Southern Hospitality

I’ll be honest—when I left northern India, I was wondering if I had made a mistake booking a full month in India.  Could I handle another month of honking horns, touts following me around with postcard books, and questionably safe food?  Luckily, southern India proved delightful, the Florida to the north’s New York.  In the south, people were more relaxed and in turn, I was more relaxed.  The air was fresher and we spent a lot of time outdoors, from the beaches to the hilltops.  Many dishes used fresh ingredients like coconut, sometimes instead of a plate we had a banana leaf, and I didn’t get sick at all (other than a head cold).  Now, I was still seeing a gazillion temples (all of which require shoe removal—I’ve never gone barefoot so much in my life) and if I never see another grain of rice it will be too soon, but I’m certainly glad that  southern India proved to be a whole other creature from the north.

Veg Thali served on a banana leaf, including a big heaping pile of rice

The southern tour began in Kochi, a city where the fishermen still use enormous fishing nets attached to an elaborate lever, introduced by the Chinese hundreds of years ago.  In this region, gestures are important and one we had to learn quickly was the head bobble (picture a bobble-head doll) that is the equivalent of nodding “yes.”  Moving south meant hotter temperatures, so it was a relief when we moved on to the Hill country.  As an avid tea drinker, I was fascinated to see start-to-finish how tea is grown and processed.  Then we visited Mudumalai Nature Reserve, where we watched elephants being bathed and fed by their handlers.  Most of the trained elephants end up at temples—I got blessed by one in Pondicherry.  Each person holds out money, the elephant grabs it with her trunk, and then she bonks you on the head—err, blesses you—and this blessing is supposed to bring me prosperity.  A good job offer soon perhaps? 

Chinese fishing nets in Kochi at sunset

Me as a tea plantation worker

Always wash behind your ears

Getting "blessed"

One of my favorite southern stops was Mamallapuram, a small town on the Bay of Bengal (east coast) where we rode bicycles between the sights which included a Shore Temple, Five Rathas, Krishna’s Butterball, and a huge bas relief called Arjuna’s Penance.  Unexpectedly I also got a chance to swim in the Indian Ocean at a place called Varkala.  This wasn’t on my original itinerary but rather was added due to our need to avoid protests about proposed dam reconstruction at our previously planned destination, Periyar.  Unfortunately the protests also caused road closures between 6 AM and 6 PM, so to reach Varkala we actually had to drive all night in our tiny van.  Varkala is one of the nicer beaches I’ve been to though, good sand and right below a cliff that keeps all the shops and restaurants at a respectable distance.  Without going into all the details, the itinerary changes led to some struggle with the tour company to get substitute activities but in the end we had a nice long boat ride added through a beautiful region called the Kerala backwaters.  There we stayed 2 nights in guesthouses on an island within the backwaters, a restful way to de-stress and end my stay in India.

5 Rathas (Carriages) in Mamallapuram

Me in front of Arjuna's Penance

Krishna's butter ball

Laundry in the Kerala Backwaters

Getting around the Kerala Backwaters

Once again it was sad to say goodbye to the friends I made on the tour, particularly Wendy and Dennis who did the whole month with me.  Spending so much time together and in such a chaotic environment has a way of bringing people together quickly—and you can’t get much closer than trying to shove numerous Westerners into rickshaws built for tiny Indian behinds.  Now that I am in Laos and have some distance from India, I can better appreciate that the intensity of India is part of its magic.  In the end, I am very glad that I devoted a month to exploring India and I’m missing the smiles and hellos of the Indian people already.  I’m in Laos for a few more days, then one week in Thailand, and then, unbelievably, home!  More on southeast Asia in a future installment, of course. 

Indi...ah!

This blog title was on the side of my tour bus and there have indeed been many ah-worthy sights during my first 10 days in India.  I’ve seen an almost overwhelming amount of forts, temples, and palaces carved from sandstone.  The number of people everywhere is astounding and they are constantly moving--carrying water or packages on their heads, weaving in and out of traffic on bicycle and auto rickshaws, buying and selling wares, and much more.  To facilitate all that movement, there is a LOT of honking horns, so much so that I think the beeping will echo in my head for weeks after I leave here.  To quote my roommate Malaika, "I didn't know what the definition of noisy was until now."  So, there is a great deal to take in but I am enjoying all of the unique places and delicious foods.  Or I was until about 2 days ago, when something I ate led me to projectile vomit in front of my entire tour group.  When feeling up to Indian fare, my new favorite dish is called vegetable thali which is a plate with 3-5 small samples of vegetable dishes along with bread and rice, which is delicious with a yogurt lassi drink.

