Thursday, July 23, 2009
Friday, July 17, 2009
last day and parting thoughts on india
woke up today early and really took my time around and planned to go to the national zoo and also the khan market to do some shopping. but alas , went there and found out that the zoo was closed and i misread it. luckily my auto driver was a really honest man and we went to the khan market for some shopping and shopping i was , having a great time shopping under the hot sun. how i did that , heaven knows.
spend literally the whole day shopping non stop and bargaining under the super hot sun which is at least 41 degrees. gosh this is a really test of my shop haggle non stop experience.
brought lots and dun worry people you all will not be forgotten.
went have dinner and saw this really bewildered belgium man at the age of 40+ and he looked stunned. i shouted over and asked him if he has been travelling for long or just arrived. he told me he just arrived and now wanted to go home. i gasp a smile and told him that is the starting effect that i had. india was chaotic, aggressive, caustrophobic and full of cheats. he told me why would anyone want to come here to travel. but surely i told him scrub deep and you will really enjoy what india has to offer like what i did. he told me its a little old to be travelling , but i replied " you are never too old to travel as long as you are healthy and strong". think thats going to be a philopsophy of my life from now.
to finish up, india has been nothing less then incredible and the culture , people and history has been mind blowing. sometimes you ask , how can so many idiologies , people , languages and religion exist all together in 1 little area in a small land. dun ask me , but they do co-exist and like the time in agra i met this really chirpy swiss guy who have been travelling for 2 years. we agreed that india will found or is "working" but "working in a wrong way" we had a good laugh from all the travel talks and such. even going to explain that indian "high tech" is attaching a piece of high tech to an old junk to create "super high tech". we just shook our head and laughted it out.
on a serious note , we agreed india will never have this charm if not for this ordered chaos, this i would say not mix or not melting pot , but crashing pot of different races , religions castes and ideals. an india where everyone all resigned to their fate and does nothing to improve that. an india where anything can happen and does not take a surprise to surprise you.
this india where everyone is fighting for a breathing space to learn , live and exist.
an amazing adventure.
as a parting note
Thursday, July 16, 2009
new dehli, old dehli,central dehli, deli dehli. shopping paradise !!!! keke
working like an expert on the trains which normally are quite accuate with the distances. i went out and immediately navigated around. as worst that i have imagined,dehli was a much better city then the other cities that i have been in.
"it was pure heaven "! lol
was slacking about on the first day and was just lazying about and taking it easy on it and read and read more about my meticulous plans(like real).and so i will be well set up for the next day. the room was a hole but then its got cooler cooling and its quite cool actually so im ok.
dehli is a huge place and yes it really is huge and also the capital city of india with lots of embassies in central delhi which is in the south.
i lounged just outside paharganj which is near to the new dehli train station as it was one of the most convenient.
went to many sites in dehli like the quatar mitaq(victory tower),hamuyans tomb ,gandhi sarmati, gandhi raj, laximi temple and a few others. it was quite a mad rush but lots was seen on the first day.
on the second day, was more for the superb national museum of dehli which houses famous artifacts from the harrapan era and the indus civilisation era. some of the artifacts were so famous i couldn't believe my eyes that i was looking straight at it. an example would be the dancing girl model. simple an awe inspiring and amazing musuem. oh as you all know that i am a musuem lover. i spent 5 hours over there. thereafter i walked to the gateway of india and the central secretarial. i travelled using their metro and i must say its fantastic and efficient. although the south extension is not ready,the north,east and west extension was really good.and cheap too.
going to send all my time shopping now and dehli is a really great shopping destination! tons of sovenoirs, curios and many other stuff.
dun worry i will get the soveniors for you guys too. also i am now well versed in the art of haggling and bargainng. watch out shop keepers and touts.
ok thats all for now i miss you all back home but if i can , i will surely continue on and do the eastern loop and nothern loop. but maybe i will do it next time with a buddy :)
till then 2 more days ! then can come out kopi or lim cheu session with you guys ! :)
Saturday, July 11, 2009
things i learned in india (little punt intended)
cows are kings of the road (sorry HD)
traffic is where-ever you feel like going (even against the traffic)
stepping on cow poop and avoiding it is a daily accurance
everybody in india wants to build road humps in their neighborhood, contributing to my sore ass :P
autorickshaws are everywhere
when someone says to you "happy pay , no happy no pay" they just want your mola
public buses (ordinary unreserved) are the worst ass spanking experience you can get in india
taking a public bus at night is best avoided (everyone wants to get home , you get what i mean)
if you want to experience the real india , just need to stand outside on a hot day with lots of cow poop and people around.
foreigners are always overcharged in india
haggling is a way of life in india
if you dun haggle your pants off in shops, you may well go off without it
mama shops are everywhere in india (every crook nanny and panel).
