After a positive start in Varanasi with Rich and the cool Dutch guys, I hit my India travel wall. Spent the afternoon cruising the Ganges in a boat, very chilled, looking forward to all the things I had planned for Delhi and Punjab, but it was not to be.
Went out to dinner that night, had a bite of stone cold paneer, and instantly did not feel well. At 2am when I was vomiting water in our hotel room I was pretty certain I had been hit with food poisoning, after 7 weeks of lovely health. Amazingly Rich didn't wake up as I was running to-and-fro all night to the loo cursing quite heavily each time. He was so good in the day though, got me water and medication, packed my bag, and pretty much carried me to the train that night when I decided I couldn't bare to stay in Varanasi on my own when sick. Still a bit ill in Delhi the next day but thought I was getting better. Managed to go back to SBT and see some of the kids again which was so so so wonderful just to high5 them again and have them take the piss out of my Hindi. Lovely lovely.
Terribly sick at 6am so went to the doctors at 11am (when he finally arrived..) to get some antibiotics and after seeing that I couldn't get another train up to Punjab to meet Dave's friends (I had missed mine at 8am because couldn't really get up properly) either today or tomorrow I decided that going home is what I needed to do. 3 more days in Delhi and then flying to Mumbai for 2 days there just filled me with dread.. not what I came to India for!!
Absolutely gutted I can't complete my trip, but I am just not well enough and don't want to arrive home even worse with the stress of booking another overnight train and staying alone in this city. Had such an amazing first month with the other volunteers and the kids and I know when I look back that is what I will remember. That plus everything in Amritsar and kite flying in Jaipur. Definite highlights. And the boat trip in Varanasi. And the cooking class in Udaipur - that woman's kitchen was immaculate!! Watching a million cricket games as we slowly went past on a heavily delayed trains, being cornered on my 2nd day in the bathroom by so many women wanting to talk to me, monkeys on the way to Udaipur on a bus that was constantly on the edge of the mountain road, being blocked by men selling shawls in Jaipur and laughing about it with the ever bickering Kiwis, my first sunset in the desert where the sky turned deep red and purple then lit up completely as every single star came out, riding a motorbike with my backpack and only almost falling off twice, feeling more sad than I ever thought I could at saying goodbye to a few people I had known for such a small period of time, and already planning my next trip back, even as I squat at 4am getting cramps in my feet with a door that doesn't shut properly and a light that only works occasionally..
I am really glad to be coming home to the warmer weather, working showers and people who don't want to talk to me all the time.. but India has just been the perfect way to spend my short break between uni and work and even with all the crap (yes, literally), it has just been a wonderful wonderful experience and I really don't feel that my words can even come close to expressing how I feel about this country and its people.
But that's it for me now.. see you soon I guess? xxxxxxxxxxx
Friday, January 22, 2010
Sunday, January 17, 2010
In review..
So it's been a hectic week.
Left Jodhpur at 9am to find a government bus to Udaipur as my hotel owner did not want to help me book a private bus ("No you must stay in Jodhpur and book a tour you have to stay more days.."). Even though no one at the bus station or on the bus spoke any English at all, I managed to get the best seat (seat #1) and have a nice woman next to me who gave me some crisps half way through the journey because I saved her seat at one of the stops. Was a local bus, which the guidebooks really don't recommend, but it was pretty awesome seeing all the villages first in the desert around Jodhpur then in the mountains through to Udaipur, very very beautiful was so good to see mountains and monkeys again! Think it was a much better view of Indian village life than the crazy desert safari ("one rupee one rupee!"). Saw one woman carrying an axe on her head while her daughters carried a million branches on theirs.
My dorm in Udaipur was amazing - right on the lake with an AMAZING rooftop view. Arrived 15mins before sunset and watched it drop over the mountains reflected in the lake.. really really beautiful place. My dorm bed was SO COMFORTABLE and even had a curtain for privacy! More privacy than that shared rooftop bathroom in Jodhpur.. ahh good times! On my birthday I woke up early and took a stroll around the city while the locals were setting up shop and the tourists were still in bed. I booked a cooking class for the next day and sat on a big carved rock and chilled by the lake for a bit. Had a man come up and start chatting to me who was pretty decent. After we talked about what I was doing in Delhi we talked about the education system there in Rajasthan and poverty and begging and then family and his family - had a daughter my age also doing Commerce! He had a cafe next to us so brought us out some chai and talked until people started arriving for breakfast and I walked back to the guesthouse, but a good way to start the day - always find it so interesting to hear other perspectives on this country because everything is so different, and it's so much more genuine to hear from a man like that than a tour guide!!
