Leaving Goa

I'm done with Goa. It was a beautiful place and my last week has been full of party, good food and interesting people. I'm ready to move on now. My body is strained by over-eating and to much beer and most of the other people I stayed with at the hostel have gone. It was time to move on. I've got a new volunteering project starting in two days in Varkala.

I'm now in Mangalore, a coastal city with a long history in the state of Karnataka. I chose to come here simply because I wanted to avoid doing another twenty hour train trip. I really might have chosen a different stop if I had bothered reading about Mangalore first. There's nothing much special to see and do here it seems, but I might still find some interesting things today. Very early tomorrow morning I'll continue down south towards Varkala.

But there are still a few stories untold about my week in Goa. In my last post I told you that I rented a scooter. Well, on Friday we decided to take a ride to Old Goa. We had been warned of the police controls in Panjim, the capital of Goa, on the way and we wore our helmets to avoid trouble. That and carrying a valid driver's license was supposed to be enough, but when we got pulled over and gave our licenses over, the faces of the officers turned into a wide grin. They told us that we need international driver's licenses and that they would take our bikes, charge us 1 250 and the bike rental agency 700 rupees. We were lucky to have an Indian guy from the hostel with us. He talked and talked and after about half an hour of convincing talking, he managed to bring the total sum down to 1 200 rupees per person with no other consequences for us. We considered for a while, but since we were pretty sure the officer was telling the truth about the international permit and since this was the only way to keep our bikes we ended up paying. We knew of course that we wouldn't get any official ticket stating our crime and that the money would surely end up going straight into the officers' own pockets, but we didn't have much choice really. On our way back we got pulled over by another group of cops, but as we were told by the first group, we told them the license plate number of the police vehicle that belonged to the first group and that we'd already paid, they let us go without trouble. But not after first asking how much we paid and blurting out loud "that means 900 for us and 1 500 for them" (two people paid 1 200). Not much ashamed of taking bribes it seems. Now I've experienced this (essential) part of Indian culture as well. Bakhshees, a "tip" or more clearly stated, a bribe.

Well, Old Goa was worth seeing, even after all that trouble getting there in the first place. The UNESCO world heritage site hosts three impressive churches and a couple of museums. One of the churches, the Jesuit Basilica of Bom Jesus, holds the mummified remains of Saint Francis Xavier, one of the founders of the Jesuit order, who is also called the Apostle to the far east, because of his "brave" work in converting Asians. The body is said to be miraculously well preserved, but unfortunately the next time the corpse is being brought down for show is in one year from now. I guess I'll just have to believe that's how it is without seeing...

Other than our tour to Old Goa, the already mentioned activities of drinking beer, eating well and simply having fun is what happened the last days in Goa. On Friday we went to a free concert sponsored by Red Bull. The music was very loud and strange (I'm getting old, I know), but otherwise I enjoyed it.

On Friday I'm going to start working in a cafe in Varkala. Three meals a day and free accommodation for five to six hours of working seems like a good deal to me. I hope I'm right, but I'll let you know how things are when I get there.

Vagator Beach, Goa - Hostel Life

I've enjoyed a relaxed beach environment in Goa since Monday afternoon. It's something very different from the places I've seen in India so far. More tourists than locals, cheap alcohol, cheap accommodation and of course beautiful beaches.

Monday and Tuesday I didn't do anything special really, except enjoying the company of nice people and relaxed atmosphere in the hostel. I did go to the beach in the morning yesterday, but just to have a look.

The first two evenings I spent playing Texas hold 'em and drinking chilled Kingfisher from the hostel fridge (50rs a bottle). I'm definitely winning so far, but not enough to cover my beer tap.

Yesterday I rented a scooter. I was trying to avoid doing that, I even asked around for a place that rents bicycles. I was unsuccessful with my search and I also realized that the distances here are much greater than I had thought. The rent for a scooter is two hundred rupees for a day, which really isn't much.
I took my scooter for a test drive to the Arambol beach with three Scottish guys, who live in the same hostel with me. It's a very nice looking beach and also the only location I was able to find in Goa that rents surf boards.

Last night I did not play poker or drink. I went to bed early, because I had decided to take the morning waves in Arambol. It takes about 45 minutes from here to the surf beach with the scooter, so I set my alarm for six and made it to the surf club that rents boards at seven. To my disappointment, the waves were much smaller than I had hoped for. It still was fun and I spent about three hours in the water before heading back to the hostel. The rent was 500 rupees for an hour, but the surf dudes in the rental place told me they'd be happy with a thousand for the almost three hours.

