"Welcome back to hell!"
My colleague graciously greeted me with this quote upon my arrival back into the office this morning, as I was oblivious to the mountain of problems that had accumulated during my absence. All these issues were embedded somewhere in the stack of 418 unopened emails that were piled in my Inbox. *Sigh*
As I mentally prepared myself for Hell Week, I reflected for one moment to try to rationalize my cubicle-existence in the wake of the grand journey that I had embarked upon. My adventure was now reduced to some digital images on a screen, and fading memories in my mind. However, I know that everything I experienced will stay with me forever, and that those experiences are the real value of my trip.
Now, I will try to return to some sort of routine and recover from the jet-lag that I am feeling. Oh yeah, I will also attempt to adjust to the cold and the snow here that first gave me its frosty reception when I arrived in Montreal.
This is my last blog post, thus concluding my journey. I would like to thank everyone for their comments and emails during my trip....it was fun being able to share my experiences with all of you!
Monday, November 26, 2007
Friday, November 23, 2007
Delhi
Procedure To Determine if You Are Ready for an Auto-Rickshaw Ride in Delhi
- Put your mouth around the exhaust tailpipe of a Tata truck
- Inhale.
- If you still have a pulse, then you are ready!
--------
Yesterday, we spent the day touring Delhi. Delhi has the most tourist attractions out of any city in India, and so there was definitely no shortage of places to visit. The following is a list of what we visited:
- Connaught Place
- Red Fort
- Siskanj Gurdwara
- Jama Masjid
- India Gate
- Bangla Sahib Gurdwara
We used the Delhi Metro (for the first time) for transportation to Old Delhi. I must say that it was quite impressive in that it was the cleanest subway system I've ever used (cleaner than Paris, NYC, Toronto, Monreal). They are definitely making an effort to keep the new Metro in great condition. Food and drink are prohibited from the Metro stations, and this is 100% enforced because all bags must be submitted for a security search upon entrance into the station.
The only problem is the mob mentality that pervades when the subway cars' doors open at each stop. Getting out of the subway car can be quite difficult because the throngs of people rush in immediately without giving you a chance to get out. However, I was told by my cousin that, during peak hours, security staff force people into a queue for entering the subway cars.
Today is our last day in India, and so our trip winds down and comes to a close. It's been an amazing trip full of adventure, but the time has now come to return home and to my family and friends that I have been missing. Apparently there is a ton of snow waiting for me back in Canada, so it will be quite a rough and sharp transition!
Monday, November 19, 2007
The South
I'm currently sitting in a REAL Internet cafe in the hip, hi-tech city of Bangalore in Karnataka state...and I'm about to be delivered some freshly brewed coffee which comes complimentary with Internet usage. :-) We are now enjoying some down time after a full day touring the city and one of the hi-tech business parks here.
Our southern adventure started last Friday when we flew to Mumbai on Indigo Airlines, one of the many domestic Indian airliners that exist. The flight left an hour late from Delhi due to smog-related delays. It was a flight with one stop; the airplane made a stop in Vodarabad, Gujarat, before heading to Mumbai. The flight was put into a one hour holding pattern in the air above Mumbai due to the runway being closed for some random reason.
The next two days were a whirlwind of touring the best that Mumbai has to offer: the coastline, an energetic lifestyle, and a vibrant nightlife, and of course the climate. The high temperature in Mumbai was 35 degrees Celsius each of the two days that we were there; but it was not unpleasant as the air was FRESH with little humidity.
In my opinion, Mumbai puts Delhi to shame in terms of standard of living. The pollution is MUCH less: there is no haze overhanging the city, and the skies are actually blue. The city seems much cleaner with less dirt everywhere, and the ocean brings in fresh air to the city. When sitting in traffic, I didn't feel like I was going to suffocate. The people seem more liberal in terms of their views, their style of dress, and their way of life.
Of course, we had to experience the Mumbai nightlife, so we hit a trendy lounge on Friday night, and a nightclub on Saturday night. The places that we visited were relatively expensive, and thus not really any different from venues in other cosmopolitan metropolises.
Yesterday, we bid adieu to Mumbai and arrived in Bangalore on the domestic carrier GoAir (via one stop in Hyderabad). Bangalore is a clean city, teeming with young, urban professionals due to the world-famous hi-tech sector that is located here. There is a huge cafe culture here: young people crowd the urban cafes here after work . Public socialization is the rule rather than the exception here.
We visited a hi-tech business park today and checked out the main cafeteria during lunch time. Everybody was eating hardcore desi food at lunch time, and we emerged out of the cafeteria after 2 minutes smelling like masala.
Tomorrow, we head back to Delhi on SpiceJet airlines, with 3 days for some rest, relaxation, and shopping!
Our southern adventure started last Friday when we flew to Mumbai on Indigo Airlines, one of the many domestic Indian airliners that exist. The flight left an hour late from Delhi due to smog-related delays. It was a flight with one stop; the airplane made a stop in Vodarabad, Gujarat, before heading to Mumbai. The flight was put into a one hour holding pattern in the air above Mumbai due to the runway being closed for some random reason.
The next two days were a whirlwind of touring the best that Mumbai has to offer: the coastline, an energetic lifestyle, and a vibrant nightlife, and of course the climate. The high temperature in Mumbai was 35 degrees Celsius each of the two days that we were there; but it was not unpleasant as the air was FRESH with little humidity.