On my way to city palace I got distracted by some of the silk paintings Udaipur is famous for, and ended up in one shop for a good hour chatting to the owner about his family and the tradition and had more and more chai.. met a couple from Melbourne who just got married in India (originally from Punjab) and they were cool bought some nice paintings themselves. Walked out buying far more than planned but they're so pretty and I did enjoy the chai!!
After a good ayvedic (sp??) massage across the road from the guesthouse I finally got to city palace which was absolutely amazing - the views from the windows over the lake and the city the other side were just breathtaking - especially at that time of day when the sun was getting lower and casting this beautiful light, I just spent so long sitting by the windows taking it in and relaxing after my first week of travel!
My cooking class the next day was fantastic - was with these 2 other English girls from London who were in India for 3 or 4 weeks, and they were so funny they had so much planned it was insane! We were in this woman's kitchen and she showed us many many things and then we got to eat it all - best ever! Am looking forward to cooking it all back at home, was just good food!
Met a Canadian girl that morning and planned to meet up with her in the arvo to go to this park north of the city and chill there. She's traveling alone too and has been for a month or 2 before me, and still has ages to go all over the world. Was nice to hear her view on it and on India, shared some stories, was a good laugh.
Arrived ON TIME to Jaipur by train! Amazing. By sleeper class too! Yeah got well into slumming it again, felt good. Met 2 New Zealand couples at the hotel who were really cool - nice to hear some familiar slang! Drank lots of chai and bought some kites for the kite festival and walked around the bazaars with one of the guys who was in SHORTS! Everyone is in blankets here so anything non-warm looks so crazy and out of place. That evening sat up chatting with the Kiwis, an Aussie couple from Darwin (well, the girl was French), and an American fashion designer and her Indian business partner. Was a good group and by this point I was feeling much better about everything!! Rich and Noelle's train was hell late at this point, but my room had a tv (living it up!) so I watched bad movies til they arrived at 2.45am, poor things..
THE KITE FESTIVAL WAS AWESOME.
The sky was FILLED with squares of colour, and we met a group of guys who let us fly all their kites and we broke so many!! But they were a good laugh and we all enjoyed it so much, was such a childish thing but yeah, so completely innocent and enjoyable!! I think at one point I even cut down someone else's kite, champion!
Went to the Raj Mandir cinema to see 3 Idiots that night - great atmosphere, everyone cheering when the actors came on and singing along! Have those songs stuck in my head now! Shelled out for "box seats" so had private lounge during the interval, the guy even gave us our popcorn personally during the beginning of the movie because we were late to ask for it! Didn't cost more than $5 each. Good stuff.
Going to quickly gloss over the shambles that was my last 2 days though. Noelle left for Delhi at about 8am, while Rich and I had different trains to Varanasi at about 3pm. I saw him get on his, then found out mine was canceled. No one could help me book trains to get in that direction, so booked a bus online at an internet cafe, then realised it was to a wrong place on the other side of the country.. but had a guy at the bus station take pity on me and he bought me a ticket to Delhi leaving at 11pm that night, motorbiked me (with my backpack on my back! Extreme!!) to the bus, sat me on my seat(after removing some other guy with no ticket), and sorted my ticket out with the manager of the bus so all I had to do was fall asleep and wake up in Delhi. Was good to be back there at 6am.. calmed me down to be back somewhere I knew! Got a decent auto to Siri Fort and booked a train to Varanasi from Delhi that morning. Left at 8pm to arrive at 7.30am, but ended up on the train til 6pm... yay fog!
BUT.
I am here in Varanasi now, with a good room right next to the body burnings (wooo!). Found a great cafe and had good dinner last night and a beer which I was absolutely in need of, even though it cost 3x the amount of the food!! Went back there for breakie too and filled up on that. In the words of 3 Idiots - "ALL IS WELL!"
Rebooked to go back to Delhi tomorrow night on Rich's train. Sleeper class but he is in 3AC so may move after my ticket has been checked. So foggy here!
Feel like my trip is coming to its last stages which is a bit sad, I'm still getting into the crazy system here and enjoying even the worst parts - it's just so intense you can't help but go with it and laugh about it the next day!
But saying that, am looking forward to clean clothes and a decent shower!!
Left Jodhpur at 9am to find a government bus to Udaipur as my hotel owner did not want to help me book a private bus ("No you must stay in Jodhpur and book a tour you have to stay more days.."). Even though no one at the bus station or on the bus spoke any English at all, I managed to get the best seat (seat #1) and have a nice woman next to me who gave me some crisps half way through the journey because I saved her seat at one of the stops. Was a local bus, which the guidebooks really don't recommend, but it was pretty awesome seeing all the villages first in the desert around Jodhpur then in the mountains through to Udaipur, very very beautiful was so good to see mountains and monkeys again! Think it was a much better view of Indian village life than the crazy desert safari ("one rupee one rupee!"). Saw one woman carrying an axe on her head while her daughters carried a million branches on theirs.
