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!  

The Only Tourist in Romania

For the crowd-adverse, now is the time to visit Romania.  In the capital city of Bucharest I had some company and in Transylvania but then, wow, it was like I had the whole country to myself.  My week in Romania started in Bucharest where I was fortunate to be hosted by Erin, a RPCV from Macedonia who now works for Peace Corps in Romania.  While Erin was at work, I visited an outdoor museum of buildings from all over Romania showing the many styles of construction.  Then I toured the Palace of Parliament, built by the Communist ruler Nicolae Ceausescu during his 20+ year reign.  The building is second only in size to the Pentagon and seemingly every inch is covered with marble and gold-embroidered curtains.  As a friend of mine who grew up there said, it's astounding that Ceausesau could spend so much on a building when his people were standing in bread lines.  Actually, he was executed before the building's completion and now it is used, as the name implies, for the government and other offices, conferences, etc.  I rounded out the day by wandering the historic quarter, which shows the great architecture that used to cover more of the city before Ceausescu had his way with the usual socialist concretification, and enjoyed a Lebanese meal with Erin. 

Palace of Parliament

Lebanese with Erin

Next I traveled by train into Transylvania, specifically to the city of Brasov.  One advantage of traveling solo is that if I decide to drop my bags at the hostel, inhale an apple, and then run out to catch the next bus then nobody is perturbed by it.  In this case, I rushed off to the town of Bran to see "Dracula's Castle."  Though the historical inspiration for the Dracula character, Vlad the Impaler, hailed from this region, there's pretty much no tie to Bran Castle per se other than some great marketing.  Still, I enjoyed reading the history of the last royal family who used the castle until their ouster after WWII.  Brasov was also fun because there were other people staying at the hostel and we went to an Irish Pub to listen to a big band perform.

Spooky - Bran "Dracula" Castle

From inside Bran Castle

Note funny Hollywood-style Brasov sign on the hillside

Brasov at sunset

 After Brasov, I took a 2.5 hour train to the town of Sighisoara, which has cute walled city that I walked around.  The childhood home of Vlad the Impaler is also here.  Then I continued perfecting my killing-time-having-coffee-and-using-internet until I took off for a 2 hour train to Cluj Napoca, then yet another 1 AM train for 6 hours to Gura Humorului.  I had the pleasure of being woken at 2:30 AM by the conductor who said nothing I understood except "problem" and then having to move to another train car.  At least the second train car seemed heated which might have been the problem.

Sighisoara

Dracula!

Arriving in quaint Gura Humorului on a Sunday morning, I needed to take a taxi out to the guesthouse I reserved online.  I rang the bell of the guesthouse and nothing.  I knocked.  I rang more, pounded on the door.  What was I going to do 3 miles from town with all my stuff on a cold morning?  After a few more minutes, I finally roused the owner of the guesthouse.  Pleasantly I was upgraded to a room with it's own bathroom but I guess that made sense since I was the only guest.  I chose this location because a friend stayed there last March and their website said they worked with a Peace Corps volunteer before.  And ultimately it worked as a decent base for seeing two monasteries, Humor and Voronet, that is by walking about 10 miles roundtrip.  Eh, I figured I needed the exercise after all that train/cafe sitting.  Voronet was the truly impressive monastery, the complete exterior covered in small, detailed paintings.  Here's practically the only picture of me in Romania because I rarely had someone around to take one.  Actually, I had two people take photos but both were about like this, which is to say that someone should teach photography in Romania.

Me at Voronet Monastery

Voronet exterior

Voronet details

Humor Monastery

Inside Humor during Sunday services

In the countryside on my walk

Water well, still in use

Genius--to go pretzels, tied with twine

I begged my way onto an officially "full" mini-bus, the only one I knew of that day, to my final stop in Romania, Sighetu Marmatiei (also known as Sighet).  Basically I went all the way from the northeast corner to the northwest so I could see a place called the Merry Cemetery in a nearby village, Sapanta.  Actually, the signs in Sapanta call it the Cheerful Cemetery and I'm glad that I made the effort because it's like nothing else I've ever seen.  Dating back to 1935, each plot has a cross where the front (and sometimes the backside too) have an image from the deceased's life.  Usually it had something to do with the person's vocation or life like weaving, farming, fixing cars, etc.  There were some crazier pictures too though like someone being beheaded and another person hit by a car.  The whole cemetery is so colorful with the dominant blue color and then all the different images are so colorful, so I got completely photo-happy and you can see the results here.

