave me a present, a picture of the dancing fountain. That was really nice, because it was sincere. I've got the daughters email adress and if I want to go and visit them in Kerala, I am more than welcome! So meeting them and seeing the sights made my trip to Mysore worth it.
But as a city, Mysore has nothing more to offer. The last hour I was there someone, a young woman, even squatted in front of me, in the middle of the street and did a number 2. Just like that. No shame, no fuss. Jezus! It was time for me to get out of there!
And so I did, I took a nightbus to Cochin - Kerala where I arrived this morning at 6. And what a relief to be here. Kerala is what I expected it to be. We had just crossed the border last night and made our first stop to have dinner and I knew we arrived in Kerala. It was a pink building, with pink tables, pink curtains, fake flowers on the frontdesk, music, smiling faces, hardly any staring... oh, I am in Kerala! Joehoe! :-))
maandag 6 december 2010
Beautiful Hampi
Last week Saturday I took a nightbus from Goa to Hampi. I met some nice people on the bus and we were all heading the same place. Little did we know what was waiting for us in the morning! Six o'clock and I was already awake while we drove through Karnataka-state landscape. Waw, it was as if I was still dreaming and found myself in some far away kingdom. The roads were surrounded by hills made of rocks, beautiful yellow smooth rocks pilled up as if a Giant took some pebbles and formed little piles that looked like hills. And temples and ruins in between them. It was magic!
So when the bus arrived I was feeling very good and I was the first to exit. Boy, if it was even possible because the exit was blocked by some 30 riksjaw drivers who all wanted to be the first to greet the new batch of tourists. I was still standing in the bus holding my blanket and told them if they didn't move... nobody would get off the bus... and nobody would do any business today! One guy moved, smiled and made the others move out of the way.
Then 4 of us, three Germans and me, found ourselves isolated and surrounded by riksjaw drivers again, like flies on shit. All the other tourists were also divided in little groups standing here and there, surrounded by drivers. So we decided to take the time to wake up first; have a cigarette, go to the toilet... and all the time trying to ignore the group around us. Not that easy, but speaking in German, a language Indians don't understand, makes it easier. This way they can't intervene in the conversation. Yes, you wouldn't believe how much my German is improving here, I'm even reading in German now! Haha! So finally my 3 other companions decided I had to choose the driver we would take... a very difficult task which I took very seriously. And I ended up choosing the one who stepped away from the bus smiling when we first arrived, Naga is his name. So he took us for breakfast and showed us some guest houses. For him it's good business because he gets commission and he is the first to maybe take us on a tour. Finally we all chose different guest houses but met up again later.
And that was the start of a wonderful week. The German couple did their own thing and left already the next day. But the other German, Matt, stayed longer and so did I. So we spend the week in Hampi; visiting the different sites and temples and walking around and just hanging out. Hampi is a village in a valley surrounded by those strange looking hills. It's calm and quiet and the people are friendly. They have the most magical sunrise and sunset, especially if you find yourself on one of those hills. We spend a lot of time with Naga and his family and this way we learned more about India then I had been doing the past four weeks. I finally found an Indian that I could trust and who was willing to answer all my questions honestly! He is a riksjaw driver and earns money from tourism, so of course we would pay him for certain services. But the rest of the time we spent together was as friends. And for me especially I couldn't ask for more; two men by my side, one tall German and one Indian. Nobody hassled me in Hampi with my two bodyguards! ;-)
I enjoyed Hampi a lot, but take in consideration if you go there that Hampi is located in a valley. So you don't have any reach with your mobile and there are power cuts several times a day. You are a little cut off from the world, because international calls don't work, internet is not very good and mobiles don't work at all. But apart from that it is the perfect place to see India at it's best!
