Friday, May 16, 2008

Dear B. Cull, sorry to let you down...

I know my blog posts have been sporadic (nonexistent, really) but the further south we go, the less internet exists. We are at a dive internet cafe right now, checking out the 166MHz computers from 1990. Alas, I digress-- I am grateful for the internet access!

Since Elephanta Island, Sarah and I went to a Jain temple in Mumbai and went out with a guy we met there. I know, who picks up at a temple, really??? Anyway, GREAT times and 3 am nights, and we headed to the airport. Sarah is now safe in Nepal and I flew to Cochin to meet Kelly. We were super tired and lazy, so we didn't go see any sites, and instead lounged by the pool at the Hilton. In the super exec suite they gave me because they forgot to pick me up at the airport. Sweet.

From Kochin, our awesome driver Rajesh picked us up and took us to Thekkady, where we had lots of insane times-- took in a Kathakali performance, had very naked areyvedic massages and went on a safari where we saw a frog. And got bitten by leechs.

From Thekkady, went to Kumarakom and boarded our luxury houseboat, which was gorgeous. About 10 mins on the water Kelly asked if they had any beer... they hadn't stocked any, but they stopped the giant boat at the next jetty and two of the minions went to town and brought back 8 bottles of Kingfisher. We gave the 4 staff 4 of them, and kept 4 for us.

We are now in Kovalam on the beach. It is gorgeous here and we are just getting ready to hit up the water. We head back on Sunday night and arrive home on Monday morning.

Anyway, just wanted to throw a quick update to let you know we are alive and well in India. See you soon!!

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Elephanta Island - Mumbai

We had a big list of things to do today.... but we decided sleeping was the way to go and napped til 11am. We eventaully got up and showered and got ready to head to Elephanta Island.
We got the "deluxe" boat thing, but I'm pretty sure they're all the same. Not something that would pass Transport Canada standards, for certain. They were a little sketch and definitely pumped some serious diesel. So, we set out on the hour journey to Elephanta Island at 1pm. The Island is home to some amazing Hindu caves carved in 5-7 A.D. They used to have amazing detailed carvings and paintings, but there is little left of this. Still, it was pretty awesome. The first temple is dedicated to Shiva (I have no idea who that is, but that's what the security guard told me...) and is totally amazing. There are incredible carvings that are quite well preserved, and the temple itself, with intricate pillars, is stunning.



The views from this place were amazing, and we climbed to the top of the first cave to get some stellar shots. We also did some shopping and bartering on the way back down the hill... mostly because we don't want to go to any more markets and still had some presents to buy. The trip back was fine, but disembarking the boat was hell. We had to jump between 3 boats with a pile of pushy people trying to fight their way through. It was insane. But, we made it back alive and ordered basically everything off the room service menu at our sweet hotel. Tomorrow is another temple, a beach and maybe a hunt for sunstone necklaces. Below are some of my fav shots of the day, so amazing there really isn't much I can say about them.
























Thursday, May 8, 2008

"Don't touch me, I'm wearing white..."


Mumbai is pretty sweet. Today was low key-- we were supposed to go to Ellora Caves but were too exhausted to fly again, so we cancelled the flights and slept in. It was heaven. Then we ordered toast and jam (best jam on earth). The guy who came to the door spent 5 minutes arranging the toast on our table and another 5 trying to make small talk and saying goodbye.

The hotel scored us a cab and we headed to In Orbit Mall. We saw the mall...and watched as our driver went past it. We figured he was taking a back route... 15 mins later in the middle of no where we thought it was a back route to our deaths. Anyway, we eventually communicated in quasi English/signlanguage that we wanted the MALL. He was taking us to a park. Sarah and I are not park people.

Mall wasn't bad...we did some shopping at Marks and Spencer and the Body Shop and went to see IRONMAN. Ironman was great. So was the $1.00 popcorn. 

The last exciting story of the day was the ride home... we couldn't get a cab, but there were a load of tuk tuk's. For those who have no idea what that is, it's a sketchy auto rickshaw with 3 wheels and no doors. And they drive like demons here, so it can get a little frightening-- but the fear of your life comes with the bonus of mega-cheapness.



The tiny little tuk tuk got us home... but I thought everyone should see the proximity of Sarah's knee to the vehicle next to us.

Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Bollywood!


After some serious Jet Airways delays and general uncertainty about Indian travel, we finally made it to Mumbai! ...We're planning to shop and see Ironman tomorrow. IRONMAN.

Feigning Cultural Sensitivity...

