Internet here is very spotty which makes it hard for the travel agent trying to book train tickets via internet.
Forgot to mention in my last post that there are leopards here and our awesome guide who we hired for a 3 hour hike told us that the best way to see one is to take a skinny stray dog and lead him up into the jungle and the leopard will smell and come and get it. I quote "stray dogs are like cheese to leopards".
Today we got up and went and got some delicious breakfast...well it was actually porridge but it filled me up and I wanted a lot of food for cheap. And some masala chai, chai = tea btw and masala = spice , and it was delicious.
Then we decided the best thing to do was to walk the 2 km to the elephant stable, which no longer hold elephants but used to. It was a good idea, the weather was nice, we needed the walk and after a bit it only sprinkled a little. Then a little more. But we had rain jackets so it was no problem...but then it rained harder. And we got drenched. So we stood in a Haruman (monkey god) temple, barefoot and waited for it to stop. It didn't.
But AT LAST! A rickshaw came by and we flagged him down and he gave us a ride to the stables, baller btw, and then back which was AWESOME!Had some yummy light food. Now we are attempting to book train tickets (pain in the ass) which is difficult because Laura only has until Aug 5th and wants to get 29hrs North so she can see the Taj Mahal but she has to come about the same distance South again in order to fly out of Mumbai. So far she is gonna move her flight to the 9th of Aug. I am gonna skip the Taj as I am for sure gonna be back here and I'm gonna hit up North India then. Cuz I am quite happy enjoying India and if I fill up my last week and a half with long train journeys then I will not have good memories to leave on.
So MY plan is to stay in Hampi until (I think) Wed then take the 2 nights trip back to Cochin which leaves me 2-3 days to relax in Cochin and try to fit all my new crap into my duffel bag before I fly out.
Almost listed all the stuff I've bought in Hampi, then realized some things are gifts...let's just say I've done some shopping.
Look forward to a few things when I return home to Ft Cochin. First I will post some pics and second I will be sharing a few horrific and funny travel stories which are not really mine but that I have learned from other travelers and think you would enjoy.
For now I will listen to some complicated train and plane finagling. Thank God I just wanna go home and the HOME (USA baby!)
Saturday, July 24, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
Happy Hampi
I don't think I have fully explained my relationship with India properly.
It is an entirely love/hate relationship, some days the rickshaw drivers and annoying people make me hate not only the country but all people everywhere, some days I am so in love I consider taking a year off and seeing the rest of it in a 6 month trip. It is facinating, frusterating, beautiful, smelly, and magical all at the same time. Oh India.
Yesterday I told Becca that my relationship with India was going through a rough patch and we were not speaking.
But first India and I had an awesome time! Laura was sick and puking her guts out by the time we got off the train on Wed morning and so we trucked off to find a semi-cheap hotel to rent for just the day so she could rest and Becca and I could leave our crap in the room and visit the zoo!
And that is what we did. The zoo was very sketch and green metal bars around the round concrete cages with one or two logs in them looked like a museum of how old zoos in America used to look and was really depressing. They did boast that they had varieties of pigeons and an "aquarium" that had the same fish you see in a Walmart fish area. We did see two leopards wrestle and saw some porcupines looking sad :-( BUT we also paid to go on a safari in a mini bus with bars on the sides. At first all we saw were deer...lame. But then we went through the sliding metal gates into the sloth bear, tiger, and lion safari areas where each of these animals roamed freely in a large enclosure and we got so close that my pics look like they could be from the national geographic. It was AWESOME!
Then we came back and had just enough time to rush to the movie theater and see Knight and Day as a way to waste the 3 hours until train time. The movie was hilarious and we got freshly cooked french fries, popcorn, a drink, and the ticket for around....$6
Plus I stole loo roll (toilet paper for those of you not living with 2 English girls) and saved us 50 rupees. Win.
Becca couldn't stop laughing when the Indian national anthem played at the beginning of the movie and we all stood up. To be fair the people singing onscreen were making ridiculous faces, but I was still mortified because national loyalty to India is amazingly strong. You always hear about things that are "the best in the world", India has the best milk production, postal service, the most....blah blah blah. But we remained safe and not beat up.
