A day in the life of Indy

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 46

2006-08-30T21:43:00.000-06:00

· Day 46, August 17th, 0430: Colombo, Sri Lanka – Bangkok, Thailand – Taipei, Taiwan

Three cheers (or something) for early morning flights from airports that are way out of town, making you get up way too early just so you can make your long flight! Yay! Yipee! Boo! We got up before the sun did and piled our luggage into the cab. The luggage promptly fell out of the back of the taxi/van at the first turn. Super. Nothing makes your day like getting up too early and hopping in a van that doesn’t have properly latching doors. It’s down-right therapeutic, and definitely doesn’t jack your blood-pressure way through the roof. At any rate, we made it to the airport. I happened to sit next to another guy who was half Sri Lankan and half white (he was British, though), and we had a good chat. We landed in Bangkok for our connecting flight (the delay was a short 45 minutes), then got a pleasant surprise when we boarded the next flight to Taipei. Our seats had been upgraded to first class on the Jumbo-Jet to Taipei! The seats in first class are massive (picture a LAZ-Boy recliner) and come with your own big comfortable blanket and pillow. You also get your own storage compartments, headphones/TV set, complete with your choice of movies, and/or awesome old Nintendo games that were a nice trip down memory lane to the days of my childhood. There’s also enough legroom to set up a tent in. Definitely a sweet surprise. After landing in Taipei, we hopped a city bus to the main area of town (Taipei has an excellent public transportation system) and found a little hole-in-the-wall hostel called the Happy Family. It’s a nice little place run by a nice little man named Mr. Lee. I’m sure it isn’t a popular name in these parts, so if you want a good hostel, you could probably just look him up in the phone book. Well, maybe not. Anyhow, it’s bed time for this brown guy—hope you enjoyed my day!

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 45

2006-08-30T21:41:00.000-06:00

· Day 45, August 16th, 2100: Colombo, Sri Lanka

It was a shopping/errand running day today, and we actually managed to get a lot done. After that, we headed to the Galle Face Hotel, a fancy joint that’s housed many dignitaries, ambassadors, movie stars, etc. Back in the day, when my mom was traveling, she had occasion to be at the hotel in the beautiful courtyard that overlooks the ocean. We decided to go there in honour of our mom and have a second generation enjoy the delicious food and incredible atmosphere of the ritzy hotel (their desert buffet is incredible). It was a fantastic cap to an enjoyable day. Maybe one day I’ll be able to afford to stay there! Ha ha…maybe next time I travel…

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 44

2006-08-30T21:39:00.000-06:00

· Day 44, August 15th, 2050: Arugam Bay – Colombo, Sri Lanka

Today was a really long day—we were up early to catch our busy bus (which was late and packed) for ten hours to get to Colombo, from where we fly onwards and upwards to Taipei later on. We headed back to the hotel we stayed at the first time—this time, it was in the midst of a terrific downpour, which made a great cap to our already awesome day. Looking grubby, and a little worse for the wear, we found some good food, and settled in early for the busy next day. That’s all for now, folks. Later.

A Brown Guy's Travels Days 38 - 43

2006-08-25T09:00:00.000-06:00

· Days 38 – 43, August 9th – 14th: Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Surf’s up, dude! Our days here in Arugam Bay have been wonderfully full of routine—we get up, surf, eat, surf, relax, eat, surf, and then relax for the evening. Our hotel has shown a couple of movies over the nights, and we’ve had a great time meeting new people from all over (mostly the States). Our friends David and Lou-lou joined us the first night for the full moon party on the beach, and ended up taking a hotel just down the way from us. We decided to get together and have a barbecue supper one night, so David, being the generous host he is, went to the market and bought a 15 pound Tuna! How the crap are we going to eat 15 pounds of Tuna? Thank goodness for good refrigeration! Believe me we had more than enough to feed a small army, even sharing with the cool hotel managers and a passer-by. All in all, the days filled with surfing, relaxing, and visiting, and the nights filled with fun quirky company have been by far the best of the trip. I’ll definitely miss Arugam Bay, and it is one place I’ll have to come back to visit some day in the future. The peacefulness of the people combined with the beauty and rhythm of the ocean have come together to make Arugam Bay my favourite stop on our trek so far, and one that I’ll remember every time I smell the saltwater of the ocean, or catch the yearning to surf again after seeing someone else enjoy the rush—it’s a little slice of paradise that I’m grateful for being able to be a part of. Thanks forever, Arugam Bay!

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 37

2006-08-25T08:58:00.000-06:00

· Day 37, August 8th, 1800: Ella en route to Arugam Bay, Sri Lanka

Well, today our day was chalk-full of riding a couple of buses packed a la sardines in sweltering heat. I love traveling…mostly. Just kidding—the uncomfortable days make you enjoy the good days more. I’m anticipating quite a few good days here in Arugam Bay. The city, despite being partially ruined in the tsunami, has a laid back, ‘what to do?’ feel to it. The people seem to have recovered and handled the tragedy well. It’s refreshing to see people dealing with the problem and moving on with life, as opposed to obsessing about the problem and being paralyzed by fear and anger, then poorly handling their resulting anger by channeling it against others. If this has too much of a political undertone for the reader, don’t worry, I’m done ranting. There’s no doubt much more joy in the blogs to come.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 36

2006-08-25T08:56:00.000-06:00

· Day 36, August 7th, 2140: Ella, Sri Lanka

Today we relaxed for the morning and planned the next couple days. We’ll be heading out to the coast to do some surfing! I’m glad we’ll finally see the ocean and be able to jump right in. Later on in the day, the three of us walked to a hiking trail called Ella Rock. Bud and Sarah weren’t up for the whole four hour hike, so I trekked on solo after about an hour. The views from the top definitely made it worth the arduous hike up the mountain, the highest point for a long way around. Like they say, all good things are worth working for. After that, it was back to the Rasta restaurant for another great evening with good food and awesome company. I love traveling…

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 35

2006-08-25T08:55:00.000-06:00

· Day 35, August 6th, 2300: Hatton en route to Ella, Sri Lanka

This morning, we went on a really neat tour of the Lipton Tea Factory, and learned about the whole process of tea making; everything from the leaf plucking to the drying, crushing, rolling, cutting, sifting sorting, more cutting, etc, to the packing was shown to us at the factory, along with some the statistics kept over the years in the logbooks. It was really neat to see the whole thing from start to finish, and to be involved personally a few days ago when we actually got to pluck leaves with the locals. Later, we caught the train to Ella, which is a sleepy little city nestled in the hills of Sri Lanka’s beautiful mountain ranges. We got some supper with David and Lou-lou (a Frenchman and an English lady we first bumped into in Kandy) at a crazy Rastafarian-themed restaurant/coffee house. The place had a red-yellow-green coloured bamboo picket fence, posters of Bob Marley, and reggae beats drifting out over the speakers. It was definitely the coolest restaurant we’ve eaten at so far. After dinner, the owner of the restaurant and a few of his friends taught us how to play Carom, a popular local game. It’s one I remember from when I was a little kid, put couldn’t remember how to play. The locals in the small towns, at least as far as we’ve experienced have been kind, and most willing to have you as a part of their day. By the end of the night, we were offered an invitation to come back the next night and enjoy their company again. A little kindness goes a long ways…

