"Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever."
Mahatma Gandhi
On January 19, 2026, Melanie & I flew to the country of.......
India
Officially known as the Republic of India, it is home to one of the oldest civilizations in the world and is a mosaic of multicultural experiences. It's the world's 7th largest country, extending from the snow-covered Himalayan heights to the tropical rain forests of the south. India, is the world's most populous democracy with 1.3 billion people, (yes that's Billion with a 'B'). Given its immense size, for this trip, we restrict ourselves to four of the southern states.
Now I'm not going to say that India is for everyone, because it's not; there's way too many people and, in many places, way too much plastic garbage. However, if you're up for a great adventure, amazing food, unbelievable culture and awesome sites, sites and more sites, then this country is definitely one to consider. As an added bonus, they almost all speak english, albeit with a really strong accent!
Before we go any further I want to answer a question that was once put to me: Why do we go to so many UNESCO World Heritage sites? Two reasons: (#1) Why not?, and (#2) they offer a chance to experience the world's most significant cultural and natural treasures, all deemed to have "outstanding universal value to humanity". There are only 1,200+ sites worldwide - ranging from ancient ruins to biodiversity hotspots. For example; Canada only has a total of 20 sites whereas India has 44 sites, so it is inevitable that we end up at some.
With our intent on escaping the great Canadian winter, we first head to the smallest of India's 26 states, the former Portuguese colony of.......
Goa State
The Portuguese arrived in Goa in 1510, lured by the exotic East and the promise of lucrative spice routes, before being booted out in 1961. Their indelible mark is still evident in the state’s baroque architecture, crumbling forts, and the stunning cathedrals of Old Goa.
India's pocket-sized paradise, Goa is a kaleidoscopic blend of Indian and Portuguese cultures, however its biggest draw is undoubtedly its virtually uninterrupted string of golden-sand beaches. This coastline stretches along the Arabian Sea from the tip to the toe of the state, and each beach community has developed its own personality and reputation since the hippie days of the '60s.
We fly into Mumbai and catch an early morning flight to the capital of Goa......
Panaji
Located in north Goa on the banks of the Mondovi River, this city has streets lined with colourful villas and buildings from the Portuguese colonial era. The Portuguese language is still spoken, but English now dominates.
We're in Panaji for four days and we plan on packing a lot into our time there. First up, is to explore the capital city.....
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| The Portuguese fashioned their oversea colonies within their own image, including a 7km long riverside promenade similar to the one in Lisbon. We walked it every night when the temperatures waned....gotta get our 10,000 steps in and close that ring!! |
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| A large statute on the promenade of the 6th reincarnation of Lord Vishnu looks out at the casino ships moored in the river (there's total of six of them off-shore catering to the large Russian influx of draft-dodgers). |
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| Everywhere are reminders of past glories, including abandoned Portuguese villas. |
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| The 'Our Lady of the Immaculate Conception Church', built in 1541 with its zigzag set of steps, still conduct daily services in Portuguese. |
The next day we head for the UNESCO World Heritage district of Foutainhas. One of the oldest Latin Quarters in Asia, this area features narrow streets lined with colourful, brightly-painted Portuguese-style homes, complete with the famous azulejos (blue ceramic tiles).
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| If it wasn't for the Indian people, you wouldn't know but you were in a neighbourhood of Lisbon. |
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| You can practically smell the baccalieu cooking (mixed with an healthy dose of curry) as you walk around this place. |
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| The Fountainhas, with its German sounding name, is an Instagram Glamour Girl picture-taking paradise, so much so, that the local residents posted signs such as: "No Instagram Pictures - violators will be shot, survivors will be shot again." |
We weren't done with the Portuguese influence on this part of India. We rented eBikes and headed for the old Goan capital, aptly known as Velha Goa (Old Goa) which is an UNESCO World Heritage site. Within the Velha Goa there are 9 massive 16th century churches of which three also have UNESCO designations (one of the highest concentration of such designated places in the world). The city was abandoned in 1843 due to the plague and now ONLY the massive stone churches remain!
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| The Viceroy Arch, built in 1599, is the entrance to the old city and pretty much all that remains of the 21km stone wall that once existed. |
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| The first church we visit is St. Cajetan, built in 1661 and modelled after St. Peter's Basilica in Vatican City. An impressive structure with an even more impressive dome. Apparently, it is now used to train up-and-coming priest....who knew!?!? |
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| Literally across the street from St. Cajetan, stands the UNESCO designated Se Cathedral, once known as Asia's largest church. In 1776 lightning struck one of the two bell towers causing it to collapse - it was never rebuilt fearing it was God's will. |
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| The UNESCO designated Church of St. Francis Assisi, built in 1661, is situated right behind the Se Cathedral. It is so odd to see this abandoned city with all these massive churches and nothing....absolutely nothing else there! |
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| And finally, the grand-daddy of them all......the UNESCO designated Basilica of Bom Jesus constructed in 1594. It's famous because it holds the remains of St. Francis Xavier (minus one arm that is apparently held in Rome and which, periodically, the Vatican sends on tour). You may recognize the name; there is a university in Nova Scotia named after him, along with several schools plus a town in Manitoba. |
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| We were starting to get "churched out" so our last stop was to what was once a church but alas is now a church no more. The ruins of the Church of St. Augustine, completed in 1602, but total rubble by 1846. |
We enjoyed our eBike trip so much that we booked another day of it, this time we took a ferry to Divar Island, located in the Mandovi River. It is a serene, offbeat destination known for its lush landscapes and is light years away from the hustle-n-bustle of other parts of India. Perfect!!