(PS just after I typed about a ton more things the power went out. Luckily blogspot had been saving my draft.Oh India.....)
So then we get to the train and ask about our tickets at the window because they say RAC. We don't know what the means. Ticket lady writes 3 4 5 on it and says we have seats not beds, for a 9 hour journey. Well that bloody well sucks so we go to the platform and wait for the train to arrive. But we have no clue what compartment RAC is so when the train arrives we scurry around asking everywhere and get these answers:
-You have a seat but we can't know where
-Ask the ticket guy, he knows all so just get on the train and wait for him
-You are on the waiting list and have no seats
-Find the ticket man, he is the only one who can help!
-You have seats but are on the wrong end of the train, this end isn't going to Hampi.
So we finally get on the train and wait for the ticket guy bu the aisles are small and we get pushed about and at one point we were all 3 stuck in the center of a compartment with people pushing from both ends and yelling at us to move. It was awful. At LAST, a man (Laura says he was a gift sent by God himself) called the train station and told us that not only do we have seats, YAY!, but we have beds! WOOHOO!!!!!!! Not only were they beds but they were the top berths which is awesome.
Sidenote: In sleeper class there are usually 3 people to each bench. There is the bench itself, an upper bed, and the backrest of the first folds up to become a middle bed. Thus, if you have the top bed then you can lie up there anytime you want because people are never sitting on your bed like the lower one or sitting in front of it like the middle one. So it's awesome.
So the night was SAVED! But first it was awful. So got an amazing nights sleep after that rush of adrenaline and got into Hospet at 7am. We needed to go to the bus stand and get the half hour bus to Hampi. But IMMEDIATELY upon setting foot in the train station, we were surrounded by rickshaw men yelling prices and asking questions and swarming around us until at one point Becca literally screamed like a lunatic "GO AWAY!!! WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING US?!?! AHHH!!!!" They mocked her...she did sound crazy. Finally got a 30 rupee rickshaw to Hampi instead, argued prices at 4 hotels and finally settled on one with a TV for 400 rupees. It's worth the extra 50 split between 3 people to have a TV because at night there is not a whole lot to do in India.
So that rocks. Plus I had Nutella and banana pancakes for breakfast and what is better than that? We spent today wandering around Hampi which is an archeological gold mine and the temples and ruins litter the country side. It's like the boulders of Colorado combined with the palm trees and greenery of Florida. It is spectacular. Me and a white cow made friends and he nuzzled me and stuck his nose in my face, Becca has pictures of me giggling like crazy and it will be my profile pic as soon as she posts it!
We paid 160 rupees for a walking tour which took 2.5 hrs and was great exercise. Learned all about the temples and Hinduism. Points which I thought were cool/ I don't feel like typing it all out officially/ interesting things.
It is an entirely love/hate relationship, some days the rickshaw drivers and annoying people make me hate not only the country but all people everywhere, some days I am so in love I consider taking a year off and seeing the rest of it in a 6 month trip. It is facinating, frusterating, beautiful, smelly, and magical all at the same time. Oh India.
Yesterday I told Becca that my relationship with India was going through a rough patch and we were not speaking.
But first India and I had an awesome time! Laura was sick and puking her guts out by the time we got off the train on Wed morning and so we trucked off to find a semi-cheap hotel to rent for just the day so she could rest and Becca and I could leave our crap in the room and visit the zoo!
And that is what we did. The zoo was very sketch and green metal bars around the round concrete cages with one or two logs in them looked like a museum of how old zoos in America used to look and was really depressing. They did boast that they had varieties of pigeons and an "aquarium" that had the same fish you see in a Walmart fish area. We did see two leopards wrestle and saw some porcupines looking sad :-( BUT we also paid to go on a safari in a mini bus with bars on the sides. At first all we saw were deer...lame. But then we went through the sliding metal gates into the sloth bear, tiger, and lion safari areas where each of these animals roamed freely in a large enclosure and we got so close that my pics look like they could be from the national geographic. It was AWESOME!