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 34

2006-08-25T08:54:00.000-06:00

· Day 34, August 5th, 2115: Nuwara Elya en route to Hatton, Sri Lanka

In the morning today, we visited a kid’s craft fair which was found wanting in the area of crafts. And, for that matter, kids making/selling/displaying/being in any near proximity to crafts. Odd. Again, I had to remind myself not to ask why there were signs up advertising the fair if there wasn’t anything going on, for fear of a mental breakdown. Later, we hopped the train to Hatton, which doesn’t engage in such a rampant false advertising agenda. It is, however, tiny, smelly, and doesn’t have much in the way of services. At least they don’t try and present it any differently. The city does have a nice hotel with a nice restaurant sporting a nice view of the surrounding country-side. This was the arena of our long-winded, indecisive discussions of the day. After talking for a long time in the quaint little joint, Sarah hunted down some of the half-dozen cockroaches in her room, while Bud and I played cards over a Sprite. Luckily, I didn’t have any cockroaches in my room—but I was blessed with an army of mosquitoes, which were stubbornly refusing to fly slowly so I could squish them. Oh well, tomorrow’s another day, and I can thank my lucky stars that I don’t have a bunch of cockroaches in my room.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 33

2006-08-25T08:53:00.000-06:00

· Day 33, August 4th, 0930: Dalhousie en route to Nuwara Elya, Sri Lanka

This morning, we were generously given a ride to the train station by the hotel manager.
We were cordially welcomed by a sign in the station (hopefully the picture shows), which, for some odd reason did not quite live up to the proud declarations the sign so boldly propounded. At any rate, we hopped onto the train and even managed to find some seats!—which, by the way, happens about as often as not. From the station, we got a cab with a French girl to nearby town sight of Nuwara Elya. Here, we found a little hotel that took us in for a decent price. Down the road was a great restaurant called the Grand Indian, an outlet of the Grand Hotel, which was a very nice place, but definitely out of our budget. We just beat the lunch-time rush of a bunch of police and military officers toting large guns. I’m sure if they wanted, they could have gotten their orders in first, and you couldn’t pay anyone to argue. Luckily, it was just business as usual. At any rate, this place had very delicious chocolate cake, which we indulged in with gluttonous abandon. Well, that’s a bit of an exaggeration, but I’m sure at a weaker moment I would have wolfed down upwards of one piece of cake. As it turns out, they didn’t have much available, so our waistlines remained largely the same (ha ha ha…get it? Largely the same…it’s a pun…ha ha…man, I’m funny. Or something.) Anyhow, to sum it up, this was a nice relaxing day filled with good food. What more do you need?

A Brown Guy's Travels Days 31 & 32

2006-08-25T08:51:00.000-06:00

· Days 31 & 32, August 2nd & 3rd, 2230: Dalhousie, Sri Lanka

The stay at Dalhousie involved stunning views of the surrounding mountainside, both from the hotel, and the few walks we went on around the area. One of the areas took us to an unspectacular, but pretty enough, waterfall not ten minutes from our ‘front door.’ We mainly came to the village to climb a noted mountain called Adam’s Peak. According to all accounts, the views from the top are absolutely out of this world. Alas, we never saw the top of the mountain, because of the clouds perpetually covering the top—not surprising, since it was the rainy season, but we held our breath for a miracle nonetheless. We did have one pleasant surprise, though when we went on a hike around some of the tea plantations. Happening upon some of the tea-pluckers, who were tickled pink to see tourists, we were invited by them to engage in the festivities and learn their bread-winning trade. Afterwards, one of the ladies invited us into her home for, shockingly, a cup of tea. Naturally, we accepted, and were likewise accepted and warmly welcomed by her whole family (and the remainder of the neighbourhood who could be fit into the small house). The kids were fascinated by our sunglasses, and continually requested photos. I should note, though, that most of the youngsters took a while to warm up to us. At first, they just stared and pushed their siblings toward us, as though they had to ‘sacrifice’ their poor family member to the foreigners as some sort of penance. Rest assured, we didn’t devour any of them, but did take plenty of pictures. Before we left, our host wrote us her address so we could mail back the pictures for the village to enjoy and keep a memory of. It was a neat way to keep a connection to a place you’ve visited, and will hopefully remain in my life as a unique, memorable bond to this beautiful country and its wonderfully kind people.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 30

2006-08-25T08:50:00.000-06:00

· Day 30, August 1st, 0900: Kandy en route to Dalhousie, Sri Lanka

We awoke early this morning to hop on our train and make our way to the very hilly area that Dalhousie occupies. After getting off the train, we jumped into a guy’s taxi van with another couple, and were brought specifically to the taxi driver’s friend’s hotel, and told we had to stay there because we got such a good deal on our cab fare. The way it works is a cabby will take you to his friend’s spot, bring you in with him, and his friend will charge you way more than normal, and split the difference with the cabby. Pretty clever, if you think about it. Incidentally, no we didn’t stay to get ripped off, and walked away to a little hotel down the road called the ‘Slightly Chilled Yellow House.’ No, I have no idea where the name came from, but it was a gem of a place; spotless, modern, with spacious clean rooms, each of which had its own balcony, for a great price, good food served from a large, clean kitchen in a friendly manner in a dining room that offered an amazing view of the surrounding countryside. The hotel also had Hollywood movies on request that it played through a projector on to one of the walls of the dining area at night. Ahhh, luxury—you’ve gotta love it. By far, this was the best hotel we’ve stayed at on the trip, and was definitely the best value. The rest of our day involved figuring out what there was to do there, and a whole lot of relaxing and taking in the breathtaking views. Unfortunately, we can’t stay forever, but we’ll definitely enjoy this place to the max while we’re here.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 29

2006-08-25T08:49:00.000-06:00

· Day 29, July 31st, 2300: Kandy, Sri Lanka

We awoke today, dined for breakfast with Nicole, and then enjoyed seeing the city and a local temple, which was the sight of the Esala Perahera Festival, which was to commence that night We headed down to the main area early to see if we could find some place to sit with a good view of the procession. Unfortunately, no one seemed to know which way the parade was going (or maybe we just couldn’t understand them), so we just wandered semi-aimlessly until we found a spot that we figured might be where the parade would go by. We lucked out, because it happened to start at our intersection, so we had good photo opportunities. Unfortunately, as the streets had pretty much no lighting, the pictures didn’t turn out that great, but it was incredible to see. I’ll go to bed tonight with the vivid colours, intricate dances, and passionate music still playing through my mind. No pictures can fully describe how amazing this parade is (we were at the first of seven days), and it’s neat to see a festival that’s been going on in pretty much the same manner for hundreds and hundreds of years. The opportunity to take part (even as an observer) in the rich cultural history in this part of the world has been a humbling one, and one I’ll surely never forget.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 28

