Thursday, 27 May 2010

Cities, Night Buses and MORE Beaches!

Going from the east to west coast we stopped in Bengaluru for a night. This is more expensive than the places we had stayed in before, due to it being a relatively big city. However, we managed to stay in a guest house that had only been open for two days and so therefore got cheap rates. The only drawback was that it didn't have a shower, which we didn't realise for a while, and so bucket baths it was!

I love cities, simply for the hustle and bustle and that there is always something going on and Bengalura was no exception. We went to the Government Museum which contains stones and relics and stuff. Doesn't sound that interesting but they had some amazing wood carvings, which were very detailed and I loved. There was also an Art Gallery attached and one particular artist caught my eye as there were some fantastic landscapes. Normally the paintings here are bold and clear with lots of colour and then you notice more detail the longer you look at it. Although I know next to nothing (frankly, nothing) about art I have so far loved most of what I have seen here.

We also went to Cubbon Park, which is just beside the museum. A huge park that was great to sit in during the heat of the day. Lots of shade and far enough away from the road that you couldn't see the traffic.

From Bengaluru we got a semi-sleeper night bus. A semi-sleeper is not comfortable at all and it's good that I don't normally need much sleep. Partly because of the chair and partly because they switched on music very loudly at 6 in the morning. My mp3 didn't go loud enough to drown it out...

We are now in Varkala and the beach (seeing a theme?) is AWESOME. Most of the restaurants look out to the sea and you can sit and watch it for hours. Have to admit haven't been to the temple here, as we feel we've seen lots already, but we walked past it :)

A Cyclone, Rathas and Photos

Some random details...

We arrived at Chennai (just go with the names, they're relatively unimportant) on a night bus to find that a cyclone was hitting it. Having never been in a cyclone I have no idea what they're meant to be like but this one was just a whole lot of rain. We were walking in it for perhaps 10 minutes and we were absolutely soaked through. Luckily my bag is vaguely waterproof and so most of my stuff stayed dry. The roads, however, were another story as at one point we were wading through water that was about half a foot deep which makes keeping your flip-flops on your feet a whole lot harder...

We were in Chennai in transit to a place called Mamallapuram which is by another beach. Due to the cyclone there was a load of dead, and therefore rotting fish, on the shore and they smelt... interesting.

Mammallapuram is a World Heritage Site because of the Shore Temple (self-explanatory) and the Five Rathas. These are temples that are all carved out of the same stone although for many Indians it seemed that three white people were far more interesting. I had my photo taken with some random kids, and it isn't the first time. They're all so friendly and good-natured though and you quickly stop caring about being stared at. When we were our kurtha shuluwars (the clothes we wore for school in Nepal) it makes so much difference to the amount of respect we get.

Saturday, 15 May 2010

Puri

Well, we are now in Puri which is a relatively small town just by the sea. So, now I've been swimming in the Bay of Bengal and it was great!

We also saw the fisherman go out at sunrise (well, we missed the sunrise because we didn't get up in time to see the sun actually rise, but the point still stands and we did watch the fisherman go out). We also had a dinner of fresh fish and the next day fresh crab at one of the Lifeguard's houses. Pretty cool, and also the first time I had crab meat - which was delicious. It was also interesting to see the normal Puri rather than the touristy part. Although at the moment it is low season for backpackers and so it is Indian tourists. In Nepal there was very few domestic tourists, but here there are loads! And you can really tell the difference between the locals and the tourists as the locals have much darker skin and are generally much skinnier!

Yesterday we went to the Sun Temple which is an amazing structure. There is so much carving on it and it is all in a lot of detail. It was built hundreds of years ago some is very weathered but you can still see the original carvings.

The day before we went to Chilika Lake and I saw dolphins! True, not a whole lot of one but still a dolphin! It was also fun being on the water again as we went on a boat tour. The lake is a huge lagoon so you get a boat out to where the dolphins are most likely to be. There was four very excited Indian boys who were obviously enjoying themselves!

We're next heading south, we're not entirely sure where yet, but it's going to get hot and also at some point we're going to run into the monsoon :)

Tuesday, 11 May 2010

Last Post On Nepal

You know you've been to Nepal when...

