Homeward Bound

Whew. What a run this has been! Three UNESCO World Heritage sites, three states, two overnight trains, an overnight sleeper bus, and temperatures above 40 degrees. We have certainly seen a great deal of what India has to offer, both good and bad. There is a point in every trip when you realize that you’re starting to ‘head home’. These last few weeks have been bitter sweet with the knowledge that this journey is coming to an end. There is so much more to see, but India is such a challenging, captivating, spiritual place, that leaving brings mixed emotions. Sure, it will be nice to not sweat in your sleep, not to have to haggle for every taxi ride, or be asked “Where are you going?” 20 times a day, but India is like a co-dependent relationship. It’s a Love-Hate affair; there is no middle ground. India changes the way you see the world, forever. It certainly makes you appreciate the easy and decadent lifestyle we take for granted in Canada, the opportunities, and the obligation to make the most of our fortunate birthright.

  After leaving the beach in Goa, and our completely relaxing and indulgent ‘bliss zone’, we made our way towards Hampi, a deservedly popular site inland in the state of Karnataka. The temperature was going to be a major factor in planning out our three days of exploration, as were the distances involved. Hampi was home to one of the largest empires in the history of India. The ruins are spread out over some 25 square kilometers, and were originally enclosed within seven walls. The geography is what makes Hampi so surreal. An arid climate littered with massive boulders, smooth and rounded, with a major river running through the center. The boulders and rock have been incorporated into the fortified walls and many temples. We decided to rent some bicycles, because the main clusters of structures are quite far apart, and we wanted to avoid the worst of the mid-day heat. Even though the terrain isn’t too hilly, I was surprised at how easy it was to convince Raven to rent bikes, especially after the Pondicherry fiasco. During our first night, there had been a massive lightning storm, very close, with deafening detonations of thunder. It was still raining in the morning as we set off, which was a real treat, and kept things cool for most of the morning. The scale of the fortifications is just unbelievable. Huge boulders are linked by strips of cut-block stone walls, double thick and filled with sand and rocks. A testament to their strength and durability, most of the walls are intact. The areas that have been damaged are usually due to subsequent scavenging of the blocks for building materials. The southern group of buildings include the Queen’s Bath, the Elephant Stables, the luxurious Lotus-Mahal, assorted foundations, temples and mosques, and the underground Shiva temple. By the time we were making our way back, the clouds had cleared, and the heat was getting very intense. We made a quick stop at the monolithic carving of Ganesh, and flew down the last hill into town, awed by the scale of this ancient city.

  The entry fee into the Queens Bath included the entry to the Vitthala temple, one of the most impressive temples, and the one listed as a UNESCO site. We spent the afternoon napping in the shade before walking along the river towards the temple. We had tried to visit them in the opposite order in the morning, but the stone path isn’t bike friendly, so we dropped the bikes off after our morning ride. Hampi has so many surprises; at every turn there are more temples and carvings hiding amongst the boulders. The skill and prolific amount of carving and stone-masonry is astounding! You could spend weeks exploring here and not see everything. The Vitthala temple is a wonderfully preserved complex. One of the most incredible features is the musical columns. Carved from solid pieces of granite, each column would produce a different note when tapped with the hand or knuckles. A group of musicians would be able to produce the most incredible symphony, reverberating through the temple and across the stone courtyard. There are security guards at the site to prevent further wear of these exquisite carvings, but because there were few tourists so late in the day, one kept an eye out while the other gave us an impromptu performance, for a little baksheesh, of course!

  We spent another day and a half wandering around the various remnants of the city, including long, straight streets lined with columns,up to a hill-top temple for the sunset, and into the still active and monkey filled Virupaksha temple, with its’ 160 foot tall entrance gate tower. Raven was uninspired after the first round of exploration, and it was a little overwhelming, but too incredible to dismiss. There is even a hole inside the temple complex where the inverted image of the tower shines onto the far wall while the tower is backlit by the sun!

