Singapore and home

Hi everyone

We come back tomorrow-time has flown by!  Singapore has been good-deb wasn't feeling so great so I explored a bit on my own-the met system here is easier then the London tube so it was super easy to figure out.  I got caught in a thunderstorm when I was out so it gave me the excuse to stop at starbucks and get an almond cake and a London fog while I waited it out. I also may have had a burger and fries since I was somewhat happy to not be eating curry.  :). Today we went to chintown where I tried prawn noodles ( with squid) and carrot cake (not what you're thinking unless you're thinking fat noodles in a red bean slightly sweet sauce) and dumplings.  Itwas all pretty yum.  Then we went to little India and shopped.  Deb and I are coming back withFOOD!  Can't wait to start cooking.  Then, we went for dinner with debs uncle (s) and other family and had chicken rice.  Even more yumm.  

I tried a few other things today too:  jackfruit (tasty!), young coconut water nd the sweet bit inside (so good), AND durian.  Not something I would ever choose to eat but if I had to again it wouldn't kill me-I'd just hold my breath doing it. :) it has a slighht petrol taste to it...

So 700 photos later and one extra suitcase each, we will be back in Vancouver tomorrow night, full of jetlag probably.  
Praying for a good flight back with lots of goodmovie selections (kidding about the movies :)

Ttys
Mel 

Singapore

hey all,

i cheated again...scroll down for a back-to-the-future post of mine from March 25 :)

We've spent the last 3 days in Singapore...and unfortunately, i've spent the last 2 of them in the hospital! after a quick jaunt to Johor Bahru in Malaysia, i came down with an icky bug (most likely contracted from some sketchy sugar cane juice that i dared myself to drink while in Kolkata!) that kept me prostrated at a toilet bowl for one too many hours.

while i toured West Point Hospital, Mel managed to get out a bit and try some tasty treats, of which i was very jealous and pouty about. my uncle Tom has been a fantastic host taking us many places and tempting Mel with chili at every opportunity. Nancy and Jeff, who we are staying with, have also been wonderful hosts providing us with a comfortable bed and internet...!! may i remind you that Mel and i haven't slept on an actual mattress since we started this trip...most hotels/hostels/guests houses in india have...mats as beds. so yeah...down pillows and a spring mattress were a tremendous delight for us!

i was discharged from the hospital late last night and managed to meet up with my friend Jon and his dad for a quick dinner...they ate...i watched. the last time i saw Jon was in Paris in 2006 so it was a great visit...short but good. with one day left, i managed to spend one day in day light. we hit up Chinatown where Mel and my Uncle Tom ate...while i napped in the car from nausea. then we went to Little India and bought way too many food items to bring home with us. look out everyone, we're ready to cook up a storm. then for dinner, we met up with my Uncle John, Uncle Soon and friends Steven and Jasmine. we (and by we i mean THEY) had a feast of Haianese Chicken Rice, Pork and Chicken Satay, while i ate....fish porridge. better translated into fish congee for you Vancouverites. yep....i was sad. but happy that Mel was eating on my behalf. it's not joke when you read in a brochure that Singaporeans favourite hobby is to eat. Mel will blog more about food, i believe, so i'll leave the tasty details to her.

we're off for our flight tomorrow morning, with a stop over in Seoul, Korea then San Francisco, California where we hope to meet up with two more friends for the stopover. the adventure continues!

dL

Kolkata

Hi everyone,

So we're here in Kolkata. It's 36 degrees out and it's hot. We never did get to see the amazing view of the Himalayas that Darjeeling boasts about but it's all the more reason to return. We got up at 4am and got a taxi up to Tiger hill to join all the other tourists for this view that is raved about. And it never came..the fog never lifted which was sad. (We have a sad photo of us all). So we climbed back in our taxi (freezing cold having stood outside for over half an hour) and on our way to river rafting, visited a Buddist monastery and a war memorial. The we went downhill for 2 hours (or so it seemed). We got to the Teesta river and met our rafting guide and headed in a jeep up river to launch the boat. Turns our, our taxi driver Ajit (I remembered his name!) got to go with us in our rafting adventure which was super funny. Our safety explanation consisted of..."Here is how you hold the paddle, when I say forward you paddle this way, when I say back you paddle this way..good? ok." So we set off down the river. Ajit had never been rafting before and doesn't know how to swim so the guide dragged him off the boat while floating in a quieter spot and helped him conquor his fears somewhat. :) The best rapids were the first ones we got...the guide had Deb crawl down in front of the boat, while Kristin and I paddled on each side and he hit the rapid right on and soaked us all. And there were a few right in a row so we were spluttering and laughing when we were through...the rest were pretty good too but it was a fairly tame ride. Mostly it was nice to see the scenery from the river. We stopped for lunch on our way back and tried a momo which is unique to Bengal. It looks like a perogie crossed with a gyoza but is filled withh cabbage and spices. Really tasty. We got some again the next day on our way to the airport...All this adventure and we arrived back in Darjeeling at oh...1pm. :) We had a group nap and then just wandered more of Darjeeling. The next day, our new taxi driver, Ajit, picked us up to take us to the airport and did the friend switch so his buddy Rim ended up driving us instead. It's a long ride...takes anywhere from 3-4 hours to get from the airport to Darjeeling because of all the bad mountain roads and potholes and tiny one way streets and traffic jams (cars squeezing by in spots you never thought wide enough). Not a drive for those who are uncomfortable with narrow roads..we called it the Indian road to Hana (and thought it might be worse).


We got to our guest house last night, in Kolkata, in Sudder street area (close to where Mother Theresa lived) and this morning walked over to visit the Mother house where her tomb is. They had a really informative room where you could read all about her life and her journey, you could see the room where she lived, and you can see all the sisters currently living there getting on with life and doing there daily things. Really cool visit. From there, we wandered...it got hot so we went to Big Bazzar (Walmart) which had AC (important when it's 36 degrees out and noon!). We hit a flower market near the Howrah bridge which was really dynamic and had lots of beautiful strings in the different stalls...fun to wander through. We're going to hit a light show tonight in this park somewhat close to our hotel so that should be fun...

Kolkata still has the British influence, seen in the architecture of major buildings..ie the post office, court house, writers hall etc. Gorgeous big buildings of marble and brick. And then there's challenging areas of the city where there's a lot of poverty and oppression. We were walking down the street and saw the cups that the Dalit's use (once used, they smash them on the sidewalk). Deb and I were at Missions fest a while ago and heard someone talking about this so it was really interesting to see it in person. (The Dalit's are a very low caste in India and are under significant oppression). Yeah - reading about the Missionaries of charity earlier (Mother Theresa) just raises awareness of the poor and dying in India and opens your eyes further.

