20 October, 2004 - India Trip
Dear All,
Introduction:
So just a little warning, this is probably going to be the longest message I’ve ever written in my life. I was considering writing it in sections, but decided against it because of copyright laws(?). Instead I will break down the email into segments for ease of reading if in fact anyone actually decides to read this in its entirety. I recommend printing it out and perhaps setting it in the restroom as reading material. The following is a synopsis of my 18-day trip around India. Please pace yourself and enjoy.
Body:
Preparty:
So the day before leaving I decided to get a haircut as my curly locks were causing a little civil unrest in Delhi. I thought I would try a different location to get my trim on and I ended up walking around the corner from my apartment to a local place. The gentlemen actually did a fantastic job and the price was 25 rupees, or roughly 50 cents. If you someday decide to come to India, I recommend growing your hair out first so you can indulge yourself once here. Cleanly groomed, I was ready to begin packing. I was excited to finally make use of my new backpack I purchased for this and other trips both within India and around the world. I ended up getting everything in with plenty of space to purchase gifts once traveling. I was up till two or three in the morning packing and had to wake up the next morning at five to make our flight.
30 September: Bombay
So after getting very little sleep, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone alarm and took a shower and shaved. Just to warn many of you, I decided to grow out a mustache recently. Most of the men here in India sport the “justache”, which is just a mustache. Knowing that the only two men within recent history to look good with the “justache” have been Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck, I decided to accompany mine with a goatee. Luckily my mustache is not evident in most of the pictures, but know that I can curl my mustache up on the sides and will do so until I decide to shave it, which will be very soon. Anywho, after some last minute packing, I was on my way, leaving Delhi for almost three weeks. We had a Qualis (basically the sport utility vehicle in India) pick us all up early and made it to the airport in time for our flight. We watched the news at the airport and the six of us boarded our flight and were on our way. Reading a paper in the airport, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Conan O’Brian will be taking over for Jay Leno in 2009. I immediately began a mental countdown in my head and I think the gentleman next to me could tell because he was looking at me funny. The flight was on Air Deccan, one of the newer airlines in India, and it was smooth as silk. My mother recently sent me some traveling items including and inflatable travel pillow that goes around the neck as well as a satin shade for the eyes for sleeping during the day. The thing about my eyeshade is that it is a lovely lavender color. This provided much comical relief to many fellow students as well as well as to many locals. I showed them all by sleeping soundly and darkly. We landed in Bombay about midday and the taxi ride to the hotel was glorious because it was my first view of the ocean (actually the Arabian Sea) in four months. It felt so incredible to finally be released from the landlockedness (not a real word) that has become my life in Delhi. Bombay was actually a really cool city. People dressed very Western (not like Western like Dirty Hairy, although that would have been funny, but Western like western cultures), and the architecture was very impressive. Bombay looked like a combination of Chicago, London and San Francisco. Their menus featured beef and their streets were filled with vendors. We came very close to being in a Bollywood movie because someone approached an East-Asian friend of ours and asked him to get some friends together to be extras in a movie. I was excited to finally get my big break into Bollywood after all these years, but it proved unsuccessful because the timing did not work out. This was also the fateful day that we decided to alter our travel plans. We really wanted to go to the Lakshadweep Islands but couldn’t find any booking information, so we were in a bookstore looking around when we came across a Lonely Planet book on the Maldives. Myself and two other friends decided together that if the three of us bought the book, we would commit to going to the Maldives. We walked out of the bookstore with the Maldives book in our hands and paradise on our minds. That night about seven or eight of us all had dinner at a place that specialized in Pav Bhaji. It was very tasty and we followed it up with some fresh paan. We also bought some new swimming trunks on the way home in preparation for Goa and the Maldives. We wanted to check out the nightlife in Bombay, so we went to a couple different clubs. We started out at a place called Polly Esthers. We showed up there and they told us that we wouldn’t want to come in. We were a little confused and asked them why not and they told us because there wasn’t a single person in there. They gave us directions to another club and we appreciated their honesty and took some free mints and were on our way. We went to another club called Red Light, which was also empty, but ended up having a good time. After we went back to Polly Esther’s and walked in and it was pretty lively. Judging from the mid-eighties music they were playing, the largely male crowd, and the flamboyancy of said crowd, I think we might have gone on an “alternative” night, but it’s a little hard to tell in India. I guess Thursday night is kind of an off night for clubbing in Bombay, but Wednesday is big along with Friday and Saturday. We left there hungry and a little curious at around two in the morning. We were all in the mood for mozzarella sticks and grand slam breakfasts, but then realized that we were still in India and that they don’t have Denny’s. To satisfy our hunger cravings, we decided to go to the next closest thing, the 5 Star Taj Mahal Hotel. It was pretty much the only thing open, so we decided to indulge ourselves. I had some tasty eggs and took some pictures of the nice bathroom. We left at four in the morning and because we had girls with us, were literally followed home by a group of teenagers numbering about forty to fifty. It was not a comfortable situation, but luckily other than having vulgarities yelled at us, we made it back to the hotel without incident.
1 October - Bombay-Goa
After the previous late night we had to awaken very early to get everything done. We had breakfast at a charming café and spent the day in Bombay roaming around. We booked our air tickets to the Maldives and took a boat to a place called Elephante Island. Elephante Island is basically and island with old temples carved out of caves. It was very interesting, but I’d seen so many temples by this point, that I was more excited about the ballyhoo the monkeys exhibited and the amazing corn I ate than the actual temples. I also had peanut brittle. After the island we journeyed back to our hotel and went shopping. I picked up some presents for people, some books and some DVDs. Then we showered at a friend’s hotel and took a taxi to the train station. Our train was to leave at 11pm that night and somehow we ended up arriving with only ten minutes to spare. It was at this point that we realized we were at the wrong station. We couldn’t miss our train because it was an overnight train taking us to Goa. We talked to the station manager and he told us that if we hurried, we could hop on a local train and try and meet our train at a different station. So we bought tickets for the local train and as we briskly made our way to the correct platform, there was an incident. I didn’t realize it at the time, but apparently I had an invisible target on me that encouraged birds to poo on me. A hefty amount of poo landed on my shoulder and although I didn’t have time to interrogate the perpetrator, I suspect it was intentional. We jumped on the local train and after a few stops jumped off and ran to our train. Luckily our train was running late and was just leaving. We ran to the platform and had to jump onto our train as it was moving. Relieved, we found our seats and set up our beds. Sleeping on a train in India isn’t the greatest, but it is manageable. Our train ended up running four hours late. We didn’t know it at the time, but apparently a few weeks before, on the same track going to the same place, a train had derailed and hundreds of people died. For this reason they were being extra cautious with our train, causing the delay. I didn’t mind as I was just getting into my new Sidney Sheldon novel.
2-5 October - Goa
When we awoke the next morning we met a gentleman on the train who was from the United Arab Emirates. He was very nice and told us to get off a stop early because of where in Goa our destination was. We took a taxi from the train to our hotel in Baga beach. It was a quaint little room that was 2 minutes from the beach. It was pretty clean other than the occasional ant or frog. We checked in and had lunch on the beach. I had a pineapple shake and shark. It was the first time I ever ate shark and although it was tasty, I think I prefer fish. After I changed and walked on the beach and took pictures and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life. It was absolutely gorgeous.
GOA SUNSET Along with the amazing sunset, we were treated to a rainbow and a cow fight on the beach. Yes, in India there are cows even on the beach. That night we had a really nice dinner and I had Tandoori Kingfish that had been caught that day. It was one of the tastiest fish dishes I have ever consumed. After we went for dessert at a place called Café Coffee Day. 
