Posts Tagged ‘india’

Posted on December 5, 2009

Holy Cow!

By Monika Terfloth – Part 8 of 10 of the Mother in-law in Nepal and India series.

Hello All!

Seriously, I don’t know where to begin. So much of what I have seen defies description! We landed in New Delhi a day later than expected, so we will have a brief stay in Delhi before we return to Kathmandu. We were met at the airport by our driver Savran (from Savion Travel), a tall, very thin, middle-aged man. A man so very quiet and of few words, but so very capable. We quickly came to trust him implicitly! He chauffeured us through the Delhi rush-hour in the late afternoon traffic, thick with vehicles of every description… small three-wheeled tuk-tuks in bright yellow and green all packed with people, busses jammed with extra people hanging off the side and loaded on top, motor scooters with entire families aboard (six is the record so far), and into the mix add cows, donkeys, camels, ambulances, bicycles, pushcarts, and any other thing you can think of and that is still not enough…all this packed together on the roadway. Those of you who have been here will truly know how it is. Motor cycle helmets seem to be optional for passengers, though most drivers do wear them. Not an unusual sight at 90km/hr to see a gorgeous young woman wearing a pink sari, perched side-saddle on the back of a motorcycle, legs crossed, wearing heels while relaxing, laughing and chatting in the driver’s ear.

“Drivers talk with their horns” Savron says. Yes indeed they do, in fact the trucks have painted notices on the rear ‘Blow Horn’, ‘Horn Please’. A special kind of honk to pass, another to say ‘move along’, another to say thank you, get out of the way, you’re going too fast/slow, I need to turn, where is your mother, follow me I am going right by there…. The racket is incredible! We drove through the evening and until after dark to reach the city of Agra, a drive which took about 6 hours. Not a break in the action while all the while alongside the roadway people still cooked, sold their wares, took baths, nursed children, slept, herded their animals etc. etc.  Positively dizzying.

The city of Agra is the site of the Taj Mahal. A love-story is behind it’s construction and it is a truly beautiful monument to a woman much-loved. I will spare you the details as the description would be endless. I didn’t think it mattered whether I saw the Taj or not, but now that I have, it has become a very special memory. Our guide for the day, Islam, has a great sense of humor and is a very kind man. After I diagnosed his plantar fasciitis (sp)  he also became my loyal friend and has decided to buy himself some decent shoes. One of my fondest memories of the day is when he stopped at a vegetable vendor’s wagon to buy fresh water chestnuts for us. After also purchasing a bottle of water, he carefully rinsed them to be sure that they would be tolerated by our ’sensitive stomachs’. Bright green and heart shaped, the outer casing is cracked open to reveal a creamy, white, crunchy heart in the centre. They were delicious and thirst quenching. It was 40 degrees, everyone dripping with sweat and no one bothers about it. Mop your brow, air your armpits, lay down against a wall, whatever it takes.

We drove through the side streets of Agra and again each moment filled the senses. Stunning images of poverty, contentment, ritual, history and startling contrasts at every turn… but more on that later.

Good night.

Posted on September 28, 2009

India bound: a quick itinerary

Our quick itinerary overview:

• Arrive in New Delhi, afternoon  excursion to Akshardham Temple.
• Delhi – Mathura – Agra (205 kms/5.5 hrs + sightseeing). Morning drive to the religious town of Mathura. Arrive to visit the temples of Mathura and Vrindavan including the Banke Bihari Temple, Iskcon Temple, Krishna Janmabhoomi ( birth place of Lord Sri Krishna), Raghunath Temple etc. Later drive to Agra visiting Sikandra enroute.
• Agra, sunrise visit to Taj Mahal . Afternoon half day city tour including visit to Agra Fort and Itimad Ud Daullah.
• Agra – Jaipur (240 kms/5.5 hrs) Later drive to Jaipur en-route visit to Fatehpur Sikri (deserted Mughal City) and Bharatpur Bird sanctuary.
• Jaipur, morning – excursion to Amer Fort, ascend Fort on Elephants back. Afternoon tour of city visiting City Palace, Jantar Mantar (observatory), Palace of Winds, Birla Temple etc. Evening proceed for Chokhi Dhani village – A resort exhibiting village culture.
• Jaipur – Pushkar (133 kms/2.5 hrs). Morning drive to Pushkar . Afternoon sightseeing of Pushkar Lake, Brahma Temple, savitri temple etc.
• Pushkar – Mandawa (250 kms/6 hrs). Morning drive to the Beautiful region of Shekhawati.
• Mandawa – Delhi ( 240 kms/6.5 hrs). Morning some more sightseeing of the Havelis of Mandawa. Visit Hanuman Prasad Haveli, Goenka Double Haveli,  etc.
• Delhi. Day tour of Delhi visiting Old Delhi (Chandni Chowk, Jamia Mosque, Gandhi Samadhi) and New Delhi (India Gate, President House, Humayun Tomb, Qutab Minar Lotus Temple).