We have one day left! Crazy how time has flown...we fly to Singapore tomorrow night and have a few days there..then back for Easter. :)

Mel

Darjeeling & Kolkatta

Greetings all! (here follows another back-to-the-future post!)

i write from Changi Airport in Singapore! Mel has done a great job of capturing our last few days in India. Darjeeling was such a "cool" experience as we all (Mel, Kristin and I!) enjoyed the lower temperatures, scenic greenery and rafting trip along the Teesta River. Kolkata was an incredible experience for me. Walking the streets that Mother Teresa once roamed, and visiting her place of residence where she served the poorest of the poor in Kolkota was inspiring, to say the least. I wept my way thru the museum as i saw images of her and other sisters of the MIssionaries of Charity helping people, and read vignettes from her diary regarding her personal journey of faith. i had the privilege of returning later on that day to attend Mass (church service). for pics and Kristin's thoughts on our trip, please visit her blog

i can't really believe that the India portion of our trip is over. it seems like it was only just the other day that we were in Changi Airport getting ready for our flight TO Mumbai!

While waiting in the departures terminal in Kolkata to board our flight to Singapore, i was approached by a tourism official and was requested to fill out a survey about my experience in India. i found that fitting, as i sat and pondered about the last few weeks in India. we went thru a flurry of questions ranging from what sorts of transportation we took, to the average cost of food, shopping, accomodation, what we thought about the airports etc...and then came the question, "what was most impacting thing about your trip for you?" Without hesitation, i seem to spit out the words "the hard working people have made this country into what it is today...good work ethic is hard to come by." whether motivated by poverty, sincerity and diligence, bartering and taking advantage of tourists... i have to say that people's work ethic here are of a calibre i have never seen before...determined, persistent, and in most cases, very helpful.

i have been privileged to share the last month with Mel. she has been a dream to travel with. there are few people in life you can share 25 days with, straight. and i'm glad she put up with me for that long! we have lots of pictures, and stories, and new recipes, so looks us up when we're back...we'll do visits as a pair, by request :)

thanks for journeying with us. it's been pleasant to take this trip along with our readers.

much love,
dL

Darjeeling & Random

Hey everyone,

We're here in Darjeeling, having pulled out all our warm weather gear and we're looking oh so fashionable in it! :) I'm finally using the toque I brought, my rainjacket, fleece, still wearing the Kurta but also with my yoga pants, socks and the hiking shoes I've worn once while in India (to make room in my pack while taking a train). And we’ve have had rain 2 days in a row now! On the way up to Darjeeling yesterday, and then again this afternoon it's rained. Such a contrast from the rest of our month being in the mid 30's and now we're in a place where they built us a fire in the fireplace in our room to stay warm last night. First impressions? Love it. It's such a great place....and it's a place to relax in. It seems less hectic and well, less like everyone is out for your money than some other places we've been. So we've just had a great day wandering around and taking it easy and are not on our guard (nice break).

So since we last posted...few things. One was that I have been mildly stressed about trains just because there is potential for stuff to get stolen, we're women and overnight trains are not known to be the safest. When we're meeting locals who are chaining their bags to the bunks, it lets you know what the reality is. So we had originally anticipated being able to train straight from Varanasi up to Darjeeling and we were waiting on our tickets while in Varanasi. Our wonderful travel agents (in Pune) weren't able to get them for us so booked us on a train to Kolkata and then were anticipating booking us on a train to Darjeeling from there. Because of our limited time, we opted for a flight from Kolkata up to Darjeeling so we could maximize our time. So we were prepared for a 24+ hour travel day, leaving Varanasi (one 14 hour night train, one 5 hour airport wait , one 1 hour flight and one 3 hour taxi/jeep ride to Darjeeling). We walked into the Varanasi train station after our exhausting morning (see Deb's post re Varanasi ghats - lots of brain activity going on in both our heads), anticipating our usual mode of being on our guard. And the best thing happened. There were tourist police. We walked in and because we didn't see our train listed on the board, we asked an official looking guy and he directed us over to a side wall to sit with some other travellers (about 10 of us in all). While this isn't what we've usually been doing (heading to where the foreigners tend to bunch together), we did this time. And after a few minutes we started to notice a pattern. If any guy was standing too close and just staring, the police would yell at them and they'd move off to somewhere further away. If any one approached us begging, the police would send them on their way. And they kept a solid 10 foot wall of empty floor around us as a barrier..by the end of the time we were there, there were probably 30 + travellers, all in this one area...all grouped by the police based on which train we were on. When our train finally arrived, they let us know which platform to go to. And then found us when it changed and let us know to go to a different platform. Overall though, they were such a welcome surprise so that we could relax a bit, prior to our 14 hour train ride. On which we shared a compartment with a sweet grandma, her grandson, a guy Deb dubbed as an Indian George Kostanza (his name was Nitin - I called him Nimbit, thinking of a timbit), this sketch looking priest all dressed in orange with crazy wild grey hair and 2 other guys who joined us later in the night. Anyways - nitin was helpful and was good at explaining different things happening on the train and helped the pass the time.

Side note - I'm having a terrible time with names. For some reason, I can't remember them AT ALL. I hear it, it can be spelled and I can even repeat it a few times but my brain doesn't catch on. So Amin from Goa, I called him Abu. Jugdish, a guy from Udaipur, I called him Jughead. Sandeep from Pune I called Sanjeev...I messed up Deb's middle name the other night. So my brain seems to be fried or something. :)

Also - an observation I've made being here...foreigners frequently are wearing pants we've dubbed as TAS pants (take a .... pants) as that's what they look like. However I've only noticed the foreigners wearing them and haven't seen any local women from any region wearing these yet which makes me think that it's a misconception that it's "clothing to fit in with". The biggest thing I've noticed is that locals prefer clothing that covers your butt.

Another observation - the men here are really affectionate towards each other. They hold hands, will drape around the others shoulders while walking down the street, and will even hold pinky fingers. It's so cute! :) But I still haven't gotten used to it. :)

Also - I ate a green chili pepper in Varanasi, thinking it was a green bean and had a delayed reaction in realizing what it was. But then...oh my gosh...I was frantically trying to find a napkin to spit it out in as I had chewed seeds and all. It took my breath away for a bit but overall I survived. But yikes....don't want to do that again. UUGH.

Right...back on track. the trip up here. We got in, met Kristin and found our taxi driver who was going to take us up to Darjeeling. His music selection was hilarious. There was some Bon Jovi, Sting, and random R&B songs but my two favourites...Enrique Eglesias (not that I should admit to this but it brought me back to my highschool days - and I knew the words still! yikes!) and the ultimate? Celine Dion - Titanic. So there's this cool little dude (looked like he was 18), driving his slightly suped up car, blasting Celine with us the in the car. It was a memorable ride.

