Trip to India - 16 SPOKANE

SPOKANE

Dear Friends and Family

Thoughts and comments about India.

To stay alive as a pedestrian in India it is very important to remember that: most of the time they drive on the left side of the road. Occasionally someone will drive on the right side of the road.. Finally, the traffic does not stop for pedestrians, they use their horn and you better get out of the way. If we had a cast system for everything that moves in the street, pedestrians would be on the bottom, just below the animal group (cows, cats, pigs, goats, etc.). It takes a combination of factors to make the traffic stop for pedestrians. There must be; a pedestrian crossing, a working traffic light, and most importantly, a policeman. Yes there are what would appear to be pedestrian crossings in the form of painted diagonal stripes, but I believe that the reason they exist is to encourage the pedestrians to try to cross there because the crossings are located in areas very accessible to an ambulance to pick up wounded or dead bodies.

There are a few things introduced by the British that are still present in India. As an example, most policeman carry the stick that the British militaries use to carry. The difference is that the stick are made not only from bamboo but also from other materials. The most curious sticks are made from transparent plastic. One would almost expect that, when in use, the stick flashes, in a Star War fashion, colored light beams.

There are three types of rickshaws use in India, The original type, a two-wheeler pulled by human power, the bicycle-type three-wheeler, and the motorized, polluting, rickshaw.. The man-powered two-wheelers are only used in Kolkata. They have not been banned for fear of taking the job away from 3000 people, and also because they are the only one who seem to be able to go thru the flooded street during the monsoon season. The people who pull the two-wheeler are basically street people who have a short life. The are very skinny and undernourished. I have a partial solution to offer to this problem. I noticed that all of the temple attendants’ are obese and overweight In Kolkata there is a temple dedicated to Pavarti, were the 50 attendants get donations for three meals a day. The idea is that the food is really eaten by Pavarti. The statues of Pavarti despict her as a very slim, very beautiful woman, who does not need 150 meals a day. So here is my idea. Most of the food donation from all of the temples in Kolkata should go to the two-wheelers until both the temple attendants and the two-wheelers attendant have reached approximately the same weight. Then an adjustment on the sharing of food can be made to keep the balance.

Right now the economics in India is incapable of providing for all of its people. A long terms solution may be to limit the number of births, maybe the one-child per family like China. I remember some years ago, the government of India offered free vasectomy. In addition, the patient would also get a free portable radio. I do not know if the program still exists.

I hope you have enjoyed the comments and the pictures, and we will see you again on some future trip.

Love and Peace - Henri

Trip to India - 15 KOLKATA

KOLKATA

19 March 2008

Dear Friends and Family,

The overnite train brought me to Kolkata around 5:00 am. I took a taxi from the train station to an area know as Sudder Street, another backpackers ghetto that has been compared to the Kao Shan area in Bangkok. It has similarities, but nothing compares to the Bangkok area. I asked the driver to take me to the Zurich restaurant, very centrally located in the Sudder Street area. As it turned out, half of Sudder street has been dug to repair a huge water leak and the taxi could not make it to the restaurant. We stopped at a small restaurant in a side street. I had a small breakfast and tea. A man came in and offered to take me to a cheap hotel that was already open this early morning. This is a common practice and a kickback from the hotel is expected. I followed him to the Capital Guest House (one that happened to be on my list) and booked a very basic room for two nights only. Took a shower (no hot water!) and went out to survey the area. I had breakfast at the Zurich, were you can be sure to find other backpackers. An open-to-the-street bright restaurant with a choice of continental, Indian, and Chinese food.

Kolkata features one of the most beautiful building in India, the Victoria Memorial, a very large white marble commemorative monument to Queen’s Victoria 1901 diamond jubilee. Unfortunately the building was not completed until 20 years after her death. I could not get to the entrance, nor to the museum because of some construction. The Birla Planetarium is near the Victoria Memorial, and I went there to see the somewhat interesting star show. Further down the avenue is the very whitewashed St Paul’s Cathedral, with its original wooden pews, which would not be out of place in Cambridge. One of the highlight of Kolkata is the 700 meter long single span Howrah Bridge over the Houghly river, is said to be the world’s busiest bridge. I crossed the bridge by foot with another few hundred people, to the other side to the 1906 train station. Another interesting building featuring towers topped with terracotta tiles. Park Street is one of the main arteries in Kolkata and the place to splurge on a fine meal. On the same street is Park Street Cemetery full of Raj-era tombs in the form of soaring pyramids and rotundas. The highlight of my visit in Kolkata is probably my experience with Mother Teresa’s Mission. I went there one day to visit the place where they have a small museum and the tomb of Mother Teresa. I approached one of the sisters to find out about making a donation. The sister suggested that I come back one day to attend the 6:00 am mass, participate in the breakfast and then I would be taken to one of the places where they work. A couple days later I entered the complex,and they directed me to the chapel were the mass had just started. There were approximately 200 sisters attending, some with the blue stripes (full-fledge sisters), some in an all-white uniform (the novices I assume). In the back of the room there where about 50 other people participating in the mass. I had no idea who they were. Have you ever been in a room full of people and you feel that you are the only one who has no clue about what is going on? Well everybody followed the mass perfectly they new what to do and when, they also sung along with the sisters. I later found out that these people were volunteers working in different building all over town. Some houses take care of the dying, some houses take care of people with long illnesses, some look after retarded children, etc. A priest came in with his assistant to conduct the formal mass and give a sermon. One of the message was that the countries with negative birth rates are going to regret it one day (more about his later). After the volunteer breakfast, bread, bananas, and tea, I handed in my donation and followed a group of volunteers to the house for retarded children. Several of the young volunteers were from South Korea (which has a large catholic presence). I am not totally in agreement with everything the Mission stands for but I thing that they fill a great need.