My dorm in Udaipur was amazing - right on the lake with an AMAZING rooftop view. Arrived 15mins before sunset and watched it drop over the mountains reflected in the lake.. really really beautiful place. My dorm bed was SO COMFORTABLE and even had a curtain for privacy! More privacy than that shared rooftop bathroom in Jodhpur.. ahh good times! On my birthday I woke up early and took a stroll around the city while the locals were setting up shop and the tourists were still in bed. I booked a cooking class for the next day and sat on a big carved rock and chilled by the lake for a bit. Had a man come up and start chatting to me who was pretty decent. After we talked about what I was doing in Delhi we talked about the education system there in Rajasthan and poverty and begging and then family and his family - had a daughter my age also doing Commerce! He had a cafe next to us so brought us out some chai and talked until people started arriving for breakfast and I walked back to the guesthouse, but a good way to start the day - always find it so interesting to hear other perspectives on this country because everything is so different, and it's so much more genuine to hear from a man like that than a tour guide!!
On my way to city palace I got distracted by some of the silk paintings Udaipur is famous for, and ended up in one shop for a good hour chatting to the owner about his family and the tradition and had more and more chai.. met a couple from Melbourne who just got married in India (originally from Punjab) and they were cool bought some nice paintings themselves. Walked out buying far more than planned but they're so pretty and I did enjoy the chai!!
After a good ayvedic (sp??) massage across the road from the guesthouse I finally got to city palace which was absolutely amazing - the views from the windows over the lake and the city the other side were just breathtaking - especially at that time of day when the sun was getting lower and casting this beautiful light, I just spent so long sitting by the windows taking it in and relaxing after my first week of travel!
My cooking class the next day was fantastic - was with these 2 other English girls from London who were in India for 3 or 4 weeks, and they were so funny they had so much planned it was insane! We were in this woman's kitchen and she showed us many many things and then we got to eat it all - best ever! Am looking forward to cooking it all back at home, was just good food!
Met a Canadian girl that morning and planned to meet up with her in the arvo to go to this park north of the city and chill there. She's traveling alone too and has been for a month or 2 before me, and still has ages to go all over the world. Was nice to hear her view on it and on India, shared some stories, was a good laugh.
Arrived ON TIME to Jaipur by train! Amazing. By sleeper class too! Yeah got well into slumming it again, felt good. Met 2 New Zealand couples at the hotel who were really cool - nice to hear some familiar slang! Drank lots of chai and bought some kites for the kite festival and walked around the bazaars with one of the guys who was in SHORTS! Everyone is in blankets here so anything non-warm looks so crazy and out of place. That evening sat up chatting with the Kiwis, an Aussie couple from Darwin (well, the girl was French), and an American fashion designer and her Indian business partner. Was a good group and by this point I was feeling much better about everything!! Rich and Noelle's train was hell late at this point, but my room had a tv (living it up!) so I watched bad movies til they arrived at 2.45am, poor things..
THE KITE FESTIVAL WAS AWESOME.
The sky was FILLED with squares of colour, and we met a group of guys who let us fly all their kites and we broke so many!! But they were a good laugh and we all enjoyed it so much, was such a childish thing but yeah, so completely innocent and enjoyable!! I think at one point I even cut down someone else's kite, champion!
Went to the Raj Mandir cinema to see 3 Idiots that night - great atmosphere, everyone cheering when the actors came on and singing along! Have those songs stuck in my head now! Shelled out for "box seats" so had private lounge during the interval, the guy even gave us our popcorn personally during the beginning of the movie because we were late to ask for it! Didn't cost more than $5 each. Good stuff.
Going to quickly gloss over the shambles that was my last 2 days though. Noelle left for Delhi at about 8am, while Rich and I had different trains to Varanasi at about 3pm. I saw him get on his, then found out mine was canceled. No one could help me book trains to get in that direction, so booked a bus online at an internet cafe, then realised it was to a wrong place on the other side of the country.. but had a guy at the bus station take pity on me and he bought me a ticket to Delhi leaving at 11pm that night, motorbiked me (with my backpack on my back! Extreme!!) to the bus, sat me on my seat(after removing some other guy with no ticket), and sorted my ticket out with the manager of the bus so all I had to do was fall asleep and wake up in Delhi. Was good to be back there at 6am.. calmed me down to be back somewhere I knew! Got a decent auto to Siri Fort and booked a train to Varanasi from Delhi that morning. Left at 8pm to arrive at 7.30am, but ended up on the train til 6pm... yay fog!