  Since all the trains from Hampi had been booked for two months, we decided to take our first overnight sleeper bus. Much more expensive than the sleeper train, at least it would have actual bunks, and since we had confirmed onward tickets from Pune, we needed to make the connection. It seemed quite luxurious when we first boarded, but the roads and traffic were still Indian, so none of us slept very well. To top things off, we arrived early, getting dropped off at 04:30, on the outskirts of town, 15 kms from the train station! Bah! We had the entire day to kill, since our train didn’t depart until 10 PM…Fortunately Pune is a big city, and the train station has an efficient and inexpensive luggage storage facility. We dropped our bags, found a park a few kilometers away on the river valley, stretched out on some benches and slept for a few hours, while the locals jogged, played volleyball, did laughter yoga and exercised all around us! The rest of the day involved a lot of wandering, and a lot of wondering. We had to wait until 10am for a coffee shop to open, because the bakery we were looking for was closed. We found a theater, thinking it would be a good way to spend a few hours, where they made us leave our cameras at the gate. The only English movie playing was Ironman3, and none of us wanted to see it, especially for 180 rupees each. We were tempted to indulge in an ice-cream from McDonalds, but their dessert machine was broken. We happened to pass the small ‘Tribal Museum’, but the admission was 250 rupees each, the same as the UNESCO sites!  It took us until 5 o’clock to find an internet café, but the power was off! At least the overnight train left on time, and our frustrating day in Pune finally ended.

  Thankfully, the train was almost three hours late getting into Aurangabad, which gave us a few extra hours of much needed sleep. We had breakfast next to the station, jumped in a rickshaw, went to the bus station and headed straight to Ajanta Caves. The heat was intense by noon, but we walked the 15 minutes to the hotel, and collapsed in a sweaty heap. We planned to stay for the night, get up early to explore the caves, and then head back to Aurangabad. The hotel we had found on the internet looked nice online, but was under construction. The ‘satelliteTV’ only had one channel, the power was off (no fan), and the shower didn’t work at first, and Su promptly broke into frustrated tears. After napping, showering, and generally collecting ourselves after an epic 48 hour transit from Hampi, we walked into the small town of Fadalpur.  The welcome we received more than made up for all the frustrations of the journey.  The children were full of smiles and ‘Hello!’s, with none of the ‘Give me money’ demands that are so discouraging. We pet some goats, chatted with some families, toured the old fort surrounding the mosque, and loved every minute of it. We had to go down the highway a little ways to find a restaurant, but the thalis were incredible. We hadn’t looked at the menu though, and were shocked when presented with a 700 rupee bill!

The next morning we were up nice and early, making sure we had checked our bags at the cloakroom and were ready to explore the caves as soon as they opened. I hadn’t actually seen any pictures of the caves before we got there, so had no idea what to expect, other than temples carved into a cliff face. There’s not much that could have prepared me for the spectacle awaiting. The oldest ‘caves’ date back to 2 BC, but the complex was carved out over a span of five centuries. The first ones you visit are some of the youngest, around 1500 years old, and they still have well preserved original paintings covering almost every square inch of the interiors. The temples are massive, with large ornate pillars, numerous chambers off of the main temple, and a massive statue of the Buddha in a separate chamber centered on the rear wall. The largest measure 27 by 35 meters! The detail and finesse of the carvings and murals are astounding. As you work towards the middle of the cliff face, the temples become older and older, with the Buddha represented by a plain stupa. The skill, ambition, and dedication of the monks who produced these architectural works of art is truly astonishing! Some of the caves are unfinished, providing a glimpse of the painstaking process of removing the rock, piece by piece. They would always work from the ceiling down, so no scaffolding was ever required. The tops of the columns and upper carving would be complete, but the work was abandoned before the lower sections had been excavated. The oldest caves have exquisite paintings dating to the 2 century BC, depicting scenes from the Buddha’s past lives. Words really don’t do justice to the staggering complexity and beauty of Ajanta, all carved out of solid rock with simple hand tools. As the temperature crept up to 40 degrees again, we humbly started back along the cliff face to the respite of the cold drink vendors at the entrance.

