Coffee break in Delhi

I spent most of yesterday with my cousin. We chatted for hours and the topics included Maldives politics, the rise of burugas, and the latest gossip about Carnation cousins. I can't reveal what was said but no one was spared! We took a coffee break in a trendy coffee house and saw young Delhi yuppies chilling out.

On the way back to Paharganj, where I'm staying, we passed India Gate which looked nice in the night lights. The traffic in Delhi is complete chaos, i think an indication of where Male is headed. As we turned into the Main Bazaar (picture), the driver said: "This is the seediest part of Delhi, yahan sab chor hai (everyone's a crook here)!"

I was subjected to a well-established scam on my first day here. A tout took me as I came out of my train to what he said was a government tourist office which would help transport me to my hotel. But at the office they called what my hotel and gave me the phone. The voice at the other end informed me the room I had booked was no longer available. The officers then then told me they could help me find another room to suit my budget. Luckily I saw through the scam and buggered off fast as I could, got on a rickshaw and went to the hotel which I'd originally booked. My room was waiting for me, and the receptionist told me that sort of thing happened all the time.

Anyhow, I'm off to Manali this evening. Taking the overnight bus means I won't see much of the scenery, but at least I'll be in the Himalayas by lunchtime tomorrow.

Golha Hiju

Golhaa Hiju is what Sharif calls the person in the photo. He calls people the most awful names, especially if they live in Maveyo Magu. Anyway, photo sent by Sharif...bottles look innocent to me, but Sharif's suspicous of any liquid ever since a certain someone, hmm, i don't think we need to go into that...yet!

Also, Amin and Sharif, many thanks for your comments...I may not be able to answer you individually, because it takes so much time to maintian the blog. But I'm hoping viewers will set the conversation going. Also, Amin, how do you feel in the US? Perhaps you can share a photo with us?

ps:-photo won't be uploaded, i'll try again tomorrow...

Counting kilometres

Am safely in New Delhi, showered and refreshed. Sat on the rooftop of my hotel a little while ago, eating a fruit salad, sipping chaya, watching the sun go down and thinking isn't the world wonderful...Anyhow, I'll be hear for two days, meeting up with a cousin who's arriving tomorrow to catch up on gossip (about other cousins). In the meantime, highlights from the train journey from Trivandrum which took over 53 hours and covered more than 3000 kilometres:

Day 1, 11.45 am (15 minutes after the train started on its long journey): Hooray, I'm off! As I look out of the window, I can see the vegetation and settlements flash past and smell the earthen aroma and feel the heat and the wind. I realise that for me this will always be the magic of travelling in India.

5pm, same day: The Keralan landscape is lush and green; palms and paddy fields and moist shrubs all indicating fertility.

Day 2, 9.30am: It's amazing how much a cup of chaya can uplift your spirits. We're in Andra Pradesh now. Early this morning we were still in Tamil Nadu. The countryside, although not as forested as Kerala, had paddy fields bordered with the characterisic Tamil Nadu palms. In contrast, Andra Pradesh is a bit deserty, trees and shrubs noticeably more sparse.

One of my fellow passengers is the nosey, garrulous type. His very first questions to me were: Are you married; do you own a company; etc, etc. But he explained he'd been observing me and, because I hadn't spoken, wanted to assure me that I was alright with him and the rest of the passengers sharing the compartment. So, although the interrogation was tiresome, he was really a kind fellow just trying to make me feel at home.

I can't believe how easy it's been adapting to travelling alone. I recommend it to everyone, very liberating indeed.

5pm, same day: And then an ennuch dropped by. He pinched a the cheeks of a young male passenger and, when he refused to hand any coins, lifted the sari to reveal a very hairy leg. Sadly, we didn't see the jewels. Muha would have enjoyed that!

Day 3, 10.30am: I had a chat with a nosy guy and he mentioned I might have a problem in Ladakh because of the heavy military presence there and the numerous checkpoints. My name, he pointed out, might be suspect. He's right of course and I really need to think things out...

We're now in Uttur Pradesh and the lnadscape is no longer tropical. In fact, it reminds me of the English countryside, even the constant rain and the grey sky.

End of India

I just got back from Kaniyakumari, the land's end of the Indian subcontinent. Although most of the three hour journey there wasn't out of the ordinary, there was an area with hills and paddy fields that looked very nice as the sun started to set on the way back. Kanyakumari was alright, if a bit unremarkable. It had a promenade with vendors lined up by the sea creating a lively atmosphere. Many Indian tourists went there today as it's the weekend.