Amritsar. The site of the Golden Temple, the super holy Sikh spot. Being two young and somewhat stupid white girls, we decide to trek on in... without really reading instructions or really paying much attention to anything around us. Anyway, you can probably see where this is going... outside of the temple walls there is a marble area with little pools... we saw signs asking us to take our shoes off, but we didn't realize we were supposed to do it before the marble entrance... oops. A bunch of people ran over and showed us where our shoes were supposed to go (a hut with a number tag system). Mistake one. Sarah and I decided it would be more logical to throw our flipflops into her giant bag instead of tagging them, since we wouldn't be wearing them and they were small. Mistake two. So, we then decide to go in and totally don't notice that everyone else has their head covered. Mistake 3. I had a pashmina and could cover my giant blonde fluffball hair, but Sarah wasn't so lucky. So, on attempt 2 we had to leave again so she could buy a headcover. Third try was the charm and we got in. We walked around for a while and then got in line to go into the little golden temple in the middle of the lake... where a dude totally got in Sarah's face asking if she had shoes in her bag. She tried to explain the whole thing about not wearing them, but he wasn't having it. She went back to the main part of the temple and I walked around... my take away was that there are a lot of seriously dedicated religious people. We ended up totally loving the temple, despite the screw ups on our part and random stares and perceived hate. Despite this, we made lots of "friends" who took our pictures.  After this, and a wee break, we caught a ride to the Pakistan border for the "Pakistan Withdrawal Ceremony"--a giant nightly ceremony where they lower the flags of both states, stare each other down (sometimes fight) and close the border. It is a huge display of patriotism on both sides, with each side of the border blasting music, trying to outdo the other. There were also random Indians running with the state flag and dancing to Indian music... at the border. It was very unique. We watched the sun set over Pakistan and reveled in the apparent hate between the border guards on both sides. They kicked at each other and glared and postured... there is video of this awesomeness which will be uploaded tomorrow. Check back!





Travelling Home



Well, today was the final day for Em and Jacqueline, who headed back to North America at 11pm. The day was spent at a sweet market called Dilli Haat in Delhi, were we bought lots of random gifts to bring home. I'd write about them... but you may be receiving one and that would ruin the surprise.

Sarah and I headed north. The trip to Amritsar was peaceful and we watched the sun set on the way along the Indian countryside. Everyone else went shopping in Connaught Place in Delhi and awaited the flight home.

Upon arriving in Amritsar we checked into our hotel, opposite the Golden Temple (site most sacred to Sikh's) and passed out. So tired.
*UPDATE* Em and JAM made it home safe!

May 4th

We started this awesome day at the American Diner-- it was hidden in some compound in Delhi where we met essentially every other white person in the city. We were super excited, since they had waffles and little hash brown potatoes like McDonalds. They also had--wait for it-- REAL HEINZ ketchup! Most of the ketchup-like sauce here is sweet and sour sauce-- totally lame and not tomatoe-y at all. This place did it right.

We went from here for City Walk, a giant mall (a la Eaton Centre, but bigger). We didn't really spend a lot of time here, but it was nice to see. Then we ventured to LaCoste, where Em and JAM got their outfits for the Canadian Embassy Club. We headed to the Embassy at 7pm in our cute little (overdressed) outfits and met up with Kelly and Ryan-- playing oldskool trivial pursuit and drinking a bottle of wine. We had a fab night of mashed potatoes and Wolf Blass yellow label and may have taken a dip in the Canadian Compound pool afterwards...

May 3rd

These posts are a little behind, since we didn't have internet for a few days. Blah. So, here goes the effort at a mass update...

We hired a SWEET luxury black SUV from the Hilton to drive us around on our last day in Jaipur. 

We started the day shopping... the jewellery market we wanted was closed, so we went to malls and other markets. We got saris and jewellery and pashminas... great shopping adventure. After le shopping, we went to visit the Amber Fort, which was way up a mountain. Jaipur itself is in the province of Rajisthan, which is super hella hot to begin with, so the fort was pretty rough-- but amazing. We also went up another giant hill to a fort that overlooked all of Jaipur. It was an incredible scene, and made up for the vom-causing goat path we had to travel to get there. We then hit up the  train station, got a little heatstroke, and waited for the perpetually late train. Eventually, we got back to Delhi to find the worst hotel on earth awaited us-- Lonely Planet lies. So we spent the night in this total dive (though, bug free...). 

Friday, May 2, 2008

Heaven. Happiness. Home. Hilton.

We were very excited to leave the hotel where the cockroaches lived. After packing up, we went to breakfast after no sleep and felt like death. We also decided the only safe thing to eat was toast. Then, like magic, Emily pulls out a tub of Jif peanut butter that Janice (her mom, who is the MAN) told her to bring. This peanut butter saved our lives and we actually dreamed about it for the remainder of the day. Janice, we love you.
So, after the giant cockroach situation we said "f*** this noise" and went to the glorious Hilton. After we left cockroach hell, we ventured to a couple shopping malls to test our luck. 
We also hit the City Palace, a gorgeous site in the middle of the city. After we got to the hotel, we decided to blow off the tourist part of the day and enjoy the resort-like awesomeness that is this hotel. We also ate amazing food and had beds with more than plywood and a sheet. 

Thursday, May 1, 2008

The Day From Hell.


The day begins...at 5:40 am to construction, WTF!! Not that it mattered, Jacqueline didn't sleep all night anyways (after the nap)...so she heard the world's most annoying bird start his love song at 4 something am. Aaarrrg. Fine. No problem. Then the pool construction starts. Dammit. We get up. On the road to Jaipur. We stoped at  Fatehpur Sikri and headed to our less than stellar hotel.  Making a move to the Hilton for sure.

 Tomorrow we will attempt to soothe our troubles with a little Indian retail therapy. We'll see how that goes.

“Perhaps travel cannot prevent bigotry, but by demonstrating that all peoples cry, laugh, eat, worry, and die, it can introduce the idea that if we try and understand each other, we may even become friends.” - Maya Angelou