thane here. we got stuck in a blog-less rut for a while there, but kendall has corageously taken the first step out. i'm gonna help her elaborate on our trip with shawn (kendall's mom).
in short, we moved really fast during Shawn's trip here and packed a whole lot of India into 2 short weeks. i feel like one could have easily spent a few days savouring any single one of the 16 enormous temples, 12 fabulous resort hotels, 37 gourmet meals, boat trips, interesting people, shopping paradises, beach walks, stone-carved monuments, and of course, elephants, that we saw.
keeping in mind that in between all of these events were the usual crowded dirty indian streets, where bustling village and city life is played out in-your-face, i can't believe shawn didn't sleep for a week straight when she arrived home.
some highlights for me, in no particular order:
1. the flatland in Southern India is full of beautiful rural areas where any one of an enormous variety of crops or staples might be growing or being processed (i made a list one day, but its literally too long to include in this post). the scenery is brilliantly colorful, with bright green panoramas of rice paddy and palm tree and fruits and flowers and women in saris.
2. we stayed for a day and a half in the small mountain range of Kerala called the Western Ghats, which reminded me of what the blue ridge mountains would be like if they were full of asian jungle. Paradisa Plantation was the mountain resort we stayed at, a peaceful and intoxicating setting of antique buildings created in the traditional Keralan style of teak wood and stone, with wide vistas over the hills covered in bamboo forest, spice fields, and immaculately manicured tea plantations.
3. the tour of the Keralan backwaters (the brackish waterway-type web of rivers and lakes and canals that empty into the sea provided a unique glimpse of village life on the water. entire communities existing on spits of land in the middle of a rice-field, which must surely sit in 3 feet of floodwater during the monsoon season....rivers instead of streets, ferries instead of busses, wooden canoes instead of cars and scooters, but life seems to go on just the same.
4. the chinese fishing nets in Kochin, where a group of 6 men use a very elaborate system of rock and boulder counter-weights to drop 40 foot wooden tentacles into the river and pull up a handful of shrimp....see the photos for more on this
5. the state of kerala, in terms of social and economic development, is unmatched in the rest of india, and in some ways feels like a separate country. clean, wide, organized streets where people actually seem to travel based on certain (yes, believe it or not) traffic rules. 99% literacy rate. widespread education and healthcare, both public and private. a social welfare system to provide for those not able to work. Communism, contraception, and a hub of international trade. nearly equal parts Christian, Muslim, and Hindu, all coexisting (for the time being) in relative peace and harmony.
6. enormous temples in the dusty hot state of Tamil Nadu, sometimes covering acres and acres of land. impressive stone structures built sometimes 1000 years ago, intricately carved throughout, with numerous towers, each hundreds of feet high, full of thousands of carved and painted deities. elephants blessing people. authentic hindu ritual taking place in the main sanctums of the temples, while the devout scramble and push and shove trying to get a peek inside.
7. fusion of French culture in Pondicherry, a quaint, sometimes European feeling seaside town where Indians often ask if you "parle france?" (in particular, some of the best food I've ever eaten).
8. a stop for a quick lunch at a traditional Tamil home in an region called Chettiar, with 8 or 10 delicious courses spread out in front of us on an enormous banana leaf. i think the europeans like to call it "gastronomic." kendall and i were particularly impressed with how well shawn managed to eat with her hands!
9. the best resort was the Taj Hotel's Fisherman's Cove, an almost Carribean feeling spread of seaside cottages, swimming pools, outside eclectic dining, and marble covered open-air lounges.
10. our great driver, Kumar, who we could always rely on for a smiling face, a silly joke in broken english, the best and most devoted service, and an all-too-unique sense of social dynamics (like when you should shutup...) that is rarely found among Indian men.
im sure im forgetting several things, but all in all it was a great 2 weeks and the 3 of us really had a great time together. shawn was incredibly easy and fun to travel with, and although she was convinced that something was going to kill her in this country (malaria, tigers, cobras, stomach parasites, SOMETHING!) we were really impressed with how well she handled the inevitable culture shock and disturbing in-your-face poverty. the 2 weeks of course flew by and we were sad to see her go.
the day shawn left, my mother, Maggi, arrived, and the 3 of us are still in Tamil Nadu having a whole lot of fun. hopefully we wont wait quite as long to post about this part of the trip, so stay tuned.
sadly, we will spend the holidays without my brother, whose plans to India had to be cancelled at the very very last minute because of beurocratic and computerized (pardon my french) bullshit on the part of Air India.
wishing you all a merry christmas.
