Madikeri and the Rainforest Retreat

From Goa we hopped on the Konkan express until we got to Mangalore. We arrived around midnight, found a hotel, and got up at 5am to catch a bus to Madikeri – the central hub of the Kodagu region, our next stop. We had been warned that the route from Mangalore to Madikeri was bumpy, but wow, were we ever in for a treat.

The road was littered with potholes you could drown in. Teg and I were airborne for most of the trip as the driver would accelerate over bumps and ruts in the road, sometimes resulting in one of us ending up on the others lap. At each “stop” – a term I use sparingly as the bus usually just slowed down enough for people to hop on and off – the bus got more and more packed. By the time we arrived at our destination there were people standing in the aisles and children on their parents’ laps; with no A/C it was nice that it was only a three hour trip.

Anyways, we spent a relatively uneventful day/night in Madikeri, which was just enough time for us to book a couple nights at a plantation south of town.

The Rainforest Retreat is a plantation owned by a botanist and a microbiologist. They run an NGO that promotes environmental awareness, organic farming, and sustainable living; all supported by the proceeds from guest stays and plantation tours. They cooked all our meals, and basically gave us free reign to explore their plantation and the area surrounding their property. Everything served was made exclusively from what they’d grown, including the coffee and tea, which were aplenty. Each of the cabins ran on solar power and they processed their own biogas to run the stoves which cooked our food. It was truly a model of sustainable living.

On the second day, we trekked to the “sacred grove” of the area. People in the Kodagu region, centuries ago, mandated select areas of land as sacred to remain untouched 364 days of the year. Each of these regions were dedicated to a certain deity, and were only allowed to be accessed by the villagers one day of the year. To break that was said to bring bad luck and drought upon the villages in the area. Now, it’s obviously not as restricted, but still quite isolated.

It was about a 10 kilometre trek from our cabin, over hills, through rice paddies, and across cow pastures to reach this grove. In the heart of the “sacred grove” lies a temple dedicated to Shiva, the principle deity of this area.

Until now we didn’t have the highest opinion of India with regards to respecting their natural environment. The Mumbai beaches were unintentional landfills, and even Goa had it’s fair share of litter, so finding this place was very refreshing.

The Rainforest Retreat was a great experience overall. The other guests were very social and there was lots of time to sit around and chat. The workers and proprietors of the plantation were very eager to share their knowledge of the area, and sit around for a few (many) drinks.

Teg- The bus ride to Madikeri was insane! There were times when i felt like if i let go I’d be sailing out the open back door! Luckily, the incredible views along the way drone out the bumpiness! Mike tried to read during this time and he got through 1 page hahaha!

Once finally in Madikeri, after almost 4 hours to go less than 100km (crazy), it was soo nice to be in a peaceful town where we could walk freely without being haggled from sellers of all kinds and rick-shaw drivers. We wandered till we found this amazing cheap hotel on the top of one of the highest hills in town; the view was worth way more than the 10 bucks we spent.

The view from our room…

The next day we caught a rick-shaw out to the rain forest retreat (another bumpy ride) where we would then spend a couple days lying around on hammocks reading in between awesome treks around the plantation and a few different hill tops. Everyone there was extremely friendly, and it was amazing to hear such good english spoken by a couple from Delhi and another from Barcelona. The food was great and it was cool to learn a few tips here and there on how to eat properly in India. Eating a fish full of bones is quite an art I hope to one day master!lol

  

(rainforestours.com)

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Livin’ the High Life in Goa

Mike – Let me just say that the legends are true. Goa is paradise. Miles and miles of white sand beaches, a gentle break, an abundance of freshly caught seafood; those are some of the many things that make Goa heaven on earth.

There are the odd group of touts pestering you to buy their goods. It’s easy to dismiss them, that is, until you actually take a look at what they’re selling… It’s unbelievable, their goods aren’t junk! I was impressed, I must say.

We opted to go to South Goa, because it’s renowned for its tranquility and laid-back atmosphere. This is in contrast to the North, which is famous to backpackers for it’s rave scenes and availability of mind and mood altering substances. After Mumbai, all we could think of was quiet.