We're staying in this place called the Swiss hotel and it's a chalet. I love it. I've quite decided like being taken care of. :) The guy brings us tea in the morning to our room, lights the fire for us. It's fantastic. We have a view, we just haven't been able to see it yet as there’s a cloud cover but the room is really quaint and we feel like we’re in a chalet or something, all bundled up in quilts and sitting by a fire, drinking tea. :)

We visited a tea plantation this morning and wandered all around the grounds, then went to the Happy Valley café and this woman made us 5 second tea. From there we wandered into lower Darjeeling and then took this long long cobblestone road uphill to get us back to the main area. We’ve booked a rafting trip for tomorrow as well as a trip to see Tiger Hill in the am. So we’ll be getting up at 4am tomorrow with hopes of seeing the impressive mountain view we came here for. :)

Right now? We’re headed back to our cozy chalet to eat some tasty dinner and try to get to sleep early.

mel

Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh

hello all,

we've spent the last couple of days in Varanasi. unfortunately, i was hit with a 24 hour bug and was without food (can you imagine me...without food?!?!) while Mel feasted. one upside of my being sick was the resting and relaxation we found in lazing around the hotel... this rest proved to be helpful for our 5am wake-up call today.

this morning, we took a sunrise boat trip along the Ganges River. noted as the most sacred of cities in India, Varanasi is the site where Hindu pilgrims come to accomplish a number of things. coincidentally, i had charged my battery but forgot to put it in my camera, (Mel's camera can't post pics cos we don't have the cord) so i'll attempt to describe to you what i saw this morning...

we were warmly greeted by our guide, Tripati, at 530am. without inquiry, he let us know that he was a brahmin priest, and the highest of all castes. i suppose tour guiding was his daytime job as he taught lessons in the Hindu temple on sundays as well. we arrived in the Old City, and learned that the layout of the city was intentionally made so that each street would inevitably always lead down to the holy Ganga (hindu name) river. as we walked the stone streets, weaving thru alley ways we saw a handful of people beginning their morning prayers chanting in the temples, clanging their bells, lighting the incense and throwing orange, yellow and pink flowers at various gods and goddesses. we reached the steps of the high banks that overlooked the Ganga and began our descent towards the river. with each step, we moved closer towards a floating wooden boat that awaited our arrival.

lined along the Ganga are around 80 ghats - river front dwellings. in these ghats are where people wash their sins, their laundry, themselves, perform cremations, and a number of other activities. as our boat curved its way thru the river, we heard the eery chanting of a small child as it echoed thru the river banks...this chanting was soon followed by a deep resonating voice of an adult male. there are 2 ghats where cremations take place, and we rowed past both of them. we learned from our boat guide that the first one performs both "electric fires" and "good [riverside] fires". for 500 rupees (about $1.00CAD), you can have your body cremated in the electric fire. for about 2000 rupees (about $4.00CAD), you can have your body cremated by the river. what's the big deal about being cremated along the Ganga, you might ask? hindu followers believe that if you are cremated in the Ganga river, you will achieve moksha - a breaking of the cycle of life (reincarnation) and enter into nirvana (an eternal state of bliss with no more suffering). we later made our way to the other ghat where only river side cremations took place. the smoke, the dark grey ashes...there's not much else i can say about that sight.

as we rowed north, the sun began to rise on our right-hand side, and it seemed like our senses were competing between the ghats on the left, and the sunrise on the right. as the sun rose, so did worshippers from the river...arising from the Ganga, they would position themselves towards the direction of the sun and chant while pouring holy water on themselves. further up the banks we saw laundry being slapped against rocks. we learned that a lot of the laundry being done here was for local guests houses and hotels. hmm...did we sleep on holy bedsheets, we asked? it was quite a sight to see the white handwashed linen draped along the banks as it waited for the sun to rise and dry it out. as the sun rose, the banks were lit with a golden hue. we welcomed this warmth as it always ensured that the mosquitoes buzzing in our faces would soon flee.

we rowed for about an hour, but have at least 10 hours worth of conversation, im sure. we carried on afterwards to one of the largest Hindu Temples in Varanasi (there are around 22,000!!). respectfully, we walked thru the temple where i had somewhat of a theological discussion with Tripati til the end of our trip. he assured me that he knew what he was talking about, as he was a man of the cloth :) these conversations have left many thought in my mind, which im sure i will chew on for the next 14 hours on this lovely train we have coming up. curious what i talked to him about? be sure to ask me when im back, and i'll gladly fill you in.

one can't come to Varanasi and not contemplate spirituality/faith/the afterlife. you can't avoid it. in fact, a promotional brochure even called it "a trip of self-discovery". while Mel and i didn't come hear to achieve any sort of enlightenment, we did discover a number of things about this country that has hosted us so very well for the last few weeks. my observations have lead me to the belief that faith and culture are very much intertwined here...from the socio-economic structure, to the political arena, and the everyday conversations people have with each other (or don't have because of castes), we are walking amidst a culture that reverently lives each day in the presence of the spiritual. is that good or bad? well, i guess that's up for each of us to decide.

see you in Darjeeling,
dL

Mel's post re Indian food

So it's been observed that I haven't talked about food much. This blog post will change that. :)

I find it pretty funny that I anticipated coming to India and getting rid of my sweet tooth...ummm...well...that hasn't really happened. First off, there are the masala chai teas (we like the ones with cardamom)...which you may have read are everywhere. We've been getting them regularly in the morning and when we were at the village and city schools, we got them at 10:30am and at 2 or 3pm also. These are chock full of sugar. And we notice when they're not sweetened because we add sugar! But they're amazingly good...and will be one thing for sure I will continue to enjoy once I get back. mmmm...chai (and it doesnt taste anything like starbucks or a teabag...it's just pure goodness). Sometimes they're made mostly with milk, sometimes just the black tea with milk added at the end but either way...soooo good.

On occasion, we've also been enjoying mint tea (mint leaves and hot water, possibly add honey), and also honey, lemon ginger tea (one we tried had real lemon in it and was tart but really tasty - took away our sore throats we were getting from the train). Other drinks we've ordered are the lassi's, mostly the mango one which is a yogurt base. These are really smooth and tasty. We also found a street vendor who had a juice maker and we drank a glass of pomegranate juice on the side of the street. That was really refreshing. So refreshing in fact, that it's all Deb could think of for the next 24 hours...Here we are on a boat tour, walking through these amazing castles in the middle of a lake in Udaipur and her primary thought? :) "Oh my gosh..I can't wait until we get our pomegranate juice. Should we go get it right away when we're back or get the shopping done first then go straight there? Or get the gulab jamen first?" But my favourite...is the lemon nana. It's a mint and lemon drink..some are blended, some are more yogurty but the one I had today was utterly amazing. It was like lemonade (but less tart) combined with a mojito (with no rum). I could have downed two at once.

For breakfast, I've been thrilled to notice that museli and curd (yogurt) is served a lot of places over here. It's a nice change that I welcome...so I don't have to eat Indian meals 3x a day every day. :) And I do miss my homemade granola with my allspice and yogurt so this makes a very reasonable compromise while travelling. A few places cut up fresh fruit it in also which was a nice treat. Deb likes her Indian breakfast of curry and chapati or naan. :) For me, the sight of blended spinach curry (palak paneer) first thing in the morning..well, it doesn't make me ill but doesn't look appealing either. :)

The difficult part I've found travelling is lunch in these types of cultures. We both brought granola bars to eat which have helped but it's difficult in such a communal culture to find pack lunches. Street food of the fried dumplings and stuff are available but while Deb has been eating them, I've avoided just as a precaution to not get sick. So I usually eat minimally at lunch if at all as the culture is all about sitting down to eat this meal and sharing..ie going to a restaurant which isn't so feasible when you're on the go. So this is my challenge mostly..finding food to eat on the go during the day.