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| The ferry to the island, probably not up to Canadian code, but it gets you to the other side. Good thing as the river is crocodile infested. |
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| Melanie derailed her bike chain right in front of a Rangoli road painting, which is a traditional art form that is supposed to usher in good luck and ward off negative energy.....which contradicts her losing her chain right at this spot. Bad karma....way to go Mel!!! |
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| St. Cajetan poking above the trees across the river with its impressive dome. |
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| The Indian newlyweds getting that all important photo on a decrepit ferry with the foreign-white-biker-girl in the background! I don't see a pattern here yet, but it'll become obvious later!! |
We had run the gamut of Portuguese influence on this part of India and it was time to move on. We head to south Goa and beach country at the village of.....
Palolem
Located on a picturesque 1.5km crescent-shaped beach known for the white sand, calm, warm shallow waters and apparently, a vibrant nightlife. However we came for none of that, even though we were only a three minute walk from the beach we only went there for a couple of strolls and supper. We're not much into lying around on beach loungers slowly stewing in our own juices, but we love frolicking in the waves, snorkelling and drinking cold happy hour umbrella drinks, but alas we never made it there for this either.....next time!
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| As many of our friends back in North America struggle through one of the worse winters since Snowmageddon, you're probably saying: 'what do you mean you didn't go there for the beach. That's just crazy talk!!'. |
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| If we were into lying around on beach loungers slowly stewing in our own juices, this would be a pretty good place to do it. Cheapy cheapy drinks and awesome food. |
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We did come down to the beach for supper a couple of times and surely that counts as being 'beach bums' Right??? RIGHT???? RIGHT????
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So why did we come to Palolem Beach if not for the beach culture you ask? Good question! In a word.....yoga. Yes you heard right, we came here for yoga. Both of us practice yoga and wanted to do some lessons, so why not come to the birthplace of this discipline and better still why not at a beach town?
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| Our yoga instructor, Swami Shivanand Jee, demystifying eternal happiness (and I thought weed did that)! |
And now I want to talk about religion: India is home to innumerable religious minorities, but Hinduism is bye-n-far the largest religious group. Basically, every Hindu believes in reincarnation and the life-form you next reincarnate to is based on how you live this lifetime. There's eleven reincarnation cycles before reaching liberation and the human form is only one of those cycles - the other life forms are considered 'sacred' animals, such as the elephant, monkey, tiger, etc etc., but the cow (yes the cow) is considered the most sacred of the lot, which is why they wander around the country like they own it. After all, that cow strolling down the road could be Uncle Ravi's 2nd cousin thrice removed. Now it's not for me to say, but I would have picked an animal that was a little closer to the foodchain apex than the cow, like maybe a tiger? Regardless, cow it is and so be it!
So it is with great pleasure that I introduce my take on some of the funny situations we found with these sacred animals. I call it the Sacred Cow and Udder Critters!!
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| Yoga Swami: "Today students we have a special guest, Swami Moo Moo, who will demonstrate the Downward Cow Pose. He's here now.....please come in Swami Moo Moo". |
With our time in Goa done with, we head for the next state......
Karnataka State
The sixth largest state in India it is famous for its wildlife, heritage, temples and monuments. Situated in the embrace of the Western Ghats (fancy name for mountains) and stretching all the way to the Arabian Sea, Karnataka beckons with a symphony of landscapes, cultures and history. The biggest problem with this state is it's BIG.
We take a long (very long) seven hour taxi ride to our next destination, the town of......
Badami
The cradle of rock cut grandeur, this place is set amid dramatic red sandstone cliffs, where architecture, landscape, and faith are carved into stone with cave temples, ancient fortifications and a serene holy lake. Given the long journey to get here, most foreigners forego this interesting town for places that are closer to their original departure point.
We are here for two full days and that's definitely not enough, so we forego our original planned daytrips to other towns and concentrate solely on Badami. First up is to visit the Cave Temples.
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| The four cave temples were carved into the rock cliffs during the 8th century. It takes a small amount of effort to walk up to them, but well worth it! |
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| Looking out from one of the temples at Agastya Lake and the surrounding countryside. |
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| Inside the inner chamber of one of the cave temples and Melanie posing once again with another Indian, I'm definitely thinking there's a pattern happening here! |
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| The temples are full of these intricate carvings (including the x-rated ones)!! |
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And now I'm starting to see the pattern - in a country where everyone is dark skin, with dark eyes, dark hair, very limited exposure to western culture and practically not another foreigner to be seen; suddenly along comes a person with fair skin, blue eyes and blonde hair, it can only mean one thing: Movie Star. Me....I'm chop-liver, but Melanie.....well that's a different story. They would ask, "you take selfie photo", and originally we were thinking they wanted us to take a selfie of them, but nope, they wanted a selfie with Melanie.....a star is born!!!
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| Devotee's cleanse themselves in Agastya Lake, while others do their laundry. A multi-purpose holy lake!! |
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| This manmade lake was built around the 5th which is about the same time that nothing was being built in North America - this civilization has been around for a very long time. |
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| Bhutanatha Temple at the far end of the lake. Too far for most to go which can only mean one thing - we had the place to ourselves!! |
Perched atop the cliffs is Badami Fort, which offers panoramic views of the town and surrounding landscape. To get to it requires a bit of a climb that passes ancient structures and temples! All good as the reward is a dramatic perspective of the town!