We arrive at the beach of Colva, and decided we’ll take a walk southwards until we find some kind of accommodation. All along the beach are cabanas, beach shacks, and cottages with varying levels of cleanliness. About 2.5 kilometres from the entrance to the beach we stopped at a group of cottages that had their own adjoining bar/restaurant. Private bathroom, A/C, and king size bed… wait for it… 1,000 rupees (roughly 22 dollars on a night). Sold.

At times it felt like our own private beach.

Alongside the many beach accommodations are the restaurants. Each of the restaurants had arrangements where a fishing boat (if they didn’t have their own) would depart every morning to make a catch for the day. So, basically, the menu was dependent on how good the catch was. At one place, the waitress brought out three plates of uncooked fish fare so we could make an “informed decision”. Curse our un-hungry stomachs as it would’ve been curry shark, beri-beri pomfret, lemon tiger prawns… We opted for the jumbo prawns, and they were delightful.

Teg – Our time at Goa was amazing. A lot cooler than Mumbai had been since we were there during a time of mini monsoon-like storms and winds at night. Plus, here, where many other non-Indians are living/visiting, shorts and bathing suits are not condoned. Wearing shorts and a tank top in 30 degree weather was nice lol.

Besides the incredibly warm Arabian Sea, the clearest picture of this place that will forever stick with me is the amount of dogs and cows wandering along the beach, that itself is thickly fringed by beautiful coconut palm trees. It was everything your typical tropical beach would provide, with a little bark and moo on the side.

Mumbai… Again…

Mike - Today was our last day in Mumbai before heading south for a much-needed respite from the chaos, mugginess, and overall fast-paced life of the city. We booked an over-nighter for Goa, set to depart at 11:00pm. The problem was that our hotel check-out was at noon, which meant that we’d be carrying our packs around to all the sights and places of the day. Our bags aren’t necessarily that heavy, but it’s a task to carry ourselves around Mumbai, let alone an extra 25-30 pounds.

We had a pretty ambitious plan for the day. Our first stop was the Hajid Ali Mosque, in Northern Mumbai, which can only be reached at low tide because it’s set one kilometre into the ocean, and can only be reached by a narrow, winding man-made path.

When we got there, it was packed. I’d say most of the people there were tourists, but a different type of tourist – a devotee. People seemed to have travelled far and wide to pray at this mosque.

There were separate entrances and prayer sections for men and women. The male section was much larger. The inside was beautifully designed. There was a shrine in the middle, and descending from the roof was a large golden chandelier. The roof was concave and tiled with gold. There were Arabic inscriptions bordering the tile work. The outside was pretty run-down, so it was pretty surprising to see such a beautiful interior.

Teg and I didn’t  feel entirely at ease while we were there, and decided not to linger. Our next stop was the “Dhobi Ghats”.

The “Dhobi Ghats” is an area of Mumbai that is famous for it’s laundry… yeah, laundry. In actuality, it’s not “what it is”, but “how large it is” which draws many tourists to check it out. It’s the central hub for laundry in Mumbai. Many and most of the laundry service industry operates here. It’s filled with concrete tubs, some filled with water and others with soap. Laundry is piled in each tub, where it’s stomped on by a couple workers at the time, then each item is whipped against the side of the tub to wring out the moisture. Afterwards, it’s all hung up to dry. As you can see by the picture, it’s a pretty large operation!

Following that, we grabbed a cab into the area called “Chowpatty Beach”. We weren’t really sure what to expect, but personally, I can whole-heartedly say that I never feel the need to go there again. Basically, it’s the Mumbai Robson Street – lots of chic stores, spas, and expensive restaurants serving food from all over the world. It wasn’t exactly the “Indian Experience” we are looking for. I guess it’s good to have gone there and discovered it for what it was, but yeah, pretty standard.

