Friday, January 29, 2010

Goa

Goa.
What to say about Goa...

Hippie.
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Chill.
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Inspired.
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Bliss.
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With perfect climate in the high season.

We ended up staying longer than we planned and we already miss our little straw beach hut.

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From India

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Hard to say what is so special about Goa and especially Arambol beach. It might be that it is the largest concentration of hippies in one place. People are sitting around everywhere and breaking into a dance, a song, a drum-beat or flute melody, some swirling to an Osho meditation dance, some to a Sufi dance. What a great place to feel that life is a dance and we can all dance! And dance we did. :) Everywhere individual and interesting souls that were a pleasure to connect with. Nobody talked about their jobs, how much money they earn or need. Besides the sea and the sand it seems that it is the people who are the long-time supporters of Arambol who are its greatest treasure. Safe haven for hippies, perhaps one of the last?

There were of course the beach-vendors and beggars but I think by now we are quite used to those and simply share a laugh or a smile. This older gentelman kindly gave us two flute sessions.

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And this little trickster said to Lii after the cap of the head-torch she had just bought fell off and wouldn't go back on- ah, small problem only. Discovered the big problem much later- the whole thing would not work at all.

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We also loved the beach dogs.(Hille wanted to adopt a few of them already last time she was in Arambol, this time a few puppies barely escaped from her bag :)).
There was always one (or usually two) under our chair or table.

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They lazed around the beach in the sun, went from one table to the next to get their feed, chased around every strange dog they saw and also the cows who strolled to the beach during sun-set. Of course the Indian cows have no inferiority complex at all, sometimes it seemed as if there was a 100 meter olympics run going on between a dog and a cow, definitely a sight to remember.

The Goan cows are something else. They always come out to the beach to watch the sunset, usually just staring at the sea, seemingly doing some kind of cow-meditation, for they are perfectly still. But there are always a few hungry ones. Obviously being on the beach in the evenings leaves them in lack of proper greenery to eat and therefore they have seemed to adopt a diet of newspapers and paper napkins for dinner. (Getting us in turn into a habit of hiding all our napkins when we saw a cow approaching. And even then they sometimes just come at you for some reason only known to themselves, stopping only inches away. Perhaps some cow-game? :))

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And we loved the light of thousands of candles that spread through the beach when the beach turned into one long string of restaurants.

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All in all- a near perfect place, a great dream-place to live even, well of course during the season that is. Twice was not enough in Arambol and I suspect that unless some drastic changes happen- we will always keep on coming back there.

We spent a few days in Mumbai (will write about that next time) and now after an ardous 30 hour train journey to the N-E, we are in the Buddhist holy city Bodhgaya and only a few hours away from our 10-day Vipassana meditation retreat. See ya all after!

Thursday, January 14, 2010

Kerala

There is so much to say about India. It is mad, it is dirty, it is beautiful, it is spiritual, it is bureaucratic, it is incredible, it is noisy, it is haunting, it is annoying, it is uplifting, it is rich... so rich in colour, culture, history, knowledge. But the adjective to use most of all for India- surprising. In India- always expect the unexpected.

We are in Kerala, in S-India and the whole experience of the south has been surprising. Almost no hassles here compared to the north. There is of course the traffic... The traffic is mad, and noisy and did I say mad...? The chaos in traffic is like a law of nature in India, and in other countries in S-E Asia also, perhaps it is an expression of their philosophy and ideology about life. Rickshaws imagine themselves to be Formula 1 drivers and actually call their vehicles Air-Con Ferraris. :) Buses never slow down for any pedestrians. But on the whole it has been an easy journey so far and the southern Indians have proven to be very helpful, laid-back, friendly and surprisingly honest in their business dealings. Yes of course a few rickshaw drivers have tried to over-charge us, but even this experience has been quite minimal. Southern India so far- a bliss, a relaxing little haven with a lot of soul to it.

Some pictures from the road to Kerala.

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From India

We have been staying in the economical center of Kerala- Ernakulum. It has been a welcome change to be in a metropolitan city for a few reasons- the main one is getting real coffee!! (Now the only problem is getting someone to understand the concept of mayonnaise... :)) But we came here for two reasons- first to visit fort Kochi, a little fishing village and historically an important trading hub for Portuguese and other European sea-farers, and the resting place of the famous Vasco da Gama.