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| It's not a scramble over a bad trail, rather it's a well paved one, but we are quickly learning that most Indian people are not interested in putting any real effort into getting to out-of-the-way sites. So once again we were here by ourselves.....bonus!!! |
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| The top of the hills are littered with many fortifications and other structures, such as this.....whatever this is!?!? |
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| The fort spans this hill and the one above the cave temples (over yonder). Like the lake below, this fort was constructed during the 5th century. |
Once again we are on the move, this time to the #4 top tourist site in India (as rated by the Indian Government), the UNESCO World Heritage town of........
Hampi
As a ruined city, Hampi spans over 41 sq.km. (one of the largest religious sites in the world), containing over 1,600 monuments, temples, palaces and markets. In fact, during the 15th & 16th century it was one of the largest cities in the world (true story). I, personally liken it to Angkor Wat in Cambodia (the world's largest religious site).
It's a 3 hour taxi ride from Badami to Hampi and we only have 2 full days to explore. The only way to see a site this size is to hit the ground running....but first its time for Sacred Cows & Udder Critters!!
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| Bessie the Cow: "Oh look! Someone left me a dish of food, with an amble sprinkling of my fav, marigold flowers!" |
And now back to Hampi.....
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| The first thing you notice about Hampi is the massive boulder landscape that seems to go on and on and on! It was probably the deciding factor for building the city here in the first place.....lot's of raw building materials for the temples. |
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| Hampi's Virupaksha Temple, in existence since the 7th century, was getting ready for the Hampi Utsav Festival, which was starting the day we left. I would have like to have seen the three day festival but with nearly 600,000 people converging on a village of 2,700 people it meant every nook, crack and cranny would be filled with people and cows. |
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| This massive chariot (you'll note the parked car near the rear wheel) is apparently pushed and pulled down the temple bazaar (street) during the Hampi Ustav Festival. It wasn't there the day we arrived, where it came from and how it got there is a mystery to us as it would have taken a great deal of effort to move the thing. |
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| Interconnecting many of the temples and complexes are many kilometres of covered stone walkways (known as bazaars) which were designed to provide shade for the citizens as they moved from one location to the next...... |
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| ..... they were able to build these structures 500 years ago with primitive tools and technology, whereas these days you'd be laughed right out of the council chamber for even suggesting they put sidewalks on many municipal streets. Things that make you go hmmmmm? |
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| Mel at the sprawling Vitthala Temple complex, a UNESCO World Heritage site within a UNESCO World Heritage site. Oddly, this is the only place that we had to pay to see while in Hampi. |
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| Hampi's most famous of the famous, one of only three stone chariots in India (the wheels actually turn, although you'd need a herd of elephants to pull the thing)....... |
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| .......the picture of the chariot appears on the 50 rupee note. And if you're interested, the 50 rupee note is valued at a whopping $0.75 Cdn., enough to buy a bottle of beer at the local store, if you were able to find a local store selling bottles of beer! |
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| The lavishly adorned Queens Bath (minus any water), it was thought to have served as a royal pleasure complex.......similar to a modern-day hot tub. |
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| The Royal Enclosure (or at least what's left of it). I climbed up one of the pyramid structures, which oddly, you're still allowed to do and took this picture of Melanie directly in front of me....down there. |
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| Another temple with a name that has 30 syllables and is completely unpronounceable. |
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| The Royal Elephant stables because even a King needs a place to park his elephants. |
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| The Lotus Mahal (not to be confused with the Taj Mahal) is aptly named for its striking resemblance to the unfurling petals of a lotus bud (I read that)..... |
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| ... built in the 15th century for the King's Queen, it was probably the first air-conditioned residence ever constructed, as it had an innovative design which featured a rooftop water tank and a network of water pipes integrated into the beams and columns which ensured a cooling effect no matter how hot it got outside. |
Melanie was feeling somewhat under the weather and I was not feeling somewhat under the weather, so after a $2.00 visit to a doctor (doctor prices are a tad on the cheap side here), it was decided that I would go it alone while she rested up. My mission was to climb Matango Hill, which is the highest point in the area.
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| To get to the starting point of the climb, I followed a dusty boulder-strewed trail that lead to a temple complex that was not on the normal temple complex tourist trail. There was only one caretaker (in the picture) and a couple of scraggy sleepy flea-infested dogs and absolutely no other living being. The temple was in mint condition, probably because no else took the effort to get there or, like me, they didn't know it was there....... |
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| .....part way up my climb and a look back at the unknown temple complex. |
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| It wasn't a challenging hike but it was definitely an interesting one scrambling up among the massive boulders! |
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A bird's eye view of Hampi Bazaar!
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"Sometimes the light's all shinin' on me
Other times I can barely see
Lately it occurs to me
What a long, strange trip it's been."
Truckin' Grateful Dead Keep on truckin' guys!! |
With our time in Hampi done we head for our next destination, but given that it was over eight hours by taxi away, we stopped for a break in the mega city of Bangalore; long enough to check out a micro-brewery for a night.
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| Finally, a delicious cold beer....the key words being 'delicious', 'cold' and 'beer'! |
After a short break in Bangalore we head to the enchanting city of......
Mysore
The capital of the Kingdom of Mysore from 1399 to 1947, the city is famed for its glittering royal heritage and its UNESCO World Heritage palace which is the second-most-visited sight in India (after the Taj Mahal) and considered among the very grandest of India's royal buildings.
