last day of november and you wouldn't know it here in goa. the most perfect weather. i even missed thanksgiving, not even sure what day it was. jeff left this morning at 7am on a 12 hour train to mumbai, where he'll stay till dec. 2nd, which is good cause he can eat his muslim brains fry and all the other repulsives and smoke more beedies, which i am now free of that stank-those things smell like rotten cigars and i absolutely hate them.
since i'm alone, i plan to lounge on the beach with an umbrella cause i'm keeping my ivory white skin. that's what i was born with, i keep it. i had stopped suntanning after visiting places where is simply could not go outside between the hours of 11 and 4. skin cancer sucks. besides, all the asians use skin bleach cause they hate their darker skin-if you notice in bollywood films they are so white you can hardly tell they're indian! and all the ladies use black umbrellas and scarves to filter out the dangerous rays. the indians think the westerners are totaly crazy cause we lay in the sun with our snow white skin.
we couldn't go to the capital panaji yesterday cause we're still sufferring from wounds, bruises, and sprains from the scooter accident and the idea of getting in a hot taxi for an hour to take us to a city was not appealing, especially after mumbai and agra. i've had enough of cities for a few days, but look out trivandrum, here i come. for movies only, of course. my shopping is done, so my rupies will last.
so we found silvio, the italian bollywood poster collectors mansion and visited him last night. wow. it's in apporva. most of his stuff dated from the 1800s up to the 1970s. unbelievable. i actually went for the evolution of gandhi and a picture of an indian moghul from the 20s. jeff got a couple larger ones from the 60s/70. very kind people, very interesting collection. it was fun and we found it easy with our torch to make it home safely, but not in time for that swim i love so much. one more day of that.
tomorrow i leave by taxi for 2 hours to next town called madgaon to board the 12:30 train (i'm on the trivandrum rjdhnt) for i think 18 1/4 hours or more, getting in on december 2nd in the late morning. yeah kerala!
bindifry
Monday, November 29, 2004
Sunday, November 28, 2004
i'm going into the capital, panjim, today and j leaves early tomorrow, i leave at noon on the 1st december, on a train that will take 18-25 hours, which means i'll be in kerala on dec. 2, in case anyone's lookin for me.
this is mainly a note to tell you women or you men who want to buy 100% silk skirts for your girlies. here on anjuna beach i have found the most magnificent stall i've seen in all of india. he has full length and shorter slightly below the knee 100% made by him and his brother in bangalore-where most of india;s silk comes from. he also is selling brillient low cut 100% soft cotton pants lined with a contrasting color on the bell bottems as well as the top, back zipper closire. totally amazing colors.
the best thing about the skirts is they are reversable and each side is RADICALLY different from the front.
i won't be shipping them because i'm traveling extremely light and i can get another luggage to carry them. if any of you reading this blog, be it an individual or a boutique is interested, you MUST e-mail me immediately cause i'm leaving in a day. the colors are widely varied, so please don't request color. only request short or long skirt or pant. my e-mail AGAIN is ljhill11@yahoo.com
i will give you the prices when you place the order. these are the most vibrant and interesting articles of 100% silk i have ever seen in my life. and i have good taste!
bindifry the silk lover
this is mainly a note to tell you women or you men who want to buy 100% silk skirts for your girlies. here on anjuna beach i have found the most magnificent stall i've seen in all of india. he has full length and shorter slightly below the knee 100% made by him and his brother in bangalore-where most of india;s silk comes from. he also is selling brillient low cut 100% soft cotton pants lined with a contrasting color on the bell bottems as well as the top, back zipper closire. totally amazing colors.
the best thing about the skirts is they are reversable and each side is RADICALLY different from the front.
i won't be shipping them because i'm traveling extremely light and i can get another luggage to carry them. if any of you reading this blog, be it an individual or a boutique is interested, you MUST e-mail me immediately cause i'm leaving in a day. the colors are widely varied, so please don't request color. only request short or long skirt or pant. my e-mail AGAIN is ljhill11@yahoo.com
i will give you the prices when you place the order. these are the most vibrant and interesting articles of 100% silk i have ever seen in my life. and i have good taste!
bindifry the silk lover
no power no shower for 24 hour
ok-second time writing since power outages, forgive my poor typing because of my broken/sprained finger. quote of the day "no power no shower for 25 hour."
spent many hours recovering from our wounds from the wipeout(PLEASE BRING A VERY WELL STOCKED FIRST AID KIT WITH YOU HERE AND CHERISH IT WITH YOUR LIFE) while i shyly peered through the curtains watching the cleaning room boys play that indian game i've been wanting to try since ooty last year called gadam (i think). it's a square board with wood chips and holes at each corner. it's got geometric shapes on it and it's played like pool, except you flick your fingers instead. was hard for me because of my sprains - i have sprained 5 fingers so far. yoga is going to be a thrill when i get to kerala. so i mustered up the courage to watch the 4 of them play and they taught me. i will be playing many games with them, plus we can talk about bollywood films, which we all have in common here. i actually found a kamal hassaan shirt from "abhay" here, which probably means dick to most of you out there, but he is the finest actor in the entire world-better than brando, better than dinero.
last night we went to the saturday night market which goes till midnight. lots of european stalls charging european prices ( a skirt i wanted was 3800rps-80 bucks!!!! what am i in, london? beer stalls (the very best beer in all of india is called kings-NOT kingfisher, which is the budweiser of the east-i like to drink my beer, not puke it). we did find our italian bollywood poster collector who invited us to his museum mansion tomorrow to purchase some real shit-we already got 4 pieces, i just HAD to have the madhubala one after falling in love with her timeless beauty in mughal-e-azam. dilip kumar fell in love with her also, but she ended up marrying the most famous playback singer in all of india-kishore kumar. she had a hole in her heart and died before age 40.
SO if you all are planning a trip to magical india and you want to get the real indian experience, travel by bus, rickshaw, and train to places where westerners stay away from-agra, indore, tamil nadu, karnataka, kochi,trivandrum,mumbai, veranasi, rajastan, rishakesh, madhya pradesh, uttar pradesh, tibet and nepal. if you want to come here and not rub shoulders with indians or wipe your ass with your hand, head straight for goa or kovalam. you will feel at home, just like going to hawaii or costa rica. i prefer the real deal and i keep learning so much about this amazing land.
missing you my friends-
bindifry
email:ljhill11@yahoo.com
spent many hours recovering from our wounds from the wipeout(PLEASE BRING A VERY WELL STOCKED FIRST AID KIT WITH YOU HERE AND CHERISH IT WITH YOUR LIFE) while i shyly peered through the curtains watching the cleaning room boys play that indian game i've been wanting to try since ooty last year called gadam (i think). it's a square board with wood chips and holes at each corner. it's got geometric shapes on it and it's played like pool, except you flick your fingers instead. was hard for me because of my sprains - i have sprained 5 fingers so far. yoga is going to be a thrill when i get to kerala. so i mustered up the courage to watch the 4 of them play and they taught me. i will be playing many games with them, plus we can talk about bollywood films, which we all have in common here. i actually found a kamal hassaan shirt from "abhay" here, which probably means dick to most of you out there, but he is the finest actor in the entire world-better than brando, better than dinero.
last night we went to the saturday night market which goes till midnight. lots of european stalls charging european prices ( a skirt i wanted was 3800rps-80 bucks!!!! what am i in, london? beer stalls (the very best beer in all of india is called kings-NOT kingfisher, which is the budweiser of the east-i like to drink my beer, not puke it). we did find our italian bollywood poster collector who invited us to his museum mansion tomorrow to purchase some real shit-we already got 4 pieces, i just HAD to have the madhubala one after falling in love with her timeless beauty in mughal-e-azam. dilip kumar fell in love with her also, but she ended up marrying the most famous playback singer in all of india-kishore kumar. she had a hole in her heart and died before age 40.
SO if you all are planning a trip to magical india and you want to get the real indian experience, travel by bus, rickshaw, and train to places where westerners stay away from-agra, indore, tamil nadu, karnataka, kochi,trivandrum,mumbai, veranasi, rajastan, rishakesh, madhya pradesh, uttar pradesh, tibet and nepal. if you want to come here and not rub shoulders with indians or wipe your ass with your hand, head straight for goa or kovalam. you will feel at home, just like going to hawaii or costa rica. i prefer the real deal and i keep learning so much about this amazing land.
missing you my friends-
bindifry
email:ljhill11@yahoo.com
Saturday, November 27, 2004
too much danger scooter, much too much danger scooter.....
hit another beach on our new auto scooter. breathtaking. more beautiful than hawaii. i have never seen rocks and water like that in my life. and they love parasailing here, which i am tempted to do since i hanglided in australia, but i've heard the equipment is often not up to par. and your real high up there. hang gliding scared the life out of me.
so on this great beach we get touted by a jerk selling my favorite boxes of mango frooti's, which cost 10rps at the store, for 60!!! said he had to make a commission. goa is more expensive than kerala and bombay combined. rapists! but that's not all. a dude with 2 rusty needles ran up to jeff and tried to pierce his ears without him knowing it! i almost tackled that fellow!!! couldn't believe my eyes. and there is more aids in india than in africa!!!*another note-if you use needles for medicational or whatever purposes, listen carefully to your clinician and bring your own sterile individually wrapped needles.**
so i know i mentioned before about not being impressed with yet another beach. but i take it all back. goa is indescribable. and i sure can use the rest after all we've been through. you all will call me granny next time you all see me.
no more romantic scooter stories i'm afraid. this morning when turning out of our hotel, j charged right into a lady selling wares, like sarongs and jewelry on the street. boy was she mad. we got away with minor scrapes. than we followed the road to a new brekkie joint. after eating, j made a sharp turn into a huge sand pile and into a ditch. this time we had to be carried into someone's house to lay down because i was in shock and couldn't stop crying, shaking and almost vomiting. i got away with minor scrapes and bruises and 2 fat sprained fingers (no yoga again). jeff wasn't so lucky, dislocating his shoulder and his hip. he's going home in 2 days so we're just gonna take it easy till he can get a mri on those places. meawhile we are once again quite thankful for having the best thing one needs in india---a very good first aid kit.
*************************************************************************************
JEFF AND LISA'S TOP 5 INDIAN EXPERIENCES
LISA
1/WALKING THROUGH THE ARCHWAY EXPOSING THE TAJ MAHAL AND IT'S GARDEN
2/EROS THEATRE MUGHAL-E-AZAM
3/DIRECT DECENDENTS OF TAJ BUILDERS MARBLE FACTORY
4/KANU CARPET FACTORY IN AGRA WHERE THEY SHOWED THE CRAFTSMANSHIP
5/4 HOURS OF PARTYING WITH STORE GALLERY OWNERS LAST NIGHT IN AGRA
*************************************************************************************
JEFF
1/TAJ MAHAL
2/JAMMING IN MUSIC STORE
3/EXPLORING MUMBAI, ESPECIALLY MUSIC SHOPS AND EROS ART DECO THEATRE
4/SHORT LIVED SCOOTER EXPERIENCE
5/SHIT RIDE TO INDOOR
till next time-we're off to the saturday night market here in goa-
all the best-
bindifry
so on this great beach we get touted by a jerk selling my favorite boxes of mango frooti's, which cost 10rps at the store, for 60!!! said he had to make a commission. goa is more expensive than kerala and bombay combined. rapists! but that's not all. a dude with 2 rusty needles ran up to jeff and tried to pierce his ears without him knowing it! i almost tackled that fellow!!! couldn't believe my eyes. and there is more aids in india than in africa!!!*another note-if you use needles for medicational or whatever purposes, listen carefully to your clinician and bring your own sterile individually wrapped needles.**
so i know i mentioned before about not being impressed with yet another beach. but i take it all back. goa is indescribable. and i sure can use the rest after all we've been through. you all will call me granny next time you all see me.
no more romantic scooter stories i'm afraid. this morning when turning out of our hotel, j charged right into a lady selling wares, like sarongs and jewelry on the street. boy was she mad. we got away with minor scrapes. than we followed the road to a new brekkie joint. after eating, j made a sharp turn into a huge sand pile and into a ditch. this time we had to be carried into someone's house to lay down because i was in shock and couldn't stop crying, shaking and almost vomiting. i got away with minor scrapes and bruises and 2 fat sprained fingers (no yoga again). jeff wasn't so lucky, dislocating his shoulder and his hip. he's going home in 2 days so we're just gonna take it easy till he can get a mri on those places. meawhile we are once again quite thankful for having the best thing one needs in india---a very good first aid kit.