I also got some news about my further plans, but right now I'm too tired to put them in this post in more detail. I'm happy to tell you, I'm finally going volunteering again. But more info on that and about my next destinations in the next post.

Mumbai - Big City Feeling

My stay in Mumbai, the biggest city in India is over. Three days went by quickly. I was rather impressed about the city. It definitely has much more western feeling than Delhi does. I do need to spend a bit more time in Delhi to confirm that, but that's my opinion based on what I've seen so far. The skyline to the city from the Marine drive, a promenade on the western edge of south Mumbai, looks very familiar to a western eye. I stayed in a cheap dorm in the Fort district, which is just north of Colaba, perhaps the most famous area of touristic Mumbai. I was also surprised about the cleanliness of the city. Of course I'm referring to the areas around my hotel and not the big slums a bit further away. I saw garbage trucks for the first time in India.

I decided against doing a guided slum tour. I know I probably missed an opportunity to see different kind of living and to shed some stereotypes about slum life. I simply couldn't get rid of the idea of going around other people's homes as if I were in a zoo. It made me feel sick, even when others told me it was not like that at all. Instead I washed around the city write a bit. Chowpatty beach, was a surprisingly clean beach in a huge metropole the size of Mumbai. Also the Gandhi museum was more than with the visit. You can find my Mumbai photos here.

The day before yesterday I visited the Elephanta island, about ten kilometers ferry ride east of the Gateway to India. The caves in the island date back to the 5th - 8th century and especially the first one is amazingly spacious and beautifully decorated. It's hard to imagine how the cave looked like in its full splendor, but even now I was very much impressed. It's even harder to imagine the amount of years of digging and carving it must have taken to get something that huge done with the tools of that time. You can find some pictures from the caves here.

My plan was to go to Pune after Mumbai, but due to extremely costly accommodation, I decided to skip the city and head straight to Goa. There I can spend over a week with the cost of one night in Pune. I know it's strange that I've gotten this stingy being a rich westerner, but after some time in this country you really tend to get that way. I've heard this from others as well. I can't explain it, but neither can I shake the new habit off. It's not just happening with hotels but restaurants as well. I hope to be cured of this as soon as possible when I get back home.

Tomorrow at noon, I'm reaching Goa, a place I originally didn't plan to visit. So many people have told me that it's really with a visit, even though its very touristy reputation. I'm looking forward to some relaxed hostel life, western people and delicious food - maybe even the beaches.

A Quick Stop in Jodhpur

I arrived in Jodhpur late Monday night. My plan was to take an early bus to Pushkar yesterday morning. As so many times before, things didn't quite work out the way I had planned. First of all, I was unable to find a bus that would take me directly to Pushkar and the first bus available to Ajmer was at 1.30 pm. So, I made a decision to skip visiting Pushkar altogether, since I would not make it there before sunset and I would have to leave before nine the next morning.

I went to visit the Mehrangarh fort in Jodhpur while waiting for my bus to Ajmer. It was well worth the visit. A home of the Rathore clan of the Rajputs, who ruled Marwar, a princely state in Rajasthan for more than seven hundred years. The fort itself dates back to the 17th century, when Jodhpur became the capital of Marwar.

The museum in the fort hill was the best organized one I've seen in India so far. The exhibitions were carefully explained and a good quality audio guide was included in the entrance fee. But the view to the city and its surroundings was still my favorite part of the visit. Old walls on the hills around the city looked really impressive from above.

Yesterday evening when I arrived in Ajmer, the tuk-tuk driver took me to seven guesthouses, but all were either fully booked or ridiculously expensive. Then I decided I would go with my original plan to spend the night in Pushkar. There I found the cheapest room I've had so far in India, only 150 rs. It was a small closet, but looked very clean. I took an evening stroll through the town and another walk early in the morning. The holy lake didn't give me any special vibes, but it looked very nice during the sunrise.

Now I'm back in Ajmer sitting in a train and about to leave to Mumbai. None of my efforts of finding a volunteering opportunity around here worked out. I've got a few ideas about possibilities around Mumbai and I'm, again, waiting for replies. Keep your fingers crossed!