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| The British had a lot of influence in Mysore and that influence can still be seen throughout the city. |
Mysore's Devaraja market, one of India's largest, where you can get anything you want except Alice's Restaurant.....
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| We were actually allowed to go into inner sanctions of this Hindu Temple (a rarity for non-Hindus). Now we all heard of stories of deadly crowd surges that occurred at Hindu temples and festivals in India, resulting in dozens of deaths.....same same almost here. We got caught in the surge and couldn't freely move, just pulled along with everyone else and hoping for the best - if we fell most people would have walked right over us thinking we were merely a speed-bump. We felt lucky to get out alive....true story. Won't do that again! |
Our final time in Mysore, we went to see the Royal Palace - a place that is often compared to England's Buckingham Palace in terms of its expanse and grandeur.
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| The palace is without a doubt both expansive and grand - somewhat how I expect royalty to live! |
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| The king was in residence when we were there, albeit in a snuff box. Hindu's cremate their dead and there was a room full of the cremated royal family stack on top of each other! In the end we all return to dust no matter how lavish we live when alive. |
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| The king had his own temple, after all doesn't every king have a temple? |
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The inside of the palace is also very lavish. Lot's of gold leaf everywhere.....a certain president (not mentioning the pedophile's name) would find it perfect for a lavish ballroom.
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| Apparently, when the palace was built in 1897, it costed a whopping $60,000 Cdn. I believe my bathroom reno's costed about the same. |
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| An inner courtyard with two statutes of the palace tomcats. |
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| Noooooo not Jumbo. |
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| The Selfie Miesters trying to find the royal shitter. The curry has a way of flowing quickly through the piping system.....if you know what I mean!! |
With our time in Karnataka state done, we arrange for transportation to take us to the next state on our list......
Tamil Nadu State
The most southern state in India, it is the 10th largest in size with sixth largest population. It is home of the Tamil people and that makes the Tamil language the official language of the state, one of the oldest living languages in the world, being spoken for over 3,000 years. Known as the Land of Temples, and for good reason, here history isn't tucked behind museum glass but carved into stone and etched onto temple walls. It is a very religious and very traditional state.
But first we interrupt our regularly scheduled programming to bring you Sacred Cows and Udder Critters: India has 23 species of primates with the next few pictures capturing four of them for your viewing pleasure.....
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| The Hanuman Langur (commonly called black-faced langur) is highly social, leaf-eating primate that travels in groups called 'Troops'. They are considered sacred and will leave you alone if you leave them alone...... |
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| .....the Nilgiri Langur, like its cousin above, is a highly social, leaf-eating primate that also travels in groups called 'Troops'. They are generally shy around us humans and for good reason, a certain group of people (not mentioning who - but they brought us COVID) seem to think they have aphrodisiac powers and have poach them to the vulnerable stage. "Jeeeze byes, you'd eat something as cute as this hoping it'll give you a boner,? Try porn for Gawd's sake"........ |
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| ......the mischievous Bonnet Macaque monkey is highly social, often living in urban areas where they'll eat just about anything. They travel in groups called 'Barrel Full of' and will, if given the chance, steal your food, your shiny things, your wallet, your virginity, etc. Best to give them a wide berth as they can be very cute but nasty all at once (we've all dated someone like that)........ |
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| .....the once thought rare Orange Reprobate Epstein Orangutan (OREO for short) is a disgusting primate that travels in groups called 'MAGA' (acronym for Molesters, Aggressors, Gangsters & Assholes). They are somewhat dim-witted but oddly possesses the ability to persuade apes of similar intelligent levels to follow them. If you see an OREO coming your way, my advice is to lock up your children and, if offered, don't drink the Kool-Aid. |
And now back to our regularly scheduled programming, with our first destination in Tamil Nadu, the hill station of......
Ooty
Officially called the totally unpronounceable name of Udhagamandalam, this picturesque place was the summer get-away for the British seeking respite for the intense Indian summer heat. Situated at 2,240 MASL, the temperatures can actually drop down to zero (although while we were there it only got down to 8C). It was a nice reprieve and we were there for three nights.
Our trip from Mysore to Ooty takes us through Banipur National Park where, if the God's are on your side, you may spot a tiger......I guess the God's weren't on our side this time!!!!
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| We did spot several Asian Elephants in the distance..... |
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| .....as well as enough Spotted Deer to have a good feed of venison. |
Ooty is tea country, where the hills are covered in plantations supplying the largest tea drinking country in the world...
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| Fields of tea dot the landscape, complete with a distant waterfalls. |
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| Tea is harvested by plucking the top two leaves and bud from the plant. It is usually done by hand after the bushes are 5 years old. The tea bush can live to be several hundred years old so a lot of tea will come from one bush, albeit over a lot of years. |
Some of the other sites around Ooty.......
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| Lambs Rock (not to be confused with Lambs Rum)....no crowds, way too far for the Indian people to walk! |
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| Ooty's National Rose Garden. Most of the rose's were not in bloom (wrong time of season) including the 'Margaret Trudeau Rose' but oddly, the 'Dolly Parton Rose' was in full bloom....depending on your political persuasion you can read into that what you will!! |
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| Botanical Gardens in Conoor (town next to Ooty). A great quiet get-away from the constant vehicle horn-blaring that plaques every town in this country. |
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| A few of the hundreds of school kids on a day trip to the Gardens, something that we encountered throughout the country. Do they still do school day trips back home? These kids would practice their english by running up to us and asking 'where you from'.....it always confused them when I said "my parents"! |
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| It being Valentine's Day while we were in Ooty, we went out to a 5-star restaurant and had girlie drinks and small portions of fancy 5-star food! |
After three days of cooling off in hill country, we fly into Chennai, a very large city which we treated with a get-in-get-out-as-quick-as-possible attitude. Our real destination is to the (yes you guess it) the UNESCO World Heritage village of......