In my opinion, Mumbai puts Delhi to shame in terms of standard of living. The pollution is MUCH less: there is no haze overhanging the city, and the skies are actually blue. The city seems much cleaner with less dirt everywhere, and the ocean brings in fresh air to the city. When sitting in traffic, I didn't feel like I was going to suffocate. The people seem more liberal in terms of their views, their style of dress, and their way of life.
Of course, we had to experience the Mumbai nightlife, so we hit a trendy lounge on Friday night, and a nightclub on Saturday night. The places that we visited were relatively expensive, and thus not really any different from venues in other cosmopolitan metropolises.
Yesterday, we bid adieu to Mumbai and arrived in Bangalore on the domestic carrier GoAir (via one stop in Hyderabad). Bangalore is a clean city, teeming with young, urban professionals due to the world-famous hi-tech sector that is located here. There is a huge cafe culture here: young people crowd the urban cafes here after work . Public socialization is the rule rather than the exception here.
We visited a hi-tech business park today and checked out the main cafeteria during lunch time. Everybody was eating hardcore desi food at lunch time, and we emerged out of the cafeteria after 2 minutes smelling like masala.
Tomorrow, we head back to Delhi on SpiceJet airlines, with 3 days for some rest, relaxation, and shopping!
Thursday, November 15, 2007
Heading to the South
Tomorrow morning we start the mid-southern portion of our trip in India. We will be flying three distinct domestic airlines:
1) IndiGo from Delhi to Mumbai
2) On Sunday we take GoAir from Mumbai to Bangalore
3) On Tuesday, we return to Delhi on SpiceJet
It will be interesting to see how Mumbai and Bangalore compare to the cities we've seen so far.
Wednesday, November 14, 2007
Shimla
I got attacked by a monkey that nearly ripped my ear off.
This morning, we had decided to hike Jakhu Hill, which is the highest peak in Shimla at 7800 ft. Atop this hill sits a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. There is an arch at the temple entrance, and beyond that lie stairs that are guarded by monkeys. There was a sign on the arch that said to stow away "packets, purses, goggles". I thought it was strange that they mentioned "goggles", and I did not give it any further thought, not realizing that they meant "eyeglasses". So we go up the stairs, ignoring the monkeys that were sitting along the sidelines.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, my left peripheral vision caught something moving towards me at the speed of a ballistic missile. Approximately 0.01 seconds before it struck, I realized that it was a monkey.
Then it hit.
It slammed into the side of my face, intent on ripping my eyeglasses away from me. I felt sharp objects dig into my ear, and I tumbled towards the right due to the force of the impact. In that fraction of a second, I realized that I was under attack and feared two things:
1) Other monkeys were about to join in and tear me limb from limb
2) This monkey was about to imitate Mike Tyson and bite my ear off
I flailed and screamed (a manly scream, of course), which startled the monkey who then launched himself off my face and away from me. I put my hand up to my ear, fearing the worst, but the damage was only minor, thankfully. The monkey had scratched up my ear and had drawn a little bit of blood, but it seems that this was only done with his nails, and not his teeth. He failed in his attempt to steal my glasses, and we quickly walked back down the stairs.
This time, we armed ourselves with some sticks, and made a 2nd attempt to climb the stairs. I removed my eyeglasses and put them in my pocket. Wearing them was like dangling meat in front of a lion. This time, we managed to make it up unscathed and were able to visit the temple. The downside was that I was blind because I was not wearing my glasses.
After visiting the temple, we approached the stairs to make our way down. The attack had disturbed the core of my soul, and I had lost all my confidence dealing with monkeys. I stood at the top of the flight of stairs, staring at all the monkeys lining the sides of the stairs.
They stared back at me, as if they were daring me to come down. We went down slowly, rattling our sticks against the stairs to warn the monkeys not to come near us. Anytime a monkey scampered about, I twitched. They did not bother us this time, and we safely made our escape down Jakhu Hill.
This was not the last death-defying experience of the day; we had decided, instead of taking the train back down the mountain, to take a bus back down the mountain to Chandigarh so that we could save a few hours of time (the train runs on narrow-guage track and is really slow). We knew what the risks were; two days earlier, four people were killed when a bus overturned after taking a curve too fast. Also, many vehicles veer off the road for whatever reason and end up falling into a gorge.
So we take the bus, and the driver drove the bus like how everybody drives around here: very fast, and weaving in and out of traffic. This, despite the fact that we're traveling down a VERY curvy mountain road with practically non-existent barriers in many areas. The bus was careening around curves and bombing corners like there was no tomorrow. It was quite scary and nauseating at the same time, so it's a good thing that I had brought some Gravol (equivalent to Dramamine for my American readers). People were throwing up due to the extreme motion changes when going around all the curves. There was a worker on the bus who was keeping an eye on people that looked like they were going to puke. When he saw somebody on the verge, he would yell "Sheesha KHOL DEY!!!", meaning "Open your window!!"
Along the way, we saw a truck flipped over way down the mountain, as if to remind us of the consequences of driver error or brake/tire malfunction. However, as evidenced by the fact that this blog post exists, we made it safe and sound!
Shimla itself offers grand views of the mountain ranges, the lower foothills of the Himalayas. Also, it's COLD there at this time of year....and houses do not have any central heating there...definitely a good thing that I brought my jacket!
This morning, we had decided to hike Jakhu Hill, which is the highest peak in Shimla at 7800 ft. Atop this hill sits a temple dedicated to Hanuman, the Hindu monkey god. There is an arch at the temple entrance, and beyond that lie stairs that are guarded by monkeys. There was a sign on the arch that said to stow away "packets, purses, goggles". I thought it was strange that they mentioned "goggles", and I did not give it any further thought, not realizing that they meant "eyeglasses". So we go up the stairs, ignoring the monkeys that were sitting along the sidelines.
