Bangalore...The End

Two years later I finally transcribed the journal entries I had written while on this fabulous trip.  I reached the last one and realized I had only written the title and this one like:

"It's our last day, I simply can't believe it."

That was it one sentence and I abandoned ship most likely to spend time with the bride and groom, get dressed up for the big party which i left around 12:30am to run off to the airport and fly back to Flagstaff, AZ where we had Christmas that year.  But the trip is not complete without a full recounting of Pooja and JT's second wedding so I will write this post from memory.  It may not be as fresh and nuanced as the others but who knows maybe it will have more perspective.

There were two major events for the wedding taking place 2 consecutive nights.  There were exactly 7 white people present, the groom, his family, casey, and myself.  Once people wrapped their head around the fact that we were not related to JT we became know as Pooja's school friends.  This is a true statement I suppose, Pooja and I have been friends since 7th grade, I had the honor of standing up with her at her first wedding in La Jolla, CA, and I was so thrilled to be one of two guests present who were fortunate enough to attend both weddings for Pooja and JT.  It was lovely to see how despite the enormous differences between these two ceremonies the setting and feel of each one reflected the couple.  The first night was the Henna ceremony and there were toasts, lots of family photos, and a some sort of happenings I didn't quite understand where Pooja and her mom (Yamuna) were both wearing the tradition headdress of her mothers family.  There was a delicious buffet of food and bangles of which you were supposed to choose a certain amount (11 maybe?) for good luck.  Ok so the specifics are a bit fuzzy, partly because it is 2 years later and partly because I didn't fully understand in the first place.  What I do know is I got to spend some time with Pooja as she sat patiently getting her hand and feet done with henna and the finished product was amazingly beautiful.  I also got my own hands done with henna and met a myriad of aunts and uncles and cousins who I had heard about but never met over the years.

The next night was the formal wedding.  The entrance to the hall has a tent of flowers to pass through that properly announced a grandiose occasion.  Pooja wore a beautiful red sari and JT wore the traditional wedding clothes of Pooja's family.  The actual ceremony happened quietly in the front of the room under another enormous display of flowers while the guests milled about and chatted enjoying themselves and paying little attention to the happenings in the front of the room.  Apparently this is typical and though I was curious and had to fight my own sense that we were being disrespectful I got a drink and hung back so as not to disrupt the order of things.  After the ceremony finished Pooja and JT sat on a stage in the front of the hall and each guest greeted them one by one.  The line wrapped around the edges of the room and people came and went.  When things began to die down I made my way over to "pay my respects to the bride and groom" to my relief when I reached them they were chatting casually and musing about how in a traditional Indian couple this would be an arranged marriage and the couple has to sit in the spotlight for hours greeting their guests one by one and never having exchanged more than a simple hello to each other.  These were my friends exactly how I knew them just in a different landscape.  After the formality there was fabulous dancing and more food that you could possible imagine.  We feasted and chattered and the entire evening had an immensely celebratory energy.  The colors of the women's saris were stunning the music from the live band (must have been at least 15 people) was bold and rich, the flowers were delicate and ubiquitous and the food, there was so much food!  During the evening I managed to sneak away and find Pooja and JT scarfing down some dinner in a back room and I we were able to sit and chat for a good 20 minutes uninterrupted.  After that I shed my beautiful silk outfit (a present from Yamuna) returned to travel clothes grabbed my pack and headed down for a final farewell.  The night turned comical as I hugged Pooja goodbye in the middle of this majestic setting she with a silk sari and lightly curled hair me with a 50 lb travel pack and a well worn (maybe dirty) outfit.

No matter how many times I had though about being in India with Pooja throughout the years of our friends I could never have imagined how it really was.  To see her entire family in a whole new place to see her grandmother who had lived with them in Sudbury for a bit when we were in high school, alongside my friend from San Francisco, and alongside JTs family who I had only ever seen in CA, the collision of all of these worlds made the entire affair seem rather dreamlike and yet I know it happened, it was real because it is an experience and recount and recall with not just myself but with my dear friends.

The pictures will describe more than I can!  The finally of a most wonderful month in India.