Mother Teresa (who lived in absolute simplicity) is not universally beloved. She has been accused of religious imperative, and the acceptance of donation from dictators and corrupt tycoons. The stronger criticism is the Mission’s staunchly Catholic position against contraception. When you see women beggars with two or three children, Kolkata growing AIDS epidemics and the very large number of homeless people, the Mission’s position does not make any sense.

The 20^th I will begin my long (a total of 28 hours) return trip to Spokane

I will write one more closing email with some of my thoughts on India

Love and peace - henri

Trip to India - 14 BHUBANESWAR

BHUBANESWAR

11 March 2008

Dear Friends and Family

I boarded the 10:00 am train for the long 22 hours ride to Bhubaneshwar. Amazingly, there were very few people in our car and I had a a four-people compartment all by myself. I had some good conversation with a man who works with satellites and communication for the government of India. We arrived to our destination around 8:00 and I dropped my backpack at the station’s cloakroom, close to platform 1. The Bhubaneswar train’s station is very strangely situated between two major parallel roads, and unless you walk far on either road you cannot get from one to the other but thru the station’s overhead pass. In addition to that the large Station Square where some of the hotels are is located at the back of the station. This is not easy to see on my LP tinny map. I got out of the station on the platform 1 side were most of the station’s services, waiting rooms etc are located. As I was trying to orient myself I was approached by a cycle-rickshaw who proceeded to follow me everywhere I went. I approached him and told him to leave me alone, and that I wasn’t going to hire him. Nevertheless, he kept on follow me, until I actually approach his vehicle and proceeded to undo the cap on one of the tire (I was going to deflate it). He raised both hands in surrender, left, and I never saw him again!.A couple days later I met an Australian couple who were also pestered by a cycle-rickshaw driver. I do not understand what goes thru their mind? If I do not want the service, do they think I will change my mind if they keep following me? The cycle-rickshaw and the auto-rickshaw drivers are the most aggressive I have met so far. I found out the best way to handle them is to simply ignore them, and to not make eye contact. Just act like you do not hear, nor even see them!

I finally settled at the Bhubaneswar Hotel. My room is level with an outside terrace with a view on the street. I thought this was great until I found that the terrace become a gathering place for the hotel’s help’s smoking and drinking with a nice view straight into my bedroom. After a couple days I ask for another room and was told that there wasn’t one available. I left and got a (more expensive) room in another hotel on Station Square.

The Tourist Office runs several tours, and I decided to take the one day tour to Konark, Puri, and Pipli. Our first stop was Pipli, famous for its colorful appliqué craft, which uses primary colors and small mirrors for door and wall hangings, lampshades, and parasols. The items are hung outside the shops, making the main street a colorful display of rainbow colors. Our next stop was in Konark, the site of the famous Sun Temple. This massive 13^th century temple was designed as the cosmic chariot of the sun god, Surya. The huge base is flanked with 32 huge, very elaborately carved, chariot wheels. An impressive sight. Our next stop was Puri, and the Jagannath Mandir temple, one of the holiest pilgrimage destination in India. Jagannath is the Lord of the Universe and a incarnation of Vishnu. Unfortunatly, the temple is totally closed to non-Hindu) and the only way to see the temple is from the roof of the library. The library was closed and would reopen after we left. The guide brought a local man who could get me to the rooftop of a well placed hotel for a small sum of money. I followed the man into the hotel lobby were they refused access to their roof!!? I was not very pleased, and with time to kill I walked around the large temple complex to get the best possible view of the temple. Not a good experience and later I let our guide know about my frustration. Of course, he had all sorts of excuses. I wasn’t upset at him, but at the people selling the tickets at the tourist office for not disclosing this potential problem. From there we went to a very nice beach before heading home.

I will be leaving Bhubaneswar for Kolkata the 12^th by an overnite sleeper train. Until then I will be visiting some of the 50 plus temples around here.

Love and peace - henri

Trip to India - 13 CHENNAI and HYDERABAD

CHENNAI and HYDERABAD

8 March 2008

Dear Friends and Family

I spent a few days in Chennai to visit the Government Museum, the Kapaleeshwara Temple, and the Fort St George. Nothing terribly new nor terribly exciting, The most memorable sight was the natural history and zoology section of the museum. The Fort St George (built by the British in 1653) has gone thru many changes, and today it largely consist of government and military buildings not open to visitor. The most interesting sight was St Mary’s Church (1680) is India oldest surviving British church. The records show that this is the place where Yale wedding took place. This is the same Yale for which the US Yale University was named.

The evening of the first of March I boarded an overnite sleeper to Hyderabad. I had tried, unsuccessfully, to make an hotel reservation form Chennai. I left my backpack in the cloakroom at the station and did some walking around to finally find a satisfactory room at the Suhali. The type of hotel I usually stay at (“budget” in LP and RG guides) are usually centered around train/bus terminals. I immediately felt comfortable in Hyderabad. I do not know why, but some cities make total sense as far as directions are concerned, and some do not. Is it because I am more aware some days, or because the map I use is better, or maybe a combination of both, I do not know. The next day I walked the two km to an area called Charminar. On my way there I found a place where I could buy beer. Everywhere I have been in India, you can buy beer, or any other kind of alcohol, except wine, in a “Wine Shop”.!?.

