Around the World in 300 Days
7th Nov 2006India Part I Namaste (Hindi fo` hello) everyone! Since last writing I have arrived in India on the final leg of my long journey and have gotten around to writing most likely my second to last blog entry. I arrived in Mumbai in the early hot and muggy hours of the morning and set up shop at a local dive hotel downtown. I walked around the city as I adjusted to my return to the developing world once again. Mumbai is a crowded, dirty and noisy city (though not really by Indian standards) but retains a lot of British Charm with huge old Victorian buildings dotting the landscape as well as the locals insatiable appetite for cricket as the ICC tournament was in town. I was also offered my chance at stardom when I was recruited to join a Bollywood film cast as a western extra, though my career never quite got off the ground as I slept in the following morning when my handler came to get me. I called to let him know, but he informed me I had been recast and the dream of Bollywood stardom ended there. The evenings were passed lounging around with the locals on Chowpatty beach eating fried Belwili and being constantly asked by every person my name and what country I am from. There was also that old man who followed me around trying to give me a head massage whenever I put my guard down, though a pleasant seen all in all. Though I enjoyed Mumbai it was time to leave the Indian metropolis for something a little smaller, so I began my trek north. The train going from Mumbai to the Ajanta caves (a vast Hindu cave complex with amazing and intricate temples and carvings) was completely packed. I had a sleeper seat reserved, so I removed all the Indians from my seat so that I could attempt to sleep for the journey. As the train continued, however, more and more people got on and I awoke to see that every space on my bed that I had not wholly occupied with my body was being used as a seat for others. I had to spend the rest of the night literally kicking out the locals and defending my seat. I made sure to get upper berths for the reminder of my travels. After exploring and subsequently leaving the Ajanta caves I got lost on a series of train and bus journeys and ended up in Rajasthan and the city of Udaipur. This was a remarkable city with small winding streets situated around a lake in the hills. In the middle of the lake straight out of the water rises these beautiful water palaces (the water level is nearly at the doors) that give the city a real magical feel. These palaces were also the background to the 1982 007 classic Octopussy with every-ones favorite Bond, Roger Moore. After a few days of exploration I hopped a bus to continue north. The bus ride was not as comfortable as I hoped as the winding roads tossed me around the entire night. I actually had a little bed compartment attached to the ceiling that looked like a coffin and felt much the same way. The coffin next to me contained a whole family of Indians blasting Hindi Pop music that later degenerated into a brutal family fist fight. I attempted to break up the fight but the driver eventually just threw the whole lot off the bus. With that we arrived in the Blue royal city of Jodhpur. Jodphur is dominated by a huge fort made of red sandstone that rises majestically from the middle of the city and has been one of my favorite sights thus far in India. The fort was never taken in battle and the old scars of cannonballs are evidence of the failed attempts over the centuries. Within the fort is the amazing palace of the local Maharajah and from the top you get a view of other nearby places, the scrub desert of in the distance and the blue city itself. All the houses are painted blue, which in the past meant loyalty to the Maharajah and now gives the city a remarkable blue aura. The city has also left its mark through the famed riding boots that derive their nomenclature from this royal city. My visit to the city also coincided with the Hindu holiday of Diwali, the biggest of the calender year. Filled with offering gifts to the gods for prosperity, trading holiday sweets and blowing up as much stuff as you can with fireworks. The local children especially love the fun game of lets throw firecrackers at the foreigners feet and scare the BEJESUS out of him. It literally sounded like a war zone and when m80`s go off in your ear it certainly leaves you in a daze. I later ventured out at the height of the celebration with a few German Frauleins to take in the festivities and after a brief jaunt up the main street was suddenly surrounded by a mob of Indian teenagers. The group started to get really grabby and I tried in vain to push them away until I realized I was vastly outnumbered and in a bit of trouble and wondering how I was going to get out of the situation. Out of nowhere a group of cops arrived and started dispersing the crowd with their billy clubs and escorted us back to our guesthouse and safety ending a joyous and eventful Diwali. My next stop was another royal city of Rajasthan, Jaislamer. This is the Golden City and when the sun sets and reflects off the fort and town below it is clear how the name was derived. Winding narrow streets, locals popping out of holes in the wall to probe you for personal information over a cup of chai masala and soooo many cows. The royal fort also contains a good portion of the population and some amazing and intricately carved Jain temples. The city is the final stop of the old caravans before the imposing Great Thar Desert makes its presence immensely felt. So with the opportunity at hand, I grabbed the nearest camel (named Molly) and trekked out into the desert on a three day camel safari towards the Pakistani border. My camel was an `ornery bugger, but I was eventually able to master the reigns of my desert steed until she ripped out her nose ring (for steering) and then spent most of the time sitting down and spitting at me. After a few nights of sleeping under the desert sky, getting spit on by Molly and eating more than my fair share of the desert with my chapatis and dhal I returned to Jaisalmer to prepare for the next leg of my journey. The 20 hour ride to Delhi, with a train that seemed to be exclusively Indian soldiers, went rather quickly and I was soon wandering the crowded, loud and really dirty streets of the Indian capitol. I did the tourist trail for 2 days seeing museums (Indira Gandhi, military), monuments (Hamayans tomb, India Gate) and forts (Red Fort). The city had a rather larger western influence and after a few days I purchased my ticket north to the holy Sikh city of Amritsar. The Golden Temple in Amritsar is one of the most important religious symbols in India. It is truly quite a sight as it is surrounded by the holy tank in which Pilgrims bathe and a roof covered with nearly 1000 kg of gold. The Sikhs even gave me a dorm bed for free and all the chapatis and gruel I could eat with the other Pilgrims in the communal dining hall. The city isn`t much to look at and so after visiting other various religious sights (including a Hindu temple that had me crawl through a stream and a cave that had a ceiling made in the form of a cows utter) I decided to move on, though not before a trip to Pakistan. Amritsar is situated very close to the only open border to Pakistan, so I took a rickshaw over to check it out. The border crossing was like a sporting event with thousands of spectators seated to watch the closing of the border ceremony. The Indians play music (the Pakistanis are much more somber and subdued, IE no singing and dancing), wave flags and pump up the crowd until the soldiers come out goose stepping, puffing out their chests and staring each other down in a remarkable show of pomp and circumstance to show who`s the boss in south Asia. After the fun, I took a multi combination train, bus and bus ride north to the misty Himalayan retreat of McLeod Ganj. McLeod Ganj is the current home of the Tibetan government in exile and of course his Holiness the Dali Lama. After much bouncing around the country I decided to slow up and stay awhile in the cool climate packed with snowy mountain vistas. Walking around the foothills of the mighty mountain range and the snowline got me excited for the upcoming winter (though the winter has already come to the mountains here and the snow subsequently has closed all roads to the north which is why i no go southeast). The town seems removed from India (though many cows roam the streets reminding you exactly where you are) as the vast majority of the residents are Tibetan and all the temples Buddhist. The town provides much to learn about Tibetan culture and the brutal takeover by the communist Chinese government. The streets are also sadly filled with many frost bitten Tibetan beggars who have lost fingers and limbs from frostbite while crossing the 5000 meter high passes to India. The town has a real relaxed hippie vibe (IE add an a to the towns name)and with its Tibetan feel was a good chance to relax before I head right back into the thick of things. I then returned back to Delhi so I could make my way to Agra, home of the famed Taj Mahal and continue my Indian experience as I trek eastward.
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