On Wednesday unfortunately Matt hurt his foot in a hole in the ground, so the next day Naga took us to hospital in the next big city. Yeah well, hospital... In India it means some room in a small alley with a pile of dirt in front of it. Seriously, it was disgusting. We had to wait 1.5 hours for the doctor and all the time you would be looking right at a pile of caskets and bandages... the doctor apparently just throws his waist through the window. But apart from that the doctor was very efficient. X-rays are taken in a room next door and then he examines, the nurses take care and the pharmacy is down the street. So once the doctor arrived he treated his patients in a record time! This was a small private hospital and so it looks a lot less professional, but it is much better than a government run hospital. Matt's diagnose was that his foot is fractured in two different places, so he got a casket and needed crutches. When we arrived back in Hampi it was late, very late and being tired is not a good ingredient for optimism. Luckily the next day things were looking better again and Matt decided he would go back to Goa where he has some friends. And I would just stick to my route and move on on my own again. we still had some days left in Hampi and spent them just talking and hanging out. I visited some temples on my own and then we would meet again to have lunch or dinner.
The last night in Hampi Naga surprised us with some beers and chicken. Alcohol and meat are prohibited in Hampi, so we didn't have a drink or meat in a week. But Naga bought it in a neighboring village and his auntie prepared it for us in his cousin's restaurant. Mmmm, it was the perfect last dinner!
If you go to Hampi ask for Naga if you need a friend!!
So on Saturday we said our goodbyes and Naga waited with me at the busstop in Hospet (neighboring city) for my nightbus. Finally I told him to "go home" because my bus wan't coming until 11 o'clock at night. It was very sweet of him to want to protect me, but I travel alone and so it was time for me to do exactly that! So the second he drove away I was on my own again and that was obvious. People started talking to me again, staring... things they didn't do when there was a man by my side. But now I was an open target again! :-D
When the nightbus arrived, I was so tired I knew I would fall asleep soon. Yeah... I didn't know shit, obviously! The bus was HELL!! I had a bed in the back and the ride was so bumpy that sometimes my whole body got thrown in the air. On top of that I had to go to the toilet, but there were no stops with a ladies bathroom. At 3:40 I had enough and the next stop we made I just draped my blanket around me and squatted in the middle of the road to pee. It was either that or explode! And Indians do it too. What a relief! And the rest of the way I managed to sleep a few more hours.
I arrived in Bangalore the next morning, tired and pissed off. Yeah, mornings after nights like these are really not a good time to meet me! ;-) So after having a fight with the bus boy, he wanted 20 roepies for my backpack so I told him to go ask his boss because I already payed too much for such a crappy ride, and a riksjaw driver, who said the central busstation was 12 km away while I knew it was just around the corner, I decided not to stay there and go directly to Mysore where I am now. But more on that next time, I have to go eat now! :-))
So when the bus arrived I was feeling very good and I was the first to exit. Boy, if it was even possible because the exit was blocked by some 30 riksjaw drivers who all wanted to be the first to greet the new batch of tourists. I was still standing in the bus holding my blanket and told them if they didn't move... nobody would get off the bus... and nobody would do any business today! One guy moved, smiled and made the others move out of the way.
Then 4 of us, three Germans and me, found ourselves isolated and surrounded by riksjaw drivers again, like flies on shit. All the other tourists were also divided in little groups standing here and there, surrounded by drivers. So we decided to take the time to wake up first; have a cigarette, go to the toilet... and all the time trying to ignore the group around us. Not that easy, but speaking in German, a language Indians don't understand, makes it easier. This way they can't intervene in the conversation. Yes, you wouldn't believe how much my German is improving here, I'm even reading in German now! Haha! So finally my 3 other companions decided I had to choose the driver we would take... a very difficult task which I took very seriously. And I ended up choosing the one who stepped away from the bus smiling when we first arrived, Naga is his name. So he took us for breakfast and showed us some guest houses. For him it's good business because he gets commission and he is the first to maybe take us on a tour. Finally we all chose different guest houses but met up again later.
