Yesterday we went to the train museum and a planetarium. An indian astronaut has been in space as part of a joint USSR India mission. Though the planetarium show was an intro to our solar system 101.
Today we went to an american diner style restaurant for brunch, then walked around in a nice park, checked out a couple tea stores and are now waiting to take a taxi to the airport.
Actually I am supposed to be online to double check the flight times. I should get on that soon :)
Friday, September 19, 2008
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
typhoid or a flu
I've been sick the last couple days.
I had a fever and a cough. I looked it up in our guide book and narrowed it down to either a bit of a flu or typhoid. Probably just the flu. The lonely planet also said that 25% of visitors to India get some sort of respitory illness from their visit - so I am just that lucky.
Anyway I'm feeling much better now, though my body gave me a couple cold sores as souveniers. So thanks to that I am temporarily less good looking :)
I don't know why, but the touts in Jaipur were super aggressive. After a couple were getting a bit -lacivious- I had to become a bit -vociferous-. But it didn't count as a melt down.
But today we took a bus to Delhi and so far it has been pretty good. Broad sidewalks, grassy medians, tuktuks with meters and the tout possee here so far has been pretty laid back.
We are both pretty much "done" with India. After travelling for the last 2 and a half months, the heat and the layer of tout harrassment we get - we are out of energy to really engage or sightsee much for the last few days here. Plus it's raining.
We have met alot of great and interesting Indians while here though.
The first guy we met was Raj, an NRI (non resident indian) living out of london who gave us a free cab ride and shared with us his thoughts on India and the (communist) west bengal govt of Kolkata.
We met a few boys on our first train trip to Veranasi. There was a group of 4 of them sitting on our bunk area. One boy was moving across the country, closer to Kashmir, as his father was in the military and was being transferred. The three other boys were just hanging out to say goodbye. After they left we talked a couple times to the boy who was moving up north.
In our bunk appeared 3 coworkers who worked for the railways. One guy was a real talker and he kept talking and talking to us - you could see his co-workers feeling a bit uncomfortable. One of the co-workers also worked as a spiritual advisor to people designing their homes to maximize the energy flows by, among other things, keeping rooms aligned to magnetic north in one direction and the rotation of the earth in the other direction. The real talker didn't really buy his friends consultancy business so it ended up being a heated discussion.
Just before arriving to Veranasi the train was filled by boys on their way to school in Veranasi. There we were surrounded by about 10 boys in our area. It was cramped at first but we had some good conversations, especially with one charmer named VeeJay who said he was dating about 50% of the girls in his class.
On a trip to Abu Rd Station we met three business people (one man who owns a cotton seed oil refinery) and talked to them about indian culture (drinking vs non drinking) and religion (jainism vs hinduism) and feminism (indian vs western families).
On a bus trip to Udaipur we met the son of a brigadier doctor and had some good conversations about India vs China, nuclear power and religion (Hinduism vs Sikkism).
On the train trip to Jaipur we met a retired man, his wife and the mother in law of his son who were also travelling around India. They were from the south and they had one daughter and one son working in IT in Canada. I tried to make a joke to ask who was making the father in law's dosas while they were travelling. The answer: "the cook". Doh.
So travelling on public transit has been quite rewarding. You get time to spend with people that have at least a little in common with you (they are going the same way).
I had a fever and a cough. I looked it up in our guide book and narrowed it down to either a bit of a flu or typhoid. Probably just the flu. The lonely planet also said that 25% of visitors to India get some sort of respitory illness from their visit - so I am just that lucky.
Anyway I'm feeling much better now, though my body gave me a couple cold sores as souveniers. So thanks to that I am temporarily less good looking :)
I don't know why, but the touts in Jaipur were super aggressive. After a couple were getting a bit -lacivious- I had to become a bit -vociferous-. But it didn't count as a melt down.
But today we took a bus to Delhi and so far it has been pretty good. Broad sidewalks, grassy medians, tuktuks with meters and the tout possee here so far has been pretty laid back.
We are both pretty much "done" with India. After travelling for the last 2 and a half months, the heat and the layer of tout harrassment we get - we are out of energy to really engage or sightsee much for the last few days here. Plus it's raining.