  We made our way to the highway for the sweltering bus ride back to Aurangabad, dozing and dreaming ancient dreams. The hotels around the bus station were less than inspiring, but since we were making a day trip to the Elora caves next, we wanted to stay close. After looking at half a dozen dingy, overpriced rooms, we settled on a slightly less dingy, but still overpriced room with a TV to help pass the time during the hazy afternoon heat. After one rest day, we were up early for the 45 minute trip to Elora. Not quite as old as Ajanta, some of the caves and temples here are even more grandiose and ambitious. The main draw is the Kailash Temple, a massive monolithic structure carved out of the rock by 7000 labourers over 150 years! I’ve nearly exhausted my supply of superlatives, none of which can completely capture the astonishing feat of engineering and artistic achievement. This one temple alone required the removal of over 200,000 tons of rock, all by hand, from the top down, leaving a monument larger than the Pantheon!

  The caves at Elora are divided into three distinct groups. The oldest are the more serene Buddhist caves, which are then overlapped by the Hindu temples, with their dramatic and lively gods and goddesses, warriors and sultry nymphs. Again, the scale of some of these massive caves is dumbfounding. One has three stories, filled with stunning sculptures of assorted deities and dozens of pillars on each level. Cave number 29 measures 40 by 37 meters, with high ceilings to allow for the elaborate, towering pillars and sculptures. After being overwhelmed by nearly 60 unbelievable rock-cut temples, we couldn’t possibly absorb any more. With only a few days left in India, it was time to retreat and reflect on the sights, smells and sounds that make it such a captivating and consuming culture. Our last overnight train ride brought us to Mumbai, where we enjoyed a relatively luxurious hotel room and some cosmopolitan culinary treats. I even went to see the new Star Trek movie in 3D. Mumbai is renowned for its’ lavish cinemas, complete with overstuffed reclining seats and uncomfortably cold air conditioning. Before navigating the commuter rail system out to the airport, I had to light off the last 1000 firecrackers from Goa. Our flight left for Nairobi at the ungodly hour of 3:05 AM, so we left early and caught a few ZZZZ’s in the ‘Slumber Zone’ of the airport. India will always hold a special place in my heart, but Africa has been singing a siren song that I couldn’t wait to pursue. We would cross into the southern hemisphere in search of the wilds and wildlife of a new continent; back into the unknown. What willthe food be like? How bad will ‘Nairobbery’ really be? Will I be able to summit Mt. Kilimanjaro, at 5895 meters? Will we be lucky enough to see a lion take down a zebra on the plains of the Serengeti?

Stay tuned for more Castle Griffey Adventures…

last of India

We are leaving India in day or so.

The rest of our trip will feel like ‘fast-forward’ travel as we will be zooming through Africa, Egypt and England. I hope we have enough time to write. The last few days have been hot and dry with some really long travel days. We wanted to see three sights of UNESCO monumental significance, Ellora, Ajanta and Hampi, so we moved inland, away from the humidity and relaxation of Goa’s beach scene.

With these travel days I have been terser than usual- we had little travel and much relaxing within the last 7 weeks, then proceeded to cram a huge amount of miles in. It had to be this way, as the three sights were North of Goa and East of Mumbai (Bombay). We did two back to back travel nights, one on a bus and one in a train, and the lack of sleep gave the cold that Heath had in Goa the opportunity to mount my defenses and win.  