2006-08-25T08:48:00.000-06:00

· Day 28, July 30th, 2030: Kandy, Sri Lanka

Today, after lunch, we decided to check out a couple of the local sights at the top of one of the many hills in the area. One such sight was a park/garden that, as we found out, many locals populated on a regular basis. However, whereas we were there to walk through and enjoy the sights and the beautiful plants, the locals came there with their significant others to make out. Just what I wanted to see…a whole bunch of people making out in a park…super. For the most part, they were hiding in just about every nook and cranny in the park. Some decided that discretion is for suckers, and sat on the path through the park and went at it. Great…not only do I have to see them doing things I shouldn’t describe (for the benefit of younger, more innocent and virgin ears), but I had to walk around them to boot. Strangely enough, the park’s probably inhabited like that all the time, despite the Rs.10 entrance fee for the locals. I wonder why they don’t just make out at home? Or in their car parked on top of the hills watching the romantically splendid starry nights? Or in the back of the movie theatre, or at the drive-in, or any of the million-and-one other make out spots that I’m sure a creative mind could conjure? It seems that any of those would be a little more private than sitting on a park bench, with your friendly neighbour, Jim (or his twenty-letter-named Sri Lankan counterpart) just a few feet away playing tonsil hockey with his girl . Oh well, I’ve stopped asking, ‘why?’ I’ll never get an answer, and I’m sure to wind up with an aneurysm trying to figure it out. On a more pleasant note, we met up with Nicole from the airport, and the botanical gardens we saw after walking through Make-Out Park were breathtakingly beautiful. Hopefully, this website will cooperate and let me put pictures up. If not, I guess you’ll see them when I get back. Trust me, though, it was amazing. There was a gigantic fig tree in the middle of one area of the park called, ‘The Great Circle,’ which was over a hundred and twenty five years old! It was by far the biggest tree I’ve seen, and covered an area of about 1600 sq. meters! The neat thing was that you could walk underneath the great canopy that its wide-spread branches offered, and see the whole thing, inside and out. As far as plant life and gardens go, I’m sure this one takes the cake as the most gorgeous collection of botanical beauty anywhere. And that’s the kind of day it was. I’m Lloyd Robertson, good night, everybody. Ha ha—another long day, another lame sign off.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 27

2006-08-25T08:47:00.000-06:00

· Day 27, July 29th, 1930: Kandy, Sri Lanka

We were up and at ‘em this morning, and went around the town seeing more thoroughly what there was to see. The beautiful lake in the city made for a nice walk, and we poked our heads into a few odd shops and the main market in town. On our way, we found some more KFC, which we gladly indulged in, after which Bud found a small tailoring shop that would make him a pair of dress pants for about $7. Not a bad price, all things considered. We went to some sort of cultural centre and watched a quick fifteen minute movie on Kandy, its traditions, and its kings—whose names all seemed to have no less than twenty letters—in the style of the 1960’s educational films we all used to have to watch in our younger school days. My apologies go out to all those for whom the above-mentioned 1960’s educational ‘moving picture shows’ were a new, modern invention, or came out much after your younger school days. I really didn’t mean to make you feel that old…ha ha ha, just kidding. Incidentally, for anyone out there wondering if we went back to the same restaurant as last night, no we most decidedly did not go back to have our intelligence insulted so grievously. Well, that’s about it for today. This is Indy, signing off.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 26

2006-08-25T08:43:00.000-06:00

· Day 26, July 28th, 2300: Kandy, Sri Lanka

Today’s forecast called for a heavy reading and relaxing warning, with a chance of some leisurely sight-seeing around the city and scattered visiting. There’s also a good possibility of 65 cent Oreo packages being not-so-partly devoured. On an actual meteorological note, the weather here is pretty nice, though it’s decidedly colder and more overcast in this part of the country than the coastal area we just came from. We had an interesting supper experience today, though, which was kind of amusing in hindsight. Bud and Sarah had ordered two ‘different’ meals, which ended up being the same stir-fry and noodles presented differently—Bud’s stir-fry was beside his noodles, and Sarah’s was on top of her noodles. Upon further inquiry of the waiter, Bud was told that, in fact, they were two different meals, because the stir-fry was on top of the noodles in Sarah’s dish (apparently this costs twenty rupees more). Oh ho ho, you sly dog of a waiter, you almost tricked us with that persuasive argument! Not that it really matters, cause it was inexpensive and good enough, but it’s the principle. I wonder if they think that because we don’t speak their language, we must be unable to distinguish the two dishes, and that merely telling us that the dishes are different will convince us so. It didn’t work, and we left shaking our heads. An interesting thought on how we treat foreigners back home: don’t we, when asked to repeat something to them, simply say it louder and slower, thinking that maybe they’ll get it? I have some personal experience with this, given the number of exchange students in the Physics department in the University back home. It’s tough, because you know for a fact that these people are brilliant, and well-versed in at least one language (mathematics), but you can scarcely get through to them, and end up feeling frustrated, and you leave thinking that they’re not that smart, even though any given exchange student or foreigner or refugee or whatever may be just as smart, if not smarter and more qualified at your job than you. Unfortunately, a lack of mutual understanding and sympathy between a local and a foreigner breeds prejudice, and even less willingness to engage people of another culture. Hopefully, after being a foreigner in a very foreign land, I’ll be able to better sympathize with the newcomers to our country, and help them in some small way enjoy life in prosperous, ‘progressive’ North America.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 25

2006-08-25T08:24:00.000-06:00

· Day 25, July 27th, 1530: Colombo en route to Kandy, Sri Lanka

Well, it’s a good thing that airline offices are run efficiently, in an organized manner, and that the staff are more than willing to help you out…well, maybe they are in some other place, but not here, and definitely not today. Our intention in going to the airline office was to get our plane tickets confirmed (make sure the flights numbers, dates, times, etc, were correct). Fate had other plans for us, however. Sarah and Bud left to do a couple errands and get some food, so I waited about two-and-a-half hours for our number to be called so that I could be told that there was no way the lady there could confirm the ticket numbers, etc, because they had been issued by another airline, and that there would be some fee for something or other, and blah blah blah. Really, the problem was that she didn’t understand that we had already booked the tickets and times, but needed them confirmed before we left. Apparently that was impossible, so she, despite our insistence that we had a train to catch, left to make a few phone calls on our behalf as a ‘favour’ (apparently customer service is a favour these days). We decided that, since we had our tickets and other vitals, and that this lady and her phone calls were useless, and that we had about ten minutes to get our train, we left frantically, grabbed our bags out of storage at the station, and jumped the train with about a minute to spare. The scenery on the train ride to Kandy was absolutely beautiful—the countryside in central Sri Lanka boasts some of the most amazingly picturesque views I’ve laid eyes on—which had something of a relaxing effect on us. Upon arrival in Kandy, we hopped into a rickshaw, only to be dropped at the bottom of the hill on which our hotel lay (insert general grumbling statement here). Super. We did find a pretty good place for a pretty good price that was empty, despite the impending festival. From there, we grabbed some food and used the internet at a different hotel up the road, then crashed for the evening.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 25