Dinners...I've found a few good ones and Deb is very proud of the expansion of my knowledge of Indian food. :) Chicken biryani..really yummy...any biryani is good actually. (Rice and veggies mix - like fried rice). Also, raita is really tasty. It's a vegetable salad served with meals which is pretty refreshing...usually in a yogurt sauce. We've tried pineapple raita and cucumber raita so far. Jeera rice is a good accompanyment to any curry...(rice with cumin, ginger, garlic)...and a really good curry I've been enjoying is called Nav ratan korma. It's a combination of cooked veggies and fruit. Some have included banana and cashews and raisins..the one I liked best had papaya. The sweet combination was really good with the veggie. Dahl is a really tasty dish as well (lentils), and we've had a few really good chicken curries in the past few weeks. (Or rather, I have since Deb is a vegetarian). :) Also a really good one, when we were in Mumbai - I had a pumpkin curry that was amazing...reminded me of Thai away home and the pumpkin curry there. And finally, we've been ordering Thali..which is an assortment of curries for one person so we can try a few in one meal but of smaller portions. As we've moved west, the portion sizes have dropped a bit so while we were both ordering individual portions at first (deb would finish hers, and I could never finish mine), now we're ordering and sharing so we can try different ones. I have also learned the difference between chapati and naan and their texture...both are good though. :) When we were at Lauren & Jonathan's, Deb ate one cold with sugar for breakfast. lol So when we're in Singapore, this is a mission of ours, to find warm chapatis (or naan) cooked in butter with sugar. (You see what I mean about the sweet tooth? :)

Dessert...I never liked the gulab jamen in Vancouver but here it's so good. (It's the dough balls that are soaked in honey). They're really really good. We got some street side when we were in Udaipur and enjoyed them in while waiting for the pomegranate juice guy. And then went back for more to supplement our dinner. :) The other thing is Kheer..(rice pudding). We've had some good ones..and some interesting ones too. Our last order wasn't the best we've had but some have been really tasty. Again - Deb ceases to speak when she's enjoying one of these..and can think of nothing else when it's potential is in reach. :) And today I found a chocolate brownie sundae...it had these chocolate wafers and actual brownie chunks in there and just hit the spot.

So yes - I'm enjoying food here also and it's been fun to notice the small differences in taste as we move through the different areas.

We're in Varansi now, moving onto Darjeeling tomorrow. We have the last of our epic train journeys starting tomorrow at 4pm..which will be a 14 hour train trip to Kolkata then we fly to Darjeeling for a few days. Our last train journey was really good..prayers were answered..we both managed to sleep well (as well as expected on a train) and got about 7 hours or more of sleep. We were in a 2AC, meaning 2 high, each side and it had more room and a curtain for privacy. Not that that means anything here as people open every curtain they pass just to have a look at who's inside..

we also had a sketch situation (it was fine..) at the train station which put us a bit on our guard. we arrived in at 2 or 3pm and stepped off the train and a second later there was a guy who picked us up right away. He followed us up the platform..not being subtle about following us at all..(at first I thought he was looking for opportunity to get our bags) but then he turned out to be a really persistent rickshaw driver. we stopped in a official office to ask directions to a pre-pay booth and thought it might discourage him..nope. he found us again (apparently we're not very good at imitating Jason Bourne) and it didnt matter how many times we said "nay nay" or "no thanks", he kept pace with us, right on our heels. Right up until we were at the prepay taxi, he got in a slight argument with a taxi driver but accepted we were not going with him. but still hung around. then surprise, we saw him later at our hotel...I guess he drove someone else but it was a little sketch to see him again. Just one of those things while travelling that keeps you alert and on your guard. But no harm and no danger. The train stations are a place to be wary of but they're not so dangerous as I had anticipated...lots of people there so not much can happen. Just lots of opportunity for men to stare at you. :)

ttyl
mel

Agra, Uttar Pradesh

Greetings from the home of the Taj Mahal!

what a day it has been! i'll keep this post short as the pics will explain it all. we got on a train from Jaipur to Agra this morning, and have spent the day in Agra. our agenda had one thing on it...sit and bask in awe of the Taj Mahal. we accomplished just that. nothing else, aside from eating (!!), was on our agenda.



[classic shot of the Taj...]



[just to give you an idea of how huge this thing is...here's Mel sitting]



[pretty!]



[Deb and Mel, doing very well!]



[goodnight, Agra!]

we're off on an overnight train to Varanasi in a couple of hours.

see you there!
dL

Jaipur

Deb and I are here..waiting to get on our 11:30pm night train to Varanasi. we've had more adventures and have some photos we can post. :)

Few funny things from the past few days..
-we saw a billboard advertising cheepsh (chips) this morning..so our joke today has been to ask if we want cheepsh for a snack
-we had a snorer our first night train that was so bad you had to laugh...he would start with a long loud inhale snore...then do some sort of wheezing on his exhale. I almost got out my camera to video it because it was so unbelievable. deb is describing in more detail...
- we decided the next guys to ask for a photo with us were going to be told it would cost them 500 rupees( ($10 bucks - pretty cheap!). we tried it out today in the Taj Mahal and the guys who asked had a good laugh...it was a good way to say no thanks with a smile. :)

Things that let me know I'm getting used to being here:
- I no longer flinch when I'm walking down the road or in a rickshaw and another rickshaw or car passes me with inches to spare. I also don't jump or turn around when they honk but just slowly move further to the side of the road.
-I am accustomed to seeing cows wandering in the middle of the road...and watching cars or rickshaws just drive around them.
-I don't expect to find toilet paper in any washroom, public or otherwise
- I use hand sani on average of once an hour.
-I will order sweet cardamom chai whenever I can get it
- I've started saying yes yes or yeah yeah in response to questions...I've also been using the common phrase "no problem" with a little head shake
-It doesn't surprise me to hear the call to prayer anymore (although hearing it this morning at 5:30am leaving Jaipur when it was dark and hearing the call when the streets were empty and no-one was around - it was really eerie sounding).
-we're now able to figure out who's married, who's single and who's a newly wed based on their dress and jewelry

So Jaipur...we got in...tired after our restless night on the train with the snoring guy..managed to offend rickshaw drivers who were pretty persistent in the train station as we arrived....tired and looking for a pre-pay option..we were followed by about 10-12 drivers all trying to get our business and we ended up being pretty direct telling them to buzz off. :) We got to our hotel and settled in to come up with a game plan. We ended up heading out to a block print factory museum, just outside town to watch how they've been doing these amazing prints we've seen on Sari's all over the place. Really facinating. http://www.anokhi.com/anokhi/anokhi-museum.html. Both Deb and I got to try....From there...we headed back to get on a half day guided tour trip of the city. We loaded into a 4WD with a family, ourselves, a guy from Delhi and a guy from China. We were aided greatly by the guy from Delhi as he spoke english really well and was able to translate from our driver. (He should have gotten a commission). We drove through the old city, painted pink as pink is the colour of joy, and ended up at this observatory where there were all these old tools used for math and astrology etc. A really old sundial, compass...that sort of thing. There was a guide provided to us, who wore a cowboy hat (Deb called him the mexicano), he was older and he singled deb and I out as the english speakers in the group. he would call us over "madam, madam! come here...move to the front, come here...". this is in a group of 15-20 people...and Deb and I were the ones who got his attention. I was offered hindi lessons from him...hmmm...so Deb and I started slacking in the group as his english was really bad,his accent was really strong and he yelled. constantly. :) so having him yell some explanation you possibly get 30% of understanding from, while the rest of the group is all watching you, we became slackers. When we got in the city palace, he directed us to get headsets to listen to...thank goodness. see photo below in observatory..and my facial expression as I'm trying not to laugh while he's shouting explanations at me in front of the group. (It reminded me of being at church when I was younger and sitting right in front of a preacher...the area we used to call the spit pit) :)
From here we went to a textile shop where I entertained the shop keepers (and the family on the tour with us - they took photos), by trying on a sari. It was gorgeous. From here we went to the Amber fort...did some exploring. Really beautiful...

