Tiresome Travels Take Their Toll

Hello everyone,

I'm feeling exhausted from all our travels, so this will be short. Things have been pretty ... overcrowded lately. It has been insane, but we've made it through it and we've finally got a clean -- albeit spartan -- room to sleep in.

We have enjoyed a chilling morning safari through Bandhavgarh National Park, which is teeming with serenity. We saw a tiger, but rode no elephants.

We've travelled like Indians. We've searched for hotels in the wee hours of the morning.

It's time for a rest. I've updated the Google Maps itinerary with our actual route and current location. We are planning on taking the 22 hour long train ride back from Kolkata to Delhi on the evening of December 12, but our schedule up until then is flexible.

Good night

Movin on and lettin you know

We're getting on a bus to Jabalpur within the hour. Trying to see if it's possible for us to ride elephants and track tigers at the Bandhavgarh Reserve.

We are OK

Hey guys,

After spending a sleepless night on a bus, we arrived in Nagpur to be presented with a newspaper describing the brutal terrorist damage done in Mumbai. Don't worry, we're outta there. And it's fortunate too because many of the areas hit were places our dusty sandals had treaded. I hope everyone who was injured recovers quickly.

We've been up to lots since our last post, mostly cave exploration. Our last day in Mumbai we took a boat out to Elephanta Island and explored the caves and temples there. Then after a long train ride to Aurangabad and a 24 hour rest period, we checked out the Ajanta and the Ellora caves over the next two days. (world heritage sights) They are maginficent. While at Ellora there are Hindu, Jain and Buddhist temples, they are all Buddhist at Ajanta. The temples and shrines there date back to about 2nd century BC are carved right out of the rock that makes up the mountain. We had a special treat that day: we met a group of Buddhist monks and nuns who were accompanying Lama Zopa Rinpoche in visiting/praying/blessing the temples. We'd heard so much about him during our stay at Tushita in Dharmashala; we'd even seen a video about his pilgrimage to Tibet. If the Dalai Lama has a posse, I think it's safe to say that Rinpoche is in it. (*) He was very friendly and they welcomed us to tag along with them. They even shared their snacks with us!

Although we missed the attacks in Mumbai, we did get attacked by a fleet of bed bugs in Aurangabad. They are nasty little critters and we hope we haven't brough any with us.

What's next? Getting some fresh fruit, rest and trying to find a way to Varanassi.

Livin' Like Bollers

Hello, hello, good morning, good evening, good afternoon, how are you?

We've escaped the bustling city of Ahmedabad to take refuge in the Western sanctuary of Mumbai. This place is expensive. Apparently the average wage here is three times the typical amount earned in the rest of India, and the typical prices around here confirm it.

However, when we're not so concerned with our budget, we're likely to be found enjoying delicious pastries and fresh Italian Lavazza coffee in a swanky café around town. We spent the start of the day doing just that.

After arriving from a sleeper train at 8 am or so, we checked into an overpriced "budget" hotel then wandered the streets. They have quite the western feel to them. It's been a while since we've been surrounded by tall buildings, traffic (with no autorickshaws in sight), high-end fashion stores and stylish restaurants. It's kind of nice.

So we've gone to a couple of art galleries and watched the movie Quantum of Solace (with tasty popcorn!). Perhaps tomorrow we'll take a cruise to Elephanta Island and do whatever there is to do around there. We're not quite prepared to be in this big city, since we haven't thoroughly read the sights and activities that are available to us, but we'll get there. We're just coasting along looking for the next place to eat when our stomach demands it, which is great fun.

Speaking of which, that time has come again. Lunch! A late lunch, at 4pm, but a lunch nonetheless. We're being harassed much less here than in Ahmedabad and Diu, which is a real treat. In a couple of days we'll be heading out of here though, towards Aurangabad on a train, which should prove to be completely different than this blooming metropolis. Calmer, to say the least.

Off the Island

After spending the whole day on two buses and a train, we've arrived in Ahmedabad, Gujarat's capitol. We've got a cheap but adequately neat room at Hotel Gulmarg (where apparently call-girls are available). We just had a lovely meal at The Green House, a garden terrace restaurant. Everything seemed to have at least a little mint, coconut or coriander in it. We finished things off with fresh hand-churned ice cream. Yumm.

***
When we first arrived in Diu, something very strange seemed to be going on. We walked down the main drag ... in silence. All the shops were closed; the place was deserted. Diu used to be occupied by the Portugese, and although they aren't around anymore, the Indians adopted their habit of taking an afternoon siesta. So from 1 - 4 everyday everyone goes home for lunch and a nap.

