Friday, June 27, 2008

One meter safari - Part I (Jaisalmeer)

I found the exact turban that I was looking for in a tourist shop near the Jain Temple, five meters of white cotton turban for the desert overnight safari coming up later in the evening.

If you see the me in the picture, you understand how one meter is measured in the part of the world. The distance nose and the tip of your fingers - convenient and elegant.

The friendly Shop Keeper (SK) asked the same old question, "Are you married"?

Ana: Of course! (i believed this was the only answer one should ever give being a single woman in this country)
SK: Me too!
Ana: Really? You look young.
SK: I just got married last week.
Ana: Congratulations! I just missed the wedding then.
SK: No wedding. Because my wife and I are from different casts, her family is rich, but me, no rich... but we love each other. but her family was chasing after me, brothers, cousins, they want to kill me...
Ana: What? What did you do?
SK: We ran away, from Jodhpur to Udaipur, from Udaipur to Jaipur, you know, we go everywhere... and the family always running after us.
Ana: What happened?
SK: Finally, i went to see the judge. Because I am 20 years old and my girlfriend 19, we are old enough to get married ...you know...
Ana: And...so you succeeded, that is so great!
SK's face filled with joy and happiness.
Ana: so where is your wife?
SK: she lives outside the fort...

I paid for my turban and was so taken by this beautiful love story at 9h30 in the morning.

SK: Would you like a Chai? I invite you for Chai!

I shaked my hands, but the shopkeeper showed determination on his face, I had to sat down again.

Here this 20 year old man just shared his life story and is treating me to a morning Chai.

Ana: hmmm.... actually I am not married. (out of guilt, I thought I had to tell the truth)
The shopkeeper just stepped to fetch the tea cup, i was not sure if she heard me.
SK: So, you are not married.
Ana, smile, making a baby face.
SK: Well, me neither!
Ana: What?! (I jumped out of my chair)
How could you lie like that?

SK with a witty smile on his face: Who lied first?

... should I be taken by his wit or just embarrassed by my own stupidity?


Thursday, June 26, 2008

a blue house in the blue city - Jodhpur


I am staying in a blue house in the blue city- Jodhpur, probably the most typical city of Rajasthan. With some luck I found this guesthouse run by a real local, and more so, the whole family lives on the ground floor and first floor. 2nd and 3rd floor are converted to guestrooms. The roof top has an amazing view of the Fort and all the blue houses in the city.

Walking through the narrow city streets, I get lost almost every 5 minutes: market places, street scenes, spice shops, jewlery dealers, old buildings and colorful turbans...all suggest that i am in Aladdin.

We feel the desert heat, definitely a big change from Mount Abu. I also got to know a new creature called Desert Cooler. It is essentially a local cheap version of air conditioning, it functions as a big fan and cold water going through a big metal box behind the fan. It makes huge noises, but some how it does cool the rooms. With all the noise and size of the big metal box, it is hard to imagine that it would actually consume less electricity than a real airconditioning. Since his is what local people prefers, I trust that they make good choices.

Sometimes I wonder if the population of cows in a city of Jodhpur actually exceeds the population of human beings. They are everywhere, they eat a lot, they don't do anything, they shit everywhere. and more importantly they are HOLY. Indians believe all spirits of god reside in the body of cow, and so: if you pray to the cow, you pray to all gods. To bring convenience to the spiritual life of the people, the indians have done a great job!

This is a city where 60% habitants are Hindis and 30% Muslins. At dawn, we hear the chantting from Hindu temples and Muslin Mosques compete against each other. As Hindis are mostly vegetarians and certainly don't eat cows, I can not help wonder what happens when the cows actually die. Do muslims just eat them? And if they do, what would the Hindis feel? and if not, what are they going to do with that big chunk of meat?

Friday, June 20, 2008

Lonely travellers on a lonely planet - from Udaipur to Mount Abu

It has been exactly one week since I started wondering around India. Never seen so many friendly faces and especially honored as I am often stopped by people on the streets who want to have pictures taken together me. I suppose Chinese are rare creatures in this part of the world.

Mount Abu, the only hill station in the region between Rajsthan and Gujarak, is a very popular tourist destination for local indians, and also a pigrimage place with numerous temples and spiritual organizations. The Nakki lake stiuated in the center of the city is believed to have holy spirit to it, some village people come here to leave the ashes of their loved ones. In this entire city, we are the only foreigners, me and an English couple who came on the same bus with me. We soon became good friends, if we are going to be stared at, might as well be stared at together!

I am typing away in a cyber cafe, where the keyboards are so worn out that the letters no longer show up anymore; however, the owner skillfully hand-wrote the letters with paint. Why not? if it works. This is also a city where taxi take hand written signs. So if you want to drive a taxi, just write in real big letter on your car "TAXI" it soon becomes a taxi. Nothing is going to stop the Indians.

Recommended once by our trekking guide, we now go to the same restuarant every meal, the cleanest and quietest we can find in town. But we are three stubborn tourists who come to the best indian restuarnt for non-indian food. I am now off my almond-only diet and switched to a mix of plain rice, veggie fried rice and sweet lassie diet. It is so much more nutritious.

Of all the great things we get to see, we are happy to be the lonely travellers on this lonely planet.

Ps: tips for Mt. Abu, a really amazing must see temple called Jain Temple, built 1000 - 13000AD, with all marbles, very little information on lonely planet or any guidebook, but abosulately breath taking.

Trekking in the mountains with a really good guide called Charlie, we even spotted a jackle.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

The tomato eating tortoise - Udaipur


Raj Palace, the first place I found in my guide book, I thought I would try my luck. After some very buppy 16 hours on the so called "high way", the Rickshaw ride seemed so nice and smooth.