Z AND KINGFISH
The next day we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We hired a taxi and explored North Goa. We went to Old Goa and Panjim. When we got back, we rented scooters from a place next to the beach. My friend and I went on a long ride and rode to a lighthouse. It was beautiful and there is a scene from Dil Chahta Hai that was filmed there. We went shopping and ended up getting soaked on our scooters as rain poured down. We walked on the beach in the rain and swam in the warm water. That night we decided to try this Thai restaurant we came across while riding our scooters earlier in the day. Me being the klutz that I am, wearing glasses, and having the pouring rain all combined to prove very painful. As I was walking out of our hotel, I somehow managed to walk right into some aluminum (pronounced aah-loo-min-yum) siding. I smashed my face right into the side of it, knocking off my glasses and cutting my cheek slightly. I felt like the champion of the universe. So we got a taxi to take us in the pouring rain to the restaurant. The meal ended up being very tasty, but nothing like back home. It was a fun time and there was even a live guitar and violin player there to serenade and sing to us. We met a couple from New Zealand that had been married 53 years. After dinner we stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins and it was amazing. I ordered two scoops and it was so tasty! I never order two scoops and as you can see since I’ve decided to include it here, it was and still is a very big deal to me. The next day we were leaving North Goa and took a taxi to Palolem in South Goa. We checked into our room and walked on the gorgeous beach. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and even though it tasted nothing like home, it was nice to have Mexican food again. The waiter was very nice and was from Kerala and told us about the place as that was our next destination. It continued to rain, but we continued to swim. The water was nice and warm and I managed to cut my feet pretty badly on some rocks. We went to dinner that night at this really nice Italian restaurant. I had a real salad for the first time in four months because they actually had lettuce there. It was really tasty and along with a pizza and some mentos and chocolate afterwards, I was fairly satisfied although I could still have finished a Big Mac. I was really happy about my appetite being back in a big way. I’m trying to gain back some of the weight I’ve lost, but that probably won’t happen until I get back to the states and pick up where I left off, eating fast food and beef almost daily. The next morning we woke up and were pleasantly surprised by the sun shining. We had breakfast on the beach and rented scooters for the day.
Z ON SCOOTER
A friend of ours had the shortest ride of her life when she ran her scooter into the parked truck five feet in front of her. She caused 800 rupees in damage to the scooter and decided against riding it. Myself along with two others ended up riding around for a few hours and it proved to be one of the best parts of being in Goa. We rode to the post office and found this amazing section of beach. We explored Goa and it was a beautiful place. We even came across a snake. We had lunch on the beach and I went shopping for more presents for people. After shopping I went back to our room and as I opened the door, I yelled, “Candy floss” (the equivalent to cotton candy). To my surprise, a large European fellow was laying on the bed. He was apparently sleeping and I had woken him up. It was then that I realized that I was in the wrong room. A few hours prior, we had shifted our luggage to a different room. I apologized as I quickly left his room and headed to our room. Champion. That night we took another Qualis from Palolem to Margao to catch another train. As I got my backpack out of the back of the car, I burned my calf on the exhaust pipe. It hurt very badly. Our train to Kerala was delayed a little and once we finally got on, it was quite disappointing. It was the dirtiest train I’ve been on. It featured roaches, rats and dirty sheets for us to sleep on.
6-8 October – Kerala
The train ended up being only one and a half hours late, long enough for me to finish reading Sheldon and begin the Da Vinci Code. We arrived in Cochin and took a ferry to Fort Kochi. We met up with a friend of ours and all had dinner together. We then went to a North Indian Classical Violin concert. It was amazing and there were only three other people in the venue. The Kerala Kathakali Centre has live music 365 days a year. We would have loved to have stayed for the next night’s sitar performance, but could not.
Z AND S.INDIAN CLASSICAL GROUP
The next morning we walked around Fort Kochi and explored the quaint area. I did some shopping and checked out the sights and came across one of the cutest puppies of all time. We took a ferry and then a bus to get to Allepy. At Allepy we had lunch at a restaurant and I ordered French toast. It took half and hour and when it came out, it was two pieces of untoasted bread with some bad jam smeared on it. The waiter asked how my stomach was and if I enjoyed the food. I told him that it was the worst French toast I ever had in my life. He did not know how to react. Then we met up with the rest of our group and the eleven of us got onto our houseboat. We had rented a houseboat for a 24-hour cruise down the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboat was nothing like the states, but it was really fun. We coasted down the backwaters and talked and ate and played games. The sunset was beautiful as we dined and laughed.
.
KERALA BACKWATERS
That night was the worst night of sleep I’ve had in my entire life. We slept four to a full size bed. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the extreme heat, lack of fan, and millions of mosquitoes. I slept about one hour that night and was literally bitten 30-50 times. They really feasted on me. We slept under a net, but because there were four of us, there were gaps for the little bastards to get in and then commence their flesh buffet. We had breakfast and I took a cold bucket shower and then we arrived. We took a two-hour bus down to Trivandrum, which is where our flight was to leave the next morning. From Trivandrum we took an auto to Kovalum because we wanted to stay on the beach. Since it was off-season, the three of us were able to stay in a hotel on the beach with a balcony for 300 rupees, roughly 6 dollars. I was really excited about eating fresh seafood again, so we went to another restaurant on the beach and selected some fresh tiger prawns and red snapper. They made a tiger prawn masala and grilled the red snapper in garlic and herbs. It was incredibly tasty and then we went to a German Bakery for dessert. The thing about eating cake in India is this. Most of the cakes we’ve eaten have been egg less and tasteless. At the German Bakery, they put eggs in their cake and the chocolate fudge cake was a delight. I took a walk on the beach at night and apparently at that specific beach, the tide is so strong that each year a handful of people get swept away to sea.
Intermission
OH HELLO
9 – 13 October – Maldive Islands
After waking up early and having waffles with fresh pineapple at the German Bakery, we took a taxi to the airport in Trivandrum. We checked in and I checked my email. Our flight was delayed an hour and surprisingly the airline actually gave us snacks while we waited. This turned out to be a real blessing because during the delay we met a nice man from the Maldives. He was born and raised there and we chatted with him. When we were talking with him, someone from the airline came over and asked us for our tickets. He took them and walked off. We were confused and asked our new friend what was happening. He told us that the gentleman from the airline was an old friend of his. When the gentleman returned with our tickets, he had upgraded us to first class! It was truly a nice way to start off the trip. When we boarded the plane we were immediately given a refreshing warm towel and fresh grape juice. The flight was a mere forty-five minutes and seemed even shorter because we were so comfortable in first class. Even though you’re not supposed to take pictures on airplanes in India, I couldn’t resist taking pictures as the islands magically appeared during the flight. They looked completely surreal and were truly a spectacular sight. The Maldives are a group of about 1200 islands in the Indian Ocean very close to the equator. The population of the islands is less than three hundred thousand and the population is supposedly 100% Sunni Muslim. Each island is basically a resort or uninhabited. You can walk around most islands in less than ten minutes. We landed at the airport and the airport itself is its own island, so a boat must come and pick us up to take us to our island. After getting our passports stamped and retrieving our luggage, we went to the dock to take our boat to the island. We had arranged for the less expensive dhonie (a big slow boat) to take us to the island. For the second time we lucked out as they had brought the speedboat instead. So we took a very fast speedboat ride to our island but only had to pay for the cheaper dhonie ride. When we arrived at Giravaru Island, we were greeted by a gentleman on the dock. He told us our luggage would be taken care of and we were shown inside. They gave us a refreshing towel and a beverage as we filled out our paperwork. We had lunch in the dining room and then surveyed the island on foot. The Republic of Maldives is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to in my life. The water is crystal clear and warm and the sand is white. There are tropical fish everywhere and it is truly spectacular. That evening I read and thought about my life and experiences while watching the sunset. Later on we had dinner buffet style in the dining room. After dinner we were shopping for snorkeling gear because the Maldives are supposed to be one of the best places to snorkel in the world. The shops in the resort were rather expensive. Calling the United States costs $10 a minute and I was tempted, but decided against it. While shopping for snorkeling gear one of the staff found out that I was having problems. The problem is really that my head is so small that a normal size mask wouldn’t fit me. So he said he had a small snorkel and mask that he could sell me. I ended up getting a used kids size snorkel and mask for about a fourth of the price I would have had to pay in the store. It was really nice of the guy and partially solved my problem. After getting the gear we went to sleep while watching some TV for the first time in a very long time. The next morning we woke up and had buffet breakfast and then went on our first excursion. We took a dhonie and stopped off at an uninhabited island and dropped off a large amount of food. Then we went to an island with a village on it. We walked around and saw what village life was like. After we went back to the first island and were amazed as a feast had been prepared for us on the beach. It was a beach bbq with amazing food. Then I went snorkeling for the first time in my life. Apparently my nose is huge and most kids don’t have noses as big as mine, because when I used the snorkel it literally felt like I had broken my nose after a few minutes of use. Not only that, for some reason I was having a problem breathing using the snorkel. It was really troubling because I don’t like to be limited in life physically in any way. I decided I would not accept the fact that I couldn’t use it and I calmed my breathing down and worked at it until I finally got it down. Once I got it down I entered a world like I have never experienced in my life. Snorkeling in the Maldives followed by seeing “O” in Vegas are the two experiences in my life that have most closely resembled my dreams. It was like being able to breath underwater while swimming in an aquarium. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever. The number of fish and the colors and the coral were simply astounding. I accidentally cut my foot on the coral, which is not good because it contains poison, but I’m a champ like that. After snorkeling we took the boat back to the resort and had dinner. They had plenty of beef but I held off because I decided not to eat beef while on this trip. I did meet a nice fellow from Bangladesh who works there. After dinner I fell asleep while watching Patriot Games on TV. The next morning we woke up and had fresh crepes for breakfast. Then it was off to another island for some snorkeling. We went to an island called Khodipparho where there was a lagoon with turtles, sharks and stingrays in it. It was pretty amazing seeing them all, but it was obvious that they were not naturally residing there, so it took away from the experience. We really wanted to see those animals in the wild while snorkeling. We snorkeled for hours and it was amazing. After we came back to the hotel and had lunch and I read in the ocean. We did some more snorkeling and then it was off to go sunset fishing. We took a dhonie out to the middle of the ocean during sunset. It was a beautiful ride. I’d never been fishing before, so this was going to be interesting. By the time we find a spot to anchor, the sun has gone down and it is actually night fishing. The sky was stunning with stars everywhere. At first the fishing seemed a little uneventful. Basically they bait the line for you and you don’t use a pole, you basically wrap the line around a piece of wood and hold the wood with one hand and the line with the other. I ended up catching a small fish first, which was pretty exciting, but then I felt something really tugging at the line. It was definitely stronger than the first fish. When I finally reeled it in, it turned out to be a barracuda! With its sharp teeth and it’s eyes glossy, it was a very vicious looking fish.