Then we came back and had just enough time to rush to the movie theater and see Knight and Day as a way to waste the 3 hours until train time. The movie was hilarious and we got freshly cooked french fries, popcorn, a drink, and the ticket for around....$6
Plus I stole loo roll (toilet paper for those of you not living with 2 English girls) and saved us 50 rupees. Win.
Becca couldn't stop laughing when the Indian national anthem played at the beginning of the movie and we all stood up. To be fair the people singing onscreen were making ridiculous faces, but I was still mortified because national loyalty to India is amazingly strong. You always hear about things that are "the best in the world", India has the best milk production, postal service, the most....blah blah blah. But we remained safe and not beat up.
(PS just after I typed about a ton more things the power went out. Luckily blogspot had been saving my draft.Oh India.....)
So then we get to the train and ask about our tickets at the window because they say RAC. We don't know what the means. Ticket lady writes 3 4 5 on it and says we have seats not beds, for a 9 hour journey. Well that bloody well sucks so we go to the platform and wait for the train to arrive. But we have no clue what compartment RAC is so when the train arrives we scurry around asking everywhere and get these answers:
-You have a seat but we can't know where
-Ask the ticket guy, he knows all so just get on the train and wait for him
-You are on the waiting list and have no seats
-Find the ticket man, he is the only one who can help!
-You have seats but are on the wrong end of the train, this end isn't going to Hampi.
So we finally get on the train and wait for the ticket guy bu the aisles are small and we get pushed about and at one point we were all 3 stuck in the center of a compartment with people pushing from both ends and yelling at us to move. It was awful. At LAST, a man (Laura says he was a gift sent by God himself) called the train station and told us that not only do we have seats, YAY!, but we have beds! WOOHOO!!!!!!! Not only were they beds but they were the top berths which is awesome.
Sidenote: In sleeper class there are usually 3 people to each bench. There is the bench itself, an upper bed, and the backrest of the first folds up to become a middle bed. Thus, if you have the top bed then you can lie up there anytime you want because people are never sitting on your bed like the lower one or sitting in front of it like the middle one. So it's awesome.
So the night was SAVED! But first it was awful. So got an amazing nights sleep after that rush of adrenaline and got into Hospet at 7am. We needed to go to the bus stand and get the half hour bus to Hampi. But IMMEDIATELY upon setting foot in the train station, we were surrounded by rickshaw men yelling prices and asking questions and swarming around us until at one point Becca literally screamed like a lunatic "GO AWAY!!! WHY ARE YOU FOLLOWING US?!?! AHHH!!!!" They mocked her...she did sound crazy. Finally got a 30 rupee rickshaw to Hampi instead, argued prices at 4 hotels and finally settled on one with a TV for 400 rupees. It's worth the extra 50 split between 3 people to have a TV because at night there is not a whole lot to do in India.
So that rocks. Plus I had Nutella and banana pancakes for breakfast and what is better than that? We spent today wandering around Hampi which is an archeological gold mine and the temples and ruins litter the country side. It's like the boulders of Colorado combined with the palm trees and greenery of Florida. It is spectacular. Me and a white cow made friends and he nuzzled me and stuck his nose in my face, Becca has pictures of me giggling like crazy and it will be my profile pic as soon as she posts it!
We paid 160 rupees for a walking tour which took 2.5 hrs and was great exercise. Learned all about the temples and Hinduism. Points which I thought were cool/ I don't feel like typing it all out officially/ interesting things.
- Ding Ding carvings are Karma Sutra carvings; they are awkward to look at with a guide; they are on all temples because they keep bad luck out; our guide says if girls are about to be married and are nervous they consult the carvings for education...one involves a snake so I wouldn't suggest it.
- No one worships Brahma except for one temple in Pushkar even though he created the universe because he married one of his daughters. Fail.