To see the incredible rock-hewn caves at Ellora and be close to the train station for our return overnight sleeper to Mumbai, we stayed for three nights in the big town of Aurangabad.  The hotels were full, so  we had to settle for an overpriced (650Rs) dingy place with ants. Armies of little sugar ants have been pretty common the last few months, but never before have I had as many of them crawl up on my bed, and on me. These ones didn’t bite, but because they crossed the line, and were on my body, they were squished. Heath and Raven didn’t seem to have this problem, lucky me! The hotel had the makings of a nice place- there was a green courtyard in the middle of all the ground floor rooms.  The mattresses were hard and lumpy, the sheets were debatable-ly not changed before the previous tenants, and the bathroom facilities were a hole in the floor for a squat toilet tucked into a room so small a larger person would have to back in to use it. The ‘bathing room ‘ was larger, consisting of a bucket and a tap for our shower. There was a small TV with western channels, the room’s only redeeming quality, besides the fact that there were three beds. This area is the gateway to the temple caves at Ellora and Ajanta, so we paid double what seemed fair for the room. This is the first time a hotel has wanted a deposit- generally the first nights rent in advance and a huge amount of paperwork is all that is required.  Mumbai will be the same- overpriced for a tiny room, but the going rate there is 1500Rs. We will only stay one night.  

We have been lucky having three beds this last little while. In this heat, sharing a double with three people is not fun. None of us want to touch the other, as we are all glistening with sweat. The overhead fan makes the nights bearable, but we haven’t used sheets for a long time, we just sleep on top of the bed.

I am tired of the touts constantly trying to sell me things, and tired of rickshaw drivers quoting an unfair price until we barter them down to something more reasonable. A tame example of a vendor is in the bus station, waiting for busses. Guys walk around selling cold water. Usually they wave it around, walking and yelling “Pani! Water!” When they get to us- they stop and are a little more demanding, leaving only after you show them that you already have some. They also come on the busses at stops. There can be four guys selling different snacks and water in the aisles, getting off only when the bus starts pulling away. Still, that is pretty tame compared to the tourist shop vendors!

The ones that have frustrated me the most are the ones at the UNESCO sights- walking around with their pitiful wares- claiming glass earrings are ‘crystals’ that we can buy for a ‘good price’. They zone in on us white tourists and ask each one of us three times to look at their items, following us when we ignore them or say “No thanks”. It has been hard to be polite, and even take them as individuals, as I have generalized them into “Annoying” and want to avoid the unpleasant interaction.  I know they must be desperate for money, but they can’t know that we get this ALL THE TIME.

I am definitely ready to move on from the heat!  It was 41 degrees inside a restaurant yesterday afternoon. The three day stay at Aurangabad wasn’t the most beautiful place to spend our last few days in India, as it is a large town, and there wasn’t anything to see within walking distance.  Unfortunately, there weren’t any English movies to see, either. We got our fill of TV instead.

I’ll leave it to Heath’s eloquent writing to fill you in about the details of the ancient monuments and temples, some built before B.C. that we have seen.

We have no idea what to expect from Africa. It is super exciting!

Food and Random Remembered Reminisces

bruchetta

coffee morning

with attitude...

May 2

Every day I say I am going to write about food, as food has been a highlight for us on this trip. Mmm…Food…Tasty Food…I love trying new things on a menu, often ordering something that I have no idea what it is. I can do this in a Hindu country, as I know I won’t be served any meat. We could fill a photo album with the amount of meal shots we’ve taken! In Goa the food has been sublime. For about two weeks we sat on the beach, or in the shade of our patio on our little beach hut, leaving only for a quick swim, yoga, a run or a meal. I haven’t gone more than 5 kilometers in all this time, and Heath and Raven have moved less! We have devoured exceptionally fine food.  

We arrived at the end of tourist season, to one of the quieter beaches in Southern Goa. We stay at Patnem beach, about one kilometre south of the more popular and populated Palolem beach. Most of the accommodations and restaurants have been shutting down around us. Literally shutting down, as in being dismantled bamboo pole by bamboo pole. Tourist season is six months long- and by law the restaurants with their adjacent beach huts have to be taken down before the monsoon season. It seems like such a lot of work, because these are semi-permanent structures.

