Since I am traveling in India and southeast Asia for the next six months I will not be able to post with the same regularity that many of you have come to expect from the Property appraisers. However, my goal is to post once every week or two with stories from my travels. If possible I will try to include pictures but it will probably be mostly written since I didn't bring my laptop. Justin and I have been in India about a week. I got lucky on my departure out of Toronto and what should have been a hellish three days, via America, turned into a dreamy (still drunken) New Years Day departure straight outta Toronto. I got to London and met Justin and then he and I spent one awful, cold night at Heathrow before boarding an Air India flight to Mumbai and then Bangalore. We made the smart impulse decision to bring/take our Air India blankets with us and have used them every night since. Apparently blankets are not part of the budget hotel experience here. Not that you really need them since it is 30 degrees C in the middle of the night. We spent two days exploring Bangalore and found the city to be confusing but beautifully green and lush. There are several large parks and the LalBagh Botanical gardens which we really enjoyed. While in town we also partook in a session of Ayurvedic massage, which is just glorified rubbing whilst naked. Although, having two people rub you all over ain't something I would ever complain about. It was a bit arresting to arrive at the spa, smack dab in the middle of Bangalore and be greeted by a cow. But we are getting used it.
Highlights of Bangalore
delicious sugary coffee at the vegetarian restaurant across from our budget lodge
Ayurvedic massage
Queen's Restaurant on Church street (nice toronto reference)
the nice travel agent who helped Justin and I book almost all of our India travel plans
Lowlights of Bangalore
getting horribly lost on the way to Cubbon Park
MTR a well known and can't be missed restaurant being closed on Mondays (the only day we could go)
arriving at our originally planned Ayurvedic massage destination only to learn it has since moved to Mysore
Next up we left Bangalore early Tuesday morning to head for Thiruvannamalia - don't bother trying to pronounce it, we didn't - which is a very holy temple town in Tamil Nadu one of the south eastern provinces if India. Although the guide book suggests visiting Thiruvannamalia as a day trip we decided we'd like to stay two night, because we hoped to practice some yoga and hike Mt. Arunachala, in what many whities rave is their favourite place in India. Unfortunately Justin and I would not agree. Although we did end up liking the hotel we stayed in on the outskirts of town we found this temple town to be so frantic and overwhelming that only ended us staying one night.
It started with what we have since dubbed the worst meal in India so far before heading to the Temple itself. You are not allowed to wear your shoes inside the temple walls which is fine but on our way in we were conned into believing you had to wear flower wreaths around your neck which cost us 50Rs, only to find that we were the only ones wearing them once we got inside. Opps, oh well, thankfully 50Rs or Rupees is only about 1 dollar so not a big loss. The Temple is absolutely phenomenal but it struck me as a big tourist trap with "priests" trying to get you to "donate" at every corner. Also there was an elephant on display who blesses you for 5 Rs, his big watering eyes made me sad, and reminded me of Water for Elephants. We later learned, from an Indian who had grown up in Thriuv that if you feed an Elephant rotten mangoes they charge, which he had seen once and he assured us that you really don't know an elephant until it is barreling down on you at top speed. I am not sorry we missed that.
We did get to go through the inner sanctum of the temple with a guide, usually whities are not allowed in but if you are with a local it is ok. Of course after he had led us through he wanted us to pay him 500Rs. I knew it was coming but I think it was somewhat of a shock to Justin who tends to always want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I was feeling irritable and so I flat out refused, which looking back was not very kind of me since we would not have even been allowed in without him.