The center of Charminar is a square at the intersection of two main arteries pointing to the four cardinal points. Each of the four entrance to the square is thru a large arched portal. 50 yards South of the south portal is the building called the Charminar. This huge 180 ft high and 100 ft wide building was built by Mohamed Quli Qutb Shah in 1591 to commemorate to founding of Hydebarad and the end of epidemics caused by a water shortage. The Charminar has four towers each surmounted by a minaret. The towers are connected by arches similar to the streets portals. Immediately to the south-west of the Chaminar sits one of the largest mosque in the world, the Mecca Masjid, so named because several brick embedded above the gate are made from soil from Mecca. The very busy, chaotic Charminar Bazaar and the Laad Bazaar to the west of it are spread all around the area. The Laad Bazaar is where one finds parfumes, fabrics, musical instruments, and jewels. This area is considered to be the center of India’s pearl trade.

Walking into Charminar thru one of the portal is like being transported in another time, another place. It is truly magical, I wouldn’t have been surprised to see someone on a flying carpet flying over the scene! Next, I visited the Golconda Fort situated 12 km away. I hired a autorickshaw to get there and took the public bus to get back. Most of the 16^th century fortress dates from the time of the Quli Qutb Shab, but its origin, as a mud fort are from a much earlier period (Yadavas and Kakattiyas) The citadel, built on top of a 120 meters hill and surrounded by crenellated ramparts surrounded by yet another inside wall, resisted several attacks by Emperor Aurangzeb’s Mughal armies from Dehli. The emperor finally succeeded with inside help. Stairs lead up to a well preserved temple, to a mosque, the three-storied Durbar Hall and its observatory platform, and to the remainder of several other buildings, such as the queen’s palace, an harem, and the mortuary baths. A mere 1.5 km from the fort, in a beautifully landscaped park, are a series of gracefully domed tombs. The tombs are those of the Qutb Shahi Kings. These buildings, built over a period of several centuries, feature different styles reflecting the architectural style of the period.

From Hyderabad I took an overnite sleeper train to Bhabunashwar. The trip started at 10 am, to arrive in Bhabunashwar at around 8:00 am the next day (my longest train trip in India).

Next, the temple town of Bhabunashwar.

Love and peace - henri

Trip to India - 12 PONDICHERRY - CHENNAI

PONDICHERRY - CHENNAI

27 February 2008 Temp: 86 deg. F

Dear Friends and Family

From Trichy I boarded a train to a small city close to Pondirrechy. There I boarded a very crowded bus for the 1 ½ hour ride to Pondy. Eventually I was able to get a seat right behind the driver. I had met the bare-footed horn player. Let me explain, the first thing I noticed is that this very skillfull (attested by the fact we made it in one piece) driver was barefooted. To his right sat three levers, two green, one yellow. The green levers controlled two bus horns of different pitches. He played those two lever like a musician to carry his message to anything that stood in the way of his progress. The hi-pitched horn to tell any vehicule in front of him that he wanted to pass them. After several blows not yelding the desired results, the low-pitched horn would be brought into action. The next step was a combined action by both horns until the target obstacle complied to giving room to the bus. The driver never used the yellow lever. Maybe this lever brings into action a sound that pulverizes the intended target, or is it a lever that one uses five seconds before an accident? I am glad I never found out.

Ashrams are communities where people work, live, and study together, drawn by a common spiritual goal. Real committed people adopt a certain guru who is the ashram leader. The ashrams in Pondy were founded in 1926 by Sri Aurobindo, a Bengali philosopher-guru and a Frenchwoman called The Mother.. Some of the ashram also offer rooms to non-participants, and I had visions of being able to get an accommodation into one of the ashrams in Pondicherry to learn more about the concept. Unfortunately there is a celebration taking place the 29^th Feb and the ashrams in Pondi are full. As a matter of fact I also .found that several of the hotels were full. So, I ended up in a large classic hotel were I paid twice what I usually spend.

Pondicherry is on the Bay of Bengal western coast. The town is basically divided into two distinct sections, the French-built east side between a north-south canal and the sea. The part to the west of the canal is a pretty typical Indian town. The streets on the French side are generally wider, paved, and lined with trees and flowering bushes. The buildings are large, light colored, and are now used by the government and city’s agencies. Most of the western-type restaurants are also located here. Street and several restaurants have French names, rue Dumas, La Terrace, Le Café, etc..Policemen around wear a white uniform and a red kepi. Food-wise, I must admit that it was nice to get away from the generally very spicy Indian food. Café au lait and croissants make for a satisfying breakfast!

It is amazing how often you meet the same people in different places. I met this young Taiwanese woman in Hampi, then I met her Fort Conchin, and again in Pony as she was in the tourist office buying a ticket for an all-day organized tour (so was I!). The tour took us to an ashram, museum, some temples, a lake, where lunch was served during a boat ride, The bus then took us to a village outside of Pondy, the Auroville A brainchild of The Mother, Auroville is an experiment in international living where people could live in peace regardless of their creeds, politics, and nationality. So far Auroville has about 1700 permanent residents representing 35 different nationalities (2/3 are foreigners). Interestingly enough, the Auroville complex includes a bookshop, a café, a gift shop and a somewhat bizarre structure that looks like an almost spherical golf ball, the Matrimandir, which contains a meditation chamber lined with white marble and houses a solid crystal 70 cm in diameter (the largest solid crystal in the world.). The outside of this large structure is covered with gold-plated (24ct) disks. (see picture). We could come a certain distance away from the Matrimandir. There are uniformed people directing the visitors, and making sure that no one steps of the approved path. The feeling is that it is run with military precision. It is interesting to know that the ashrams and Auroville are run by the Sri Aurobindo Society, who also owns most of the valuable property and real estate in Pondicherry. This gives the society a disproportionate influence over the town. It is to be noted that many of the businesses have “auro” as part of their name..