Suddenly, out of nowhere, my left peripheral vision caught something moving towards me at the speed of a ballistic missile. Approximately 0.01 seconds before it struck, I realized that it was a monkey.
Then it hit.
It slammed into the side of my face, intent on ripping my eyeglasses away from me. I felt sharp objects dig into my ear, and I tumbled towards the right due to the force of the impact. In that fraction of a second, I realized that I was under attack and feared two things:
1) Other monkeys were about to join in and tear me limb from limb
2) This monkey was about to imitate Mike Tyson and bite my ear off
I flailed and screamed (a manly scream, of course), which startled the monkey who then launched himself off my face and away from me. I put my hand up to my ear, fearing the worst, but the damage was only minor, thankfully. The monkey had scratched up my ear and had drawn a little bit of blood, but it seems that this was only done with his nails, and not his teeth. He failed in his attempt to steal my glasses, and we quickly walked back down the stairs.
This time, we armed ourselves with some sticks, and made a 2nd attempt to climb the stairs. I removed my eyeglasses and put them in my pocket. Wearing them was like dangling meat in front of a lion. This time, we managed to make it up unscathed and were able to visit the temple. The downside was that I was blind because I was not wearing my glasses.
After visiting the temple, we approached the stairs to make our way down. The attack had disturbed the core of my soul, and I had lost all my confidence dealing with monkeys. I stood at the top of the flight of stairs, staring at all the monkeys lining the sides of the stairs.
They stared back at me, as if they were daring me to come down. We went down slowly, rattling our sticks against the stairs to warn the monkeys not to come near us. Anytime a monkey scampered about, I twitched. They did not bother us this time, and we safely made our escape down Jakhu Hill.
This was not the last death-defying experience of the day; we had decided, instead of taking the train back down the mountain, to take a bus back down the mountain to Chandigarh so that we could save a few hours of time (the train runs on narrow-guage track and is really slow). We knew what the risks were; two days earlier, four people were killed when a bus overturned after taking a curve too fast. Also, many vehicles veer off the road for whatever reason and end up falling into a gorge.
So we take the bus, and the driver drove the bus like how everybody drives around here: very fast, and weaving in and out of traffic. This, despite the fact that we're traveling down a VERY curvy mountain road with practically non-existent barriers in many areas. The bus was careening around curves and bombing corners like there was no tomorrow. It was quite scary and nauseating at the same time, so it's a good thing that I had brought some Gravol (equivalent to Dramamine for my American readers). People were throwing up due to the extreme motion changes when going around all the curves. There was a worker on the bus who was keeping an eye on people that looked like they were going to puke. When he saw somebody on the verge, he would yell "Sheesha KHOL DEY!!!", meaning "Open your window!!"
Along the way, we saw a truck flipped over way down the mountain, as if to remind us of the consequences of driver error or brake/tire malfunction. However, as evidenced by the fact that this blog post exists, we made it safe and sound!
Shimla itself offers grand views of the mountain ranges, the lower foothills of the Himalayas. Also, it's COLD there at this time of year....and houses do not have any central heating there...definitely a good thing that I brought my jacket!
Monday, November 12, 2007
Chandigarh
Yesterday, we left the village of Babak for the city of Chandigarh, a British-planned city that straddles the border of Punjab and Haryana. Chandigarh is a shining example of how all cities in India should be like. It's a beautiful city with minimal pollution and great road infrastructure. The traffic is navigable due to better roads and stricter traffic laws. In fact, the traffic lights actually work, rather than flashing yellow all the time like they do in Ludhiana!
In the evening, we went for a walk on a popular path along the river front. There were joggers and power-walkers everywhere along the path, which is the first time I've actually seen people exercising in India! The people here seem more urbanized than in any other city so far (except Delhi). This is definitely a "livable" city, and would be the city I'd choose to live in if I were to live in India for some reason.
Today, we paid a visit to the famous Rock Garden...an intricate maze of rock art. It just so happens that there was a Punjabi music video being shot there at the time, so that was quite interesting to watch. I filmed a couple of takes with my own camera, so I can upload a pre-release bootleg version for you all to see! >-)
This evening, we plan to visit the market in Sector 17, and tomorrow we will head to Shimla to enjoy the beautiful scenery!
In the evening, we went for a walk on a popular path along the river front. There were joggers and power-walkers everywhere along the path, which is the first time I've actually seen people exercising in India! The people here seem more urbanized than in any other city so far (except Delhi). This is definitely a "livable" city, and would be the city I'd choose to live in if I were to live in India for some reason.
Today, we paid a visit to the famous Rock Garden...an intricate maze of rock art. It just so happens that there was a Punjabi music video being shot there at the time, so that was quite interesting to watch. I filmed a couple of takes with my own camera, so I can upload a pre-release bootleg version for you all to see! >-)
This evening, we plan to visit the market in Sector 17, and tomorrow we will head to Shimla to enjoy the beautiful scenery!
The Pind
The biggest surprise of the trip so far is the pind (the village). People are now building some really nice houses in the pind, with fully landscaped lawns and gardens. There are ample amounts of space in the village, which allows people to be creative when building houses. This is especially true of houses built by NRIs (Non-Resident Indians), as they are adding facilities to which they have become accustomed in the diaspora (Canada, US, UK, etc.). The village is especially appealing to those who are used to suburban lifestyles in Western countries.