Bangalore (take 2)

We are back in Bangalore only this time it was the plan.  I confess I was sad to leave our little oasis of palm trees and start the 3rd and final phase of the trip, perhaps because it means my time in India is coming to a close or perhaps because I was finally settling into travel mode.  This last part was, however, the motivation for the the entire trip so it was back to airports and please lets end up in Bangalore as planned, and we did!  As soon as I saw Pooja and her family any sadness disappeared.  What fun to all be hanging out in India an what fun to do wedding things all over again.  We immediately got swept into the mix being taken around Bangalore by their private driver and having someone else say "now we are stopping here" or ordering delicious food and simply placing it in front of us.  Its nice to take a back seat but not feel like its a tour or a copout on finding the most effective and exciting traveling method and adventure.  Bangalore is a great city to not feel like you must see the sites.  Since we have a greater purpose of wedding celebration we are able to wrap things up and spend time just chilling guilt free.  This is the pampering portion of the trip we got manis and pedis at a lovely spa that made my feet feel like silk and my brain feel like noodles as casey would say.  We did lots of shopping and bought beautiful salwar kameeses (no idea how to spell that) for the wedding and when we were on our own we treated ourselves to gold class tickets to a Bollywood movie!  Gold class in case you are wondering basically means plush lazy boy recliners at the tippy top of the theater.  Not sure why that is so special but it was a perfectly delightful experience to go see an over the top Bollywood new release that was a sequel and in Hindi of course.  Yet despite all this it was totally entertaining and we got a good peak into Bangalore pop culture.  So little bits of entertainment mixed with good company/tour guides/familiar faces that make me smile.

(these are random photos I liked, the only one that is in Bangalore is the one of dosas YUM)

Thottada Beach (Kannur)

3 buses, 4 hours, and approximately $3 later, we arrived in Kannur.  It was interesting to do the trip as 4 people rather than 2, I was more along for the ride than the one asking questions.  Also interesting is to have a male in the mix.  Being two women traveling together people were forced to address us directly but put a man in the mix and they will only address him.  It didn't seem to matter that we weren't actually traveling together in the sense that we wanted to buy our own bus tickets etc. since we had only met them 2 days ago, the attitude is all the white people must be traveling together.  Funny the things you might not notice just due to circumstance.  We found ourselves on a winding mountain road going down on switch backs on a bus whose breaks squeaked so much and took about 5 minutes so stop us each time.  It was rather comical.  As I sat there, imagining this scenario in a different setting made it absurd.  We then arrived in Kannur and hopped in a tuk-tuk through the craziest tiny winding dirt roads with water and palm trees all around to a lovely little paradise called Thottada Beach.

It is amazing here!  We are situated right along a creek with the beach just a 3 minute walk away and it can be seen from the porch.  The entire area is covered with palm trees and the water in the ARABIAN SEA (!) is warm and delightful.  On top of all this our hosts are excellent cooks and I am starting to understand the great appeal of Keralan food.  Last night I watched the sunset with a group of 16 year old girls and their mothers who were keen on having to to their house but I declined in order to rejoin my home stay for dinner.  It is relaxing and beautiful here and I feel a million miles removed from the city exploration that started this trip.  Right now I am watching 4 guys hoist 2 beds from the ground to the second story of the house we are staying in, I think this is the room we are switching to tonight as more guests are arriving, its pretty entertaining.

PAUSE

Day 2 1/2 on Thottada Beach is just as marvelous as day 1.  The plan was to take a day trip to Valiyarparamba the northern backwaters but since it is so beautiful and peaceful here we scratched the backwaters (which I am sure are also wonderful) to take in some more sunshine and palms and scrumptious food.  Yesterday our host Sreeranj allowed us to watch as he and the housekeeper Lucy made dinner.  In theory I can now make shrimp biriyani although I have little faith in my ability to find all the correct ingredients let alone recreate this deliciousness.  This morning we woke up early and took a walk to a farther beach where you could walk endlessly and see fisherman along the way.  It was lovely to stroll on the beach and we got lost trying to find our way back along a road so we returned to the shore climbing over rocks until we hit familiar territory.  It was a nice adventure although I felt bad that we were extremely late for breakfast causing our host serve second round for us.    He seemed pleased enough to do so and we had appam (fermented pancakes) with chutney and some type of coconut and doughy thing with curry - yum, yum, yum!  Besides these small activities our days are full of beach and arabian sea dips, quiet time on the porch overlooking the stream, and mini siestas when the heat gets to be too much.  It's a nice slow pace surrounded by beauty and getting us ready for another travel day and whatever comes next in Bangalore.  India is fast creeping to the tip of my countries to return to list.