Next Chennai.

Love and peace - henri

Trip to India - 11 TANJORE and TRICHY

TANJORE & TRICHY

22 January 2008 Temp: Hot!

Dear Friends and Family

I got of the bus in Tanjore, at the bus terminal, around 11:00 am after a relatively fast trip from Madurai. Armed with my usual LP map I proceeded to walk in the anticipated direction to the town. After a while I sensed that something wasn’t quite right. A was supposed to cross a river and I did not see any river. I finally stopped at a refreshment stand for direction. When I asked for the town center, they did the awful gesture that I feared the most, they pointed in the opposite direction from which I was walking. As in turned out, I did not realized that there was an “old” bus station, and a “new” bus station. I found out that my bus had arrived at the “new” bus station. After stopping a motorized rickshaw and paying an exorbitant fare (by Indian’s statndards) I finally made it to the center of the town where I immediately started walking in the wrong direction looking for a certain hotel (there are days like that!). I ended up accidently in front of another one of the hotels recommended in the ‘bible” (Lonely Planet). This turned out to be a very nice accommodation at a bargain price. It used to be one of the Maharajah’ s residence that according to LP had been badly neglected. I found out that the rooms were being completely updated, and. I suspect that the price will go up quite a bit after all of the rooms.have been remodeled.

The Brihadishwara Temple dominate the landscape with its 175 ft pyramidal tower. This temple is a joy to visit by spending a few relaxed hours in the huge, well maintained open courtyard. The temple, not being a pilgrimage site, attracts a lot less visitors than, say, the temple in Madurai. I went to the temple early in the morning and again late afternoon to catch different light conditions. This temple was built around the 10^th century as a monument to Rajaraja, one of the Chola kings. Another site is the Royal Palace Compound, which includes the Royal Palace, an art gallery full of Chola bronzes (10^th to 15^th centuries), and another smaller palace.

Being a couple days ahead of my schedule I decided to make a detour thru Tiruchirappalli (Trichy) which features a temple and a fort built on top of a monolithic rock. The top is reached by climbing the 500 plus steps carved out of the rock face. A great place for all around views of the city.

Tomorrow, the 23 february I will move to the Pondicherry, a town under the control of a succession of colonial powers, Portugeses, French, Danes, and British who exchanged the enclave several times after various battles and treaties. Pondicherry’s heydays date to 1742 when governed by Dupleix, who rebuilt the town following a French model.

Love and peace - henri

Trip to India - 10 MADURAI

MADURAI.

15 January 2008 Hi today: 91.4 deg. F

Dear Friends and Family

The 13 th I boarded an overnite sleeper to Madurai, an 11 hrs jouney. The second class berth very not very comfortable and the train conductor somehow found it necessary to blow the train’s horn almost constantly during the trip. I guess they like loud noises! I found out later from other people that the first class accommodation were not much better.

We arrived in Madurai around 7:00 am and I walked to my first choice accommodation, The Hotel Supreme, where they had rooms available. This is a very good accommodation, as the hotel provides full services at bargain prices. For $12 a nite I got, a double-bed room, hot water, TV, and an adjustable-speed ceiling fan (which I like better than the more expensive air-conditioned rooms). This large hotel has an elevator, run by and attendant, two restaurants, one on top of the hotel from which you can see the towers of the nearby temple. We also get a free newspaper delivered to our room each morning. You can also get your room cleaned, and a new towel each day.

As a matter of interest, todays’ paper has the following articles: one on raising oil prices, one on a complain by some area’s locals about the intent to built a facility for visually impaired people (it is bad luck to see a blind person early in the morning!), one article speaks about the demolition of a cremation ground used by the locals to make room for multi-storey apartments, another article speaks about the need to increase protection of the Indian Ocean sea lanes against possible terrorism treats. The sport pages are interesting to read if you are a cricket fan.

After a nice long hot shower and a breakfast I went out to visit the nearby Sri Meenakshi –Sundareshwarar Temple. It is from this temple that Shiva and Parvati reigned over the Pandya kingdom. This temple, one of the six most important temples in India, is approximately one city block long and one city block wide. It has 12 highly decorated gopurams (towers) varying in heights up to 155 ft.These towers are covered with painted carvings of celestial and animal figures. The style is Dravidian architecture, dating back to 1560. Within the temple are long hall ways leading to gold-topped sanctums of the deities, the most important being the Meenakshi shrine (another form of Parvati, consort of Shiva, goddess of fertility). The second most important shrine is the one of Sundareshwarar (another form of Shiva). Within the temple is a room (museum) housing 1000 columns with carvings of deities. Also within the temple are courtyards a enclosed pool surrounded by galleries. In the pool is a large golden lotus. The temple receives more than 10,000 visitors a day. The temple is run by approximately 50 priests, and there are offerings and ceremonies taking place all day long.