We left my Mom's village of Kahlu Waher the morning after Diwali to make our way to Babak, my ancestral village.... source of the Nanners that exist in the world! Along the way, we stopped in a couple of other villages to meet some other relatives. I met new cousins that I was never aware that I had, and it's interesting how the ancestral villages of the people we know in Canada are all close together in Punjab.
We finally arrived in the village of Babak. My Dad's chacha (uncle) and chachi (aunt) had arrived a day earlier from England. They are both retired and usually spend 2 or 3 months there in the winter every year. We were given a grand tour of the village, including all the farmland. Village elders that were working in the fields would see Dad and then drop everything and run (or walk fast, depending on their age!) towards him as they had not seen him in so many years. As we were waking along the trail, our group grew bigger as more and more people joined us from the fields. Eventually, everybody wound up back at the house were staying at, where we all participated in a "session". :-)
MOST CONFUSING MOMENT: When I was asked the name of my newborn son. Who's been spreading around false rumours??
We left my Mom's village of Kahlu Waher the morning after Diwali to make our way to Babak, my ancestral village.... source of the Nanners that exist in the world! Along the way, we stopped in a couple of other villages to meet some other relatives. I met new cousins that I was never aware that I had, and it's interesting how the ancestral villages of the people we know in Canada are all close together in Punjab.
We finally arrived in the village of Babak. My Dad's chacha (uncle) and chachi (aunt) had arrived a day earlier from England. They are both retired and usually spend 2 or 3 months there in the winter every year. We were given a grand tour of the village, including all the farmland. Village elders that were working in the fields would see Dad and then drop everything and run (or walk fast, depending on their age!) towards him as they had not seen him in so many years. As we were waking along the trail, our group grew bigger as more and more people joined us from the fields. Eventually, everybody wound up back at the house were staying at, where we all participated in a "session". :-)
MOST CONFUSING MOMENT: When I was asked the name of my newborn son. Who's been spreading around false rumours??
Diwali
I've been told that one never really experiences Diwali until one experiences Diwali in India....how true it is!
The day of Diwali was likely the most packed day I've had so far. We woke up really early in the morning (around 4:30 am) to catch a taxi to Mom's old village, Kahlu Waher. We drove across Punjab to reach the village, and so this was the first chance I had to see the country side. My initial impression was that the rural areas of Punjab were much nicer than the rural areas that we visited in other parts of India. The roads were lined with trees on both sides, buffering the traffic from the agricultural land. The roads themselves were excellent - apparently they have really improved in the past few years. Our drive took us through the cities of Jalandar and Phagwara, among other smaller towns.
We arrived in Kahlu Waher around 8am. My uncle there rented a Toyota Qualis and a driver for our trip to Amritsar. Around 9:30 am, 9 of us (uncle/aunt/cousins/cousins' friends) packed ourselves into the vehicle and we set off for our Diwali adventure!
When we arrived in Amritsar, it was already extremely bustling due to all the people arriving there from outside the city. We entered the Darbar Sahib (the greater temple complex), which was already beginning to get packed. Upon entering, the first thing to do was wash ourselves in the Sarovar (the lake inside the temple complex). Some people strip down to their underwear and take a full bath in it; I decided to just wash my feet and hands in it. The Parkarma (the walkway around the Sarovar) is made of marble, and so the area of the Parkarma near the Sarovar can get quite slippery because of the water on it. Of course, I didn't realize this, and I bailed HUGE while walking away from it. Luckily, I managed to break my fall with my hands and avoided cracking my head on the marble, thus preventing my appearance on that Darwin's Top Ten Acts of Stupidity e-mail chain letter that goes around every year or two.
The line to enter the actual Golden Temple was starting to get quite long, so we headed there next. I was told by multiple sources that the line into the Golden Temple is the site of the most lethal scams. Because everybody is packed together in the line, there is not much empty space between people. Pickpocketing is VERY frequent, so I made sure to put my money in the front pockets of my pants. It's a good that I did that, because I felt random hands feeling my butt to check for any wallet. Apparently, even once you get inside the Golden Temple, and you matha tek (bow down), scamsters will slip your wallet out of your back pocket. To think that people would do this in a temple!
The first part of the line is the worst, because it is wide at the mouth and then narrows considerably, thus acting as a human funnel. I call it the "Compressor", because people get jammed into you from either side. I really felt sorry for the adults that had little kids with them. The wait in line was about 50 minutes, which was much better that what we were expecting. Fans were installed all along the line to keep people cool. I was starting to get really hot and faint despite it being a comfortable temperature outside, so I can't even imagine how it would be waiting in line during the summer heat!
After the visit into the temple itself, we decided to eat langar (meal). Man, that's a crazzzyy operation they have going there. The hall was full when we went, so they made everybody wait outside the hall with the doors closed. Then, they waited until the hall was completely empty before opening the doors. When the doors were opened, it was a mad rush inside. There were volunteers inside running along with the people, telling them to run as fast they could to the other side so that they would not get trampled. Once inside, you need to quickly establish your sitting space so that you have enough room to sit on the ground. I did not do this, so the people beside me established my space for me, which was quite limited to say the least. I ended up sitting like a baboon and I'm still not quite sure how I managed to get the food from the plate to my mouth.
After eating, we left the temple complex and piled back into our vehicle to head to the India/Pakistan border at Wagah. The border closing occurs at 5pm each day, and there is a lot of festivities there as the Pakistani and Indian soldiers try to outdo each other with their "high-kick" routines. There were bleachers there for the audience; one set on the Indian side, and one set on the Pakistani side. The Indian and Pakistani crowds also tried to outdo each other with shouts of "Hindustan Zindabadh!" and "Pakistan Zindabadh!".