mama shops are the best and most reliable way to get your daily necessities(they dun normally overcharge).
better get used to the noise in india, every horn is on the standby to tell you to get out of the way
even the locals haggle to get into a taxi or auto rickshaws.
is it always not a good ideal to knock your head into every national monument in india, so keep your head low.
never ever, and i mean it jokingly try to sell an indian your girlfriend for 4 camels, they really mean it.
and a deals a deal in india
always try to tour with a government authorised group in india
when an india shakes their head, it does not mean yes or no, it means get on with life and dun brother me.
never ever if for a need of an experience , travel in the indian railway in ordinary unreserved class, you will surely sweat it out and suffocate in the process.(think little india bus without aircon and a nice smelling toilet at the back which you are pushed into it)
travelling in reserved in 3ac or higher is the best way to travel in india,meeting the locals there was a wonderful experience.
always try to speak with travellers and you will get really good information.
any mode of transportable is possible in india, horse cow camel elephant bus tractor train ox , with a price.
always respect the local cultures and custom in india
the thrash bin in india is unmarked and everwhere and everyone just throw thrash where-ever they like(not me :)
try to spend more time at sights which are really nice and you will truely experience the granduer of it.
the street children are really pitiful in india, but you need to take it with a heart of stone or you make go home without it (yes i am still coping with it).
the power supply is extremely unrealiable in india so be prepared for occassional blackouts.
never ever drink the water from the tap in india unless you want to suffer from a bad case of dehli belly.
south india loves making its monuments from caves,rocks and mountains , the north love stand alone super megalicthic structures
its always wise to travel light in india.
when its the highest point in a certain state , its always wise to cover up :P
its an ass trying to get a prepaid card in india after the 26/11 incident
lastly , love enjoy and meet india in its every colours with a smile =)
thats all i will add when i get new inspirations :)
miss ya all
the magical taj mahal
as usual before i touched into the agra fort train station, there was an array of people and kids lining up along the railway station giving us a huge welcome indian style. which inccidentally they were also answering natures call and having a great time at it. leaving an array of genitials hanging or peeping to be seen. oh goodness.
the taj to sum it all up , was a magical sight. i proposely stayed the taj ganj area which was also very close from the taj mahal and boy was it very close less then 200 metres to be clear. but the hassling was really intense and also the people were really everyway. not something you should see around a world wonder.
but all else is forgiven when you get there and saw that. no words can describe the feeling but we can desscribe the sight as a moth to a flame , stunningly huge, hott (physically) and a sight to behold.
seeing it was the highlight of my whole trip. it was also the most expensive monument to get in at 750rs (almost 30 sing). was given a water of water and some tickets, not bad for the exquisite pricetag to get in. but still worth every penny.
inside there was the south east and west gate. the impressive structure was the south gate which in everyway was amazing. there are 2 other structures on the east and west side. one is a mosque on the west and the other east side are for accommodation(which is not used).
walking around the area was amazing. never to not see a foriegn tourist , there were many local toursits too. very friendly and all made of love.
you can't have no love to go see a monument of love right? :P . walked into the monoseleum and saw the proxy tombs of shan jahan and his queen muntaz. the ivoy marble was magnificent and all are inlaid with precious stones from all over the world. in the middle centropath was an arabian looking candalier. which was beautiful to say the least. the actual tombs are actually in the basement which was not accessible to the public.
beng a ks singaporean , i walked around the centropath at least 10 times to admire the 8 sides of the inner santuary and orge at the splendor of the area. if i were emporer i would built one like that or even bigger for my queen provided i outlived her :)
the weather was really hot and sat down at different parts of the taj and people from different countries faith and races were all very friendly and many wanted to take pictures with me. oh gosh but some other tourists thought that they want $$$ after a picture was taken with them. most prob thats not the case and the local tourists just wanted to take pics with foriegn tourist which they seldom see everyday.
sitting at the cornerstone of the taj , one may really feel the significense of the whole area. the taj was huge ! and a work of wonder. from the many other monumets that i have seen. the taj really was a stand on its own.
a truely wonder of a place in india. ( also i learned that agra has an old name which was arkbarabad , named after arkba the great of the old mughals).
till then i miss you all , 8 more days to go !