Z AND BARRACUDA
After fishing we went back to the hotel and had dinner. Once dinner was over we made our way to the café because they were going to cook up the fish we caught so we could eat them. The waiter at the café was a really nice guy who was from the Maldives. He shared with us his love for Will Smith and talked about growing up on the islands. He told us that he considers barracuda to be the deadliest creature in the sea and explained to us how they attack. We talked about girls and he told us of his girlfriend of four years and how they met. After the interesting café experience we retired for the evening. The next morning we woke up early to have a quick breakfast before another excursion. The destination was an uninhabited island made completely of sand. We stepped onto the catamaran, which is a really cool sailboat capable of fast speeds. It was very exciting being on the boat and the skipper was actually a former Bosnian prisoner of war. He came to the Maldives, met a Maldivian girl, got married, has two kids and is now sailing for a living in paradise. He was adamant about following your dreams and doing what you love and making it your life. We had an amazing time sailing on the ocean. We got to our island and the catamaran couldn’t get us close enough, so we had to anchor about a hundred yards from the island and swim to it. We took some amazing pictures and there was a point at which I was the only person on the island. Other people were off snorkeling and I laid on the sand on my own island. It was an incredible experience and I thought about a lot. It’s interesting how much travel makes you think about your life. While I was on the island, my friend saw sharks and a stingray while snorkeling. When we finally swam back to the boat the anchor was stuck in the coral and we couldn’t get it out. Like an anxious little boy, I wanted to do whatever I could to help out the skipper. At his request I dove into the water and attempted to dislodge the anchor. The problem was I didn’t have my mask on and I wear neon green contacts, so I couldn’t really open my eyes underwater. The anchor wasn’t giving and I didn’t want to rise to the surface a failure, so I started really yanking on the anchor until it was freed. I came to the surface successful and let out a Braveheart style yell (nope). As we sailed back to the resort, I sat on the front of the boat and watched the waves go by. When we got close to the resort, the catamaran has a motor that brings the boat in to dock. Well, we were within fifty yards of the dock and the motor failed. It ended up taking us over an hour to get fifty yards as the skipper expertly navigated us in using the sails, the wind and his experience. He ended up having to dive into the water at a couple points and we helped by keeping the boat from hitting other boats using our legs. It kind of sucked because the delay caused us to miss lunch. That had potential to turn into an international incident, but we handled it. After grabbing some lunch at the café, we went snorkeling again for what turned out to be the best day of snorkeling ever. We spotted a couple turtles and one even let us swim with him. It was an amazing experience and we took underwater pictures with single use cameras. The fish in the ocean were brilliant and they would sometimes let you swim with them. I tried grabbing a fish just to see what would happen because I’m incredibly mature and without any effort at all the fish would swim away. Swimming with a school of fish is something I will never forget. That day I got pretty sunburn and I am now peeling like a banana. I was putting on sunscreen, but I guess we were pretty close to the equator and were out in the sun a lot. The weather in the Maldives was perfect for our stay. The temperature was in the mid to upper eighties and the water was in the mid to upper seventies. After another tasty buffet we retired to our room and fell asleep reading. The next morning we had a quick breakfast and wanted to get in one last little snorkeling adventure before leaving our island for good. The snorkeling was great and we went really far into the ocean; about three to four hundred yards from shore. The fish were astounding and there was one school of fish that looked like a hurricane made of fish. After snorkeling I was taking a shower when I thought someone turned the sprinklers on outside. When I got out of the shower it was raining like a monsoon. The weather had turned from perfection to a storm out of nowhere. Luckily we were checking out that day to go to Male (pronounced Mar-lay), the capital and commercial epicenter of the Maldives. The dhonie ride taking us from our island to Male was kind of sad. We had an incredible time on Giravaru Island and didn’t want to leave. Male was a beautiful and busy place. We had no idea what to expect, but there were little cars and scooters everywhere. It was a charming little city with lots of shopping. The buildings were all very colorful and the people were very friendly. We found a hotel to stay at and walked around exploring the city. It was a really clean and safe place. Everyone was smiling all the time and there were lots of young parents everywhere. There were the most modern mosques I’ve ever seen all over the place and many restaurants. We decided to get our underwater camera film developed and found an affordable place. While waiting we had lunch at a pizza place and eagerly anticipated our film. We also got gelato at a little shop, which was amazing. I only got one scoop this time. Our pictures turned out very nice and there are some amazing pictures of fish and turtles and sharks. That night we had dinner at a Thai restaurant. While dining at the Thai restaurant I realized that I forgot my underwater photos somewhere. I placed my order and raced back to where I thought I left them. Walking on the streets of Male at night alone was actually very interesting. It just felt incredibly safe there. Girls walked alone dressed very modernly and I walked by the president’s home, which was heavily guarded. Luckily when I got to the shop, I found my pictures and then walked back to the restaurant. That night we slept early because we had to wake up early to leave for our flight. In the morning we walked in the rain to catch a ferry to take us to the airport. We checked in and had ample time in the airport to read while waiting for our flight. Leaving the Maldives was actually really sad. I couldn’t believe the time we had there but took comfort knowing that I will someday return. It is the most romantic place I’ve ever been in my life and hopefully next time I go back, it won’t be with two dudes. I can tell you that based on everything I read and was told about the Maldives, my expectations were unreasonably high. I can also tell you that the Maldives far exceeded my expectations in every way and I cannot wait until the day I can return.