Then they launched nuclear-tipped missiles at each other.
We also saw the barbed-wire fence running along the border that divides India and Pakistan (which was under Musharraf-imposed emergency rule at the time, as you all probably know).
After the completion of the closing ceremonies, we returned back to Amritsar and the Golden Temple. We visited Jallalian Bagh, the site of General Dyer's massacre, and then entered the Temple for viewing of the fireworks. I expected the lighting of the temple complex to be modest, but it was VERY impressive...beyond what I could have imagined. The fireworks were also impressive, originating from each of the four corners of the complex. There were SOOO many people inside....numbering in the hundreds of thousands. It seemed like every marble tile that made up the Parkarma was occupied by someone. The only downside of the fireworks is that, since they are shot into the air inside the complex, the remnants fall on everybody, thus irritating the eyes.
After the completion of the fireworks, we headed outside and walked back to the vehicle. Here, the "unofficial" firecrackers and fireworks were set off by kids on the streets. Although fun, it can be quite dangerous; there was an article in the next day's newspaper describing how there were hundreds of injuries to children, some serious, due to firecrackers and fireworks.
The drive back to the village at night was quite interesting because we could see fireworks in the sky the whole way, as they were being launched from people in every village. The fireworks were especially brilliant because of the backdrop of starry, smog-free skies in the countryside.
Nobody had eaten dinner yet, and we were afraid we wouldn't find a place to eat, since it was the night of Diwali, and everybody takes Diwali as a day off. Fortunately, we found a dhaba (cheap food shack) in middle of absolute nowhere, with nothing around it. Although I was initially skeptical, the food was actually quite good!
We returned back to the village of Kahlu Waher, and got ready to sleep for the night. The bathroom sink is actually outside the house, so I had a moment of reflection as I was brushing my teeth outside in the crisp air and the starry skies. It was extremely peaceful outside...there was no noise whatsoever except the sound of a gentle breeze. In the far distance, I could see colourful fireworks exploding in the sky. What a great contrast with the congested cities that have marked our trip so far!
The day of Diwali was likely the most packed day I've had so far. We woke up really early in the morning (around 4:30 am) to catch a taxi to Mom's old village, Kahlu Waher. We drove across Punjab to reach the village, and so this was the first chance I had to see the country side. My initial impression was that the rural areas of Punjab were much nicer than the rural areas that we visited in other parts of India. The roads were lined with trees on both sides, buffering the traffic from the agricultural land. The roads themselves were excellent - apparently they have really improved in the past few years. Our drive took us through the cities of Jalandar and Phagwara, among other smaller towns.
We arrived in Kahlu Waher around 8am. My uncle there rented a Toyota Qualis and a driver for our trip to Amritsar. Around 9:30 am, 9 of us (uncle/aunt/cousins/cousins' friends) packed ourselves into the vehicle and we set off for our Diwali adventure!
When we arrived in Amritsar, it was already extremely bustling due to all the people arriving there from outside the city. We entered the Darbar Sahib (the greater temple complex), which was already beginning to get packed. Upon entering, the first thing to do was wash ourselves in the Sarovar (the lake inside the temple complex). Some people strip down to their underwear and take a full bath in it; I decided to just wash my feet and hands in it. The Parkarma (the walkway around the Sarovar) is made of marble, and so the area of the Parkarma near the Sarovar can get quite slippery because of the water on it. Of course, I didn't realize this, and I bailed HUGE while walking away from it. Luckily, I managed to break my fall with my hands and avoided cracking my head on the marble, thus preventing my appearance on that Darwin's Top Ten Acts of Stupidity e-mail chain letter that goes around every year or two.
The line to enter the actual Golden Temple was starting to get quite long, so we headed there next. I was told by multiple sources that the line into the Golden Temple is the site of the most lethal scams. Because everybody is packed together in the line, there is not much empty space between people. Pickpocketing is VERY frequent, so I made sure to put my money in the front pockets of my pants. It's a good that I did that, because I felt random hands feeling my butt to check for any wallet. Apparently, even once you get inside the Golden Temple, and you matha tek (bow down), scamsters will slip your wallet out of your back pocket. To think that people would do this in a temple!
The first part of the line is the worst, because it is wide at the mouth and then narrows considerably, thus acting as a human funnel. I call it the "Compressor", because people get jammed into you from either side. I really felt sorry for the adults that had little kids with them. The wait in line was about 50 minutes, which was much better that what we were expecting. Fans were installed all along the line to keep people cool. I was starting to get really hot and faint despite it being a comfortable temperature outside, so I can't even imagine how it would be waiting in line during the summer heat!
After the visit into the temple itself, we decided to eat langar (meal). Man, that's a crazzzyy operation they have going there. The hall was full when we went, so they made everybody wait outside the hall with the doors closed. Then, they waited until the hall was completely empty before opening the doors. When the doors were opened, it was a mad rush inside. There were volunteers inside running along with the people, telling them to run as fast they could to the other side so that they would not get trampled. Once inside, you need to quickly establish your sitting space so that you have enough room to sit on the ground. I did not do this, so the people beside me established my space for me, which was quite limited to say the least. I ended up sitting like a baboon and I'm still not quite sure how I managed to get the food from the plate to my mouth.
After eating, we left the temple complex and piled back into our vehicle to head to the India/Pakistan border at Wagah. The border closing occurs at 5pm each day, and there is a lot of festivities there as the Pakistani and Indian soldiers try to outdo each other with their "high-kick" routines. There were bleachers there for the audience; one set on the Indian side, and one set on the Pakistani side. The Indian and Pakistani crowds also tried to outdo each other with shouts of "Hindustan Zindabadh!" and "Pakistan Zindabadh!".