PAUSE

The sound here are fantastic, its like turning on every setting on a noise machine at once - crashing waves, rusting palm leaves, bird chirping.  The air buzzes with the sounds and all the critters making it peaceful but not dull.  I could listed for hours and not get bored of the sounds and yet when you wish t sleep it is a soft background lulling you towards dreams.  Absolutely perfect.  Sadly we had to bid farewell to this delightful oasis.  We were sent off with full bellies, of course, a "small simple breakfast" (ha!) which was appam (fermented pancakes) soaked in sweet coconut milk along with strong coffee and an omelette, yum.  Another long travel we are halfway through.  1st train - we missed our but managed to catch the next one and still get to the airport in time for our flight -  which did come despite my doubt because the security guard told me "don't worry madam the plane comes every day, almost every day."  So now we are in Combiatore 5 whole hours to chill at the airport and hope that we end up in Bangalore tonight.  Perfect for catching up on the blog.  Its hard to believe we are starting our 3rd and final portion of the trip and even harder to believe we are less than a week away from Christmas.  Oh my, I'm already sad to leave.

Tholpetty

Early morning is one of my favorite times of day - it is a treat of founds time all to yourself and you have the opportunity to watch and listen to an entire community wake up and start fresh.  Since I am currently staying just outside the gates of a wildlife reserve there are plenty of noises to help me greet the day.  Constant tweeting of birds and a few friendly honks from the early morning jeeps passing through town.  The honking is similar to the head wobble its a catch all gesture sometimes its a 'get our of the way' honk, other times its simply a 'hello' honk, or a 'hey I'm here' honk, or a 'move now' honk, and occasionally its a 'warning there's an elephant in the road up ahead' honk.  This was the case last night when we saw 5 elephants and a baby on the side of the road.  They are beautiful animals but when the mama gets mad and trumpets at you you keep moving, which is exactly what we did.

I started with the end though, so let me back up and tell you a but more about Tholpetty.  We are in the district of Wayanad the northern most point of the state of Kerala and we came here for the explicit reason to be close to the wildlife sanctuary known for elephants and tigers.  It was a complete change of pace from our go-go-go between forts and palaces in Rajasthan.  Here its go on a jeep safari hang around the "homestay" and let someone else put food on the table and call you over for every meal.  Its an odd feeling but rather nice to have someone else make the schedule for the day and you are just along for the ride.  Mr. Venu is the host here at Pachyderm Palace where we are staying and he's an eccentric man who enjoys talking about money and luck.  So since our main goal is Tholpetty was to see as much wildlife as possible our agenda consisted mostly of animal safaris - this time it is the image you all con jour with people hanging our of a jeep with cameras at the ready hoping to spot something exotic.  We did 3 safaris total, one the evening we arrived (4:15pm start), one the next morning (6:45am start), and one nighttime drive along the road since it was after the park closed for the day (6:15pm start).  The final of course was when we saw the elephants up close and personal.  Although I enjoyed our ride and seeing elephants 3 days in a row, along with peacocks, bison, deer, a kingfisher bird, eagle, and giant grizzly squirrels, I have come to the conclusion that Safaris are not my top choice to see and observe nature.  Somehow the loud engine of the Jeep breaks the magical spell of the Jungle.  Another realization (sorry apparently I'm full of reflections now that I have a moment of down time) is that I associate green with life - this may be a duh statement but going from the drastic change in landscape from desert to jungle made it so apparent that although I saw the desert and much life it holds there is still nothing as wonderful as a Jungle with constant noise and motion and lush green foliage fighting for sun and nutrients and hidden tigers ad brazen deer - I simply love the jungle!