2006-08-25T08:14:00.000-06:00

Day 25, July 27th, 1530: Colombo en route to Kandy, Sri Lanka

Well, it’s a good thing that airline offices are run efficiently, in an organized manner, and that the staff are more than willing to help you out…well, maybe they are in some other place, but not here, and definitely not today. Our intention in going to the airline office was to get our plane tickets confirmed (make sure the flights numbers, dates, times, etc, were correct). Fate had other plans for us, however. Sarah and Bud left to do a couple errands and get some food, so I waited about two-and-a-half hours for our number to be called so that I could be told that there was no way the lady there could confirm the ticket numbers, etc, because they had been issued by another airline, and that there would be some fee for something or other, and blah blah blah. Really, the problem was that she didn’t understand that we had already booked the tickets and times, but needed them confirmed before we left. Apparently that was impossible, so she, despite our insistence that we had a train to catch, left to make a few phone calls on our behalf as a ‘favour’ (apparently customer service is a favour these days). We decided that, since we had our tickets and other vitals, and that this lady and her phone calls were useless, and that we had about ten minutes to get our train, we would leave frantically, grab our bags out of storage at the station, and jump the train with about a minute to spare. The scenery on the train ride to Kandy was absolutely beautiful—the countryside of central Sri Lanka boasts some of the most amazingly picturesque views I’ve laid eyes on—which had something of a relaxing effect on us. Upon arrival in Kandy, we hopped into a rickshaw, only to be dropped at the bottom of the big hill on which our hotel lay (insert general grumbling statement here). Super. We did find a pretty good place for a pretty good price that was empty, despite the impending festival. From there, we grabbed some food and used the internet at a different hotel up the road, then crashed for the evening.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 24

2006-07-30T10:25:00.000-06:00

• Day 24, July 26th, 2300: Colombo, Sri Lanka

Lesson learned from yesterday: don’t take long afternoon naps, because you’ll never get to sleep that night, and end up sleeping until noon the next day. We headed out to the main mall in this area of Colombo, and grabbed some lunch (thank goodness for decent KFC). After doing a little shopping , we found the movie theatre in the mall, and decided to come back for a show in the evening called, ‘Water.’ After the shopping, we went to look into train tickets to Kandi, changed all our Indian rupees for the Sri Lankan variety, grabbed some supper, and then headed back to the mall to check out the show. It’s a fantastic movie, and even though the dialogue is in Hindi, the English subtitles are enough to give you the story. If it’s in a movie store near you, pick it up—it’s definitely worthwhile. We turned in early tonight, and planned our trip to Kandi for the next day.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 23

2006-07-30T10:24:00.000-06:00

· Day 23, July 25th, 2045: Bombay – Chennai – Colombo, Sri Lanka

We got up at the unearthly hour of four o’clock in the morning to catch our early flight to Colombo, Sri Lanka, with a connecting flight in Chennai (formerly Madras), India. Overall, the flights weren’t too bad, though I was pretty darn tired, and dozed off in the airport in Chennai. Much to my later dismay, Bud happened to have his camera with him and snapped this lovely mug shot of yours truly, the ‘sleeping beauty’ as it were. At any rate, we got to Colombo without problem and at the baggage carrousel met an American lady from Seattle named Nicole who had been on the same flight as us. We split the cost of a cab, since her destination was right on the way with ours, and after exchanging e-mails and the usual chit-chat, decided to keep in touch and maybe join up later on our tour. We carried on to find a hotel in the area by the beach. After finally finding a decent spot to stay, we unloaded and decided to take a quick nap…which turned into a two hour nap, but hey, what can you do? After grabbing some supper, we went to check e-mails, then turn in for the night.

A Brown Guy's Travels Days 16 - 22

2006-07-30T10:23:00.000-06:00

· Days 16 - 22, July 18th – 24th, 2200: Bombay, India

We met up with our host, whose name is Bakul Kola, without much problem, though we arrived in Bombay several hours earlier than we had anticipated (not that we were complaining). Many moons ago, my mom had come to Bombay through an educational exchange program, and Bakul’s son offered to host a student for the duration of the stay, and ended up with my mom. Later, when my grandparents were traveling in India during the early 90s, they also stayed with the Kola’s, a close-knit Parsi family, so we were the third generation of my family to be taken in by the Kola’s. Life in the city was fast-paced, financially diverse, growing, offered all the expected local services with an encroachingly Western element, and carried on as usual during the spontaneous downpours that sometimes left an inch or two of water in the streets. Interestingly, many of the cultural norms are visibly different in Bombay from the rest of India, especially family structure with regards to marriage (there are fewer and fewer arranged marriages, and dating has become a much more prevalent cultural phenomenon); dress style and fashion, where Western influences are strong and easily seen; and living arrangements—with many young couples buying their own homes, not living with their parents after marriage. Unfortunately, such a vibrant, booming city isn’t untouched from the effects of the political turmoil happening on the India-Pakistan border. A week before we arrived, Pakistani militants detonated ten different bombs on the train system at the same time, temporarily throwing the city out of sorts. Luckily, the city seemed to be back to normal by the time we arrived. Shortly thereafter, the government of India put a ban on all blog sites and certain websites, so I wasn’t able to update this blog for a long time. On a more pleasant note, though, we were brought into the Kola home with as much kindness as someone could ever offer—Bakul bent over backwards (to the point of being over-protective) to make sure we were comfortable and enjoying everything. Throughout the week, Bakul showed us just about every site around the city, including the Gateway to India by the ocean; the small fishing village that virtually no one but the fishermen ever sees; took us to the huge and famous Crawford Market, which I’m sure would take two days to go through thoroughly; arranged for tours and shopping for us (and also found a suit shop for Bud and me to get tailored suits made for a good price), fed us lots of delicious Indian food, introduced us to her family and close friends, and welcomed us into her luxurious home and wonderful family. Thanks a million to the Kolas!

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 15

2006-07-30T10:07:00.000-06:00

• Day 15, July 17th, 2030: Udaipur en route to Bombay (Mumbai), India

Today, we awoke early to do some cleaning before meeting our traveling friends for a delicious, relaxed breakfast of fresh fruit salad, pancakes, eggs, toast and freshly squeezed orange juice. After killing more time around town with our fellow travelers, we saw a couple more sights in the city, then checked out of the hostel and hopped on our evening bus, departing at six, and scheduled to arrive in Bombay at around noon (yay…long and uncomfortable bus rides…and there was much rejoicing). We had phoned ahead to our host family (an old friend of my mom’s) and arranged for the lady of the house to pick us up at the train station in the area. Hopefully we meet up alright, cause it’ll sure be nice to be with someone who knows their way around the city—we’ll be awaiting our host with grateful anticipation.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 14

2006-07-30T10:05:00.000-06:00

• Day 14, July 16th, 2230: Udaipur, India

Today, we got up leisurely, cleaned up, and then went out into the city to grab some lunch and see the local sights, find a bus to Mumbai (Bombay), and book a cooking class. We bumped into Tom and the Belgians from Pushkar, and decided to make some tentative supper plans for after our afternoon cooking caper. It actually went very well, and the guy showed us the methods, and then allowed us to try making the stuff. We also got to keep a list of recipes that we made in the class, which gives us the foundation of some local cooking. It was definitely the most worth-while cultural experience we’ve had so far, because we get to take it home and share it. While sitting at a small German bakery (yes, an ‘authentic’ German bakery in India of all places) down by the lake, we saw an elephant, three mules, a small herd of cows, a very sick bull, and a pack of a half-dozen male dogs fighting over a female. There’s never a dull moment around here. As for the bus, we have another ‘super deluxe’ sleeper bus that, in the blink of an eye (i.e.; sixteen hours), will take us most comfortably to Mumbai. The suspension is supposed to be, and again I quote, ‘like riding on air’—I, being a doubting Tomas, declined to believe this no-doubt honest sales agent. Apparently the super deluxe buses in India are like the buses in Canada, or so the agent, who I doubt has been out of India, much less to Canada, has told us. Incidentally, ‘super deluxe’ doesn’t include air-conditioning. I can only imagine what the name of a bus with air-conditioning would be. Perhaps it would have the word ‘extra’ in it. Bigger and more enticing still would be the name of the bus with air-conditioning, good suspension, and comfortable sleepers. Surely it would have upwards of one ‘extra’ in its name. Perhaps three…perhaps four…I don’t know, but I’m sure I would be impressed. Oh well, I keep telling myself, it’s all part of the memorable adventure…. After the cooking class, we joined the Belgians and Tom at a roof-top restaurant for a while. Next was a little internet stop, then to another roof-top spot for some late-night card games over (as per usual) a Sprite. Off to an early bed we go, as we have some early morning breakfast plans with Tom and the Belgians. Until next time, keep fit and have fun, from Hal Johnson and Joanne McLeod…uh, I mean, good night, from Indy (it’s been a long day, so it seemed funny at the time).