Camels and Sand

Three days, two nights in the Thar desert now lie behind me. I suffered no permanent damage, but sitting does hurt a bit right now. I saw beautiful dunes, experienced the desert night sky and enjoyed the excellent company. Also, my respect for camels is now much bigger than before. They are such amazing animals in many respects. Carrying us, our baggage, bedding, food, water and cooking gear without much trouble through partly very uneven terrain was not an easy task.

I really do recommend doing something like this if you ever get the chance. It's definitely an experience you won't forget so soon. Riding a camel was a new and interesting thing to try out and sleeping outside under a beautiful sky was really something amazing. The first night was cloudy, but the second one very clear. The three quarters full moon made looking at the stars a bit challenging in the evening. When I woke up at four thirty in the morning, I wasn't able to fall asleep for some time because of the stars.

Riding a camel was much more comfortable than what I had imagined it to be. Yes, sitting hurts right now, but it's not too bad really. Also, camels don't stink nearly as bad as I had heard they would. Either very sensitive nosed people started this rumor, or I've been in India too long to notice.

Check out the pictures here.

Sliding from Volunteering to Tourism

I'm really slipping away from volunteering at the moment. I'm having serious trouble contacting new hosts. The farm up north that stopped answering my e-mails was just the first one. I've contacted two other opportunities though Workaway, but to no avail. One is located here in Jaisalmer. I'm still giving them until Tuesday. Then I'm leaving through Jodhpur to Pushkar and from there on Wednesday to Ajmer where my train to Mumbai leaves at 11am.

While I'm waiting, I'll do a two night camel safari starting tomorrow morning. I'm really looking forward to sleeping under desert stars. I've heard the starry sky is something special when the air humidity is so low. I'm not sure it's much different from the stars in Finland during the freezing winter nights, but at least sleeping will be a little more comfortable...

A little piece of disturbing news arrived me today as well. The golden temple pilgrim's lodge dorm apparently has bed bugs. There was some talk of it while we were there, but I didn't take it too seriously then. The three people I came to Amritsar with, have had bad cases of rash the last couple of days and they even had to throw away some of their things. They're still not quite sure whether they're clean or not. Strangely enough I haven't noticed anything so far. After I read the e-mail, I definitely felt itchy all over, but that's just a mental reaction I get from hearing stuff like that. I was using my own camping mattress on top of the dorm sheets and my sleeping bag on top of it. Maybe that's what kept me clean.

Chandigarh, My Experiences

Yesterday's post about Chandigarh was a quick info post. This one will be a more subjective one, about my experiences rather than about the city itself.

I already mentioned earlier that I decided to stay close to the railway station for the first night and try to scout for reasonably priced accommodation in the city for the rest of my stay. Well, I went looking on Saturday and was shocked. The cheapest room I was able to find was a small and run down closet next to a loud bus terminal for 800 rupees a night. The next cheapest one was 1300. I was slowly giving up on hope, when an elderly Sikh man came and introduced himself to me.

Mr. Narinder Singh, 77 - a one man tourist helping agency since five decades - told me that there are possibilities cheaper than the ones I had found so far. We stopped first in a fast food restaurant, where Mr. Singh showed me an article about him and a notebook full of tourist testimonials from the last two months only. After a few quick stops, he showed me a place called Panchayat Bhawan in sector 18, where a big room only costs 620 rupees (btw, Google maps finds it). I was really lucky to have met him just then, because I really was about to give up and take the terrible hole near the bus terminal.

This was just the beginning of his friendliness. The next day he took me to the famous Rock Garden. It a project that started as a one man's, Nek Chand's secret and illegal hobby of transforming waste into sculptures and landscapes in 1957. First eighteen years later, in 1975, officials of the city discovered his 49,000m² (12 acre) sculpture park. Luckily, even though it was on a land reserved for conservancy, it was not destroyed. The public opinion was so much on Mr. Chand's side, that he was appointed as "Sub-Divisional Engineer, Rock Garden", given a salary and a workforce of fifty people to help him with his project. Later he received the title of director of the Rock Garden. (See pictures of the Rock Garden here). My guide, Mr. Singh is a friend of Mr. Nek Chand's and he took me to his office next to the garden entrance, (which had a hobbit-house kind of look,) where I was able to talk a few words with him.

The next two evenings I met with Mr. Singh as well and he took me to nice, but affordable restaurants to eat. He also took me to a Sikh temple, where I made two chapatis (picture). This morning we met in sector 17, where he showed me a good place to have breakfast. Afterwards we went to a Haryana state office building to have tea and some sweets. His past career as a minister's secretary has left many doors open for him that for others remain closed. That's just another good reason to find this nice man when you're coming to Chandigarh. (I've got his contact details, if someone's interested).