15 mins later, I settled in a nice room with a view of the roof top of an indian family. 30 mins later, I was having my first meal in two days in the garden of Raj Palace.

Cross the table, I discovered a very interesting creature - a tortoise. With my limited knowledge of animals, I think it is a mountain tortoise. The owner said the tortoise has made home of Raj Palace since 3 years, and he only eats tomotos. I vaguely remembered from high school zoology that tortoises eat insects like mosquitos, but maybe they all become vegtarians and hindis in this country. To prove his point, the owner had one of the workers bring out some chopped tomato pieces, and he started eating them... wow, it is way too cool. a tomato eating tortoise!!!

or am I just ignorant !?

Tuesday, June 17, 2008

Escape Monsoon - Mumbai Day 2

After a half day of wondering around the streets of Mumbai in heavy rain, I had enough of the joy of early Monsoon and decided to change my travel plans. In stead of heading down south on the Arabic coast, I would actually go up north to the state of Rajstan where I can see the cities of colors and maybe even reach Taj Mahal, one of the 7 wonders of the world. But of course, knowing me, that would only be a goal.

I let a good travel agent talked me into buying a very expensive bus ticket from Mumbai to Udaipur, sleeper, A/C and all and most importantly - "this is a bus especially for foreigners like you", guiltily and surely, that was the most convincing argument of his sale. 6pm, I was on the bus, 9 pm i woke up, finding the bus still stuck somewhere at the out skirts of Mumbai, the Driver missing. By then the empty bus which I got on 3 hours ago is now filled with Indians, I was the only foreigner on it. One of the friendly passenger helped me situate myself - "it should take another 16 hours before we reach Udaipur" and he also explained to me that the driver, guess what, he is trying to fill the bus with more passengers. As I saw a family of husband and wife and 3 kids all crammed on the double bed facing me, I wondered where the driver would put other passengers. I also noticed one other problem - no bathroom on the bus. hmmm....??? I guess I would have to stop drinking water.

This is the day, I abandoned all local eateries to avoid stomach problems and reduced my alimentation to only almonds and raisins. As my nutritionist told me, almonds have all necessary vitamins, proteins and fat one would need in a meal. I was quiet certain that I can survive with no problem on almonds and stay healthy for the rest of my journey. There I happily opened my big bag of almonds for a late night snack.

In the freezing air conditioned upper sleeper with no sheets or blankets, I was ready for a real escape of Monsoon to the dry land of Rajstan.

Monday, June 16, 2008

Tatian, Tatan, Tatiana? - Mumbai Day 1

This is the first day when I said goodbye to my five star inter-continnental club room and ventured on to the streets of Mumbai. I was with my backpack charged with rolls of films, waiting to melt in the summer indian steam. 100 meters outside the hotel, I found a Rickshaw, successfully took me to the nearest train station.

Well, as soon as I got off the auto rickshaw, the steam mixed with rotten food filled my nose, my mouth and my entire head for the next 72 hours at least. This is not the kinda RER train stations which I am familiar with. After some effort, i located the entrance, but 5 long lines right in front of me, quequing to get tickets. You gotta be kidding me! No machines? Huh, there are machines, but how do they work. I looked 360 degrees around me trying to locate some friendly face, and english speaking friendly face...did not find one. hmmm... maybe the conceige had a point, as he strongly recommended me NOT to take the train.

There I saw a fair skin girl, eating breakfast...I tried with English and it worked. She took out her little carnet of tickets and gave 2 pieces of precious green paper, they had 8 RS face value, I offered to pay, she said no need. As we were walking towards the platform, i had a better look at the kind of jungle I was in. She seemed in command. She was wearing modern clothes and that she was going shopping with friends in Colaba Bay, near Taj Mahal Hotel.

She pointed me to the platform and said she would take the same train, I could not help my curiocity, "where are you from?"
"I am from here."
"here?"
"yes, here. you?"
"China."
"Singapore?"
"no, China."
after a few seconds of silence, I heard
"I am tibetan"
"Oh...you mean originally from ..."
"I am refugee here, as the Chinese occupied Tibet, my parents had nowhere to go, they came here."
I had chills in my necks, not sure what to say.
"I was born here though."
As the train was coming into the station, she started walking fast and almost running "we have to find the women's coach"
I could not quiet follow her "you mean women ride in a separate coach?"

Before I knew it, we were already on it, the women's coach, blue, yellow, green, red, pink, indian women in sarees...me with a big backpack and my new tibetan friend with her innocent eyes.

The scene completely took my breath away, i felt the heat as sweat just came off of my forehead like raindrops, they were so elegant, those indian women, every single one of them, and some smiled at me...

Just as I was focused on all the women and the hand rails in the women's coach, my tibetan friend said that she had to get off and wished me a happy journey.
"wait, what is your name?"
"Tatain" (maybe tatanian, tatian..) i heard something..
"me, Elsie..." i quickly took out a card and gave it to her, "email me please!"
few seconds later, she was gone with the crowd...

"email me"?! about what? so that she can tell me what really happened to her parents? Or that i can teach her about the history how Tibet has been part of China since Yuan Dynasty. Or that she comes to find me on the address given on the card in Paris, I take her shopping and meet French boys? Will she be more interested in Louis Vuitton than history of her origin? Was I more embarrassed about my inability in this mega city of India than my potential ignorance of past history I am about to find out from Tatian, Tatan or Tatiana???

Here my first 45 mins alone in Mumbai... the adventure continues...