Moving on, let me tell you a few other activities on our agenda that Mr. Venu announced to us.  We went to a waterfall back across the state line in Karnataka.  It was a well known spot full of families and grounds of kids (school, camp, not quite sure).  Although this didm't satisfy my craving to do some actual trekking it was fun to see the local summer hangout.  One of the coolest things we did was go to the local temple to see Theyyam.  We just happened to arrive on the evenign the town has hired a guy from a far away town to conduct the Theyyam.  This is a type of prayer involving dance and drumming so it is fascinating to watch even when you have no idea whats going on, good timing!

 We did have one block of unplanned time and as aways this means spontaneous adventures or encounters.  As I walked back from the internet at the next post (or next town over) I made a friend.  True to character she was under the age of 10 but my guess is over the age of 8.  I would share her name but of course I cannot even sort of pronounce it let along attempt to spell it, so she will remain 'my new friend'.  She and her grandfather and her cow were walking on the road ahead of me and she kept turing around to stare.  I've gotten used to this so I waved hello and smiled and she immediately stopped in her tracks and waited for me to catch up happily ditching her grandfather who didn't seem terribly bothered.  She spoke English quite well and we chatted all the way back.  Her house is very near where I am staying and she insisted I come see it.  Children are very good at insisting so I went and saw her one room house where she lives with her mother, sister, brother, and grandfather.  Her dad, I learned, lives and works in Mysore but he is planning a visit home next month.  It is place like this, tucked away treasures with adorable girls who wish to make you a cup of chai and have a chat that make me grin and want to stay forever.  We are leaving today however, off to Kannur for some beaches and backwaters, I'll let you know what we find.  We will brave the buses with a German couple we met who are traveling in the same direction.

P.S. Sorry these posts are so untimely.  I am writing them as I go in my journal but have found it takes lots of time to type up and I do not wish to be forever in stuffy and very slow internet cafes hence you are getting them extremely delayed.

Mysore

Two years later I have decided to pick up where I left off and finish my India blog.  Why now?  Well in 1 1/2 months I will be setting out on my next month long adventure (to PERU!) and decided I should wrap up loose ends before I hit reset.  So rewinding in time...

Mysore:

Mysore the bonus town!  Due to our flight snafu we rearranged to go through Mysore.  This was mostly for logistical purposes since it is a meeting spot between buses and trains and we were worried that night buses are a bad idea due to the dangerous roads, so 1/2 in Mysore was a bonus.  According to Lonely Planet (we have been traveling without a guide book to date since the one I bought was only for southern India hence why I am so excited to use/quote it don't worry I don't suddenly think guide book knows all) "you haven't seen southern India until you visit Mysore."  So let me tell you a bit about our stay there.  After doing a bit more internet planning and making sure we had a place to stay the following night we visited the palace.  I mean why not throw an added palace into the mix right?  This was one impressive palace - built after the old wooden palace that was there before burnt down the royal family pulled out all the stops.  Sadly, the didn't allow cameras (or shoes, like so many places not just temples as I anticipated but also shops, houses, and even palaces) inside so I cannot share photos to show the immense detail in this building.  The ceilings were atriums of colored glass made to look like peacocks, the teak wood doors were made specifically for each frame of every size and shape, and painted columns oozed splashy wealth and power.  There was an open air public hall and curtained balconies for women (always out of site) and silver detailing that would blow your mind; it really was  stunning palace.  After roaming through the gardens and feeling rather pleased that a. we randomly squeezed in this marvelous place and b. that once again people were staring and asking to take our photo a welcome change from the touristy feel of Jaisalmer, Casey and I were debating whether or not we had enough energy to tour a market or if we should call it a day.  I suppose we were due for some good luck because after refusing a million tuk-tuks we finally decided the market was a good idea and said yes to a man who referred to himself as "Master Blaster" - No Joke.  Master Blaster promised to show us the 'real' India all for 40R before dropping us at the market.  It was certainly quite a ride!  The rickshaw was decked out with colorful designs, disco lights, and loud speakers that he blasted Spice Girls from.  To my dismay he let Casey drive the rickshaw for a short but and luckily (it was pure luck) we didn't crash into a car or bike or other mode of transport.  Real India?  Not so sure but it was certainly entertaining.  We did get to tour a random ally where we were shown the many steps in how to do wooden inlay work.  Stacks of wood and half finished chairs and tables it was a workshop that would certainly have impressed my dad though it had far fewer gadgets than his own.  We also went and sat with the men who roll the Beedi (Indian version of cigarettes).  Each worker rolls 200 a day and they sell packs of 20 for 25R which is approximately 50 cents.  Just think about how much money smokers save in India.  I of course could not manage to roll or smoke a single one.  After these fascinating tours the 'real' India began to fade and Master Blaster took us to a place where they both make and sell aromatic oils and a place where the both make and sell rags and other souvenirs.  The selling bit of course is what makes it feel a bit more set-up and returns us to the reality of being a tourist.  It as a lucky choice however to get a crash course on Mysore in our 1 bonus afternoon.  We ended up skipping the actual market since our bus from  Mysore to Tholpetty (wildlife reserve in the Wayanad district) is at 6:45am.

