On My Way to Solving World Hunger

Leaving our beach haven in Palolem Beach behind, we moved 70 km's north to Panjim, the capital of the small Goa state. The Portuguese influence was very evident in the old quarter of Fontainhaus where we stayed for 3 nights.......some nice older, well maintained homes and other ones that were a sad memory of their former self. On one day we took the local bus to Old Goa (10 km's) where there were several massive churches (and nearby convents) all within a hundred meters of each other. They were built in the 16th and 17th centuries when the population (250,000) exceeded the number of people living in Lisbon. Unfortunately, plagues took their toll on the city (malaria, cholera) and in 1850 the capital was shifted to Panjim. Now there are less than 10,000 people living there, mostly catering to the tourist industry. There were also several large churches in Panjim, although that was balanced by the many floating casinos on the wide Mandovi River, near where it emptied into the Arabian Sea. We found a great Indian restaurant close to our small hotel, and we ate there every day. Prior to departing we said goodbye to our friends, Neal and Linda, as our paths were about to diverge after spending 3 weeks together. It was fun travelling with them.

We took an 11 hour train ride to Mumbai, choosing that mode because of the scenic ride along the way, and the fact that we had been able to secure an air-conditioned sleeper cabin (more room) for our journey. Sometimes they are 2 person cabins, and 4 people on other occasions......the price is the same ($60 for two of us on this trip) but you never know until you get on the train. For this trip it was a 4 person cabin, and our 'guests' boarded the train at the station after ours. Ramesh (India) and Elizabeth (Sweden) turned out to be nice people and we had some good conversations along the way. One of these discussions surrounded the growing concern of farmers converting their rice fields (an Indian staple) into more lucrative cash crops such as avocados (new to India), palm trees (palm oil) and grapes (burgeoning wine industry). My line of thinking, which I must admit has been challenged on more than one occasion, was that growing more grapes might actually solve more problems than it creates. First of all, there many people out there (including many of you reading this blog), who enjoy drinking wine and would prefer an extra glass at dinner rather than a second helping. Following this logic, a surplus of wine would be more beneficial than having too much food. If the trend continued and the amount of available food declined then it might also help solve the over-population problem, and those that survived would certainly be happy people. You see, there are solutions to every problem that people think there are today......just ask me.....after I have consumed several glasses of wine, of course.

Now where were we?........oh yeah, we were on a train to Mumbai, on our own again. No chance of being lonely in this city of almost 21 million people though. Rhonda had pre-purchased a breathing mask in anticipation of poor air quality but we were pleasantly surprised......it wasn't great but it wasn't nearly as bad as '6 cigarettes a day' Bangalore. Perhaps it was because we spent our two full days in the Fort area near the south end of island (Mumbai is connected to the mainland by bridges). We spent our first day walking around the east side.....the Gateway of India (King George V visit commemorative), Taj Mahal Hotel (2008 terrorist attack and now security checks tighter than an airport), and many of their architectural gems in the Fort area. Today we walked over to the west side and along the Marine Drive promenade to Chowatty Beach which our Lonely Planet described as toxic water and had bad smells (according to my partner who can still smell things like that). That didn't seem to stop some locals from venturing into the water however. We also toured the house where Ghandi lived from 1917-1934, which had a wonderful photographic record of his life, including original letters that he wrote to Hitler and Roosevelt in an attempt to stop World War II. After that we went to Mahalaxmi Dhobi Ghat, Mumbai's oldest and largest human-powered washing machine(32 acres). We watched hundreds of people (males) washing and then beating the dirt out of the wet clothes against the concrete surfaces beside the tubs. Then they hung the clothes to dry on the roofs above which were right beside a busy railway station and traffic bridge. I have gained a new appreciation for our North American process.

Tomorrow we will be boarding another train, this time to Aurangabad which is 7 hours inland and a good base for exploring Ellora and Ajanta which have World Heritage listed temple caves dating back to the 2nd century BC. I have a bottle of wine with me for the train ride in case anyone on board tells me they have a problem that needs to be solved.