*************************************************************************************
JEFF AND LISA'S TOP 5 INDIAN EXPERIENCES
LISA
1/WALKING THROUGH THE ARCHWAY EXPOSING THE TAJ MAHAL AND IT'S GARDEN
2/EROS THEATRE MUGHAL-E-AZAM
3/DIRECT DECENDENTS OF TAJ BUILDERS MARBLE FACTORY
4/KANU CARPET FACTORY IN AGRA WHERE THEY SHOWED THE CRAFTSMANSHIP
5/4 HOURS OF PARTYING WITH STORE GALLERY OWNERS LAST NIGHT IN AGRA
*************************************************************************************
JEFF
1/TAJ MAHAL
2/JAMMING IN MUSIC STORE
3/EXPLORING MUMBAI, ESPECIALLY MUSIC SHOPS AND EROS ART DECO THEATRE
4/SHORT LIVED SCOOTER EXPERIENCE
5/SHIT RIDE TO INDOOR
till next time-we're off to the saturday night market here in goa-
all the best-
bindifry
Thursday, November 25, 2004
spike of supersnazz
how can i forget who we shared a rickshaw with on our arrival in goa with none other than the lead singer spike from the very famous japanese band SUPERSNAZZ!!!! i'm sure many of you don't know who that is, but for those who do, it was a super big deal for us. our favorite japanese band. she signed my book and i will cherish it forever. india is a magical place, that's for sure. i keep waiting to share a rickshaw with johnny depp, who is over here making a move in bombay based on the book daniel and judy neiman gave me called,"shantaram"-(thank you so much, judy and daniel for that lovely book. except i can't seem to pry it out of jeff's hands, who has wanted to read the book for some time).
what is good about our hotel? it has a huge pool you can swim in between 7am and 10pm. we have taken night swims every night since we've been here. and nobody else wants to use it! i floated around on a water polo ball all night yesterday, watching the beautiful clear skies and full moon.
in the am, we headed back to our favorite eating place, the sunset bar, because they play the best oldies from the 50s-70s, which is a huge relief cause everyone else plays that hideous pounding rave music.(coke?ecstacy?mdma?hashish?brown sugar?-which is heroin,marijuanna?)they like their drugs here, i'll stick to the cashew fenni with limca, thank you very much. our pal at our eating place is simon, he has become our pal. he likes to call himself "simple simon." lots of the locals like to do that because you can better remember their names. like a guy we met in kerala called cannon-or as he liked to be called "big gun". and that's exactly the kind of energy that he had.
i left my deposit at the travel agent in hopes of getting a train out of here before new years eve. it's very very very hard to get the good seats, so my suggestion is if you want to travel by train here, and there is NO better way-it's even better than flying and a fraction of the cost, plus you meet lots of people , get fed constantly, given bottles of water, chai, coffee, and best of all, frooty-my favorite mango juice. SO IF YOU COME TO INDIA NOVEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY AND WANT TO TRAVEL BY TRAIN IN A/C SLEEPER 1ST OR 2ND CLASS, BUY YOUR TICKETS WAY WAY IN ADVANCE. that's all i have to say about that, and trust me because i've aged 40 years just trying to get from one place to the other.
next we walked a mile to find "purple valley yoga center," a famous astanga center with mysore at 7 am mon-saturday (strange saturday, not sunday), it's not too far from my hotel. today was full moon, so i assumed no class, but tomorrow when we have our scooter-we're renting it right after i finish this blog, i can cruise right to it, will take 20 minutes. on the way back instead of walking, we hitchhiked a cargo rickshaw truck transporting a microwave oven to some rich persons house. we jumped in the back, like a pick up truck, told him we would pay 20rps. ok. after he let us out, he charged us 50rps. two words once again. "it's india." i did not care, because i have never riden on the back of a truck before with a microwave as a pal, and it was fun fun fun fun. did not speak a lick of english. weeeeee!!!!!!!
by the way, goa has the most beautiful water i have ever seen in my life. nothing is half as deep blue. i can't believe it.
for dinner, back to simple simon for a feast of gigantic tandoor paneer, lots of raw-yes raw raw raw-tomatos-the tomatos here in goa are to dye for. i know they say to avoid raw food, but i've been eating tons of salad stuff and nothing but a mild cold so far. tandoor prawns next, and than the big one, white snapper. now this is quite different from red snapper and FAR tastier. half fried. they don't deep fry it, just pan fry the half of it. there's no way i could possibly explain how exquisite this fish was. when in goa, ya gotta eat fish cause it's the best in all of india-sorry veggie heads. your missing out on plenty. BUT they have fabulous strawberry juice, which are in season here and all the ice in goa is made with safe mineral water.
hey cara-the coconuts are 25rps a piece for coconuts here!!!!!! or 2 for 30!!!! needless to say, i will wait for my coconut water till i get to kerala where it costs 10rps. and there's coconut palms all over the place!!! vermon. plus their coconuts here are left in the sun getting nice and hot, which tastes like crap. coconut water needs to be cold. end of story.
we're off to rent our scooter and go visit the capital panaji, where we are sure to find more action than this gorgeous sleepy beach. here's also a hint to those thinking of goa-VISIT IN OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THE ENTIRE BEACH TO YOURSELF. AVOID DECEMBER AND JANUARY WHEN ALL THE RAVERS AND DRUGGIES AND HIPPIES TAKE OVER.
bindifry
*who is patiently awaiting e-mail from her friends back home who have seem to have forgotten here. out of sight out of mind? thanks judy for your mails. *also a note to sweet traci-i found you a beautiful killer shawl i think you will love*
what is good about our hotel? it has a huge pool you can swim in between 7am and 10pm. we have taken night swims every night since we've been here. and nobody else wants to use it! i floated around on a water polo ball all night yesterday, watching the beautiful clear skies and full moon.
in the am, we headed back to our favorite eating place, the sunset bar, because they play the best oldies from the 50s-70s, which is a huge relief cause everyone else plays that hideous pounding rave music.(coke?ecstacy?mdma?hashish?brown sugar?-which is heroin,marijuanna?)they like their drugs here, i'll stick to the cashew fenni with limca, thank you very much. our pal at our eating place is simon, he has become our pal. he likes to call himself "simple simon." lots of the locals like to do that because you can better remember their names. like a guy we met in kerala called cannon-or as he liked to be called "big gun". and that's exactly the kind of energy that he had.
i left my deposit at the travel agent in hopes of getting a train out of here before new years eve. it's very very very hard to get the good seats, so my suggestion is if you want to travel by train here, and there is NO better way-it's even better than flying and a fraction of the cost, plus you meet lots of people , get fed constantly, given bottles of water, chai, coffee, and best of all, frooty-my favorite mango juice. SO IF YOU COME TO INDIA NOVEMBER THROUGH FEBRUARY AND WANT TO TRAVEL BY TRAIN IN A/C SLEEPER 1ST OR 2ND CLASS, BUY YOUR TICKETS WAY WAY IN ADVANCE. that's all i have to say about that, and trust me because i've aged 40 years just trying to get from one place to the other.
next we walked a mile to find "purple valley yoga center," a famous astanga center with mysore at 7 am mon-saturday (strange saturday, not sunday), it's not too far from my hotel. today was full moon, so i assumed no class, but tomorrow when we have our scooter-we're renting it right after i finish this blog, i can cruise right to it, will take 20 minutes. on the way back instead of walking, we hitchhiked a cargo rickshaw truck transporting a microwave oven to some rich persons house. we jumped in the back, like a pick up truck, told him we would pay 20rps. ok. after he let us out, he charged us 50rps. two words once again. "it's india." i did not care, because i have never riden on the back of a truck before with a microwave as a pal, and it was fun fun fun fun. did not speak a lick of english. weeeeee!!!!!!!
by the way, goa has the most beautiful water i have ever seen in my life. nothing is half as deep blue. i can't believe it.
for dinner, back to simple simon for a feast of gigantic tandoor paneer, lots of raw-yes raw raw raw-tomatos-the tomatos here in goa are to dye for. i know they say to avoid raw food, but i've been eating tons of salad stuff and nothing but a mild cold so far. tandoor prawns next, and than the big one, white snapper. now this is quite different from red snapper and FAR tastier. half fried. they don't deep fry it, just pan fry the half of it. there's no way i could possibly explain how exquisite this fish was. when in goa, ya gotta eat fish cause it's the best in all of india-sorry veggie heads. your missing out on plenty. BUT they have fabulous strawberry juice, which are in season here and all the ice in goa is made with safe mineral water.
hey cara-the coconuts are 25rps a piece for coconuts here!!!!!! or 2 for 30!!!! needless to say, i will wait for my coconut water till i get to kerala where it costs 10rps. and there's coconut palms all over the place!!! vermon. plus their coconuts here are left in the sun getting nice and hot, which tastes like crap. coconut water needs to be cold. end of story.
we're off to rent our scooter and go visit the capital panaji, where we are sure to find more action than this gorgeous sleepy beach. here's also a hint to those thinking of goa-VISIT IN OCTOBER OR NOVEMBER WHEN YOU CAN HAVE THE ENTIRE BEACH TO YOURSELF. AVOID DECEMBER AND JANUARY WHEN ALL THE RAVERS AND DRUGGIES AND HIPPIES TAKE OVER.
bindifry
*who is patiently awaiting e-mail from her friends back home who have seem to have forgotten here. out of sight out of mind? thanks judy for your mails. *also a note to sweet traci-i found you a beautiful killer shawl i think you will love*
Wednesday, November 24, 2004
goa
well the 2nd class sleeper car is as good as 1st, so if your trying to save some money, that's the way to go. our train left at 11 pm and takes 12 hours. this time we were smart and when we arrived back in mumbai, we went right to the forigner reservation window and bought our tickets to goa that very day. (we saw our muslim pal who touted us to indore trying to trap other idiots like us-including us again, he did not even remember us! guess all whities look alike to them) we then checked into our old pal bentley's, retrieved our luggage (btw-if you trave in india, it's good to have mumbai as a base so you can leave your stuff and travel all over the place with only a backpack-it only costs 10rps per bag per day, for us, a total of 120rps(2.50us dollars))
we went to our favorite restaurant in bombay for mangalorian seafood-apoorva. mangalore is on the west coast of india-several kilometers to the east in a straight line is mysore-several kilometers in a straight line is chennai on the east coast, in case you are at all interested in indian geography. we ate the most exquisite sarsoo i have ever had in my life, and i never really liked it before because it's really bitter-it's the broccoli rabe. anyhow, the balanced it with plenty of sag (india spinach, which is sweet instead of american bitter), and garlic and spices. we also skipped the monster tiger prawns tandoori this time cause they cost 500rps for 3 and we went ape s... with 2 orders, one for desert the first time we ate there. can't eat like that all the time in india if you want to spend any time here. than the beautiful kerala rice came, which is about 4 times the size of your average rice, like puffed up, very filling, and sentimental cause i spent 2 months in kerala last year and am going for 2 more. they brought us the famous coconut sauce to pour over it, yummm. and one paratha. my appetite is getting smaller, but i still look fat.
