Delhi Once More

Just 24 hours until I fly out of India for real this time. A couple errands around the city, a visit to Humayun’s tomb, I’m out of here.

I snapped this one of a group of friends checking out an old mosque on the tomb complex.

Humayun’s mausoleum kicked off theIislamic-inspired Mughal tomb trend, the most outstanding example of which is the Taj Mahal. The use of red sandstone and white marble is strikingly beautiful.

I finally got a picture of the grass clippers here in India. I don’t recall ever having seen a single lawn mower. Instead I see teams of two or three workers armed with sickles methodically working away at the grass. As with most Indian people doing photogenic things, these women outside of Humayun’s tomb demanded baksheesh for posing. Sheesh.

Just one last stop: the Urdu Bazaar outside the Jama Masjid.

Check out the sweaters for sale. I see grown men wearing these hideous things much more than I should.

In the evening I finally made it to Indira Gandhi International. Among the restricted carry-on items is Indian style pickle. Who’s to say whether it’s as dangerous as guns or cricket bats. Hopefully they won’t find my little jar of the stuff…

God’s Own Country

I ended my trip to India on a good note by training down to Kochin/Cochi in Kerala. Home to a rich past of monarchs and spice trade, Fort Kochi is an incredible old town to wander or pedal through. It’s in the middle of Malabar (of spice trade fame) on a large bay.

In the north are the enormous, spiderlike Chinese fishing nets, first introduced by Kublai Khan in the 14th century. They take at least 4 men to operate as they dip their nets into the shallows, rest for a minute or two, and then return to their upright position with assistance from large stone weights. I showed up in the morning and helped out for a while.

The south has a rich Jew town, including an old synagogue and plenty of upscale restaurants, cafés, and boutiques. One particularly awesome store was Play Clan, with a lot of artists contributing to make modern and uniquely Indian shirts, mugs, and other trinkets. I bought the best shirt in India.

With my Kiwi friends I made a tour of Keralan culture as well, starting with a visit to the Keralan Cultural Center. It’s a private venture, 3 stories high, and absolutely packed with ancient and antique artifacts. It was well worth the visit; even the building itself was composed of heavy wood walls and ceilings and tile flooring.

Next we went on a tour of the famous Keralan backwaters just out of town from Aleppey. We hired a small motor boat just big enough for all of us and took a tour down the canals. It’s easy to see why Aleppey is referred to as the Venice of the East.

We finished the night off with a performance of a part of the Mahabharata, in which the esteemed archer Arjuna faces down a disguised Shiva and learns a little humility in the process. The makeup, costumes, facial expressions, gestures, and accompanying music were all incredible.

Dinner was pick-it-yourself seafood next to the Chinese fishing nets. We selected a couple kilos of mussels, prawns, fish, and calamari before taking it to a nearby restaurant to have it grilled with rich Keralan spices. It was easily the best seafood I’ve ever had.

Hampi

I’ve heard from a number of friends and travellers that Hampi should be on my itinerary, and I managed to squeeze it in towards the end. All it took to get there was one long overnight bus ride in a double bed on a freezing air-conditioned sleeper next to an Australian whom I quickly made friends with before falling into a sleep that was bumpy, cramped, and cold. Despite that I was one of the best rides I’ve had in India, and I won’t complain. :)

Hampi is full of boulder fields, hills, rivers, and amazing ancient temples everywhere. Minus the temples, it reminds me a lot of parts of southern Utah. I started the day off at the Virupaksha temple. Despite being over 600 years old, it’s still plenty busy. Pilgrims file around a circuit at the temple, making their rounds at the deities tucked in every corner and basement of the complex. The tour is completed when pilgrims pay their respects to Lakshmi, the temple elephant.

 Splitting coconuts for rituals

Blessings by elephant

After that, a hike into the hills to see Vittala temple, and then race down to see temple highlights like the Queen’s Bath and the Underground Shiva Temple. The entire thing had as much atmosphere as the Indiana Jones ride at Disneyland, except that I had to keep pinching myself to remind that it’s all real (and certainly less crowded).

Underground(/Flooded) Shiva Temple 

Hampi looks like a lot of this, everywhere. 

Inner sanctum, Vittala Temple 

 Lotus Palace

I walked along the river and through a banana plantation to get lunch at the Mango Tree, recommended by a friend I met in Udaipur and again down here in Hampi. He showed up not long after me. It’s interesting to keep seeing the same people you befriended earlier on your tour. I really enjoy seeing a couple friendly faces in an entirely new crowd.

Shoe minders at Mango Tree

Tomorrow: rent a bicycle and pedal around to the sites I missed in my whirlwind tour today. Start the day off right with a couple new friends and a sunrise hike to a nearby hill. Done.

Palolem, Goa

After Arambol, we decided to try a quieter beach in Goa. Palolem happens to  be one of the prettier ones, set up in a sweeping arc and insulated from the rest of the world by a coconut forest (remember to duck!). In the Bourne series, Jason Bourne laid low here for a couple years before the authorities caught up with him—I even jogged along the same stretch of beach he used for his workout just before the Russians show up.

Paradise?

Aside from spending time in the sun, I finished my gastro-tour of Goa with a fiery yet delicious Beef Xacuti: coconut-based curry. We tried a freshly caught and grilled fish as well on the way out. Every night, each restaurant lays out its own table of iced seafood ready for tourists to select for dinner.