Panjim, Goa - The Hospederia Abrigo de Bothelho where we stayed for 3 nights. Our two rooms were on the upper floor at the front so we shared the front balcony with Neal and Linda. We had our breakfasts in the garden at the back. The owner (Roy) was very friendly and helpful.....we wish him well.

Spotted this as we walked through the old quarter of Fontainhaus.

Old Goa - Se Cathedral. The largest church in Asia, completed in 1652, 90 years after construction began.

The Last Supper - at our favourite restaurant, Viva Panjim.

Mumbai - Taj Mahal Palace. Security was extremely tight, with a barricade to check the trunk and under the hood of any vehicle wanting to enter the main entranceway to drop off passengers. Would have been nice to stay there but at $600-900 a night we might have had to return home sooner :-)

Street parking chaos on our walkabout. Hope none of the curbside vehicles hope to leave anytime soon because there were two additional lanes of abandoned cars. That still left 3 lanes for traffic to pass through, (or perhaps start one more parking lane).

One of the many busy traffic circles in Mumbai - even a pedestrian going with the flow.



Chowatty Beach - a small beach with "toxic water" according to our Lonely Planet. We took a pass.

An amazing man that you appreciate even more every time you learn something new about him.

Amazing view from the traffic bridge next to the busy train station. Not sure how clean the clothes are after hanging in what passes for fresh air but they have been doing this for 140 years and people keep sending their laundry there, so there must be some magic formula.

 

Chillin at 30 Celcius

Our most recent stops have been very laid back and we are quite relaxed right now. The busy cities of India seem like a distant memory.

First, we stayed at a farm and guest house, 50 km’s from Belgaum, in a forest-jungle setting. The farm was situated on 45 acres, next to a wildlife sanctuary, and the nearest neighbour lived more than 1 km away. The birds would sing to us every morning and the sky was full of stars every night. The guest house was run by a lovely Indian family who have owned the property for 34 years, initially as a farm and recently adding two cabins and a tree house for guests to stay in. Although the tree house appealed to us (nice views), the middle of the night trips to the toilet down the steep stairs resulted in both couples choosing the cabins. David ate meals with us and helped us understand their culture better while his wife (Morvarid) cooked up 3 delicious meals a day. Their daughter (Katrina) had just completed her PhD and was helping out before moving on to a new job in Kuala Lampur, Malaysia later in the week. Both Mori and Kat joined us after our evening meal for some entertaining conversations.

During our four days at the guest house we did several hikes. On the first day, David led us through the forest on an 8 km walk to a river where we all refreshed ourselves with a swim in the cool, clean water. Another day we walked to the nearest village, 5 km’s away, where both the children and parents came out of their homes to have a look (and smile) at the ‘white’ foreigners passing by. David also guided us up and down nearby Bear Hill which had a good view of the surrounding valleys. We didn’t spot any wildlife other than birds and the large red squirrel, but there was plenty of evidence (feces, soil disturbance, remains) indicating that sloth bears, anteaters, porcupines, eagles and the soon-to-be-famous Katrina Crab were recently in the area. On another day, the ladies took a cooking class with Mori, which then formed the basis for our meal that night, and have promised to re-create some her magic when we return home. During the afternoons we played lots of games with our friends, Neal and Linda, and David somehow rose to the challenge to keep us sufficiently suffonsified with drinks. Hot water and electricity were only available for a few hours during the day but we went with the no internet, eco-friendly flow and it turned out to be a wonderful visit.