- You're suprised if rice isn't in a plate-sized portion

- If something leaves half an hour late it's considered early

- You're more likely to sit on top of a bus than in it

- You don't nod, you wobble your head

- You offer everything with your right hand

- A meal is expensive if it costs Rs400 (4 pounds)

- Getting up at 9 is late and going to bed at 10 is normal

- Walking down the middle of the road is expected

- You don't react to car horns

- You don't notice people spitting on the street

- You immediately half the quote price for everything, including taxi fares

- A hot shower is a rarity and a luxury

- Welcome is Wel Come

- You ask for e-sprite, you go to e-school etc

- If dal bhat doesn't come on a prison plate you complain

Saturday, 8 May 2010

A Train Ride to Kolkata

We walked to the train station in Raxaul on the morning of the 7th and I'd forgotten what it was like to be the only white people around. You get used to the stares fairly quickly. The train system was fairly easy; the board says the daily trains with the number and name and then you go and find them. We were on 3AC - the cheapest class with AC. The trains are more comfortable and more spacious than National Rail and contain a lower number of annoying chavs than Southern. We spent 20 hours on the train and I've had train rides up to London seem longer.

The scenery is something to look at, there are miles and miles of fields with no habitation whatsoever. The villages that we passed through seemed poorer than Nepal, but we only really saw Gorkha which is a relatively rich part of Nepal (especially compared to the far west). The most interesting thing I saw, however, was the dead dog. Morbid as this may seem this dog was very dead. It's head and front paws were on one side of the train track and its tail and back paws were on the other side of the track. And they were very much unjoined in the middle. It was severed and covered in flies. Didn't put me off supper, which was my first propoer meal that day and therefore delicious.

We got to Kolkata at 6am (this morning, 8th May), found a guest house and then had breakfast. The novelty of finding a restaurant, choosing food from a menu and having an actual meal hasn't worn off. You don't appreciate things until the Maoists take them away. We then went to the Victoria Memorial Hall built to comemorate... Queen Victoria. The foundation stone was laid in 1906 and it was finished in 1921 and the spectacularly white building is now a museum which is very impressive. It's a shame that they don't sell postcards because there were some beautiful paintings and there were no photos allowed. The Hall is set in a huge park. A park that strangely resembles Hyde Park.

That had been one of the things to really strike me about India, you can see parts that are very British. Some of the train stations could have been in London (if they were a bit grimier). You can tell that India used to be part of the British Empire while Nepal wasn't. Although due to Kolkata's importance for the British this may be exacerbated here compared to the rest of India. We shall see :)

Goodbye Nepal, Hello India!

I have now left Nepal. In the past few days we've travelled a lot. We left Kathmandu on the morning of the 6th. We had spent the previous couple of days sitting in our hotel room as the Maoists have called an indefinete bandh, or strike, which means everything is closed, except between 6 and 8 pm. Even then it was a limited number of things that opened and, as they had no deliveries, restaurants remained shut after the 3rd. This amounted to two things; meals of dried noodles and biscuits and extreme boredom. So we were glad to get out.

The strike also closed every road out of Kathmandu and so we had to fly to Simara (near Birganj, the border town). As we could only get plane tickets for the 6th it meant the extra hassle of changing our train ticket to Kolkata from the 6th to the 7th. The Maoists are not popular among tourists, or in fact most people, at the moment. The atmosphere in Kathmandu has completely changed and it was both sad and annoying that our last couple of days were ruined. But the Maoists obviously think it's wise in Nepal Tourism Year to completely put off any tourists from coming and so crippling a huge part of the Nepali economy. A great way for a party who want to run the country to act. Congratulations to whoever thought of that one.

We flew out on another washing-machine sized plane and then had the trouble of getting from Simara to Birganj. The bandh has stopped all cars and taxis so in the end we got a horse and cart. You have to try everything once. Three people each with a backpack and day sack meant a fairly squashed ride but we got to Birganj. Which was definetely closed. We originally intended to spend the night but decided to spend our money in India where we might get a decent meal. Another congratulations to the Maoists by increasing the income of the country. Well done.

So, on another horse and cart we left Nepal. And turned round and came straight back in again. Got the correct stamps in our passports and left Nepal for the final time. Which was strange; I hadn't thought about leaving until then, I'd just be looking forward to having something to do, but we were leaving Nepal! That is the main reason tthe Maoists are intensely annoying as it meant a very boring last few days in an amazing city of a beautiful country. One that I hope to come back to.

Not that it isn't great to be seeing new things all the time. Raxaul was... busy. Shops were open, kids were going to school and people weren't just hanging about aimlessly. It was nice to be out of an area of indefinite strike! The thing we were most looking forward to was a proper meal. Something that we hadn't had since breakfast on the 4th (kind thanks to Sanjeep of Omega for paying for that one :) so willingly too...) This isn't as easy as it seems. There aren't any (obvious) restaurants in Raxaul. To be fair the Lonely Plant describes it as a "grim, dirty and crowded border town" and it isn't a particularly inaccurate description. Although, honestly, I was glad to be somewhere that had something happening outside the hours of 6 and 8

In the end we ate at the hotel and it was one of the nicest meals I have had in my life. I have never been more grateful for a meal anyway!