We lucked out by finding a hut with an actual double bed-it may even be queen sized, as it feels so large.  Typically our ‘doubles’ have been two singles pushed together, and we take turns sleeping in the crack. Not this place.  Because it is end of season, we are paying 250Rs (5$) for a hut that normally goes for 20$. Ours is back a few meters from the beach in the shade of banana trees. If we want to sit with a view we only have to move into the relaxed restaurant lounge-y area.

Even though there are only three restaurants still open, Patnem beach has got to be known for its food. It is an excellent mix between Western and Indian. We are eating super-healthily. We take our meals at either the Sea-Land restaurant that is connected to our hut, or walk two doors down to a Mexican styled place called Casa Fiesta that does excellent pizza and a salad with humous plate. The menu at Casa Fiesta happily offers ‘off season’ prices, as well.

Beer is cheap and cold in Goa. 40-50 rupees for a small bottle (300ml) or 80 rupees for the one that serves two people (625 ml). We have free wifi during the day (barring the power outages and wonky service), and a warm ocean breeze. We thought that we would stay at and check out a few different beaches along the Goan coast, but instead, we have slowed down like molasses in the fridge. (Except that the temperature is in the high 30’s). I think Heath is proud of me- I have reached a new low of doing close to nothing all day, and being O.K. with it! It took us ten days to get the initiative or inertia to walk over to Palolem beach, all of a lovely half an hour jaunt away! We were going to have to make our way a few hours North to catch our next train, at 7:30 am, in a town called Vasco de Gama, then realized we could catch it closer- only 45 minutes North from an inland town called Margoa. We will stay just one night, just to avoid a really early morning.

Our Goan ‘schedule’ revolves around meals. I typically wake up just after 6 am and go for a 30-40 minute run. The beach is quiet and cool at this time, with only a few other walkers enjoying the sunrise. I am so thankful that it is safe and free from harassment here, so I am able to regain the cardio fitness I feared I had lost during the last six months. At first I had to run/walk, but now I am back to running. The moon has been filling since arriving here, and the beach has become more and more of a joy to run barefoot on each day, as the low tide corresponds with early morning. The fine sand is firm yet yielding, and is less sloped the further out the tide goes.  The beach is mostly free from garbage, and there are no villagers using the ocean as their toilet. This means the only ‘land mines’ I have to worry is from the beach dogs, and not at the intertidal zone.

I meet Heath just after 7 for a yoga class on the beach. Raven has started to join in for a while, as well. We all try to do push ups throughout the day, for upper body strength. Heath has us on an increasing schedule. Every Saturday we add one more to our sets.

The food:

We have breakfast at Sea-Land- this consists of fruit salad with curd and honey and chai for me. I add my masala mix to the milk tea, and eat a tablespoon of peanut butter with the bananas. I used to order plain toast, but it is store bought white processed toast, so I have omitted it. Raven always has the fruit salad and curd and alternates between an omelet or a chocolate pancake. Heath will order the chocolate pancake and omelet, sometimes hash browns, with filter coffee.

We’ll spend half an hour or so a day ‘taking the sun’ (that’s all I can stand just sitting in the direct sun) and swimming. The heat ranges from 25 degrees at night up to 35 plus during the day. The humidity sits at about 70%, and adds a few degrees of heat. The ocean is warm and not as forceful as at Varkala. It is easy to swim past the break and hang out in the gentle swell. I am not as afraid of sharks here for some reason.

Lunch we usually eat at the Mexican place. They do a wicked humous, with salad and bread. They even have olives. Sometimes we’ll order Mexican fajitas or soft shell tacos with rice and beans.






 I may have a lemon or lime soda (Soda water with lime juice) or the others may enjoy a cold pepsi or sprite.