than off to pick up a few errands at the store, nothing interesting there, back to the room to arrange the packages, sending tons of unnecessary stuff home. *note*if you are ever planning a trip to india, bring 3 shirts or 3 salwars, one light pant, and necessaries like glasses and sunscreen. i know you will hear this over and over again, but restrain yourself heavily when packing for india. seriously.
train was on time, did not have to share the private room with anyone till halfway into the trip, a quiet businessfellow from some tiny town, than a belgian woman who'd been to india 8 times, first time driving her own car from brussels!!via turkey. studying iyengar in the north of goa. see-we all keep coming back. i'll come back till i croak. than some government officials who wanted to talk politics, both indian and US, with us. we have no problem expressing our utter embarassment of george w. some indians like him, some hate him. probably more hate him. but to my surprise, lots of people liked the bjp better than the congress party. go figure.
so landing in goa is so strange, cause it does not have the feel of india whatsoever. i'm kind of depressed about that. just beach, nothing but crap to buy on the beach, way way way too many ecstacy headed westerners and hippies, and that relentless horrifying rave music. i wanted to be close to purple valley yoga center to take a few classes cause i had taken this time off yoga in order to try to let my serious peraformis muscle tear heal, if it ever even will. i may be stuck doing primary series for the rest of my life. and you know what? i don't care. soon i'll be doing vipassana and will realize it's all about the stilling of the mind anyhow.
so j and i sampled the fenni, which harvests in may, so most of it is not made of cashew, but of coconut. our first was cashew and tasted like arak (a clear very strong liquor pretty much like everclear- made in indonesia), but like arak, you have to add a little soda water and lots of limes, than it's wonderful. there was the wednesday market down the beach and we preceded down to purchase some goods-man, i am getting SO good at haggelling-i'm not sure WHAT is happenning to my personality. so much is coming out i did not even know existed. unfortunately jeff, with his too much fenni, stumbled down into a ditch while looking at yet another musical instrument and scraped up his face, arms and torso real good. the locals gave him a chair, i cleaned him up with anticeptic wipes (he does not understand that if you cut yourself here in india sometimes it does not heal-i know this first hand.)stubborn. i walked him back to the beach and we watched the sunset and got some food in us-delicious garlic prawns and baby tiger fish, which they also have in kerala.
not very interesting blog, but hey-i'm in south goa and it isn't much different than boring old kovalam. we plan to rent a scooter and travel through the rest of this tiny rhode island sized state and i'm sure i'll have more to say about it. if you like beautiful white sand beach, it's amazing. but i've already been to south beach, the yucatan, bali, eastern australia, so i'd still rather see the caves. guess i'll just have to wait till february-anyone want to come with me?
bindifry
we went to our favorite restaurant in bombay for mangalorian seafood-apoorva. mangalore is on the west coast of india-several kilometers to the east in a straight line is mysore-several kilometers in a straight line is chennai on the east coast, in case you are at all interested in indian geography. we ate the most exquisite sarsoo i have ever had in my life, and i never really liked it before because it's really bitter-it's the broccoli rabe. anyhow, the balanced it with plenty of sag (india spinach, which is sweet instead of american bitter), and garlic and spices. we also skipped the monster tiger prawns tandoori this time cause they cost 500rps for 3 and we went ape s... with 2 orders, one for desert the first time we ate there. can't eat like that all the time in india if you want to spend any time here. than the beautiful kerala rice came, which is about 4 times the size of your average rice, like puffed up, very filling, and sentimental cause i spent 2 months in kerala last year and am going for 2 more. they brought us the famous coconut sauce to pour over it, yummm. and one paratha. my appetite is getting smaller, but i still look fat.
than off to pick up a few errands at the store, nothing interesting there, back to the room to arrange the packages, sending tons of unnecessary stuff home. *note*if you are ever planning a trip to india, bring 3 shirts or 3 salwars, one light pant, and necessaries like glasses and sunscreen. i know you will hear this over and over again, but restrain yourself heavily when packing for india. seriously.
train was on time, did not have to share the private room with anyone till halfway into the trip, a quiet businessfellow from some tiny town, than a belgian woman who'd been to india 8 times, first time driving her own car from brussels!!via turkey. studying iyengar in the north of goa. see-we all keep coming back. i'll come back till i croak. than some government officials who wanted to talk politics, both indian and US, with us. we have no problem expressing our utter embarassment of george w. some indians like him, some hate him. probably more hate him. but to my surprise, lots of people liked the bjp better than the congress party. go figure.
so landing in goa is so strange, cause it does not have the feel of india whatsoever. i'm kind of depressed about that. just beach, nothing but crap to buy on the beach, way way way too many ecstacy headed westerners and hippies, and that relentless horrifying rave music. i wanted to be close to purple valley yoga center to take a few classes cause i had taken this time off yoga in order to try to let my serious peraformis muscle tear heal, if it ever even will. i may be stuck doing primary series for the rest of my life. and you know what? i don't care. soon i'll be doing vipassana and will realize it's all about the stilling of the mind anyhow.
so j and i sampled the fenni, which harvests in may, so most of it is not made of cashew, but of coconut. our first was cashew and tasted like arak (a clear very strong liquor pretty much like everclear- made in indonesia), but like arak, you have to add a little soda water and lots of limes, than it's wonderful. there was the wednesday market down the beach and we preceded down to purchase some goods-man, i am getting SO good at haggelling-i'm not sure WHAT is happenning to my personality. so much is coming out i did not even know existed. unfortunately jeff, with his too much fenni, stumbled down into a ditch while looking at yet another musical instrument and scraped up his face, arms and torso real good. the locals gave him a chair, i cleaned him up with anticeptic wipes (he does not understand that if you cut yourself here in india sometimes it does not heal-i know this first hand.)stubborn. i walked him back to the beach and we watched the sunset and got some food in us-delicious garlic prawns and baby tiger fish, which they also have in kerala.
not very interesting blog, but hey-i'm in south goa and it isn't much different than boring old kovalam. we plan to rent a scooter and travel through the rest of this tiny rhode island sized state and i'm sure i'll have more to say about it. if you like beautiful white sand beach, it's amazing. but i've already been to south beach, the yucatan, bali, eastern australia, so i'd still rather see the caves. guess i'll just have to wait till february-anyone want to come with me?
bindifry
Monday, November 22, 2004
from delhi to mumbai to goa oh my.........
we boarded the shattabhi xpress-2 and 1/2 hours to delhi. we decided to walk the streets instead of cab or horse shaw/rickshaw just for the experience. we had only 4 hours in our hotel before walking back a 4am to the train station to board to mumbai-27 hours. we were wishing we stayed a couple days in delhi because i'm sure we would have loved it. next time. hi cheekoo...hint hint...
we got on the punjabi mail train, which stops everywhere, which is why it took so long. laid down in a sleeper, got woke up by the engineer and moved to what we thought were sit up seats, cause mostly the worst things have been happenning, we just expect it. instead, they take us to first class private coach with 4 beds, a/c, private sink, the works! 2 meals, plenty of water and mango juice, total privacy. dreamland...
we were alone until we reached bhopal, that city 20 years ago that union carbide exploded chemical gas into the city which killed over half a million people and they actually got away with it. no compensation cept 450 grand to the government with deep pockets. people still are dying today from that. i'm sure most of you out there reading this know all about the bhopal tragedy. if you don't, you should. a man joined us in the room for the rest of the journey, which was fine.
we arrived around 9am today, the 23rd, and immediately bought our tickets to goa, the train which leaves at 11pm tonight, takes 12 hours, and will spend the final leg of j's trip over there in SOUTHERN, not northern goa. white sand beaches await. planning to get a scooter and shoot all over the beaches, look at beautiful catholic portugese churches, try fenni (cashew beverage) and the world famous pork vindaloo(sorry veggi heads-i don't like to pass up anything here).
sometimes if you wait long enough, a gift awaits.
bindifry
we got on the punjabi mail train, which stops everywhere, which is why it took so long. laid down in a sleeper, got woke up by the engineer and moved to what we thought were sit up seats, cause mostly the worst things have been happenning, we just expect it. instead, they take us to first class private coach with 4 beds, a/c, private sink, the works! 2 meals, plenty of water and mango juice, total privacy. dreamland...
we were alone until we reached bhopal, that city 20 years ago that union carbide exploded chemical gas into the city which killed over half a million people and they actually got away with it. no compensation cept 450 grand to the government with deep pockets. people still are dying today from that. i'm sure most of you out there reading this know all about the bhopal tragedy. if you don't, you should. a man joined us in the room for the rest of the journey, which was fine.
we arrived around 9am today, the 23rd, and immediately bought our tickets to goa, the train which leaves at 11pm tonight, takes 12 hours, and will spend the final leg of j's trip over there in SOUTHERN, not northern goa. white sand beaches await. planning to get a scooter and shoot all over the beaches, look at beautiful catholic portugese churches, try fenni (cashew beverage) and the world famous pork vindaloo(sorry veggi heads-i don't like to pass up anything here).
sometimes if you wait long enough, a gift awaits.
bindifry
sweet sweet aahhhhhhhgraaaaaaaaahhhhhhh
agra day 3 began at the tour of akbar, the greatesst of the mughal emporers. he was a very compassionate being in terms of religeous choice. the place was surrounded by a beautiful garden chock full of antelope, spotted deer, and the largest colony of well groomed fluffy langur monkeys. which were not of the aggressive persuasion. i've never been able to sit amongst that many of them cause they usually attack and steal your sunglasses. we strolled the exquisite gardens, than entered the mausoleum. we had to decend a narrow dark tunnel before entering the domed tomb area. an imam chanted, it echoed beautifully, as we circled clockwise (***note to all foreigners-don't be the idiot who decides to circle anything in a temple or mosque counter clockwise-please do your research and cover yourselves up, for gods sake). after the circle around, the exit and it was over.
the next stop was not so pleasant. it was a restoration of a radha (krishna's wife)temple. we were immediately shown around the temple-we thought the guy worked there, but NO! a groper in disguise. he took us into a remote corner of the temple so we could take pictures-which are strictly forbidden in temples. it happened so fast and before you knew it, he was groping me, pressing into my breasts for what felt like an eternity while j took a picture. i was quite angry at j for not kicking his touting nasty ass. we left with a very very bad taste in our mouths. not only that, he demanded 10 rupies for the grope. nice. and the shit shoe watchers, who usually get one or two rupies for watching the shoes, demaded at least 10, and called us foul names cause they did not think that was enought. nice.
so it goes up from here. next stop, and one of my favorites, kanu carpet factory. we were taken to the design shop, shown the over 50 varieties of sheep, all their wools, etc. made a point in telling us the germans like the thick wool, except the carpets won't bend so well and they wear out after 40 years. only the germans had this request. than we watched the weavers knot and weave at a loom, working at breakneck speed and cutting. average size rug taking up to 5 months to complete, one knot at a time. than the rug is taken to a large ditch where 5 men in rubber boots scrape and wash the rug for a couple of hours to remove excess dye. than the rug is hung in the indian sun and after, put onto a stretcher and nailed down. after a day, they take it to 5 more men with hard core scissors and they trim for a couple more hours each and every piece. the rug is washed again, and than coated with acidic acid to moth proof and set the colors. i bought a very long wool runner rug, a gift, and a silk one for my bum for the next few months i am staying here. there is nothing better than seeing the craftsmanship of the beautiful textiles here. so far my marble and rug experiences have been steller. these rugs were every bit as good as the kashmiri rugs. they export thousands to the US and elsewhere every year.
