Delhi and Beach Bumbing it

So After Agra, I hoped a train to Delhi. Paharganj, located just outside the New Delhi Train Station, is a major hub for backpackers in India. In addition to tons of cheap lodging and markets it's a center for travel within Delhi and India as a whole. It has many dark alleyways and has an unsettling feel at night but I felt quite at home among the legions of world travelers.

I spent the first day exploring New Delhi and the Capital. New Delhi is probably the cleanest city I've visited so far and looks a lot like many modern American cities (except the traffic). The Capital grounds were beautiful and were filled with media and news reporters as a result of the recent elections and "changing of the guard" to take place in the coming days. (I even got interviewed by a number of local news stations)

Just south of the capital building is Humayun's Tomb, one of the highlights of my Delhi trip. The tomb grounds are well maintained and filled with native birds and monkeys (including a family of Peacocks which I took particular interest in). The tomb itself is a massive structure in the center of a central garden, again something that I and many tourists have never heard of but not to be missed. I did have some technical problems with my Digital camera and lost all my pictures after the Taj... I was pissed. So please forgive the use of a stock photo.

After a night of drinking and socializing with friends, I joined a number of German travelers and went to Old Delhi. The shops and markets were fun, but the major land marks in Old Delhi pale in comparison to their neighboring attractions. The Red Fort looks very impressive from the exterior, but the interior is filled with a mix of small temples and generic buildings from the early 1900's. You may want to save the $5 and just walk the exterior walls.

After the Red Fort, we toured a number of temples and Mosques including Jama Masjid, the largest Mosques in India. A word of warning to all travelers. Mosques and many temples require you to remove your shoes prior to entry. It's completely safe to leave them outside, but under no circumstances should you pay for this service. Often locals will stand outside the gates and demand a "fee" for guarding your shoes or an entrance fee (rare at temples). Some will go so far as to hide them under blankets and other nearby objects (as happened to us). It's a scam, simply demand them back and refuse payment and they will comply.

The next day I took a plane to Thiruvananthapuram, the capital of Kerala and one of the southern most cities in India. Kingfisher Airlines is one of the nicest airlines I've ever been on, servicing only local and select international routes, Kingfisher Airlines is one of the newest, cheapest and nicest Airlines in India. I highly recommend them.

Kerala itself is beautiful. It is one of the more tropical places in India, but one of my favorite so far. The people are very friendly, very few people are trying to scam and cheat you, there are few beggars, and they have the highest English literacy rate in India making it a breeze for American tourists to get around.

I was going to meet some friends so I wasn't able to spend as much time in Thiruvananthapuram as I would have liked. I hopped the first train to Varkala and couldn't have been happier. Varkala is a paradise, I want to retire here. The resorts and restaurants are on a cliff overlooking a great beach. The city is a tourist hot spot in the fall, winter and spring but with the monsoon approaching, the place is nearly empty. This leaves only a couple dozen European tourists and the local populations. We spend our days on the beach, surfing, swimming and tanning. In the evening we eat dinner at some fantastic restaurants and drink and dance the night away at Funky Art Cafe on the northern Edge of the coast. For a night of great food, heavy drinking and dancing I pay 10-15 dollars US.

I love it here, but the Monsoon is coming and there is still so much to see and do. Tomorrow my friend Rachel and I head to Alleppey tomorrow to take a house boat up the backwaters. I can't believe it's already been three weeks...

Cultural Shockers:
Latent Homosexuality: Indian men do many things that would be considered inappropriate for straight men to do in Western culture. You will regularly see them holding hands, hugging, and even what we would considered cuddling on trains and park benches. Most interesting is the dancing; often times men will grind on each other and do dance moves that would be considered to sexual even in the states (again, man on man)... but yet they have such fear of homosexuality and repression of woman and sexuality... I just don't get it.
Change: It's impossible to find change around here... even for small bills people expect you to have exact change or close to it. Further complications arise from ATMs; they pay you in 1000 and 500 Rupee notes, but vendors rarely accept them... How do people conduct business?

The Taj, Agra and Fatehpur Sikri

Agra is a crazy place. From the moment I got off the train I was stalked and harassed left and right. People tried to scam and cheat me before I even got off the platform and I was pissed. I thought I would get away from that for a while, but I was wrong.

It’s also about 110 degrees during the day and 90 at night. Very dry, but a killer.

Once I finally got away from everyone, got my bearings and hopped a cab to the Taj area, I was in heaven. It was nothing but fellow backpackers, cheap rooms and some of the greatest views in all of India. I paid less then half of what I did in Mumbai for a great room (by Indian standards) and an amazing rooftop view of the Taj from our hotel’s bar.