We have met alot of great and interesting Indians while here though.
The first guy we met was Raj, an NRI (non resident indian) living out of london who gave us a free cab ride and shared with us his thoughts on India and the (communist) west bengal govt of Kolkata.
We met a few boys on our first train trip to Veranasi. There was a group of 4 of them sitting on our bunk area. One boy was moving across the country, closer to Kashmir, as his father was in the military and was being transferred. The three other boys were just hanging out to say goodbye. After they left we talked a couple times to the boy who was moving up north.
In our bunk appeared 3 coworkers who worked for the railways. One guy was a real talker and he kept talking and talking to us - you could see his co-workers feeling a bit uncomfortable. One of the co-workers also worked as a spiritual advisor to people designing their homes to maximize the energy flows by, among other things, keeping rooms aligned to magnetic north in one direction and the rotation of the earth in the other direction. The real talker didn't really buy his friends consultancy business so it ended up being a heated discussion.
Just before arriving to Veranasi the train was filled by boys on their way to school in Veranasi. There we were surrounded by about 10 boys in our area. It was cramped at first but we had some good conversations, especially with one charmer named VeeJay who said he was dating about 50% of the girls in his class.
On a trip to Abu Rd Station we met three business people (one man who owns a cotton seed oil refinery) and talked to them about indian culture (drinking vs non drinking) and religion (jainism vs hinduism) and feminism (indian vs western families).
On a bus trip to Udaipur we met the son of a brigadier doctor and had some good conversations about India vs China, nuclear power and religion (Hinduism vs Sikkism).
On the train trip to Jaipur we met a retired man, his wife and the mother in law of his son who were also travelling around India. They were from the south and they had one daughter and one son working in IT in Canada. I tried to make a joke to ask who was making the father in law's dosas while they were travelling. The answer: "the cook". Doh.
So travelling on public transit has been quite rewarding. You get time to spend with people that have at least a little in common with you (they are going the same way).
Thursday, September 11, 2008
in Bombay Today
Kim and I are now in Bombay. Bombay is the Bollywood capital of India so we had to go see a Bollywood movie.
The movie we saw was called Singh is Kinng. We really enjoyed it even though it was all in Hindi with a couple English words thrown in.
From what we could tell, a village idiot like an inspector Clouseau or a Mr Magoo accidentally becomes the gangster boss, helps out an old lady who, as it turns out happens to be the mother of a girl he fell in love with, teaches the real gangster some lessons about his friends, and they get married in the end.
The production values were really good with scenes shot in India, Egypt and Australia. Some water stunts, car chases, music choreography and a Snoop Dogg cameo were more than we expected.
Tomorrow we are heading up north to Rajasthan which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas in India.
The movie we saw was called Singh is Kinng. We really enjoyed it even though it was all in Hindi with a couple English words thrown in.
From what we could tell, a village idiot like an inspector Clouseau or a Mr Magoo accidentally becomes the gangster boss, helps out an old lady who, as it turns out happens to be the mother of a girl he fell in love with, teaches the real gangster some lessons about his friends, and they get married in the end.
The production values were really good with scenes shot in India, Egypt and Australia. Some water stunts, car chases, music choreography and a Snoop Dogg cameo were more than we expected.
Tomorrow we are heading up north to Rajasthan which is supposed to be one of the most beautiful areas in India.
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
Agra and the Taj
So we did get to Agra eventually. We had a little bump getting accommodation because the first place we went to wanted 600 rupees, which is a bit high - but they wouldn't go down any. Fortunately the place next door had equivalent rooms and offered them for 400 rupees without any negotiation required.
Sometimes we are pretty good at negotiating prices. At one place the owner jokingly waved his finger at us and said that we were not Canadian/American but Indian. Especially Kim. Kim is more Indian than me. I tend to give in earlier than she does.
After a bit of lunch we headed straight to the Taj. It's really impressive. By impressive I really mean impactful. When you first see it, it causes a bit of a emotional pause - a little wow. Then you forget about it as you get close and check it out. But then when you look back at it again, you get that same little wow.