the final stop in agra, the golden moment, was at a gallery specializing in musical instruments and jewelry. we spent 4 hours there, j hypnotized by the instruments, me by the silver and diamonds. they provided a pro tabla player to play along with j as he learned how to play sitar (he was remarkably good)and the banjo(which is not like the american banjo, but an instrument with tortise shell keyboard for left hand and strings for the right hand). jamming went on for hours, a plate of dates, cashews and almonds appeared, 3 chai tea's were drunk, and soon chicken tikka bits. i was still with my pal getting talked into several gorgeous silver ankle bracelets and an 80 year old diamond with emerald in center. than a tray of beers started being distributed, i went into the instrument room where the jams were going on and we impressed the locals with our knowledge of many old hindi film songs "dum maro dum", "churya liya", "aja-monica!my darling!!!"(most westerners go phooey on bollywood-their loss) and one we wrote ourselves, me playing tabla like a conga and j playing guitar, all of us singing and dancing all over the place. time passed too fast and we were almost late for our train to delhi. ahhhhhhhhgra...had been very good to us.
the next stop was not so pleasant. it was a restoration of a radha (krishna's wife)temple. we were immediately shown around the temple-we thought the guy worked there, but NO! a groper in disguise. he took us into a remote corner of the temple so we could take pictures-which are strictly forbidden in temples. it happened so fast and before you knew it, he was groping me, pressing into my breasts for what felt like an eternity while j took a picture. i was quite angry at j for not kicking his touting nasty ass. we left with a very very bad taste in our mouths. not only that, he demanded 10 rupies for the grope. nice. and the shit shoe watchers, who usually get one or two rupies for watching the shoes, demaded at least 10, and called us foul names cause they did not think that was enought. nice.
so it goes up from here. next stop, and one of my favorites, kanu carpet factory. we were taken to the design shop, shown the over 50 varieties of sheep, all their wools, etc. made a point in telling us the germans like the thick wool, except the carpets won't bend so well and they wear out after 40 years. only the germans had this request. than we watched the weavers knot and weave at a loom, working at breakneck speed and cutting. average size rug taking up to 5 months to complete, one knot at a time. than the rug is taken to a large ditch where 5 men in rubber boots scrape and wash the rug for a couple of hours to remove excess dye. than the rug is hung in the indian sun and after, put onto a stretcher and nailed down. after a day, they take it to 5 more men with hard core scissors and they trim for a couple more hours each and every piece. the rug is washed again, and than coated with acidic acid to moth proof and set the colors. i bought a very long wool runner rug, a gift, and a silk one for my bum for the next few months i am staying here. there is nothing better than seeing the craftsmanship of the beautiful textiles here. so far my marble and rug experiences have been steller. these rugs were every bit as good as the kashmiri rugs. they export thousands to the US and elsewhere every year.
the final stop in agra, the golden moment, was at a gallery specializing in musical instruments and jewelry. we spent 4 hours there, j hypnotized by the instruments, me by the silver and diamonds. they provided a pro tabla player to play along with j as he learned how to play sitar (he was remarkably good)and the banjo(which is not like the american banjo, but an instrument with tortise shell keyboard for left hand and strings for the right hand). jamming went on for hours, a plate of dates, cashews and almonds appeared, 3 chai tea's were drunk, and soon chicken tikka bits. i was still with my pal getting talked into several gorgeous silver ankle bracelets and an 80 year old diamond with emerald in center. than a tray of beers started being distributed, i went into the instrument room where the jams were going on and we impressed the locals with our knowledge of many old hindi film songs "dum maro dum", "churya liya", "aja-monica!my darling!!!"(most westerners go phooey on bollywood-their loss) and one we wrote ourselves, me playing tabla like a conga and j playing guitar, all of us singing and dancing all over the place. time passed too fast and we were almost late for our train to delhi. ahhhhhhhhgra...had been very good to us.
Saturday, November 20, 2004
gwendoline remembered
i first learned of the news of gwendoline hunt's death the day i saw the taj mahal. gwendoline deserved such a monument. she was one of the purist spirits, most positive person i have ever had the blessing to know. every time she talked, something profound was said. i always learned from her. when i first met her 4 years ago, one of the things she whispered in my ear was, "the longer you do this astanga the better you will understand it."
the last image i remember of her was watching her do her practice through the door of the ayri shala in mysore. she had been injured and was wearing a cast on her left leg. i watched her with perfect dristi, perfect breath and stillness, and most perfect bandhas gently, like poetry in motion, lifting up her body in eka pada sirsasana, even though the leg was unable to bend behind her. she was not troubled by her mishap at all. when she got hurt, she explained to me that life was a wonderful thing and she merely was not in the moment. she was thrilled to still be learning lessons into her 70s. gwen had looked at a pack of baby goats when she did not see a hole in which she stepped into fracturing her leg.
she taught me how to teach with the greatest intentions and compassion. if you were blessed to get adjusted by her, what you received was a warm generous soul wrapping her body around you becoming you for those 5 breaths, her main emphasis drawing in the bandhas and breathing with you as one.
i had been eagerly anticipating arriving in kovalam again for 2 months to see her and lino. i will miss her terribly. i will miss her spirit. and i hope god will let me keep a little snack of her spirit. i am greatly honored to have met her, to have worked with her, to have loved her very very much.
thank you gwendoline for teaching me how to be a better human being.
with all my heart-
lisa hill
the last image i remember of her was watching her do her practice through the door of the ayri shala in mysore. she had been injured and was wearing a cast on her left leg. i watched her with perfect dristi, perfect breath and stillness, and most perfect bandhas gently, like poetry in motion, lifting up her body in eka pada sirsasana, even though the leg was unable to bend behind her. she was not troubled by her mishap at all. when she got hurt, she explained to me that life was a wonderful thing and she merely was not in the moment. she was thrilled to still be learning lessons into her 70s. gwen had looked at a pack of baby goats when she did not see a hole in which she stepped into fracturing her leg.
she taught me how to teach with the greatest intentions and compassion. if you were blessed to get adjusted by her, what you received was a warm generous soul wrapping her body around you becoming you for those 5 breaths, her main emphasis drawing in the bandhas and breathing with you as one.
i had been eagerly anticipating arriving in kovalam again for 2 months to see her and lino. i will miss her terribly. i will miss her spirit. and i hope god will let me keep a little snack of her spirit. i am greatly honored to have met her, to have worked with her, to have loved her very very much.
thank you gwendoline for teaching me how to be a better human being.
with all my heart-
lisa hill
agra-phobia
well i thought i'd seen india. i haven't had a clue. now i have seen india the way it is meant to be seen. i am now stuck in agra for 4 days, but it dosen't matter cause it's a chaotic dream.
of course we misread our ticket from indore to agra and thought we would be late, only to hurry up and wait, something you do in india each day. a pack of cards is very handy for these matters, as we played gin rummy while a pile of onlookers watched us. the next bus was worse than the first, 13 hours in a video air con bus with sit up seats, only no video, and no air con. the seats were packed and the aisles were filled with passangers sitting on the floor, some lucky to have plastic stools. if you did not piss fast when the bus stopped, you would be left behind, as several people actually were. i learned to piss with the men by the side of the road. i am getting very good at hiking my salwar and scarf out of the way of the stream.
we arrived in agra round 7am and were fortunate to meet our companion for our entire time here-19 year old samin, our personal tour guide and rickshaw driver. he set us up in a hotel, and got us a nice meal in a garden, took us to travel agent cause we did not know how we were going to get out of here eventually cause it's high indian tourist season because of the holidays and everything is booked solid. the travel agent was a buddhist and upon finding out i teach yoga forced me to take down a list of 9 questions which went something like this:
1. what is truth? is it possible to know it partially?
2. what should we meditate on?
3. what is the ultimate glimpses of enlightment?
4. in which form the energy of ego changed into?
5. is a sex creative energy? how could it be possible for a husband and wife to make this relationship more creative?
6. love is understanding or not?
7. treasure insight
8. describe marriage
a. social marraige
b. spiritual marraige
c. divine marraige
before starting any sort of marraige we should know who am i? where do i stand? what is my nature?
9. i live in the land of seriousness, imprisoned and its borders. can you draw me a road map to your land of playfulness? have i a defective gene? i can not find my laughter or lightheardness? it's around me, but do not feel it in me.
this from a travel agent.
stuck in the most indescribable traffic imaginable-4 hours behind bike rickshaws, mule carts, bulls, dogs, rickshaws, bikes, babies carrying babies, sadhus, motorbikes, cars, packs of pigs, goats, i don't remember what else, we finally made it to the back of the taj during sunset. it was quite powerful. i got a nice picture with it reflecting on the back water.
sanir, after making us shop at a silver shop (yeow)insisted on taking us to the decendents of the craftsmen of the actual taj mahal. there, muhamed showed us how they crafted the marble and put the intricate pieces of precious stones inside of the marble. it was extremely impressive. we spent a good hour in there learning and looking, preparing for our next day when we would visit the taj from the front and go inside. out of all the pieces available, of course i had to have the most unusual one, which is from 1972 and made by his grandfather, a direct decendent of the taj laborers. this piece had to be mine cause the marble had the natural spots and the flowers had pieces of gems that are extinct, and some pieces were actually stolen from the real taj mahal many years ago. it is an actual museum piece with government stamp and worth over 30,000us in the states-a piece i will someday donate to a museum. i had it shipped home and can't believe i am the proud owner, especially for what i had paid for it. totally unbelievable.
back to the guru travel agent who had bad news for us, no way to get out of here. we're stuck here until the 22nd evening when we can get a 2nd class no a/c train back to mumbai, except we have to go to delhi first, take a taxi 2 hours to get a train, connect in delhi, and travel 30 hours back to mumbai, should get us there by the 24th.
when we got back to our hotel, we lost our key. the drama was very big cause they don't have extra keys. they ridiculed me and i fought back. of course all they wanted was 100rps. then we sat and watched then hit the lock with their bare hands, ripping up their knuckles. dorks. but it popped open and we said sorry, they promised a new room in the morning, but we booked out of there cause they did not have a room in the morning and it was time to go to the taj mahal and we had nowhere to store our stuff. big drama there cause the hotel wanted us to pay another 500rps for another night. we screeched out in the waiting rickshaw with samir, as he found us another travel agent and another hotel.
then the drive to the taj. he gave us the lowdown-this guy is great-we are extremely blessed to have him. pickpockets are rampent, the food over there is all poison cause they want you to get sick,(the doctors have a thing with the restaurants and they bleed your insurance) the begging is horrendous. we got in line to pay the 750rps to get in and when i opened my wallet, 500us dollars flew out and on to the ground!!! luckily we were surrounded by tibetan monks and nothing blew away (i think).and it's indian holiday and a saturday, so you can't imagine how many people were there waiting to get through that gate that leads to the garden which leads to the most amazing thing i have ever seen in my entire life. THE TAJ MAHAL. of course i balled like a baby because all my life i've dreamed of seeing this exquisite monument. there is no possible way i can describe how it felt to be in its prescence. i actually thought i would no longer be able to blog cause i can't properlly describe what it's like to be over here in agra. and i appreciated it even more because of the time i spent with my friend at the marble shop. the way they carve out the marble and put tiny pieces of stones that fit perfectly. i just can't describe it. it was probably the most inspiring moment of my life. now you have to understand that i have only begun to travel just 5 years ago for the first time. this was a very big moment.
so if you all decide to study yoga in india, you are crazy not to see the real india. there's WAY much more to this place than mysore. don't limit yourself. don't cheat yourself. this place is totally indescribable, magical, and very very hard on your body and mind. but it's worth every single hard moment. i would do it all again in a heartbeat.
bindifry
of course we misread our ticket from indore to agra and thought we would be late, only to hurry up and wait, something you do in india each day. a pack of cards is very handy for these matters, as we played gin rummy while a pile of onlookers watched us. the next bus was worse than the first, 13 hours in a video air con bus with sit up seats, only no video, and no air con. the seats were packed and the aisles were filled with passangers sitting on the floor, some lucky to have plastic stools. if you did not piss fast when the bus stopped, you would be left behind, as several people actually were. i learned to piss with the men by the side of the road. i am getting very good at hiking my salwar and scarf out of the way of the stream.
we arrived in agra round 7am and were fortunate to meet our companion for our entire time here-19 year old samin, our personal tour guide and rickshaw driver. he set us up in a hotel, and got us a nice meal in a garden, took us to travel agent cause we did not know how we were going to get out of here eventually cause it's high indian tourist season because of the holidays and everything is booked solid. the travel agent was a buddhist and upon finding out i teach yoga forced me to take down a list of 9 questions which went something like this:
1. what is truth? is it possible to know it partially?