- For a good husband, women walk 108 steps around the temple
- some monkey worshiping monks sit around and smoke pot in the temple all day
- the monkey god is the god of strength and gyms have a statue of him to consult before working out
- Some monks of this one division I forget never wear clothes, live in a cave or a temple for 20 years, can go 10 years without eating, spend 10 hrs a day standing on one foot, if you see one out of the cave they are good luck
- People throw dead bodies in the Ganges river and also ashes....this is where all the people go to wash because it is a holy river. Ew.
- Shiva rides the bull Nandi, Vishnu rides an eagle, Ganesh (the one with the elephant head and god of good luck) rides a rat. Fail.
- If a pig enters your house it is good luck to catch him in the center of the house and bury him alive.
- True Jainism people wear a scarf round their mouth so they don't hurt bugs, wave a stick in front of them to avoid harming any living thing, and only eat fruits...nothing from the ground.
- The Muslims ruined all the temples because if a statue of a god has been damaged then it cannot be worshiped.
- Most of these temples were underground until about 1940. How cool is that?!?!?
Tuesday, July 20, 2010
Can you Blog in 15 min?
So we did not get up as early as we thought we would and after we packed, left our bags at the hotel, ate breakfast, and went on a search for toilet paper, we have only given ourselves half an hour for internet. And I already used 15 min of it! AH!
Yesterday felt much more productive, we got up and we went in search of the correct bus to take us to Mudamulai (sp?) Tiger Preserve. We took the 3 hour ride through GORGEOUS mountain scenery. It was amazing and I was listening to my iPod so sometimes the music felt like a soundtrack to the drive. Except when Usher came on singing "Yea", the contrast made me laugh out loud. We had high hopes for an elephant ride and we were told when we arrived that we couldn't book anything until 3 and that the elephant safari wouldn't go if it was raining...which it was....
So we sat in the "Canteen" and ate snacks and watched the monkeys roll around and chase each other and watched the babies bugging the adults. It was great fun and a good way to waste an hour. Then we got up to the window where we were supposed to reserve the safari. The wall next to it had some rather graphic photos of why you cannot harass the animals or walk in the forest which involved an elephant tossing a boy into the air and another boy with a snake curled round his legs. But annnnnyways we got up to the window and I asked about the elepant safari. Not only was it running but it was full and you had to book it from, guess where? Ooty. Ok pop quiz, where I am staying?
Ooty!
Did not appreciate that little burst of irony.
So instead we took a camo colored minibus and went on a really bumpy road with all the Indian tourists, but I DID see 20 or so elephants including babies, spotted deer, a wild boar, a wild peacock, and lots of different kinds of monkeys, so the 70 cents it cost was money well spent. Then we went off on our own little adventure down a hill to get close to a group of monkeys. We were within 3 or 4 meters of them and the babies were playing all sorts of games and we got some stellar pics. Which I will upload when I get to Fort Cochi again! On the bus ride back, Becca and I brought back dance favs like Christina's "Dirty" and also "Low". We are now determined to find a dance club in Hampi. Then we came home and found some amazing dinner and read the silly romance novels we had picked up at the local bookstore. Very good for reading aloud and also quick reads, so we have been trading.
Finally we bought some local chocolate, showered with a hot bucket of water, and sat down to watch X Men and then...JAMES BOND! Sean Connery is a stud at any age I must say. We finally crashed and I had a dream that I was home and packing to go back to school. Mom and I were walking and then all of a sudden I stopped and said "Dammit!"
Mom asked "What?"
"Well this is obviously a dream"
"How do you know?"
"Because I don't remember the 18 hour flight home"
Then I woke up and had to pack up. We wandered in search of the mythical toilet paper which Laura and Becca bring everywhere and thus was a neccessity. Now we are at the internet place, taking care of business quickly so we can catch the toy train! So it's toy train, 20 min regular train, overnight train, spend one full day in Bangelore, another overnight train, Hampi! And I only have 2 weeks left, AHHHH!!!!
Gotta fit it all in and get back to Fort Cochi and my beloved laptop. And learn how to wrap my sari properly....Priorities.