Jaipur, Rajasthan

hello all, (this is another back-to-the-future post)

we embarked on an adventure of a train ride bound for Jaipur late yesterday evening. after checking out of our hotel, we grabbed an auto rickshaw at about 9 o'clock at night. speaking honestly, we were both a little nervous about this train ride. but, we held on to the fact that everyone we had spoken to up until that point always made it out ok. sure, the ride might have been a little bumpy, you may not get that much sleep, but we never heard one story of theft, danger, or "i'll never ride a train in india again!"....and so with that, we took off...cautious and ready for this next leg of our trip.

we found ourselves at a less-than crowded train station, and strategically situated ourselves on a bench positioned next to a family for 4. the little boy got quite comfy with me and started leaning into me as mel and i attempted to play poker with miniature cards. there, we stayed for the next hour and a half in anticipation of what our train would look like, which entrance to go in, and how many foreigners were around us. around 1030pm, foreigners and locals alike merged towards the edge of the grimy platform to board the approaching train. "3AC" was the class of train we were booked for. in layman's term...this code simply means that we were in a berth which had 3 tiers of bunk beds on 2 sides (yes a total of 6 people in a space no wider than....9 feet x 5?). the AC also meant that we had air-conditioning, which we were looking forward to...

we boarded the train, and found our bunks no problem. the beds were vinyl and we were provided each with a pillow, a bedsheet and a blanket which we promptly exchanged for our own sleeping gear. we chucked our packs at the head of our beds, set up our pillows and got ready to call it a night. Mel was on the top bunk and i was in the middle bunk...slightly squishy, but totally manageable. there were 5 people total in our berth. we were happy. we got ready to call it a night, and were pleased with our berth mates and the sanitary state of our beds. lights went out around midnight after a train conductor took attendance and ensured that we were who we said we were. our berth peacefully enjoyed the air conditioning, and the steadiness of the train. we sensed that it was going to be a restful journey...

and then at around 130am...

the lights were flicked on. the 6th bunk (middle bunk, across from me!) was opened up, and out came a beast of a man. before he laid his head on the pillow, he proceeded to turn off the fan that circulated the cool breeze of the AC. for the next 5 hours, my 4 berth mates and i tried desperately to get some sleep. no less than 10 minutes of his lights out did we hear what resembled a horse "neigh"ing in tandem with a squealing pig, alongside the putt-putt-putt of a motorcycle. it was an awful sound. truly awful. and being at the same height as me at a distance of a mere 3 feet, if that...he might as well have been snoring into a cup placed up against my ear. i swiftly grabbed my iPod and blasted the music to no avail. the steady strum of guitar or a melodic hum of a harmonica was rudely interrupted by the beast of the horse-pig. it didn't stop for the entire duration of the trip. even after we all woke up and started packing our bags around 6am...the horse-pig continued on in his sleep. did i mention the frequent occurrences of flatulence that took place as well? we were all saluted with a final toot as we exited the berth, dreary-eyed and ready for a real bed, with some fresh air.

We will never forget that ridiculous train ride from Udaipur to Jaipur. as Mel said, "no one can call us pansies now that we've taken a train in India...no one!"

i believe Mel will be sharing with you the rest of our day in Jaipur, so i'll stop here and end with a poorly lit photo of me in the train...



sleep well :)

dL

Udaipur

Hey Everyone,

We're here in Udaipur, leaving tonight on our first of 4 train journeys through to Darjeeling. After this, I may never train again. :) We'll see. We've managed to get most overnight trains with airconditioning (which is important considering it's about 36 degrees in Udaipur now) but have heard mixed reviews from those who have done this route in different stages so I'll reserve my judgement for later. :)

Udaipur is a gorgeous city. I enjoyed being in Mumbai for many different reasons and found it to be a facinating city but then we arrived in Udaipur and it took us by surprise. It's sort of magical...there's palaces all over the place and it's so beautiful here! Deb keeps singing Alladin songs...(I have songs from our visit to the village school outside Pune stuck in my head..."my momma gave me some rupees to buy some bananas...I went to the store to buy but they didn't have any so what did I get? Tubera! Na na na na tubera...etc" This song then substitutes samosa and papaya in place of banana also. :) very cute.) We found a hostel to stay which is amazing. It has balconies on every floor, looks very mediterranean and is the best place to chill with a view (in my opinion). Although we haven't seen other places and there are amazing views all over this city still...it's a find. The owner is a sweet older man who told us to beware of those "cheater boys" who would try to sell us package tours that are overinflated price. :) Once we got there, it was hot so we decided to laze around on these big loungers upstairs on the roof, just admiring the view of the city. We went out shopping last night and got oriented (ie got lost) but on our way back..having asked for directions..oh...more than 7 or 8 times in all (they all gave us different instructions!), we ran into this man selling these tapestries on the street, right near our hostel. We started to chat with him and ended up in his house, while he pulled out probably 50+ for us to see. Amazing artwork...he said each one can take up to 15 days to make by the women because there's so much handstitching involved. Needless to say, Deb and I both loved more than one so...we've now got baggage to cart with us in our journey through Rajasthan. :) Then...comes the funny story. So after dinner, we were in our room and Deb was washing some clothes in the bathroom. All of a sudden - I heard this low "mel...you need to come here". I go to the door and she tells me in a slightly stressed our voice "there is a lizard in here the size of a small mouse and i can't open the door or I'll squish it!" There may have been some shrieking in this also. My response wasn't very compassionate "just open the door...he'll move!". to which she replied..."I can't!! auugghhh!". So after this goes back and forth a bit and she can see I don't have any bright ideas, I zipped up our bags in the room so he coudln't get into anything and then climbed on the bed to wait for her to open the door! ha ha. she kept trying to get me to open the door but I was waiting for her to do it from inside the bathroom because I didn't want him to jump on me! (Oh - also important to the story...she's describing this ugly creature as being translucent with a rodent face and big...uugh). So she finally creaks the door open, painfully slowly....and all of a sudden this wet dress comes flying out of the bathroom, almost hits me, and lands on the floor right in front of where I was! it then was followed by another dress, then her bandana. each one just being chucked out the door with no clue to where she was throwing them. It was unbelievably comical. There was still shrieking with this too..every time the lizard moved slightly. She then comes flying out the door and slams it shut. How nice...we can never use this bathroom again apparently. lol. After she calmed down slightly...we cracked the door open a bit and then she pulls out her mirror to try to see where the lizard has gone to. I'm not scared of gecko's but this one sounded particularly ugly so i wasn't really looking forward to sharing a bathroom with him. Eventually, I gave up, went inside to check out this ugly lizard (who was truly ugly) and we managed to get along ok. We did shut the door overnight to let him find his way out. :) Then today, we're chilling on the roof top, taking in the view of Udaipur and Deb leans over and looks at something on my pantleg. I leaned forward to see what she was looking at and there was this gross cream coloured spider with a huge body. I freaked out (I'm making the story even..she freaks out over a gecko, I did over a spider) :) and tried to frantically brush it off. The pesky little thing managed to get somewhere else on my huge baloon pants so I had to do this flailing dance several times before he was off me. My heart was racing once I was done and at that point we decided we were done chilling on the roof. And Deb? She sat back, calmly watching the whole thing. :) Ahh friends...they're so great. :)

