Yesterday I went for an ayurvedic massage - ayurvedic massage is big with tourists to India, and involves a full-body massage using herb-infused oils. A few of us went to a small parlour in Thekkady. The massage lasted for about forty minutes... when I say full body massage I mean it was pants off, and the smallest loin cloth known to man to protect my modesty. The massage was disappointingly not performed by a nubile maiden with bejewelled feet, but a strapping young lad. It started with oil being poured on my head, and my head being massaged - hair follicles being twisted and teased, nostrils pummelled, eyelids nudged, and ears knocked. All quite pleasant enough. Then we moved on to the full body massage, which necessitated climbing onto a bench. I was covered in liberal amounts of oil, and then beaten up bit by bit. Some of it was very enjoyable, and I had time to reflect on things so far and contemplate life... then the backs of my thighs got a thrashing and I yelped a bit. I don't remember feeling very relaxed, in fact I think my butt cheeks were clenched for the whole thing.
This was all finished off with a very pleasant steam bath, sat in a giant pink box that made Ian and I look a bit like what Daleks would look like if they were even more primative. And gay. We were then towelled down, but still covered in a thin film of oil that made me feel like either a freshly oiled cricket bat or a marinaded steak. In conclusion, my first massage experience was a mixed one, which did sort my sore legs out, but I'll wait until I get a Thai massage until I form a firm opinion.
Today, we head back to Tamil Nadu for the last week of the Aidcamp, where we'll be finishing off the garden and the murals.
The Aidcamp is the reason I came to Tamil Nadu, and has been the most incredible introduction to India that I could possibly imagine having - I'd recommend it to anyone. I've been lucky enough to be put together with a fantastic group of people, doing worthwhile work for a truly amazing NGO, SCAD - Social Change and Development. I have to get on the bus back to SCAD shortly, so will explain more about them later. More photos soon as well.
Tuesday, February 08, 2005
Monday, February 07, 2005
Weekend off
It's been pretty busy here - this isn't what I'd describe as a holiday!
We're currently spending a couple of days in Thekkady, a small town in the Western Ghats, the mountains dividing Kerala and Tamil Nadu. By 'we' I mean myself and the others on the Aidcamp, a great group of people. We've had a hard week working at the gypsy school at Pettai, doing mural painting, gardening and waving at countless cheeky schoolkids, and yesterday we had a very long journey up to Thekkady from SCAD in a bus which, while designed to be comfortable for Indians, unfortunately meant it was phenomenally uncomfortable for a bunch of big Westerners with long legs.
We came up to Thekkady to see Periyar Wildlife Reserve, a reserve around a lake, home to elephants, tigers, monkeys, and masses of other flora and fauna. We took a three-hour hike this morning through some of the reserve, and failed to see any elephants or tigers, but saw some monkeys, a giant squirrel, and more birds than you can shake a stick at. Our guide was a bit of a twitcher so kept randomly stopping and pointing into the trees in the direction of some small bird that would then promptly fly off. Bird watching? What is that all about?! Mind you, getting up is easy here - the mosque calls the town to prayer at 5:30 a.m - and everyone can hear it.
So after I flew down to Trivandrum (state capital of Kerala) from Bombay, I was in the hotel on my own until the rest of the Aidcamps volunteers arrived, and took a quick walk through the streets around the hotel. Trivandrum is not a big tourist town - most tourists heading to Kovalam pass through it - so when I was out I was the only white person I could see. India for a first-timer is quite something - masses of people everywhere you look, buses, cows, Ambassador cars, motorbikes, goats, dogs, open drains, small shops, dirt and litter, car horns constantly being blown, insane traffic, and no spare space anywhere. I took a ten minute walk, got back to the hotel, ordered two boiled eggs and a pot of tea, and promptly freaked out.