Posted on September 12, 2009

A tourist again in Nepal

Although we have had brief 2-3 day get-aways during our placement, we still have yet to take our long well-deserved annual leave from our work life here in Nepal. Come September 15th when Tlell’s parents arrive, it will be vacation-mode time – ball cap, tacky-tourist golf shirt, an over-sized SLR camera glued to my face and all!

(just draw a big tourist bulls-eye on my back)

Too bad “work” gets in the way

Just having 10 months under my belt, you can say that I’m technically not a tourist but I still feel like I am in a way. For me, there is still so much that I want to see and do here in Nepal. Of course when you’re in work-mode, you’re “working” 5 days-a-week and in a different state of mind. I have a feeling that during our last few months here, I will be very busy trying to pack last-minute activities in.

(or heck, I’ll just come back).

Playing tour guide

When the in-laws come, I’m really looking forward to showing them our world and seeing things for the first time from their eyes. I even love giving the Vancouver-Rex tour back home. Along with that warm-fuzzy feeling, it also reminds me about the things I love about a place and why I live there.

I’m also looking forward to seeing the real Nepal and what this country is known for (the majestic mountain scenery, the cultural landscape, etc.). One of my colleagues Mark, who recently left mentioned to me that after he had done a trek around Nepal, he finally “understood” what everyone was raving about. Can’t wait.

The Brief Itinerary

Our month long vacation will start here in Kathmandu, showing the in-laws our stomping grounds and such (Thamel, Lazimpath). Once acclimatized, our road trip to Pokhara begins that includes a brief stop in Bandipur. A 4-5 day trek will be one of the highlights. After that, fly back to KTM and prepare for our 9-day tour of India (Rajasthan). The last remaining days in Nepal will most likely be Around-the Kathmandu valley activities related such as Bhaktapur, Bodhnath and the Buddhist monasteries, maybe Pashupatinath (we could be Hindu’d out by then) but definitely Patan Durbar Square.

Posted on September 9, 2009

A real “Over the Top” guy

A couple of months ago, Manish and I were sitting at our favourite mo:mo place (Royal Saino – Bella Momo @ Durbur Marg) when we first met Mike, a lively yet interesting British character who owns a motorcycle tour company here in Nepal (interestingly, he also manages the coffee station at the restaurant). The name of the motorcycle tour company is OTT (Over The Top) Motorcycle Tours (http://www.ottmotorcycles.com/)

Side note: Manish and I regularly meet up here at least once week to catch up on various things – and whenever we were there, Mike was there. Soon after that, our new friend was a regular fixture at our table, often contributing to our random discussions about India/Nepal politics, Nepali culture, globilisation, and whatever else was the hot topic of the day.

One day at the restaurant, Mike was fuming at his laptop computer. As someone working in IT, I was instinctively inclined to help but it wasn’t a virus or operating system problem – it was one of those typical online discussion board arguments that can seemingly go on forever. The argument between Mike and another community member of GTA Motorcycle.com was about the legitimacy of Mike’s proposed tours and essentially his company (do a search on the GTA Motorcycle.com web site for “India” and “Nepal tours” and you should find the original thread).

Now, I haven’t known Mike that long but I do know that his tours and his company is the real thing. I know this because Mike, if you let him, can spend unending hours talking about Motorbikes (which ones to buy and use here in Nepal, the motorbike terrain in Nepal, India, Bhutan, Bangladesh, all the ins-and-outs, etc.).

As someone who personally doesn’t own or ride a motorbike (although I have taken many back seat rides across the districts), I thought I would grill him on some general issues like:

• What kind of bikes do you rent, and from where? A: Mike has a good relationship with motorbike rental companies in Katmandu.
• What happens when bikes break down? A: Mike hires a mechanic to come along on the tour and during the tour, they are usually no more than 3 hours bike ride from a parts store.
• How do you accommodate tourists coming in and dealing with VISA’s? A: Mike has various options.
• Is there insurance? A: Of course
• How’s your Nepali? A: Mike has been living in Nepal for almost 3 years now.

I can definitely see that Mike is very passionate about what he does. His Americano coffee making skills isn’t that bad as well.

Finally, if anyone is concerned about tour prices (who isn’t), Mike’s prices are very, very competitive as he is essentially the sole entrepreneur of the company with low-overhead costs and has a vast Nepali network (supposedly, there is another Australian-based Motorcycle tour company that charges at least twice as much).

Still having doubts? Here is a photo of us at the first ever meeting of Nepal’s intercontinental motorbike aficionado club.

L-R: Jimmy (Uganda), Mike (U.K.), Donald (Philippines), Manish (India), Rex (Canada)

One of Mike’s best tip/rants: if you are visiting Nepal for only a few weeks – don’t WASTE it all on a 3-week trek to Everest basecamp or the Annapurna’s (unless hardcore trekking is really your thing). How many times can you see another mountain side again, again anyways? Mix up your trip with perhaps only a 4-5 day trek coupled with rafting (I suggest The Last Resort or Borderland Resorts), a safari trip at Chitwan or Bardia National Parks, go see the temples and monasteries, or go paragliding in Pokhara, and more!