In the following days I visited the Gandhi Memorial, Maharaja’s Palace, and the Flower Market. The Gandhi Memorial was very interesting, it covers, with pictures and text the period of time from the beginning of the British involvement in India to the time they left. Needless to say it does not present a very flattering picture of the British behavior! What is left of the Maharaja’s Place is about a quarter of what it used to be. What is left is the very impressive courtyard, a few galleries and a museum. Well worth a visit anyway. The Flower Market is interesting by the fact that they sell flowers, and flowers’s petals by weight (to be used for offerings).

I went to the Post Office to sent some postcards. Here again I was given stamps that do not have a sticky back. Again I was given a piece of cardboard with what was supposed to be the glue to I be used for the stamps. This was a different lokking glue than the one I used previously. This glue looked like something that may come out of the nose of a person afflicted with a severe cold. (maybe from one of the workers at the post office?).

Tomorrow I am moving to Tanjore.

Love and Peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 09 ALLEPPEY - VARKALA

ALLEPPEY - VARKALA

11 February 2008

Dear Friends and Family

First a rickshaw to the ferry terminal, then a ferry ride to the terminal on mainland Ernakulam, then another rickshaw ride to the Central Bus Station in Ernakulam,and then a two hours ride by bus finally got me the Cental Bus Station in Alleppey. At the station I met a couple French people who were staying in a fairly large complex located around two tropical gardens. I ended up booking a room in the same hotel.

Alleppey is cut by two canals connected to the Arabian Sea and running parallel thru the city. At the other end the canals are connected to 900 km of waterways (backwaters) that fringe the coast and wind far inland. The main reason to come here is to take a boat ride thru the backwaters. There is a choice of boat size, trip length, and prices. The boats cross shallow, palm-fringed lakes, and travel along narrow, shady canals used by boat that carry coconut fiber, coconut meat, and cashews. Along the way are small villages and processing facilities. We decided to hire a small boat that came with two rowers, a man and his blind father. We stopped a couple times, once to take a hike thru rice fields and listen to our guide who showed us different kind of plants and animals (including large bats!). Unfortunatly, access to some of the canals were blocked by a parasite, very invasive plant that floats over the water surface and makes travel very difficult for paddle boats. Anyways, a very pleasant and relaxing day.

I have told you about some of the stuff we have to cope with, such as; losing electrical power, no hot water available. My last day in town, there was no water (hot or cold) available for the best part of the day.

The 9 th February I moved to Varkala, 2 hours away by train. From the train station I took a rickshaw to the beach area. The tourists facilities, hotels, stores, restaurants are located along a narrow pedestrian path winding its way along the top of a cliff situated 150 ft above the sea. I am half way thru my trip, I need a few days to relax, and this is the perfect place to do it. I found a reasonable place, a little off the path with a view on the water. I eat most of my meal in the restaurant that stands between my hotel and the water. It is run by a very nice family and they have decent food, even oatmeal and banana pancakes! They have three children a 12 years old boy, an older daughter, and a 6 years old boy that they adopted off the street when his parents both died. The two boys help around, they take the orders, and the 12 years old will remember what was ordered, add it all up in his head and tell you how much you owe.

There is no lack of activities to do around here: There are several very nice nearby beaches (some with black sand), there is a Kathakali theater five minutes from my hotel, elephant rides are not too far away. In addition, yoga classes, meditation classes, Ayurvedic massages are available nearby. I will spent some time on the beach, maybe take in a Kathakali show, but I will generally eat, drink some beer (served illegally under the table!), catch up with email and postcards, read (I bought 4 books, including the last of the Harry Potter) and generally hang around.

Varkala (lat 8 deg 44’ N is the most southern location on my trip. From here I will generally move in a northeastern direction. My next stop is Madurai

Love and peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 08 Fort Cochin

FORT COCHIN

6 February 2008

Dear Friends and Family

I arrived in Ernakulam, the mainland town close to a series of islands in the Arabian Sea including my destination, the island of Fort Cochin an Mattancherry The time was around 4:00 am and I was there with another woman, a teacher from England. We went to an open nearby stand and had a cup of tea. I eventually walked around and found a rickshaw driver that agreed to drive the 18 km. to Fort Cochin for 180 rupees (about $5.00). I understand that they charge for their return trip to the mainland. The driver dropped us at our destination on Princess Street, the center of the budget hotels. Nothing is open and a few other travelers are hanging around. I wanted to book a room at the Elite, but the driver is trying to get me to book at another hotel, the Park Lane. (where he would probably get a commission). Around 7:30 things are slowing coming alive and I find that the Elite is full. I eventually get a room at the Park Lane and the English woman gets a room in a “home stay”.

Fort Cochin and Mattancherry are the main tourist attraction in the area for good reasons. Fort Conchin has very busy waterfront where they fish with huge canteliverd nets from 7:00 am to 6;00 pm. The nets, which require five people to maneuver them in and out of the water, were installed by the Chinese in the 15^th century.

A walking tour of Fort Conchin reveal the influence of the Dutch, Portuguese, and British. India’s oldest European church, St. Francis Church was built by the Portuguese Franciscan friars in1503. An imposing wooden gate surmounted by a gabled shaped top reminds one of the gabled houses in Holland. Policemen carrying sticks, look very much like the British officers.

The Mattancherry Palace and the Jewish Town are located on the east side of the island a few kilometers South of Fort Conchin. The palace was built by the Portuguese in 1555 and was presented to the raja of Cochin, Veera Kerala Varma. The main attraction today are the murals, some of the best in India, depicting scenes from Indian’s legends.