Mahabalipuram
The #10 tourist site in India (as rated by the Indian Government), this once flourishing port town has been a top travel destination since the 7th century, with more ancient sites than you can shake a stick at.
Unlike Hampi, most of Mahabalipuram's ornate stone carvings are made from single uncut rocks and boulders, which gives it a big WOW factor.....
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| The massive Descent of the Ganges bas-relief standing a whopping 29 x 13 mts. depicts the legendary story (through 146 figures) of the descent of the sacred river Ganges from the heavens to earth. It was carved in the 7th century using only hammer and chisel, apparently the electric rock grinder was only available at Home Depot and there is no store here. |
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| A much smaller and unfinished bas-relief found nearby, called "Unfinished Relief".....good thing it is unfinished, otherwise it would be a silly name. |
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| The Mahabalipuram Lighthouse (AKA new lighthouse), which we took the time and effort to climb up the 26 metres...... |
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| ......to see the views from the lighthouse: This massive boulder has Malabalipuram's original lighthouse carved on top, which was completed in 640AD, making it the oldest lighthouse in Asia and the 4th oldest in the world...... |
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| .....climbing up to the oldest lighthouse in Asia making me a young person on an old rock. Rock on B!! |
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| Also seen from the lighthouse; is the Shore Temple complex which until a tsunami in 2004 was pretty much buried under sand. Marco Polo wrote of the seven temples of Mahabalipuram, of which the other six are believe to remain submerged in the surrounding sea. This theory is supported when the same 2004 tsunami revealed a collapse temple slightly off-shore. |
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| The Shore Temple consists of two sanctums - one dedicated to Lord Shiva and the other, Lord Vishnu. Although not normal, the two gods are sometimes worshipped together as a symbol of unity - known as HariHara (I'm not making that up). |
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| The Five Rathas carved out of a single monolithic boulder are believe to represent chariots, but there was no one from the 7th century around to confirm this. |
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| Malabalipuram's odd-ball monument, the Krishna's Butterball. A 250 ton rock precariously balance on a 45 degree angle was attempted to be moved by the British using seven elephants but it would not budge. Ever hear of a lever guys? Just saying. |
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| Out boutique hotel had a bird avian - a first for us..... we got to pick out our supper each night. This fella was the tastiest, mainly white meat.....yummy!! |
Our three days in Malabalipuram quickly flew by and we were off to a place completely different....
Union Territory of Pondicherry
The French, like the Portuguese, Dutch and British, colonized parts of India. For 280 years they ruled over four geographically separate enclaves in three separate states (two in Tamil Nadu, one in Andhra Pradesh and one in Kerala). On November 1, 1954 the French possessions in India were de facto transferred to India with total control passed over in 1963. Pondicherry, known as "the French Riviera of the East", was the largest and most populated of the four and named the capital. The three states that surround these enclave territories have not assimilated them, even after 72 years......I guess even the Indians don't want the French.
We came here for a break from the hustle and bustle of India, expecting some French influence: maybe some fois gras, perhaps a nice bottle of Beaujolais wine, even a baguette or two - after all there are still close on 10,000 Frenchmen in Pondicherry.......we didn't get any of that. In fact the only Frenchmen we saw were the French tourist, who normally only travel in mass to former French colonies, hence the probable reason they were here.....c'est la vie.
Mais maintenant, il est temps pour Vaches Sacrées et Bestioles à Mamelles....
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| That look you get after spending all day chasing a piece of tail, only to realize it was your tail you were chasing! |
Back to Pondicherry......
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| Pondicherry's 'White Town', or 'French Quarter' is neither white nor french anymore, although is is laid out in a grid pattern similar to cities in France and the streets all have french names.....'rue' this, 'rue' that. What it is, is clean. No garbage anywhere....I guess the french still have an influence. |
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| The 1.2 kilometre seaside promenade with a complete lack of shade during the midday sun...... |
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| .....forcing us to take shade shelter and drink ice cold beers. Somethings the french just never considered when planning their city - or did they??? |
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| Outside of the 'White Town' is....you guess it.....'Black Town'. A typical chaotic horn-blaring vehicle-congested Indian town, lacking any resemblance of city planning. It does however have this lady who was painting a road rangoli for good luck! |
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| Twenty feet up on bamboo scaffolding, in flip flops, using a jack-hammer....the Union Territory of Pondicherry's Occupational Health and Safety Committee hard at work! |
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| While in Pondicherry we went to Paradise Beach - miles and miles of nothing but sand and sea....beach yes, paradise no. |
Within the borders of the Union Territory, is an unusual town called Auroville, which is also known as the "City of Dawn". It is, and has been since 1968, an experimental commune developed by Mirra Alfassa, also known as "the Mother". The concept was simple enough - a village based on 'human unity' (that's just crazy talk, Mudder most have been senile). So let's take a look around Auroville......
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| At the inauguration ceremony of Auroville in 1968, representatives from 124 countries placed a handful of earth from their homelands in a lotus-shaped urn at the centre of the future city in a symbolic gesture of human unity. Too bad humanity got in the way of that concept but, the real reason for including this picture can be seen by zooming in on the particular country making its dirt contribution!!! If that doesn't work, I'll tell you.....Canada!!! |
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A single tree within a tree and if you're lucky you'll spot B!!