BUT.
I am here in Varanasi now, with a good room right next to the body burnings (wooo!). Found a great cafe and had good dinner last night and a beer which I was absolutely in need of, even though it cost 3x the amount of the food!! Went back there for breakie too and filled up on that. In the words of 3 Idiots - "ALL IS WELL!"
Rebooked to go back to Delhi tomorrow night on Rich's train. Sleeper class but he is in 3AC so may move after my ticket has been checked. So foggy here!
Feel like my trip is coming to its last stages which is a bit sad, I'm still getting into the crazy system here and enjoying even the worst parts - it's just so intense you can't help but go with it and laugh about it the next day!
But saying that, am looking forward to clean clothes and a decent shower!!
Friday, January 8, 2010
Camels, motorbikes and trains..
So much since last time I wrote here..
Camel safari for 3 days in Jaisalmer, just me and my guide Babu who was an amazing cook and made me chai about 8 times a day. At first was pretty awesome running with the camel and then getting completely away from everything and watching the sun go down and the stars come out.. but then I think some intense loneliness set in. I feel like I decided to do a big travel like this and come to India when I wasn't too happy with some things in my life at home, and when people asked me why India I remember replying that I just wanted to get lost somewhere totally different. Well, I did. And all I could think about that first night when I was sitting under millions and millions of stars was how much I miss everything at home. Sort of feel like I had spent so much time looking to the future in preparing for this trip, sorting out my work for when I get back, finishing off and moving on from uni that I hadn't really stopped to appreciate all the positive changes in my life in the last year. And all wanted to do was call someone at home and tell them that I missed them but for once I had no reception in the desert!
Rest of the safari was quite chilled, just rode to random villages and sat with the people there who made me chai from fresh goats and fresh sheeps milk. Still felt really mellow though, so was glad when I got back to Jaisalmer, although the city is so tiny it just made me miss being back in Delhi and all in all I was one big homesick mess!
I booked a train to go back to Delhi later in the month rather than spend the 2 days in the mountains which I think is much better - I'm glad I'm going back to see people and I think I am learning that solo travel, while I'm still meeting lots of people, is really not for me!
Had to take a sleeper class train to Jodhpur which was crazy cold, arrived at 1am as delayed, and my rickshaw driver walked with me up to my hotel and waited until they woke up inside to let me in, it was really sweet and it did make me feel a lot better. Inside the owners made me some chai to warm me up, and showed me to my lovely room with lovely bed made of wood (so looking forward to my bed at home!! SO MUCH!!).
Today I wandered the streets randomly, walked up to the fort through some backstreets, and back down some other way.. didn't go in. CBF. I guess that's a plus of solo travel, no guilt at missing some things! The view was cool from where I was though but walking through another fort.. no thanks..
Going to book my ticket to Ranakpur now which is a couple of hours from Udaipur where I had originally planned to go, but think 2.5 days there will bore me.. plan to stay overnight in the Jain temple, hoping it'll be like the Sikh ashram in Amritsar which was so crazy awesome.
Counting down the days til I get to Jaipur and Rich and Noelle come meet me - only 5 days now! Although this morning I planned to have dinner with the guy across the hall from me on his last night here so we both have something to do - he's having the same homesickness/boredom feelings as I was getting in Jaisalmer and it's really good to hear that someone is going through the same thing as I am!
Anyway my time is about to run out (internet-wise), so love to all at home :)
Camel safari for 3 days in Jaisalmer, just me and my guide Babu who was an amazing cook and made me chai about 8 times a day. At first was pretty awesome running with the camel and then getting completely away from everything and watching the sun go down and the stars come out.. but then I think some intense loneliness set in. I feel like I decided to do a big travel like this and come to India when I wasn't too happy with some things in my life at home, and when people asked me why India I remember replying that I just wanted to get lost somewhere totally different. Well, I did. And all I could think about that first night when I was sitting under millions and millions of stars was how much I miss everything at home. Sort of feel like I had spent so much time looking to the future in preparing for this trip, sorting out my work for when I get back, finishing off and moving on from uni that I hadn't really stopped to appreciate all the positive changes in my life in the last year. And all wanted to do was call someone at home and tell them that I missed them but for once I had no reception in the desert!
Rest of the safari was quite chilled, just rode to random villages and sat with the people there who made me chai from fresh goats and fresh sheeps milk. Still felt really mellow though, so was glad when I got back to Jaisalmer, although the city is so tiny it just made me miss being back in Delhi and all in all I was one big homesick mess!
I booked a train to go back to Delhi later in the month rather than spend the 2 days in the mountains which I think is much better - I'm glad I'm going back to see people and I think I am learning that solo travel, while I'm still meeting lots of people, is really not for me!