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 13

2006-07-30T10:04:00.000-06:00

• Day 13, July 15th, 2330: Udaipur, India

When we got to the spot where the bus was to pick us up, we ran into the British sisters we had met the night before at supper. They had intended to leave last evening at midnight, but Jenny got really sick, so they moved their tickets to the same one as us. After playing cards with them for nearly an hour past the scheduled arrival time of our bus, our chariot arrived (deadlines are more like guidelines, really, when you’re on ‘India Time,’ as we now call it). It wasn’t exactly the most comfortable in the world, but it wasn’t the worst either. The sleepers (beds) were long enough to lay down on, but this really annoying Hindi music kept getting blared over the speaker system of the bus—not that it’s all bad, but this stuff was especially heinous. I finally managed to tune it out, and drifted off into La-la-land where I dreamt that I was flying among fluffy clouds. I was rudely awakened to the harsh reality that I was actually airborne, by my not-so-fluffy-as-a-cloud bus bed. I guess speed bumps don’t have to be slowed-down for when you’re in, and I quote, a ‘super deluxe sleeper coach’. Not that I was surprised, but the suspension wasn’t exactly as comfortable as the agent made it out to be. Add to that the fact that a really aggravating guy was standing outside the bus on my side having a repetitive, one-sided shouting match with the side of the bus (pardon the pun) at four o’clock in the morning when the bus stopped for re-fuelling. I don’t think he even knew what he was yelling for—I’m convinced he was just yelling for the sake of hearing himself shout. I was tempted to throw my backpack at him, but decided I might hurt my backpack, and that would be a shame. I think that it’s in moments like this that justifiable homicide would be an acceptable defense in any court. Finally, we pulled away and I managed to sleep for a little bit more until we arrived in Udaipur. Udaipur is a really neat lake city that was the filming location of the James Bond classic, Octopussy. Pretty much every roof-top restaurant (of which there are many) and hotel shows the movie every night of the week at 7 p.m., nearly thirty years after the movie actually came out. Ah well, at least it was a good Bond flick. After a little bit of falderal in finding a hotel for a good price, we settled in for an early morning nap, after which Sarah and I left Bud to sleep more while we went for breakfast at a restaurant that sported a pretty nice view of the city. We went out and around the city after waking Bud, seeing the colossal City Palace and museum, both of which are definitely worth checking out if you’re in the area, and some of the local shops. After supper and the movie, we found a moderately poor internet spot, and then settled in for the night.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 12

2006-07-30T10:02:00.000-06:00

• Day 12, July 14th, 2130: Pushkar, India

After being joined for breakfast by a big turtle that did laps under our table while we ate, we headed out to look around other parts of the city, find some bus tickets for the midnight sleeper bus to Udaipur, then get some lunch. For lunch, we went to the same spot as we had been at for supper the night before. This time, I noticed they had a small shed which, I found to my pleasant surprise, housed the restaurant’s pool table. I wasn’t too hungry anyway, so I just ordered a Sprite (one of many we’ve drank so far, with many more to come, I’m sure), and had the waiter bring it to the pool table. There, I met a cool British girl named China. Naturally, I had to ask where the heck she got a name like that. In Mexico, she answered. She had stayed in Mexico to travel for four months prior to coming to India two months ago. There, all the locals continually mispronounced her actual name (Gina, like Davis), so she gave up and decided that her traveling name was, from then on, China. There’s definitely no shortage of interesting stories from the road, that’s for sure. At any rate, we kept on shooting pool for a couple hours, then sat down and had a proper lunch there, since we were right at the restaurant anyway. We stayed there for about another hour, just chatting about our two countries, growing up, traveling, and all that jazz. I think I made the head waiter at that restaurant mad, though, because he was working on picking her up when he was playing pool with her and I walked in, got the next game (and the next one, and so on), had lunch with her, then left to go for a walk around the town and the lake with her. I kinda feel bad—well, no I really don’t, to be honest, cause we had a good walk and chit-chat all the way around the lake in the middle of the city. We parted ways after admiring the view of the lake from her balcony and chatting some more in her quaint lake-side hostel. After chilling for a while in my own hotel, Bud, Sarah, and I headed to a yoga class for a good lesson in how out of shape and inflexible we are compared to some sixty year old dude. Next on our busy agenda was getting some supper, which we found at a restaurant specializing in Israeli food (in this case, Israeli pizza). Strange market niche for a country that’s a long ways from Israel, but I guess it works. After supper, we split up, and Bud and Sarah went to check e-mails, while I went back to the hotel. On the way, I bumped into Gina again, and chit-chatted for a while more from her awesome balcony, exchanged some money from back home (£1 sterling for a couple Canadian quarters, a dime, and three pennies), then said our final goodbyes and parted company. I got back to the hotel, cleaned up, beat Bud something fierce at chess, then our trio left to catch our ‘luxury’ midnight bus to Udaipur.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 11

2006-07-30T10:00:00.000-06:00

• Day 11, July 13th, 0900: Pushkar, IndiaIt’s my 22nd birthday!! Yay for me!! I’m awesome!! Here’s a pic of the birthday card that Sarah made for me in honour of yesterday’s poop incident. But enough about that, and back to what you’re probably interested in. We had a breakfast buffet at the hotel we’re staying at, which offered lots of food for a good price (and the company of a few small creatures, namely a couple lizards and a mouse), so naturally we filled up (not on the small creatures) for the long, hard day of relaxing we had ahead of us. While meandering through the main market, we bumped into a couple of Belgians and an Aussie named Tom, who were traveling together throughout India. After chatting for almost an hour, we made plans for supper and split up from there to do a little shopping (most of it window shopping), visited a couple shrines, and relaxed for a bit back at our hotel. The three people we had met earlier were joined by another two sisters named Sarah and Jenny from England. After enjoying a good meal in the company of some cool (though very different) people, we headed on up to the only half-decent Internet café in town. It’s maddening sometimes how slow and out-of-date the technology is in most of the places so far in India. Thank goodness for the good stuff at home. A big ‘thank you’ to all those who sent me a birthday wish today, and don’t worry, I’m not the kind of guy who gets into too much trouble on his first birthday overseas…ha ha ha. All in all, the day went well, except for the ending of it: after leaving the internet café early, I got chased by a cow and some dogs into an alley and then got all turned around, but eventually found my way back to the hotel. Stupid cows, with their chasing and their poop. Oh well, at least it was a memorable cap to my birthday.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 10

