how big is it? eagle-sized.

India.  My favorite port and by far the most challenging.  India and Japan pretty much satisfy both sides of my personality very well – Japan is the part of me that loves orderliness and cleanliness and meditation and clothing (pretty much), whereas India is the part of me that loves being dirty and natural and feeling REAL.  It’s very hard to explain (probably my most overused phrase on this blog).  So, India, how do I describe you?

Immediately upon arriving in Chennai, in the most industrial and unsafe port yet (really – it was a mile walk to the port, with random people around and giant trucks barely squeezing by – very bad choice SAS), I told Colette that I was surprised by the lack of enthusiasm by the auto rickshaw drivers.  Spoke WAY too soon.  After being harassed for quite a while (they’re known for ripping you off and charging more than four times the actual cost of a ride), we were eventually followed by one guy for more than a mile.  Even though we kept saying no and telling him we wanted to walk, he just wouldn’t leave.  He even followed us into a park, where I wanted to sit and recuperate.  I was with Jenn, Nick, and Colette…all of us weirded out and nervous.  While we were sitting there, fuming, a man on his cell phone approached us to shake our hands.  Thinking he was another rickshaw driver, we more or less blew him off.  When he proceeded to sit close by and meet up with a friend, we realized how wrong we were.  Jenn said that we should probably “regain our humanity” and calm down.  That more or less stuck with me for the rest of the day.

For the record, I did not enjoy my first day in Chennai.  When we got back on the ship, most people expressed their dislike for the city.  ANYWAY!  We got an auto driver that wasn’t the creepy stalker guy.  His name was Luc and he offered to take us to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple for 50 rupees (about one USD) each.  When we got there, we were more or less rushed through by Luc, who also put the ritual Hindu markings (ash? I don’t know what it’s called honestly) on us, which I felt uncomfortable with.  The temple itself was beautiful – I’ll probably write about it in my FDP for my world religions class, which I might post at some point.  Anyway, afterwards we got back in the rickshaw and he told us he’d take us to a marketplace, but not the one we wanted to go to.  We made him pull over shortly thereafter because the market outside the temple looked really cool, and we were super hungry and wanted some South Indian food.  Went to a nearby vegetarian restaurant that the interport student Vicrum told us about (for the record, Vicrum was amazing!  We were buddies) and had samosas, hariyali paneer tikka (spinach and cottage cheese w pepper-like things), vegetable masala, and aloo mutter.  Although it was good, I have honestly had better at Maharaja in Milwaukee and a number of restaurants in Chicago.  Even though we had paid Luc already for the trip (with extra for a tip), he didn’t leave and came into the restaurant to check on us.  It was the first warning sign and very creepy.

Basically, I would like to say ahead of time that not everything is sunshine and rainbows on this trip – negative experiences are just as useful as positive.

After lunch, Jenn, Colette, Nick, and I walked around the little marketplace, tailed by Luc…despite our requests for him to leave us.  I bought some Hindu iconography and a few nightgowns for my mom and others.  Afterwards, we chose to stick with Luc because he promised we wouldn’t have to pay any more money (we paid 75 rupees extra).  He decided to take us to some shitty store in the middle of nowhere – I had heard that auto rickshaw drivers would often take tourists to certain stores and get paid for just dropping them off.  But then when we said we weren’t interested (after going into the store!) Luc grabbed Nick’s arm and demanded 200 more rupees.  Now, it’s not about the money obviously.  But I’ve also heard that prices for ex-pats go up if you give into their inflated prices.  Anyway, we refused to pay.  I even said “don’t do this to me” because I’m a baby.  Luckily, when Luc started yelling at us, an Indian man came by and stood up for us…so we ran away.  Ducked into a store to calm down, then took another auto to the Pondi Bazaar.

Even though it was a lot of the same stuff, I liked it a lot.  I bought a cute tunic thing and some movies – one Bollywood one for Claire.  I also had a lovely moment.  As we were walking along, I stopped at a clearing to watch a woman creating yantras.  She took a fine white powder and created a beautiful piece on the sidewalk.  I watched her for a moment and just felt more peaceful.  Many people watched me watch her, and when I caught eyes with them I’d smile and they’d smile back.  It was great.