I'm a poet and didn't know it!! |
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| The massive Auroville Matrimandir (AKA the Temple of the Mudder), a central meditation dome, serving as a dedicated, silent space for individual meditation and spiritual concentration. |
With enough french culture to last us until the next time, it was on the road again. The next three communities were mere stopovers to lessen the 16 hours of driving to our actual destination. That's not to say they weren't worth visiting but it was limited to one full day per place. First up.......
Thanjuvar
The "rice bowl of Tamil Nadu", this small city is centred around the UNESCO World Heritage Brihadisvara Temple, which dominates the town. There's also the Saraswathi Mahal Library, one of Asia's oldest with 49,000 manuscripts, many which are written on palm leaf.
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| The 'Temple of the Great Lord', as it is known, was built in 1003 and still semi-operates to this day. At least it operates in so much that these things actually operate - for instance, Hindu's don't hold Sunday service like we are familiar with. To be honest I have no idea how they operate, seems to be a lot of statute touching and smearing dust on them (and themselves). |
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| Apparently, this temple complex is one of the largest Hindu temples in India, which of course would make it one of the largest in the world.....without a doubt it is very large! |
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| So it is my understanding that this must be the main temple within the temple complex: it features the tallest temple tower in the world, intricate granite construction with no mortar, and architectural features that even avoid casting a shadow at noon.....now then, what do you think of that? |
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| Nandi, the bull, is carved out of a single boulder and is one of India's largest (measuring 13' x 16'). It sits front and centre in the temple complex and that's not bullshit!! wah wah wah!!! I got a million of them!! |
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| "Hey Mel, I found the men's bathroom!" |
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| The ancient Saraswathi Mahal Library - I tried to check a book out but my library card had expired. Damn the luck. |
The next destination on this part of the whirlwind India tour is to one of the oldest continuously inhabited cities in the world....
Madurai
A metropolis dating back to 600BC, it traded with ancient Rome and was a great city when much of the rest of the world was still living in caves. It's considered a Hindu pilgrimage city attracting millions of devotees to the ancient Meenakshi Amman Temple. The temple is indeed a sight to behold, unfortunately taking pictures of any kind is a no no and very strictly enforced (so much so, that ANY device capable of taking a photo has to be locked away in lockers before entering). Soooooo to preserved our memories of the place, I took the liberty of downloading some pictures from the internet to give a taste of this magical place (forgive me for I have sinned).
Before we get into the pirated pictures, it is a good time for Sacred Cows and Udder Critters.....
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| Daisy: "GRASS??? No one eats grass anymore. It is so passé. Cardboard is where it's at. Different taste every time and lots of fibre.....keeps you regular!" |
And now Madurai's Meenakshi Amman Temple....
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| A massive 14-acre historic temple with 14 large towers (ranging in height from 45 - 55 metres) featuring over 33,000+ sculptures. |
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| The Golden Lotus Pond, a sacred, historic water tank - apparently Lord Shiva blessed the tank to be free of marine life (someone forgot to tell the marine life because I swear I saw a turtle swimming about). |
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| The 1,000 Pillar Hall, which oddly only has 985 pillars, calling into question as to why it isn't called the 985 Pillar Hall? Each pillar is intricately carved with Hindu deities such as the Yali (a creature with a lion's body and elephant's head). |
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| One of the many corridors that seem to lead to nowhere. |
Time to hit the road for our final whirlwind destination, the town whose name translates to mean 'the Virgin Girl'.....
Kanyakumari
The southernmost tip of the Indian subcontinent, it is informally referred to as "Land's End". Next stop after this is Antarctica, a mere 9,000 kms by boat away!
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| Lands End consists of two rocks offshore, one with a 41 metre statute of an Indian poet and the other housing a meditation centre, dedicated to a Swami Vivekananda, who is said to have attained enlightenment on the rock. A short ferry ride whisks you out to the rock where you can also attain enlightenment. |
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| And peace right back ya big guy (it should be two fingers.....just saying)! |
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| Kanyakumari is a fishing port with nearly 70% of the population of Christian persuasion, hence the reason why you can actually see parts of three churches in this picture. |
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| I'm crushing your head! |
Our time in Tamil Nadu is done and it's off to state #4........
Kerala State
India's magical, laid-back state is a world away from the hectic action of the rest of the country. The place is defined by its vast network of canals, lakes and rivers, which together make up the fabled backwaters. Its 600 km coastline host relaxed beach towns with honey-coloured beaches stretching as far as the eye can see. However, if mist-wrapped mountain-scapes are more your thing, then the interior of the state is home to the UNESCO protected Western Ghats!
To give us a breather from our six day whirlwind tour of southern Tamil Nadu, we slowed the pace down to a crawl at.......
Varkala Beach
Stunning high-cliffs watch over one of the world's best ranked beaches. Varkala is a backpackers hangout with a bohemian vibe, the perfect place to spend six days doing nothing!
To get to Varkala Beach required a three hour taxi trip from Kanyakumari, where we passed through the city of Thiruvananthapuram during the Attukal Pongala festival. Known as the "Sabarimala for Women", this festival involves millions (yes millions) of women cooking rice and jaggery in clay pots on the streets as an offering to a Goddess, making it the world's largest women-only gathering.