2006-07-30T09:59:00.000-06:00

• Day 10, July 12th, 1930: Jaipur – Ajmer – Pushkar, India

We had one last meal at the nice hotel in Jaipur, then caught a rickshaw to the train station in Jaipur, and boarded our 1200 train (which, surprisingly, was on time). En route to the train station, just outside the hotel, my foot managed to find the remains of a cow’s dinner, which I couldn’t actually wash off in the rickshaw, so I had to wait until we reached the train station, where I found a wall faucet in the washroom that I could thoroughly wash my foot and sandal off with (the joys of travel in this part of the world…). Oh well, I figure I’ll look back at this in September when I get back and have a good laugh. It really wasn’t funny at the time, though, believe me. After the cow-poo debacle, we searched for our no-doubt luxurious sleeper coach to Ajmer. Finding the right train was a little confusing, because nothing’s labeled clearly at all, including platform numbers, train numbers, cart numbers—nothing. Oh well, we found it, and that’s what counts. Our three hour train ride took us to a small town called Ajmer. There, we dined at a cool restaurant called Mango Masala, a neat little local joint that’s very popular both locally and with tourists. The pizza was delicious, the décor and atmosphere was funky and eclectic, and everything but the bathroom lived up to the expectations. Trust me, it’s best if you don’t know the details and just take me on my word that it wasn’t the nicest I’ve been in. We got to the bus terminal, got our 10-cent tickets, and steeled ourselves for the hour-and-a-half long, very crowded bus ride to Pushkar. Once our bus finally managed to pull out of the also very crowded terminal (they packed way too many buses in far too small an area), the driver decided to stop and pick up more people a few times on the way and pack them in like sardines, specifically in our seats. Awesome. Any way, we arrived in one piece to Pushkar. Pushkar itself is probably the cleanest, least smelly city we’ve been in so far. The touts (beggars and salesmen) are a little bit less annoying and pushy here, though they still do their best to sell you something, rest assured. Sarah and I got a Sprite at a little roadside restaurant and watched the bags while Bud went and found us a nice, central hotel. The rooms aren’t quite as nice as in Jaipur, but they are nice, and the central courtyard/ garden is beautiful, and the upstairs balconies offer beautiful views of the sacred lake that the city is built around. All in all, I’d say it’s a great little spot to stay in, and the restaurants around the place are really quite nice. The restaurant we visited tonight for supper was a couple stories up above the noise of the street, had a great view, and delicious food at a good price. If you ever come through India, definitely check out Pushkar. It’s definitely a city worth staying at for a few days to just slow down and enjoy a few of the simpler sights.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 9

2006-07-30T09:58:00.000-06:00

• Day 9, July 11th, 1545: Jaipur, India

Well, today was jam-packed with sleeping in, eating leisurely, and a little R&R (that’s reading & relaxing, just so you know). Bud and Sarah went out to grab some train tickets for tomorrow’s journey to Ajmer, while I got lost in the pages of a really good book called, The Pact, by Jody Picoult (I recommend her work to anyone interested in a gripping novel). They returned to find me in exactly the same spot as when they left—yes, the book was that good. We chilled and visited for a little bit more, watched some TV and then headed to a rooftop Italian restaurant for a late supper. Yessir, days like this sure make it hard to be a traveler…nah, actually it’s great. Hope everyone back home is enjoying their summer as much as I am.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 8

2006-07-30T09:57:00.000-06:00

• Day 8, July 10th, 1745: Jaipur, India

After a great sleep and a delicious breakfast, we moved on up to a room with a view. It’s a gorgeous room (relative to some places we’ve stayed) with a good-sized bathroom, our own patio, (which sports an excellent vantage point on the rest of the city), and a TV. Pretty nice indeed. We spent the day looking around the city, and just taking in the sights. We saw a palace, an old temple, and a wicked-cool observatory today, and were again impressed by how skilled the craftsmen were back then. The observatory houses the world’s largest sundial, various calendars, star charts, and other astronomical instruments. A building adjacent to the observatory held all the documents and observations made there by the six astronomers, including the Maharaja (like a king) at the time, and the observatory was used even up to forty years ago. The documents in the library had been translated into seventeen other Indian languages, as well as Greek and Arabic. I can’t even begin to describe how amazing the observatory was in its accuracy, sophistication, and technological advancement for the time. Such ornate detailing and work is, unfortunately, a lost art and a beauty that goes unappreciated by most of the world, which is a great pity. Some people thought this trip was a crazy idea. I say some people need to experience the beauty in the rest of the world and then see if they’d call something like this crazy...

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 7

2006-07-30T09:56:00.000-06:00

• Day 7, July 9th, 0930: Jaipur, India

After a pretty decent (but cold and much delayed) train ride from Agra to Jaipur last night, we found a nice hostel, but stayed in the budget section for the night. After being rudely awakened by the screeching of the peacocks outside the hostel on the rooftops, we went down for a breakfast of more banana pancakes—a very common breakfast item in Southeast Asia. This was a bit of a twist on banana pancakes as we had experienced them before; they peeled a banana, wrapped a thin pancake (more like a crepe) around it and served it just like that with some honey on the side. Oh well, it still tasted good. We did some sightseeing around the city, and tried to find a good flick at the theatres, but it was sold out. We broke down and went to a nice restaurant called Niro’s (a famous tourist spot in Jaipur), and had a fancy, delicious meal…for the price of about $4.50 each.Most of the Indian population makes less than that amount per day, and we were rich enough to be able to afford that at the drop of a hat. I’m continually reminded in India not to take for granted that I have a lot of money, and that I make enough in one hour at my job at home in order to live more than comfortably for a day as a traveler. It’s easy to think at home that spending a few bucks here and there on myself doesn’t really make a big deal, but if I were to add up the amount of money spent frivolously (however small it may be), and then change that number of dollars into any number of foreign currencies (for instance, rupees), I think it would be surprising how long you could last just fine in a third world country—certainly at a higher standard than some of the people here who have to build their tents on the side of the streets and live right next to the passing traffic. One of the most frustrating things about experiencing the poverty up close and personal is knowing that if I give one of these poor kids or grown ups some money, it isn’t going to help. A better plan might be to figure out half of what you would normally spend just on yourself at home (above and beyond the basics) and donate that amount to some sort of charitable organization (UNICEF, EWB, Doctors Without Borders, World Vision, etc.) so that at least the money you give goes toward doing something for those who are truly desperate. Money without effective action and compassion is like trying to bail out the Titanic with a thimble. It’s just keeping them dependent on the system that they’re already trapped in. The problem of poverty here is that the money-making mechanism of the poor in the third world (especially in India) is entwined inextricably to outside resources for their survival, with no other means of creating their own sustainable economy. The few cottage industries and some emerging ‘western’ economic pillars (mainly technology-based) just aren’t changing the standard of living across the board for one reason: segregation. The only people with access to the developing, sustainable markets are those who can afford the needed education. The only people who can afford the needed education are those relative few in the upper class and the emerging middle class; the caste system still lingers, relegating certain of the population (and a good percentage at that) to less than human, and the society continues in the vicious circle in which it’s stuck. Only until there is equal opportunity (most importantly, the opportunity for education and choice about career) for everyone—the poor and women included—will poverty be alleviated,. I had the chance to discuss the poverty issue with a guy named Ben from England last night in the lobby, and I asked him what he thought the cause of poverty was. He answered, ‘greed,’ which I can’t fully agree with. Greed is a desire for more than the sufficient provisions one has, and it’s the shadow of selfishness and jealousy. If you don’t have anything to begin with, you can’t be greedy when you’re trying to get money for food; or good shelter, or decent clothing, or some kind of education for your kids. The truly poor in India are desperate, not greedy, and they don’t need a hand-out, they need a hand up.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 6