The Jewish town, called, Jew Town, features a synagogue built in 1568. The floor of the synagogue is covered with blue hand-painted tiles imported from China. The area around the synagogue is one of the center of Kochi’s spice trade. The air is filled with the pungent aromas of ginger, cardamom, cumin, turmeric, and cloves.

The highlight of my Fort Conchin visit is the Kathakali performance I attended the evening before my departuere from Kochi. Fort Conchin is the place to see a full performance.A Kathakali performance is the dramatised presentation of a play, based on the Hindu epics of the Ramayana, the Mahabhara and the Puranas.The classic themes are covered; good versus evil, war and peace, poverty and prosperity etc. Drummers accompany the actors, and singers vocalize the script. The performers tell the story through precise movements such hand gestures and facial expressions. The performance lasted 3 hours, part of it was taken by the performers preparing themselves for the oncoming show by meditation, very elaborate face painting, putting seed into their eyes to redden the white, Then, one performer demonstrated the numerous, hand motions, body motion, facial expressions (especially eyes and lips) used to convey the meanings and emotions. The rest of the time was taken by the play itself “The Killing of Baka”. There are three main characters. The good guy, Bhima, second and most powerful of the Pandava Princes (Pacha-green face), The victim, Brahmin, a member of the village community menaced by the demon Barka (Brahmin is yellod-faced with beard). The bad guy, Baka, a violent murderous forest-dwelling demon (red-face and bearded). The performance was fascinating, including the preliminaries, and the opportunities to step on the stage to take pictures while the actors were putting on their make-up. Not wanted to use flash I used ISO 1600, with 1/30 shutter speed and a wide open lens. I may eventually get to the point where I like digital photography!

Love and peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 07 Mysore

MYSORE

31 January 2008

Dear Friends and Family

The 30 January I left went to the train station to catch the 11:00 am Express to Mysore. I had been told that I would board the train on Platform 6. During other trips I learned that in many countries the people will never admit that they cannot answer a question, they will rather make up an answer! One of the station attendant told me that my train would arrive at Platform 7? While I was waiting at platform 7, I young western woman showed up, approached me, asked me if I spoke English, and then told me that she did not have a ticket for the Express, had been told to simply go to Platform 8 (??) where she could get a ticket. With one hour to go I sent her back to the station with the suggestion that she should try to find some official to get a ticket without getting into a long line. She was sent to another widow where she could purchase a ticket without having to get into any line. This is the beauty of countries like India, you run into problem, but there is usually a solution (sometimes it is a matter of a little bit of money!). We considered what would happened if she would have boarded the train without a ticket? I would have like to see that! Anyway, as it turned out, we where in class A2 which is almost the most expensive (about $5.00 for a 2 hours trip!) and many seats where unoccupied. About 25 minutes into the trip the attendant showed up to check our tickets. I was shocked, the attendant was impeccably.dressed, with white pants, black jacket, white shirt, and tie. A few minutes later, another surprise, they brought us a cup of tomato soup and crackers. I was beginning to wonder if maybe we had left the country on a magic train. I barely got over my surprise when they brought us a meal, plain rice in one container, and rice with vegetables in another container, plus another cup of another soup! This is it for me, second class on the fastest train is the way to go. Unfortunately, sometimes, the bus is the only mean of transportation available between some destinations.

Mysore, named after the mythical Mahisuru, where the goddess Chamundi slew the demon Mahishasura has been ruled by the Wodeyars. In 1956, when the new sate was formed, the former maharaja was elected governor. One of the “must-see” site is the seat of the maharajas of Mysore, the Maharaja’s Palace. The present one, designed by an English architect Henry Irwin, was completed in 1912. The interior contains beautifully carved wooden doors, mosaic floors, wooden columns painted in somewhat gaudy colors, and awe-inspiring stained glass cupolas. Very appropriately, the main theme is the peacock, which I found appropriate as an emblem for such display.

The temple of the Goddess Chamundi is located on top of a mountain of the same name. A local bus will take you to the top, or one can choose to start at the foot of the mountain and climb the 1000 steps to the top. I wanted to climb the steps and I decided that I would see where people got off the bus close to the mountain. As it turned out nobody got off the bus until we reached the top, so much for that idea!. Aa a compromise I climb down the steps, which in my opinion is way short of the publicized 1000 steps. The views are great and the path goes near a famous 16 ft high Nandi (Shiva’s bull vehicule).carved out of solid rock. This Nandi is one of the largest in India and is a very popular pilgrimage destination. With the company of a western woman we walked all the way back to town.

To me the highlight of my Mysore visit was the very large Devaraja Fruit and Vegetable Market, a photographers’s paradise. The opportunities are plentiful but the partially covered market makes it a real challenge. I went back at different times of the day to get different lighting conditions. Walking in the market is a wonderful sensory experience. The displays are very carefully arranged to show the products are their bests. The dominating smell is a mixture of jasmine and other strong odors such as cilantro.

Feb 3, I took a night bus to Kochi (Cochin) which is made of several sections; mainland Ernakulam, the islands of Willington, Bolgatty and Gundu in the harbor, Fort Cochin and Mattancherry on the southern peninsula. Some of the areas are linked by bridges, all are linked by ferries. I chose to stay on Fort Cochin which is a more tranquil place, is right on the water, and has most of the interesting sights.

Love and peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 06 BANGALORE and OTHER STUFF

BANGALORE and OTHER STUFF.