Had to take a sleeper class train to Jodhpur which was crazy cold, arrived at 1am as delayed, and my rickshaw driver walked with me up to my hotel and waited until they woke up inside to let me in, it was really sweet and it did make me feel a lot better. Inside the owners made me some chai to warm me up, and showed me to my lovely room with lovely bed made of wood (so looking forward to my bed at home!! SO MUCH!!).
Today I wandered the streets randomly, walked up to the fort through some backstreets, and back down some other way.. didn't go in. CBF. I guess that's a plus of solo travel, no guilt at missing some things! The view was cool from where I was though but walking through another fort.. no thanks..
Going to book my ticket to Ranakpur now which is a couple of hours from Udaipur where I had originally planned to go, but think 2.5 days there will bore me.. plan to stay overnight in the Jain temple, hoping it'll be like the Sikh ashram in Amritsar which was so crazy awesome.
Counting down the days til I get to Jaipur and Rich and Noelle come meet me - only 5 days now! Although this morning I planned to have dinner with the guy across the hall from me on his last night here so we both have something to do - he's having the same homesickness/boredom feelings as I was getting in Jaisalmer and it's really good to hear that someone is going through the same thing as I am!
Anyway my time is about to run out (internet-wise), so love to all at home :)
Sunday, January 3, 2010
Just my luck
Last day in Delhi, before I have to get an 18hr train, and I feel sick. I have managed to avoid any sort of sickness lasting more than an hour or so until now, it is completely not fair. I think it may be because I bragged too much about my good health until now. Damn damn damn.
Train journey will not be fun.
My bag so far seems to fit everything.... although am leaving behind an outfit that just would be impossible to pack, and I wouldn't be taking it back to Aus anyway. Luckily Noelle is meeting me in Jaipur so she has offered to bring up a few random things I can't fit in now but might be able to once I've done 2 more weeks of travel.
Rich is also coming to Jaipur for the kite festival, and it'll be really good to see some familiar faces and watch some kite fighting! I've managed to persuade him too to come with me to Varanasi so we can chill by the ghats for a few days and be spiritual etc.
Had an invite from a couple of Indians at Dave's work for dinner, and now plans have changed to revisit Punjab (via Mussoorie which'll be amazing!) rather than doing Bhopal, then flying down to Mumbai to save a 40hr train journey.. am looking forward to some excellent Punjabi food!! Plus managed to squeeze in a second short visit to Amritsar in the morning which I'm so excited about :)
New Years was pretty cool here - spent the first part at SBT watching the boys set up for their party, and had some delicious food and chai while they danced to Bollywood songs all around us. They were so good it was insane - so good and so confident with it all!! Have a video but my camera is being crap so maybe try to post some other time. Went out with the other volunteers after, had a good midnight with tiger ears (year of the tiger!) and party poppers! Managed to dink on a motorbike which was awesome, and fit 7 people in an auto. Go team.
Had my last day there yesterday which was a bit sad. It's a shame to leave Afzal - was really enjoying working with him. Had the Atlas out a few days ago and he loved it, I don't think he's ever seen what countries look like before, was surprised England was so small and Australia so big!! Learned about country and state borders too, and it was a good lesson, ended up going on too long so I was late to my next class but it's all good - no concept of time in India!
Some of the boys at Apna Ghar made me a card wishing me a happy new year, happy birthday, and happy journey. It was so sweet, filled with messages from them and for the first time here really did not know what to say because my Hindi is so limited and even in English I was speechless. It was very very lovely and I'm really going to miss them all there.
I have so much I want to write about for the past week but all I'm really thinking about today is how much I'm going to miss this place - the kids I've been working with, the other volunteers, and crazy Delhi, which I have completely fallen in love with regardless of the touts and beggars and random oxes and camels! There is something about this city that is so alive and engaging I am already desperate to return.
Train journey will not be fun.
My bag so far seems to fit everything.... although am leaving behind an outfit that just would be impossible to pack, and I wouldn't be taking it back to Aus anyway. Luckily Noelle is meeting me in Jaipur so she has offered to bring up a few random things I can't fit in now but might be able to once I've done 2 more weeks of travel.
Rich is also coming to Jaipur for the kite festival, and it'll be really good to see some familiar faces and watch some kite fighting! I've managed to persuade him too to come with me to Varanasi so we can chill by the ghats for a few days and be spiritual etc.