Something else you should know about Diu is that it is the only place in the province where drinking (alcohol) is legal. This means that many Gujarati tourists come to enjoy the beaches and get drunk. We encountered many men with poor English, insistent on getting a photo of us. Although this is not unique to Diu, something about our bright white flesh glimmering in the Arabian Sea caused them to sit on the shore, watch and wait for us for great lengths of time. Speaking of glimmering in the sea, the sea food in Diu was super fresh and delicious. Tuna, shark fish, pomfret, prawns, king fish, calamari ... scrumptious. (We hear that a lot of Europe's seafood is imported from Veraval, a fishing town a couple hours from Diu.)

In contrast to the men of Diu, which are enough to give my dad the creeps, the women of Diu were some of the most wonderful yet. (I have had such amazing experiences with Indian women. Quite often they just involve a smile.) In Diu I feel I made friends with two women. One was this lady who sold fruit in the market. There was something special about her; she had a kind smile that knew everything and saw the humour in life. I speak no Gujarati, and the only English words she knows are "thank youuuuu", but we were always happy to see each other and somehow we managed to do business together. She always slipped something extra in my bag. My other friend worked at a restaurant called La Dolce Vita that Pete and I liked to eat at. She and her husband had a little white puppy called Jacky that loved to play. The woman was slim, young and pretty, and had little English, but her warmth and giggles told me that she liked me. On our last day in Diu, the day I finally got a sari, we went to dine there and to say goodbye. The young woman was very pleased to see me in traditional dress and she thoroughly fixed up my amateur attempt at the complicated folds and tucks that make a sari beautiful.

Pete dubbed Diu "a quirky paradise". I think that fits perfectly.

Goodbye Diu

Good afternoon!

I am feeling better!

Hooray!

Yes, the fantastic news is true. I feel better. Now I just need to continue eating like a regular human being again to help regain all that weight I lost over the past month! No problem with all the cookies and other snacks available at cheap prices :D. Don't worry, we also munch on fresh fruit and nuts as well. Steph particularly loves guavas.

Yesterday we had the wonderful experience of renting a Scooty! We buzzed around town on it tearing up the roads at 30km/h. It was really quite an enjoyable experience :-) We've got some photos of us riding and posing, but I don't have the camera with me to upload them.

Anyway, we're gearing up to get the heck out of this quirky paradise. We're heading to the big city Ahmedabad tomorrow, if we can get tickets, which shouldn't be a problem.

Welcome to Diu

Hello.

I am writing you from the comfort of a lime green internet cafe in Diu. Yep-- that's right, we're still here. And TODAY I will finally update the itinerary.

I know what you're all wondering... how is Stephanie feeling?

Well, I'd love to let you know, but right now she is enjoying a peaceful bike ride along the shores of the Arabian sea, so we'll get back to you on that. Maybe.

After taking the medication, I managed to experience an hour or so of comfort, which was so incredibly enjoyable. The diarrhea stopped, but the internal pain didn't. I took four doses and waited two days after taking them before throwing in the towel-- again -- and going to buy some more meds from an Indian chemist (aka pharmacist).

Well, that was yesterday and I've been experiencing bouts of youthful exuberance between periods of mild discomfort. Boy oh boy, when that first bout came yesterday, it was as if I had been wearing sunglasses for 10 years and somebody took them off and let me see the vibrant world as it is. No longer was I chained by lethargy and pain. I had freedom!

Naturally, I ran outside and bought chocolate bars and cookies for Stephanie and I to celebrate over another grand evening of watching old movies (in English) on TV. The enjoyment was only temporary and I was soon arrested by low energy and uncomfortable feelings, but I did manage to eat a few slices of potato, carrots and cucumber for dinner.

Anyway, today has been better than yesterday. We managed a fairly enjoyable day at the beach after my breakfast of champions -- two plain slices of toast and one with honey. Life is just fabulous. ;>

I guess it would be better if it weren't for the kill-me-now smells that we are surrounded with in the city. Things like garbage, pollution (cars, burning plastic), rotting food (including fish). There's also this one mysterious smell that makes me want to die. It makes me feel like my lungs are filling up with plastic and it has an absolutely terrible aroma.

WELCOME TO DIU!

At least the beach is nice, as well as the air in this internet cafe on the main floor of our hotel.

Our next stops are supposed to be Ahmedabad, Mumbai, then the Ajanta caves and Ellora. I'm not too excited about seeing the first two places, as they're big cities, but we may be able to catch a viewing of Quantum of Solace in Mumbai, the home of Bollywood. The Ajanta caves and Ellora are both designated as World Heritage sites, so hopefully they're all right.

So long as the air has some oxygen left in it, we'll be okay. A big milestone is coming up soon-- we're 75% through our trip as of November 19. Cool, eh?