Yesterday felt much more productive, we got up and we went in search of the correct bus to take us to Mudamulai (sp?) Tiger Preserve. We took the 3 hour ride through GORGEOUS mountain scenery. It was amazing and I was listening to my iPod so sometimes the music felt like a soundtrack to the drive. Except when Usher came on singing "Yea", the contrast made me laugh out loud. We had high hopes for an elephant ride and we were told when we arrived that we couldn't book anything until 3 and that the elephant safari wouldn't go if it was raining...which it was....
So we sat in the "Canteen" and ate snacks and watched the monkeys roll around and chase each other and watched the babies bugging the adults. It was great fun and a good way to waste an hour. Then we got up to the window where we were supposed to reserve the safari. The wall next to it had some rather graphic photos of why you cannot harass the animals or walk in the forest which involved an elephant tossing a boy into the air and another boy with a snake curled round his legs. But annnnnyways we got up to the window and I asked about the elepant safari. Not only was it running but it was full and you had to book it from, guess where? Ooty. Ok pop quiz, where I am staying?
Ooty!
Did not appreciate that little burst of irony.
So instead we took a camo colored minibus and went on a really bumpy road with all the Indian tourists, but I DID see 20 or so elephants including babies, spotted deer, a wild boar, a wild peacock, and lots of different kinds of monkeys, so the 70 cents it cost was money well spent. Then we went off on our own little adventure down a hill to get close to a group of monkeys. We were within 3 or 4 meters of them and the babies were playing all sorts of games and we got some stellar pics. Which I will upload when I get to Fort Cochi again! On the bus ride back, Becca and I brought back dance favs like Christina's "Dirty" and also "Low". We are now determined to find a dance club in Hampi. Then we came home and found some amazing dinner and read the silly romance novels we had picked up at the local bookstore. Very good for reading aloud and also quick reads, so we have been trading.
Finally we bought some local chocolate, showered with a hot bucket of water, and sat down to watch X Men and then...JAMES BOND! Sean Connery is a stud at any age I must say. We finally crashed and I had a dream that I was home and packing to go back to school. Mom and I were walking and then all of a sudden I stopped and said "Dammit!"
Mom asked "What?"
"Well this is obviously a dream"
"How do you know?"
"Because I don't remember the 18 hour flight home"
Then I woke up and had to pack up. We wandered in search of the mythical toilet paper which Laura and Becca bring everywhere and thus was a neccessity. Now we are at the internet place, taking care of business quickly so we can catch the toy train! So it's toy train, 20 min regular train, overnight train, spend one full day in Bangelore, another overnight train, Hampi! And I only have 2 weeks left, AHHHH!!!!
Gotta fit it all in and get back to Fort Cochi and my beloved laptop. And learn how to wrap my sari properly....Priorities.
Sunday, July 18, 2010
Ooty Ooty
If I do this properly and don't get carpel tunnel and don't get bored then this may be a long blog...so sorry!
So when I last left you I was gearing up for my train ride/bus ride to Ooty!
The train ride was a bit hellish because my stomach was still being irksome but I finished my book on Antony and Cleopatra and started a John Grisham book so all was not lost. Then when I was about to get off the train, which is scary because they don't announce the stops so around the time you think you should be getting there you are frantically staring out the window so you don't miss the sign for the station, I had decided to leave Antony and Cleo behind because it cost me all of $3 and I didn't want to carry it because I already had 4 more books in my backpack :-) A lady across from me helpfully told me I had forgotten my book and I said "oh no no I finished it and it's too heavy to carry"
"So you are going to leave it?"
"Yea I have too many others and it is too heavy"
"You really don't want it? Are you sure?"
"Yea yea I'm sure, do you want it?"
"Only if you are really sure"
"Go for it!"
"THANK YOU!" Big smile from random lady. I felt very helpful even though I wasn't leaving the book behind to be helpful, it still made my day that it made her so happy.