Sometimes we are pretty good at negotiating prices. At one place the owner jokingly waved his finger at us and said that we were not Canadian/American but Indian. Especially Kim. Kim is more Indian than me. I tend to give in earlier than she does.
After a bit of lunch we headed straight to the Taj. It's really impressive. By impressive I really mean impactful. When you first see it, it causes a bit of a emotional pause - a little wow. Then you forget about it as you get close and check it out. But then when you look back at it again, you get that same little wow.
sahaja yoga
So our train wasn't actually 5 hours late. It ended up being 8.5 hours late. "That's India"
On our first day in India we met a English guy - but Indian by birth - named Raj who really liked to use the phrase "that's India" for things. For example, In Calcutta the metro line doesn't start running until 2pm. I asked him why? And his answer was "That's India". So the 8 hour late train didn't really phase anyone.
But while waiting we (mostly Kim) were approached by a religious group who had just attended a conference and offered to give Kim some Mandi/Henna tattoo. While Kim was getting a tattoo their leader explained to me their beliefs. The details are on their website at www.sahajayoga.com. The gist is that there are 7 energy centres in our body and that cosmic rays come down through these energy centres and break off in a prismatic way to charge the other centres. To reach enlightenment you need to remove the barriers to and within these energy centres. The sacrum is the most sacred of the centres and represents innocence and is/was the most pure at birth.
The cosmic rays are not necessarily cosmic rays, but because the highest known energy is cosmic, they call them cosmic rays.
It was an interesting discussion. They were going to teach us sahaja meditation if they could find a dark and quiet room but the could not. Which is ok by us anyway - I'm not the type to go or let Kim go into a dark and quiet room with strangers.
On our first day in India we met a English guy - but Indian by birth - named Raj who really liked to use the phrase "that's India" for things. For example, In Calcutta the metro line doesn't start running until 2pm. I asked him why? And his answer was "That's India". So the 8 hour late train didn't really phase anyone.
But while waiting we (mostly Kim) were approached by a religious group who had just attended a conference and offered to give Kim some Mandi/Henna tattoo. While Kim was getting a tattoo their leader explained to me their beliefs. The details are on their website at www.sahajayoga.com. The gist is that there are 7 energy centres in our body and that cosmic rays come down through these energy centres and break off in a prismatic way to charge the other centres. To reach enlightenment you need to remove the barriers to and within these energy centres. The sacrum is the most sacred of the centres and represents innocence and is/was the most pure at birth.
The cosmic rays are not necessarily cosmic rays, but because the highest known energy is cosmic, they call them cosmic rays.
It was an interesting discussion. They were going to teach us sahaja meditation if they could find a dark and quiet room but the could not. Which is ok by us anyway - I'm not the type to go or let Kim go into a dark and quiet room with strangers.
Sunday, September 07, 2008
in a dusty internet cafe
The train to Agra - where the Taj Mahal is - is 5 hours late. So Kim and I are in a tiny dusty internet cafe near the trainstation in Gorakhpur. The room is the size of a wide hallway decorated with a Hindu poster, a small Hindu shrine.
Of the Hindu characters we both like Ganesh. The one that looks like an elephant. Ganesh used to have a human head, but there was a misunderstanding: Ganesh's father went on a trip and when he got back he did not realize that the man sleeping in his wife's bed was his more grown up son, so he took his son's head off. After realizing his mistake he put the nearest head he could find back on his son's body.
But since very Hindu Vernanasi, we have been visiting Buddhist sites.
First, near Veranasi is a relaxing place called Sarnath which is where Buddha gave his first sermon. Hence they call it the "birthplace of Buddhism". There are buddhist ruins there that marked the spot. It is also a very nice place to hang out, away from the Veranasi crush.
Second, further away - a 4 hour train trip and 2 hour taxi - is Karnath which is where Buddha died. There is a stupa marking where he was cremated and a famous 'resting buddha' statue that was recovered. Also there are Thai, Cambodian, Sri Lanka, Japanese and Vietnemese temples and monasteries there.
Kim and I stayed in the Vietnemese (buddist) monastery.