Z IN MALDIVES SHAWSHANK STYLE
14 October – Tamil Nadu, Kerala
The flight back from the Maldives was short and before we knew it, we were back in India again. This was a bit difficult as living in the Maldives was more like living at home in the states as far as the amenities were concerned. But there was also something right about being back in India. Despite the rabid dogs, the poverty, the smell and the chaos, there is something about India that has gotten inside me (malaria) and it kind of feels like home now. I guess living somewhere for four months will do that to you. After claiming our luggage we walked out of the airport in Trivandrum and there was a gentleman holding a sign on a piece of paper that read “Mr. Zameer”. We got in the taxi and were on our way down to Kanyakumari. Kanyakumari is the southern most tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea all meet. The two and a half hour drive through Kerala and Tamil Nadu was beautiful. South India is incredibly green and full of palm trees and lush greenery. Listening to music and dozing off as life passed us by made the ride very memorable. We got to Kanyakumari and it was actually quite nice. It has become highly commercial, but nonetheless it was an interesting place to visit. We spent only two or three hours there and were on our way back up to Kerala. We went back up to Kovalum to stay on the beach and this time my friend and I stayed in a room on the beach for 150 rupees (about three dollars). We had a nice dinner in which I consumed shrimp and fish and during which the weirdest talent show I’ve ever seen came on. There were groups of teenage boys dancing in front of us wearing aluminum foil type costumes dancing to Hindi and Malayalam film songs. I forgot to mention this earlier, but being in the south once again introduced us to a language barrier that was sometimes difficult to traverse. Our Hindi skills proved to be futile on many occasions.
15-18 October – Gujarat
In the morning we woke up, had breakfast and were on our way to the airport once again. At the airport we checked in our luggage at the Jet Airways counter. Because all of us that were traveling together were Indian, we were able to get what is called an Apex ticket. That means that you are an Indian resident or born in India so you get incredible discounts on airfare. We were a little apprehensive about buying these tickets because there was a chance our scheme could fail. Luckily it went off without a hitch and we all passed as “true” Indians and flew Jet at a premium discount. We had a brief layover in Bombay and then landed in Gujarat. Gujarat held special significance for me because this is where my family originates. To be in the state where it all began was truly special. We had come to Gujarat to celebrate Navratri, a celebration of Durga, the mother goddess. Gujarat is the place to be for Navratri (that wasn’t supposed to rhyme, but I’m glad it did). Basically it’s nine nights of garbas into the night. A major earthquake hit Gujarat in 2001 that killed over 30,000 people and the state is still recovering from the massive damage. We stayed in Ahmedabad, a huge and dusty city. We stayed in the country club where the garba was taking place and it was an amazing time. We did raas and garba till very late and then had some unhealthy snacks at 2am in the café. We went back to our hotel room and played games till 4am. I was on the phone till about five am and the next morning we woke up early. We had lunch at this famous restaurant called Gordon Thal and it was tasty. It was some of the best food I’ve had in India and I think I liked it so much because it reminded me of my Mom’s cooking. We had ice cream after that (1 scoop) and then shopped in Gujarat. I walked around Gujarat by myself for a while and thought about my grandparents and ancestors. We ate dinner that night at Pizza Hut and it was very nice. Instead of going to a garba that night, my friend and I decided to stick around the hotel and hang out. We started by playing a friendly game of badminton. This country club actually had a nice badminton court indoors. They lent us the equipment and we began to play. It was incredibly fun. I hadn’t played in at least ten years and forgot how high the fun-factor is in badminton. While we were playing a small kid no more than seven years old asked if he could play. He was a little cutie and we told him once we finished the game he could play. After the game I took a seat and watched my friend and the kid rally. My friend assumed he couldn’t play and asked him if he knew how. The kid was very respectful and said he knew how. My friend then hit the shuttlecock high in the air and then something happened that I will never forget. The kid slammed the birdie in my friend’s face. The kid turned out to be amazing. My friend could not even get one shot on the kid. He had a stance for receiving serves and could play like no other. After my friend was humiliated, he wanted me to try. The kid and I started playing and he was amazing. At first he was beating me pretty badly. He combined drop shots with super slams and I couldn’t compete. Then I started to find my groove and it was on. We traded points and I was sweating up a storm. The kid had skills. It finally came down to point point and in the end, Rohan was victorious. We shook hands and I could tell he was satisfied with his victory. Part of me wanted to slide tackle him to show him who’s really boss, but then I figured I would let him have his moment of glory and simply tell his parents he was swearing at me. So I limped off the court defeated in once sense, okay in every sense. So after badminton, we tried to play billiards. When we got into the billiards room it was really tense in there. They racked the balls for us and neither of us knew how to play and no one seemed to want to show us. So we started playing and then my friend tried a shot and they stopped him. They said that he couldn’t play. We told them that neither of us knew how to play so we were allowed to stay. When he took his next shot they said that only he couldn’t play and that I was allowed. They said that he should take some lessons and come back. The only thing we were doing differently was holding the cue a little different than each other. I normally don’t go to the race card, but it was clear to me that they were being racist because my friend was white. It actually made us both very upset and I didn’t want to stay if he couldn’t play, so we left. It was interesting because I realized that the reverse racism that exists over here upsets me just as much as racism in the states. After attempted billiards and what I will refer to as the “badminton incident” from now on, I watched the garba from the roof of the country club. This was one of the most emotional and spiritual experiences I’ve had since being in India. There was something about being in Gujarat during this time and seeing everyone elaborately dressed up and feeling the music and emotion of the whole event that was moving. It was as if everything came together to create this entrancing experience in which everyone was happy and celebrating together and dancing. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it in my life and feel fortunate that I was able to. That night I fell asleep while watching TV in bed.
NAVRATRI IN GUJARAT
The next morning I woke up early and a group of us decided to go see the movie Bride and Prejudice. We had the choice of seeing it in Hindi or in English and we chose Hindi thinking it’s better to see it in it’s original language. Turns out the movie was filmed entirely in English. The movie was okay and after it was over we went shopping for presents for people. That night we went back to Gordon Thal for dinner and ended up garba hopping. We went to two different garbas and ending up eating at a place called Honest afterwards. At Honest we were sitting in a booth and there was a guy staring at me bigtime. I asked him why he was staring at me because he was literally turned around in his booth and looking right at me. He told me that he liked my style. I asked him what that meant and he said he liked my style but I was off about Gujarat. We had no idea what he was talking about. We think he thought we were talking badly about Gujarat when it was not the case at all. We ended up going home around three in the morning. I didn’t end up going to sleep at all that night because we had to leave at six in the morning for our flight, so I just talked to Deepna on the phone for a couple of hours. Our flight back to Delhi was delayed and when we finally got on the plane, most of us fell right to sleep. Arriving in Delhi filled me with mixed feelings. Part of me was sad the adventure had come to an end, but part of me was glad to be back. I think I was okay with being back because when it comes down to it I only have about six weeks left in Delhi. A few of the remaining weekends here will be spent traveling as well. This weekend I am off to Punjab to see the Golden Temple and the border ceremony and next weekend we are going to Varanasi. Basically in six weeks I have to write three papers totaling over forty pages and study for a Hindi final. Once December comes around, it’s time to travel again until January 7th, when I make my return to the states.
Conclusion
First off I want to say congratulations for making it to the end. There are probably only a handful of you that actually read this in its entirety and I thank you for that. I realize that this is absurdly long, but each time I write, I am attempting to convey what it is I am actually experiencing here. Overall the trip was amazing. I feel truly lucky to have been able to see India like I did. I learned so much about the country from which I originate. Luckily my health remains in top shape aside from the minor weight loss. As my time here winds down, I can feel myself preparing to come home, both mentally and emotionally. I am not quite ready yet, but I know that after these next six weeks, my time will arrive. Today is actually four months to the day that I have been in India. While there is still a good amount of time left, these next couple of months will surely fly by for us all with the holidays quickly approaching. I am thinking of you all and I hope you are well…
-Zameer
Injury List:
Poo (mental anguish)
Cut toe on Scooter
Cut toes on rock
Aluminum Siding Incident
Exhaust pipe burn
Cut foot on coral
Sunburn
Bruised Ego (“badminton incident”)
1639 Mosquito Bites
Introduction:
So just a little warning, this is probably going to be the longest message I’ve ever written in my life. I was considering writing it in sections, but decided against it because of copyright laws(?). Instead I will break down the email into segments for ease of reading if in fact anyone actually decides to read this in its entirety. I recommend printing it out and perhaps setting it in the restroom as reading material. The following is a synopsis of my 18-day trip around India. Please pace yourself and enjoy.