Kochi is a lovely little village indeed, from the minute of disembarkment you will smell the putrid smell of fish but this gives the place character along with the goats ambling along the streets everywhere, the all-too-honest-for-their-own-good rickshaw drivers, and the unfamiliar by now sight of tourists on the streets.

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South India is also quite Christian, of course along with the traders came the converters. But the Indians have done their magic and have apparently achieved the impossible- they have breathed life into this dead/dying religion. We saw one Christian procession on the streets with singing, dancing and colourful umbrellas and it looked incredibly refreshing indeed. There are several Christian churches in Kochi and they are lovely- simple and with very few adornments (if you don't count the goats of course :) ).

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The main item of trading here was and is spices. Most of the ayurvedic medicine ingredients come from here. We also treated ourselves to some ayurvedic treatments, especially recommendable is the treatment of Shirodhara (also called Panchakarma)- for about 40 minutes warm medicinal oil is streamed onto ones forehead. Popularily known as the third eye treatment of Lord Shiva, this treatment is proven to be rejuvenating and giving one deep relaxation and inner peace. It certainly made Hille felt like she could fly... :)

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We also went to see the classical dance-drama of Kerala- Kathakali. With its colourful costumes and make-up, the funny movements, very extreme facial expressions and beautiful accompanying music, it was a performance to remember for sure.

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Our second reason to be here was of course to do a Kerala backwaters boat tour. We cruised those wonderful rivers and canals for a day, it was magical to slowly drift between the jungle and watch the little villages on the close-by shores. The main livelihood of the people living in the villages- ayurvedic medicine, fruit plantations and making rope.

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On to Goa in a few days...

Lii: Mis siis lisaks eelnimetatule voiks mainida esimeste India nadalate kohta?
Esiteks tuleb meelde 'masala chai' (see on tee piima ja erinevate vurtsidega), pole tukk aega nii palju teed joonud, kui siin viimase kahe nadala jooksul. Lihtsalt nii maitsev on! Minul on saanud kombeks 'chaid' tellida 4 kaupa, sest 1 tass korraga on ikka selgelt vahe:)

Esimene nadal Trichys oli pohiliselt valja puhkamiseks peale aastavahetust ja pikki paadi- ja bussireise. Kulastasime seal ka hinduistlikke templeid, kuhu kahjuks paris igale poole sisse ei saanud, sest paljudes kohtades oli sissepaas ainult hindudele :-(
Arvatavasti on turistide massid neil palvusi hakanud segama.

Omaparasematest vahejuhtumitest meenub uks, kui room-serviciga 'chaid' tuppa tellisime. Teenindaja, kelleks oli uks India noormees, jai parast tee toomist minu ette seisma ja hakkas peadvangutades (nii nagu Indias ikka kombeks kuljelt-kuljele) midagi seletama. Me olime Hillega juba esimestel paevadel aru saanud, et me peame ilmselt India aktsendiga inglise keele kursustele minema. Seegi kord ei saanud me esialgu midagi aru, mis sellel poisil mureks on. Peale pikka suhtlust kehakeeles moistsime lopuks, et ta soovib vaadata, et ega meil musti nousid voodi all ei ole. No loomulikult, kuhu me koik mustad noud ikka paneme, kui voodi alla:)) Ja parast sain ka aru, miks selline omaparane soov voodi alla vaadata. Sest samal ajal, kui ta voodi alla vaatas, kobas tema kasi minu maasoleva kaekoti kallal ja vupsti oli tal 500 Ruupiat sealt pihus. Sain nuud aru, kuhu eelmisel paeval oli 1000 Ruupiat kadunud. Eelmiselgi paeval oli ta sealt maast ka 'midagi' korjamas kainud. Onneks jai see mul tol paeval silma ja sain oma 500 Ruupiat tagasi. Poiss pogenes jooksujalu...kahju hakkas kohe temast.

Aga uldiselt on inimesed siin vaga sobralikud ja abivalmid. Siin lounapool raagitakse ikka paris palju inglise keelt, kui ainult aktsendist paremini aru saaks. Ja peavangutamise subtiitreid oleks ka vaja- kord tahendab see 'jaa', kord 'ei' ja monikord 'ei tea'.