This is the first time either of us has stayed in a monastery, so we weren't sure if there were any rules or expected behaviours. A monk first showed us to the Buddha shrine, we took our shoes off - but didn't do much else. He then asked if we were looking for a place to stay and we said yes. Then a guy showed us our room and said it would be 300 rupees.
Unfortunately there was a power outage which meant that we had to go to bed at 6:30pm. I slept well and had lots of crazy dreams. In the morning we were woken up around 6ish by little monk boys quietly chanting and ringing a bell while walking clockwise around a statue outside of our window.
So we've seen two of the four Buddhist pilgrimage sites: Sarnath and Karnath. The other two are: Bodhgaya which is further east and is difficult to access because of the flooding from Nepal; and Lumbini which is in Nepal.
We briefly considered going to Nepal to check out Lumbini and Kathmandu, but the timing was tight because of the time we have and because Kim's Indian visa was single entry so we would have to apply and get another one from Nepal.
But we do think we have time to go to Bombay. Which is meaningful to me because of Gonzo in the first Muppet Movie.
Of the Hindu characters we both like Ganesh. The one that looks like an elephant. Ganesh used to have a human head, but there was a misunderstanding: Ganesh's father went on a trip and when he got back he did not realize that the man sleeping in his wife's bed was his more grown up son, so he took his son's head off. After realizing his mistake he put the nearest head he could find back on his son's body.
But since very Hindu Vernanasi, we have been visiting Buddhist sites.
First, near Veranasi is a relaxing place called Sarnath which is where Buddha gave his first sermon. Hence they call it the "birthplace of Buddhism". There are buddhist ruins there that marked the spot. It is also a very nice place to hang out, away from the Veranasi crush.
Second, further away - a 4 hour train trip and 2 hour taxi - is Karnath which is where Buddha died. There is a stupa marking where he was cremated and a famous 'resting buddha' statue that was recovered. Also there are Thai, Cambodian, Sri Lanka, Japanese and Vietnemese temples and monasteries there.
Kim and I stayed in the Vietnemese (buddist) monastery.
This is the first time either of us has stayed in a monastery, so we weren't sure if there were any rules or expected behaviours. A monk first showed us to the Buddha shrine, we took our shoes off - but didn't do much else. He then asked if we were looking for a place to stay and we said yes. Then a guy showed us our room and said it would be 300 rupees.
Unfortunately there was a power outage which meant that we had to go to bed at 6:30pm. I slept well and had lots of crazy dreams. In the morning we were woken up around 6ish by little monk boys quietly chanting and ringing a bell while walking clockwise around a statue outside of our window.
So we've seen two of the four Buddhist pilgrimage sites: Sarnath and Karnath. The other two are: Bodhgaya which is further east and is difficult to access because of the flooding from Nepal; and Lumbini which is in Nepal.
We briefly considered going to Nepal to check out Lumbini and Kathmandu, but the timing was tight because of the time we have and because Kim's Indian visa was single entry so we would have to apply and get another one from Nepal.
But we do think we have time to go to Bombay. Which is meaningful to me because of Gonzo in the first Muppet Movie.
Wednesday, September 03, 2008
in Varanasi now
We took the overnight train and arrived in Varanasi this morning. It's still hot here. As hot as Calcutta.
We are staying in the old city. The old city is like the medinas of Morocco (e.g. Fes) or Jerusalem, where all the buildings are connected along winding paths up and down through the city. We have also heard the Muslim call to prayer being played, so that is also reminiscent of those other old cities.
The other attribute of these types of cities is that we always get lost in them. Touts use this to help "guide" us to our hotel - by guide I mean walk in front of us and try to get into the hotel before us to claim a commission.
Today we visited the main burning ghat where bodies get cremated and their ashes put into the Ganges river. There were about 4 bodies being burned and we could see a queue of 3 or 4 bodies waiting to go up there. I also found out today that by the burning ghat is a building of people waiting to die --- so this addresses my earlier question about whether or not Hindus want to die or just be cremated in Varanasi - I think the answer is both.
Regarding the burnings, I couldn't see much in the fire but did Kim see a leg.
We are both feeling a bit run down by the constant touts. It is also apparently dangerous to be out at night here so we'll be hiding out in our hotel.