Body:
Preparty:
So the day before leaving I decided to get a haircut as my curly locks were causing a little civil unrest in Delhi. I thought I would try a different location to get my trim on and I ended up walking around the corner from my apartment to a local place. The gentlemen actually did a fantastic job and the price was 25 rupees, or roughly 50 cents. If you someday decide to come to India, I recommend growing your hair out first so you can indulge yourself once here. Cleanly groomed, I was ready to begin packing. I was excited to finally make use of my new backpack I purchased for this and other trips both within India and around the world. I ended up getting everything in with plenty of space to purchase gifts once traveling. I was up till two or three in the morning packing and had to wake up the next morning at five to make our flight.
30 September: Bombay
So after getting very little sleep, I woke up to the sound of my cell phone alarm and took a shower and shaved. Just to warn many of you, I decided to grow out a mustache recently. Most of the men here in India sport the “justache”, which is just a mustache. Knowing that the only two men within recent history to look good with the “justache” have been Burt Reynolds and Tom Selleck, I decided to accompany mine with a goatee. Luckily my mustache is not evident in most of the pictures, but know that I can curl my mustache up on the sides and will do so until I decide to shave it, which will be very soon. Anywho, after some last minute packing, I was on my way, leaving Delhi for almost three weeks. We had a Qualis (basically the sport utility vehicle in India) pick us all up early and made it to the airport in time for our flight. We watched the news at the airport and the six of us boarded our flight and were on our way. Reading a paper in the airport, I was pleasantly surprised to learn that Conan O’Brian will be taking over for Jay Leno in 2009. I immediately began a mental countdown in my head and I think the gentleman next to me could tell because he was looking at me funny. The flight was on Air Deccan, one of the newer airlines in India, and it was smooth as silk. My mother recently sent me some traveling items including and inflatable travel pillow that goes around the neck as well as a satin shade for the eyes for sleeping during the day. The thing about my eyeshade is that it is a lovely lavender color. This provided much comical relief to many fellow students as well as well as to many locals. I showed them all by sleeping soundly and darkly. We landed in Bombay about midday and the taxi ride to the hotel was glorious because it was my first view of the ocean (actually the Arabian Sea) in four months. It felt so incredible to finally be released from the landlockedness (not a real word) that has become my life in Delhi. Bombay was actually a really cool city. People dressed very Western (not like Western like Dirty Hairy, although that would have been funny, but Western like western cultures), and the architecture was very impressive. Bombay looked like a combination of Chicago, London and San Francisco. Their menus featured beef and their streets were filled with vendors. We came very close to being in a Bollywood movie because someone approached an East-Asian friend of ours and asked him to get some friends together to be extras in a movie. I was excited to finally get my big break into Bollywood after all these years, but it proved unsuccessful because the timing did not work out. This was also the fateful day that we decided to alter our travel plans. We really wanted to go to the Lakshadweep Islands but couldn’t find any booking information, so we were in a bookstore looking around when we came across a Lonely Planet book on the Maldives. Myself and two other friends decided together that if the three of us bought the book, we would commit to going to the Maldives. We walked out of the bookstore with the Maldives book in our hands and paradise on our minds. That night about seven or eight of us all had dinner at a place that specialized in Pav Bhaji. It was very tasty and we followed it up with some fresh paan. We also bought some new swimming trunks on the way home in preparation for Goa and the Maldives. We wanted to check out the nightlife in Bombay, so we went to a couple different clubs. We started out at a place called Polly Esthers. We showed up there and they told us that we wouldn’t want to come in. We were a little confused and asked them why not and they told us because there wasn’t a single person in there. They gave us directions to another club and we appreciated their honesty and took some free mints and were on our way. We went to another club called Red Light, which was also empty, but ended up having a good time. After we went back to Polly Esther’s and walked in and it was pretty lively. Judging from the mid-eighties music they were playing, the largely male crowd, and the flamboyancy of said crowd, I think we might have gone on an “alternative” night, but it’s a little hard to tell in India. I guess Thursday night is kind of an off night for clubbing in Bombay, but Wednesday is big along with Friday and Saturday. We left there hungry and a little curious at around two in the morning. We were all in the mood for mozzarella sticks and grand slam breakfasts, but then realized that we were still in India and that they don’t have Denny’s. To satisfy our hunger cravings, we decided to go to the next closest thing, the 5 Star Taj Mahal Hotel. It was pretty much the only thing open, so we decided to indulge ourselves. I had some tasty eggs and took some pictures of the nice bathroom. We left at four in the morning and because we had girls with us, were literally followed home by a group of teenagers numbering about forty to fifty. It was not a comfortable situation, but luckily other than having vulgarities yelled at us, we made it back to the hotel without incident.
1 October - Bombay-Goa
After the previous late night we had to awaken very early to get everything done. We had breakfast at a charming café and spent the day in Bombay roaming around. We booked our air tickets to the Maldives and took a boat to a place called Elephante Island. Elephante Island is basically and island with old temples carved out of caves. It was very interesting, but I’d seen so many temples by this point, that I was more excited about the ballyhoo the monkeys exhibited and the amazing corn I ate than the actual temples. I also had peanut brittle. After the island we journeyed back to our hotel and went shopping. I picked up some presents for people, some books and some DVDs. Then we showered at a friend’s hotel and took a taxi to the train station. Our train was to leave at 11pm that night and somehow we ended up arriving with only ten minutes to spare. It was at this point that we realized we were at the wrong station. We couldn’t miss our train because it was an overnight train taking us to Goa. We talked to the station manager and he told us that if we hurried, we could hop on a local train and try and meet our train at a different station. So we bought tickets for the local train and as we briskly made our way to the correct platform, there was an incident. I didn’t realize it at the time, but apparently I had an invisible target on me that encouraged birds to poo on me. A hefty amount of poo landed on my shoulder and although I didn’t have time to interrogate the perpetrator, I suspect it was intentional. We jumped on the local train and after a few stops jumped off and ran to our train. Luckily our train was running late and was just leaving. We ran to the platform and had to jump onto our train as it was moving. Relieved, we found our seats and set up our beds. Sleeping on a train in India isn’t the greatest, but it is manageable. Our train ended up running four hours late. We didn’t know it at the time, but apparently a few weeks before, on the same track going to the same place, a train had derailed and hundreds of people died. For this reason they were being extra cautious with our train, causing the delay. I didn’t mind as I was just getting into my new Sidney Sheldon novel.
2-5 October - Goa
When we awoke the next morning we met a gentleman on the train who was from the United Arab Emirates. He was very nice and told us to get off a stop early because of where in Goa our destination was. We took a taxi from the train to our hotel in Baga beach. It was a quaint little room that was 2 minutes from the beach. It was pretty clean other than the occasional ant or frog. We checked in and had lunch on the beach. I had a pineapple shake and shark. It was the first time I ever ate shark and although it was tasty, I think I prefer fish. After I changed and walked on the beach and took pictures and watched one of the most beautiful sunsets I’ve ever seen in my life. It was absolutely gorgeous.