Few more things....the head nod thing..and the staring. arg the staring.
I had a big "RRAAAGGGHHH" to Deb the other day getting back from Elephantus island because of the staring. It's different I find than other countries and is so unbelievably rude. I've been finding it a difficult balance to handle as it detracts from the beauty and enjoyment of India slightly. To discourage it, the best thing to do is to avoid eye contact. But then that means you are on guard about soaking in the atmosphere and always aware of where you're looking and for how long etc. The women do it as well as the men too. You look around and inevitably you make eye contact all around you. And they don't look away. So then I resort to my 'stink eye' look which usually gets the point across (generally) but that's no fun...So I'm still finding a balance. You can try to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist but that's really difficult to do. The men here seriously need to learn manners. lol. On another note - getting henna done has been a connecting thing for me with a few people here which wasn't expected. It's been really neat. The kids at the school loved it (the nursery kids would come and lean up against me and pet my hands) and I think it helped to bridge that I looked very different from them. I've gotten comments from shop keepers, yes trying to get my attention, but commenting in a positive way as we pass as well... Also, on the boat ride the other day, as we were getting off, this woman grabbed my hand and was showing her daughter my arms. She also had mendi on her arms and it was just a great thing to share some smiles with some locals. :)

The head wag. I love it..and I am trying to get the art of it down. :) It means so many things but is so universal here that you begin to understand what they're saying even when you don't understand the words. My favourite was again at the village school..when asked a question..there's 40 little kids all wagging their heads side to side in acknowledgement and agreement. So unbelievably cute. So yes - I'm working on this as something to bring back with me just cause. :)

Oh - and our wearing Kurtas and more traditional clothing has been good. We noticed a few reactions today and yesterday, here in Udaipur, which have affirmed our decision to dress in these. One palace guard noticed our clothes and smiled and his greeting was a little more friendly so in these small ways I'm glad that we're showing our respect for their culture. :)

Still loving India...so unique. :) I can't describe the city like Deb can but have some amazing photos from here...looking forward to sharing them with you when we're back. :)

Hope you're all well.

Mel

Udaipur, Rajasthan

Greetings friends,

i have greatly enjoyed my stay here in Udaipur. the last 48 hours have been a step back in time where palaces, cobblestone streets, forts and detailed artwork have ruled.

upon arrival, Mel and i found ourselves a lovely guesthouse that faces the famous Lake Pichola. known as possibly one of the most romantic cities in India, Udaipur is home to two distinct palace islands (no joke...there is no other land than the palace itself...and you can only get there by boat) known as Jagmandir and Jagniwas palace. the water is rather murky, but along this body of water are a series of ghats, where you'll find people washing laundry, children swimming, and ducks lazing.

as we peeked our way thru the back alleys of our neighbourhood, Lal Ghat, it seemed like there was some sort of activity going on in every doorway. once, i saw a man eating his lunch. another time, i saw a man was holding incense and praying to Ganesh. just outside another doorway, i saw what appeared to be some sort of psychadelic medicine man with a painted face...i walked quickly after seeing him. ..!

one of the most prominent features here in Udaipur is the City Palace, where Kings ruled for hundreds of years. Walking thru the palace halls reminded me of Aladdin. i really felt like i have a better sense of the Disney cartoon after seeing the palace...all i needed was a Genie. i even recalled singing Aladdin songs to my nephew with my sister-in-law...what fun we have! the palaces and buildings here are very ornate. there is much detail in the design of the building and the people take pride in the details of their work. Rajasthani art consists of hand-made embroidery, patch work and mini paintings of minute detail. Mel and i were chatting over dinner that the vibe of Udaipur is one of a healthy pride. the people seem to take pride in their work, and this attitude is also reflected in its care for the land, the use of green space, the cleanliness of the streets, and the consistent restoration of the palaces. preservation instead of deterioration. i believe the word Mel used was "magical". i would agree and further add that it is a charming city, and i would certainly return.

sightseeing aside, Mel and i have gotten into a routine of having our siesta. for those who may not be familiar with that term, it is a spanish word that we've both experiened in our travels...it is a break period, usually during the hottest time of the day where everyone naps, breaks, and businesses shut down. so...during the hottest time of the day, we've gotten into the habit of lounging. in Arambol it was on the beach. in Mumbai, we strategically took the boat ride ensuring us shade and an ocean breeze, and in Udaipur, we prop ourselves atop a rooftop couch, overlooking the two palace islands, under some shade. siestas have been nice for us...Mel usually reads...and i usually nap, haha.

friends, my tastebuds have been LOVING the treats here. curries and rotis aside, we have finally found sugar cane juice! i treated myself to a cup of freshly squeezed juice in Mumbai on the side of a busy street (yes, i am eating/drinking street food against all others advice...but as Mel says...i seem to have a stomach of iron!), then was pleasantly surprised to find another vendor here... did i mention that we found pomegranate juice as well? oh my goodness...im so happy. it only takes a couple of hours for me to begin feeling thirsty again with the heat and all...but knowing that my steady gait will carry me to a cup full of delicious natural goodness makes all that waiting, walking and heat-annoyance worth it :)

we are grabbing out train this evening to Jaipur...our first train of four for this next leg of the trip. we'll see what adventure awaits us!

much love,
dL

Mumbai, Maharashtra

hello all,

we've spent the last 2 days in Mumbai, graciously hosted by some friendly faces who are here on various internships with International Justice MIssion.

our time in Mumbai has been short, but we've managed to see a fair amount and most importantly, take the time to dangle our feet....i'll explain this bit in a second.

in the 48 hours we've been here, we've

-watched the film, Amelia, in a theatre, and were surprised to learn that each movie always begins with the Indian national anthem, and also includes an intermission...aka bathroom break
-checked out the posher areas of Malabar Hill and mosied into a Jain Temple, as well as Baganga Ghat, a local watering hole- sorta-hangout
-visited a famous archway known as the Gateway of India, across the street from one of the most expensive hotels in India (you may recall a terrorist attack at the hotel in 2008)
-checked out some Hindu cave temples on a nearby island called Elephanta Island
-chilled along the seawall of Chow Patty Beach
-rode in numerous autorickshaws and taxis
-connected with some great girls from the IJM community
-attended a church service in a house of no more than...30 people or so?

like any other major city in the world, Mumbai has its posh, and its poor. its fine dining, and local pizza joint. it's India's business hub, and home one of Asia's poorest slums, Dharavi. its a mix of people, languages, food, and culture...and we've managed to capture only a glimpse of what this electric city has to offer. i mentioned earlier that amidst all the things we did (and didn't have time to do), we managed to find time to dangle our feet...