Our way out of Mysore was not as smooth as our stay although the people were just as helpful and accommodating as the day before.  Switching gears from train to bus was certainly an adjustment.  As I sat bumping along all I could think of was Newtons law that for every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  I can't quite explain it but I feel like this applied to trains and buses in India.  Trains have platforms and schedules and tracks for that matter - our biggest hitch was lack of reservations which already says quite a bit about the efficiency of the train system.  Buses are a whole other deal.  We managed to miss out bus - although we were at the correct station we weren't at the right part, however, once we were able to communicate this the guy at the station called the driver and told hime to wait for us at another bus stop in town.  We grabbed a tuk-tuk lickety split to the other station in attempts to chase down our bus.  Here we were equally as lost as to where to go and now hurrying about like crazies this is when I slipped on some sludge and went down splat, flat out!  I mean vertical to horizontal in the blink of an eye.  Feel free to laugh at me, it was quite amusing.  Luckily for me my pack it now stuffed enough that it broke my fall and heavy enough that it spun me around so although I bonked my head I landed face up - still not sure how but I think I spun midway.  So apart from a bonk on the head and a skinned knee and hand I was ready to get back up and continue to chase our bus.  We found another possible area and as we bee-lined there we saw a man waving us over.  The guy must have told the driver to look for 2 lost white girls because he hurried us over to the correct bus.  The bus itself was a bumpy ride but we stopped for "tea break" and were served a lovely breakfast.  Our new gauge for meals is if they serve us tap water not knowing we won't drink it then we have found a treasure chest - our tea stop was a treasure!  One of the challenges here has been how to figure out just how paranoid to be in regards to what I consume.  My body usually pushed me to be adventurous by not getting bothered by anything.  This has not been true here.  I have been continuously healthy but slightly queazy for a chunk of the trip.  This has subsided but left lingering weariness.  At the same time restaurants where I understand the menu have not wowed me and the times we have ventured to try places where food simply appears and people stare and watch us eat (very sloppily I'm afraid with our hands) have been the fantastic flavors I have dreamed about.  For now the drinking water seems to be a good indicator but don't worry I'm not actually drinking it or even brushing my teeth with it.  On our bus ride today we met a lovely gentleman who had spent some time in Los Angeles he was keen to chat and gave us his phone number should we need any help while we are in Wayanad - these small gestures make me full of expletives like "I love people" - but its true the desire to connect, help, and show off your home and hospitality gives me the warm fuzzes - I love people!  It was also very helpful as the driver tried to explain that we had to get off the bus and catch another one the last 8 km to Tholpetty where we are staying.  This of course was not communicated to us when we bought the ticket, but nevermind that, on the second bus we spotted an elephant!  No joke on the side of the road just hanging out was an elephant!  It was incredible our 25 cent safari!  Almost as exciting as the elephant was watching everyone's reaction they saw the  elephant immediately turned around to make sure we were paying attention and then grinned because we were so excited.  So buses may not be quite as simple as trains but you might just spot an Elephant!