Had an invite from a couple of Indians at Dave's work for dinner, and now plans have changed to revisit Punjab (via Mussoorie which'll be amazing!) rather than doing Bhopal, then flying down to Mumbai to save a 40hr train journey.. am looking forward to some excellent Punjabi food!! Plus managed to squeeze in a second short visit to Amritsar in the morning which I'm so excited about :)
New Years was pretty cool here - spent the first part at SBT watching the boys set up for their party, and had some delicious food and chai while they danced to Bollywood songs all around us. They were so good it was insane - so good and so confident with it all!! Have a video but my camera is being crap so maybe try to post some other time. Went out with the other volunteers after, had a good midnight with tiger ears (year of the tiger!) and party poppers! Managed to dink on a motorbike which was awesome, and fit 7 people in an auto. Go team.
Had my last day there yesterday which was a bit sad. It's a shame to leave Afzal - was really enjoying working with him. Had the Atlas out a few days ago and he loved it, I don't think he's ever seen what countries look like before, was surprised England was so small and Australia so big!! Learned about country and state borders too, and it was a good lesson, ended up going on too long so I was late to my next class but it's all good - no concept of time in India!
Some of the boys at Apna Ghar made me a card wishing me a happy new year, happy birthday, and happy journey. It was so sweet, filled with messages from them and for the first time here really did not know what to say because my Hindi is so limited and even in English I was speechless. It was very very lovely and I'm really going to miss them all there.
I have so much I want to write about for the past week but all I'm really thinking about today is how much I'm going to miss this place - the kids I've been working with, the other volunteers, and crazy Delhi, which I have completely fallen in love with regardless of the touts and beggars and random oxes and camels! There is something about this city that is so alive and engaging I am already desperate to return.
Monday, December 28, 2009
Cricket and buses
Christmas Day was a bit uneventful - went into work and played UNO and watched a bit of a movie, then went out to dinner down the road with the other volunteers. Secret Santa was pretty cute though, had a tiny tree for our gifts and I got popcorn (which I ate yesterday with Simone watching Entourage and drinking beer.. lovely Sunday night!) and a few travelly things. Was nice to have a gift to open on the day, even if it was wrapped in a plastic bag!
Yesterday Rich, Noelle, Tom, Vijay (Rich's random friend from the first match), the boy Noelle tutors at SBT, Rajiv's son and his friend and I all went to the cricket - India vs Sri Lanka! It was a few of us' first cricket match live so we were half excited half expecting it to be boring after an hour or so. But it started well, and the crowd was cool and we all had samosas for breakie. Noelle and I got felt up extremely by the female security guard to get in. Can't understand why females need such INTENSE gropage while men just walk in without the lightest of pat downs.. Was only wearing trousers and a hoodie, same as every other bloke there!!
But anyway. Play got cancelled due to poor pitch conditions but there was no official notice about it. Crowd got messy. Remember at one point seeing 4 plastic chairs, joined together, falling from the tier above us onto the pitch. We were all standing at the back under the tier so we wouldn't get hit by anything else falling down - saw some people running to the stairs have one of the banners fall on them. This site has pretty good photos - http://www.skysports.com/cricket/match_report/0,19822,11066_84177,00.html - we are actually in the last one, you can see Rich's and Vijay's hats (and also their bodies.. but we recognised them through hats!!)
Today I left work after lunch as Afzal didn't want class (we had class on Fri and Sat so 2 days off for weekend seemed fair enough..), and decided to get the bus home to save me Rs70 and it's generally quite quick. However no bus came. Neither of the buses Noelle had pointed out to me arrived at the bus stop. And I waited half an hour. Normally you only have to wait 5mins for the millions of buses to show up. So I hopped on the metro to the stop next to the bus stop where we caught a bus home no Sunday. No luck there either after half an hour.. So I randomly jumped on one and decided to get off when it veered off the path - praising my sense of direction! But as luck would have it, the bus was so packed I didn't have to pay, and it arrived directly outside the house! And sure for 80% of the journey someone was touching my bum, but it did make a nice change to the beggars and sellers that attack every rickshaw I get into at every stop on the way home. I did not hear a "mam?" once!
Now it's 4pm and I was supposed to be back by 2pm to call up some hostels, and my phone is out of battery and I am hell tired, but it's all good. I will see how my Hindi is trying to book these places... wish me luck!
Thursday, December 24, 2009
Christmas at Salaam Baalak
Christmas at Salaam Balaak was intense. The decorations were so colourful and over the top that it didn't really feel like Christmas at all, more like an Indian wedding!! Our kids at Apna Ghar performed first (in the first video) with their songs - we are quite sick of hearing Jingle Bells and In The Jungle (Xmas song??)! A few boys did some amazing hip hop/breakdance routine at the end but my camera died so I couldn't even get a photo! Very upset, they were so good with headstands and everything! Afterwards an Indian Santa came in to give all the children choccie and lollies, they all went a bit insane trying to reach them it was half cute half scary..