It has since got easier, but every so often, India just makes you want to shut your eyes and have it all go away, as beautiful a place as it is, and as generous and curious as so many of the people are. When we took a quick trip to Tirunelveli the other day (for the ladies to buy Saris from Pothy's, where I also got a dothie - and Pothy's is another story altogether - think the Indian version of Grace Brothers), we went to the temple for a look around, and one of our group remarked that temples were not just places for prayer, they're places to get away from the mania of the streets.
Anyway, time has caught up with me again - more soon.
We're currently spending a couple of days in Thekkady, a small town in the Western Ghats, the mountains dividing Kerala and Tamil Nadu. By 'we' I mean myself and the others on the Aidcamp, a great group of people. We've had a hard week working at the gypsy school at Pettai, doing mural painting, gardening and waving at countless cheeky schoolkids, and yesterday we had a very long journey up to Thekkady from SCAD in a bus which, while designed to be comfortable for Indians, unfortunately meant it was phenomenally uncomfortable for a bunch of big Westerners with long legs.
We came up to Thekkady to see Periyar Wildlife Reserve, a reserve around a lake, home to elephants, tigers, monkeys, and masses of other flora and fauna. We took a three-hour hike this morning through some of the reserve, and failed to see any elephants or tigers, but saw some monkeys, a giant squirrel, and more birds than you can shake a stick at. Our guide was a bit of a twitcher so kept randomly stopping and pointing into the trees in the direction of some small bird that would then promptly fly off. Bird watching? What is that all about?! Mind you, getting up is easy here - the mosque calls the town to prayer at 5:30 a.m - and everyone can hear it.
So after I flew down to Trivandrum (state capital of Kerala) from Bombay, I was in the hotel on my own until the rest of the Aidcamps volunteers arrived, and took a quick walk through the streets around the hotel. Trivandrum is not a big tourist town - most tourists heading to Kovalam pass through it - so when I was out I was the only white person I could see. India for a first-timer is quite something - masses of people everywhere you look, buses, cows, Ambassador cars, motorbikes, goats, dogs, open drains, small shops, dirt and litter, car horns constantly being blown, insane traffic, and no spare space anywhere. I took a ten minute walk, got back to the hotel, ordered two boiled eggs and a pot of tea, and promptly freaked out.
It has since got easier, but every so often, India just makes you want to shut your eyes and have it all go away, as beautiful a place as it is, and as generous and curious as so many of the people are. When we took a quick trip to Tirunelveli the other day (for the ladies to buy Saris from Pothy's, where I also got a dothie - and Pothy's is another story altogether - think the Indian version of Grace Brothers), we went to the temple for a look around, and one of our group remarked that temples were not just places for prayer, they're places to get away from the mania of the streets.
Anyway, time has caught up with me again - more soon.
Wednesday, February 02, 2005
New piccies
I've uploaded some of the best pictures so far from India - Kerala, Tamil Nadu and the Aidcamp with Aidcamps International.
IndiaaAAAHHHH!
Well, I'm here, and... WOW!
Everything they say about India is true, good and bad, but overall, India is so far the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and the people are amazing. Everything about this trip so far has had my eyes out on stalks, my hair on end, my nose twitching, and my brain exploding with the sheer amount of amazing sights, smells and sounds. I've also been laughing like a drain and crying like an idiot!
When it came to the flight out, I was wandering around Heathrow Airport after five hours of sleep at the hotel, a bit numb, rather nervous to say the least, and not knowing what I still needed to get. I bought wafer bars and bottles of water, terrified that I wouldn't be eating or drinking in India unless I took all my own supplies with me.
For those who don't know, the flight to India was the second time ever I have been on a plane, and my first flight ever on a 747. I sat waiting for the plane to take off, with my seat above the wing, just wondering how the hell the wings even stay on, the size of them! The food on the flight was good, and I hadn't realised there would be a video screen in the back of the seat in front of me, so my idea of reading a book went out of the window - also because I met two great people in the seats next to me - Vini, a Keralan working and living in the US who was going to see his parents in Cochin (hi Vini!) and Margaret, a small Scots lady who was going to India because she was volunteering, and because she loved the place ("you'll be coming back!" she said to me).