It feels great to get out of Mumbai. I love the city for what it was, but damn is it ever exhausting. I’ve never experienced a “smell” that weighs on you like when in Mumbai. People say the best way to describe India, in general, is a sensory overload of sights, smells, and sounds. Well, I’d say Mumbai smelt like a mixture of Andre the Giant’s armpit and Stalin’s moustache. If a brewery were left to rot, it might smell like flowers in comparison to parts of Mumbai. But, that’s what makes it what it is. It’s part of the experience. Some might say it’s what lends it character. I guess that’s true.

Teg- Bahahaha! Agreed. I can’t even put a finger on what the smells were, but all I know is that the city definitely reassured Mike and I that our sense of smell is working perfectly!

Two things really stuck out for me in Mumbai. The first is that the city has become way more western than I could have imagined. Don’t get me wrong, there still are parts of Mumbai where its ‘true’ culture if well maintained, but these were the lower class areas. Seriously, almost everywhere we went people on the streets were selling jeans, colognes, dress shoes and shirts and gadgets of all kinds. It seemed like forever until we found a place to buy some Indian attire. Modernization in full swing, seriously. It honestly seemed like most people we passed on streets were either wearing jeans or talking on cell phones.

The advertisements where ridiculous! SO big! And most of them were of western companies or advertised white models. Its interesting how such techniques obviously seem to work to sell a product here.

 

The second thing I feel the need to mention is the men. It seemed over-whelming at times. The amount of men in plain sight far out-numbered that of women. Professions typical of women in most Western countries – housekeeping, waiting, or clothing sales – were even occupied by men. In my 4 full days in Mumbai I bought 1 thing from woman. I guess there’s a labour surplus (shortage of jobs) and men are highest on the hiring ladder.

This was at the Crawford Market, where again it was all men selling all kinds of goods from fruits and meats to shampoos and diapers.

Okay so funny story I  must share. On our last night in Mumbai, a couple hours before we had to catch the sleeper train, we decided to hit up Leopold’s Cafe one more time for a little grub and the experience of the night-life at this famous (in our minds anyways) restaurant/pub. Mike orders these spring rolls, not even sure what they were called, but within the first few chews he’s crying to me about the spiciness! He orders a lassi moments later and then shortly after decides there’s no way the rest of them are going down. Like the Ellora post, pictures speak louder than words!!hahaha

Daulatabad and Ellora

Teg- Mmmm our day in Aurangabad. Beautiful. So this day was another early riser for us,for the better, as we would soon find out. There was too much to see and too little time. We knew the night would have to be early yet again, but with good reason this time since we had a 6am train departing the next morning back to Mumbai.

So anyways, this morning in Aurangabad, in an attempt to get a bus out to Ellora – the 3km site of 34 amazing temple-like caves – we found an amazingly friendly man who was willing to drive us both to Ellora and back in his tiny rick-shaw for 450 Rps (~$10), it was hard to refuse. So there we were, cruising in this tiny ride for the next 30km towards Ellora, with no windows preventing the wind or seatbelts preventing the...hahaha! Roughly 10km into the trip the driver pointed out the fort of Daulatabad, offering to wait 2 hours for us while we go check it out. Done. So for the next 2hours or so we climbed up roughly 650 steps (yes I counted lol), to reach the summit of this amazing fort, stopping many times along the way to check out the sites.

Once back down to the main road we instantly found our driver-friend who welcomed us with a huge smile. Loved him. And then off we were again on our way to Ellora!

Finally we arrived at the gates, where our ride was extremely belittled by the oh so many buses and SUV type rides that were all trying to find parking themselves. Our friend drives us to the entrance of the first 12 caves – all of which are Buddhist – and tells us he will wait for us for the next few hours until we want a ride to the next group of caves a few kms down the way. The whole experience at Ellora was wonderful, I found myself perplexed the whole time trying to understand how such a human feat could actually take place. Seriously, how do you just start cutting into a stone wall on the side of a hill and build such elaborate temples??? Anyways, I’ll let Mike attempt to describe the caves, I’m finding myself wordless on the experience.