I also finally spent a day on my first geared motorcycle ride, and on my dream-bike at that! Royal Enfields have impressed me on my last two trips to India as a delicious piece of Indian machinery. Their well-defined throbbing engine note and classic looks make them stand out in every way. I managed to convince the renters that I had enough motorcycle experience (ha!) before they handed me the keys to a shiny 350cc Royal Enfield Bullet Electra 5S. Having only ridden a 100cc scooter days before this, I was very excited but still a little apprehensive about driving one. Then the man showed me an even nicer ride: his own brand-new, 2 day old silver Bullet, with some plastic still protecting brilliant chrome. This was to be the first bike that I ever drove, and the pressure was on! If I protested any more that I needed time to learn to ride such a beautiful beast, my lack of riding experience would have been apparent. I had to jump on and just go for it, and thankfully I managed to find all the levers and pedals at the right times. Everything went smoothly, and he was convinced that I could safely take the older model for the rest of the day.
I took the bike up the coast to the beach at Agonda before cruising along some lazy winding roads to the ruins of a Portuguese fort at Cabo de Rama. I rode alone through jungle, fields, and towns just as the afternoon sun was turning the sky a fiery orange. I was on my own time, fully in control of where I went and how fast I got there. The freedom was exhilarating! I couldn’t have asked for a better first experience on a gear bike. Thankfully the whole thing went off without any horror stories or crashes.

Heading out. Just about to put the helmet on, honest.

Agonda, first stop on my bike tour. Not as busy as Palolem.

Portuguese fort at Cabo de Rama

What’s Goan on:

I’m staying at Arambol beach in the north of Goa with our buddies from the Darjeeling trek. We’ve been relaxing and spending time on the beach. It doesn’t feel like India, save for the hawkers cruising the beach up and down, selling fruit, sarongs, bracelets, and massages.

The food here is superb, with fresh fish and Portuguese-influenced dishes like carfreal, peri-peri, and xacuti. Yesterday I found a family-run eatery only serving only fish thali, or lunch. I was treated with fiery, tangy fish curry, spicy salad, marinated cauliflower, and a flatfish fillet battered in cornmeal--with Indian pickle on the side. My face was burning from the spice afterwards, but it was by far the best food I’ve had in Goa(/India?). It was a nice change from the overpriced, oversized touristy restaurants that try to cater to the tastes of every nationality.

A coupe days back we went down to Vagator and Arambol beaches to try out the electronica concert offerings. Goa was once famous for its enormous trance parties; since then it’s withered into a sunny tourist place with only a whisper of its former nightlife glory. The all-day trance and electro-house party at one of the bars was populated but the atmosphere was dead, and the music got a little repetitive. We went up to Nine Bar to wait around for 5 hours for Dub FX to show up. He performed dub, hip-hop, and dubstep numbers using only distorted and looped sound effects from his mouth. He was joined onstage by his future wife and Mr. Mahesh, an extremely talented traditional South Indian singer. The show was an incredible fusion of cultures and musical styles.

 Ben, Dub FX

 The Talented Mr. Mahesh

Yesterday we got together, rented scooters, and buzzed down to Candolim beach to check out a shipwreck. The hull turned out to be too far offshore to inspect on our own. The beach was overrun with Russian tourists. It got to the point where restaurant owners and beach masseurs greeted us with ‘Privyet!’ and then launched into heavily accented Russian. We visited Goa’s largest fort, Aguada, before heading back north to home base Arambol.

Fort Aguada

The Skidmarks

Lest I rot in Goa, I’ve purchased all of my bus, plane, and train tickets to get out of here. The plan is to go down to Palolem in South Goa to check out another recommended beach, recreate the scenes from The Bourne Supremacy and rent some Royal Enfields. Then off to Hampi, then Keralan backwaters, then Delhi, then gone. I’m out of here in less than 2 weeks!

Udaipur

I’ve always liked Udaipur because it’s a mix of India and Venice: it’s situated on a lake in the desert. This makes the domes, parapets, and archways in the city that much more striking. Getting lost in the anarchic side streets and alleyways is a pleasure, provided you’re not in a hurry to get anywhere.
We got here and moved in instantly to our favorite hotel-owner’s place, who runs a tight operation in the center of everything. From here, it’s easy to access the lake, ornate city palace, or any number of the excellent bakeries, restaurants, and cafes.

The day we got in I took a great boat ride around the lake to stop at the larger of the two palaces situated in its midst. I checked out the menu at the restaurant there, but it was even more expensive than my boat ticket, at least by Indian standards. Nevertheless, my tour was worth it to get a up-close look at some of the nicest and priciest buildings in the city.

Just below the large temple dedicated to Lord Jagganath, of Puri fame, is a tiny lunch stall or dhaba selling mouth-watering samosas and deep fried sandwiches washed down with a steaming glass of chai. One can be satiated here for a mere fifty cents!

We also enjoyed a delicious afternoon tea at the City Palace, with breathtaking views of the sunset dancing on the boats around the Lake Palace. The luxury of being served fine tea by a turbaned man wielding a silver teapot is worth it, and it makes the chaos and dirt of India much more bearable.

At night I was invited to the hotel owner’s son’s engagement party. It seemed like the entire town was there to enjoy each other’s company over food. The bride- and groom-to-be seemed to be content with the match; they had only met a week prior. Unfortunately there was no dancing here, as there will be at the 3000-guest wedding ceremony in a year’s time. I entertained the other bachelors my age with a poor rendition of the lyrics to a popular Bollywood song. We got along well.