Street scene in Agra; note monkey on the wire above

Enjoying a thali in Orchha with a palace in the background

Women collecting water in Alipura

I’m now on a group tour with 14 other people from around the world—Canada, UK, New Zealand, Norway, Germany, Puerto Rico, Australia, and 4 other Americans—plus our Indian guide Bhupendra or as he lets us call him, Boo.  The ease of group travel is something I’m appreciating, even though that does mean sometimes we spend longer somewhere than I would if I were traveling solo.  Also it’s nice to have other people to explore with because out on the street, people are usually trying to sell us something or asking for money.  Or in the villages, the kids want pens or chocolates because that’s what many tourists give them.  I didn’t realize what an attraction we ourselves would be as white foreigners—the kids love to shake our hands and while we are taking photos of them, they are taking cell phone pics of us.  It’s practically like being a celebrity and almost everywhere, people follow us and stare at us.  For me, it’s a bit too much attention but I figure the trading of photos is fair since we are equally fascinated by them.  The colors people wear here are incredible which makes taking good photos almost effortless. 

Attracting attention in the village of Bhadarej

Villagers in Bhadarej 

Me and the village kids in Alipura

Mother holding baby in Abhaneri

Collecting well water in Alipura

Our itinerary has included many classic stops like Delhi, Jaipur (known for its Red Fort), Agra (location of the Taj Mahal), and Varanasi (on the renowned Ganges river), but for me it’s other smaller destinations more off the beaten path that have been more enjoyable.  One of my favorites is a village called Orchha which, given the scale of India, has 6,000 residents even in a village.  Orchha has striking palaces and monuments scattered throughout the town, including one that Malaika and I explored all by ourselves.  A local woman gave us a cooking class for 9 Indian specialties including masala chai and an amazing eggplant curry, and I have all the recipes to add to my cooking repertoire.  Malaika and I also befriended a local shop owner who said I’d have good karma for not bargaining too hard on the metal art pieces that I bought from him. 

At a temple in Orchha

Me and Joany helping with cooking class, instructor in the center

At another palace in Orchha

Sunset in Orchha

Another unique sight is in the town of Khajuraho, a 1,000 year old Hindu temple with erotic imagery, i.e. just about every sensual act you can imagine.  In this way, and with how many other temples incorporate Hindu, Muslim, and Christian imagery together, I have come to appreciate how India is accepting of many approaches in life.  My group did not actually stay in Khajuraho but a smaller village called Alipura about 3 hours away.  Both here and in another village, we are actually staying in former royal residences turned into hotels.  Outside the hotel the first night a Muslim celebration was taking place with included drumming from about 9 pm to midnight and again starting at 5 am.  Suffice to say, nobody slept all that well. 

Another noteworthy experience was seeing a Bollywood movie in Jaipur called Desi Boyz (City Boys).  I’d never watched a full Bollywood film and despite being 90% in Hindi, the story was easy to follow.  It was about 2 guys who lost their jobs and, desperate for work, became dancers for bachelorette parties.  They tried to hide these new jobs from their family which, of course, didn’t last long but in the end, everyone was happy.  About every 20 minutes, there would be a musical number and the whole film lasted about 3 hours.  There were many ways that the film included near kisses but no actual kissing, which was amusing to see compared with a Hollywood movie. 

Another super stop was visiting a village school where the kids sang to us.  All the students were sitting on the floor and it astounded me that they still use slate tablets.  With the smallest kids, there were at least 40 students in the class and sunlight lit the classroom.  The older grades had maybe half as many students.  It’s so easy to forget how fortunate we are in the U.S. to have schools with computers and gyms and desks for everyone. 

Village class in Abhaneri

The kids singing to us

It has been surprising for me here that many people, particularly in the villages, do not speak English.  Somehow I thought that as a former British colony and because so much media is in English that almost everyone would be bilingual, but that does not seem to be the case at all.  It’s not difficult to find someone that knows English in the cities but it can take some asking around.  That has been the biggest surprise for me here.  And not necessarily surprising but sad nevertheless is the amount of garbage strewn everywhere.  Although the trash is sometimes swept into piles and burned, there is still a great deal of rubbish most everywhere you look and it really detracts from what is otherwise nice countryside.

Piles of trash in Delhi

Our internet access has been pretty sporadic and when we do have access, all 15 of us are trying to use it, so I can’t put up much in the way of photos now but I’ll try to post a few to give a small sense of the color and chaos of India.  I am in India until Christmas so more news on this country to come.  Not that it seems like Christmastime now that I’m running around every day in sandals and T-shirts but truly, it’s fine by me!