At the end of it all, we found our friend sitting and waiting exactly where we had left him, and then we all made our journey back to Aurangabad. He took us straight to our hotel and we gave him a generous tip, totalling 900 Rps for the day. Okay I know I’m still raving about this man, but he was sooo nice to us. He not only drove us to Ellora and back, but ran up to the hotel to hand Mike his camera that he had accidentally left on the back seat! Later that night he met us to drive us to the old Bazaar of the city (refusing money at the end!!). And finally, he woke up the next morning to pick us up at 5:30am to drive us to the train. Loved him.

Mike – Daulatabad was the last standing fortress of the Mughal Empire, and it’s hard to see how it could’ve ever been conquered. First of, it was built on a hill in the Deccan Plateau spanning over 60 hectares of land. The main temples and structures were surrounded by four large concentric walls. Thirdly, in the event that any army penetrated these walls, the most sacred temples could only be reached through pitch-dark passages, which unbeknownst to the invaders, were overlooked by teams of soldiers possessing large tubs of hot oil and hot water waiting to be dumped on the unsuspecting horde.

I was suprised by how preserved the fortress was; in some places, the paint and ceramics were still intact. You could really picture how colourful the facade would have been while still operational.

http://picasaweb.google.com/mproud3/Daulatabad#

Daulatabad was very interesting and a great chance to get the blood moving, but Ellora was the real reason why we travelled to Aurangabad. A UNESCO World Heritage Sight and a resounding example of religious tolerance; we couldn’t wait to check out these caves.

There were 34 caves in total, consisting of Buddhist, Jainist, and Hindu temples (each cave was considered a temple). Although it was swarming with tourists, it was surprisingly very peaceful. I can really see how they would have been an oasis of calm back in the day.

Of all the caves, there were two that really deserve mentioning. Cave 10, probably the best preserved and most elaborate of the Buddhist temples, was a long hall that was striking in it’s design. In an effort to keep the post at a minimum, I’ll save the description and just show you a few pictures below:

http://picasaweb.google.com/mproud3/ElloraCaves#

You all know me not to be a religious person, but when you place your hand on the Buddha at the end of this hall you feel certain amount of electricity. I know next to nothing about Buddhism and it’s principles, but you can’t help to feel humility at the foot of such an amazingly carved and calming figure.

Cave 16, a Hindu cave, was the pinnacle of Ellora’s grandiose. Again, pictures speak a lot louder than words, so I’ll let you have-atter.

You may remark that this doesn’t look like a cave, due to it being open-aired. It’s kind of hard to explain, but the entrance goes through the cliff face, and you enter the open aired section where the building on the left is located. Surrounding that building are three levels of galleries with meditation rooms cut into the rock on their opposing sides. To really put this in perspective, you have to consider the fact that, at one time, Ellora was a sheer cliff face. Pretty amazing stuff; for all you engineers out there, try figuring that one out… ;)

It’s worth noting that Ellora wasn’t re-discovered until the late 1800’s… I don’t know what events transpired for something so grand to become so forgotten, but wow, talk about discovering the mother load.

On a final note, the main thing I’m leaving with from our experience at Ellora was the fact that three religions, albeit quite similar, can occupy the same space in peace for centuries. The fact that none of the caves have been disturbed or plundered is a testament to the religious tolerance of the ancient Indian religions. You look at the many disputed religious territories today, some having been fought over for many a millenia, and you start to wonder what makes Ellora so different?

Train to Aurangabad…

Mike- Still recovering from jet lag and sporadic sleeping patterns, we decided to take it easy today in an effort to get our bodies on India time. We booked a train ticket which left at 4:30pm that day, and we figured if we could stay awake the entire duration until we arrived in Aurangabad then we’d be well on our way to adjusting.

Before hopping on the train we grabbed a bite to eat at a Persian Vegetarian Lunch House. Funny enough, it was our first true Indian meal the entire trip. Mumbai is such an international city that, as it happened, we’d eaten falafels, American breakfast, and sandwiches. Anyways, we ordered the lunch platter and it was incredible. I can only name half of what we ate, but it was awesome. Personally, I’ve had trouble finding places that serve portion sizes that actually fill me up, but this place definitely left me with a full stomach.