2. what should we meditate on?
3. what is the ultimate glimpses of enlightment?
4. in which form the energy of ego changed into?
5. is a sex creative energy? how could it be possible for a husband and wife to make this relationship more creative?
6. love is understanding or not?
7. treasure insight
8. describe marriage
a. social marraige
b. spiritual marraige
c. divine marraige
before starting any sort of marraige we should know who am i? where do i stand? what is my nature?
9. i live in the land of seriousness, imprisoned and its borders. can you draw me a road map to your land of playfulness? have i a defective gene? i can not find my laughter or lightheardness? it's around me, but do not feel it in me.
this from a travel agent.
stuck in the most indescribable traffic imaginable-4 hours behind bike rickshaws, mule carts, bulls, dogs, rickshaws, bikes, babies carrying babies, sadhus, motorbikes, cars, packs of pigs, goats, i don't remember what else, we finally made it to the back of the taj during sunset. it was quite powerful. i got a nice picture with it reflecting on the back water.
sanir, after making us shop at a silver shop (yeow)insisted on taking us to the decendents of the craftsmen of the actual taj mahal. there, muhamed showed us how they crafted the marble and put the intricate pieces of precious stones inside of the marble. it was extremely impressive. we spent a good hour in there learning and looking, preparing for our next day when we would visit the taj from the front and go inside. out of all the pieces available, of course i had to have the most unusual one, which is from 1972 and made by his grandfather, a direct decendent of the taj laborers. this piece had to be mine cause the marble had the natural spots and the flowers had pieces of gems that are extinct, and some pieces were actually stolen from the real taj mahal many years ago. it is an actual museum piece with government stamp and worth over 30,000us in the states-a piece i will someday donate to a museum. i had it shipped home and can't believe i am the proud owner, especially for what i had paid for it. totally unbelievable.
back to the guru travel agent who had bad news for us, no way to get out of here. we're stuck here until the 22nd evening when we can get a 2nd class no a/c train back to mumbai, except we have to go to delhi first, take a taxi 2 hours to get a train, connect in delhi, and travel 30 hours back to mumbai, should get us there by the 24th.
when we got back to our hotel, we lost our key. the drama was very big cause they don't have extra keys. they ridiculed me and i fought back. of course all they wanted was 100rps. then we sat and watched then hit the lock with their bare hands, ripping up their knuckles. dorks. but it popped open and we said sorry, they promised a new room in the morning, but we booked out of there cause they did not have a room in the morning and it was time to go to the taj mahal and we had nowhere to store our stuff. big drama there cause the hotel wanted us to pay another 500rps for another night. we screeched out in the waiting rickshaw with samir, as he found us another travel agent and another hotel.
then the drive to the taj. he gave us the lowdown-this guy is great-we are extremely blessed to have him. pickpockets are rampent, the food over there is all poison cause they want you to get sick,(the doctors have a thing with the restaurants and they bleed your insurance) the begging is horrendous. we got in line to pay the 750rps to get in and when i opened my wallet, 500us dollars flew out and on to the ground!!! luckily we were surrounded by tibetan monks and nothing blew away (i think).and it's indian holiday and a saturday, so you can't imagine how many people were there waiting to get through that gate that leads to the garden which leads to the most amazing thing i have ever seen in my entire life. THE TAJ MAHAL. of course i balled like a baby because all my life i've dreamed of seeing this exquisite monument. there is no possible way i can describe how it felt to be in its prescence. i actually thought i would no longer be able to blog cause i can't properlly describe what it's like to be over here in agra. and i appreciated it even more because of the time i spent with my friend at the marble shop. the way they carve out the marble and put tiny pieces of stones that fit perfectly. i just can't describe it. it was probably the most inspiring moment of my life. now you have to understand that i have only begun to travel just 5 years ago for the first time. this was a very big moment.
so if you all decide to study yoga in india, you are crazy not to see the real india. there's WAY much more to this place than mysore. don't limit yourself. don't cheat yourself. this place is totally indescribable, magical, and very very hard on your body and mind. but it's worth every single hard moment. i would do it all again in a heartbeat.
bindifry
Wednesday, November 17, 2004
too much..magic bus..much too much...magic bus
spending another air con squeeze, this time watching "naach" which probably is the worst hindi movie i've ever saw, which is a surprise since it was filmed by ram gopal varma. felt like i was watching a vogue magazine ad for 3 hours. don't see it. no plot, no characters, terrible music. just a woman with perfect body doing yoga postures in the rain while the big b's talentless son looks on saying 5 words. of course we missed the "timings" of when we could buy a ticket to agra. i just could not stay another day in mumbai, and before we knew it, we were swept off our feet by a strong and insistent muslim man. here's how it went:
"you can get your teeket for agra now, but you will be sitting in the toilet. do you want to sit in the toilet?" "um, no." "then you can break up your trip by going to indore first." "uh, ok." "how long have you been in bombay?" "about ten days." "ten days in mumbai?! this will drive you crazy! you must break up your trip-go to indore. much to see!" "uh....cool."
so we ended up paying 3 times the value for ghetto bus-we were "touted", willingly. i actually wanted to bus to an unknown place cause i'd grown sick of bombay and wanted something more. so we ventured out to the northern state of madhya pradesh. it took over 17 hours to get here and we're only half way to agra in the next state of uttar pradesh. we're in the north and needed a new lonely planet cause we only know the south. our "friend"had helped us find one at NO bargain price. we had an upper bunker on a "sponge" as the driver called it with a ceiling so low we had to ride the entire trip horizontally. and no bathroom. 17 hours with no bathroom and only 2 stops! and that was real bad news cause we desperately had to relieve ourselves in the bag our new lonely planet came in, which proved to be really interesting. did not spill a drop, tied a firm knot, and waited for a good place to drop it down like an overfilled waterballoon. unfortunately the next desperate time wasn't so nice. i had to use plastic chai cups, getting piss all over myself and our sponge. lucky for us our bottle of doc bronners peppermint liquid soap simeltaneously exploded and we spent the next 13 hours lying in peppermint urine. yummy!
j in a classic 3 stooges move pulled down our curtain rod while climbing down from the upper berth leavfing me explosed to the rest of the man bus like an amsterdam hooker.
after 15 hours we get off for lentil puri and chai, when 2 young boys start wacking at my head cause my orange bandana was on fire!!! it burned the most exquisite perfect circle.
aside from these mishaps, it was quite a beautiful journey and we watched the sunrise with beautiful prayer music playing in the background. madhya pradesh is in the mountains and very very beautiful. the heat of mumbai was behind us. lots of farms and bulls and cows. each and every cow was clad in a gorgeous tall colorful head dress, reminiscent of carmen miranda--cow-man miranda! and they paint perfect polka dots on some cows, while others get the striped treatment.
we spent the rest of the day recovering cause there is no way to sleep on a bus that is driving on unpaved roads-your body tossing all over the place like popcorn. yet i still felt like i was in a bollywood film because indian film score music accompanied us the entire journey, blasted as loud as they do at the cinema.
we hired a rickshaw tour guide to show us the sites of indore in the morning, which include a jain temple, kanch mandir, that is fully mirrored with pictures of sinners being tortured in the afterlife, and the ganapati temple, which contains the worlds largest ganesha-bright orange in color and over 30 feet high!!!
our next bus will leave tonight at 7pm to agra-it's a "video air con bus," which means they blast hindi videos the entire duration. that's just fine with me. we are supposed to reach agra by tomorrow-friday-at 7am in the morning. i'm sure i'll have plenty of stories about that one. you have to want to see the taj mahal very badly cause it's supposed to be the worst tourist place with the worst pan handler/touters/grifters in india, and they hiked up the price for tourists to 1000 rupies!(10rps for indians). and yes, i do want to see it that bad, but we plan to split as fast as possible when we figure out the next stop. i'm pressing for jaipur in rajasthan. more later....
bindifried out
"you can get your teeket for agra now, but you will be sitting in the toilet. do you want to sit in the toilet?" "um, no." "then you can break up your trip by going to indore first." "uh, ok." "how long have you been in bombay?" "about ten days." "ten days in mumbai?! this will drive you crazy! you must break up your trip-go to indore. much to see!" "uh....cool."
so we ended up paying 3 times the value for ghetto bus-we were "touted", willingly. i actually wanted to bus to an unknown place cause i'd grown sick of bombay and wanted something more. so we ventured out to the northern state of madhya pradesh. it took over 17 hours to get here and we're only half way to agra in the next state of uttar pradesh. we're in the north and needed a new lonely planet cause we only know the south. our "friend"had helped us find one at NO bargain price. we had an upper bunker on a "sponge" as the driver called it with a ceiling so low we had to ride the entire trip horizontally. and no bathroom. 17 hours with no bathroom and only 2 stops! and that was real bad news cause we desperately had to relieve ourselves in the bag our new lonely planet came in, which proved to be really interesting. did not spill a drop, tied a firm knot, and waited for a good place to drop it down like an overfilled waterballoon. unfortunately the next desperate time wasn't so nice. i had to use plastic chai cups, getting piss all over myself and our sponge. lucky for us our bottle of doc bronners peppermint liquid soap simeltaneously exploded and we spent the next 13 hours lying in peppermint urine. yummy!
j in a classic 3 stooges move pulled down our curtain rod while climbing down from the upper berth leavfing me explosed to the rest of the man bus like an amsterdam hooker.
after 15 hours we get off for lentil puri and chai, when 2 young boys start wacking at my head cause my orange bandana was on fire!!! it burned the most exquisite perfect circle.
aside from these mishaps, it was quite a beautiful journey and we watched the sunrise with beautiful prayer music playing in the background. madhya pradesh is in the mountains and very very beautiful. the heat of mumbai was behind us. lots of farms and bulls and cows. each and every cow was clad in a gorgeous tall colorful head dress, reminiscent of carmen miranda--cow-man miranda! and they paint perfect polka dots on some cows, while others get the striped treatment.
we spent the rest of the day recovering cause there is no way to sleep on a bus that is driving on unpaved roads-your body tossing all over the place like popcorn. yet i still felt like i was in a bollywood film because indian film score music accompanied us the entire journey, blasted as loud as they do at the cinema.