Then they launched nuclear-tipped missiles at each other.
We also saw the barbed-wire fence running along the border that divides India and Pakistan (which was under Musharraf-imposed emergency rule at the time, as you all probably know).
After the completion of the closing ceremonies, we returned back to Amritsar and the Golden Temple. We visited Jallalian Bagh, the site of General Dyer's massacre, and then entered the Temple for viewing of the fireworks. I expected the lighting of the temple complex to be modest, but it was VERY impressive...beyond what I could have imagined. The fireworks were also impressive, originating from each of the four corners of the complex. There were SOOO many people inside....numbering in the hundreds of thousands. It seemed like every marble tile that made up the Parkarma was occupied by someone. The only downside of the fireworks is that, since they are shot into the air inside the complex, the remnants fall on everybody, thus irritating the eyes.
After the completion of the fireworks, we headed outside and walked back to the vehicle. Here, the "unofficial" firecrackers and fireworks were set off by kids on the streets. Although fun, it can be quite dangerous; there was an article in the next day's newspaper describing how there were hundreds of injuries to children, some serious, due to firecrackers and fireworks.
The drive back to the village at night was quite interesting because we could see fireworks in the sky the whole way, as they were being launched from people in every village. The fireworks were especially brilliant because of the backdrop of starry, smog-free skies in the countryside.
Nobody had eaten dinner yet, and we were afraid we wouldn't find a place to eat, since it was the night of Diwali, and everybody takes Diwali as a day off. Fortunately, we found a dhaba (cheap food shack) in middle of absolute nowhere, with nothing around it. Although I was initially skeptical, the food was actually quite good!
We returned back to the village of Kahlu Waher, and got ready to sleep for the night. The bathroom sink is actually outside the house, so I had a moment of reflection as I was brushing my teeth outside in the crisp air and the starry skies. It was extremely peaceful outside...there was no noise whatsoever except the sound of a gentle breeze. In the far distance, I could see colourful fireworks exploding in the sky. What a great contrast with the congested cities that have marked our trip so far!
Thursday, November 8, 2007
Enjoying the weather
Today is a BEAUTIFUL day here in Ludhiana. The skies are (relatively) blue and sunny, with a high temperature of 30 degrees. Dad and I have been touring today...we spent a good part of the morning touring Punjab Agricultural University, which is his old college.
From what I have seen so far, Punjab is nicer than the other areas we have visited in India, in terms of cleanliness, pollution, and population density. Although there was some smog here in Ludhiana yesterday, it seems to have lifted today, giving a much welcome respite from all those dust particles.
Later today, we will be heading to Chaura Bazaar downtown to see the Punjabi market in action.
Tomorrow, we leave for Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple for Diwali. Apparently they close the gates at 2pm due to the huge amount of people that arrive, so we need to be there well before then. My next post may not be for a few days, as we will be heading to the pind (village) after that, and I'm pretty sure they do not have any Internet there. Therefore, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Diwali!!
P.S. I've included some pics taken during our trip to Jaipur.
From what I have seen so far, Punjab is nicer than the other areas we have visited in India, in terms of cleanliness, pollution, and population density. Although there was some smog here in Ludhiana yesterday, it seems to have lifted today, giving a much welcome respite from all those dust particles.
Later today, we will be heading to Chaura Bazaar downtown to see the Punjabi market in action.
Tomorrow, we leave for Amritsar to visit the Golden Temple for Diwali. Apparently they close the gates at 2pm due to the huge amount of people that arrive, so we need to be there well before then. My next post may not be for a few days, as we will be heading to the pind (village) after that, and I'm pretty sure they do not have any Internet there. Therefore, I would like to wish everyone a very Happy Diwali!!
P.S. I've included some pics taken during our trip to Jaipur.
Wednesday, November 7, 2007
Punjab
I'm coming at you LIVE from Ludhiana in Punjab. We just arrived here around 11:30am today, after arriving via the Shatabdi Express train from Delhi. It's a fairly fast train; the travel time was only 4 hours. We received a bottle of water, tea, and an egg omelet/toast meal on the train, which satisfied me for breakfast.
There were some real hardcore slums beside the tracks as the train traveled through north Delhi...it's pretty jarring to see that kind of grinding poverty.
I could tell as soon as we crossed over into Punjab as I received a text message on my Airtel mobile phone saying "Welcome to Punjab!". A while later, I received a message advertising cheap long distance rates to Bihar, which goes to show how many Biharis have migrated to Punjab.
DIGESTIVE UPDATE: The jig is up. The pizza from Pizza Hut that we had in Agra destroyed our digestive systems. Actually, both Dad and I were destroyed, but my cousin Geetu was fine since she's used to the local food. I was awakened at around 3:30am that night by the feeling of my stomach tightening. Five minutes later, I bolted for the bathroom. Dad was similarly awakened at 4am, so fortunately our stomachs decided to coordinate with each other to avoid a bathroom conflict. One dose of Immodium fixed me up though, and I'm fine now.
There were some real hardcore slums beside the tracks as the train traveled through north Delhi...it's pretty jarring to see that kind of grinding poverty.
I could tell as soon as we crossed over into Punjab as I received a text message on my Airtel mobile phone saying "Welcome to Punjab!". A while later, I received a message advertising cheap long distance rates to Bihar, which goes to show how many Biharis have migrated to Punjab.