Then I had to find my way to the Central Bus Stand. I had no clue where it was. I had my guidebook and knew it was too far to walk. So I asked random man where I could get a rickshaw. Random Man (henceforth to be known as RM) said he would take me and sped off at a rapid pace through the very dirty and confusing streets of Coimbature, a city which I can spell but not pronounce. RM then found me a rickshaw and asked for a price: 100 rupees! What? I think I actually said "Hell no!" because it was more then twice the actual fare! Damn foreigner prices. Not to worry though, RM asked if I was willing to take a local bus? I have no problem with buses as long as someone put me on the right one. RM said he would handle it, so we sped off again to the local bus stop . I was told which bus to go on, we chatted for a bit and when the bus pulled up, RM checked to make sure they would tell me where to get off and then we waved goodbye. Some people in India are awesome and a real lifesaver when you have no clue what you are doing :-)
So the bus was a 35-40 min experience as I spent the time standing and at points the bus was so jammed with people that they were standing in the stairwells. Luckily the bus man pointed me in the right direction and told me where to get off the bus and another local guy helped me get across the crazy lanes of traffic without being crushed like a bug.
And the Central Bus Stand I waited in a big queue for the bus to Ooty behind a woman with a baby who could not use words yet but shrieked every time I stopped looking at him and then giggled whenever I smiled at him. It didn't matter what direction his mum turned, he was determined to look at me and giggle and yell random baby nonsense. He was adorable
On the bus I sat next to the window for what should have only taken 3.5 hrs and really took 4.5 because of a car crash on the mountain roads. So we were going up switchbacks which, if any of my OACers are reading this, would remind someone of the switchbacks that go up the mountains out west and then everything stopped. The men jumped out because even in India, when there is something going on every man must stand and watch and offer commentary or else nothing can proceed properly. And I sat in the bus for around 30-45 min but I didn't care because I saw my very first monkeys in India and the mountain scenery was gorgeous! It looked like the smokey mountains only GREENER! And the monkeys had me riveted simply with their very existence, plus there were babies and the had wrinkled old man faces and it was awesome.
Eventually the bus started moving again, and we drove past a little car which had obviously ran itself into the mountain. It reminded me so much of our trip to the Grand Canyon this past spring when we saw the car crash on the winding mountain roads...but with no snow....and more Indian people
Eventually I got to Ooty and waited for Becca and Laura and we got ourselves a hotel with a TV and the option of having hot water brought up in a bucket, which is cool. And we have had the best time being together ever since.
Yesterday we spent most of the morning trying to figure out the most economical and ethical way to rent horses and go for a ride and arguing with the horse people about not wanting to ride tired or injured horses and eventually settled on going for a hour long ride around the lake.
My horse had an 8 month old foal who waited anxiously for her to come back and she was wonderful except for the fact that the boy who insisted on helping us find our way kept telling her to speed up. This is really irritating because it takes a bit to figure out how the horse responds best and get her really listening to your instructions and then just when you have her at a good pace and want to try a few things, all of a sudden she is listening to the boy and starting off at a trot that you did NOT instigate. A) it was kinda startling and I looked like an idiot because I was not prepared and B) I can do it myseeeeelllllfff!!!!
But other than that it was nice to have a ride round the lake and when we got back we bought the horses some carrots and played with the little foal who we named Ginger (after Becca who is a ginger too). Then we bought a 5 rupee pass to...the Boathouse. Which is like a sketchy old carnival kinda. Complete with old rides, a mirror maze, a haunted house, 3d movie and BUMPER CARS! We did indulge ourselves with this last one and has a surprisingly great time slamming into each other. We also bought some heavenly chocolate and have been eating since we bought it, yuuuummmy.
When we got back to the room we accidentally took a nap/ rest while watching the amazingly awful show called VIP which stars Pamela Anderson as a body guard kinda... so awful it was wonderful. Then it was late and we went to go get internet and got sidetracked when we found a travel agent who was open and booked our tickets (it takes 4 trains) to get to Hampi just in the nick of time. We will be taking the Toy Train which is supposed to be very relaxing and has a gorgeous view of the mountains. The total journey will start at 3:15pm on the 20th and we will reach Hampi 4 trains later at 7am on the 22nd after spending 10 hrs in Bangelore the day before. Then we went to finally find some food while singing Disney songs in loud voices most of the way. It is great to be with the girls again haha!