And that was the start of a wonderful week. The German couple did their own thing and left already the next day. But the other German, Matt, stayed longer and so did I. So we spend the week in Hampi; visiting the different sites and temples and walking around and just hanging out. Hampi is a village in a valley surrounded by those strange looking hills. It's calm and quiet and the people are friendly. They have the most magical sunrise and sunset, especially if you find yourself on one of those hills. We spend a lot of time with Naga and his family and this way we learned more about India then I had been doing the past four weeks. I finally found an Indian that I could trust and who was willing to answer all my questions honestly! He is a riksjaw driver and earns money from tourism, so of course we would pay him for certain services. But the rest of the time we spent together was as friends. And for me especially I couldn't ask for more; two men by my side, one tall German and one Indian. Nobody hassled me in Hampi with my two bodyguards! ;-)
I enjoyed Hampi a lot, but take in consideration if you go there that Hampi is located in a valley. So you don't have any reach with your mobile and there are power cuts several times a day. You are a little cut off from the world, because international calls don't work, internet is not very good and mobiles don't work at all. But apart from that it is the perfect place to see India at it's best!
On Wednesday unfortunately Matt hurt his foot in a hole in the ground, so the next day Naga took us to hospital in the next big city. Yeah well, hospital... In India it means some room in a small alley with a pile of dirt in front of it. Seriously, it was disgusting. We had to wait 1.5 hours for the doctor and all the time you would be looking right at a pile of caskets and bandages... the doctor apparently just throws his waist through the window. But apart from that the doctor was very efficient. X-rays are taken in a room next door and then he examines, the nurses take care and the pharmacy is down the street. So once the doctor arrived he treated his patients in a record time! This was a small private hospital and so it looks a lot less professional, but it is much better than a government run hospital. Matt's diagnose was that his foot is fractured in two different places, so he got a casket and needed crutches. When we arrived back in Hampi it was late, very late and being tired is not a good ingredient for optimism. Luckily the next day things were looking better again and Matt decided he would go back to Goa where he has some friends. And I would just stick to my route and move on on my own again. we still had some days left in Hampi and spent them just talking and hanging out. I visited some temples on my own and then we would meet again to have lunch or dinner.
The last night in Hampi Naga surprised us with some beers and chicken. Alcohol and meat are prohibited in Hampi, so we didn't have a drink or meat in a week. But Naga bought it in a neighboring village and his auntie prepared it for us in his cousin's restaurant. Mmmm, it was the perfect last dinner!
If you go to Hampi ask for Naga if you need a friend!!
So on Saturday we said our goodbyes and Naga waited with me at the busstop in Hospet (neighboring city) for my nightbus. Finally I told him to "go home" because my bus wan't coming until 11 o'clock at night. It was very sweet of him to want to protect me, but I travel alone and so it was time for me to do exactly that! So the second he drove away I was on my own again and that was obvious. People started talking to me again, staring... things they didn't do when there was a man by my side. But now I was an open target again! :-D
When the nightbus arrived, I was so tired I knew I would fall asleep soon. Yeah... I didn't know shit, obviously! The bus was HELL!! I had a bed in the back and the ride was so bumpy that sometimes my whole body got thrown in the air. On top of that I had to go to the toilet, but there were no stops with a ladies bathroom. At 3:40 I had enough and the next stop we made I just draped my blanket around me and squatted in the middle of the road to pee. It was either that or explode! And Indians do it too. What a relief! And the rest of the way I managed to sleep a few more hours.
I arrived in Bangalore the next morning, tired and pissed off. Yeah, mornings after nights like these are really not a good time to meet me! ;-) So after having a fight with the bus boy, he wanted 20 roepies for my backpack so I told him to go ask his boss because I already payed too much for such a crappy ride, and a riksjaw driver, who said the central busstation was 12 km away while I knew it was just around the corner, I decided not to stay there and go directly to Mysore where I am now. But more on that next time, I have to go eat now! :-))
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