Z AND KINGFISH
The next day we woke up and had breakfast at the hotel. We hired a taxi and explored North Goa. We went to Old Goa and Panjim. When we got back, we rented scooters from a place next to the beach. My friend and I went on a long ride and rode to a lighthouse. It was beautiful and there is a scene from Dil Chahta Hai that was filmed there. We went shopping and ended up getting soaked on our scooters as rain poured down. We walked on the beach in the rain and swam in the warm water. That night we decided to try this Thai restaurant we came across while riding our scooters earlier in the day. Me being the klutz that I am, wearing glasses, and having the pouring rain all combined to prove very painful. As I was walking out of our hotel, I somehow managed to walk right into some aluminum (pronounced aah-loo-min-yum) siding. I smashed my face right into the side of it, knocking off my glasses and cutting my cheek slightly. I felt like the champion of the universe. So we got a taxi to take us in the pouring rain to the restaurant. The meal ended up being very tasty, but nothing like back home. It was a fun time and there was even a live guitar and violin player there to serenade and sing to us. We met a couple from New Zealand that had been married 53 years. After dinner we stopped for ice cream at Baskin Robbins and it was amazing. I ordered two scoops and it was so tasty! I never order two scoops and as you can see since I’ve decided to include it here, it was and still is a very big deal to me. The next day we were leaving North Goa and took a taxi to Palolem in South Goa. We checked into our room and walked on the gorgeous beach. We had lunch at a Mexican restaurant and even though it tasted nothing like home, it was nice to have Mexican food again. The waiter was very nice and was from Kerala and told us about the place as that was our next destination. It continued to rain, but we continued to swim. The water was nice and warm and I managed to cut my feet pretty badly on some rocks. We went to dinner that night at this really nice Italian restaurant. I had a real salad for the first time in four months because they actually had lettuce there. It was really tasty and along with a pizza and some mentos and chocolate afterwards, I was fairly satisfied although I could still have finished a Big Mac. I was really happy about my appetite being back in a big way. I’m trying to gain back some of the weight I’ve lost, but that probably won’t happen until I get back to the states and pick up where I left off, eating fast food and beef almost daily. The next morning we woke up and were pleasantly surprised by the sun shining. We had breakfast on the beach and rented scooters for the day.
Z ON SCOOTER
A friend of ours had the shortest ride of her life when she ran her scooter into the parked truck five feet in front of her. She caused 800 rupees in damage to the scooter and decided against riding it. Myself along with two others ended up riding around for a few hours and it proved to be one of the best parts of being in Goa. We rode to the post office and found this amazing section of beach. We explored Goa and it was a beautiful place. We even came across a snake. We had lunch on the beach and I went shopping for more presents for people. After shopping I went back to our room and as I opened the door, I yelled, “Candy floss” (the equivalent to cotton candy). To my surprise, a large European fellow was laying on the bed. He was apparently sleeping and I had woken him up. It was then that I realized that I was in the wrong room. A few hours prior, we had shifted our luggage to a different room. I apologized as I quickly left his room and headed to our room. Champion. That night we took another Qualis from Palolem to Margao to catch another train. As I got my backpack out of the back of the car, I burned my calf on the exhaust pipe. It hurt very badly. Our train to Kerala was delayed a little and once we finally got on, it was quite disappointing. It was the dirtiest train I’ve been on. It featured roaches, rats and dirty sheets for us to sleep on.
6-8 October – Kerala
The train ended up being only one and a half hours late, long enough for me to finish reading Sheldon and begin the Da Vinci Code. We arrived in Cochin and took a ferry to Fort Kochi. We met up with a friend of ours and all had dinner together. We then went to a North Indian Classical Violin concert. It was amazing and there were only three other people in the venue. The Kerala Kathakali Centre has live music 365 days a year. We would have loved to have stayed for the next night’s sitar performance, but could not.
Z AND S.INDIAN CLASSICAL GROUP
The next morning we walked around Fort Kochi and explored the quaint area. I did some shopping and checked out the sights and came across one of the cutest puppies of all time. We took a ferry and then a bus to get to Allepy. At Allepy we had lunch at a restaurant and I ordered French toast. It took half and hour and when it came out, it was two pieces of untoasted bread with some bad jam smeared on it. The waiter asked how my stomach was and if I enjoyed the food. I told him that it was the worst French toast I ever had in my life. He did not know how to react. Then we met up with the rest of our group and the eleven of us got onto our houseboat. We had rented a houseboat for a 24-hour cruise down the backwaters of Kerala. The houseboat was nothing like the states, but it was really fun. We coasted down the backwaters and talked and ate and played games. The sunset was beautiful as we dined and laughed.
KERALA BACKWATERS
That night was the worst night of sleep I’ve had in my entire life. We slept four to a full size bed. It wouldn’t have been so bad if it wasn’t for the extreme heat, lack of fan, and millions of mosquitoes. I slept about one hour that night and was literally bitten 30-50 times. They really feasted on me. We slept under a net, but because there were four of us, there were gaps for the little bastards to get in and then commence their flesh buffet. We had breakfast and I took a cold bucket shower and then we arrived. We took a two-hour bus down to Trivandrum, which is where our flight was to leave the next morning. From Trivandrum we took an auto to Kovalum because we wanted to stay on the beach. Since it was off-season, the three of us were able to stay in a hotel on the beach with a balcony for 300 rupees, roughly 6 dollars. I was really excited about eating fresh seafood again, so we went to another restaurant on the beach and selected some fresh tiger prawns and red snapper. They made a tiger prawn masala and grilled the red snapper in garlic and herbs. It was incredibly tasty and then we went to a German Bakery for dessert. The thing about eating cake in India is this. Most of the cakes we’ve eaten have been egg less and tasteless. At the German Bakery, they put eggs in their cake and the chocolate fudge cake was a delight. I took a walk on the beach at night and apparently at that specific beach, the tide is so strong that each year a handful of people get swept away to sea.
Intermission
OH HELLO
9 – 13 October – Maldive Islands
After waking up early and having waffles with fresh pineapple at the German Bakery, we took a taxi to the airport in Trivandrum. We checked in and I checked my email. Our flight was delayed an hour and surprisingly the airline actually gave us snacks while we waited. This turned out to be a real blessing because during the delay we met a nice man from the Maldives. He was born and raised there and we chatted with him. When we were talking with him, someone from the airline came over and asked us for our tickets. He took them and walked off. We were confused and asked our new friend what was happening. He told us that the gentleman from the airline was an old friend of his. When the gentleman returned with our tickets, he had upgraded us to first class! It was truly a nice way to start off the trip. When we boarded the plane we were immediately given a refreshing warm towel and fresh grape juice. The flight was a mere forty-five minutes and seemed even shorter because we were so comfortable in first class. Even though you’re not supposed to take pictures on airplanes in India, I couldn’t resist taking pictures as the islands magically appeared during the flight. They looked completely surreal and were truly a spectacular sight. The Maldives are a group of about 1200 islands in the Indian Ocean very close to the equator. The population of the islands is less than three hundred thousand and the population is supposedly 100% Sunni Muslim. Each island is basically a resort or uninhabited. You can walk around most islands in less than ten minutes. We landed at the airport and the airport itself is its own island, so a boat must come and pick us up to take us to our island. After getting our passports stamped and retrieving our luggage, we went to the dock to take our boat to the island. We had arranged for the less expensive dhonie (a big slow boat) to take us to the island. For the second time we lucked out as they had brought the speedboat instead. So we took a very fast speedboat ride to our island but only had to pay for the cheaper dhonie ride. When we arrived at Giravaru Island, we were greeted by a gentleman on the dock. He told us our luggage would be taken care of and we were shown inside. They gave us a refreshing towel and a beverage as we filled out our paperwork. We had lunch in the dining room and then surveyed the island on foot. The Republic of Maldives is the most beautiful place I’ve ever been to in my life. The water is crystal clear and warm and the sand is white. There are tropical fish everywhere and it is truly spectacular. That evening I read and thought about my life and experiences while watching the sunset. Later on we had dinner buffet style in the dining room. After dinner we were shopping for snorkeling gear because the Maldives are supposed to be one of the best places to snorkel in the world. The shops in the resort were rather expensive. Calling the United States costs $10 a minute and I was tempted, but decided against it. While shopping for snorkeling gear one of the staff found out that I was having problems. The problem is really that my head is so small that a normal size mask wouldn’t fit me. So he said he had a small snorkel and mask that he could sell me. I ended up getting a used kids size snorkel and mask for about a fourth of the price I would have had to pay in the store. It was really nice of the guy and partially solved my problem. After getting the gear we went to sleep while watching some TV for the first time in a very long time. The next morning we woke up and had buffet breakfast and then went on our first excursion. We took a dhonie and stopped off at an uninhabited island and dropped off a large amount of food. Then we went to an island with a village on it. We walked around and saw what village life was like. After we went back to the first island and were amazed as a feast had been prepared for us on the beach. It was a beach bbq with amazing food. Then I went snorkeling for the first time in my life. Apparently my nose is huge and most kids don’t have noses as big as mine, because when I used the snorkel it literally felt like I had broken my nose after a few minutes of use. Not only that, for some reason I was having a problem breathing using the snorkel. It was really troubling because I don’t like to be limited in life physically in any way. I decided I would not accept the fact that I couldn’t use it and I calmed my breathing down and worked at it until I finally got it down. Once I got it down I entered a world like I have never experienced in my life. Snorkeling in the Maldives followed by seeing “O” in Vegas are the two experiences in my life that have most closely resembled my dreams. It was like being able to breath underwater while swimming in an aquarium. It was one of the most amazing experiences ever. The number of fish and the colors and the coral were simply astounding. I accidentally cut my foot on the coral, which is not good because it contains poison, but I’m a champ like that. After snorkeling we took the boat back to the resort and had dinner. They had plenty of beef but I held off because I decided not to eat beef while on this trip. I did meet a nice fellow from Bangladesh who works there. After dinner I fell asleep while watching Patriot Games on TV. The next morning we woke up and had fresh crepes for breakfast. Then it was off to another island for some snorkeling. We went to an island called Khodipparho where there was a lagoon with turtles, sharks and stingrays in it. It was pretty amazing seeing them all, but it was obvious that they were not naturally residing there, so it took away from the experience. We really wanted to see those animals in the wild while snorkeling. We snorkeled for hours and it was amazing. After we came back to the hotel and had lunch and I read in the ocean. We did some more snorkeling and then it was off to go sunset fishing. We took a dhonie out to the middle of the ocean during sunset. It was a beautiful ride. I’d never been fishing before, so this was going to be interesting. By the time we find a spot to anchor, the sun has gone down and it is actually night fishing. The sky was stunning with stars everywhere. At first the fishing seemed a little uneventful. Basically they bait the line for you and you don’t use a pole, you basically wrap the line around a piece of wood and hold the wood with one hand and the line with the other. I ended up catching a small fish first, which was pretty exciting, but then I felt something really tugging at the line. It was definitely stronger than the first fish. When I finally reeled it in, it turned out to be a barracuda! With its sharp teeth and it’s eyes glossy, it was a very vicious looking fish.