After we left the Temple we tried to make our way back to the Ashram part of town (read - where all the kooky white people hang out) but I began to feel that familiar feeling in my stomach that told me now was not the time to get lost/stray far from a toilet. In addition to having an unsettled stomach we found the streets surrounding the Temple so thoroughly chaotic and overwhelming that we got into a rikshaw and went to the Ashram of Sri Ramana - some dude who lived in a cave and therefore has thousands of devotees, mostly whities who would never dream of living in a cave, but like to come meditate at the beautiful ashram built in his honor. Justin wanted to inquire about yoga at the Ashram so I took my leave as gracefully as possible and made a beeline for the bathroom (read - indoor ditch.) What happened next was so violent and unpleasant that I will not give you any specifics but it was definitely not graceful. Of course after I had finished I realized I only had a meager scrap of tp and some small receipts from various expenditures. Indians use a hand/hose system for cleaning oneself but my vanity had not really allowed me to go that far until this moment. Anyway, that is enough of that i think you get the picture.
After my stomach had settled enough for me to feel comfortable being more than ten feet from the toilet I went to find Justin and inform him that I didn't think yoga would be a good idea for me or the people around me and we set off for the hotel. We got there just in the nick of time before round two of Montezuma's revenge struck me. I took some Imodium and lay down awhile and gratefully my stomach began to settle enough so that I could join Justin for dinner at another hotel a bit further down the road. We had a quiet, simple meal, soup for me, and returned early to the hotel for bed.
The next morning after a surprisingly restful night we woke early with the hope of climbing the Mountain, which is supposed to afford great views of the Temple from above. After a quick Indian breakfast (read - doesn't anyone eat eggs around here?) we made our way towards town. We stopped at a chai stand where some kooky looking long-haired Germans, who looked like they had been here a while were sat, so we joined them hoping for some tea and a chat about how to get to the base of the mountain. However, when I mentioned hiking up the mountain they gave a look of such horror and shock as to deter even Sir Hilary from such an undertaking. Instead suggesting that we walk around the base of the mountain if we were so inclined. As we were chatting I felt a large bug begin to descend down my back and jumped up with such force that I broke my tea cup and spilled hot tea all over my pristine white outfit. It was while I was recovering from the shock that Justin leaned in and said,
"would you like to leave for Pondicherry today?"...
highlights of Thiruvannamalia
temple hotel on the outskirts of town
the Temple's architecture and general splendor
Manna breakfast (we did actually find some eggs and oatmeal, I guess those white people were good for something)
Janine the French woman we met on the bus who helped us into town and gave us the lowdown - "Thiruvannamalia is like a guru shopping mall." We had actually dubbed her French Jean before we even met her, she was that cool.
Getting out of town
lowlights
see above
We arrived in Pondicherry late that afternoon and right away we could tell this place was going to be a much better fit for us. Maybe it was because of the sea or maybe it was that one of the local ashrams gives free yoga everyday at 6:30 pm. Stay tuned....
Highlights of Bangalore
delicious sugary coffee at the vegetarian restaurant across from our budget lodge
Ayurvedic massage
Queen's Restaurant on Church street (nice toronto reference)
the nice travel agent who helped Justin and I book almost all of our India travel plans
Lowlights of Bangalore
getting horribly lost on the way to Cubbon Park
MTR a well known and can't be missed restaurant being closed on Mondays (the only day we could go)
arriving at our originally planned Ayurvedic massage destination only to learn it has since moved to Mysore
Next up we left Bangalore early Tuesday morning to head for Thiruvannamalia - don't bother trying to pronounce it, we didn't - which is a very holy temple town in Tamil Nadu one of the south eastern provinces if India. Although the guide book suggests visiting Thiruvannamalia as a day trip we decided we'd like to stay two night, because we hoped to practice some yoga and hike Mt. Arunachala, in what many whities rave is their favourite place in India. Unfortunately Justin and I would not agree. Although we did end up liking the hotel we stayed in on the outskirts of town we found this temple town to be so frantic and overwhelming that only ended us staying one night.
