Well, after a night ride on a very local type bus we are at the tip of India, with a fabulous hotel room with a balcony that looks out on the ocean, palm trees, beach and local fishermen. For around $25 / night. Claire described the bus like the Night Bus in the Harry Potter movie and there is truth to that. We were lucky to get a seat, but
separating women from men in India came in our favor last night. Our seats had a little painted sign that said Ladies Only. It was the closest we came to seeming like we were in danger, but people were nice throughout the events. The electricity was off at the "bus stop". A term I use very loosely. Luckily the fruit stand man kept an eye on us to be sure we jumped on the correct bus. I wish I could give you a taste for the contrast of last night and today, night and day does not do it justice. So far we have ridden two very old buses, a train in both luxury and sleeper class,
tuk tuk's too numerous to mention which are a type of auto rickshaw though I would liken it to a scooter with seats in the back covered with thin metal, Bicycle rickshaw, taxi, and airplane. Everyone would like more money since our faces are white, so Claire and me to a lesser degree are becoming excellent hagglers. She is a good teacher. I feel like everything is a blur so I am not telling you the stories in context. I am sure my brother Stan would have tips for me. (OH, Ellen, Hindi is the most spoken language in India!) I think I have monkey brain, which means I am jumping from one place to another in my thoughts. So to sum up:
- I feel great and have had no ill effects from the food or water, though I am VERY careful to not ingest any water, even in the shower or brushing my teeth.
- India is not to be described. It is experiential. Like the oldest market areas of NYC times 12. Smells, driving where you honk and go, which means no quiet in the cities, SO many people, colorful, and assault on the senses.
- India has several social issues, begging which is a self perpetuating system and trash. They have no idea what to do with the trash and apparently have no landfill system, so everyone on the train ( and elsewhere) just throw the trash out the window. I cannot believe that they do not see it, but it seems that they don't. Beggars are everywhere and it seems that everyone in India would like you to pay them some money, which I think I mentioned in my last blog.
- Claire and I are laughing every day, with the kind of laughs where you cannot breathe. That is good therapy for what ails you. In all the wildness, we are having a great time.
I hope you are all doing well, though I know that it is so cold in Des Moines. Hi to everyone at Passageway and thanks for keeping things running so I can take this amazing vacation. All our love to family and friends. I will try to post a few photos tomorrow. It takes quite a while and there is a beach that is calling. I have not read any responses to the blog, but will do so now. Thanks for reading.
I thought Chinese buses and subways were wild, simply because you didn't have one silly millimeter of personal space between you and the strangers pressed into you on all sides. And you had to move super quickly in and out of all public transportation. But everything was super clean, fast, and definitely not Harry Potter-esque : ) Mitch told me about a bus ride in Mexico where there were no windows and very little roof, it was raining, and at one point they had to jump out - all the men and boys - and push the bus to get it unstuck from the mud. He said by the time they arrived they were all soaked and filthy. I know he was stunned by that welcome to his first foreign country.
ReplyDeleteI'm so glad you girls are having those laughs. It makes me smile to think about you there together!