DIGESTIVE UPDATE: The jig is up. The pizza from Pizza Hut that we had in Agra destroyed our digestive systems. Actually, both Dad and I were destroyed, but my cousin Geetu was fine since she's used to the local food. I was awakened at around 3:30am that night by the feeling of my stomach tightening. Five minutes later, I bolted for the bathroom. Dad was similarly awakened at 4am, so fortunately our stomachs decided to coordinate with each other to avoid a bathroom conflict. One dose of Immodium fixed me up though, and I'm fine now.
Monday, November 5, 2007
The Golden Triangle
Ok, it's been a whirlwind of the past three days! I'm currently sitting in an Internet Cafe in Agra, with some guys blatantly looking over my shoulder to see what I'm browsing and typing. When they read what I'm typing right now, they will get the point that they should not be looking.
Two days ago, we left Delhi early in the morning to head to Jaipur. We had a driver, and our ride was a classic "Ambassador" car (which means that it doesn't go that fast, and that we get passed by Hondas and Toyotas on the road). We drove through the outskirts of Delhi. There was a new, huge Metro station being built in one area...apparently there are many more Metro stations going up. Once past Delhi, we drove through Gurgaon. Gurgaon was pretty impressive in that there were lots of cool, sleekly designed buildings that have been constructed (all-glass buildings with unique shapes). A lot of these were call centres, thus giving a boost to the burgeoning industry there. After getting out of the populated area, we drove through rural Haryana before crossing into Rajasthan. The highway is divided all the way, so navigating the traffic wasn't too bad. The air became less polluted and more dry as we approached Jaipur.
We passed by the Amber Fort (which we visited the next day) and arrived in Jaipur. The traffic there was RIDICULOUS and UNBELIEVABLE. It was a complete traffic jam from before the first pink entry gate till after the last pink exit gate (those that have been there will know what I mean by the gates). Scooters, rickshaws, bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, camels, elephants, cows, cars, vans, and trucks were all in the road, and all intermingled everywhere. Our driver said that Jaipur has the worst traffic out of anywhere....even he was really stressing driving through there. If you give an inch, you have given too much. Entering a roundabout there is not for the weak. The next day, our driver found out that a close friend of his was killed in a car accident that day at an intersection close to where we were staying. The traffic was horrendous because it was the last Saturday evening before Diwali, so EVERYBODY was downtown doing some shopping.
Speaking of Diwali, lights were up in a lot of places in Jaipur. Fireworks have been going off every evening since I got here....the celebrations start a couple of weeks before the actual day of Diwali. It's pretty cool being here at this time and we partook in the atmosphere by doing some shopping in the Jaipur markets. A lot of older men were openly smoking joints on the sidewalks. There was one street we were walking on that had alternating smells of weed and urine. :-S
We witnesed some German couple who got separated from their tour group and were lost in the city. Unfortunately for them, they did not speak English, which meant they were screwed. Finally, some guy put on a rickshaw and sent them in some random direction, so hopefully they rejoined their peers.
The next day, we went and visited the Amber Fort, some other fort, and the City Palace. I'll post some pics of up at some point if time permits.
This morning, we came to Agra from Jaipur. They are working on twinning the highway between the two cities, but unfortunately, it's a single road for most of the distance. Of course, this meant some more harrowing traffic experiences.
As soon as we arrived, we went to the Taj Mahal. It was pretty impressive! Too bad the city that surrounds it is dirty and polluted (I think the guy behind me just got insulted). I got some good pics that I think I will be setting as my new desktop background at work. For supper this evening, we ate at a Pizza Hut and ordered an Indian pizza, a Chicken Tikha Makhani pizza. The mirch (peppers) were too much for me, and I had to pick them off by the time I got to my second slice. India 1, Aman 0.
MALARIA UPDATE: No malaria yet. The only bad day was the second night in Delhi, where there only about 5 mosquitoes in the room that night, but managed to bite me 1,295 times.
DIGESTIVE UDPATE: No more blockage, and frequency seems like its back to normal. However, volume is small despite my eating a lot, which is strange and scary at the same time.
Back to Delhi tomorrow, and off to Ludhiana the next day!
Two days ago, we left Delhi early in the morning to head to Jaipur. We had a driver, and our ride was a classic "Ambassador" car (which means that it doesn't go that fast, and that we get passed by Hondas and Toyotas on the road). We drove through the outskirts of Delhi. There was a new, huge Metro station being built in one area...apparently there are many more Metro stations going up. Once past Delhi, we drove through Gurgaon. Gurgaon was pretty impressive in that there were lots of cool, sleekly designed buildings that have been constructed (all-glass buildings with unique shapes). A lot of these were call centres, thus giving a boost to the burgeoning industry there. After getting out of the populated area, we drove through rural Haryana before crossing into Rajasthan. The highway is divided all the way, so navigating the traffic wasn't too bad. The air became less polluted and more dry as we approached Jaipur.
We passed by the Amber Fort (which we visited the next day) and arrived in Jaipur. The traffic there was RIDICULOUS and UNBELIEVABLE. It was a complete traffic jam from before the first pink entry gate till after the last pink exit gate (those that have been there will know what I mean by the gates). Scooters, rickshaws, bicycles, motorcycles, pedestrians, camels, elephants, cows, cars, vans, and trucks were all in the road, and all intermingled everywhere. Our driver said that Jaipur has the worst traffic out of anywhere....even he was really stressing driving through there. If you give an inch, you have given too much. Entering a roundabout there is not for the weak. The next day, our driver found out that a close friend of his was killed in a car accident that day at an intersection close to where we were staying. The traffic was horrendous because it was the last Saturday evening before Diwali, so EVERYBODY was downtown doing some shopping.