Today we didn't do much, it has taken a long time to find the internet cafe and we find ourselves enjoying the chance to be lazy and enjoying the cool weather. It is actually COLD in Ooty, I bought a jacket and have been wearing long pants and socks. Plus it is freezing at night and we refuse to move in our little blanket cocoons because when you do you have to warm the whole area up again. It is quite chilly and feels like fall at home.
Tomorrow we want to go to Mudamulai sanctuary and take a jeep tour. We could spend 800 rupees to do an hour long elephant safari but we can still see wild elephants in the jeep which is cheaper, can go farther faster, and really the only downside to the jeep is that we won't see tigers. Which we had a very low chance of seeing anyways. While we are in Bangelore we are going to take an hour long bus ride to a sanctuary where they rehabilitate lions, tigers, sloth bears, etc...from zoos and circuses and other bad situations so that should be way cool!
So I will for sure be seeing Hampi and if I have time, maybe somewhere else, but it will take me a bit to get back to Cochin before I leave so we will see until then I am off to explore Ooty which is a very Indian touristy place, have not seen many Westerners, but the Indian tourists are all over!
And hey look, it wasn't that long and I hit the main bits!
So when I last left you I was gearing up for my train ride/bus ride to Ooty!
The train ride was a bit hellish because my stomach was still being irksome but I finished my book on Antony and Cleopatra and started a John Grisham book so all was not lost. Then when I was about to get off the train, which is scary because they don't announce the stops so around the time you think you should be getting there you are frantically staring out the window so you don't miss the sign for the station, I had decided to leave Antony and Cleo behind because it cost me all of $3 and I didn't want to carry it because I already had 4 more books in my backpack :-) A lady across from me helpfully told me I had forgotten my book and I said "oh no no I finished it and it's too heavy to carry"
"So you are going to leave it?"
"Yea I have too many others and it is too heavy"
"You really don't want it? Are you sure?"
"Yea yea I'm sure, do you want it?"
"Only if you are really sure"
"Go for it!"
"THANK YOU!" Big smile from random lady. I felt very helpful even though I wasn't leaving the book behind to be helpful, it still made my day that it made her so happy.
Then I had to find my way to the Central Bus Stand. I had no clue where it was. I had my guidebook and knew it was too far to walk. So I asked random man where I could get a rickshaw. Random Man (henceforth to be known as RM) said he would take me and sped off at a rapid pace through the very dirty and confusing streets of Coimbature, a city which I can spell but not pronounce. RM then found me a rickshaw and asked for a price: 100 rupees! What? I think I actually said "Hell no!" because it was more then twice the actual fare! Damn foreigner prices. Not to worry though, RM asked if I was willing to take a local bus? I have no problem with buses as long as someone put me on the right one. RM said he would handle it, so we sped off again to the local bus stop . I was told which bus to go on, we chatted for a bit and when the bus pulled up, RM checked to make sure they would tell me where to get off and then we waved goodbye. Some people in India are awesome and a real lifesaver when you have no clue what you are doing :-)
So the bus was a 35-40 min experience as I spent the time standing and at points the bus was so jammed with people that they were standing in the stairwells. Luckily the bus man pointed me in the right direction and told me where to get off the bus and another local guy helped me get across the crazy lanes of traffic without being crushed like a bug.
