Hot Hot India: Mamallapuram

After Puri, we took a bus (where I was puked on, a story for another time), then an overnight train and a third bus to find our way to Mamallapuram a small town in the province of Tamil Nadu.  Tamil Nadu is a very important (and proud) southern Indian province.  As many Indians will tell you, Tamils have a very unique culture (they have their own film industry named Kollywood), food and language.  Their language dating back over 2000 years, was one of the languages spoken by the Romans.  It hasn't changed much since.  A proud populace, they had once demanded their independence.  Anywho....

Mamallapuram really was a gem in central Backpackistan. In terms of tourism, Puri and Mamallapuram were polar opposites.  Here, there are mellow Jack Johnson tunes playing, Bob Marley flags hanging from balconies, menues full of overpriced (Indian standards) Western food (beef? It's almost insulting...) and clothes selling "indian clothes" that Indians would never wear. But nonetheless, the city is absolutely gorgeous and it's hard not to stay a while.  The place is situated amongst rock-carved temples and rock-carved art.  Sauntering through the town's carvings and temples at sunset while the modern carvers "tink-tink" with their chisels on the streets ignites imagination as to what this place used to be like thousands of years ago.

I think I'm going to like this place !

One thing that we noticed is that it is HOT here.  Unbearable to Canadians.  Our strategy for the heat is wake-up really early and do what we gotta do.  And then, at noon or so, take refuge.  If not in the ocean, in a restaurant or in your bed, taking a nap.  Then, at 4 or 5, wake up, finish the day and stay up late !  This is a strategy practiced by many, including the locals.  At midday, streets are empty. At night, things get cool, lively and exciting.

At night, things get moooovin' .....

We checked out the Five Rathas which are rock-cut architecture that have been made out of monoliths.  They date back to the 7th century and although some of it has eroded, the detail that has been put into these beautiful temples and art pieces is phenomenal.

 

The temples and sculptures at the five rathas site

 

Can you believe it?  Carved out of one stone!

 

This is high risk.  Chris is clumsy. 

Riding cowgirl !

This life-sized elephant is regarded as one of the most perfectly sculptured elephant in India. And then his husks fell.

 The shore temple is another temple we checked out. Overlooking the Bay of Bengal it's one of seven temples that were built during the 7th century.  But alas- the other 6 temples are all submerged under the ocean's waters.  If you take a boat out into the ocean you can see one's summit.  However, during the 2004 tsunami, the ocean's coast waters pulled back 500 meters and the other temples were visible.  Considering the trade-off, I'm content just believing it rather than seeing it....

 

 

The grounds of the shore temple.  This place got a little beat up from the 2004 tsunami. Mother Nature don't care 'bout history...

 

These would make nice base boards....

Shhhhh....the Gods are sleeeeeping !

This was a very popular spot for school field trips so we got to meet many a-kids and teachers as well.  Being that I am also a teacher, conversation was easy and we easily related to each other.  There was a mutual respect for we shared the same profession.  I couldn't help but surround myself with these intrigued and curious students.

Okay guys, we have 15 minutes to find out everything there is to know about each other.  Who wants to start?

 

 

 

 

 

You know what?  You're pretty cool too...

As much as I like ancient temples, the modern colorful ones are so nice to look at.  I could go back and look at the same one everyday and notice something new.

Oh, and I almost forgot, I saved a bunch of Indians...

Okay guys, hurry up, take your photos.  I can't hold this thing all day !

Just kidding...I tried to kill them !

But Chris saved the day with another one of his heroic acts...

Fine, fine. Truth is, the rock is perfectly balanced that way and so it looks unstable, but it isn't.  We found out what kept it from rolling down...

Phew !

On our last night we enjoyed a beautiful sunset on the top of Mamallapuram's lighthouse.  A curious thing was that we went for a good hour walk and we were followed by a fellow Indian the entire time.  And not in an inconspicuous way either.  We'd walk and sit on a certain boulder and he would come sit right next to us.  After 10 minutes or so we'd get up, keep walking (with him following right behind) and then sit on another certain rock. He would sit right next to us.  We smiled at him, he smiled back and shook his head (as Indians do).  Then, we kept walking and he followed suit.  He followed us for a 1 km or so.  I thought he would eventually ask us something or...well, I don't know what....I was expecting something.  Anything.  But no, eventually, he just got bored of us and went off on his way.  We stood there confused, without company, thinking "why?"  But that is a question that we ask regularly here and getting an answer, despite the fact that in India "everything is possible", is just not possible.