Thursday, July 9, 2009
getting camel happy in radiating hot jaisalmer and pinking in jaipur now
jaisalmer a small city with its world famous camel safaris will always have a place in my heart as a place that i would love to bring my loved ones and enjoy the moment.
the heat in jaisalmer was not a less of a word , radiating hot. everything i touched , even laying on my bed at night was hot. but the fair thing was , at least i will surely be not attacked by bed bugs.
met other really cold travellers too and you really do not know how travelling out in the open alone can really change you and also others. you feel yourself , experience things in your own prospective. and you are never always alone in this big world of other people who are also travelling throught their lifes. whether finding themselves, having fun , seeing things. there is always someone you will meet that will tickle your spirit or soul to enable you the strength to carry on in this whole world waiting to be experienced.
the camel driver also invited me to his humble house and treated me to chai and also meeting his family. a very happy family and a very contented one. this wive was really a live wire and his children really neat and tidy. a deservely life for such a good man. i politely declined when they asked me to stay for lunch as i had other plans to scorch the other restaurants to as usual overeat myself to happy belly. ;)
jaipur
arrived via the jaisalmer-new dehli express early in the morning at 5am. went about walking around the jaipur junction train station and well figured out the whole area plan. waited awhile for the sun to rise as the autodrivers really overcharge if you were to head out early in the morning and brought some newspapers and read and hung out at the station. was quite a pleasant experience see darkness to light and so many transitting indias just lying on the floor or whatever clean patch they can find to wait out for the correct train to come. went to check into my hotel which is really a hole in the middle of MI road and really hard to find if you were to come out. but still it was a great place with lots of travelling travels from all around the world. like a dom , my place was scripted with lots of graffiti saying where everyone was from and what everyone thought. a great quote on the wall read " love the life you live , live the life you love". what great poetry from a wall in a run down hotel room. things can never get worst , only better.
met some really friendly travellers at the restaurant in the morning from england (yes they were everywhere lol) and chatted for a whole 2 hours before i made the first move to get ready to move on , but lots of information , laughts and commandarie was exchanged. only possible when people are in a crosswinds and wrenched together in an unfamiliar environment. the joys of travel.
i miss you all at home and all those who i have been thinking of , i love you all
writing out
ps: i will be heading for agra tomorrow to forfill my dream which i had for a long time , to see the taj mahal. will keep you all posted. taj mahal " a teardrop in time , in the face of eternity" or in satire " a men's greatest erection for a woman"
take care everyone !
Saturday, July 4, 2009
currently in jaisalmer , the golden city
on the right ganesh a friend whom i met and a really nice guy (mumbai)
top : marina drive , connecting to form the queens necklace at night in mumbai.
Monday, June 29, 2009
whimsical udaipur
history aside , udaipur was a splendidly beautiful city. the white city as they call it , or the palaces on lakes or the white marble city. just by looking at it,you have a feeling that this has got to be another world.
coming back to reality, yes it was still the typical indian city that i am so familiar with , but with much more colours and a proud history.
however when i was there , udaipur was facing a prolonged summer and the monsoon was not in yet , almost making it feel like a drought was going on. the lakes were almost dried up but the city has got lots to offer and lots of wild life to look and enjoy.
the guest house i was in , was a joy to be in , big spacious and lots of favour. just loved the location of the place which was right beside the lake ghat which i insistantly wanted , it was also the best bet with a great host and great views.
did i mention that it was really quiet and very peaceful there, as my room was facing the lake (yes i had no ideal that my room was a lake facing one as i arrived there at 4am in the morning can you believe it lol). noise was also not a problem as my room was way off the road and the road was not a main road.
also it was easy getting lost in the winding ghats of udaipur and most of the time i must walked into the lake bed which had dried up and went on my merry way to my guest house docks by the lake. which was way cool if i might add.
spend a relaxing 3 days there and did i say that the food on these wonderful sun kissed rooftop restaurants where fantastic? a great way to just idle the day away from the hussle that i happening inside.
mt abu at a glance
weather which was slightly forgiving with a cool mountain breeze, being the highest point in rajathan. i then gathered that i was here in high county and mingling with the local people who were also in holiday mode.
being a high point in rajasthan, there was of course a few temples, some ashrams, bhravin and also a peace park. what really astonised me was the jain temples built by the old empires of mt abu. they were imaculately carved an brought together.
the moment you stepped into one of these jewels , you thought, "how could they carve should detailed marbles, or the real question was , 'why' did they carve such elabarate structures." then the answer hit me . there was a time where the jain religion hit a high in populace and culture. this was it. a marvel in carvementship and detail work.
oh ok guys i will be changing my plans and i will not be going to pushkar , another mountainous region as i am tight for time , so i will instead be heading onto joghpur where there is the magnificient mehe fort ( or so i heard).
so will update soon . as long as i get internet access again.
till then , adious
Saturday, June 27, 2009
from mumbai - hospet-hampi-aurangabad-ajanta-ellora-admedabad-udaipur
trying to do my back dates of all my adventures and will post them up when i can !:)
love you all
elephanta caves and the areas around bombay.