Yesterday morning I did a cycle tour through Chandigarh (Pedal Chandigarh). The city's wide streets gave me an urge to get on a bicycle for the first time in India. It still was not very safe, especially during the morning rush hour. It was enjoyable and I saw many things I hadn't visited yet. The pictures are still only on my mobile, but I will try to update them into the Chandigarh folder as soon as possible.

Mr. Narinder Singh has an agenda that I tried my best to support during the four days in Chandigarh. He wants a low-budget hotel and a campsite to be set up in Chandigarh. He says that over sixty percent of all the tourists coming to Chandigarh are low-budget tourists and that the city has forgotten them. On Sunday, he showed me the day's newspaper and his letter to the editor concerning this matter. He asked me to write a supporting reply for his piece of writing. I did it, since in my opinion the cause is definitely worth supporting.

Now I'm waiting for the train to Ajmer, Rajasthan, from where I will continue directly to Jaisalmer. But that's going to be another story...

PS. I just found this on YouTube. (Credits to Alexander Small)

Chandigarh - Something Different

Since Saturday, I have been roaming the streets of Chandigarh. A very different city from anything I've seen here so far. It's also a city with a short but strange history. It serves as the capital for two Indian states, Punjab and Haryana, but the city itself is Union Territory and belongs to neither of the two states. This jumble got started during the Indian partition in 1947, when Lahore, the traditional capital of Punjab became part of Pakistan. Chandigarh was then elected as a new capital, but it needed to be modernized. For rebuilding the city, 6228 families had to be relocated, which not surprisingly led to wide protests. The final decision to "capitalize" Chandigarh took two years. After that several international architects took part in forming the city to its current splendor. The most famous one being a French architect called Le Corbusier, who formed the final city layout. In 1966, a new State was formed for the Hindi speaking minority out of the eastern region of Punjab, Haryana. This is how Chandigarh, located in between Punjab and Haryana, became the capital of both of the states.

The design of the city is very symmetrical. Each Sector has the same size, 800 x 1200 meters. Each unit is self sufficient, having a school, shops, health centers, recreations and places of worship in them. There are only four vehicular entries into each sector (one from the middle of each side). The streets are broad and well taken care of. There's more green park areas in the city than in any other city I've seen. In spite of all the differences to other Indian cities, it still manages to stay very Indian. It's the city with the highest per capita income in India and it was selected the cleanest city in India in year 2010.


 
(sources: http://chandigarh.gov.in/knowchd_gen_plan.htm,
map image: https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhupVFJZNL6LjNnTZ6emT-9y9vsS79h6Rs1ZUXNxDV3c4NH0PwPNJAXOMqTu8Je_sCn3qcmcYfe57-Cs_J-vCfT_cJK6wfNhDtekIcGJAy68_WphDNwhitUPImglOklqofqZcyJ0RlNkiqf/s320/chandigarh_map_s.jpg)

Amritsar, Sikh Holy City

My three days in Amritsar are over. The stay in the pilgrim's lodge next to the Golden Temple was another unforgettable experience. The Langar, the huge and free dining hall was the absolute highlight for me. The incredible organization of every little detail makes the word chaos in the normal Indian "organized chaos" obsolete - this was pure organization. On the second day I was able to volunteer in the dining hall for three hours. My job was to make sure that people coming from dinner, left their spoons to the two bowls next to me. There were so many people going by, that even the four of us doing this simple task couldn't stop a few spoons from getting through to the station where bowls and plates were handed in. It was a job that in all its simplicity was extremely rewarding. Never in my life have I received so many smiles in such a short time.

I learned to respect the Sikh tremendously during the past three days. The helpfulness and friendliness towards strangers and non-believers is something I haven't felt with other religions so far.

Last night after dinner, I finally went inside the temple. The long waiting time had kept me away so far. This time the line was shorter and I only needed about 25 minutes to get inside. Taking pictures was unfortunately not allowed, but I can tell you that the name Golden Temple is justified also when looking from the inside. Also the marble carvings that are filled with semi-precious stones (similar to Taj Mahal), were impressive to look at.