we hired a rickshaw tour guide to show us the sites of indore in the morning, which include a jain temple, kanch mandir, that is fully mirrored with pictures of sinners being tortured in the afterlife, and the ganapati temple, which contains the worlds largest ganesha-bright orange in color and over 30 feet high!!!
our next bus will leave tonight at 7pm to agra-it's a "video air con bus," which means they blast hindi videos the entire duration. that's just fine with me. we are supposed to reach agra by tomorrow-friday-at 7am in the morning. i'm sure i'll have plenty of stories about that one. you have to want to see the taj mahal very badly cause it's supposed to be the worst tourist place with the worst pan handler/touters/grifters in india, and they hiked up the price for tourists to 1000 rupies!(10rps for indians). and yes, i do want to see it that bad, but we plan to split as fast as possible when we figure out the next stop. i'm pressing for jaipur in rajasthan. more later....
bindifried out
Monday, November 15, 2004
360 degrees
i never made the train to the caves. however, i'm doing a complete 360 and taking a 22 hour train today to agra to see the taj mahal. than off to aurangabad for the caves, back here to mumbai, than goa. i don't know how much i will be able to blog during this next week, but if it is a possibility, i will.
i figured the way the world is right now, we could all be dead tomorrow and it would be a shame not to take advantage of some of the wonders of the world. bollywood can wait.
today will also mark the 4th new release movie-"naach" which looks pretty cheesy (amitabh's kid with urmila matondkar-a buxom dancer who spends much of her time showing off her bod while abhishek looks on like a psycho). yesterday was aitraaz, a great sexual harrasment courtroom drama with priyanka chopra, who is almost as beautiful as aishwarya.
thanks to all who have taken the time to e-mail me. believe it or not, i do sometimes get lonely over here.
stay posted-
bindifry
i figured the way the world is right now, we could all be dead tomorrow and it would be a shame not to take advantage of some of the wonders of the world. bollywood can wait.
today will also mark the 4th new release movie-"naach" which looks pretty cheesy (amitabh's kid with urmila matondkar-a buxom dancer who spends much of her time showing off her bod while abhishek looks on like a psycho). yesterday was aitraaz, a great sexual harrasment courtroom drama with priyanka chopra, who is almost as beautiful as aishwarya.
thanks to all who have taken the time to e-mail me. believe it or not, i do sometimes get lonely over here.
stay posted-
bindifry
Sunday, November 14, 2004
nose job
seems much of my time is spent searching for air conditioned splendor. it's SO hot here, many days over 100, today we get a cool spell of 95. yesterday was the cool afternoon at india's first multiplex the inox to see veer-zaara, the new SRK movie. i was skeptical being fond of the art deco movie houses here, but it proved to be quite posh. reclining chairs, head rest, cup holder, and more leg room than an airline. i was one happy westerner. the movie was the typical romeo and juliet theme (paki loves hindustan) and SRK gets thrown in paki prison for 10 years for falling in love with another man's woman with all the right connections. the best part being the unexpected cameo by amitabh and hema malini as his parents-god he knows how to steal the show. the snack counter was very modern, offerring soft pista ice cream, cold coffee, samosa, and "dum maro dum" biriyani.(the famous song from hari krishna hari ram) the movie had the "throw me a bone with a happy ending" hollywood ending, which i like once in awhile.
this morning, an unexpected treat while having what we thought would only be coffee and air conditioning at the taj, when suddenly out of nowhere appears a monsterous buffet with a bottemless champagne glass. this thing had every fish imaginable, mutton tandoori, parsi faves, unlimited shrimps, subway sandwiches, crepe bar, pasta bar, and 20 feet of deserts, including mousse and swiss chocolates all for rps600. not only that, but a 3 piece malaysian band strolling to each table, taking requests. when they got to our table, we requested johnny cash, "folsom prison blues," cause we wanted to hear them sing the phrase, "i shot a man in reno just to watch him die," but they asked us for the lyrics, which we did not have on us, so we settled for hank williams, "your cheatin heart" instead, which was FAR better than hearing "annie's song" for the 15th time (god they love that john denver), horrific cat stevens covers (father and son!!!)ack!!, "lady in red" (i've heard this one in every third world country i've ever been to), and "up up and away in my beautiful balloon." even a 12 foot tall popeye appeared out of nowhere-or was that the champagne?
*fact-there are no rickshaws in bombay
*fact-it's hotter here cause we're at sea level. the water does not make it cooler.
*excerpt from "debonaire", a feminist nudie mag:
"I experience trememdous sexual pleasure whenever I come across a lady with a beautiful shapely nose with large flared nostrils. fortunately my wife posesses a sharp beautiful nose with large chiseled nostrils. I love to spend hours with my head in her lap gazing into her fleshy flexible oval shaped dark nasal pits, trembling with desire...
*excerpt from "the hindu" hyderabad
"a 21 year old died instantly when a piece of sharp iron pierced his throat on diwali friday. he was watching some locals celebrate with "crackers". one of them placed an empty iron box on a cracker and lit it. as the cracker exploded, the iron box broke into pieces and the splints flew across and one of them pierced Chand's throat killing him instantly."
...see..diwali IS dangerous.
OFF TO AURANGABAD...keep in touch and i will write with more upon my landing.
bindifry
this morning, an unexpected treat while having what we thought would only be coffee and air conditioning at the taj, when suddenly out of nowhere appears a monsterous buffet with a bottemless champagne glass. this thing had every fish imaginable, mutton tandoori, parsi faves, unlimited shrimps, subway sandwiches, crepe bar, pasta bar, and 20 feet of deserts, including mousse and swiss chocolates all for rps600. not only that, but a 3 piece malaysian band strolling to each table, taking requests. when they got to our table, we requested johnny cash, "folsom prison blues," cause we wanted to hear them sing the phrase, "i shot a man in reno just to watch him die," but they asked us for the lyrics, which we did not have on us, so we settled for hank williams, "your cheatin heart" instead, which was FAR better than hearing "annie's song" for the 15th time (god they love that john denver), horrific cat stevens covers (father and son!!!)ack!!, "lady in red" (i've heard this one in every third world country i've ever been to), and "up up and away in my beautiful balloon." even a 12 foot tall popeye appeared out of nowhere-or was that the champagne?
*fact-there are no rickshaws in bombay
*fact-it's hotter here cause we're at sea level. the water does not make it cooler.
*excerpt from "debonaire", a feminist nudie mag:
"I experience trememdous sexual pleasure whenever I come across a lady with a beautiful shapely nose with large flared nostrils. fortunately my wife posesses a sharp beautiful nose with large chiseled nostrils. I love to spend hours with my head in her lap gazing into her fleshy flexible oval shaped dark nasal pits, trembling with desire...
*excerpt from "the hindu" hyderabad
"a 21 year old died instantly when a piece of sharp iron pierced his throat on diwali friday. he was watching some locals celebrate with "crackers". one of them placed an empty iron box on a cracker and lit it. as the cracker exploded, the iron box broke into pieces and the splints flew across and one of them pierced Chand's throat killing him instantly."
...see..diwali IS dangerous.
OFF TO AURANGABAD...keep in touch and i will write with more upon my landing.
bindifry
Friday, November 12, 2004
BANG BANG!!
i woke up yesterday to a phone call from the hotel desk, "happy diwali! we need your room now so get packed by noon." so i spent an hour packing, wondering where, on this busy holiday, i would go. they said they would put us up in the guesthouse, ok. kind of a drag. waited around for them to pick us up and at noon, a knock at the door, "good news madam. you can keep your room." only 2 words for that...IT'S INDIA.
spent 3 hours of the afternoon in air conditioned splendor at the world famous EROS theatre for the premiere of the fully restored colorized "mughal-e-azam" starring dilip kumar, the unbelievable beauty and cult heroine madhubala, and prithviraj kapoor-daddy of shammi and raj (rishi kapoor's dad-one of my faves check out "hum kisise kum naheen" and "bobby"). it was an unbelievable spectacle for the eye-a kalidescope of spendor. it's the oldest hindi film i have seen, me being stuck in the 70s. i had a ground floor seat, which is much better than balcony, contrary to popular belief, the sound and vibe rocks down there if you can stand the crowds. the place was chock full of old timers re-living the past, singing along, clapping for the stars. the guy next to me almost shot out of his seat each time madhubala was on screen, his palms sweating. she's quite the beauty. this is one of the most important movies in indian history, taking 10 years to make with no budget. it was intended to be filmed in color, except it wasn't available till the end of the filming, in which the final dance sequence was the only part filmed in color. of course there are not subtitles here, so if anyone knows how he was poisoned (feather and rose??), please kindly e-mail me with the information.
than we ventured out to the diwali festivities, which was not much fun for me because they are very fond of explosives-the m80 kind and dynamite. bombay had turned into a war zone and it really freaked me out. for a moment i felt what it must be like to live in bagdhad. i especially felt sorry for the street animals and children. if you didn't have earplugs, you were in serious danger of getting your eardrums blown out. i had to sleep with all the windows closed. apparently all this fest was about was whoever has the most and loudest "crackers" wins. a definitive "mans" holiday.
bindifry
spent 3 hours of the afternoon in air conditioned splendor at the world famous EROS theatre for the premiere of the fully restored colorized "mughal-e-azam" starring dilip kumar, the unbelievable beauty and cult heroine madhubala, and prithviraj kapoor-daddy of shammi and raj (rishi kapoor's dad-one of my faves check out "hum kisise kum naheen" and "bobby"). it was an unbelievable spectacle for the eye-a kalidescope of spendor. it's the oldest hindi film i have seen, me being stuck in the 70s. i had a ground floor seat, which is much better than balcony, contrary to popular belief, the sound and vibe rocks down there if you can stand the crowds. the place was chock full of old timers re-living the past, singing along, clapping for the stars. the guy next to me almost shot out of his seat each time madhubala was on screen, his palms sweating. she's quite the beauty. this is one of the most important movies in indian history, taking 10 years to make with no budget. it was intended to be filmed in color, except it wasn't available till the end of the filming, in which the final dance sequence was the only part filmed in color. of course there are not subtitles here, so if anyone knows how he was poisoned (feather and rose??), please kindly e-mail me with the information.
than we ventured out to the diwali festivities, which was not much fun for me because they are very fond of explosives-the m80 kind and dynamite. bombay had turned into a war zone and it really freaked me out. for a moment i felt what it must be like to live in bagdhad. i especially felt sorry for the street animals and children. if you didn't have earplugs, you were in serious danger of getting your eardrums blown out. i had to sleep with all the windows closed. apparently all this fest was about was whoever has the most and loudest "crackers" wins. a definitive "mans" holiday.
bindifry
Wednesday, November 10, 2004
quit india
it's great fun trying different cuisines in a cosmopolitan city such as mumbai. whatever you want it's here. it would probably take one lifetime to eat your way through and another lifetime for street food, which is not to be missed. (contrary to popular belief)*hi ellen-bindi is trying belpuri on the streets today after a trip to the prince of whales museum*.
i tried mangalore food and parsi so far, and the bombay duck, which is not duck, but fish.(sorry veggie heads). and still the best bet for proper indian brekkie is the hole-in-the-wall. why can't we get a proper dosa outside of india? my theory is that it's all about the potatos, and they are very different here than at home. plus there are no restrictions on ghee.
yesterday was india history day. my intention was to go to the nehru center, but was first dropped off at the quaint science museum, very similar to the one in san francisco, if you've ever been. lots of participation exhibits, you can be a child again. except the military guards are constantly over your shoulders (what can you possibly steal?) and cute little girls fondly gathering around with the same curious questions-"from what country you are from?" and when you tell them, they turn red, smile wryly, and scamper off. i think they place bets with each other as to where they think you might be from. finland is a big one, probably cause i'm blonde.