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| This photo was taken from our taxi window. The women have moved to the shade on the other side of the road. These cooking pots stretch for a full 25 kms. That's a lot of rice and jaggery!! |
This video shows a mere 16 seconds of what millions of women cooking on the roadside for 25 kilometres looks like.....unbelievable is what it looks like.
We arrived in Varkala Beach where we settled in with the sole purpose of doing nothing.....
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| Papanasham Beach, AKA Varkala Beach, has earned the reputation as a traveller's paradise, however besides being a tourist hotspot, the beach is also a revered pilgrimage spot. The Hindu's belief is that a ritualistic dip in these waters washes away all your sins. As well, the ashes collected from the cremation grounds are immersed here at the beach, again believing that the sea will wash away the dead persons sins..... |
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| .....we elected to have a dip in the sea and, as an added assurance, a couple of beers to wash away our sins! |
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| Perched 15 metres above the beach is the North Cliff area where a scenic and narrow pedestrian path, approximately 2 km long, is lined with cafés, shops and stunning views - a perfect place to watch the world go by! |
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| The North Cliff area: the restaurants play innocuous music, shops sell elephant-stamped trousers, silver jewellery and yoga-mat bags....it's all very hippie-like! Melanie fitted in perfectly!! |
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| Kerala's official language is Malayalam and it translates to mean 'coconut', which is in just about every dish of food you get, as is fish....fish of every size and shape and kind. |
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| While sipping coffee from our hotel balcony, the heli-pad across the street, which is normally used as a parking lot was cleared of all vehicles and nearly 100 policemen moved in along with a cleaning crew. All garbage was swept up and carted away by this guy....... |
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| ....and it was all for Rahul Gandhi, official leader of India's opposition party (son of Rajiv Gandhi - 6th PM of India and grandson of Indira Gandhi - 5th PM of India) Apparently, this is election year in India and he was here to rally the troops. He flew in, was whisked away by a 20 car motorcade and returned 45 minutes and was gone. Within minutes after flying away the heli-pad was filled with people and vehicles. |
And now for something completely different....
Kerala Backwaters Boating Trip
Meandering through the coastal areas of Kerala is 900 km long intricate network of lagoons, lakes, canals, estuaries and deltas. Over 1600 houseboats pry these waters with the bulk of them leaving from Alleppey, the 'Venice of the East'. Taking a houseboat trip into the backwaters is rated #6 tourist destination in India (as rated by the Indian Government).
We rented our own houseboat, which comes with a Captain, Cook and Cabin Boy and for the next three days we slipped into a watery world of villages, punted canoes, palm trees and houseboats. Lazily floating along and gazing over rice paddy fields, watching laden rice barges and village life along the banks is truly a mesmerisingly beautiful and relaxing experience.
I had this Supertramp soundworm rattling around in my brain for a good portion of the backwater boat trip and it kind of describes the lifestyle we were experiencing.
"Took a boat Sunday, down by the sea
It just felt so nice, you and me
We didn't have a problem or a care
And all around was silence everywhere."
Supertramp, Downstream
Before we go any further it's time, once again, for Sacred Cows and Udder Critters...
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| Monkey TukTuk Driver: "I'm sorry sir, but I can't take you in my tuktuk at the moment as I'm about to have my lunch." |
Back to the backwaters.....
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| This is our boat...... |
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| .....and these are our people (L - R: Cookie, Cabin-garçon & El Capitan)...... |
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| .....and this is one of the three meal deals that we got each day (best food we had in India)..... |
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| .....and this is moi, chilling in the living room and watching the world slip by! |
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| Our first day out we passed all kinds of houseboats, most of them ferrying one-nighters who leave port at 12:00 noon on one day and arrive back at 9:00 AM the next day. This tight schedule prevents the boats from straying too far from the port of Alleppey, which makes the area rather congested. |
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| These remote canals are void of any other houseboats - just us and the locals. |
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| A rice barge loaded to the gunnels. One good wave and she be gone boys gone! |
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| Village life beyond the tourist. These canals are a life-line for the locals: they fish the canals, they irrigate their fields with the canal water, they bath in the canals, they do their dishes in the canals and they use them as their highways. |
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| This is a local water-bus. It goes to water-bus stops and takes passengers all over the place, same as a city bus would except it's on water. |
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| Harvesting rice. |
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| And with the setting sun, our time on the Kerala Backwaters comes to an end. |
Before we move on to out next destination, it's time for Sacred Cows and Udder Critters....
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| Monkey Man: "This coffee is shite, it tastes like cigarette butts. Wait a minute; it is cigarette butts! Bonus, I'll take them to eat later. For now, perhaps you may have some Bailey's to add flavour to this coffee swill?" |
We head for a slice of paradise at the seaside village of.....
Mararikulam
This enchanting fishing hamlet is the perfect spot to grab a bicycle and go for a ride, or if the mood strikes you, go to the cleanest sandy beach in Kerala. This quiet village remains pristine yet it has everything except the mass tourism hysteria seen at other beach towns.
We took the opportunity, while in Mararikulam, to catch up on some much needed yoga!