Friday, June 26, 2009
mumbai shots
bombastic bombay aka mumbai
ok gotta update on the wordings as i have been having lots of problems getting photos onto blogger.
bombay
how should i put it, i arrived in cst terminus which is also known as the queen victorus terminal and well i thought i had came into old london.
old collonial buildings and wall street like side alleys , really not what i have expected it to be. also cst is one of india's most busy railway station handling a staggering 2 million people a day just for 1 terminal.
but as busy as it is , the area around mumbai is the fort and caloba area , is beautiful. also not to forget the long awaited mac donalds which i gobberted on after a long long hiatus of fast thrash food. ala heaven.
macs was a treat , they have the mac maharaja and the filet o fish and many other classics but then as long as it is western food i will shove it into my mouth. :)
mumbai was easy to get around , with an efficient metro and a great bus support system and systematic roads. i almost felt like home.
did lots of touristy things , visted an aquarium , a science center , chawpatty beach , watched a movie (expensive pvr cinema) , visted elephanta islands and its 2 canon high on canon hill(the shiva cave temple was spectacular),visited bollywood hill , 2 other gardens , gateway of india , leopolds cafe and the list goes on.
well you can never get tired of a city like mumbai. this huge city spanning across many other sub-urbs makes visiting this metropolis unforgettable.
goa frames
Thursday, June 25, 2009
goa memories
yes there was sun , yes there was coconut trees and yes there were tourists. but the one thing that strikes me was how fine was the sand. the soft soft sand even finer then the sloozy table salt i had on my lunch table. the place was fantastic. wish i had stayed longer.
the main historical ground was the bom jesus church which was where the incorruptable body of st francis xavier was buried and the place was magnificent i must add. ancient with a magical feel in the air about the place , it was almost heavenly!
Monday, June 22, 2009
hampi adventures
the elephants stable at hampi and yes a fellow local indian traveller took the picture for me , if not i would have self camed myself ;)
this is rama , the 6th reincanation of vishnu, this structure was immaculately restored and bare in mind that hindus do not worship to damaged statues as these were destroyed by the muhul invaders who tried to burn it but failed.
a fellow traveller(wife and husband) whose son is actually working in singapore and they treated me like their son
hampi is a facinating place with a wide area of ancient temples beautifully thought out and carved. the masterpiece is the temple of music which is aesthetically built to harmonise music that is being play to pitch perfect results.
bangalore snapshots 3
this is the botanical gardens perched on top of a hill in bangalore and lots of people too. thus garden is huge and windy.
this is neil who is here from antonio on a working trip, nice guy with a care-less about the world attitude. was a pleasure to meet him:)
bangalore snapshots 2
this is the city government hall of bagalore reading "the work of the government, is the work of god". can't be said in another way
the new king fisher building which looks deceptively like the empire state building in new york. maybe shorter :) ekeke. but princely beautiful
arggg the internet here is too slow : P kekeke
Saturday, June 20, 2009
short recaps of my trips
with its cool and high elevation. also a main transport hub with very affluent people working and living in it. bengalore has been a great place to stay in.no lack of historical and monuments to visit. visiting bengalore has been an eye opener itself. the palaces of the tiku sultan and all his wisdom and splendor was really an eye opener.not to forget the mumerious musuems deidicated to education and science.
mysore
using bengolore as a base. mysore as not as bad as the name suggests as it has got an incredible palace which is rich in historic culture and magnificience.on sundays and public holidays, the palace will come to light and show its colourful side of itself.there is also an audio guide which was very carefully thought out that really enhances your experience when you first step into the palace.worth every penny paid for the entrance fee.
hospet - hampi
as te name sound , hampi is a world heritage site listed in the unesco listing as one of the sites that is worth protecting and heck i say this site MUST be worth protecting. the scale of the site in hampi and the cultural importance as a hindu site of worshipping and where the monkey god hamuna was born too. i didn't know how big the area was until i saw rows and rows of temples , tanks and hill top stone balancing precarilous on the side drops. also beautifully preserved and the temples are tactfully spaced out in order of which temples anyone will visit first is really amazing. these temples are literally polished white and stands in a shining glare against the dessert like back drop of the indian grasslands.
mumbai
this city is one word - MASSIVE ! duh , i actually took the wrong bus which does not go to the main station cst and dropped off in socin then to dardar and took a communter train to cst terminal. i did;t know how big was bombay till i saw the outskirts and such. will update when i have the time.
ok , this is a quick update , am now in aurangabad and will be making my trip up north ( 14 hours) by bus to ahmedabad where gandhi first built his ashram based on non violent and is also a mojor transport and transit hub to the inter parts of gajurat.
till then miss you all !.
Wednesday, June 17, 2009
Monday, June 15, 2009
from cochin to bangalore to mysore to hospet to hampi to goa to mumbai
covered many miles and saw many things that i have always dreamed of seeing. yes i am making my dreams come true.
so sorry to those who are eagerly awaiting my updates , but i have been travelling non stop through central india that i didn't have the time to sit down and recap all the experiences and happenings of my trip.
but i still love and miss you all !
(will update in detail as my 1 hour at the internet cafe is almost up)