INDIA Wrap Up!!!

(Above, Mysore Palace)

It’s been a little more than a week since we departed India after spending almost two months traversing the country coast to coast and more or less top to bottom. Here’s a quick run-down of the cities we hit along the way.

Mumbai- Chaos on the waterfront. Lots to see, but a tough learning curve. Our best day here was the India's Independence day, when everything slowed down and the city had a moment to catch its breath.

Panaji- coastal town in beachy state of Goa. We investigated the Portuguese influence and the scattering of churches they left behind.

Benaulim Beach- Not far from Panaji, this beach town boasted access to the crystalline calm waters of the Arabian Sea paired with mediocre vindaloo.

Hampi- In a boulder-strewn desert, this pilgrimage site riddled with ancient ruins and impressive temples felt ripped from another time.

Below, Hampi, doing what it does.



Bangalore- What can I say about Bangalore? They had great internets and nightlife that felt like Orlando, Florida (perhaps because there was a Ruby Tuesday’s on our street). We did catch a glimpse of the multiday airshow on our way to the airport, which aside from the fact that the gridlock of onlookers almost made us miss our flight, was rather awesome.

Mysore- Mysore was hot, polluted and loud. It also boasted a very amazing palace with an unforgettable peacock-themed central atrium and a heavy population of urban bovines.

Trichy- Over on the east coast, Trichy had not one but two massive temple complexes- one perched on the top of the highest cliff in sight, and the other, a collection of soaring, statue-laced pyramids, as colorful as candy.

Pudicherry- Smack on the Bay of Bengal, this Frenchi-fied town was charming, almost like an Indian Key West. Not so much to do though, as the Bay of Bengal violently met the shore along a rocky sea wall and the sights were easily covered in a single day’s stroll.

Mamallapuram- North of Pudicherry, Mal was a sleepy beach town which happened to be packed with people attending a Hindu Full Moon celebration. There were also several impressive Hindu sites adorned with fine carvings and a beach temple. Swimming in the Bay was possible, but rough surf meant it was no picnic.

Chennai- We stopped in Chennai only because it happened to be a transport hub. I can’t say much about it, as we experienced little more than the claustrophobic alleyways that surrounded our hotel, and one equally disorienting shopping complex.
Hyderabad- The biggest bummer travel-wise, but was not a total loss because the food here was awesome. We arrived the morning of a big transit strike, which endured the entire two days we were planning to spend there. Everything from tourist sites to local stores were closed in case of unrest, and the streets were teeming with idle young fellas (not a good sign), so we did little more glimpse the main mosque and watch a lot og Indian T.V. ( the” Rocky” series was in constant play the entire time we were in India). But, on the positive, we had the best chicken tikka masala and chicken biryani that I ever hope to taste again, as well as discovering Jowar Roti (?) which was similar to a thali in the sense that you get a bunch of different stewed and curried veg and lentils, expect instead of serving rice with all the delicious goo, they served roti.


Kolkata- Kolkata has always seemed to me eponymous with some lower circle of hell, so I was really delighted to discover that its bad reputation is undeserved. The city was much cleaner and less chaotic than Mumba, and although the streets were still arteries of pure terror, there were sidewalks (lined with countless food vendors selling everything from noodles to chai in disposable terra cotta cups). We saw the Victoria Memorial and were surprised by all the surrounding green space in the middle of the city.

Below- The Impressive Victoria Memorial



Varanasi- I think that Varanasi in itself rather covered everything, mystic, mysterious, puzzling, bizarre and beautiful about India all in one stop. From people bathing, laundering, watering cattle and passing on to permanent repose on the ghats, to the tight, labyrinthine alleys of the town that backs them, there was absolutely always something new and possibly disturbing around the next corner.


Delhi- The backpacker ghetto of Delhi where we stayed was the typical slightly nightmarish collection of guesthouses, souvenir shops and bad cafes. We journeyed into two other parts of the city, one that felt like an Indian Dupont Circle, and the old city, where we saw the massive and very impressive Red Fort.



(above, the Taj, in a rare view without tourists all up in its grill)

Agra-Here we saw the Taj Mahal. Yes, it is amazing and absolutely worth seeing. The big negative is that the food here was on the whole, available only on the roofs of guesthouses and prepared by the owner’s wife/daughter/servant or whoever happened not to be sleeping. That is to say, it was mostly terrible, and one half of team GC was stricken with Delhi Belly here.

Jaipur- I’m not really sure what the big deal is about Jaipur. There was a lot of shopping and a few sights, but nothing to blog home about. Either that, or as one of us was still on the road to recovery, it was time to leave India.