I saw an amazing sight on the plane - after about five hours in the air we were flying over Iran, and the clouds that had covered the ground below the plane cleared, and I saw scattered lights on the ground far below. From 39,000 feet, these lights were so small, they looked like stars. There were stars in the sky above the plane, and stars below - it was like flying through space. Then, we passed over Tabriz, a reasonable size town, and it was like an explosion of light - all of the street lights and house lights shone up, shimmering blue, gold and orange, countless tiny specks of light. The town looked like a fractal diagram or an organism, a jellyfish, or an alien from a James Cameron movie. I wish I could have taken a photo, but it would never have done it justice.
We got to Bombay airport, and I was getting very nervous by now. As the doors of the plane opened, a rush of warm (25 degrees c at one in the morning), fragrant air shot into my face. Well, I say fragrant, it was probably a combination of flowers and kerosene. I parted company with Vini and Margaret, and found my way out of the international terminal - the guard attending the baggage scanner walked over to me at one point and beckoned me round the scanner - I was terrified he was going to do some sort of invasive body cavity search - it just turned out the baggage scanner was jammed and he was letting me straight through... great security! I then started worrying when I changed my money for Rupees - I was handed a wad of cash so thick I felt incredibly self-conscious, and had to shuffle off with my wad concealed so I could stash it in my bag.
Finding the domestic terminal for the flight down to Kerala turned out to be a piece of cake - it was all very simple, clearly signed, and I just followed the other tourists. A baggage handler shook my hand when he had labelled my backpack for the flight, and said "bhaiyaa - good journey". Bhaiyaa means 'brother', used with strangers. The English in India is fantastic, often very proper and old-sounding. Porters and handlers muttered things like "you are most welcome sir". After getting to the domestic terminal, I now had an eight-hour wait for the next flight, so stayed awake all night in the waiting room with everyone else. The TV was on at full blast, no chance of sleep, and chai wallers were constantly passing by selling chai for Rs 10 - about 8p. What is chai then, at least in Mumbai airport? Tea, boiled up with evaporated milk, masses of sugar, and possibly ginger. Yorkshire tea it ain't. But at 8p a shot, and when you want something warm, it actually gets to be quite good!
At one point on the TV news, footage showed a man on fire - not the sort of thing you see on Look East. He was being chased around a yard by fifteen other men, who I thought were giving him a good kicking - it just turns out they were putting him out. I saw a McDonalds advert for a McAloo Tikka - they'll stick a Mc on anything. At one point, Vini found me and bought me a cuppa, and also very kindly gave me his parents phone number in case I needed anything - what a star!
The flight down to Kerala from Mumbai was quiet - a very cute stewardess had memorised my name, so I was treated to "Are you alright Mr Nelson?", "Tea or coffee Mr Nelson?", "Goodbye Mr Nelson". I embarrassed myself a bit by waking myself up snoring so loud I'm sure the whole cabin heard.
Anyway, I have got a heck of a lot more to get down, and haven't even started on India, Trivandrum, Tamil Nadu, the gypsies, SCAD, or the children here - there's so much I'm having to write it down every day! For the time being, take a look at the latest pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/mybigtrip. I'll post more soon!.
Everything they say about India is true, good and bad, but overall, India is so far the most beautiful place I have ever seen, and the people are amazing. Everything about this trip so far has had my eyes out on stalks, my hair on end, my nose twitching, and my brain exploding with the sheer amount of amazing sights, smells and sounds. I've also been laughing like a drain and crying like an idiot!
When it came to the flight out, I was wandering around Heathrow Airport after five hours of sleep at the hotel, a bit numb, rather nervous to say the least, and not knowing what I still needed to get. I bought wafer bars and bottles of water, terrified that I wouldn't be eating or drinking in India unless I took all my own supplies with me.