2006-07-30T09:54:00.000-06:00

• Day 6, July 8th, 0600: Agra, India

We awoke bright and early today to go see the famous Taj Mahal while it wasn’t blazing hot. It was built as a mausoleum by the king Shah Jahan for his favourite wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child. As gorgeous as it all looks in photographs and on TV, nothing compares to actually walking through the spectacular gateway and gardens leading up to the building itself. I don’t have enough words or webspace to properly describe the beauty and intricacy of the Taj Mahal, and you can only ever truly appreciate it if you go to see it. It is by far the most amazing building I have ever seen. It was designed to be symmetrical from all four sides. On the outside, it is. On the inside, it was only supposed a tomb to hold the queen, but the king’s son, who took over and imprisoned his father, decided to bury the king next to his wife, and ruined the symmetry of the place. A smaller, less stunning mausoleum was built adjacent to the Taj, and it was where the king was supposed to be buried. For symmetry purposes, a replica of what was supposed to be the king’s tomb was built on the other side of the Taj Mahal; this building was turned into a mosque later, and the king’s tomb sits empty. At one point during British rule, much of the gold, silver, textiles, and furniture were removed from the Taj and sold by the viceroy at the time. The idea of auctioning off the Taj Mahal for the value of the marble alone was actually put forth as a good idea! Thank goodness someone realized the idiocy of further ruining such an amazing piece of history. It amazes me that, for greed and greed alone, one country would, for starters, annex a hundred other countries, and secondly try to sell it’s colony’s (and probably the world’s) most beautiful monument to a man’s love for his wife. All that just to make a few bucks…

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 5

2006-07-30T09:53:00.000-06:00

• Day 5, July 7th, 1745: Delhi en route to Agra, India

First of all, happy birthday to Winston and Malini today (don’t worry, Mal, I won’t embarrass you by saying how old you are on the Internet). We boarded the train this morning and I was surprised at how comfortable it really was. We got the front row of the cart, meaning lots of leg room; the seats were comfy; we were served cold bottled water and decent food, the cart was air-conditioned; the express train only took a couple hours…all in all, it was much more than I was expecting. Unfortunately, I was informed that it was pretty much downhill from there, since we were riding the nicest rail line in India. Oh well, it’s all part of the adventure. We arrived in Agra, found a taxi to a hostel, and got ready to go see the Taj Mahal. Normally that would be fine, except the Taj is closed on Fridays. Awesome thinking ahead on our part. Oh well, at least there’s other interesting attractions to see, like Akbar’s tomb, and other forts/museums. Again, the detail work and stunning beauty of it was enough to leave you speechless, and the tomb of Akbar (an old king from back in the day about three hundred years) has the coolest sounding echo in it ever. We went sight-seeing around Agra, found an Internet café near the hostel, then went back to the hostel to try and escape the heat. It didn’t work. What also didn’t help anything was that none of us was feeling great, so food really didn’t appeal. The heat here drains your energy and takes away your appetite, which only worsens the problem of not feeling great. They say that what doesn’t kill you only makes you stronger—I sure hope they’re right about that one…

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 4

2006-07-30T09:50:00.000-06:00

• Day 4, July 6th, 1100: Delhi, India

We decided this morning to change our plane tickets from Sri Lanka to Taiwan in order to stay longer in Sri Lanka, and spend less time in Taiwan. Sarah and I ran around Delhi like chickens with our heads cut off for the better part of four hours trying to find the right people to talk to, airline offices, etc, while Bud stayed in the hostel because he was feeling worse today. At long last, we found who and what we needed, changed the tickets, and went back to the hostel for supper. During our trek through the downtown financial district, I noticed a sign advertising abortion pills. Sarah, who’s a pharmacist, was telling me that in Canada and the U.S., the drug is banned (and for good reason). Here in India, where the culture is different than Canada’s in a million ways, there’s nothing wrong with just popping a pill to keep from the inconvenience of bearing the life you started. All I could do was shake my head. What else can a person do, except be thankful that in Canada, at least killing your baby isn’t quite as convenient as the neighbourhood pharmacy?

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 3

2006-07-08T00:32:00.000-06:00

• Day 3, Pt 1, July 5th, 0300: Delhi, India

Well, I’m officially landed in India, and it’s baking hot at 3 a.m. After some confusion about which gate to be picked up at, and where my greeting party was, I finally stumbled upon Sarah at the door to the airport. Shortly thereafter, we got our taxi back, and were well on our way to our luxury hostel to get a good first night’s sleep. What I wasn’t fully prepared for was the absolute chaos that is Indian traffic. People in their bikes, rickshaws, trucks, cars, etc. weave in and out and around everything from other cars and trucks to people sleeping on the side of the road to cattle, stray dogs, goats, pigs, and fruit stands. There are no set lanes in India, just a big road that everybody drives on in order to get to where they need to go. Oddly enough, I haven't seen one traffic accident, and even though everybody honks their horns, nobody is angry; they use their horns as a means of communication, as if to say, “I’m passing you,” sometimes on the road, sometimes on the shoulder, or in the opposite lane. We made it in one piece to the very nice hostel in Delhi—right in the middle of a back alley in the slums of the main bazaar. There’s trash in the streets, with people and animals wandering about or sleeping on the ground. The smell of un-bathed people, feces, rotten food and garbage mix together in the thick, hot air to give you the perfume of India’s poverty. It sticks to you like your clothes in the inescapable humidity—a poignant reminder of the benefits of the lifestyles we enjoy in North America. Our hostel room seems like a luxury 5-star hotel compared to the conditions of those in the street. We enjoy a ceiling fan, marble floors, a TV, two beds, and our own running water and bathroom with a shower (open and right next to the toilet). Truly it’s traveler’s luxury at its finest for about $3 each per night. Meals at the nearby hole-in-the-wall restaurant cost between 30 and 75 cents, sometimes with a drink included. Incredible. Back home, the amount of money needed for three meals a day at this fine establishment for a week sits in the pockets, purses, change pouches, and piggy banks of nearly everybody. Because of the poverty, people try to take advantage of you, or make you take pity on them—starve enough people, and soon everyone becomes a criminal. It’s bad if you’re a tourist, and especially bad if you’re a white woman, like Sarah; people are either amazed at your appearance, or show disdain for you as a female and try to make you pay way too much for everything. Desperate times call for desperate measures, and nowhere have I seen that more pointedly than in Delhi. Every shady deal under the sun transpires in the ghettos, and the people who approach you ostensibly offering a taxi ride, food, or a road map will, in the same breath try to sell you drugs, women, or porn. The saddest thing is that it’s the only way they know how to provide for their families, and often have to employ their children in either the sex trade or theft, scamming gullible and careless tourists. Poverty begets poverty in the slums, and a lack of good, available education and housing facilities only exacerbate the problems. Thank God for the small mercies of growing up in privileged North America.