After a quick shower, I ran up to the bar and started chatting with all my fellow backpackers. Everyone was on month 3 or 9 or even 25 of their India adventure. We all shared stories, planned meeting times, and talked about our home countries (Australia was the predominant homeland). Most of these guys were life long backpackers; working 6 to 18 months to finance the next couple of years of travel. There were couch surfers (check out couchsurfingprojet.com), hitch hikers, cyclers, and just general travel junkies of all kinds.

After a long night of food and drinks with this eclectic crew, I had the great idea to get up at 5am to beat the rush to the Taj. It was totally worth it. I was one of the only people in the park and got to see the sun raise over the Taj park. It was awesome. Pictures don’t do this justice, and the fact that it was constructed some 400 years ago is beyond comprehension. Its status as a world wonder is well deserved.

I then hopped over to have breakfast at the hotel and meet some of the other Backpackers (Mike and Dave from Perth). I had told them about Fatehpur Sikri (a little known Indian treasure) and they were all for it. A bunch of us crammed into a rickshaw and booked it down to the bus.

After a hair raising hour bus ride we found one of the coolest places none of us have never heard of. It was built in the Mughal Empire as a mint and palace in 1571. It is now a mosque and national land mark. If you're going to Agra, DO NOT skip this. It was much better then the Agra Fort and Red Fort. (More on that in a later post) This now lively trading center is surrounded by a fantastic wall that is visible from the temple. The bazaar is also one of the more interesting markets I've come across in my travels. The temple is huge and has some very elaborate architecture. They do make you remove your shoes prior to entering, and after a few hours of desert sun, the red stone grounds are unbearably hot. Socks are advised.

They were attempting to charge us 250 rupees to enter the palace, but after dropping 1000 rupees for the Taj and Agra fort, we were feeling stingy and decided to walk around the outside instead at the advice of a local. After we turned the corner from the guards, we realized that there was only a 5 foot stone wall standing between us and the palace garden and hopped the fence. Someone must have scene us because the next thing we hear is yelling and the sound of footprints. Fearing a stint in Indian Jail (or a hefty bribe) we took off running into the palace grounds. After hiding for several minutes, we though the coast was clear and decided to check the place out. (Mom will be so proud)

Avoiding the main gates and guard stations, we toured the entire grounds. It was pretty impressive, though we all agreed not 250 rupee impressive. To avoid the guards, we hopped back over the fence and took the long way around the palace walls (nothing sticks out more then three white guys over 6ft in a near tourist dead zone).

On our way to a great rooftop lunch overlooking the market, we ran into a necklaces vendor. He proceeded to grope me and force necklaces around my neck. After repeatedly telling him no (again, he spoke great English) I took the advice of an old well, traveled Vagabond from the night before; I put my hand on his shoulder, looked him right in the eye, and slowly told him "no thankyou." Taken aback by such an action, the man ran away cursing all Europeans and asking us "Why do you come to India?" And in a rare moment of Male telekinetic communication we yell "THE EXCHANGE RATE."

After a great meal and a very crowded bus ride back to Agra, I stopped by the Agra Fort. The exterior of the place is amazing, but I was slightly disappointed with the interior. The architecture was nothing too stunning and the grounds were well maintained, but lacked much plant and animal life. Other then its sure size, I was really unimpressed.

After a very long day, I returned to my hotel, grabbed a beer with some backpackers and hopped a train to Delhi.

Culture Shockers:
Indian Toilets: Still a shocker because every place I go, I see something different. Here is what I find to be the most extreme example. This was on a train to Agra in a high class AC Sleeper. Note: that is the tracks below you you’re seeing in the middle…

Arranged marriage: To hear about it in movies and read about it in books is one thing, but to meet someone that is doing it and thinks nothing of it is a real head trip.

VAGABONDERS: There’s a whole network of us backpackers that I never saw in Mumbai. To hear what other people have done and to have people that understand what you’re going through on something as interesting as a trip like this is pretty awesome. The lifestyle some of these people lead is nothing like anything I’ve been exposed to.

Final days in Mumbai and Where to next...

This last week was crazy...

Wednesday I sent my clothes to be cleaned and attempted to follow their journey to the famous Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat ("The worlds largest man powered washing machine"). I proceeded to get lost on the Mumbai local trains somehow getting on the express train instead of the local and didn't know until I had overshot my stop by nearly a hour. Dhobi Ghat itself is pretty amazing; they soak the clothes in various solutions and then proceed to beat them against rocks until clean.