Below, looking out at the Backpacker ghetto on our last night in India




SUMMARY ROUNDUP!

Highlights-

FOOD!-
(Below, Thali with my beloved, POORI!)


I would say we very, very rarely had a bad meal in India (Agra excepted). The mostly vegetarian South India food such as dosas, thalis, poori ( how I miss you already poori) idly etc repeatedly rocked our worlds. In fact, I would eat delicious fried puffy poori with curried potato every day if I could (those of familiar with my typical breakfast habits will understand the monumental nature of this statement). North Indian food was also good, but there was not the healthy preoccupation with hand washing, food purity, and general cleanliness that we found in the south. I suspect this may be why many people who visit the north fall ill.

MUSIC!
Music was ubiquitous all over India. Played in buses, on the street, from people’s windows, cellphones, or emitted from temples, music was a constant factor in daily life. As if by some strange magic, the music that filled that air always seemed to match and enhance the surroundings perfectly.

MOVIES!
Even the fleabag hotels we frequented had a t.v., which was awesome, since Indian t.v. is really pretty great. There are tons of Bollywood movies starring guys with pot bellies and impressive moustaches and beautiful ladies with huge glassine eyes, and if you wait long enough (or change the channel) you are bound to encounter a totally impressive dance number. As a filmmaker, I was impressed with how creative the India filmmakers are with their shot selection, and how much interest a little ingenuity can add.

TEMPLES!
Mystifying and absolutely different from anything I’ve seen, the holy places of Hinduism are rich in variety and all show astounding craftsmanship.

Below, Temple. Trichy.




SARIS
The variety of colors, fabrics, workmanship and the way the Indian women wear them make the sari a very beautiful thing indeed. It doesn’t seem like a long ream of fabric would translate into a gorgeous and functional outfit, but I’ve seen women wear them while accomplishing just about anything. Jewelry, particularly gold jewelry, is also an obsession here. I admired many a store window.

THE INFINITE!
Wait long enough on any corner in India, and something unusual (to you at least, foreign devil) will happen. Whether it will be a wedding parade, unusual vendor, unexpected camel, or goat and monkey show (really.), the possibility of the infinite means that there is rarely a dull moment. You can’t be bored. It is impossible.



Not So Highlights

Roads
In our short time in India, we experienced two bus accidents, one wrong way tuk-tuk scrape-up, and a fender bender. It’s not that people can’t drive, its that there are too many people, in an inexplicable hurry to get somewhere to presumably, continue sitting around. Being in traffic and walking anywhere near traffic was loud, suffocating, and dangerous.

Below- Millions of People + One Airshow + One Road = Big Troubles



"Hello! Which Country?"
Ah, the perpetual call of the hawker, beggar, tout. Entering into any conversation begun this way leads to the inevitable ask. It feels callous to repeatedly ignore other humans, but heeding the dozens of “Hellos” and requests for rupees or “one American coin for my son/daughter/ayurvedic specialist’s collection” each day is not an option. There is no good feeling way to handle it, you just do.

Noise-
Souped up car-horns, murders of screeching crows, calls to prayer at 5 a.m. India is a very noisy place. Luckily, there is Excedrin.

Delhi Belly-
No joke, it lasts for about four to five feverish days. Since we made it through almost seven weeks without incident, the worst part of DB is knowing that it would be avoidable if not for someone being careless or negligent with food prep.

Dirty Dirty-
One billion people create a lot of waste, and only in select parts of some of the biggest cities does there seem to be any system in place to deal with it. Most people, having no other option, toss their waste over the nearest wall or to the vacant lot or railway side. It’s not because people aren’t trying. I review my video clips, and in so many of the there is the ever present whisking sound of someone sweeping. But it’s not enough. Education, a willingness to try something new on the part of the populace, and a lot of labor could help stem the problem, but any change seems a long way off, if it ever happens.

So, as a final comment- Even having spent almost two months travelling all over India, I don’t feel like we’d even scratched the surface or come close to understanding how people think or what it would be like to live there as a normal resident. The caste system remained absolutely invisible to us. We could tell wealthy, poor and achingly poor, but that was it. Religious and ethnic differences were also obscure, (except when occasionally plainly obvious), which I mention only because these tensions and others seem deeply woven into daily life and strictly govern who you are in society and what you can do with your life. As a privileged westerner, I think it would be so tough to simply accept what you’re handed and just live on, but that is exactly what so many millions do here. Born with nothing, promised nothing, and given nothing better to hope for, people keep on keeping on.

Below, Life goes on, Varanasi