Z AND BARRACUDA
After fishing we went back to the hotel and had dinner. Once dinner was over we made our way to the café because they were going to cook up the fish we caught so we could eat them. The waiter at the café was a really nice guy who was from the Maldives. He shared with us his love for Will Smith and talked about growing up on the islands. He told us that he considers barracuda to be the deadliest creature in the sea and explained to us how they attack. We talked about girls and he told us of his girlfriend of four years and how they met. After the interesting café experience we retired for the evening. The next morning we woke up early to have a quick breakfast before another excursion. The destination was an uninhabited island made completely of sand. We stepped onto the catamaran, which is a really cool sailboat capable of fast speeds. It was very exciting being on the boat and the skipper was actually a former Bosnian prisoner of war. He came to the Maldives, met a Maldivian girl, got married, has two kids and is now sailing for a living in paradise. He was adamant about following your dreams and doing what you love and making it your life. We had an amazing time sailing on the ocean. We got to our island and the catamaran couldn’t get us close enough, so we had to anchor about a hundred yards from the island and swim to it. We took some amazing pictures and there was a point at which I was the only person on the island. Other people were off snorkeling and I laid on the sand on my own island. It was an incredible experience and I thought about a lot. It’s interesting how much travel makes you think about your life. While I was on the island, my friend saw sharks and a stingray while snorkeling. When we finally swam back to the boat the anchor was stuck in the coral and we couldn’t get it out. Like an anxious little boy, I wanted to do whatever I could to help out the skipper. At his request I dove into the water and attempted to dislodge the anchor. The problem was I didn’t have my mask on and I wear neon green contacts, so I couldn’t really open my eyes underwater. The anchor wasn’t giving and I didn’t want to rise to the surface a failure, so I started really yanking on the anchor until it was freed. I came to the surface successful and let out a Braveheart style yell (nope). As we sailed back to the resort, I sat on the front of the boat and watched the waves go by. When we got close to the resort, the catamaran has a motor that brings the boat in to dock. Well, we were within fifty yards of the dock and the motor failed. It ended up taking us over an hour to get fifty yards as the skipper expertly navigated us in using the sails, the wind and his experience. He ended up having to dive into the water at a couple points and we helped by keeping the boat from hitting other boats using our legs. It kind of sucked because the delay caused us to miss lunch. That had potential to turn into an international incident, but we handled it. After grabbing some lunch at the café, we went snorkeling again for what turned out to be the best day of snorkeling ever. We spotted a couple turtles and one even let us swim with him. It was an amazing experience and we took underwater pictures with single use cameras. The fish in the ocean were brilliant and they would sometimes let you swim with them. I tried grabbing a fish just to see what would happen because I’m incredibly mature and without any effort at all the fish would swim away. Swimming with a school of fish is something I will never forget. That day I got pretty sunburn and I am now peeling like a banana. I was putting on sunscreen, but I guess we were pretty close to the equator and were out in the sun a lot. The weather in the Maldives was perfect for our stay. The temperature was in the mid to upper eighties and the water was in the mid to upper seventies. After another tasty buffet we retired to our room and fell asleep reading. The next morning we had a quick breakfast and wanted to get in one last little snorkeling adventure before leaving our island for good. The snorkeling was great and we went really far into the ocean; about three to four hundred yards from shore. The fish were astounding and there was one school of fish that looked like a hurricane made of fish. After snorkeling I was taking a shower when I thought someone turned the sprinklers on outside. When I got out of the shower it was raining like a monsoon. The weather had turned from perfection to a storm out of nowhere. Luckily we were checking out that day to go to Male (pronounced Mar-lay), the capital and commercial epicenter of the Maldives. The dhonie ride taking us from our island to Male was kind of sad. We had an incredible time on Giravaru Island and didn’t want to leave. Male was a beautiful and busy place. We had no idea what to expect, but there were little cars and scooters everywhere. It was a charming little city with lots of shopping. The buildings were all very colorful and the people were very friendly. We found a hotel to stay at and walked around exploring the city. It was a really clean and safe place. Everyone was smiling all the time and there were lots of young parents everywhere. There were the most modern mosques I’ve ever seen all over the place and many restaurants. We decided to get our underwater camera film developed and found an affordable place. While waiting we had lunch at a pizza place and eagerly anticipated our film. We also got gelato at a little shop, which was amazing. I only got one scoop this time. Our pictures turned out very nice and there are some amazing pictures of fish and turtles and sharks. That night we had dinner at a Thai restaurant. While dining at the Thai restaurant I realized that I forgot my underwater photos somewhere. I placed my order and raced back to where I thought I left them. Walking on the streets of Male at night alone was actually very interesting. It just felt incredibly safe there. Girls walked alone dressed very modernly and I walked by the president’s home, which was heavily guarded. Luckily when I got to the shop, I found my pictures and then walked back to the restaurant. That night we slept early because we had to wake up early to leave for our flight. In the morning we walked in the rain to catch a ferry to take us to the airport. We checked in and had ample time in the airport to read while waiting for our flight. Leaving the Maldives was actually really sad. I couldn’t believe the time we had there but took comfort knowing that I will someday return. It is the most romantic place I’ve ever been in my life and hopefully next time I go back, it won’t be with two dudes. I can tell you that based on everything I read and was told about the Maldives, my expectations were unreasonably high. I can also tell you that the Maldives far exceeded my expectations in every way and I cannot wait until the day I can return.