Kerjuseid on siin paris palju, kull invaliide, lastega naisi, vanemaid naisi ja muid erinevaid tuupe. Silma on jaanud, et eriti noudlikud on just need vanemad naised, olen saanud ikka paris pahaseid lakse vastu olga, kui ilma raha loovutamata olen moodunud. No teeb ikka vist kurjaks kull, kui paev otsa pead tuhjalt vahtima:) Ilmselt eelistatakse invaliide ja lastega naisi.

Bussireisid on ka paris toredad olnud, peatustes kaivad muugimehed peast oma toodetest deklameerimas, nagu tublid koolipoisid luuletust. Vaga soravalt ja ilmekalt. Nii...siin on selline ponev mahlapress....sellega saab teha nii ja hopsti on mahl klaasis..nii... kas kellelgi on soovi osta.....aa madam akki uks teile...ah ei soovi, tanan. Jargmine muugimees...siin on uhed vaga toredad maanteekaardid...jargneb tuttavalt ilmekas tutvustus jargmise muugimehe poolt ja nii paris mitmete toodete osas. Mida koike ei saaks bussist osta, nagu elav 'teleturg'. Vaga lobus!
Ja milline adrenaliin on bussisoidul, kui istud esimeses reas bussijuhi taga...oeh...pole uhelegi ponevusfilmile nii kaasa elanud kui bussijuhi manoovritele viimasel bussireisil Cochisse.
No kas jouab mooda, enne kui see teine buss vastu tuleb voi mitte...vaiksemate soidukite parast vaga ei muretsenud, need on vist harjunud vahepeal vosast labi soitma, kui moni buss julgelt vastu soidab.
Ja mis huvitav bussist valjumine meil oli kohalejoudes. Kohe kui bussiuksed avanesid hakkas metsik rahvamass uksest sisse trugima..jah, just sisse, mitte valja.
See, et sa valjuda soovid, ei huvita kedagi. Uks inimene jai tukkapidi Hille pluusi noobi kulge kinni. Hille proovis puudlikult teda noobi kuljest lahti harutada, aga vaesekesel polnud aega oodata, oli vaja ju edasi trugida. Nii ta uhest kolmandikust tukast ilma jaigi:)
Kokkuvottes voib oelda, et vaga huvitav ja tore on Indias siiani olnud, vaga tihedalt oleme sonavarast kasutusele votnud sona 'omaparane'.

Friday, January 8, 2010

The missing chapters...

First of all apologies for neglecting our travel blog for a while. And all the best in the new year 2010!

Just a quick recount of the days in-between.

Spent a lovely Christmas in our little home-away-from-home, Phnom Penh. An unusual Christmas to be sure, there were only a few places with any decorations, we were saved from the endless listening to Christmas songs (and unbelievably-missed them! :) ), spared from the total madness that Christmas shopping can be (and definitely did not miss that :) ), sat out in the sun in the 30 degree heat (67 cm of snow back home at the moment), had a lovely meal and finally even heard one Christmas song!

Went onwards to southern Thailand, the island of Koh Phagnan, where we had arranged to meet another friend for New Years. Meanwhile got incredibly ripped off in Bangkok with the bus tickets and accomodation on the island. Word of advice for travellers in Thailand- nothing is EVER completely booked out, even if it is the biggest New Years celebrations in 10 years, NEVER pay anything in advance and if you are forced to change buses and mini-vans, which in Thailand you will very often- ALWAYS hang on to your tickets till the end. And definitely- there are no charges to be paid for an immigration stamp, this one was one of our more foolish mistakes. Oh well- we live and we learn.
Anyway- we spent a lovely peaceful time on the island, bicycling (and falling off the bicycle from full speed which apparently Hille likes to do for kicks :) ), swimming and sun-tanning. And of course had a not-at-all-peaceful NYE party, just the way it should be :).

After Thailand we had to speed back to the already very familiar Kuala Lumpur, in order to catch a plane to India...

The incredible India. Here we are at last. In Tamil Nadu in the south, a little transport hub called Trichy, from where we start our journey tomorrow. First stop- Kerala.