The CST train terminal – otherwise known as the Victoria Terminus – is a large colonial building that is usually pretty chaotic. Today, it wasn’t all that bad. We found our platform and berths with no problem.

We booked tickets on the AC3 sleeper class, which basically means there are 6 seats per compartment and 3 convertible bunks on each side across from each other. We shared a berth with a guy named Monaz, who was travelling past Aurangabad for work (he tested telecommunications equipment for a Danish company). He’d travelled all over India and was very eager to give us tips and show us pictures of the places he’s been.

An economics professor from the university in Aurangabad heard our Canadian accents and decided to stop by for a chat. He had been to Vancouver to lecture on water conservation in India at UBC. He asked us to read two essays he had written. One was using Ghandian principles to develop a set of ethics for environmental policy, and the other concerned the drinking water shortage in India. The first was heavily critical of the West, and our – quote – gigantic propensity to consume.

We arrived in Auragabad shortly after midnight; passed out soon after hitting the sheets. Tomorrow we hit up the Ellora caves; pretty pumped!

Teg- The train experience was awesome, much more comfortable than what I had expected! As much as I had tried to stay awake for its duration, I was out by 7pm lol. The interesting thing about these rides is that you really never know when your getting off; there’s no communication system of any kind. Since it was pitch black out, we had to ask a few times to make sure that we hadn’t skipped over our destination.

I have a feeling I’m going to be saying this many times over, but I can’t help but say that the people here are extremely friendly, even though sometimes it might cost us 20 cents. As soon as we were out of the train, there was a man at our side who was willing to walk with us to the hotel that we had planned on going to. Once there, we found out that they had no vacancy (after ringing the doorbell, waking one of the few sleeping men on the lobby floor who stumbled over to tell us ‘no’ lol). So our ‘now’ walking friend pulled out his wallet to show us one of the many hotel cards he was carrying. We then (yes, all 3 of us) jumped into a small rick-shaw and set off for the next hotel on the list. Once at the next stop, we had two friendly men get out and join us in the hotel lobby (rick-shaw man and walker-man). So here we were, in a decently clean lobby, surrounded by many men that were all vying to help us out and get a small junk of cash out of it. We over-payed for two nights (17$/night haha), which we guess is to tip the other men off, and we payed our night companions a dollar to split lol. Everyone was satisfied, and soon after we were asleep in a clean, secure room (two key  words lol).

Day One in Mumbai

Mike – Unable to sleep due to jet lag and excitement, Teg and I woke up shortly before 6am and decided to head out to find some breakfast. I went down first to pay for another night, and nearly stumbled over the night manager, who was passed out on the lobby floor. Alright, so we’ll have to pay him later.

We figured that we’d walk towards the Gateway of India to find some food. It was a longer walk than we’d expected but it was good to get our bearings. I found it quite difficult navigating the city because the street names were very long and hard to remember. One minute you’d determine that you needed to walk down “Chhatrapati Shivaji Marg” and take a left on “Nathalal Parekh Marg”, but it was forgotten shortly after putting away the guidebook. By the end of the day, I found a little trick to remember. Instead of thinking “Nathanal Parekh Marg”, I’d look for “Nathan Peter Margaret”. It seemed to help because we made it back to the hotel without a hiccup.

We walked through the Churchgate and Fort areas, which is home to the University of Mumbai. The area surrounding the university was simply awesome. Many colonial era structures, and a large cricket field smack-down in the middle of it all, overlooked by a Big Ben-esque clock tower. We had the pleasure of watching teams of all age groups (all men though) practice and compete in cricket. I still don’t understand the game, but it was cool to see such a well-maintained green space in an otherwise sprawling mass of crumbling structures.

After that we wandered back into Colaba. By chance, we stumbled across Leopold’s Cafe, which is a famous landmark for all foreigners and ex-pats. It was also featured extensively in the book Shantaram, which Teg and I both loved. Anyways, we figured we’d grab some grub. The food was mildly over-priced, but still below the going rate in Vancouver.