Going coastal: Puri

 So we decided to head down south on the East Coast....where things got incredibly hot.  We took an overnight train to Puri, a little beachside town in the not-yet-touristy province of Orissa.  The tourists that were there were both Indians and foreigners. For Hindus, Puri is one of the holiest pilgrimage places in India because of the temples nearby. For foreigners it's the beach.

Sunset in Puri

 There's something special about the bright Indian sun setting.  What a magnificent color !

Chris enjoying (or enjoyed) a chai on the beach during sunset

Although beaches that have been left untouched by the great, ever-engulfing, ever-growing tourist industry can be great, they can also be a place of slight discomfort because if there's one thing that Indian passerby's like to do is gawk.  Stare.  And if you're in a bathing suite, even more.  And it's not inconspicuous staring, oh no !  For instance,  sitting by myself reading a book on the beach, I would often have men (or teenagers) come stand a foot away from me and stare down at me.  Why?  Is it the sleeveless shirt?  The blond  hair?  I have no idea.  Staring is another thing we've gotten used to.  But we also try to act in a way to avoid attracting stares.  So, unless there's a heap of tourists bathing and basking in the sun on the beach, bikinis and bathing suites are out of the question.  We saw one girl swimming in her bikini and in front of her, on the shore, stood 20 or so men, staring.  I guess it all depends if you mind or not!  We do. 

 

My bathing suite when we're on the beaches of not-so-touristy areas

Puri is also a town right next to a fishing village.  The most beautiful way to start and end the day was going down to the beach close to the village (I've never had to focus so much while walking; the beach is the village's public toilet) and seeing the fishermen head out to the boats at sunrise and then come back with boatloads of fish, all kinds, at sunset.  Then the village women would come with big barrels, fill them up with fish and carry them back (balanced on their heads) to the village and Puri markets.

Retired boats on the beach and working ones out at sea.  

 Every might these cement shapes are put in the water to attract fish.  Every morning, they are taken out. 

 Sand sculpting, a local art form. 

Unfortunately,  Puri is where Chris fell ill.   Fortunately, we were at a small sea side town and not a large, noisy chaotic city and so Chris could get better in a peaceful place.  Chris still feels like he was little bit cheated as he didn't get to visit some of the temples around the area.  Poor guy.

One temple worth mentioning is the beautiful Konark temple, known as the sun temple, which was constructed in the mid-13th century.  The entire temple was built to look like the chariot of the sun God, Surya.  Seven mighty prancing horses (representing the days of the week) are pulling the chariot (temple) which sits on 24 carved wheels (representing the hours in a day).  The carvings on the temple represent everyday life : you'll see women cooking and men hunting. Many are in the erotic style with entwined couples, exhibitionist and even one man treating a venereal disease!  The Kama Sutra does come from India you know !

 The temple looks a lot like those at Angkor Wat in Cambodia. 

Rated R !

Rooftop

Puri was a nice refuge as it was much quieter than where we had been before, in the province of Uttar Pradesh.   Here, in peace and quiet, is where we started really getting used to Indian life and taking notice of our similarities rather than differences.  Less and less do we feel out-of-place and more and more like we are a couple of fish just swimming in unfamiliar seas. 

A crazy place called India: Delhi, Bharatpur, Agra and Varanasi

Lots and lots and lots to write about.  After a long-haul redeye flight through the United-Emirates, we finally landed in New Delhi.  We were expecting somebeody to pick us up at the airport, to make the initial arrival a little easier, but after a no-show, we were forced to jump right into the deep end.  So we did.  We took a pre-paid taxi to central Delhi.  The area of Paharganj.  With all the touts, the sktchy men, the crowded streets and the drugs offered left and right, Paharganj isn't everyone's cup of chai.  But hey, with cheap budget accomodation dooted everywhere in the area, it was our destination.  Our taxi drive alone was a dose of everything....shock, beauty, humor, disgust and confusion.  The taxi driver had an extremely hard time to find our hotel (was he genuinely lost, I will never know...) but being tired, stubborn and ready, Chris and I didn't budge out of the taxi.  Finally., we found the hotel hidden in a little dirty alley.  Wait no, I can't say it was dirty as it didn't STAND OUT as dirty, the whole area was dirty.  It's amazing what will fit through these little alleys, pedestrians, rickshaws, horses, cows (galore), dogs, motorcycles.   After a 24 hour refuge in our hotel room we finally came out and were greeted by curious children, staring adults, cheerful teens and the chaotic Delhi lifestyle.  In terms of a crazt, chaotic circus, Vegas has got nothing on Delhi.  Noise, noise, noise, garbage and noise.  EVERYONE honks.  Honking the horn is the cool thing to do.  Drivers will drive and keep their palms firmly pressed on the horn for minutes at a time....even if they're not passing anyone.  I still don't quite understand. At home, noise pollution in discouraged.  Here, they love it and in the back of every rickshaw, car truck, bus you will see "HORN PLEASE" written in bold letters.  India seems to be a country of extremes.  Every day I have my shocking sight and beautiful sight of the day.