after mistaking the science museum for the other nehru center, we ventured to the masterpiece of archetecture. the building looks like a towering skinny waffle. amazing. what's most mind blowing is the "discovery of india" exhibition inside. it's a multi-media maze of the 50,000 year old history of india. if you've ever wondered about this great country's history, there is no better way to learn. it's based on india's first prime minister, jawaharlal nehru's famous book of the same name and the exhibit begins way before the indus valley as we know it, before any religion conqured, before buddhism (first here), hinduism, the jains, christianity, and finally islam and goes all the way through the revolution, gandhi and the "quit india" campaign that started here in bombay. unfortunately i was bugged out from the many hours of museum strolling and could only make it to the part when the british came and ruined everything, but i know that story already. i did not know they taxed the dead, though. anyhow, i bought the vcd and will be thrilled to share it with anyone who wants a wonderful slice of history.
the day was capped off with a tear inducing trip to mani bhavan-mahatma gandi's home in bombay from 1917-1934. his spinning wheel and bed, sandles, cup and glasses remain intact protected as he left it inside a glass room. the walls of this 4 story building were chock full of amazing photos of gandiji throughout his entire life, letters he wrote to hitler and roosevelt, and even the history of how the flag ended up looking in 1947. the last room had a gandhi history of little rooms with dolls representing all the important moments in gandhi's life. mani bhavan is the location of the very first "quit india" campaign-the campaign that pursued the british to leave india in 1942. WOW!
today is prince of whales and museum of modern art day, and more mangalorian food. makes me want to take a trip to mangalore just to eat!
bindifry
***who is bracing herself for the intense festivities that await tomorrow night on marine drive (marine drive looks like lake shore drive, and they give chicago a run for their money in the skyline department
*****HAPPY DIWALI******
i tried mangalore food and parsi so far, and the bombay duck, which is not duck, but fish.(sorry veggie heads). and still the best bet for proper indian brekkie is the hole-in-the-wall. why can't we get a proper dosa outside of india? my theory is that it's all about the potatos, and they are very different here than at home. plus there are no restrictions on ghee.
yesterday was india history day. my intention was to go to the nehru center, but was first dropped off at the quaint science museum, very similar to the one in san francisco, if you've ever been. lots of participation exhibits, you can be a child again. except the military guards are constantly over your shoulders (what can you possibly steal?) and cute little girls fondly gathering around with the same curious questions-"from what country you are from?" and when you tell them, they turn red, smile wryly, and scamper off. i think they place bets with each other as to where they think you might be from. finland is a big one, probably cause i'm blonde.
after mistaking the science museum for the other nehru center, we ventured to the masterpiece of archetecture. the building looks like a towering skinny waffle. amazing. what's most mind blowing is the "discovery of india" exhibition inside. it's a multi-media maze of the 50,000 year old history of india. if you've ever wondered about this great country's history, there is no better way to learn. it's based on india's first prime minister, jawaharlal nehru's famous book of the same name and the exhibit begins way before the indus valley as we know it, before any religion conqured, before buddhism (first here), hinduism, the jains, christianity, and finally islam and goes all the way through the revolution, gandhi and the "quit india" campaign that started here in bombay. unfortunately i was bugged out from the many hours of museum strolling and could only make it to the part when the british came and ruined everything, but i know that story already. i did not know they taxed the dead, though. anyhow, i bought the vcd and will be thrilled to share it with anyone who wants a wonderful slice of history.
the day was capped off with a tear inducing trip to mani bhavan-mahatma gandi's home in bombay from 1917-1934. his spinning wheel and bed, sandles, cup and glasses remain intact protected as he left it inside a glass room. the walls of this 4 story building were chock full of amazing photos of gandiji throughout his entire life, letters he wrote to hitler and roosevelt, and even the history of how the flag ended up looking in 1947. the last room had a gandhi history of little rooms with dolls representing all the important moments in gandhi's life. mani bhavan is the location of the very first "quit india" campaign-the campaign that pursued the british to leave india in 1942. WOW!
today is prince of whales and museum of modern art day, and more mangalorian food. makes me want to take a trip to mangalore just to eat!
bindifry
***who is bracing herself for the intense festivities that await tomorrow night on marine drive (marine drive looks like lake shore drive, and they give chicago a run for their money in the skyline department
*****HAPPY DIWALI******
Monday, November 08, 2004
magic carpet ride or there's someting in the tea
very revealing trip out to bandra. it's funny that nothing is ever what you imagine. india's "beverly hills" looks just like all the rest of this city and completely surrounded by the biggest slums in all of mumbai. i have never seen anything like it. beggers trying to crawl inside our taxi each time we were stopped in traffic, i had to keep my belongings underneath my bum. 6 miles takes almost 2 hours, no a/c, and a full on sunburn because of it.
we agreed to keep our taxi with us rather than fend for ourselves-thank god cause we would have been torn apat by the very desperate poor. we were first dropped off at a tall and skinny "mall" and taken by the lift(elevator) to the top floor by the mall tour guide. each floor containing only one or 2 stores, than you walk down the spiral staircase into shopping doom. i passed on the top floor much to the dismay of my guide-jewelry. then came floor 6-my greatest weakness staring me in the eye-kasmiri rugs. we met the delightful kashmiri man complete with full on entourage. we walked in and the jaws closed firmly. now i must tell you that the kashmiri's got all my money last year in kerala. i swear they put something in the tea. here's how the rap goes, and it's always the same. "i don't want to sell you anything. i simply want to get to know you. sit on my velvet couch". he snaps his fingers and a girl with a platter of tea arrives. he first makes you appreciate it's aroma, we aren't allowed to taste just yet, explaining the ayurvedic qualities. he explains how hard the kasmiri's have it with all the comflict in the north. we learn his name, his story, his sexual preference (no, not really)he learns about us. suddenly another finger snap and the tea table is promptly removed. here come the rugs. another member of his entourage appears first with the wools. he holds the rolled rug horizontally, kisses it firmly, and with a flick of his wrists, snaps it open and onto the floor. "look at it, see the colors change as it moves. it is not trick lighting." he invites us to walk around, talks of their history and asks, "how long you think this took to make?" i guess a year, he says "5 years by one person!" then invites us to remove our shoes and feel them with our feet. then the best part, quite remenicent of an info-mercial. he brings out a pair of giant scissors, invites us to feel the sharpness of the blades, and proceeds to slice away at the rugs, proving their indestructibility. no temptation yet. UNTIL...
THE SILKS!! i suddenly feel my entire body go flush, i feel faint. bastard!! unbelievable, gorgeous. his spell has worked. i want one. i want one badly. i need one more than water, more than air. after 2 cups of tea, i make my choice. and because it's ramadan, he offers 25% discount. of course one is never enough for these madmen, and spends a very intense hour trying to double my order. i have no business buying one, let alone 2, but come to my senses cause i don't want to cut my trip short because of rug weakness. signed authenticity contracts, and sign the back of the rug to prove it's the one i chose. i leave elated and sick to my stomach.
next stop-multi-level sari shop. of course they ask where i'm from, and bring in a mountain of salwars, tossing each one over my head at rocket speed. the girl asks, "how many you buy?" i say, 2 or 3. she says "you buy 3-at least!" HA!!! i walk out with 5, plus 2 pairs of rajastani shoes and wonder how the hell did that happen?
film city will have to wait cause we're totally wiped out. shopping in india is indeed dangerous to your health. next the never ending crawl through the slums filled with limbless naked kids, women lying on rubble in the 120 degree sun multi-tasking cooking, breast feeding, and sewing together marigolds for puja. me with my extravagent purchases between my legs, rug on the way, as everyone around me malnourished. i am told film city is not open to the public, but 2000+ rupies can do the talking. i am willing to pay, but next time we take a train.
bindifry
we agreed to keep our taxi with us rather than fend for ourselves-thank god cause we would have been torn apat by the very desperate poor. we were first dropped off at a tall and skinny "mall" and taken by the lift(elevator) to the top floor by the mall tour guide. each floor containing only one or 2 stores, than you walk down the spiral staircase into shopping doom. i passed on the top floor much to the dismay of my guide-jewelry. then came floor 6-my greatest weakness staring me in the eye-kasmiri rugs. we met the delightful kashmiri man complete with full on entourage. we walked in and the jaws closed firmly. now i must tell you that the kashmiri's got all my money last year in kerala. i swear they put something in the tea. here's how the rap goes, and it's always the same. "i don't want to sell you anything. i simply want to get to know you. sit on my velvet couch". he snaps his fingers and a girl with a platter of tea arrives. he first makes you appreciate it's aroma, we aren't allowed to taste just yet, explaining the ayurvedic qualities. he explains how hard the kasmiri's have it with all the comflict in the north. we learn his name, his story, his sexual preference (no, not really)he learns about us. suddenly another finger snap and the tea table is promptly removed. here come the rugs. another member of his entourage appears first with the wools. he holds the rolled rug horizontally, kisses it firmly, and with a flick of his wrists, snaps it open and onto the floor. "look at it, see the colors change as it moves. it is not trick lighting." he invites us to walk around, talks of their history and asks, "how long you think this took to make?" i guess a year, he says "5 years by one person!" then invites us to remove our shoes and feel them with our feet. then the best part, quite remenicent of an info-mercial. he brings out a pair of giant scissors, invites us to feel the sharpness of the blades, and proceeds to slice away at the rugs, proving their indestructibility. no temptation yet. UNTIL...
THE SILKS!! i suddenly feel my entire body go flush, i feel faint. bastard!! unbelievable, gorgeous. his spell has worked. i want one. i want one badly. i need one more than water, more than air. after 2 cups of tea, i make my choice. and because it's ramadan, he offers 25% discount. of course one is never enough for these madmen, and spends a very intense hour trying to double my order. i have no business buying one, let alone 2, but come to my senses cause i don't want to cut my trip short because of rug weakness. signed authenticity contracts, and sign the back of the rug to prove it's the one i chose. i leave elated and sick to my stomach.
next stop-multi-level sari shop. of course they ask where i'm from, and bring in a mountain of salwars, tossing each one over my head at rocket speed. the girl asks, "how many you buy?" i say, 2 or 3. she says "you buy 3-at least!" HA!!! i walk out with 5, plus 2 pairs of rajastani shoes and wonder how the hell did that happen?
film city will have to wait cause we're totally wiped out. shopping in india is indeed dangerous to your health. next the never ending crawl through the slums filled with limbless naked kids, women lying on rubble in the 120 degree sun multi-tasking cooking, breast feeding, and sewing together marigolds for puja. me with my extravagent purchases between my legs, rug on the way, as everyone around me malnourished. i am told film city is not open to the public, but 2000+ rupies can do the talking. i am willing to pay, but next time we take a train.
bindifry
Sunday, November 07, 2004
thick skin blues
finally mustered up the courage to try real paan. what an interesting thing. basically take a betal leave and stuff it with 10 ingrediants, including cardemon, cloves, betal nut, and god knows what else. it's quite interesting to watch them make it and it does take some time. supposed to be a digestivo, mouth freshener, and mild narcotic. of course we were accompanied by a paan bystander tour guide who instructed us not to swallow, but spit (i knew this). it's much bigger than i thought and it took me 4 bites to finish it. i did feel queasy, but it passed. lots of folks here are addicted to it and i can see why. you can have it sweet or with tobacco, which i passed on. definitly worth the 4 rupies.