We are staying in the old city. The old city is like the medinas of Morocco (e.g. Fes) or Jerusalem, where all the buildings are connected along winding paths up and down through the city. We have also heard the Muslim call to prayer being played, so that is also reminiscent of those other old cities.
The other attribute of these types of cities is that we always get lost in them. Touts use this to help "guide" us to our hotel - by guide I mean walk in front of us and try to get into the hotel before us to claim a commission.
Today we visited the main burning ghat where bodies get cremated and their ashes put into the Ganges river. There were about 4 bodies being burned and we could see a queue of 3 or 4 bodies waiting to go up there. I also found out today that by the burning ghat is a building of people waiting to die --- so this addresses my earlier question about whether or not Hindus want to die or just be cremated in Varanasi - I think the answer is both.
Regarding the burnings, I couldn't see much in the fire but did Kim see a leg.
We are both feeling a bit run down by the constant touts. It is also apparently dangerous to be out at night here so we'll be hiding out in our hotel.
Tuesday, September 02, 2008
Going to Varanasi tonight
Kim and I are taking an overnight train to Varanasi tonight.
Varanasi is important to the Hindu relgion. Hindus, like Buddhists, belive in re-incarnation where after you die, you move into a different circles (based on your performance in your last circle), the goal is to eventually get to to the point of reaching enlightenment - at least this is how Buddhism works - and once you have reached this point you are done - the suffering ends - you stop re-incarnating.
Anyway, the reason that Varanasi is important is that it is a kind of re-incarnation loop hole. If you can die in Varanasi you get to skip to the end of the re-incarnation cycle.
So Varanasi is famous for some of it's crematorium ghats (stairs by the Ganges), where bodies are cremated as well as for it's purification ghats.
That said, with Hindus, I'm not sure if you actually have to die in Varanasi or if you have to be cremated there to finish re-incarnation.
Not really related, or possibly directly related to re-incarnation, there are lots of vegetarian restaurants in India.
Varanasi is important to the Hindu relgion. Hindus, like Buddhists, belive in re-incarnation where after you die, you move into a different circles (based on your performance in your last circle), the goal is to eventually get to to the point of reaching enlightenment - at least this is how Buddhism works - and once you have reached this point you are done - the suffering ends - you stop re-incarnating.
Anyway, the reason that Varanasi is important is that it is a kind of re-incarnation loop hole. If you can die in Varanasi you get to skip to the end of the re-incarnation cycle.
So Varanasi is famous for some of it's crematorium ghats (stairs by the Ganges), where bodies are cremated as well as for it's purification ghats.
That said, with Hindus, I'm not sure if you actually have to die in Varanasi or if you have to be cremated there to finish re-incarnation.
Not really related, or possibly directly related to re-incarnation, there are lots of vegetarian restaurants in India.
Calcutta traffic report
Today in Calcutta...
Calcutta has too many people, too many constant horns, too much dirt.
Everywhere you look are crowds of people. Crowds of vehicles.
Here there is so much people and vehicle traffic: I can't imagine they are actually going anywhere - they are all just moving around to fill the spaces in the traffic - to split off and to form new crowds.
Calcutta has too many people, too many constant horns, too much dirt.
Everywhere you look are crowds of people. Crowds of vehicles.
Here there is so much people and vehicle traffic: I can't imagine they are actually going anywhere - they are all just moving around to fill the spaces in the traffic - to split off and to form new crowds.
Destitution
So, yesterday I posted that the beggars I had seen weren't desperate and dying. But this wasn't meant to judge, I had meant to counter the image I had of Calcutta.
Anyway, yesterday, we were on a block lined with destitute people sitting on the sidewalks the whole way down. On one sidewalk there was a mother and father sleeping under a tarp, while their 4 year oldish naked son was playing on the traffic side of a steel barrier. Here the whole family was destitute. Here there is another level of poverty.
Anyway, yesterday, we were on a block lined with destitute people sitting on the sidewalks the whole way down. On one sidewalk there was a mother and father sleeping under a tarp, while their 4 year oldish naked son was playing on the traffic side of a steel barrier. Here the whole family was destitute. Here there is another level of poverty.
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