with love,
thane
in short, we moved really fast during Shawn's trip here and packed a whole lot of India into 2 short weeks. i feel like one could have easily spent a few days savouring any single one of the 16 enormous temples, 12 fabulous resort hotels, 37 gourmet meals, boat trips, interesting people, shopping paradises, beach walks, stone-carved monuments, and of course, elephants, that we saw.
keeping in mind that in between all of these events were the usual crowded dirty indian streets, where bustling village and city life is played out in-your-face, i can't believe shawn didn't sleep for a week straight when she arrived home.
some highlights for me, in no particular order:
1. the flatland in Southern India is full of beautiful rural areas where any one of an enormous variety of crops or staples might be growing or being processed (i made a list one day, but its literally too long to include in this post). the scenery is brilliantly colorful, with bright green panoramas of rice paddy and palm tree and fruits and flowers and women in saris.
2. we stayed for a day and a half in the small mountain range of Kerala called the Western Ghats, which reminded me of what the blue ridge mountains would be like if they were full of asian jungle. Paradisa Plantation was the mountain resort we stayed at, a peaceful and intoxicating setting of antique buildings created in the traditional Keralan style of teak wood and stone, with wide vistas over the hills covered in bamboo forest, spice fields, and immaculately manicured tea plantations.
3. the tour of the Keralan backwaters (the brackish waterway-type web of rivers and lakes and canals that empty into the sea provided a unique glimpse of village life on the water. entire communities existing on spits of land in the middle of a rice-field, which must surely sit in 3 feet of floodwater during the monsoon season....rivers instead of streets, ferries instead of busses, wooden canoes instead of cars and scooters, but life seems to go on just the same.
4. the chinese fishing nets in Kochin, where a group of 6 men use a very elaborate system of rock and boulder counter-weights to drop 40 foot wooden tentacles into the river and pull up a handful of shrimp....see the photos for more on this
5. the state of kerala, in terms of social and economic development, is unmatched in the rest of india, and in some ways feels like a separate country. clean, wide, organized streets where people actually seem to travel based on certain (yes, believe it or not) traffic rules. 99% literacy rate. widespread education and healthcare, both public and private. a social welfare system to provide for those not able to work. Communism, contraception, and a hub of international trade. nearly equal parts Christian, Muslim, and Hindu, all coexisting (for the time being) in relative peace and harmony.
6. enormous temples in the dusty hot state of Tamil Nadu, sometimes covering acres and acres of land. impressive stone structures built sometimes 1000 years ago, intricately carved throughout, with numerous towers, each hundreds of feet high, full of thousands of carved and painted deities. elephants blessing people. authentic hindu ritual taking place in the main sanctums of the temples, while the devout scramble and push and shove trying to get a peek inside.
7. fusion of French culture in Pondicherry, a quaint, sometimes European feeling seaside town where Indians often ask if you "parle france?" (in particular, some of the best food I've ever eaten).
8. a stop for a quick lunch at a traditional Tamil home in an region called Chettiar, with 8 or 10 delicious courses spread out in front of us on an enormous banana leaf. i think the europeans like to call it "gastronomic." kendall and i were particularly impressed with how well shawn managed to eat with her hands!
9. the best resort was the Taj Hotel's Fisherman's Cove, an almost Carribean feeling spread of seaside cottages, swimming pools, outside eclectic dining, and marble covered open-air lounges.
10. our great driver, Kumar, who we could always rely on for a smiling face, a silly joke in broken english, the best and most devoted service, and an all-too-unique sense of social dynamics (like when you should shutup...) that is rarely found among Indian men.
im sure im forgetting several things, but all in all it was a great 2 weeks and the 3 of us really had a great time together. shawn was incredibly easy and fun to travel with, and although she was convinced that something was going to kill her in this country (malaria, tigers, cobras, stomach parasites, SOMETHING!) we were really impressed with how well she handled the inevitable culture shock and disturbing in-your-face poverty. the 2 weeks of course flew by and we were sad to see her go.
the day shawn left, my mother, Maggi, arrived, and the 3 of us are still in Tamil Nadu having a whole lot of fun. hopefully we wont wait quite as long to post about this part of the trip, so stay tuned.
sadly, we will spend the holidays without my brother, whose plans to India had to be cancelled at the very very last minute because of beurocratic and computerized (pardon my french) bullshit on the part of Air India.
wishing you all a merry christmas.
with love,
thane
posted by thane at 1:51 AM
1 Comments:
Thane and Kendall,
I too had a wonderful time traveling with you two and feel blessed to be have had the opportunity to explore part of that diverse country with you. When people ask about the experience it is so hard to put in words. The extreme poverty is so difficult but you also get the sense that the Indian people have heart and such a kind way of dealing with each other.
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