We have now moved on to Goa, back on the west coast, and it is another slice of heaven. We are staying in cabins on a crescent shaped, sandy beach (Palolem) that stretches for one kilometre. The large cove delivers warm, calm water with beautiful sunsets as we watch the sun disappear into the Arabian Sea every night. Large beers (650 ml) can be had for $2 at any of the bars along the beach, or while relaxing in the beach loungers at our resort. We have discovered the nearby German Bakery which serves up tasty and filling breakfasts each morning, and we are eating fresh seafood dinners right on the beach at night. We are doing barefoot beach walks every day, finding more lovely beaches in other coves further along the coast from where we are staying, and taking regular dips in the sea to cool off when it gets too hot. Wine is much more accessible in Goa than in other places we have been so we have loaded up with some of our preferred Indian wines. Sadly for me, when I inquired about a $5 white wine that I have come to like, the store owner had to go to the back of the store to retrieve it, explaining to me that it was a ‘cooking’ wine………my taste buds obviously have not fully recovered!

Tomorrow we will move on, further up the Goan coast to Panjim. Back to city life for a few days to explore the area where the Portuguese ruled for 450 years, and only relinquished in 1961.

Khanapur Market on the way to our Belgaum guest house. This lady was selling live chickens.

Our cabin at the Hermitage Farm and Guest House in the middle of a forest-jungle. From the main road it was a 3.5 km ride along a bumpy dirt road which ended at the farm.

The swimming hole at the end of our 8 km walk. The water was cool but felt great after our hike. Kat showed up with some cold beers which made it even better.

Our hike to the top of Bear Hill with David.

Our dining room. We used the table at the back for our daily afternoon games.

The Art Resort at Palolem Beach in Goa. There were 7 cabins all less than 50 metres from the sandy beach so we didn't wear much tread off of our sandals during our stay there.

The beach right in front of our cabins.

When we saw the fresh seafood displayed in front of the Bamboo beach restaurant it didn't take us long to find a table and order our meals.

Our beachside table. Our waiter took this picture while we were ready to start eating our fin-to-tail tuna meal gazing out at the Arabian Sea and starlit night.

We were astute enough (or lucky) to not select the cabin with a hole in the net above the roof. After hearing a loud bang, Neal and Linda discovered that a coconut had dropped from the tree above their cabin and crashed through the bathroom roof. Before we finished our glass of wine on their deck the support staff had not only cleaned up the mess inside but also replaced the roof tiles. This obviously wasn't the first time this has happened.

We Started Smoking 6 Cigarettes a Day

Bangalore is a very large city (8.5 million people) with a lot of information technology companies, so it is seen as one of the more progressive cities in India. Unfortunately they haven’t found a software solution to resolve the traffic congestion and poor air quality that exists. While we were there, a newspaper article revealed that a recent UN environmental study had determined that the particulate matter in the city air was akin to smoking 6 cigarettes day. Delhi, where we will finish our trip, was rated even worse, with an equivalent of 20 cigarettes a day….…we have decided to not spend very much time there. While we were in Bangalore we did walk around to see some of their attractions (old fort, palace, botanical gardens) but didn’t see anything too exciting other than trying to cross the road in heavy traffic several times. We gave up our new found smoking habit after two days and caught an overnight train to Hospet where the Hampi Boulders and ancient ruins remain amongst the small surrounding villages. Our good friends, Neal and Linda, met up with us in Bangalore, and we are now spending several weeks travelling together. We enjoy their company and play lots of games when we return to our hotel from sightseeing every day.

While in the Hampi area for five nights we stayed in a thatched-roof cottage in a small village (Anegundi) where the manager was very helpful and the staff very friendly. Most days we walked one kilometre to the river, took a 20 cent flat boat ferry to the other side, and then either walked or took a tuk tuk the other 4 km’s into Hampi. The area was surrounded by giant boulders that seemed curiously stacked on top of one another but were too large to have been intentionally placed there. It made for beautiful scenery. There were also massive ruins (3700 monuments spread over 36 sq. miles) reflecting the 500,000 people that inhabited the area between 1335 – 1565. Today less than 10,000 reside in Hampi which thrives on the tourist business. On three different days we hired a tuk tuk driver for the day ($12 with tip) to take us to the Royal Centre (baths, pavilions, temples spread out over several km’s), the Hampi Bazaar area (active Virupaksha Temple, ancient commerce centre, many monuments) and also to the Anajandri Hill area (500 steps to hilltop temple with great views, some 3500 year old cave paintings and another hillside temple). When we visited the Vittala Temple on another day, they were shooting a Bollywood movie (Kick Part II starring Ravi Tejar) which was interesting to watch for a while until they kept doing re-takes on the same scene. The temple was near the river so we walked along it into Hampi observing the locals in their coracles (round boats) and had much deserved beers at the Laughing Buddha bar which overlooked the river on the non-dry (alcohol) side of town. It was a very relaxing stay in Hampi and we enjoyed the people, scenery and quiet spaces.