Merry Cemetery

Romanian food--stuffed cabbage rolls (sarma) and polenta with cheese

Typical winter street scene in Sighet

During my time in Sighet, I was blessed with incredibly good travel karma.  First, I figured out from the signs at my hostel (again I was the only guest and the owner left a baba who only spoke Romanian in charge, so thank goodness for the detailed signs) that there was a van directly from Sighet to Budapest so no more night trains!  Second, I easily caught a ride from Sapanta back to Sighet, following the custom of paying the driver the same as the bus fare.  Then, on the ride to Budapest, a nice lady who spoke English took me under her wing and made sure I didn't get forgotten anywhere along the way, getting out of the van just before my stop.  I thought we were arriving in Budapest at 4:30 AM, just when the subway was opening but, doh, I didn't realize we were changing time zones.  When I pulled on the locked doors of the train station where I was dropped and saw 3:30, my stomach dropped and my mind started racing--it's cold, if I take a taxi I'll get ripped off, can I even find a taxi, do I wait out here for an hour...when another gal from my van came up and said, "I don't speak good English but my brother can give you a ride if you want."  Oh, praise be!  So I got dropped just a few minutes from my hostel and for free.  The whole week the people in Romania were so good about trying to understand me and helping when they could--I have great impressions of the people there.

I wish I had something exciting to report about Budapest, Hungary but here's how it is: this is my third time here and being the thorough person that I am, I pretty much saw everything the first time through.  Plus, traveling two weeks alone is exhausting.  I was in charge of all logistics, watching belongings, making decisions, etc so here, I'm resting.  Mostly I've been shopping, restocking for my next destination--India!  I had to replace my broken purse, buy a plug adapter, watch the new Twilight movie (okay, strictly speaking that wasn't a must), etc.  Today I sent my winter coat and a few other things home to lighten my load (and it also greatly lightened my wallet, eek).  I'm feeling fairly ready though having learned, among other things, that instead of 30-degree Fahrenheit temps like here, India is having highs in the 80s, lows in the 50s and that time in India is a half hour off the rest of the world, i.e. 00:30 to everyone else's 00:00.  I spent the entirety of the last year in and around Eastern Europe, so I'm excited to be heading to a new region, especially when it's a place that is completely off the rest of the world time-wise.  By Sunday, I'll be in Delhi! 

Bulgaria, Or How I Almost Got Arrested

Arriving in Sofia, Bulgaria's capital, I saw this and was like hmmm, did I teleport to Denver International Airport?

DIA?

My afternoon began happily enough, sitting watching this scene while I ate the cheese sandwiches that Linda made me,

and going into this church and wondering how the massive dome has barely any supports.

Aleksandar Nevski Church

Sigh, but then because my cell phone wasn't working and I needed to reach Galina, my couch surfing host, I bought a new card for my phone.  In theory, this card should have made my phone work but it didn't.  In the store I'm speaking Macedonian, begging for my money back and they are refusing in Bulgarian that I do but don't understand.  There is some controversy about whether Macedonian and Bulgarian are two different languages or dialects of the same language and I will not weigh in.  Suffice to say, they knew what I wanted but since the chip worked in their phones they weren't budging.  This is when, I'm sad to say, I threw the card on the ground and started kicking at the packaging.  The store owner I was talking to disappeared and it occurred to me that I might be arrested.  So, I picked up my kicked-around card and hightailed it.  This is pretty uncharacteristic behavior for me but I think I regrouped well.  I found another phone store that loaned me a phone and I used my card to call Galina.  We agreed on a meeting time and place and then I ate 2 doughnuts at Dunkins because that makes everything better.

Tom Jones says it's not unusual to use doughnut therapy

Staying with Galina was by far the best part of my time in Bulgaria.  We are the same age and have a lot in common, so I enjoyed chatting with her over the breakfast she gave me and when we went to dinner my second night there.  She and I shared her room in her apartment, which is an incredibly nice thing for anyone to do, and I found her couch quite comfy.  Plus, she helped me figure out all the logistics of buses and things to get where I wanted to go, I really couldn't have asked for more. 

Galina at dinner

Sadly my second day in Sofia started with yet another financial blow.  I needed to exchange money and the banks weren't open yet, so I went to a currency exchange that flipped the numbers, so essentially I was charged $15 to change $75--yeah, ouch.  I have heard from many other friends about this type of problem, taxi cons, etc, so Sofia doesn't have a good reputation for travelers.  Fortunately the rest of the day was lovely as I took a bus about 3 hours to a place called Rila Monastery.  The monastery has a striking paint job on the exterior and I got a good look at it during the 2 hours I had there until the bus went back to Sofia.

Rila Monastery

Close-up from Rila Monastery

After my two days in Sofia, I took a bus about 3 hours to a town called Veliko Tarnovo.  I'd chosen that destination based on the recommendation of others and so as to see somewhere in Bulgaria outside the capital.  Unfortunately for me, the office that used to sell international train tickets in Veliko Tarnovo no longer did, leaving me with a dilemma: I'd just arrived in town, but I needed to go to another town 20 minutes away by train to buy a ticket, which wouldn't be so bad except the trains only run once an hour.  Ah yes, and I have to buy a ticket before the office closes at 5 (or maybe 6) PM.  So, stressed, I quickly visited two churches and then carried on to the town selling international tickets.  That gave me 8 hours until my 1 AM train to contemplate the coolness of the interior of the Tsarevets Fortress church with it's modern take on Orthodox art and to rejoice that a town without a working restaurant had free wifi in its train station.  Then by 7 AM, I was in Bucharest, Romania.

Tsarevets Fortress in Veliko Tarnovo

Interior of the fortress church