The journey there and the journey back was crammed. On the way there I was a bit dehydrated and uncomfortable, but after a masala tosa in Kanyakumari for lunch I experienced a remarkable recovery. I enjoyed the rest of the outing very much indeed.

Tomorrow I'm off on the train to Delhi, so there won't be any blogging until I get there on the 30th.

I'd like to say something in praise of Keralans. I had a chance to observe them at trivandrum bus station where I had to wait two hours for the bus. The people milling about there seemed to me to be very focussed, hard-working, and decent. Many of them made sure I was on the Kanyakumari bus, because I kept asking people when the bus would arrive (many of the signs are in Malayalam).

Back in Trivandrum

It was a testing leadup to this. On the eve of my departure, I got diarhhoea with fever. This meant I was in bed for most of the day, putting off packing and essential preparation. In the evening I forced myself to go out to take some passport-sized photos of myself for possilbe permits that I might need to procure to visit some parts of Ladakh. On the way to Reethi Photo, I felt like an alien as I walked past the people, traffic and shops; there just wasn't any sense of connection in me for the place I was born and bred in, and spent most of my life in.

Later when I started to pack I discovered my winter jacket had gone missing, which didn't help the foul mood I was in.

This morning, however, everything appeared to be working out. The shits and the fever disappeared, the warm clothing got located, and my spirits lifted.

Now in Trivandrum after only eight months, I'm slowly recuperating and readying myself for the journey ahead. Trivandrum has been the starting point for all the major journeys I've undertaken and I ought to feel some fondness for the place. Instead, I just feel very used to it. I'm staying near Trivandrum Central, the main railway station (photo), in a cheap but clean tourist lodge that most Maldivians wouldn't dream of staying in. There are about a thousand of my fellow countryfolk in the city, apparently, but I haven't seen any since I exited the airport.

All in all I don't feel too bad, but I don't feel too exhilerated either. I'm just slowly edging towards the journey that I've long felt I had to take. It's not a journey that anyone else can physically share with me nor, truth be told, do I think they'd want to.

But at least people can check out the blog to find out where I am and to see the photos.

Off to the mountains again

I've booked my flight to Trivandrum for the 26th of this month. This time, I'm journeying solo, and I'm hoping to cross the Himalaya into Ladakh and explore the region. As well as Ladakh, I'm interested in trekking in the Lahaul and Spiti area and the Zanskar valley. I plan to travel by train from Trivandrum to Delhi and then catch a bus to Manali in Himachal Pradesh, the northmost I've been in India so far. From Manali I want to take a local bus to visit some of the villages along the way to Leh, the capital of Ladakh. I might return to Delhi via Srinagar, depending on how things are in that war-torn part of the country.

As with all my trips I've got mixed feelings about this one. On the one hand I'm happy to be on the road in a great big country like India and dying to be in my beloved mountains again. At the moment I'm editing footage Narco and I filmed in India one and a half years ago---the picture's an image-grab from the film---into an introspective short. The film has Keralan hills, Bombay, Rajasthan, Delhi, Agra and Shimla as well as on the spot interviews by Narco. Needless to say, wading through the footage after so long is only adding fuel to my desire to go to India again.

I intend to update my blog regularly on the trip if I can. This is the first time I'm travelling such a great distance on land by myself and I'm wondering how I'll fare.

Since my Himalayan adventure last year I think I've undergone immense internal change and now's the time, I think, for me to spend some time alone and test myself out.

Physically I'm reasonably fit; intense and regular swimming and walking has obviously helped. I've also been training myself to cope with loneliness, which in the recent past I've not been able to too well. But now I feel I'm getting there.

On a negative note, I've been feeling more and more alienated from my immediate surroundings as well as people. Although I still enjoy being with friends I'm also discovering that I can be quite content for considerable lengths of time alone, walking, reading and listening to music. In a way I've accepted that I matter very little to people around me and, perhaps they to me. However, I don't want to shut myself off completely because I really do care about people and I've spent many quality moments with close friends the pleasure of which I don't want to give up for good.

The trick is to find a balance where I can interact with people without intruding.

But that's a challenge for later. For now I need to finish off pending work and get the final preparations for my trip out of the way. I hope everyone who contributed so much to this blog during our Nepal and Tibet trek will visit and equally entertaining exchanges will take place.

Although I'm leaving my friends and family for a while, I want to tell everyone that I'm only taking the good memories of my time with them to keep me company on the journey.