Today Priya gave us chocolate truffles as a treat with breakfast and they were so yummy.. Or "swad" as they would say here. Off to work today, might try to teach them the 12 days of Christmas - will see how that goes! Have got Afzal in the afternoon, we conquered the letter "I" the other day, so proud! Printed him off a sheet with a picture of an ice cream and letter Is all around it and so now he goes "A B C D E F G H Ice cream... nahin.. I!" Although still struggling with any number after 4!
We are going out to dinner tonight just down the road and will exchange our Secret Santa gifts between the volunteers.
On Wednesday I bought a necklace for Rs15 and it's really pretty and I'm wearing it today. Tend to be quite tight with my cash as I can't buy much due to backpack size, but one necklace is okay! I have pretty much all my gifts for home now too, and sending them off tomorrow so I don't have to carry them around travelling with me. Hopefully shouldn't be too expensive and should actually arrive!!
I'm a bit sad that I only have one week left here - having so much fun with the other volunteers and always enjoy our crazy crazy placement. Although am looking forward to travelling soon - camel treks and ancient ruins here I come!
Merry Christmas everyone!
Sunday, December 20, 2009
Amritsar
Quickly:
Placement is still lovely.
One of the boys has told me he is coming to Australia to marry me and wrote "Nishant love Any" on my arm.
They call me "Any"
"Any Problem?" Hahahahahaha.. Hm..
I asked Jessie, the volunteer coordinator at SBT for some more work and now I'm tutoring one of the boys at another shelter in English one on one. He's 18 and an assistant and I don't think he can even write or read Hindi very well - only got picked up at 14 to go to the shelter.
He's so willing to learn though, and we're getting through the alphabet well and can arrange the next time to meet without much problem!
He gets so confused at I and G.
But when I read out letters for him to write down and it spelled 'I am Afzal" he seemed so proud because he can understand and say a couple of phrases like that and yeah basically this kid is so lovely and smiley and even when we can't communicate (I still only really know numbers and NO!) we seem to do okay!
It was Noelle's bday on Friday so after EGGS AND JUICE FOR BREAKFAST (AMAZING) she bought sweets for all the boys and they sang to her and danced with her all morning, it was awesome. So many great photos!! They love her so much it's crazy you can tell after the couple of months she's been there how much difference she's made to the day to day lives of these boys, they just light up when she's around it's so good to see!
Thursday is a big Xmas eve thing there, big party, can't wait! The boys are all performing songs and dances and plays it'll be cool. Bringing cake!
ANYWAY
AMRITSAR
High amounts of effort in getting train tickets but finally made it up with Rich, Simone and Tom and (somehow, without a mobile) met Mel up there. We got fed nicely on the express train there,lots of mango in juice and icecream, yummmmy!
Stayed 2 nights in an ashram which is totally free (still donated, as unbelievable how much we got for free..), and the beds were alright, although so loud - so much shouting and chanting all night long. Second night was easier than the first!! There was another guy, Julian, in our room. Had done SE Asia and was from California, he was pertty chilled we all went out for lunch on Saturday and taught him some names of food in Hindi so he could know what he was ordering.
Went to the temple at sunrise and again at night. Cannot begin to describe how beautiful it was and the atmosphere of it. Absolutely the most amazing place I have been to in India so far. It was opposite the ashram so as soon as you walk outside you see this golden temple hovering on a pool of navy water it's just beautiful. The inside is even more impressive, so much detail - scripture written on the walls in golden paint and people of all ages sitting and reading scripture and men downstairs singing and playing music it was so calm. When Rich, Mel and I went back in the evening we just stood on the inside balcony and watched them for ages, it was mesmerizing absolutely beyond anything I could have imagined, I can't wait to go back!!
The atomsphere was so peaceful and you just felt like you were accepted there unlike a lot of other places we've been, for being tourists. We ate breakfast and dinner at the community hall which is a free kitchen between the ashram and temple entrance. You get a place, bowl and spoon, then sit on mats in a massive hall in lines and people cmoe round with buckets of food (noodles or rice and veg and dal plus chipatti) and you can just keep aksing for more if you are still hungry I could not believe how delicious the food was, all hot and freshly made, and so much of it! The system was so efficient too - volunteers were cutting veggies everywhere and massive pots to cook it all, then more volunteers washing up all the plates. Apparently they serve between 10-20 thousand people a day, which is just insane.
DID NOT GET SICK AT ALL.
I think for the first day in India!
My tummy is in love with Sikh kindness and generousity.
I bought a tiny incense burner which is adorable for the room back in Delhi and will pick up incense for it between my placements tomorrow as there is a shop in Main Bazaar I always pass that I am curious about.