It started with what we have since dubbed the worst meal in India so far before heading to the Temple itself. You are not allowed to wear your shoes inside the temple walls which is fine but on our way in we were conned into believing you had to wear flower wreaths around your neck which cost us 50Rs, only to find that we were the only ones wearing them once we got inside. Opps, oh well, thankfully 50Rs or Rupees is only about 1 dollar so not a big loss. The Temple is absolutely phenomenal but it struck me as a big tourist trap with "priests" trying to get you to "donate" at every corner. Also there was an elephant on display who blesses you for 5 Rs, his big watering eyes made me sad, and reminded me of Water for Elephants. We later learned, from an Indian who had grown up in Thriuv that if you feed an Elephant rotten mangoes they charge, which he had seen once and he assured us that you really don't know an elephant until it is barreling down on you at top speed. I am not sorry we missed that.
We did get to go through the inner sanctum of the temple with a guide, usually whities are not allowed in but if you are with a local it is ok. Of course after he had led us through he wanted us to pay him 500Rs. I knew it was coming but I think it was somewhat of a shock to Justin who tends to always want to give people the benefit of the doubt. I was feeling irritable and so I flat out refused, which looking back was not very kind of me since we would not have even been allowed in without him.
After we left the Temple we tried to make our way back to the Ashram part of town (read - where all the kooky white people hang out) but I began to feel that familiar feeling in my stomach that told me now was not the time to get lost/stray far from a toilet. In addition to having an unsettled stomach we found the streets surrounding the Temple so thoroughly chaotic and overwhelming that we got into a rikshaw and went to the Ashram of Sri Ramana - some dude who lived in a cave and therefore has thousands of devotees, mostly whities who would never dream of living in a cave, but like to come meditate at the beautiful ashram built in his honor. Justin wanted to inquire about yoga at the Ashram so I took my leave as gracefully as possible and made a beeline for the bathroom (read - indoor ditch.) What happened next was so violent and unpleasant that I will not give you any specifics but it was definitely not graceful. Of course after I had finished I realized I only had a meager scrap of tp and some small receipts from various expenditures. Indians use a hand/hose system for cleaning oneself but my vanity had not really allowed me to go that far until this moment. Anyway, that is enough of that i think you get the picture.
After my stomach had settled enough for me to feel comfortable being more than ten feet from the toilet I went to find Justin and inform him that I didn't think yoga would be a good idea for me or the people around me and we set off for the hotel. We got there just in the nick of time before round two of Montezuma's revenge struck me. I took some Imodium and lay down awhile and gratefully my stomach began to settle enough so that I could join Justin for dinner at another hotel a bit further down the road. We had a quiet, simple meal, soup for me, and returned early to the hotel for bed.
The next morning after a surprisingly restful night we woke early with the hope of climbing the Mountain, which is supposed to afford great views of the Temple from above. After a quick Indian breakfast (read - doesn't anyone eat eggs around here?) we made our way towards town. We stopped at a chai stand where some kooky looking long-haired Germans, who looked like they had been here a while were sat, so we joined them hoping for some tea and a chat about how to get to the base of the mountain. However, when I mentioned hiking up the mountain they gave a look of such horror and shock as to deter even Sir Hilary from such an undertaking. Instead suggesting that we walk around the base of the mountain if we were so inclined. As we were chatting I felt a large bug begin to descend down my back and jumped up with such force that I broke my tea cup and spilled hot tea all over my pristine white outfit. It was while I was recovering from the shock that Justin leaned in and said,
"would you like to leave for Pondicherry today?"...
highlights of Thiruvannamalia
temple hotel on the outskirts of town
the Temple's architecture and general splendor
Manna breakfast (we did actually find some eggs and oatmeal, I guess those white people were good for something)
Janine the French woman we met on the bus who helped us into town and gave us the lowdown - "Thiruvannamalia is like a guru shopping mall." We had actually dubbed her French Jean before we even met her, she was that cool.
Getting out of town
lowlights
see above
We arrived in Pondicherry late that afternoon and right away we could tell this place was going to be a much better fit for us. Maybe it was because of the sea or maybe it was that one of the local ashrams gives free yoga everyday at 6:30 pm. Stay tuned....
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