let me ask you something...

when was the last time you dangled your feet? i came to a realization today when we were sitting along the seawall that as we, and many others, were enjoying the view of the sun bowing its head into the ocean as it was making its way over to your end of the world, that people were dangling their feet. it seems to me that people don't generally dangle their feet when they are angry, anxious or perhaps even frustrated. no, i tend to pace if im angry, tap my feet if im anxious, or combine both if im frustrated...but to dangle ones feet...this seems to be a more enjoyable motion. dangling suggests to me that one is perhaps content, contemplative or even joyful. i think of a child dangling their feet on a swing, or perhaps while seated on a dock overlooking a lake. i looked to me left and there was a couple in conversation...dangling their feet. i looked to my right and there was a man reading a book with his head slumped in his right hand reflecting on the text held by his left hand...while dangling his feet. i looked at Mel and i...and we were dangling our feet, smiling, and reflecting on our day, and time so far in India.

as overwhelming as life can be sometimes...whether you're backpacking, working a 9-5, or chipping away at what seems to be a never-ending project/thesis/paper/life...i'd encourage you to make the time to dangle your feet....whatever that looks like to you.. return to a place where the world is once again your playground, and you can embrace for a moment or two, a child-like view of the world...

we're off to Udaipur tomorrow morning, but not before a short visit to the IJM headquarters.

peace,
dL



[Temple Cave, Elephanta Island]



[3 heads of Shiva, Elephanta Island]




[temple caves on Elephanta Island, 9km east of Mumbai, 1 hour ferry ride]



[view of the Taj Mahal Hotel and Tower, and the Gateway of India]



[Mel and I en route to Elephanta Island]



[a boy jumping into the water off from our ferry ride to Elephanta Island...not the cleanest water, but him and his friends sure looked like they were having a great time cooling off!]



[Baganga Ghat, on Malabar Hill]


since a picture is worth a thousand words...

[view from Malabar Hill]

More photos....our cooking lesson

Hey everyone, We had so much fun tonight I wanted to post photos of our cooking adventure. :) We managed to get an authentic Indian cooking lesson from the woman (Saeuda) who has been making our meals at night. But first...rickshaws. :) This is what we've learned to do when we're travelling in them because the pollution/exhaust is so bad. Say hello to my bank robber persona...the one who has started to have a serious potty mouth when I'm in a rickshaw or in a car because of all the close calls...lol
Deb in the rickshaw...very excited as you can see. :)
An idea of what driving in chaos is like here...we're going to try to get a photo in Mumbai which is WAY worse than Pune.
Deb working on the dough for chapatis...with Saeuda overseeing...
My chapati. It wasn't perfectly round but I was told it was light and fluffy so still good. :)
Deb practicing her chapati making skills too...

That's it for now!

ciao (or rather, namaste)
mel

Pune, Maharashta

Greetings all,

Mel and I traded in the salty winds and cool breeze of Goa for the dusty, dry heat of Pune...and are still having a blast! We arrived in Pune on Monday and have been warmly welcomed and hosted by Johnathan and Lauren, originally from New York. We met up with them thru our primary connection, Melinda.

Melinda is the Director of Gyanankur English School, where we've been working the last 3 days. The school has two locations - Kharadi in the city, and Kesnand in the village. There is a different feeling in both schools but each with its unique character. Our first day in the village school was spent helping out in the nursery (yes, the nursery!). Most of the children that attend Kesnand are from the surrounding villages. While Kesnand is technically an English school, it is not mandated that every word spoken in the school be English. The model of education recognizes that the children not only speak and think in Hindi, but that the majority of them speak another mother tongue - Marathi (state language of Maharashta). As Melinda explained, the model of education that they are currently exploring is a multi-language approach where by you educate the child first in their mother language, recognizing its importance in their development, and then from there translating that vocabulary into English. As such, i saw teachers and students speaking Marathi, Hindi and English in the class. Nursery time was a struggle for me as i (a) don't normally know what to say to children who don't yet form words, and (b) don't know how to speak to children in Marathi OR Hindi....so i did a lot of smiling, colouring, and helping out in little ways. The afternoon was a much more productive time for me. I helped out with the grade 1 class, and we did vegetable stamp art! :) Yes ladies and gentlemen, i carved out shapes and designs out of potatoes, onions, and okra. We then painted the veggies and the children made pictures out of them. It was nice too to be able to speak to the children as they all called me "miss". "Excuse me miss, may i have a drink of water?" or "Excuse me miss, please paint this"....so cute! :)



[vegetable art - can you see the different veggie stamps?]

Mel and i have been working at Kharadi for the last 2 days and will return to help out with music at Kesnand tomorrow morning. While at Kharadi, we were able to help out with more behind-the-scenes stuff. An open house will take place next Monday and the teachers needed help with putting up displays and creating some sort of ambiance for the open house. So, we got creative and spent the last two days drawing and cutting out an assortment of shapes, letters, numbers, pictures, etc. Mel was even able to use some of her former drafting skills - i never knew she was such a good sketcher!



[Mel, sketching away...]

A nice treat that we both have gotten used to and will miss greatly is the morning and afternoon cup of chai tea that we get at each school. sweet, hot chai tea in the heat of the day - there's nothing better!

March 8th marked International Women's Day. Not generally known as a country that celebrates women's equality, India was making history regarding its stance on women's rights. A bill was passed called the Women's Reservation Bill which ensures now that 30% of seats in parliament are reserved for women. The response has been mixed both in the country, and for me. Without sounding like im going on a political rant, i'll keep the following thoughts short. While the passing of this bill recognizes (it's about time!) that women have a voice and should be heard in society, the reservation bill may potentially slant the quality of parliament where spots are filled by quotas first, and not necessarily merit/knowledge. i wonder, will other "marginalized" groups come forward and demand that they too be represented in parliament? what about representation from women from lower castes? will those women in parliament be treated fairly by their colleagues, or will they merely be warming a seat? what will that do to the make up of an already very complex government? This BBC article highlights some of the responses of the bill. lots of questions...few answers, but movement forward is better than no movement at all, i suppose. it's always easier to criticize politics than to actually participate in it so i think i'll stop now, and say im happy that International Women's Day was celebrated here in India. Even at Gyanankur, i came across this beautiful poster:



by the way, as i type, we are all watching American Idol. for all you people back home watching, Johnathan and Lauren are friends with Michael Lynch!

dL

Goa Photos

This is the main street in Arambol
Henna!
Kirim Beach - where we chilled one afternoon
the rockclimbing that was mentioned...
Deb at Arambol beach
Our Masala tea...and our breakfast view in Goa.

Goa to Pune

Hi everyone,
We are here currently in Pune, staying with a great couple from New York, that we connected with through Deb's contacts.

Life in India seems to be really full of experiences, adventures, etc. Doesn't seem like 2 days since we posted last, seems much longer.