January 2008 Dear Friends and Family

I first experienced Bangalore from moving into an area that Lonely planet considers as “somewhat seedy”. This is the area close to the train station and the bus terminal. Usually these areas are located in some of the oldest areas of any cities. It sure is crowded, chaotic, and extremely busy. Today I walked to a different area called MG Road (for Mahatma Ghandi). This is the area where the government of India decided to move their Hi-Tech stuff. The area, close to a very nice park is full of newer buildings, expensive cars dealership, with more modern building being built. A different world indeed! I even found the “Starbuck-like Barista. This is the same coffee shop as in Mumbai where I was able to use Wi-Fi. Oddly, in the most Hi-Tech area in India, this coffee shop does not have Wi-FI?! I visited an interesting museum of technology which has extensive coverage of mechanical devices.

I could have left Bangalore of my place to visit but the lack of interesting sites gave me an opportunity to catch up with emails and blogs.

Some reflections on India and its people

In one hand, India is light-years behind as far as being a modern country, in the other end its has some the best University in the world. The entrance exams are extremely demanding (the people who do not make it can easily be accepted in one of the top US university). There are lots of people being employed in low-paying menial jobs. As an example, the grass around the temples is mowed by hand, by women using hand tools (sickle?). Everywhere you go (like a restaurant) there seem to be a lot of people just hanging around with no particular job to do. In the other hand, at the ticket office for the tourist sites, in the train station, and at the post office, they usually have only one or two windows open to serve very long line of people ?! Picking ones nose in public seems to be socially acceptable. The women are generally well dressed and seem to have an eye for beautiful things and color, but they do not mind being surrounded by trash, as they throw all the trash on the ground. This trash is usually picked up the next morning by women who sweep the trash in the middle of breath-choking clouds of dust.(many streets are unpaved).This made me consider the possible effects of somehow convincing the people of India to use trash cans instead of throwing everything on the ground, As an example, what would happen to all the roaming cows, goats, cats, dogs, pigs, etc, many of them feeding on the trash? Either, the people would have to take over the responsibility of feeding them, or they would die. A marvelous discovery about India is that you are almost certain to get very fresh fruits and vegetables in the restaurants. I have witnessed fresh vegetables and fruits delivered to restaurants each day. This is not too surprising considering the number of fruit and vegetable street vendors everywhere.(more about this later). I am somewhat puzzled by the fact that vegetarian restaurants do not serve beer?

Love and peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 05 PANAJI, and HAMPI

PANAJI, and HAMPI

20 January 2008

Dear Friends and Family

The trip to Panaji turned out to take “only” 16 hours instead of the anticipated 17 hours. Typical on these overnite long trip I drifted in and out of sleep. We made several bathroom/food stops along the away. We arrived in Panaji around 8 am in the main bus terminal. I dropped by the Paulo travel agency to enquire about my next trip to Hampi. I walked around the town looking for a place to stay and found one close to the Saint Sebastian Church. An old quaint place with lots of plants around situated in the old Portugese quarter. During my wandering I suddenly realize that I left my daypack somewhere (I guessed I am not totally awake!).I had to retrace my steps and I found my daypack at the travel agency.

The very pleasant city of Panaji is located in Goa that stretches along the Arabian Sea and is blessed with several natural harbors and wide rivers, An ideal base for the seafaring Portugese that took control of the area in 1510. The main goal was to control the spice route from the east. The Jesuit missionaries, with St Francis Xavier arrived in 1542. After several wars with native Indians,and the British, the Portugese lost control of the area in 1961. Many of the streets still have Portugese names and many people are descendent of the Portugese.

23 January

I will be taking an overnite bus to Hampi at 7:00 pm with and ETA of 7:00 am the next day. I decided that I would spent part of the day catching up with email and diary writing. Unfortunately, early in the morning we lost power (Seems to be a frequent occurrence in India). Instead I took a 25 minutes bus ride to Old Goa which used to be the Portugese capital. Today the only thing left are the churches, cathedrals, and convents. St Francis Xavier came here to promote Catholicism and some of his relics are buried in the cathedral.

In the evening I went to the area to board the bus to Hampi. The “bus station” is simply a very large dirt-covered area with no signs of any sorts. My bus is supposed to leave at 7:30 pm (although, in the bus’ office it says 8:00 pm). The area is full of buses, more are coming. I finally locate some people who are taking the same bus. Apparently, our bus is not yet here, and nobody knows where it will park, nor at what time it will arrive. The bus finally shows up shortly after 8;00 pm. We are supposed to be in Hampi around 7:00 am. To make a long, long story short we arrived in Hampi around 11:30 am. Why? Bad roads, stop-and-go traffic in some area of construction- When I say stop-and-go I mean we go at 10 mph for a few minutes then we stop for a few minutes and so on. In Hampi I walk to Hotel Vickie.

Hampi is an amazing area with a river running thru it. It is a sacred place full of ruins of temples. One of the temple, Virupaksha, is in very good shape and is actively used as the center for worship. It stands in a courtyard which is entered under the huge Hampi Tower.. the dominating monument in Hampi. The complex is at the end of a long street that used to be lined with shops. Today, the Hampi Bazar takes about half of that space. The landscape is hilly and strewn with huge boulders. Over the next few days I did a lot of walking around, visited many temples, and a Royal Complex with a queen’s palace, a huge elephant stable. The accommodations are adequate (without hot water), we lose power several times each day,but there is a good choice of restaurants. Hampi is the most interesting place so far, even without any beer or any kind of alcohol available!.