Speaking of Diwali, lights were up in a lot of places in Jaipur. Fireworks have been going off every evening since I got here....the celebrations start a couple of weeks before the actual day of Diwali. It's pretty cool being here at this time and we partook in the atmosphere by doing some shopping in the Jaipur markets. A lot of older men were openly smoking joints on the sidewalks. There was one street we were walking on that had alternating smells of weed and urine. :-S
We witnesed some German couple who got separated from their tour group and were lost in the city. Unfortunately for them, they did not speak English, which meant they were screwed. Finally, some guy put on a rickshaw and sent them in some random direction, so hopefully they rejoined their peers.
The next day, we went and visited the Amber Fort, some other fort, and the City Palace. I'll post some pics of up at some point if time permits.
This morning, we came to Agra from Jaipur. They are working on twinning the highway between the two cities, but unfortunately, it's a single road for most of the distance. Of course, this meant some more harrowing traffic experiences.
As soon as we arrived, we went to the Taj Mahal. It was pretty impressive! Too bad the city that surrounds it is dirty and polluted (I think the guy behind me just got insulted). I got some good pics that I think I will be setting as my new desktop background at work. For supper this evening, we ate at a Pizza Hut and ordered an Indian pizza, a Chicken Tikha Makhani pizza. The mirch (peppers) were too much for me, and I had to pick them off by the time I got to my second slice. India 1, Aman 0.
MALARIA UPDATE: No malaria yet. The only bad day was the second night in Delhi, where there only about 5 mosquitoes in the room that night, but managed to bite me 1,295 times.
DIGESTIVE UDPATE: No more blockage, and frequency seems like its back to normal. However, volume is small despite my eating a lot, which is strange and scary at the same time.
Back to Delhi tomorrow, and off to Ludhiana the next day!
Friday, November 2, 2007
In da Motherland
I'm in the Motherland!! The trip to Delhi was pretty uneventful, including:
1) The bus ride from Ottawa to Montreal
2) The flight from Montreal to Amsterdam
3) The flight from Amsterdam to Delhi
I forgot how brutal the red-eye flights are going to Europe. I was dead-tired by the time we arrived in Amsterdam, and we still had half the travelling time to go. Fortunately, I managed to get a lot of sleep on both flights, which helped.
The Delhi airport wasn't actually as bad as everyone was hyping it up to be. That's likely due to the fact that the KLM flight arrived there after midnight. There were still a million people in the arrivals hall waiting to pick up passengers...you almost feel like a celebrity for 5 seconds with everybody watching you.
Random weirdness: Everytime there is an announcement over the PA system in the airport, it is prepended with a sound. This sound is exactly the sound your computer makes when you receive a new e-mail in Windows Mail or Outlook Express. Did some guy actually record that sound into a WAV file on his computer and copy it into the airport PA system??
More random weirdness: I was waiting with all our luggage outside the airport while Dad looked for the prepaid taxi, and a couple of dudes came up to me and asked if I was "Mike".
The temperature in Delhi was 21 degrees when we arrived, which was pleasant. I now know that "burning pollution" smell that everyone refers to...I could feel my lung lifespan shortening by the minute. I think I'm used to it now, but I don't know if that's a good thing!
It's a beautiful day outside today however...around 22-23 degrees. We're in Khel Gaon (Asian Games village), and it's very quiet here....no cars honking or anything. I'm hanging out with aunt and cousins here, and their cream-coloured Labrador Retriever. They have filtered water here...we've been drinking it and haven't gotten sick yet, so the filter does work!
Digestive update: I'm experiencing "blockage". I will probably have the opposite problem in a few days.
Tomorrow, we leave for Jaipur!
1) The bus ride from Ottawa to Montreal
2) The flight from Montreal to Amsterdam
3) The flight from Amsterdam to Delhi
I forgot how brutal the red-eye flights are going to Europe. I was dead-tired by the time we arrived in Amsterdam, and we still had half the travelling time to go. Fortunately, I managed to get a lot of sleep on both flights, which helped.
The Delhi airport wasn't actually as bad as everyone was hyping it up to be. That's likely due to the fact that the KLM flight arrived there after midnight. There were still a million people in the arrivals hall waiting to pick up passengers...you almost feel like a celebrity for 5 seconds with everybody watching you.
Random weirdness: Everytime there is an announcement over the PA system in the airport, it is prepended with a sound. This sound is exactly the sound your computer makes when you receive a new e-mail in Windows Mail or Outlook Express. Did some guy actually record that sound into a WAV file on his computer and copy it into the airport PA system??
More random weirdness: I was waiting with all our luggage outside the airport while Dad looked for the prepaid taxi, and a couple of dudes came up to me and asked if I was "Mike".
The temperature in Delhi was 21 degrees when we arrived, which was pleasant. I now know that "burning pollution" smell that everyone refers to...I could feel my lung lifespan shortening by the minute. I think I'm used to it now, but I don't know if that's a good thing!
It's a beautiful day outside today however...around 22-23 degrees. We're in Khel Gaon (Asian Games village), and it's very quiet here....no cars honking or anything. I'm hanging out with aunt and cousins here, and their cream-coloured Labrador Retriever. They have filtered water here...we've been drinking it and haven't gotten sick yet, so the filter does work!
Digestive update: I'm experiencing "blockage". I will probably have the opposite problem in a few days.
Tomorrow, we leave for Jaipur!
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