Probably the biggest reason I enjoyed Amritsar as much as I did, was the good company I had. Thanks guys, first of all for telling me about the pilgrim's lodge and of course for the good times! This once again proves that traveling alone doesn't mean being alone. I'm positive it's easier to meet new people when you're traveling alone in comparison to traveling with someone.

Yesterday we left the temple area in the afternoon to go to the Pakistani border. Not to cross it, don't worry, but to see the daily ceremony of closing the border for the night. And what a surreal spectacle it was! Soldiers on both sides of the border did the same strange routines and funny walks and even a few handshakes over the border were given. If you are familiar with the Monty Python sketch "Ministry of Silly Walks", you have an idea how it looked like.

The weirdest thing for me was not the ceremony itself, but the hundreds of Indian spectators cheering and waving Indian flags during the ceremony. On the other side of the border, a clearly smaller crowd of Pakistanis was doing the same, but with their own flag of course. The strong nationalism exceeded my limits of healthy patriotism and bothered me a little. But the mere fact that two countries that still are enemies show this kind of cooperation and silliness, worked as a compensation.

This morning I traveled four hours in the "human Tetris" -compartment of the train from Amritsar to Chandigarh. Now I'm resting before taking off to the city. For the first night I'm staying outside the train station, but I will keep my eyes open later in the city for possible places to stay. I'm also searching for a possibility to upload some more pictures from Amritsar and from the border, so in a few hours there should be new stuff to see here.

From the Mountains into a Temple

My original plan was to volunteer on another farm, or more precisely on an organic orchard since yesterday. The last message I got from the farm contact person was over a month ago. There he says he would be in Delhi for business most likely  until the 29th or the 30th. I have written him three times after that, but there has been no e-mail from him since. Unfortunately I don't have anything but his e-mail address, so there's not much I can do, but wait. Last night in Bhagsu, I decided I would not wait for any longer in McLeod Ganj or the area around it. I've seen enough of it now. I had heard a lot of nice things about the city of Amritsar, about seven hours to the southwest, so I made a decision to go and check it out, since it's still a reasonable distance away from the orchard in case I end up volunteering there after all.

The bus ride was pretty awful, but that wasn't a big surprise. Bumpy roads, broken seats, dust and loud honking coming in through the open rattling windows really makes you consider choosing a train for the next trip. The connection was pretty good, only one change in Pathankot after four hours of coming down mountains and hills mainly.

There were five other western people in the bus, all with big rucksacks. We had to climb to the roof and fasten our bags on the rails there (amazingly enough, everything stayed there through all the bumps). In Pathankot we had to take them down and put them back on another bus roof. While I was on the roof taking the bags down with another man, the bus started moving. Luckily the driver heard our screams and saw people pointing at us, so he stopped driving after just a couple of meters and we managed to get down on our own terms, not on gravity's alone.

The bus arrived in Amritsar around six in the evening. Three of the western people who were traveling on the same bus with me had an idea about a place to stay and they asked me to join them. In the bus I was thinking about spoiling myself a little with a nice private room with its own bathroom. Well, it didn't happen... I'm now on my bunk in a dorm of seven beds, surrounded by three smaller three bed dorms. But I'm really happy I said yes to the three people after getting out of the bus, because this place is something amazing.

So where am I? The biggest sight in Amritsar is the Golden Temple, which is the most famous Sikh Gurdwara (translates: gateway to the guru,  their place of worship). It was built over four centuries ago. We're staying right next to it in a huge complex called, Shri Guru Ramdas Niwas Pilgrim’s Lodge. It accommodates pilgrims and guests from all religions and countries. It's also completely donation funded, meaning it's free if you decide not to pay in the end. There's a lot of hustle and bustle going on, but everything is very clean. For example, the toilets are the cleanest I've seen in India so far.

Even the food is free in a big dining hall, a Langar, where all the guests are served by volunteering Sikhs, who are learning to serve others according to their religion. Last night's dinner was rice with cheese with a very tasty dal and some sweet rice porridge as dessert. The serving itself is a spectacle, as the food is served quickly and from some height onto your plate on the floor. Still everything gets cleaned very quickly after a row of people is done with the meal. On an average day, 60 000 to 90 000 meals are served, but during bigger festivities the number gets much higher. Not only is the serving interesting to look at, so is the dishwashing and cooking. Everything works like a gigantic and well oiled machine.

The main attraction, the Golden Temple is definitely worth seeing. Today I only went there quickly after dinner, but today I'm giving it a longer inspection. Photos will follow soon.