Delhi : Shocking (now this doesn't seem so shocking to us afterall...after we've been here for a couple of weeks, but it was when we first got there)

Beautiful

After a couple of days in Delhi, we figured we'd try to go somewhere a little more quiet and serene. So we took a small train ride (Indian standards = 5 hours) to Bharatpur..which is close to Keoladeo Ghana National Park, a bird sanctuary.   We rented some bikes, binoculars and a guide who showed us the basics of birdwatching and what birds to look for.  It was such a nice quiet day and got to see many India birds and other exotic Indian animals.  We couldn't go very deep in the National Park as there was a tiger sighting and so it was dangerous to wander alone.  At the time, they were trying to find the tiger, sedate him, and move him to a national park with more tigers (so he can find himself a girlfriend).

Hello Mr. Owl. What clean feet you have !

Punk rocker woodpeckers

Jackals. 

Storks, but no babies

Cranes. Can you find the turtle?

Turtle turtle !

Antelope (and geese)

Marsh water

The sanctuary wasn't just for the birds but for us too.  It was a nice and quiet getaway.  Nevertheless, getaways are temporary and  as soon as -HONK ! we got closer to the gate -HONK ! we were quickly brought back to Indian reality. -HONK! -HONK!

If it can get you from A to B, it can go on the road,

Then we took another short three hour train ride to Agra.  Oh Agra.  The #1 tourist destination of India.  Home of the Taj Mahal and persitant touts, hasslers and scammers.  Still, the place is totally underated by those who make a daytrip, see the Taj Mahal and leave, saying the place is a dump.  We stayed for three days and there was ALOT more than just the Taj Mahal.  This is where I spent my birthday.  We woke up really early to catch the Taj during sunrise (and without the crowds). The Taj Mahal was bulit by Shah Jahan as a memorial for his second, and most loved wife Mumtaz Mahal, who died giving birth to their 14th child.  The death of Mumtaz is said to have pained him so gravely that his hair turned gray overnight.  Construction of the Taj began the same year of her death and took 12 years to build.  Twenty thousand people worked on the building and the place is beautifully decorated with marble inlay work made with thousands of precious stones.  The tomb od Mumtaz lays in the centre of the Taj. Not long after it was finished, Shah Jahan was overthrown by his son and imprisoned in Agra Fort where he spent the rest of his days gazing out at his creation through a window. Rightfully so, Shah Jahan is buried in the Taj, next to his wife.  A complicated, yet passionate Indian drama.

A kick-ass view of the Taj from our guesthouse rooftop.

Whoop, there it is...

It's much more massive up close than I ever thought it would be

Even the entrance gate gacing the Tag is beautiful

Agra also has one of the finest Mughal forts in India, the Agra Fort.  The fort was primarily built as a military structure but Shah Jahan transformed it into a a palce, although it later became his gilded prison.

Looking for Itmad-Ud-Daulah (Baby Taj), we walked across the bridge which went over the Yamuna River (one of the most polluted rivers in India. It flows into the Ganges).  We had the most beautiful view and once we hit the poorer part of Agra we were greeted by busy streets, staring adults and curious children who would run up, yell out the only words they knew in English ("hello! How are you?"), shake our hands and run away laughing,only to come back with more friends who also want to shake our hands.The smiles here are a'plenty and children are kind, playful, energetic and always looking for a connection. After much walking (and coming across Poop Street - the viallges' public toilet) we finally found our Baby Taj which was much more quiet than the Taj and had beautiful and detailed tilework everywhere.

The Yamuna River.  It eventually flows into the Ganges River

The Ya,una River.  A very polluted river.  It was black, but despite this (and the stench) you could get a really nice view of it.  Here are cows and waterbuffaloes.  Buffalo poop is collected, formed into patties and used for insulation and heating.