Wednesday night I went an exclusive members only club in Mumbai where the richest early 20 somethings party. We danced and partied till 2 then went to an after hours at someone's house until 5:30. It was awesome.

Thursday, slightly queasy from the night before, I had the bright idea to take a one hour boat ride to Elephanta Island. It's a miracle I didn't loose my lunch in the Mumbai Bay. The agonizing boat ride was well worth it though. The island was amazing, hand carved caves that had been abandoned for thousands of years have become a major tourist attraction in Mumbai.

Friday I went to the Sanjay Gandhi National Park. The park was amazing and I highly recommend it to everyone. They had hundreds of species of plants, birds and animals from all over India. My personal favorite was the white bangle tiger, very cool. The park is also host to an amazing mountain top Ghandi Memorial park and man made caves that were well worth the trip.

The park is also host to an amazing man made cave system (the Kanheri Caves) that functioned as a sanctuary for Buddhist Monks in the 2nd and 9th century. Fair warning, the cave system is about 7km from the park entrance... at the top of a massive mountain... facts which I overlooked and attempted to walk it instead of opting to rent a motorcycle for 70rupees (1.5 dollars US). I'm an idiot, I realize. It was worth the walk, but it should come as no surprise to anyone that I hitch hiked my way back to the entrance.

That night, exhausted from conquering the mountains at Sanjay Ghandi, I had an Indian interpretation of Gnocchi. It wasn't what I was expecting, but it was delicious none the less.

Saturday I spent most of the day tooling around Mumbai, tieing up some lose ends and making travel arrangements for the remainder of my trip (details below). However the day was topped off with one of the best meals of my life. Hidden on the rooftop of an apartment building, KOYLA is an amazing hookah bar and restaurant which words alone could not do justice. The service is amazing, the food is some of the best I've ever eaten and the view of Mumbay and the Gateway to India was breathtaking... For more food then my friend Jo and I could finish (though we tried) and some amazing hookah it cost us $30 combined (tip included). Unbelievable. Jo took some great shots of the place that I'll post when I get them. Highly recommended.

Sunday I hung out with some friends and packed for the next half of my journey. After Sid nearly gave me a panic attack by forgetting to tell me his car clock was 10 minutes fast, I (unnecessarily) sprinted to the train to Agra forgetting my hat in his car.

I had booked a 2 AC sleeper and for a 24 hour trip that spanned nearly the distance from florida to New York I paid 25 dollars US. I spent the first half of the trip in a cabin almost entirely to myself. It would have been very peaceful, but everyone from surrounding cabins decided to drop by (usually with their kids) and talk to the token white guy... Are we beginning to see a pattern here? I didn't mind that much, everyone was very nice but when I'm trying to read Midnights Children (great so far) I'm not in a very talkative mood.

After a few hours I was joined by the assigned passenger Rizwan Ahmed. We became fast friends and talked for hours about Indian and Arib politics, arranged marriages (in his region it is almost a given and was quite taken back by the concept of "dating"), India's attitudes towards their national land marks, ect. He was a great guy (even invited me to his wedding) and we'll hopefully stay in touch.

I'll break down the Taj, Agra Fort, and Fatehpur Sikri (along with some amazing pics and stories) in a later post.

Future plans

Where to: I've spent a little over a week in Mumbai and I think it's high time I ventured away. In about two hours I take a train to Agra, home to the Taj Mahal. I spend a night there and head to Fatehpur Sikri on my way to Delhi. After a few days in Delhi I hop a flight to Karala to hang out in the backwaters and lounge on the beaches. Then it's back to civilization as I hop a train to Bangalore and Mysore. I finish my trip off with a weekend on the world famous beaches of Goa and then a night or two in Mumbai.

Every day I'm here I meet new people and hear about amazing things to do and see in India... So much to do, so little time.

I may have been to quick to judge Mumbai...

So it’s been nearly a week now and I’m getting a whole new perspective on Mumbai. The area I’m staying in left me some what jaded because it is a tourist haven. This attracts beggars, pushy street vendors, drug dealers that will pester you to no end, and more con artists then I would care to imagine.

Outside of Colaba (the part of town I’m in) the people are warm and friendly and as interested in white people as I am of them. I went to a number of parks and noticed many people staring and taking pictures of me instead of the scenery and sculptures. I got in a number of long conversations about the present state of India, America and poverty in Mumbai. I had a blast (though I got a nasty sun burn).