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| I hardly ever post photo's of our hotels - afterall what's the sense? The hotel is just a place to lay your head, whereas the real purpose of you being where you are is to experience the sites and sounds of the place. However, sometimes I make an exception - this is our hotel and I post it for a couple of reasons: (#1) it came with it's own pool, in the jungle surrounded by nature, and (#2) it is where our yoga instructor came to give us lessons........ |
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| .....and this is our yoga instructor, Maiju. The bugger told me I had to lose weight. |
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| The endless traffic-free lanes meander throughout the town offering a safe and quiet atmosphere to enjoy a couple of bike rides. |
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| When we first arrived in India the average daytime temps were a comfortable 24C, whereas 2 months later they were hitting 34C, so having a canopy of trees to provide shade added to the biking experience. |
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| If you're a beach bum (we tried but it's just not our thing), then the 8km of gorgeous honey-coloured sands, where the crabs outnumber the tourist one hundred to one, is the place for you. |
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| The locals aren't beachside vendors hawking the made-in-China-beachside-knick-knacks, rather they're fisherman waiting for the sun to set before heading out to sea. |
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| We stopped at the Chip Man's place for the awesome tapioca (cassava) chips.....made right there on the spot. Once you've tried them, you'll never look at a potato chip the same way again! |
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| A water hyacinth choked canal, not good for the boating but looks very pretty! |
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| Melanie biking under the BIG head!! |
With the temperature climbing everyday, we decided to head back to the cool climate of the hill stations, this time to the village of.......
Thekkady
Considered to be the 'spice heaven of India', the cool green hills of Thekkady are home to spice plantations that supply the world with such staples as cardamom, gloves, ginger and cinnamon. If it's in your cupboard, changes are it came from here!
It's also home to south India's most popular wildlife reserve, the Periyar Tiger Reserve, which takes in 925 sq. km. of the UNESCO Biosphere Western Ghats. It is home to bison, sambar deer, wild boar, approximately 2,000 elephants and 40 Bengal tigers!
We were actually running away from the coastal heat, but we also came with high hopes of spotting Tigger the Tiger, but alas that elusive beast, similar to the Wild Baloney, evaded us.
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| Thekkady, besides being the world supplier of spices is also home to many tea and coffee plantations. Like Ooty, the landscape is shaped by the well groomed tea plantations. |
To explore the Periyar Tiger Reserve we were up before breakfast, something no honest retired person should be doing, and did the boat trip on Periyar Lake.
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| The artificial 26 sq. km. Periyar Lake was formed in 1895 when the British dammed the Periyar River. Now it's a major source of drinking water for the Park's wildlife and the best time to see this wildlife is early in the morning......uugh. |
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 | | The water levels in the lake are at the lowest this time of year with replenishment only coming when the monsoons kick into high gear around the beginning of June. |
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| This Sambar Deer was stuck in the lakeside mud when I took this picture at the start of our boat journey. It wasn't there on our return, meaning one of two things (#1) it managed to free itself, or (#2) it was a tasty meal for Tigger. |
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| A River Tern, one of the 320+ bird species found in the Reserve, however the majestic Dicky Bird is not one of those 320+ species. |
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| This early in the morning the sun hasn't quite burnt the mist off yet.....actually makes a nice picture (that's not saying I'm going to bound out of bed too early in the future to get pictures). |
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| A herd of wild Boar off in the distance. Best picture I could get with an iPhone. |
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| Living our best life! |
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| A Little Egret, common in these parts. |
All things must pass, and that's also true for our time in Thekkady. We take a five hour taxi to our next destination, Cochi. Unfortunately, circumstances far far away changed our plans in Cochi and we had to pivot. The city of Cochi uses mainly LNG to fuel their cooking stoves and their vehicles and, with 85% of the LNG coming via the Strait of Hormuz, India is facing critical shortages. This shortage caused restaurants to close for lack of food and no means to cook the food even if they had it. Fortunately we were able to get a hotel in........
Fort Cochi
Known for its Dutch, Portuguese and British colonial past, it is a town from yesteryear. The place is steeped in history and the culture of all who have occupied it through the ages and it is renowned for its colonial-era architecture. It has been ranked #9 in National Geopgraphic's Top Tourist Destinations in the World.
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| St. Francis Church, built in 1503, making it the oldest European church in Asia! |
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| Portuguese explorer, Vasco da Gama, was originally buried in this church but later his remains were repatriated. Who was Vasco da Gama you ask? He discovered the sea route from Europe to India in 1498. He would be up there with such great explorers as Christopher Columbus, Marco Polo, James Cook and Ferdinand Magellan! |
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| While in Fort Cochi we went to "Jew Town" where the cheapie cheapie purchases could be had, however hard bargaining was required to get the deals. |
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| The Kalvathy Juma Masjid Mosque, one of Kerala's oldest, built in 1384. A funeral procession was coming up the road just as I took the picture. |
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| The Hindu Thirumala Devaswom Temple originally built in 1599. |
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| Functioning ancient Chinese fishing nets still line the harbour. |
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| I had my laundry done at the local laundry shop, a place that has been in operation since the 1600's. I was missing a sock and skipper behind me told me that it was out back and to go out back and get it off the line...... |
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| .....shit. |
While in Fort Cochi we went to a show......
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| Never understood a word they said......actually they never said a word, it was mime all the way...... |
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| .....part of the show included an ancient form of martial arts...... |
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| .....the show even offered the opportunity to meet Transformer Man (he's a Chevy Cavalier in his other form)! |
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| For our last day in India we went to the Seagull Bar and had a couple of cold brew! Thank you India for the awesome times!!! |
And now it's time for our last instalment of Sacred Cows and Udder Critters!!!
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Clarabelle: "Excuse me, does this restaurant serve beef? I'm a vegetarian and don't eat beef. It actually makes me mad, if you know what I mean!"
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And with that our long journey home begins!