Bangalore (Prelude)

So unplanned pit stop in Bangalore.  We decided to "save time" and buy plane tickets between the North and South, after all India is big country to get across.  Unfortunately, we were planning on arriving to Kochi yesterday afternoon but our trip was 2 connecting flights the 1st of which was delayed 3 hours.  Our US entitlement attitude of give us more info and give us a new flight didn't get too far so instead we find ourselves in...Bangalore.  A week early and trying once again to make a new game plan and still fit in some backwaters and wild elephant spotting.  Wish us luck, we are off to the train station and bus station now to try to find some answers.  Apparently bus travel is far more common in the south as a way to connect places, another adventure for us!

PAUSE

So did we succeed?  This would be an appropriate place for an Indian head wobble.  This silent affirmative gesture is a catch all motion and although it takes some getting used to it is rather contagious.  So what does this mean in terms of our next steps?  We did not leave with an itinerary planed out by train tickets like when we left Delhi but it seems likely we will still be able to squeeze in much of our 1st choice options of what to see in Kerala.  Kochi is out, we crossed it off the list immediately after missing our connecting flight in an attempt to stay closer by and save a travel day in the long run.  Mysore is in, we added this since it is a main transportation hub to get between states.  So currently we are on the train to Mysore and also have a bus ticket in hand from Mysore to Tholpetty a Wildlife Reserve in Wayanad - hello elephants!  We are hoping to we will get a place to stay since its high tourist time and also be able to get from Wayanad to to the western coast for some beaches and lesser known backwaters in Northern Kerala.  Then we are going to make 1 last effort to fly back to Bangalore for wedding festivities, wish us luck!

Jaisalmer - Desert and Town

The town of Jaisalmer is an odd place and the feeling I get here I only describe by equating it to a New England beach town-it is outstandingly picturesque; every time you turn a corner or simply tilt your head and the light changes slightly you have the urge to take yet another picture even though photos do little to capture the enormity of the beauty you see.  Yet despite this enigmatic quality it is a tourist town catering towards the weekenders and summer crowd everything sounds new and exciting until you notice the patterns and lines begin to sound rehearsed and shops begin to look identical.  This is the feel of Jaisalmer, it caters to westerner tourists and puts on a very flashy show, but let me remind you I am in India not Cape Cod.  So here instead of nautical theme you find desert theme and for me desert is new and exciting and yes holds a bit of mystique.  The "it" thing to do from Jaisalmer is go on a camel safari.  Although the word safari conjures images of camouflage, Jeeps, and binoculars to my mind here it means ride a camel into the desert.  We decided to leave our palace for 1 night to sleep on the sand dunes under the stars.  A guide drove us to in a Jeep about an hour outside of the city to where we met our camels and 2 camel drivers (so I guide and 2 camel drivers just for Casey and I a pretty good attention ratio).   Along the way we stopped to "see a desert village" which was extremely uncomfortable as we drank chai while being stared at by 15 children who then ran after our Jeep asking for rupees and chocolates.  After this unfortunate detour we got to hop on the back of a camel and ride for a few hours lulled by the not so even rocking of the camels gait and the beat of the strong desert sun.  It was in fact quite spectacular.  After a few hours we arrives at some amazing dunes which were to be our campground for the night.  The desert is a fascinating place open and seemingly endless but certainly not still.  Steady winds pass through, moving out the air and exchanging it with cooler fresh oxygen and wildlife scurries about eating and singing to the wind.  When we set up camp our guides invited us to the "desert restaurant" they let us watch as they prepared chai, pakora, daal, rice, chaibati, and a mixed vegetable dish over the campfire.  We watched the sunset from the dunes and the sun huge and red have way to an enormous amount of starts, a desert sky certainly is unparalleled in my book.  Sleeping under the stars with a cool breeze on my face and warm blankets shielding the rest of me with the murmur of camels hanging about was delightful.  The next morning we rode our camels a few more hours met the Jeep and headed back to Jaisalmer.  The following day we went to the Fort which is really just a town within the town (this is the original section, remember, that the king left so his people would follow) it had the same touristy feel as the rest of Jaisalmer - beach town or desert mirage showing only that which the desert wishes to disclose and keeping the rest safely locked away and tricking your mind into not believing it exists. 

Note: I finished writing this in the Jaipur airport after taking an overnight train from Jaisalmer (AC3 not remarkable even though its a higher class, I personally would rather stick to SL) we are now going to fly south to Kochi and begin Phase 2 of our India Travels.