I drove for the first time yesterday in Mumbai. I was scared out of my mind. Not only was I driving on the wrong side of the road, on the wrong side of the car, in a city that thinks lane lines and traffic signals are just for show; I was driving manual… it was terrifying. Check out the picture.
Culture shockers:

SERVANTS- The cast system still seems to be alive and well here in India. Because of this huge poor class even the lower middle class have servants for everything. You have drivers (not as common), milk men, laundry pick up, barbers that only shave people, cooks, house keepers, personal shoppers… the list goes on and on. This lifestyle ensures that the poor don’t go hungry (very few seem to) and that the middle and upper classes live extremely comfortable lives.

LANGUAGE- A lot of people speak English, but a surprising number speak none at all. The young and wealthy speak English, but the middle class and most poor speak little to none. Most surprising to me is that waiters and security guards speak almost no English yet they have extremely high levels of face to face interaction with English speakers… It’s very interesting.

I’m going to spend another couple of days here in Mumbai so Sid and his friends can show me “Mumbai Night life” and then it’s off to southern India. I’ll probably post again before I leave and let you know what’s hip in Mumbai.

First impressions

So aside from an argument with a customs official about my medical record, my flight to Mumbai was awesome;

As I was sitting in my enormous seats (I had an entire row to myself and was sprawled out), watching Lawrence of Arabia on my individual interactive LCD screen (I thought it was only fitting), and eating my Indian dinner it dawns on me that I'm the only white person on the plane... This I would come to realize was going to be a theme of my trip.

Mumbai in not like any City I've ever been to. For as large and industrious a city as it is, there are almost no tall buildings other than a few new apartment complexes. There are people sleeping in the streets and more beggars then you could imagine.

The area I'm staying in is called Colaba. It's one of the more trendy places to stay in Mumbai. There are a relatively large amount of Europeans who come for holiday and stay here. There are a number of historic land marks and within a short drive of almost everything one would want to see in the city. My hotel room is actually quite nice for $20 a night and aside from being rumored to be controlled by the India Mafia, it's pretty safe.

Coming here is certainly a culture shock and I could talk for hours about my experiences in just the short time I've been here, but here are 2 highlights;

DRIVING-
American's would not believe this. Street signs, signals, lane lines and even curbs are mere suggestions. You are constantly weaving in and out of traffic at high speeds, dodging pedestrians, blowing through busy intersections with no regard for oncoming and side traffic... It is almost beyond description. I'll post a video sometime in the next few days. to help you better get a feel for it.

BATHROOMS-
Indians do not know the meaning of the word toilet paper... some of the nicer establishments have hoses… many do not... I'll let you all stew on the solution to that one for a few days.

All in all, things are going really well. I'm having a great time. I'll be leaving Mumbai in a few days to head down south and experience "real India." I'll post again, hopefully with pictures and video in the coming days.

Boys and their toys...

Over the past couple of months of preparation for this trip I've discovered a vast global community of world travelers that has a culture all their own.  For many, trips like this are not just a vacation but an embodiment of a philosophy and lifestyle (often referred to as Vagabonding).  Though I doubt I'm going to live my entire life out of a backpack, working where ever I land like some extremists, a lot of the ideologies that are at the very cornerstone of this global movement really resonate with me on a basic level... 

Alright, enough with the overly dramatic;  there are great life lessons in this 'culture,' but what I've really been obsessed with over the last few weeks are the gadgets.   I wanted to take a few minutes to talk about some of my favorites.

Backpacks - Your home on the go.

I could write a book alone on the trek and mountaineering bag industry.  It's the cornerstone of the lifestyle and there are more options then you would ever believe.  I wanted to talk for a second about the 'trek' or 'travel pack' style(what I'm using).  This is a class of bags that is designed for people that plan on doing more urban travel then woodland areas.  There are two distinctive features that come standard on these bags;

1. detachable day pack
2. hidden straps

It is a great all purpose bag and something that I would recommend for anyone thinking of traveling to a foreign country for any reason. 

Clothing - makes the man

All in all my pack weighs less then 15 pounds for a 5 week trek, how is this possible? One word; synthetics.   They have some amazing synthetic fabrics that are absolutely mind-blowing.  Not only are they light weight, they are often;

• anti-microbial (ie. order resistant) 
• stain resistant
• moisture-wicking (meaning they keep your skin dry)
  
• ventilated
• quick drying
• and sooo much more

The best example of this are my ExOfficio Boxer Briefs, hands down the most comfortable and functional pair of underwear you'll ever own.  I wore them for 7 days in a row with out washing them; I worked out, worked in the yard, worked, even slept in these boxers and there was absolutely no odor on the fabric.  I put them in the washer last night out of sheer habit (not need) and pulled them out to air dry (not required) and their were completely dry in 20 minutes... everyone needs to get a pair of these.  I promise you, it will be the best 25 dollars you'll ever spend.