Afterwards, we continued through Colaba where we ran into a lady named Betty who offered to show us around. She was very genuine, and although I knew that her kindness didn’t come free I enjoyed talking to her and I didn’t mind throwing her a few rupees at the end of it all. She offered to take us to some of the tourist sites – Gateway of India, mainly – but we knew how to find those on our own so, instead, she offered to show us through the back streets of Colaba. She took us to “Rex Bakery”, a Jewish bakery, which was one of the sites of the Mumbai terrorist attacks.

On the left of the door you can see where they painted over the bullet holes. I remember watching the events transpire on CNN, but the coverage mainly revolved around the Taj and Oberoi hotels. I can see those being targets, but why this one?

Shortly after, we left Betty and continued down towards the Gateway of India. At each corner there were ladies preparing floral arrangements – bracelets, necklaces, etc. – in anticipation of Diwali.

We arrived at the Gateway of India, and all of a sudden, we were surrounded by tourists and hagglers. Up to this point, the haggling hadn’t been that bad, but being one of the principle tourist sites in Mumbai, it was in full force. There was no begging per say, as the “Mumbai Tourist Police” were patrolling pretty heavily. But, in the spirit of India, there were ways around it. Hindu priests (if that’s even the right way of putting it) would offer to “bless” you, and then ask for a donation. Ladies would, without asking, tie a flower bracelet around Teg’s wrist, and then demand payment. We realized that nothing ever comes for free.

In the 30 degree heat, we grew weary with the persistence of the hagglers, so we decided to return to our hotel for an afternoon nap. And… we woke up at 1am… I don’t know what time zone we’re on right now; it’s not Vancouver nor is it India time. I guess we’re halfway there…

Tegan – I’ll be brief. One thing in particular that I think is worth mentioning about today in which Mikey forgot was our walk through the Sassoon dock. First half of it was filled with shrimp smells, a product of the many huts filled with women pulling the tails off shrimps. The second half was filled with scents of much larger fish (I expect myself to be mentioning scents on most of this trip)haha! Here, there were ice trucks everywhere, men everywhere, and nets being untangled for the next mornings’ catch.

Okay, my mistake, there were a few men helping lol.

Arrival in Mumbai…

Mike - After 18 hours of fly time we arrived in Mumbai. It went off without a hitch. The last leg from Heathrow was probably the worst, there were babies and kids all around us, crying and yelling, but it was manageable thanks to Apple.

We arrived shortly before midnight and didn’t make it to the hostel until right around 1am. We lucked out on a great hotel with awesome service close to the Gateway of India and the Taj hotel. It was unlisted in the Lonely Planet, so initially I was a little hesitant, but the service has been great and we’ve got a private bathroom. All in all, the last 24 hours has been very stress-free, and we’re finally here.

Tegan – Okay okay, so as I lie here in bed under the one sheet they provided us (which is more than enough because temps here right now, at night, are 30 degrees) my mind is searching for the best words to use to describe the experience thus far.

As we left the airport and prepaid a cab service to take us to Colaba Causeway, that experience on the road to our hotel is one I will never forget. Maybe road isn’t even the best word, since at times we were driving on a make-shift of cements and gravel and debris of every kind. Driving on the left side initially did feel awkward, but not in comparison to the lack of lanes and cluster. As we drove further and further from the airport, the streets tidied to the point where lanes were visible, yet not followed; and roads were roads. Traffic lights came much later in the drive, and meant nothing. Honking seems to be the way of communication around here, rather than as some vulgar after-thought. As much as it was incredibly scary at times – the constant weaving – I some how found it thrilling that this cab driver was at such ease, while at times what was a 3 lane road became a 4, turning was a first come first serve basis…the list is endless. Haha, so the drive itself tells me much about Mumbai thus far, the sights along the way are a whole other beast we must share, but at a later time.

Here’s a picture of our trusty lil taxi… We arrived at night, so there wasn’t an opportunity for any photo ops. We’ll post more after our first day in Mumbai!!!