And 3AC back on the train was quite okay. It's how I'm doing my longest trip so I'm happy :)
But yes overall I am 100% recommending Amritsar to ANYONE going to India.
Plus!
There were 2 shops next to the Ashram, one with Rs10 coffee and one with Rs5 mango smoothie juice stuff. Delicious! We made full use of both. Could have spent money only on going to and from the railway station if needed to, but a few rupees on drinks is not very much!! Plus yes like I said a couple of us donated money as we left and in the community kitchen, as when you can both see and experience where that money is going you can't help but give so they can continue giving such good service to everyone who passes through.
Yay :)
Placement is still lovely.
One of the boys has told me he is coming to Australia to marry me and wrote "Nishant love Any" on my arm.
They call me "Any"
"Any Problem?" Hahahahahaha.. Hm..
I asked Jessie, the volunteer coordinator at SBT for some more work and now I'm tutoring one of the boys at another shelter in English one on one. He's 18 and an assistant and I don't think he can even write or read Hindi very well - only got picked up at 14 to go to the shelter.
He's so willing to learn though, and we're getting through the alphabet well and can arrange the next time to meet without much problem!
He gets so confused at I and G.
But when I read out letters for him to write down and it spelled 'I am Afzal" he seemed so proud because he can understand and say a couple of phrases like that and yeah basically this kid is so lovely and smiley and even when we can't communicate (I still only really know numbers and NO!) we seem to do okay!
It was Noelle's bday on Friday so after EGGS AND JUICE FOR BREAKFAST (AMAZING) she bought sweets for all the boys and they sang to her and danced with her all morning, it was awesome. So many great photos!! They love her so much it's crazy you can tell after the couple of months she's been there how much difference she's made to the day to day lives of these boys, they just light up when she's around it's so good to see!
Thursday is a big Xmas eve thing there, big party, can't wait! The boys are all performing songs and dances and plays it'll be cool. Bringing cake!
ANYWAY
AMRITSAR
High amounts of effort in getting train tickets but finally made it up with Rich, Simone and Tom and (somehow, without a mobile) met Mel up there. We got fed nicely on the express train there,lots of mango in juice and icecream, yummmmy!
Stayed 2 nights in an ashram which is totally free (still donated, as unbelievable how much we got for free..), and the beds were alright, although so loud - so much shouting and chanting all night long. Second night was easier than the first!! There was another guy, Julian, in our room. Had done SE Asia and was from California, he was pertty chilled we all went out for lunch on Saturday and taught him some names of food in Hindi so he could know what he was ordering.
Went to the temple at sunrise and again at night. Cannot begin to describe how beautiful it was and the atmosphere of it. Absolutely the most amazing place I have been to in India so far. It was opposite the ashram so as soon as you walk outside you see this golden temple hovering on a pool of navy water it's just beautiful. The inside is even more impressive, so much detail - scripture written on the walls in golden paint and people of all ages sitting and reading scripture and men downstairs singing and playing music it was so calm. When Rich, Mel and I went back in the evening we just stood on the inside balcony and watched them for ages, it was mesmerizing absolutely beyond anything I could have imagined, I can't wait to go back!!
The atomsphere was so peaceful and you just felt like you were accepted there unlike a lot of other places we've been, for being tourists. We ate breakfast and dinner at the community hall which is a free kitchen between the ashram and temple entrance. You get a place, bowl and spoon, then sit on mats in a massive hall in lines and people cmoe round with buckets of food (noodles or rice and veg and dal plus chipatti) and you can just keep aksing for more if you are still hungry I could not believe how delicious the food was, all hot and freshly made, and so much of it! The system was so efficient too - volunteers were cutting veggies everywhere and massive pots to cook it all, then more volunteers washing up all the plates. Apparently they serve between 10-20 thousand people a day, which is just insane.
DID NOT GET SICK AT ALL.
I think for the first day in India!
My tummy is in love with Sikh kindness and generousity.
I bought a tiny incense burner which is adorable for the room back in Delhi and will pick up incense for it between my placements tomorrow as there is a shop in Main Bazaar I always pass that I am curious about.
And 3AC back on the train was quite okay. It's how I'm doing my longest trip so I'm happy :)
But yes overall I am 100% recommending Amritsar to ANYONE going to India.
Plus!
There were 2 shops next to the Ashram, one with Rs10 coffee and one with Rs5 mango smoothie juice stuff. Delicious! We made full use of both. Could have spent money only on going to and from the railway station if needed to, but a few rupees on drinks is not very much!! Plus yes like I said a couple of us donated money as we left and in the community kitchen, as when you can both see and experience where that money is going you can't help but give so they can continue giving such good service to everyone who passes through.
Yay :)
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