• Day 3, Pt 2, July 5th,1030: Delhi, India

Today, Bud and I made our way to the New Delhi Train Station to book our tickets to Agra for the day after tomorrow. It’s amazing how much better you feel in an air-conditioned building—though it’s only a small reprieve. Having booked our tickets, we went back to the hostel, because Bud was feeling sick from something he and Sarah had caught just before I arrived. We relaxed the day away so I could recover from jet lag, and so Bud and Sarah would feel better in the morning. In the evening, Bud and I went to the Red Fortress in Delhi, which is a beautiful red-sandstone fort/royal dwelling that was set up hundreds of years ago. The architectural detail that went into some of the monuments and historical buildings in India is breathtaking. The rulers employed thousands of craftsmen to ever so carefully make each pillar, wall detail, fountain, doorway, throne, etc. exactly the same. The result is amazingly detailed symmetrical buildings, with marble, sandstone, precious stone, silver, and gold inlay. You’ll never see anything as beautiful in North America, I’m sure. The best is yet to come, as we head to Agra soon to see the Taj Mahal.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 2

2006-07-08T00:30:00.000-06:00

• Day 2, Pt 1, July 4th, 0900: Birmingham International Airport, Birmingham, UK

Planes are like buses—well, not really, but you do meet really interesting people on both during your travels. Plenty of screaming, crying kids, families of all shapes and sizes, and, of course, the strange person sitting next to you who has many very interesting stories to tell you. For instance, the guy I sat next to told me all about whiskey, including how he drank it everyday in India, his favourite kind, and so on. He also shared with me every job he’d held since he was twelve, including the fact that he worked on a sugar cane plantation for forty years. He’s also been married for fifty years…and so on and so forth. I guess you wouldn’t be memorable if you weren’t different…

• Day 2, Pt 2, July 4th, 2340: Amritsar, India

Out of the icebox, into the oven. That’s how it was stepping off the plane in Amritsar for the hour-and-a-half layover. My glasses started steaming up, and my clothes clung to me like I had just jumped into a pool. It’s gonna be crazy hot like this for the rest of the trip. I guess I’ll get used to it as I go. That’s all for now.

A Brown Guy's Travels Day 1

2006-07-08T00:22:00.000-06:00

• Day 1, Prologue, July 3rd, 0430: Saskatoon International Airport, Saskatoon, Canada

After hanging out and visiting with a few friends who (mostly) stayed up all night to see me off at the airport, we arrived in lots of time to check in and beat the crazy long line-ups that came soon after (thank goodness). It’s nice to have a few good, close friends who’ll come and see you off as you go on a crazy adventure half way around the world for a couple months. Big thanks go out to J, Carie, and Ca…I mean Karla (thank goodness for spell-checking, eh?) for being there and sharing the tears (well, Carie's, anyway). And who could forget my Mom, who was there to bring me food? Thanks a bunch!

• Day 1, Pt. 1, July 3rd, 1215: Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Canada

West Jet flight attendants are the best! I had lunch with one named Tara from my flight at the airport after de-boarding. After a quick bite and chit-chat, I moved on to try and find my cousin’s incoming flight from Saskatoon for a quick visit before he moved on to Frankfurt. Unsuccessful as I was, I did get to know the airport pretty well. Sorry, Regan.

• Day 1, Pt 2, July 3rd, 1400: Toronto Subway Terminal, Toronto, Canada

I hopped on the subway system to get to the Consulate-General of India’s office on Yonge Street (downtown Toronto) to pick up my passport and visa for India. The public transit system’s pretty good in Toronto; for $2.75, I was able to get on the bus from the airport and get a transfer that worked on the subway system to get me all the way downtown and back, then back to the airport. While at the office to pick up my visa, I met a guy who had come in almost every day for the past four months to pick up his kids’ renewed passports. Poor guy—hopefully he gets them soon. I felt bad for being able to walk right in and get mine in about two minutes, but such are the joys of bureaucracy and red tape…

• Day 1, Pt 3, July 3rd, 1630: Pearson International Airport, Toronto, Canada

I had a rather interesting conversation with a guy named Raoul. I was shaving, brushing my teeth, and generally trying to smell, look, and feel a little cleaner. At the adjacent sink was a bald guy who commented that he used the same razor, only on his head to keep it closely shaved. He then launched into such heady discussion topics as whether it was better to use electric or regular razors (he uses an electric for his face, and a regular razor to shave his head), and why the ladies like a shaved head. I quickly countered with the argument that girls liked to run their fingers through my nice curly hair. He shrugged and said, “to each his own, my friend—to each
his own,” and left. Very strange, that boy was.

The business of being serious

2005-07-24T00:01:00.000-06:00

In today's world, the issues of getting a good education and a good career and settling down with a good spouse and practising good parenting to raise good kids and so on are on the forefront of many people's mind during various stages of their life. It may start as early as high school for some, and can continue until a person's early thirties and even beyond. Really, though, treating every decision as being gravely serious and the consequences of a bad one being dire is quite inane. At best, it will leave a person always on edge about their decisions and the consequences, without allowing them to relax and enjoy the fruits of their labour and life. At worst, it can ingrain in an individual a sense of near-paralysis; they will be unable to make a decision for fear of the consequences. Rather than support an overly-serious view of life, I propose a view which allows for mistakes and learning experiences, though without encouraging them. Of course, a foolhardy lifestyle is no more respectable than one which is too serious, but making decisions and sticking to them is an important part of learning about yourself and others, whether or not your decisions end up being mistakes.

Idyllic ignorance or troubling truths?

2005-05-04T13:12:00.000-06:00

I was driving along running some errands the other day and got to thinking: is it better to live peacefully in ignorance of a set of facts, or to learn of the truth of those facts, even if it is extremely difficult to take? I've pondered this question for a while now, and concluded that, although it's a great deal easier to continue living your life as normal (for "where ignorance is bliss, 'tis folly to be wise..."), much good can come from discovering the facts and, if necessary, changing yourself accordingly.

However, there are those who would argue for ignorance; for instance, consider the case of a child who has been adopted from birth, or where the child didn't know one or more of their birth parents, but lived with two parents who (unbeknownst to the child) were not both the child's birth parents. Surely knowing the truth would be a sever shock to the child, and if the child were not well-adjusted and emotionally stable this knowledge would do nothing but deal a damaging blow to the child's psyche. No good could ever come out of learning the truth in this situation--at least not without quite a bit of therapy. So, if the damage caused from learning the truth would be too great, it clearly would be better to be ignorant of the facts. Why not "let sleeping dogs lie"? It wouldn't be worth the damage caused for the truth to be told to the child. Therefore, in some cases, it really is better for people to not know anything different, and to carry on as they always have. I guess what the question really comes down to is just how much is wisdom worth?

The beginnings

2005-03-07T15:45:00.000-06:00

Well, I set up this blog based on a spur-of-the-moment decision; I've never kept a journal or anything and suddenly thought this would be a neat thing to do. It's just new, and thus a little rough around the edges, so bear with me until I get everything set up the way I want it.

If you have any comments on it, please feel free to post them.

Later,

Indy