These two meals are eaten ‘lounge style’. The front of these restaurants have middle-eastern style divans and pillows with low tables, built on covered platforms over the sand. It’s like lounge lizard lapping our meals; we don’t even bother with the table, just leave the plates on the mattress or hold it in our laps. We are right at the front of the beach watching the world go by. There may be only 10 to 20 other people staying at this beach. It is super quiet and peaceful.

Dinner we usually eat at Sea Land. The glass topped tables with the most comfortably cushioned chairs are brought down to the beach each night. Every restaurant does this, with two lit hurricane candles per table, providing the beach dining area glittering lights and a romantic mood. We eat after the sun has set, and watch the stars come out. This place makes the tastiest palak paneer, paneer kofta, and mushroom dho pyaja (garlic and strips of ginger); probably the best Indian food we have eaten yet. India has changed Heath- he is willfully eating spinach.

mushroom dho pyaja

palak paneer

It has changed Raven, too, she is talking about remaining a vegetarian. A few months of forced vegetarianism, and they both realize it isn’t so bad….We’ll see what happens to that resolve the first time they are met with an Albertan steak hot off the BBQ.

For a dinner change, we may go to the Mexican place, which offers free taco chip starters and salsa. I was excited about the idea of salsa, but it is only spiced ketchup! Their pizza is to die for, with real European style cheese and an amazing thin crust. We have only ever ordered the pineapple pizza- how can you not when the pineapple is fresh cut and super succulent? They also offer a banana pizza.  

I do miss preparing food for us, especially when I order a meal and it is really disappointing. Sandwiches are foods to mostly avoid in India. These are only available in the touristy areas, and served with the-crusts-cut-off- processed white bread. I love a fresh sandwich that has nutty or seedy bread lots of vegetables and the perfect amount of mayo or protein rich humous. While I am off on a food tangent, I may as well reveal I am missing the taste of red licorice. (Repugnant gelatin, glucose, preservatives, colouring and all…)

On a sandwich tangent- did we ever mention that we went to a Subway in Chennai? It was pretty similar to home, and expensive to boot, but pretty tasty.

Random Remembered Reminisces:

®     On one of my morning runs in Goa I ran past a middle aged Indian couple who had just been in the water. The woman, wearing a wet house dress (this cool, simple and shapeless cotton house dress is what most Indian women in the south seem to wear if they are at home, or not in their more dressed up and decorative kurtas or saris.) motioned me over with her camera. I assumed she wanted a picture with me, as that has been our typical experience. Remember? “Hey, a white person- let’s get a photo with them!” It turned out she wanted me to take a picture of her with her husband. He was wearing only a swimming suit and had a large ‘living the good life’ belly. She also had a lot of probably well earned ‘middle age spread’. Of course I obliged, and had to pick my chin off the sand when the woman removed her shapeless housedress to pose with her husband by the ocean wearing a tiny mesh camouflage bikini! I took about ten photos of them before continuing on with my sweaty face. Of course they didn’t want pictures of me!

®     Karen Schneider (Llena’s mummy) had given Raven a story book years ago about chirping geckos. Geckos have been our constant hotel room companions in India, but only recently have I noticed their chirping. They are such lovely creatures. They sing so loudly, it is easy to mistake them for birds or crickets. Raven and Heath spend some time trying to capture them. We had a little frog sharing our beach house, too.

®     About a month ago Raven was talking in the middle of the night. I thought she was awake, but she didn’t remember this in the morning. She asked, “Where is the way out?”. Poor thing. I put it down to staying in too many hotel rooms!  The other night she asked “Where’s dad’s underwear?” They both laughed when shared that one in the morning!

®     Coconut trees, when they move in the wind sound like rain. They make a dry crackly sound. The (leaves?) of the coconut trees are designed to be incredible rain drippers. In the deluges that we have experienced, the rain collects in the long fronds of the coconut tree, and like a river, directs the rain down to earth.