For those who don't know, the flight to India was the second time ever I have been on a plane, and my first flight ever on a 747. I sat waiting for the plane to take off, with my seat above the wing, just wondering how the hell the wings even stay on, the size of them! The food on the flight was good, and I hadn't realised there would be a video screen in the back of the seat in front of me, so my idea of reading a book went out of the window - also because I met two great people in the seats next to me - Vini, a Keralan working and living in the US who was going to see his parents in Cochin (hi Vini!) and Margaret, a small Scots lady who was going to India because she was volunteering, and because she loved the place ("you'll be coming back!" she said to me).
I saw an amazing sight on the plane - after about five hours in the air we were flying over Iran, and the clouds that had covered the ground below the plane cleared, and I saw scattered lights on the ground far below. From 39,000 feet, these lights were so small, they looked like stars. There were stars in the sky above the plane, and stars below - it was like flying through space. Then, we passed over Tabriz, a reasonable size town, and it was like an explosion of light - all of the street lights and house lights shone up, shimmering blue, gold and orange, countless tiny specks of light. The town looked like a fractal diagram or an organism, a jellyfish, or an alien from a James Cameron movie. I wish I could have taken a photo, but it would never have done it justice.
We got to Bombay airport, and I was getting very nervous by now. As the doors of the plane opened, a rush of warm (25 degrees c at one in the morning), fragrant air shot into my face. Well, I say fragrant, it was probably a combination of flowers and kerosene. I parted company with Vini and Margaret, and found my way out of the international terminal - the guard attending the baggage scanner walked over to me at one point and beckoned me round the scanner - I was terrified he was going to do some sort of invasive body cavity search - it just turned out the baggage scanner was jammed and he was letting me straight through... great security! I then started worrying when I changed my money for Rupees - I was handed a wad of cash so thick I felt incredibly self-conscious, and had to shuffle off with my wad concealed so I could stash it in my bag.
Finding the domestic terminal for the flight down to Kerala turned out to be a piece of cake - it was all very simple, clearly signed, and I just followed the other tourists. A baggage handler shook my hand when he had labelled my backpack for the flight, and said "bhaiyaa - good journey". Bhaiyaa means 'brother', used with strangers. The English in India is fantastic, often very proper and old-sounding. Porters and handlers muttered things like "you are most welcome sir". After getting to the domestic terminal, I now had an eight-hour wait for the next flight, so stayed awake all night in the waiting room with everyone else. The TV was on at full blast, no chance of sleep, and chai wallers were constantly passing by selling chai for Rs 10 - about 8p. What is chai then, at least in Mumbai airport? Tea, boiled up with evaporated milk, masses of sugar, and possibly ginger. Yorkshire tea it ain't. But at 8p a shot, and when you want something warm, it actually gets to be quite good!
At one point on the TV news, footage showed a man on fire - not the sort of thing you see on Look East. He was being chased around a yard by fifteen other men, who I thought were giving him a good kicking - it just turns out they were putting him out. I saw a McDonalds advert for a McAloo Tikka - they'll stick a Mc on anything. At one point, Vini found me and bought me a cuppa, and also very kindly gave me his parents phone number in case I needed anything - what a star!
The flight down to Kerala from Mumbai was quiet - a very cute stewardess had memorised my name, so I was treated to "Are you alright Mr Nelson?", "Tea or coffee Mr Nelson?", "Goodbye Mr Nelson". I embarrassed myself a bit by waking myself up snoring so loud I'm sure the whole cabin heard.
Anyway, I have got a heck of a lot more to get down, and haven't even started on India, Trivandrum, Tamil Nadu, the gypsies, SCAD, or the children here - there's so much I'm having to write it down every day! For the time being, take a look at the latest pictures at www.flickr.com/photos/mybigtrip. I'll post more soon!.
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