We are now in Badami, a town of 30,000 people that is famous for its magnificent 6th century rock-cut  cave temples. The temples were in excellent shape considering how old they are. While scrambling around the large water reservoir below the caves we discovered some hillside art that was quite entertaining. Badami is also known for bad wine which we had heard about before coming here so we brought some extra bottles with us. While walking through town we still succumbed to the foolish idea of sampling some small bottles of the cheap local wine which we ended up pouring down the drain. Tomorrow we have hired a driver for the day to take us to several sites outside of town. In Pattadakal we will visit some 3^rd century temples and in Aihole (no jokes please) there are ruins of 100 temples from the 4-6th centuries.

When we walked by the Stadium in Bangalore we came across several hundred people who were involved in a Disaster Recovery training session. The organizers wanted their picture taken with us and introduced us to the man on the right who was a Defense Minister / General. 

This was a scene from the movie (Kick Part II) that was being filmed at the Vittala Temple when we arrived. They were still shooting the same scene 45 minutes later when we were leaving. 

A scene from the day we walked along the river to get to Hampi. The round boats are called coracles and are used by the locals for fishing or crossing the river. The Hampi boulders are everywhere as are ladies doing their laundry wherever there is water.

Hampi - Royal Centre walk. This was the Lotus Mahal, the Queen's recreational mansion. Lotus shaped hallways and decorations.

View from the Anegundi Hill, part way up the 500 steps. Rice fields below and the Vittala Temple in the distance (on the other side of the Tungabhadra River).

This was the flat boat ferry we took almost every day to cross the Tungabhadra River form our village. They loaded 6-8 motorcycles first and then the passengers squeezed into the remaining open spots.

Hampi Bazaar area. The Virupaksha Temple, one of the city's oldest structures and only remaining 'working' temple.

Hampi - near the temple. When the monkeys weren't up to some kind of mischief, they took time out for personal hygiene. 

Badami Caves. This was Cave 1 and the other 3 were further up the mountain stairs. All were cut out of the rock in the 6th century. They were 10-20 metres deep with pillars and rock carvings.

 

Some hill art that we discovered while walking around the large tank (5th century water reservoir) below the Badami Caves. Couldn't find any information on where it came from but it was very entertaining and worth the short scramble to see more than 25 scenes spread out across the hillside.

There was a non-stop laundry process going on at the tank. We were smart enough to get some of our clothes washed in Hampi where I'm pretty sure they got sent to the much cleaner river!

 

Mysore Myhappy

We are about to wrap up a leisurely four night stay in Mysore which is 250 km's inland from the west coast. The bus trip here from Calicut was very scenic, moving from sea level up into the mountains, and finishing on a plateau which is approx. 3,000 feet above sea level. The many tight switchbacks, requiring our bus to take up both lanes to negotiate the turns,  made for an exciting and panoramic journey. It has resulted in the air temperature being lowered to a more enjoyable 25 - 15C range rather than the humid 35 - 25C trend along the coast (and still without rain so far during our 3 weeks in India).