We went to the city of Mapusa where we tried to check out some really great organizations they have there but couldn't find them so ended up at the local market. I don't think I was expecting what it would be, but do think it was really good practice to ease me into what the rest of India will be like. We were 2 of very few foreigners there and this woman (Anita or Amita) pegged us pretty fast and "befriended" us. Deb was cautious at first and me being completely naive didn't understand her concern as I was clearly communicating (verbally) to this woman that we wouldn't buy anything from her and didn't need any help. Well, we both warmed up to her and she ended up taking us to a place where we could buy a shalwar kameez (sp?). The shop keepers pulled out probably over 15 options of dresses we could buy but we were hesitant so were very non-committal. I had no idea what a reasonable price was on these and didn't want to get completely fleeced. Well, probably 30 minutes later, we agreed on a price for a outfit for both Deb and I. Because I wasn't interested in any of the really cheap ones, the shop keeper ended up offering me a more expensive one for a reduced rate. Then after that sheer exhaustion of bartering and arguing, he tries to charge us for the tailor cost to sew on both the sleeves on both our outfits. I pointed out they had agreed in the beginning of the conversation that it would be free so he changes his argument to say that mine is free, Deb's is 50 rupees. Well, after more arguing, he agreed to a price with free alterations but when Deb paid, he tried to short us the cost for them again. So that was another conversation. Phew. It was really tiring...and while all this is going on, we are the talk of the market it seemed. Anita was in there with us, talking in Hindi to them and talking english to us, and constantly asking us to "remember her"and come visit her stall(even though we made it clear we didn't need to buy anything she was selling). And there was another woman who decided to try to get in on the obligation so she was there "helping" the entire time during the outfits conversation. And the boy, and some kids...it was a regular party inside! We went to Anita's shop...bought some shawls and then got the heck out of dodge. It was really interesting for Deb and I to notice our different approaches to the situation. I'm Canadian with no other cultural background so my words are what I use to communicate and I'm not aware of non-verbal cultural requirements. So when I tell the woman who is following us around that we're not promising to visit her shop if she recommends a clothing store to us, I'm not aware of any other requirements in our interactions. Deb comes from a place of knowing cultural obligations etc and so knows that by default, when we start to talk to her, we are obligated to some degree to visit her shop out of respect. Anyways - it was nice to have confirmed by some of the teachers from the school we visited today that we both only paid 100-200R ($2-4) more than we should have for our outfits. Not bad. :) Oh - and the other thing that made me laugh..when we first arrived in the market, I had a kid come up to me and tell me I was "really white - like milk!".Then Anita arrives and tells me that I look like an Indian barbie (referring to the henna). Later on she told me twice that I was a difficult woman so conclusion....I'm a difficult barbie! :)

We had a sketch moment leaving Goa that was interesting...our hostel guy had agreed to order us a taxi to the airport and so we paid him and set off to get in our taxi. He passed us off to this guy we recognized from our breakfast place who then continues to lead us to our taxi. We hit this one intersection where he tells us to wait for him. But while there, another taxi guy comes up and asks if we're friends with Arun. Arun was a guy who drove us back from Kerim beach and Deb was asking prices to the airport but we never agreed to anything. Well,this guy has clearly recognized us from some description and is trying to get us to go in his taxi. We waited for the hostel guy...ignored the wierd situation with this other guy (there was a whole group of men just hanging around watching and getting involved in the conversation which we understood none of), and got in the pre-paid taxi once it arrived. We drove maybe 3 minutes and he stops the car behind another taxi and tells us it's his brother and we have to switch. We tried pretty hard to protest but eventually got in the other non-prepaid taxi, completely wierded out. Anyways - I probably offended the guy but I let him know regularly that I was paying attention to where we were, and where we were going (Deb had fallen asleep cause she took gravol for the 2 hour journey). When we got near the airport, he said to me, "look, airport, you happy now? you relax?". It was just really wierd..guess there was some sort of deal that happened so he got a commission or something. ?? who knows.

What else...I had no idea the driving here is influenced by the Hindi culture/religion...they look straight ahead when they drive, not beside or behind them and this is influenced by life...I'm still amazed by the driving...and I think I must dream the sound of horns in my sleep now...the pollution is gross...it's so thick it's choking.

There's lots of people here who have empty eyes. You look at them and there's little life in their eyes...they sit on the side of the street and just watch with no expressions on their face. It's sad. I haven't been bombarded with the poverty I will see in Mumbai yet though. There were a few beggars in Arambol but not enough to really impact me...

But India is an amazing place. I loved Goa and would most definitely visit it again...there's so much to see and so much life and things happening around you, whether it's the traffic or the woman balancing her stuff on her head, or the guy blocking traffic with his oxen and his cart or the hoards of people standing on the side of the road waiting for buses or all the little stands selling whatever you may need on the side of the road...it's so amazing. I can't describe with words and can't post my photos but I'll try to post a few of Deb's...

hope you're all well. :)

mel

Mapusa, Goa

Hello all,

this post is sort of a back-to-the future post as I'm posting it on the date it occured but am writing this after the fact. 

About 40mins south of Arambol lies the most "cosmopolitan" city in Northern Goa. What I soon discovered was that by cosmo, there was Bus depot (not just a stand) and a taxi junction.  Our day here was reletively short, hourwise, but left us talking for hours afterwards. 

We had heard about a market that we told to check out. Picture and open bazaar with shops, stalls and displays on the side of the road. Almost immediately upon entering, we were approached by a young woman named Anita. She offered to help us find a washroom. My first reaction was to not engage as my past experiences in other countries have taught me that after offering to "help" usually implies a fee that you give afterwards, whether a transaction was discussed or not. But, when you gotta go, you gotta go. I grew even mor skeptical when she offered to pay for our toilet fee (2 rupees), but we politely declined and thanked her for he services after arriving at the facilities.  Upon exiting the washroom, Anita found us again and just walked with us. I slowly began to engage, and at that point, there was no turning back. She shared how she had just gotten married about 6 months before and that she had not met her husband  until one week before the wedding. I said "congratulations" and she didn't really have much positive things to say. Apparently, her husband does not work, and enjoys playing cricket although he is not very good. This is why Anita is in the market - she works and sells an assortment of spices, loose leaf tea and pashminas. Anita is 22. She found us so that we would go to her display on the dirt road in the hopes that we would purchase something. Purchase, we eventually did, but not without me thinking to myself, "is she, or isn't she telling the truth?" then the next thought was feeling bad that I began to assess one's trustworthiness in the face of such apparent poverty. I was soon reminded that I do this every day steps outside of my workplace. 

The face of poverty is undeniable everywhere in the world. The scary part, I think,  is when we choose to deny it.

I'm still trying to figure out a healthy balance between giving/helping from a genuine place versus being scammed and taken advantage of. Perhaps it's ok risking being taken advantage of 1/10 times knowing that you are actually legitimately helping someone in need 9.5/10 times. Or maybe not... Ultimately, it's everyone's personal decision what you choose to do with your money/time... 

There are many thoughts brewing endlessly in my mind on a daily basis here. This was one of the many... 

And oh, on a more lighter note - we returned later that afternoon to visit with Amin again and say goodbye and in the process of getting a bracelet altared for Mel, he asked us to watch his shop! Haha, so for about 5mins, Mel and I were shopkeepers :) we didn't sell anything but walked away that we had a true encounter where a local trusted us completely to watch over his livelihood while he did us a favour :)

dL