The Baby Taj

Marble carve-work

After a full day, we hopped on an overnight train to Varanasi.  India Rail is a reason to travel in itself.  It's definetly an experience. So far, we've only taken sleeper class, which is pretty basic and what most locals use.  This being said, despite the many stares, we've had some very good conversations with people from all over India.  People are so curious as to where we're going, why we're not in first class, about our engagement  (weddings here are astronomical, more on that later) and our life and status in general (first questions that are always asked is "what do you do? how much do you get paid?  Are you married?"  These questions help them decipher your status.   The train food is DELICIOUS.  At every train stop, vendors come by the window with food and snacks.  Every station has its delicacy. And of course, chai! chai! chai! (which is everywhere).  Chai is India's national drink and is what chai lattes are based on.  I have at least twice a day.  Call me indulgent but the Indians drink even more. 

Chris, ready for bed on the upper bunk in sleeper class

This is the train class that we take to travel.  It's not luxurious, but you get a bed and lots and lots of local chit-chat (and stares).  There are three beds, the lower, the middle (which folds up) and the top.  Toilets are normal indian standard, so wear shoes, learn squat and balance....and FOCUS !

Train rides, a nice break

Ready for a 20 hour journey ?

Varanasi.  The most blindingly colorful, magical, spiritual, unrelentingly chaotic and indiscreet places we've ever been to. Known as the "City of Life", it is one of the world's oldest inhabited citues and one of the holiest places in India.  It is situates along the Ganges River, the holiest (and most polluted) river in India, which is lined with ghats, the steps on the river.  Each ghat plays an important role for Hinduism. People come here to wash away a lifetime of sins in the holy water or to cremate their loved ones. 

Hindus performing puja.  They do it at sunrise and sunset

People perform puja to the ghats (which is an offering) during sunrise and sunset, so every night (and a couple of mornings) we saw dancing, singing and bell ringing along the river.  They lay little bowls filled with flowers and a candle along the ghats so at night you see candles by the hundred flowing down the ganges.  My beautiful moment of the day.

The ghats on the Ganges River before sunrise

Sunrise on the Ganges.

The Ganges river, the holiest river in the world

Despite the pollution, Hindus bathe in the Ganges, swim and swim in the water regularly.  Some say that they it is the holiness of the river that prevents them from being sick.  Maybe.  Either that or the Indians have much more adavnced immune systems than foreigners.   

Indians also come here to die.  It is here when one can reach moksha, which is the liberation of moshka (the cycle of birth and death - reincarnation).  Our guesthouse was right next to Manikarnika ghat, the main burning ghat which is a 24 hour crematorium. Dead bodies are handles by outcasts known as doms, and are carried through the alley ways of the city on a bamboo stretcher wrapped in beautiful cloth and silk.  Walking on these tiny alleys, we would regularly need to shove over to let the doms and body go by.  Then, the body is doused in the Ganges prior to creamation.  Firewood was evrywhere around the ghat.  Every log is carefully weighed on giant scales prior to cremation so that the price of cremation can be calculated.  Each wood has it's own price, sandalwood being the most expensive.  Anyone is allowed to go check it out so one night we did.  A sight we will never forget.  About 6 bodies were burning (all wraped up of course) and more lay in line, waiting for their turn.  Nobody was grieving.  The ghat is not a place for grieving as it makes the cremation unholy.  This explains why there weren't many women present.  Holy people aren't cremated and are left flowing down the river (or buried). These include priests, pregnant women, those who have bitten bitten by cobras (the god Shiva wears a cobra) and those who suffered from leprosy.  Pictures were strictly forbidden (fair enough) but wikipedia offers a nice one.

As for the food....we just can't get enough of it.  Chris and I are both eating our veg-hearts out and it's such good, delicious and cheap food.  Even the street food is fantastic.  I have a tendency of stepping over the street food stalls just to check out what they're making...gotta remember this stuff when I get back home !

Lassi addiction

Street food. Chris waits in anticipation

Aloo chaat anyone?

So yes, India takes getting used to.  Alot of getting used to.  I've always wondered why people said that you need to be there for at least a month, as it takes that long to get the hang if it.  I think Chris and I got settled in a little quicker, being that weve been travelling for 5 months now, but our perseverence has been tested.  Nevertheless, India is about seeing beyond all its craziness and seeing it's beauty.  It's about letting go of everything your comfort zone was made of and adapting it to India's standards.  It's about letting things go and realizing that paranoia and stress is really something that doesn't need to be there.  It's about successfully squeezing by a herd of cows that have taken over the road, only to step in a big pile of shit (wearing flip flops) that was left not far behind.  And then...laughing about it.