The 27 the I boarded an overnite sleeper – bus in Hospet (20 minutes away by local bus) for Bangalore. The trip speed was about the same as for the previous one, and we arrived several hours later than the ETA. In Bangalore I am staying close the train station in a fairly large hotel. Two immediate improvement: we have hot water, and beer is available! This is one of the oldest area of Bangalore and the number of people on the streets is incredible and the traffic is worse than Mumbai!

Love and peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 04 Araungabad

ARAUNGABAD.

17 January 2008

Dear Friends and Family

I met a couple from Australia on the train to Aurangabad. They have four daughters living in different part of the world. one in Waterloo (close to Brussels) one in Derby, England, one in India. The daughter who loves in India is a doctor, she organized her parent’s trip in great details, the equivalent ot a “prescription” for fun. The parents themselves, Laurel and Geoff have lived in different parts of the world, Geoff, who is a physicist, has been able to find teaching positions.

Since the Australians have only two full days in Aurangabad, they plan to visit the Ajunta Caves the day of arrival, and the Ellora Caves the next day. I took it easy the first day (we arrived at 4:30) in the morning. Yesterday I shared a taxi to the Ellora Cave with the Australian.There is a total of 34 caves to visit; 12 Buddhist Caves (500 – 700 AD), 17 Hindu Caves (757 – 900 AD), and 5 Jain Caves (900 – 1100 AD). The Caves (somewhat similar to Elephanta) are dug out of the side of solid rock masses, complete with integrated columns, rooms, courtyards, and statues dedicated to different deities. There are two three-storied caves, and then the piece-the-resistance, the largest rock temple in the world dedicated to Krishna 1^st. This building (a representation of Mount Kailash in Tibet) was carved out of the mountain by cutting three huge trenches from the top. The shape of the temple was then released with tools to create a building twice the area of the Parthenon in Athens and 1 ½ times as high. The architectural details, the statues, the friezes are simply amazing.

19 January 2008

Yesterday I went to visit the Ajanta Caves (A World Heritage site) wwhich is 102 km (a little over 60 mi) north of Aurangabad. The combination of heavy traffic, narrow potholed roads, underpowered old bus, made this trip a long one. It took us over two hours to get there.

In Ajanta there are 26 Buddhist caves that can be visited. They have been carved out of a step cliff that follows a horseshoe bend in the river Waghora. The caves are somewhat similar to the caves in Ellora except that four of the caves have their walls and ceilings covered with truly beautiful paintings. They covered the rock face with some mud and covered that with plaster. The paint (tempera) is applied to the dried plaster. Much of the paintings and the rock carvings depict the life of Buddha. Ajanta would be the one to visit if short of time.

I met a 20 year old Norvegian woman who is travelling on her own, but her 89 year old grandmother is going to join her in Kolkuta for a couple of weeks. Neat! I am checking out today and will be boarding a bus for a 17 hour ride all the way to Panaji (Goa). Hopefully my longest trip.

Love and Peace - henri

Trip to INDIA - 03 Mumbai

MUMBAI .

13 January 2008

Dear Friends and Family

My first visit in Mumbai was to the Gate to India (a 10 minutes walk from my hotel). The Gate was the departure point for the last of the British troops in 1948 on their way back to Tilbury. This is a very popular place for the tourists and the locals alike. It is also the departure point for many boat trips including the “must-do” one-hour trip to Elephanta Island, the site of some carved-rocks caves. From the Gate I walked along the waterfront to the Cobala Market.This is were the fish caught earlier in the morning is sold. Is it really fresh I wondered? You bet it is, I saw a fish trying to escape by jumping off the display table. A move that I found somewhat riky with all the hungry cats roaming around the market.

The next day I took the boat to Elephanta Island, so named because of the colossal statue of an elephant that was discovered on the island. The statue was removed, rebuilt, and is know on display in a museum. The Main cave is reached from the island’s pier by climbing 120 steps to the top of the island. The Main Cave complex carved out of the side of a solid-rock vertical hill face includes; a large cave, some smaller caves, and two open courtyards. The caves are full of integral non-structural square columns and many statues related to the life of Shiva. Shiva, the Destroyer of Evil, is the third god of the Hindu Trinity. The first god of the Hindu trinity is Brahama, the Creator. The second god of the Trinity is Vishnu, the Preserver (sounds somewhat familiar). The statues, about 18 ft in height, are also in integral part of the caves, and what has been preserved is beautifully detailed. Not much is known about the origins of the caves estimated to be dated back to the 8^th century. I took a picture of a local woman selling bananas, other fruits, vegetables, and knick-knacks. As soon as I bought some bananas several of the very agressive local monkeys ran toward me. Based on my recollection of an unpleasant past experience I decided that I better share the bananas with the monkeys. I threw one banana to the left, one to the right, and proceed to peel the third one. I barely had time to eat it even with the help of woman who kept the monkeys away with a long stick.

Mumbai is a very busy, chaotic, noisy, polluted city. Cats and dogs are everywhere, along with free-roaming cows and goats. In the other end Mumbai has some colorful market places and the most beautiful buildings in all of India (I am told). The one that surprised me the most were the High Court and the University of Bombay buildings. They were built to look like 15^th century Italian masterpieces, complete with the octagonal stairway towers (like one of the French castles). I eventually went back to the fish market to take some pictures. Not an easy task with the number of people milling around.

Tomorrow I will be moving to Aurangabad with the 9:10 pm sleeper train. We should arrive around 4:00 am the next day. I already reserved a room in an hotel close to the train station.

Love and peace - henri