The next morning Aleeza picked Nick and I up for the day – she had gotten her mom’s friend’s sister (Padma) and her husband to take us around Chennai!  They picked us up in an air-conditioned car with a driver!  It was lovely.  They took us back to the Kapaleeshwarar Temple and explained the significance of many of the images.  We went into one of the areas for just Hindus (I’m not a Hindu, but I’m not NOT a Hindu…if that makes sense) and it was so beautiful.  Dark, damp, sweaty, numerous worshippers in loincloths with markings on their foreheads.  They lit fires and would touch their faces to the flame.  It was so tribal, so ancient, such pure passion.

After the temple we went to a bookstore and a really cool crafts shop nearby and got some presents for our families and friends.  We then drove to Venkat’s house (Padma’s brother) – a beautiful home with a rooftop garden that overlooks the city.  Such a huge difference from the day before, that’s for sure.  After speaking with Venkat for a little while, we were driven to his restaurant Palomar.  He even paid for it!  Such a lovely man.  It was an amazing meal with a masala dish with cauliflower that tasted like chicken.  We finished up with mango ice cream.  One of the best meals in India, that’s for sure.  Afterwards we drove around and saw some sights, then said goodbye to our amazingly generous and lovely hosts.  I just re-read this and realized that I have rendered the words “amazing,” “best,” and “lovely” useless.  And don’t even get me started on “beautiful.”

Went to the ship, gathered our things, and took a rickshaw to the train station for an overnight train to Alleppey, a little town outside of Cochin.  The train station was bizarre – honestly, it crossed my mind that a bombing would be simple to carry out there.  It was strange to see tons of people sleeping on the ground while giant flat screen televisions blared advertisements about mortgages.  After waiting for a few hours (we went to the internet café), we boarded our train in 2nd class AC.

The train itself was fine.  We sat with a lovely Indian man who was going to visit his family for the weekend – I wish I remembered his name – and two older women who got on the second stop.  Our train car was worse than I expected.  There were cockroaches on the walls and it was rusty and dirty – China’s amazingly clean train must have set my standards.  We were all supposed to share one bunk, a blue pleather thing, but luckily the older women couldn’t get into their beds so we traded and all got our own.  They coughed on me all night (which is why I have a cold now).

After hanging out for a bit, we went to sleep.  Woke up at 7am because the women were chattering away and kept turning the lights on and off.  Frustrating.  I got up and stood near the restrooms with the train doors open.  The Indian countryside is so breathtaking.  I met two nice Indian men and chatted with them for a little – one of them showed us where to go once we arrived in Alleppey (it was a 13 hour journey, FYI).

Took two autos past Alleppey to a tiny village that could only be reached by a quick boat ride across the river.  When we arrived at our homestay, we took the small canoe across the river and met Thomas and Matthew, the brothers who ran the little B+B.  We got a big turquoise room with four beds and private bathroom – not really roughing it!  We were given some time to relax, then had a homemade lunch shortly thereafter, consisting of banana flowers and various other dishes.  Everything the grandmother cooks comes from the island.  It was AMAZING.  After lunch we hung out with John and Mark from Chicago and just RELAXED.  Went on a walk to get toddy, a fermented drink that Mark described as “roasty sour” (which turned out to be true) – but it was closed.  Luckily we had some for dinner.  The walk was gorgeous (of course).  Everyone smiled and said hello, we watched people bathe in the river, people building boats, a hunched over woman moving stacks of mud.  Passed all sorts of homes – lots of Christian images.  Took tons of photos.

We came back and Dan (pronounced Don) took me around the property to see the rice paddies and take photos.  He was so cool!  His dream is to photograph the Amazon and he is trying to be a professional photographer.  Such a good guy.  Went back and had some chai tea.  Delicious.  Afterwards, we went on a walk with a group of twelve or so and learned more about the family and nearby property.

As for the family, the B+B consisted of three homes – all siblings and their families.  They’re normally booked all the time, so there were quite a few people staying there.  However, despite this atmosphere, they offer a free cooking class (which I will get into later) and will hang out with you, unlike my Vietnam home stay.  Very lovely people, very fun to hang out with.  And of course, the kids were too adorable!