Z IN MALDIVES SHAWSHANK STYLE
14 October – Tamil Nadu, Kerala
The flight back from the Maldives was short and before we knew it, we were back in India again. This was a bit difficult as living in the Maldives was more like living at home in the states as far as the amenities were concerned. But there was also something right about being back in India. Despite the rabid dogs, the poverty, the smell and the chaos, there is something about India that has gotten inside me (malaria) and it kind of feels like home now. I guess living somewhere for four months will do that to you. After claiming our luggage we walked out of the airport in Trivandrum and there was a gentleman holding a sign on a piece of paper that read “Mr. Zameer”. We got in the taxi and were on our way down to Kanyakumari. Kanyakumari is the southern most tip of India where the Bay of Bengal, the Indian Ocean and the Arabian Sea all meet. The two and a half hour drive through Kerala and Tamil Nadu was beautiful. South India is incredibly green and full of palm trees and lush greenery. Listening to music and dozing off as life passed us by made the ride very memorable. We got to Kanyakumari and it was actually quite nice. It has become highly commercial, but nonetheless it was an interesting place to visit. We spent only two or three hours there and were on our way back up to Kerala. We went back up to Kovalum to stay on the beach and this time my friend and I stayed in a room on the beach for 150 rupees (about three dollars). We had a nice dinner in which I consumed shrimp and fish and during which the weirdest talent show I’ve ever seen came on. There were groups of teenage boys dancing in front of us wearing aluminum foil type costumes dancing to Hindi and Malayalam film songs. I forgot to mention this earlier, but being in the south once again introduced us to a language barrier that was sometimes difficult to traverse. Our Hindi skills proved to be futile on many occasions.
15-18 October – Gujarat
In the morning we woke up, had breakfast and were on our way to the airport once again. At the airport we checked in our luggage at the Jet Airways counter. Because all of us that were traveling together were Indian, we were able to get what is called an Apex ticket. That means that you are an Indian resident or born in India so you get incredible discounts on airfare. We were a little apprehensive about buying these tickets because there was a chance our scheme could fail. Luckily it went off without a hitch and we all passed as “true” Indians and flew Jet at a premium discount. We had a brief layover in Bombay and then landed in Gujarat. Gujarat held special significance for me because this is where my family originates. To be in the state where it all began was truly special. We had come to Gujarat to celebrate Navratri, a celebration of Durga, the mother goddess. Gujarat is the place to be for Navratri (that wasn’t supposed to rhyme, but I’m glad it did). Basically it’s nine nights of garbas into the night. A major earthquake hit Gujarat in 2001 that killed over 30,000 people and the state is still recovering from the massive damage. We stayed in Ahmedabad, a huge and dusty city. We stayed in the country club where the garba was taking place and it was an amazing time. We did raas and garba till very late and then had some unhealthy snacks at 2am in the café. We went back to our hotel room and played games till 4am. I was on the phone till about five am and the next morning we woke up early. We had lunch at this famous restaurant called Gordon Thal and it was tasty. It was some of the best food I’ve had in India and I think I liked it so much because it reminded me of my Mom’s cooking. We had ice cream after that (1 scoop) and then shopped in Gujarat. I walked around Gujarat by myself for a while and thought about my grandparents and ancestors. We ate dinner that night at Pizza Hut and it was very nice. Instead of going to a garba that night, my friend and I decided to stick around the hotel and hang out. We started by playing a friendly game of badminton. This country club actually had a nice badminton court indoors. They lent us the equipment and we began to play. It was incredibly fun. I hadn’t played in at least ten years and forgot how high the fun-factor is in badminton. While we were playing a small kid no more than seven years old asked if he could play. He was a little cutie and we told him once we finished the game he could play. After the game I took a seat and watched my friend and the kid rally. My friend assumed he couldn’t play and asked him if he knew how. The kid was very respectful and said he knew how. My friend then hit the shuttlecock high in the air and then something happened that I will never forget. The kid slammed the birdie in my friend’s face. The kid turned out to be amazing. My friend could not even get one shot on the kid. He had a stance for receiving serves and could play like no other. After my friend was humiliated, he wanted me to try. The kid and I started playing and he was amazing. At first he was beating me pretty badly. He combined drop shots with super slams and I couldn’t compete. Then I started to find my groove and it was on. We traded points and I was sweating up a storm. The kid had skills. It finally came down to point point and in the end, Rohan was victorious. We shook hands and I could tell he was satisfied with his victory. Part of me wanted to slide tackle him to show him who’s really boss, but then I figured I would let him have his moment of glory and simply tell his parents he was swearing at me. So I limped off the court defeated in once sense, okay in every sense. So after badminton, we tried to play billiards. When we got into the billiards room it was really tense in there. They racked the balls for us and neither of us knew how to play and no one seemed to want to show us. So we started playing and then my friend tried a shot and they stopped him. They said that he couldn’t play. We told them that neither of us knew how to play so we were allowed to stay. When he took his next shot they said that only he couldn’t play and that I was allowed. They said that he should take some lessons and come back. The only thing we were doing differently was holding the cue a little different than each other. I normally don’t go to the race card, but it was clear to me that they were being racist because my friend was white. It actually made us both very upset and I didn’t want to stay if he couldn’t play, so we left. It was interesting because I realized that the reverse racism that exists over here upsets me just as much as racism in the states. After attempted billiards and what I will refer to as the “badminton incident” from now on, I watched the garba from the roof of the country club. This was one of the most emotional and spiritual experiences I’ve had since being in India. There was something about being in Gujarat during this time and seeing everyone elaborately dressed up and feeling the music and emotion of the whole event that was moving. It was as if everything came together to create this entrancing experience in which everyone was happy and celebrating together and dancing. I’ve never experienced anything quite like it in my life and feel fortunate that I was able to. That night I fell asleep while watching TV in bed.
NAVRATRI IN GUJARAT
The next morning I woke up early and a group of us decided to go see the movie Bride and Prejudice. We had the choice of seeing it in Hindi or in English and we chose Hindi thinking it’s better to see it in it’s original language. Turns out the movie was filmed entirely in English. The movie was okay and after it was over we went shopping for presents for people. That night we went back to Gordon Thal for dinner and ended up garba hopping. We went to two different garbas and ending up eating at a place called Honest afterwards. At Honest we were sitting in a booth and there was a guy staring at me bigtime. I asked him why he was staring at me because he was literally turned around in his booth and looking right at me. He told me that he liked my style. I asked him what that meant and he said he liked my style but I was off about Gujarat. We had no idea what he was talking about. We think he thought we were talking badly about Gujarat when it was not the case at all. We ended up going home around three in the morning. I didn’t end up going to sleep at all that night because we had to leave at six in the morning for our flight, so I just talked to Deepna on the phone for a couple of hours. Our flight back to Delhi was delayed and when we finally got on the plane, most of us fell right to sleep. Arriving in Delhi filled me with mixed feelings. Part of me was sad the adventure had come to an end, but part of me was glad to be back. I think I was okay with being back because when it comes down to it I only have about six weeks left in Delhi. A few of the remaining weekends here will be spent traveling as well. This weekend I am off to Punjab to see the Golden Temple and the border ceremony and next weekend we are going to Varanasi. Basically in six weeks I have to write three papers totaling over forty pages and study for a Hindi final. Once December comes around, it’s time to travel again until January 7th, when I make my return to the states.
Conclusion
First off I want to say congratulations for making it to the end. There are probably only a handful of you that actually read this in its entirety and I thank you for that. I realize that this is absurdly long, but each time I write, I am attempting to convey what it is I am actually experiencing here. Overall the trip was amazing. I feel truly lucky to have been able to see India like I did. I learned so much about the country from which I originate. Luckily my health remains in top shape aside from the minor weight loss. As my time here winds down, I can feel myself preparing to come home, both mentally and emotionally. I am not quite ready yet, but I know that after these next six weeks, my time will arrive. Today is actually four months to the day that I have been in India. While there is still a good amount of time left, these next couple of months will surely fly by for us all with the holidays quickly approaching. I am thinking of you all and I hope you are well…
-Zameer
Injury List:
Poo (mental anguish)
Cut toe on Scooter
Cut toes on rock
Aluminum Siding Incident
Exhaust pipe burn
Cut foot on coral
Sunburn
Bruised Ego (“badminton incident”)
1639 Mosquito Bites
posted by Zameer at 10/20/2004 09:42:00 AM
1 Comments:
You went through all that effort to post the blog and no one has written a comment. For shame.
I'll say this: You better get rid of that "justache" before I get there or you will "just ache" when I punch you in the face.
The sunset's pretty though.
Post a Comment
<< Home