off to the mumbai crawford market. that's when i realized i probably won't last much past diwali in this city. i have never been in that kind of crowd mashing before and the intense heat made me want to jump out of my skin. thousands of beggers grabbing at me, a pile of little girls ripped off my scarf to expose my tattoos, only to flee in terror at the sight. this has happened to me before on my previous trip. in fact if i wanted to be left alone, all i had to do was pull up my sleeves. i think they see it as demonic. i try hard to hide them, but not always possible. had a market tour guide,"no fee to just look-silk row here, spice alley there, fabrics there, fruits here, you can have it all" i almost passed out there were at least a million people on a sunday. i don't know how they do it. i know you can get used to anything, but i just don't know how they do it. all i wanted was a cool place to have a beer, which i found after wandering a couple hours waiting for planet m to open. just when i thought i was passing out, i came across the capital beer bar. yay. amberro, my new fave from aurangabad. and soon planet m was open.
i couldn't control myself there and ended up buying 13 movies, 8 cds and 4 cassettes. i'm actually now considering renting indian dvd's out of my future yoga studio since my library is climbing fast. i only spent 130US for all of that-most dvds going for 4 bucks, same for cds, and 80 cents for cassettes.
the BIG news is that mughal-e-azam, a very very famous epic movie made in 1960 has been colorized and released in the theatres, opening diwali! this was like the indian gone with the wind, or ben hur. and lucky lucky me gets to see it in a massive mumbai theatre. the other BIG news is veer-zaara, the new yosh chopra shah ruh khan/preity zinta romeo and juliet paki\indian love story also opens on diwali. these are the 2 biggest releases of the year.
today i'm taking the train to bandra, the indian beverly hills where all the bollywood stars live, and to film city (bollywood) and try to schmooze my way into the studio. these places are located outside of the city and takes a train to get there.
as much as i like it in mumbai, i don't think my skin is thick enough to last much longer past diwali, which is such a huge holiday i'm sure my energy will be spent from it. they're already firing off explosions in the middle of the night. lots of excitement in the air. probably the biggest holiday in india, kind of like x-mas in the west. they are encouraged to shop till they drop, give out sweets, wear new clothes, and light up the entire city with lanterns. sounds like a blast, but a bit scarey cause of the millions that will be at the festivities. this happens friday. diwali celebrates rama's return after 14 years in exile fighting the demon ravana from the ramayana.
bindifry
off to the mumbai crawford market. that's when i realized i probably won't last much past diwali in this city. i have never been in that kind of crowd mashing before and the intense heat made me want to jump out of my skin. thousands of beggers grabbing at me, a pile of little girls ripped off my scarf to expose my tattoos, only to flee in terror at the sight. this has happened to me before on my previous trip. in fact if i wanted to be left alone, all i had to do was pull up my sleeves. i think they see it as demonic. i try hard to hide them, but not always possible. had a market tour guide,"no fee to just look-silk row here, spice alley there, fabrics there, fruits here, you can have it all" i almost passed out there were at least a million people on a sunday. i don't know how they do it. i know you can get used to anything, but i just don't know how they do it. all i wanted was a cool place to have a beer, which i found after wandering a couple hours waiting for planet m to open. just when i thought i was passing out, i came across the capital beer bar. yay. amberro, my new fave from aurangabad. and soon planet m was open.
i couldn't control myself there and ended up buying 13 movies, 8 cds and 4 cassettes. i'm actually now considering renting indian dvd's out of my future yoga studio since my library is climbing fast. i only spent 130US for all of that-most dvds going for 4 bucks, same for cds, and 80 cents for cassettes.
the BIG news is that mughal-e-azam, a very very famous epic movie made in 1960 has been colorized and released in the theatres, opening diwali! this was like the indian gone with the wind, or ben hur. and lucky lucky me gets to see it in a massive mumbai theatre. the other BIG news is veer-zaara, the new yosh chopra shah ruh khan/preity zinta romeo and juliet paki\indian love story also opens on diwali. these are the 2 biggest releases of the year.
today i'm taking the train to bandra, the indian beverly hills where all the bollywood stars live, and to film city (bollywood) and try to schmooze my way into the studio. these places are located outside of the city and takes a train to get there.
as much as i like it in mumbai, i don't think my skin is thick enough to last much longer past diwali, which is such a huge holiday i'm sure my energy will be spent from it. they're already firing off explosions in the middle of the night. lots of excitement in the air. probably the biggest holiday in india, kind of like x-mas in the west. they are encouraged to shop till they drop, give out sweets, wear new clothes, and light up the entire city with lanterns. sounds like a blast, but a bit scarey cause of the millions that will be at the festivities. this happens friday. diwali celebrates rama's return after 14 years in exile fighting the demon ravana from the ramayana.
bindifry
Saturday, November 06, 2004
back home
back home
on my birthday i thought i died and learned to let go. a bit self conscious for wearing a salwar on the plane cause they're so damn comfy, i was quietly approached by an indian woman descending the escalator at the mumbai airport, "looking nice in salwar kameez." i felt my face turn red, but i beamed. the weight of self-consciousness dissolved.can i tell you how great it was to get a government taxi on a saturday at 6 am? a trip normally taking 2 hours + took a mere 40 minutes. imagine NO traffic in bombay!those familiar exhaust fumes, the burning smells brought back an emotional wave of familiarity which brought me to tears. i felt like i was finally home.of course 7am is too early to check into the bentleys hotel, so we wandered to the bombay harbor for some air and immediately spotted the world famous gateway to india, and the only place for coffee was at the 5 star astounding taj mahal hotel (which i thought of staying just one night for b-day, but just can't stomach the 250US$) i feasted on piles of fruit (after many meals of butter, cheese, rolls and all things dairy on the plane) including the chiku fruit. i thought about you, miss lal and your right about bombay rocking.the room is similar to the kaveri in mysore, only twice the size with a phone and color tv with god knows how many indian channels. (i repeat, i am NOT ashamed of watching indian television). not only that, probably a dozen stations on the radio! i love all india radio, but a dozen? sweaty palms.interesting birthday so far, having wandered out to the tourist thick beach only to be accosted by aggressive friendship bracelet wallas and wrist flower wallettes-"i don't want your money-just buy my baby milk." no time for that, she took 10 rupies instead. always making new friends. it's pretty damn crazy here, like mysore times 100, and contrary to popular belief, not really like new york, but like london on speed. already exhausted by mg road's miles of street stalls, pulled in every direction, charged 12 rupies for coconuts!! had to take a break at the famous leopolds for one beer. place opened in 1871, and chock full of travelers of all stripes, it was a bit annoying, but close and easy to have a beer and a snack.haven't slept in 2 days, wondering when it will hit me. of course i'm scouting for a bollywood film tonight, but SRK's 2 new movies aren't showing yet. fortunately the tv is chock full of movies from every era possible.this is just the beginning as i hope to get into some trouble to share.bindifrywho has to go indoors cause it's so DAMN hot!
on my birthday i thought i died and learned to let go. a bit self conscious for wearing a salwar on the plane cause they're so damn comfy, i was quietly approached by an indian woman descending the escalator at the mumbai airport, "looking nice in salwar kameez." i felt my face turn red, but i beamed. the weight of self-consciousness dissolved.can i tell you how great it was to get a government taxi on a saturday at 6 am? a trip normally taking 2 hours + took a mere 40 minutes. imagine NO traffic in bombay!those familiar exhaust fumes, the burning smells brought back an emotional wave of familiarity which brought me to tears. i felt like i was finally home.of course 7am is too early to check into the bentleys hotel, so we wandered to the bombay harbor for some air and immediately spotted the world famous gateway to india, and the only place for coffee was at the 5 star astounding taj mahal hotel (which i thought of staying just one night for b-day, but just can't stomach the 250US$) i feasted on piles of fruit (after many meals of butter, cheese, rolls and all things dairy on the plane) including the chiku fruit. i thought about you, miss lal and your right about bombay rocking.the room is similar to the kaveri in mysore, only twice the size with a phone and color tv with god knows how many indian channels. (i repeat, i am NOT ashamed of watching indian television). not only that, probably a dozen stations on the radio! i love all india radio, but a dozen? sweaty palms.interesting birthday so far, having wandered out to the tourist thick beach only to be accosted by aggressive friendship bracelet wallas and wrist flower wallettes-"i don't want your money-just buy my baby milk." no time for that, she took 10 rupies instead. always making new friends. it's pretty damn crazy here, like mysore times 100, and contrary to popular belief, not really like new york, but like london on speed. already exhausted by mg road's miles of street stalls, pulled in every direction, charged 12 rupies for coconuts!! had to take a break at the famous leopolds for one beer. place opened in 1871, and chock full of travelers of all stripes, it was a bit annoying, but close and easy to have a beer and a snack.haven't slept in 2 days, wondering when it will hit me. of course i'm scouting for a bollywood film tonight, but SRK's 2 new movies aren't showing yet. fortunately the tv is chock full of movies from every era possible.this is just the beginning as i hope to get into some trouble to share.bindifrywho has to go indoors cause it's so DAMN hot!
Monday, November 01, 2004
where is the yoga
i find it interesting that i have focused mostly on india and their movies rather than yoga. sometimes you wouldn't even know that is why i went in the first place. and honestly, that is not why i'm going back. i can go to helsinki or italy to be with my teacher lino. i can visit guruji on his tour of the states.
i am extremely inspired by india's high standards and attitude towards life. think about it. their art is mindblowingly detailed, the music is insanity, their spices-forget about it. they see no problem with sitting through a 3 hour plus movie, and when you study anything, you get the education of a lifetime. for instance, i came close to signing up for bollywood dance classes. i declined because they insisted that i take class 3 hours a day 7 days a week. the 3500 rupies would have bought me a lifetime membership.(that's75 bucks-such a deal) anyhow, i did not want to overload myself like so many westerners do. i think it's better to absorb india slowly and learn to be still. it is a highly spiritual place and the best place to pray and meditate. (but don't forget the ear plugs-especially in kerala where they love to set off explosives in their temples).
face it, folks. asana is way overrated here in the west. it's sad to see so many people missing the point, practicing their asana, climbing the series. one of the most popular questions among western yoga students studying in india is,"what series and posture are you on." geez, that's like asking someone how much money they make.
the surrender and dedication required for an astanga yoga practice is exactly like painting a mandala. takes lots of time, patience, and discipline. so i've come to the conclusion that to understand india IS to understand yoga. where everything in india IS yoga.
bindifry
i am extremely inspired by india's high standards and attitude towards life. think about it. their art is mindblowingly detailed, the music is insanity, their spices-forget about it. they see no problem with sitting through a 3 hour plus movie, and when you study anything, you get the education of a lifetime. for instance, i came close to signing up for bollywood dance classes. i declined because they insisted that i take class 3 hours a day 7 days a week. the 3500 rupies would have bought me a lifetime membership.(that's75 bucks-such a deal) anyhow, i did not want to overload myself like so many westerners do. i think it's better to absorb india slowly and learn to be still. it is a highly spiritual place and the best place to pray and meditate. (but don't forget the ear plugs-especially in kerala where they love to set off explosives in their temples).
face it, folks. asana is way overrated here in the west. it's sad to see so many people missing the point, practicing their asana, climbing the series. one of the most popular questions among western yoga students studying in india is,"what series and posture are you on." geez, that's like asking someone how much money they make.
the surrender and dedication required for an astanga yoga practice is exactly like painting a mandala. takes lots of time, patience, and discipline. so i've come to the conclusion that to understand india IS to understand yoga. where everything in india IS yoga.
bindifry
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