Geckos were running all over the place and crawled over a painting of “The Last Supper” while we were eating dinner – a meal of water buffalo curry, amazing bread, and various rices.  God, the food was good.  After dinner, a bunch of frogs hung out with us on the porch while Mark, John, Nick, and Joanna the Awesome German Girl drank whiskey.  We learned how to play carims (a mix of pool and backgammon) from Matthew and just shot the shit with the other kids.  Mark and John quit their respective jobs and moved to India…hoping to get to Iran.  So interesting. Joanna and Sarah from Germany are working for the year in Delhi.  Really cool people that I hope I’ll stay in touch with.

The next morning we had another delicious meal, then I laid in the hammock and wrote.  Went to buy some Indian cigarettes (beedies – they’re tobacco wrapped in ebony leaves) for my buddies.  It was so peaceful and lovely there.  The backwaters of Kerala, man.  Worth it.  We hung out until taking a cooking class – not like the Viet Nam one where we just chopped veggies, but one with the grandmother.  She showed us just how much of each ingredient we should use and helped us spell what those ingredients should be.  So basically, if anyone needs a recipe for good ginger chutney, two types of curry dishes (depending on the main vegetable used), mesukku, idly dosas, spicy fish fry, sambar (vegetable curry), papadam, or thoran…give me a call.  I’ll probably type up the recipes and post them here later…most likely when I get back to the states and miss India.

After our cooking class, we hung around a little more (the downtime was so excellent) and went to buy more beedies (Nick bought out the store) until eating the lunch we had “helped” prepare.  Once again, so delicious.  After lunch, we packed up our things and took an overcrowded canoe back to the other side.  Jenn was freaking cause she is apparently scared of canoes when they first head out.  It was funny, but kept making me nervous because of how close we seemed to be to tipping.  Got in a cab, went to the train station, and paid 90 rupees for the four of us for a train to Ernakulum.  We saw one of my friends from the train the other day before!  The guy who had shown us directions – his face was priceless when he saw me.  He was heading back to Chennai and would arrive just in time for work the following morning.  He walked with us to our train and stood outside the window chatting until we left.

The train ride.  Man.  I know I use the word “beautiful” a lot but…damn.  SO BEAUTIFUL.  This was one of my favorite parts of India, just because we were able to see so much and just observe.  I took over 60 photos over the course of two hours…and I definitely didn’t capture even half of what I saw.  It was just breathtakingly gorgeous the entire way.  When I post pictures it’ll be easier to describe. 

The dirt on my arms was so thick that I felt I would never be clean again.

When we arrived in Ernakulum, the new city part of Cochin, we had to take a rickshaw then a ferry to Willendon Island in order to get our landing cards (we had to get our own since we didn’t ride on the ship to Cochin, and they wouldn’t be there until the following day).  Long story short (as in, one hour and lots of walking), we couldn’t.  We got a rickshaw back to Ernakulum and checked into our hotel, John’s Residency.  The lobby was really cool – yellow with a giant bed and a guitar.  John, the owner, was very helpful and recommended restaurants, shops, and cinema houses to us.  Ultimately, we decided to just stay in our room, order in food from the place next door (it is surprising we didn’t get sick, honestly), and watch “Independence Day.”  Yeah, I know, but whatever.  Exploring new cities at night never seems like a great idea if you hadn’t been around during the day.  Our room was pretty bland – nothing on the walls except giant blood red drapes, with only one full size bed and two mattresses on the floor.  Aleeza, Jenn, and I ended up sleeping on the bed, with Nick on the floor.  Poor little slave boy.  We had a great time watching that crappy movie and reading Cosmo.  Again, poor Nick.