And the Central Bus Stand I waited in a big queue for the bus to Ooty behind a woman with a baby who could not use words yet but shrieked every time I stopped looking at him and then giggled whenever I smiled at him. It didn't matter what direction his mum turned, he was determined to look at me and giggle and yell random baby nonsense. He was adorable
On the bus I sat next to the window for what should have only taken 3.5 hrs and really took 4.5 because of a car crash on the mountain roads. So we were going up switchbacks which, if any of my OACers are reading this, would remind someone of the switchbacks that go up the mountains out west and then everything stopped. The men jumped out because even in India, when there is something going on every man must stand and watch and offer commentary or else nothing can proceed properly. And I sat in the bus for around 30-45 min but I didn't care because I saw my very first monkeys in India and the mountain scenery was gorgeous! It looked like the smokey mountains only GREENER! And the monkeys had me riveted simply with their very existence, plus there were babies and the had wrinkled old man faces and it was awesome.
Eventually the bus started moving again, and we drove past a little car which had obviously ran itself into the mountain. It reminded me so much of our trip to the Grand Canyon this past spring when we saw the car crash on the winding mountain roads...but with no snow....and more Indian people
Eventually I got to Ooty and waited for Becca and Laura and we got ourselves a hotel with a TV and the option of having hot water brought up in a bucket, which is cool. And we have had the best time being together ever since.
Yesterday we spent most of the morning trying to figure out the most economical and ethical way to rent horses and go for a ride and arguing with the horse people about not wanting to ride tired or injured horses and eventually settled on going for a hour long ride around the lake.
My horse had an 8 month old foal who waited anxiously for her to come back and she was wonderful except for the fact that the boy who insisted on helping us find our way kept telling her to speed up. This is really irritating because it takes a bit to figure out how the horse responds best and get her really listening to your instructions and then just when you have her at a good pace and want to try a few things, all of a sudden she is listening to the boy and starting off at a trot that you did NOT instigate. A) it was kinda startling and I looked like an idiot because I was not prepared and B) I can do it myseeeeelllllfff!!!!
But other than that it was nice to have a ride round the lake and when we got back we bought the horses some carrots and played with the little foal who we named Ginger (after Becca who is a ginger too). Then we bought a 5 rupee pass to...the Boathouse. Which is like a sketchy old carnival kinda. Complete with old rides, a mirror maze, a haunted house, 3d movie and BUMPER CARS! We did indulge ourselves with this last one and has a surprisingly great time slamming into each other. We also bought some heavenly chocolate and have been eating since we bought it, yuuuummmy.
When we got back to the room we accidentally took a nap/ rest while watching the amazingly awful show called VIP which stars Pamela Anderson as a body guard kinda... so awful it was wonderful. Then it was late and we went to go get internet and got sidetracked when we found a travel agent who was open and booked our tickets (it takes 4 trains) to get to Hampi just in the nick of time. We will be taking the Toy Train which is supposed to be very relaxing and has a gorgeous view of the mountains. The total journey will start at 3:15pm on the 20th and we will reach Hampi 4 trains later at 7am on the 22nd after spending 10 hrs in Bangelore the day before. Then we went to finally find some food while singing Disney songs in loud voices most of the way. It is great to be with the girls again haha!
Today we didn't do much, it has taken a long time to find the internet cafe and we find ourselves enjoying the chance to be lazy and enjoying the cool weather. It is actually COLD in Ooty, I bought a jacket and have been wearing long pants and socks. Plus it is freezing at night and we refuse to move in our little blanket cocoons because when you do you have to warm the whole area up again. It is quite chilly and feels like fall at home.
Tomorrow we want to go to Mudamulai sanctuary and take a jeep tour. We could spend 800 rupees to do an hour long elephant safari but we can still see wild elephants in the jeep which is cheaper, can go farther faster, and really the only downside to the jeep is that we won't see tigers. Which we had a very low chance of seeing anyways. While we are in Bangelore we are going to take an hour long bus ride to a sanctuary where they rehabilitate lions, tigers, sloth bears, etc...from zoos and circuses and other bad situations so that should be way cool!
So I will for sure be seeing Hampi and if I have time, maybe somewhere else, but it will take me a bit to get back to Cochin before I leave so we will see until then I am off to explore Ooty which is a very Indian touristy place, have not seen many Westerners, but the Indian tourists are all over!
And hey look, it wasn't that long and I hit the main bits!
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