From hippies to hampi

The clapping stopped as the woman waited for one of the people in our berth to look up at her and hand her bills to add to those she had tucked between each of her manicured fingers. However, we were all averting our gaze and waiting for her to walk on down the aisle. Suddenly I felt her hand touch my head and I looked up to find her long nails stroking a strand of my hair. "Ohhh is this real??" the hijra asked as she continued to run her fingers lovingly along the strand. I replied with a huge grin that hes it was, and no I did not have to dye it to achieve my color. I thanked her and she walked off down the aisle. Hijra's are the third gender in India, they are men who dress as women or were born as hemaphrodites. They are believed to have the ability to curse or bless you and based on this superstition are payed off by Indians when they are encountered on trains or the street. They are also frequently forced to work as prostitutes and dancers in bars. This one we encountered on the train clearly has good taste in hair.

Most of our travel in India has been via train our bus. Although it can take up to two days to get somewhere the overnight trains have offered the best opportunities to see the country and meet other Indians who travel with us. It can also be very uncumfortable. My trip from Alwar to Delhi required me to curl up next to becky in the top bunk with our bags since their were people sitting in the aisles, crammed into all the other seats, and even riding atop the train. Luckily the sleepers I have taken with Kara and Meredith have all been relatively comfortable. The only annoyance being people who carry on loud converstations at 2 am and the chai wallahs who start walking through the train at 6 am screaming, "CHAAAIIIII, CHAAAAAIII, GHARAM CHAI!". I have quickly come to loathe these men for waking me up so many mornings.

Since my last post Meredith, Kara, and I have taken a train to Goa, a bus to Hampi, and trains to Mumbai and Darjeeling. We spent three days in Goa at Arambol, one of the towns on the ocean that is known for its ability to attract hippies ever since the 60's. As soon as we arrived and began walkingfrom the bus stop we noticed a distinct difference from the other places in India we had been to. Although most of the shops are still boarded up because of the monsoons, the ones that were open offered dreadlocking, flowing tunics in absurd patterns, and wonderfully artistic bongs. Arambol was great because of the opportunity it provided to lie on the beach between the frequent 20 minute bursts of rain (scandalously clad in a bikini, GASP!!), and it also provided some very entertaining people watching. One night we went to a restaraunt offering a jam session where we listened to one dude compose a song by repeating "Jah" at a variety of tones. Amazing. I think he has been living in Arambol probably since the 70's.

The best part of our time in Goa was definitely renting mopeheads for a day that allowed us to drive to the various beaches and explore the small roads through the Goa's countryside. I would never drive anywhere else in India, but the streets are relatively traffic free here and motor bikes offer an amazing way to exlore an area.

Next we hopped a HORRIBLE overnight sleeper bus to Hampi, a world heritage site where you can wander around the ruins of an ancient city from the 1300's. It is absolutely incredible to see the carvings of Hindu gods and religious stories that are still clearly visible in the stone temples, palaces, and markets that made up the city. We spent the entire day wandering around the ruins and by mid-afternnon we headed over to the Hanuman temple across the river. To do this we had to cross in a coracle. Imagine a woven fruit basket. Now enlarge this so that it is big enough to fit three motocycles and ten people very snuggly with a few men holding oars to paddle. Add a bit of tarp around the outside and this is what we looked like crossing the river. I did not think we would make it across, but Indian transport generally seems to exceed my expectations for what is safe and reasonable. We stopped at a small village restaraunt for some delicious idli and sambar before heading up the 570-some steps (we counted) that lead up to the hanuman temple. There are tons of monkeys (since Hanuman is the monkey god), plenty of entertaining sadus (Hindus who have given up all worldy possesions), and overly excited Hindu pilgrims. Plus the view from the top was incredible. Hampi is scrattered with enourmous boulders that are piled into large mountains and surrounded by rice patties and ancient ruins. It was incredible.

We hopped in a coracle back across the river and walked quickly to another temple to try and see it before dark. It was beautiful to see as the sun was setting but as we were leaving we realized we could not find our way back along the path with our one small flashlight. Thankfully, when we decided to return to the temple the guards were still there. We were walked home by four of them who all lived in Hampi.

After two days we were back on a train for a day and a half to make it back to Mumbai for a flight to Kolkata. We have two more weeks in India and are planning to see West Bengal and Sikkim before we leave.

Welcome to India Miss McCormack

The train from Ernakulum in the south of India to New Delhi in the north takes two days. That is alot of time spent reading, contemplating whether you want the pao bhaji the random man walking down the aisle is hawking, and day dreaming about how much you wand to strangle the two year old of the family in the berth next door who keeps screaming. This also offers an opportunity to watch the landscape of India turn from bright green jungles packed with coconut trees, spreading to incorporate rice patties, and then finally melting into the flat dry landscape that surrounds Delhi.

We stepped of the train the same day that Meredith flew into Delhi on a late night flight. She arrived well prepared with only the bag she had carried onto the plane because her backpack did not make it with her on the connecting flight. However, she bravely wore the same outfit for the three days it took for her bag to arrive without complaint.

The three of us spent a day wandering around in the unbearable heat of New Delhi and then hopped onto the metro to visit Old Delhi for the famous Paratha Walli Gulli. This requires that you weave your way through the overwhelming and crowded streets of the old city. The street is more like a narrow winding alley that actually looks like it dead ends which is why we passed it several times. When you round the corner though it opens onto about six shops that are all crammed with large tawas, pans, and various other somewhat worn looking kitchen equipment used to make amazing parathas, chutney, and subzhee. Parathas were created in Delhi, they are bread stuffed with just about whatever spicy delicious filling you can think of, rolled flat, and then lightly fried. Amazing. Probably the best paratha I have ever eaten, and well worth the heat and confusion it took to find it.

Kara and Meredith made good use of their time in Delhi by visiting the Taj Mahal. I opted to meet my friend Becky in Alwar to witness her do her thing interviewing nurses at a sterilization camp... Bit of a long story but I basically missed going to visit the Taj again to learn about forced sterilization in Rajasthan and be offered the opportunity to watch a man get a vasechtomy. After that activity we hopped a VERy cramped train back to Delhi. There were twenty people or more riding on top of the train alone when it pulled in. I need to stop buying second class sleeper tickets even if it is cheaper.

Kara, Meredith, and I met up again on the train on the way to Aurungabad in Maharashtrah. From there we made train trips out to Nassik and Ajanta. Nassik is India's wine country and we went to Sula Vineyards and got to do a tasting and take a tour of the vineyard. Much better than I expected I have to admit. In Ajanta we visited the Buddhist caves that were carved into a mountaintside and have the most incredible paintings and scultpures in them. After that we were back on another overnight train back to Mumbai where we spent a few days before heading to Goa.