Woke up bright and EARLY to go get our landing cards.  This time it worked out, but it took forever to get on the ship.  Got on, showered, relaxed a bit, then went out at 11 with Nick and Aleeza (Jenn had an FDP).  We were hustled by some rickshaw drivers outside (which was hilarious to us because we didn’t see ONE car on Willendon Island the day before – it was like it was out of LOST) and one guy even showed us a photo of his wife and daughter.  But we knew where we were going and it was nice to feel like competent travelers for once.  We took the ferry over to Fort Kochi, the old part of the city (Cochin is separated into islands, if I wasn’t clear on that before).  Now, Fort Kochi is the more touristy part of the city but…wow it’s amazing.  It felt like Martha’s Vineyard but cooler because it was in India.  Shopped around a bit, bought some things, met some nice people.  The highlight came when we were walking along the shoreline, looking at the Chinese fishing nets, and came upon a giant tree.  Its branches were so long and thick that men were laying on them, relaxing quietly.  It was, in short, my heaven.  I made Aleeza and Nick sit there until Aleeza mentioned how hot it was, and how she would like to sit inside somewhere.  We found a bar nearby and stopped in for some drinks (Sprite, that is, unless you’re Nick and drink beer all day), as well as delicious tandoori chicken and naan.  Stupid SASers came in.  Ugh.

Left shortly thereafter and decided to take the ferry to Ernakulum to go shopping on Mahatma Gandhi (MG) Road, as I hadn’t purchased a tapestry yet.  Unfortunately, MG Road is more for Indians who live in Cochin than tourists who want cool Indian stuff (I know, I suck).  We meandered, stopped in a Hindu temple, got giggled at by little girls (I got them back by sticking my tongue out at them…like an adult), and decided to go to Fry’s, a restaurant John had recommended the night before.  Two SASers came in and we invited them to sit with us.  Our entire meal cost like $3 each.  It was very good and I can’t remember what it was.

After dinner we headed to see a Bollywood film at a nearby cinema house.  On the way, we ran into Rachel and a few of her buddies who were trying to see the same movie!  We chose “My Name is Khan,” which I could dissect for years.  Basically, it is about a man with Asperger’s (named Khan) who somehow manages to marry a superhot woman with a son.  Later, the son dies when he is beaten up for being a Muslim (and he’s actually Hindu) by his ex-BFF’s friends.  The ex-BFF is mad because his father was a journalist who died in Afghanistan (this is covered by literally two lines of dialogue), and he is afraid to tell the kid’s mom that he knows who the murderers are because “they would hurt me.”  Idiot.  Oh, and this takes place in pre and post-9/11 America…in San Francisco.  The most liberal city in the US.  ANYWAY, Khan’s wife tells him that everything will get better if he tells the president “my name is Khan and I am not a terrorist.”  This spawns a heartwarming journey where he meets a Mammy-like African American woman (seriously, crazy jazz music plays, she says “chillens,” and she’s super religious…it’s a fucked up portrayal) and eventually gets to meet Obama (his portrayal was hilarious).  It was so one-sided and great.  Just what I wanted to see in India.  The film itself was about 80% in Hindi and the cinematography was gorgeous.  Good actors too.  You can tell a lot about the actors when you can’t understand what they’re saying.  Oh, and the theater had bugs everywhere, lots of cockroaches.  So I was itchy the whole time.  I know it sounds like I’m complaining but I LOVED IT.  Such a great experience.

Nick and I split an auto rickshaw home – we had the best driver ever.  He spoke to us about the failures of organized religion and the duplicity (his word!) of American foreign policy.  It was brilliant.

The next day I went with Jenn, Nick, and Amy to ride an elephant.  We drove two hours and managed to do it.  It was awesome.  Very shaky and I was positive I would fall off until Amy mentioned that “it’s like riding a mechanical bull” and to just loosen up and go with it instead of trying to regain balance.  Worked like a charm.  Elephant’s backs are very prickly.

Afterwards we went back into Fort Kochi, had lunch at a Lonely Planet place that wasn’t that great, and shopped around.  Back to the ship and swimming time!


OTHER STUFF:
1.      You MUST use your right hand for everything polite – handshaking, eating, etc.  The left hand is used for wiping yourself.
2.      Indians eat around 8pm
3.      PDA frowned upon, but same sex couples hold hands all the time – not “gay”
4.      Most of the time, Nick would be the one who would get harassed and talked to (because he’s a dude).
5.      EVERYONE smiles at you and most of the women (90%) wear saris.
6.      Wealth disparity.  I could write a dissertation on Chennai.  Basically, I think that there will be a huge uprising in the near future.  Ask me about this in person, it’s too much to write.
7.      Indians never seem to complain about their positions in life.  No matter how little they have, they are always willing to offer what they have.