Our Mysore favourite was a visit to the majestic Mysore Palace, an incredibly grand and massive former royal building. When earlier palaces dating back to the 14th century proved 'inadequate' (or destroyed by fire like the previous one), the Mysore Maharajah in 1897 decided to have this three story version built. Apparently over 4 million visitors every year come here to see the interior which features lots of marble and teak, wall and ceiling murals, and spacious halls for entertaining and business. An audio guide provided us with a good overview during our 2.5 hour visit. We returned to the Palace in the evening just in time to see the Sunday night illumination where the exterior of the Palace is lit up by 100,000 light bulbs for just half an hour (presumably because it causes a near power outage in the rest of the city). When the lights suddenly went off we headed to a nearby restaurant recommended by our host and enjoyed a filling vegetarian thali dinner (rice with many side dishes), all consumed with our right hand fingers only (no silverware), served on a banana leaf (cost <$2pp), eating just like the locals who filled up this popular spot. It was so good we returned for lunch two days later.

Other highlights included a visit to the large and busy Devaraja Market (food, spices, flowers, colourful powders), and short trips another day to the Government Silk Factory (self walk amongst the working machinery) and the summer palace of Titu Sultan (who died there in a 1799 battle with the British). Today we took a bus to Chamundi Hill, 12 km's south of Mysore, which is the home of the Sri Chamundeswari Temple, one of the most sacred mountain temples in southern India. We joined the masses to get in, got blessed, and then admired the scenic views from the hilltop before descending to the bottom by walking down the 1,000 plus steps. On the way back to our hotel Rhonda also found the two perfect pashmina's she had been looking for which have now made their way into my backpack. I suppose I owe her that for finding me a hotel in Mysore that had satellite TV so that I was able to watch the Superbowl in bed (5 am start) on Monday morning. Still can't believe Seattle didn't hand-off the football to Lynch on the one yard line with time left on the clock :-(

Prior to Mysore we spent a couple of days in Kochi where we did a lot of walking around the Fort Kochi area which is where we stayed. A beach promenade walk was followed by a visit to an interesting art exhibition (contemporary, including short films).We also walked over to Mattancherry (first geocache find in India) and Jew Town where we went into the synagogue dating back to the 16th century. On our final day we took a full (but not over-crowded) ferry back to the mainland to catch our train heading up the coast. Not sure how they are making this work financially though.....the 20 minute ferry ride cost 8 cents per person, and with about 100 people on board, that works out to $8 in fees to help pay for the boat, fuel, captain, ticket sellers and assistants. Maybe that is why they couldn't afford to have 100 life jackets on board!
Tomorrow we will be heading a little further inland to Bangalore where we will meet up with our good friends, Neal and Linda, who are also spending time in India. We will travel together for some upcoming stops.

Came across this sign in Fort Kochi. We believe we have three genius kids of our own but it did take a lot of time, effort and money. Perhaps our future grandchildren can take advantage of this shortcut.

Part of the Kochi Biennale, a contemporary art exhibition. This crab was constructed out of recyclable material recovered from the Indian Ocean in an effort to increase attention about a cleaner environment.

Mysore - a street vendor with perfectly sculpted pineapple for sale.




Taken from inside the Mysore palace courtyard, looking towards the North Gate where only VIP's are allowed to enter. The public enters from the South Gate, quite a distance away since this is a large complex. When we mistakenly tried to enter from the West Gate, a security guard let us in then asked for a 40 cent tip for doing so.
 

 

A small section of the Palace. It was even more beautiful inside.



The Mysore Palace lit up by 100,000 light bulbs. We assumed it would be lit up most of the evening but fortunately arrived with less than 10 minutes to go before the lights suddenly went off.

Devaraja Market - a stall selling coloured chalk which was used for bindis (forehead dots), street art and branding your cattle, to mention a few.

RRR restaurant where we had utensil-free, veg thali meals twice. Quite delicious and when your banana leaf looked empty they came by to fill it with more rice or side servings until you begged them to stop.

Chamundi Hill vendors - on our way to the Sri Chamundeswari Temple.

When a street vendor disappeared the cattle started helping themselves to lunch until a passerby chased them away.

Just a few of the one thousand steps we descended from Chamundi Hill. Along the way other female pilgrims were placing bindi spots on each of the stairs as they ascended.