Sains et saufs, everything is fine

Plusieurs amis et parents nous ont demandé des nouvelles à la suite des attentats de Mumbai et aux manifestations à l'aéroport de Bangkok. Rassurez-vous, nous sommes sains et saufs. Notre dernière dispute portait sur un massage thaïlandais, à savoir si on devait prendre une demi-heure ou une heure... Je ne veux pas faire de blague sur le dos des gens qui sont des victimes des attentats, je ne suis pas indifférent à ces horreurs. Mais soyez sans crainte, nous nous portons très très bien.

Many friends and relatives have asked if we were OK following the bombings in Mumbai and the protests at the Bangkok airport. Rest assured, we are all doing well. Our last argument was regarding a Thai massage, wether we should take half an hour or one hour... I don't mean to make jokes while others have suffered horribly. I'm not indifferent to acts of despicable nature. But don't worry, we are doing very very well.

India Post, an Exercise in Patience

Sorry, I'm backtracking again, for those who read J.F.'s contributions, do not be confused. After our marvelous week of paradise at the beach, we headed back to Mumbai on the train and arrived at six o'clock in the morning. We wandered from the station looking for a hotel (imagine, no reservation!) and found a place about twenty minutes later, but the stroll was quite an eyeopener: street vendors were opening their stalls (I suspect after sleeping on the street beside the cart) and there was hardly any traffic! I thing the locals were quite surprised to see an entire family walking around that early in the morning.

After a late breakfast, I went to the post office while the others set off to do a few errands. Yes, I did buy a few things throughout our travels, the handmade crafts here are just far too beautiful to resist. Sending a parcel is no easy feat: it entails taking your stuff to a "parcel wallah", basically a tailor who sews a parcel out of beige fabric, on three sides only. Then you take this to the post office where you fill out a bunch of forms, they verify the contents of the package, fill out more forms, ask you for your passport, which I didn't have but in the end didn't seem necessary, sew up the remaining side, seal the seams with wax and then stamp them so that no one can open the parcel, more signatures, and finally, weigh the parcels and take your money! I arrived just before lunch, so this whole process was delayed forty five minutes while the employees ate!!
While I was sitting around waiting, I observed the piles of parcels everywhere, no semblance of classification as far as I could tell: I'm not sure my packages will ever make it, but it sure gives me a good story to tell!

The next day, we took another train up to Nasik, a small, normal town, that only has some five hundred year old temples : ) , so tourists don't really go there. This in itself was interesting, as we were the only foreigners in the street, at the market, in the restaurants, and attracted many looks, but what a treat, no one tried to sell us anything! (Contrary to the touristy places, even the beach, where people are constantly trying to sell you anything, be it jewelry, a taxi ride, meals, a tour, basically whatever you're willing to pay for.) Our two days in Nasik was a good experience as it allowed us to really see what it feels like to be to be a visible minority.

Adieu Incredible !ndia

Incredilble !ndia, c'est le slogan publicitaire de l'Inde pour attirer les touristes. Ils n'auraient pas pu mieux trouver. Nous avons tant et tant d'histoires à raconter. En attendant, un gros gros merci à Pierre et Heidi qui ont été nos hotes pour notre dernier 24 heures à Delhi et avec qui on a été aux petits soins. En attendant de lire nos nouvelles aventures, voyez quelques nouvelles photos de l'Inde et notre pyramide sur la plage.

Rien à voir à Nasik

Nasik est une ville ordinaire : pas de forteresse, pas de palais, pas de plage, pas de vie nocturne. C'est une ville de l'Inde profonde et c'est ce qui fait son charme. C'est ici qu'on voit les "vrais" Indiens faire leur petite affaire. Aucun touriste ne vient à Nasik. Les gens sont tellement peu habitués à voir des Blancs qu'on se fait beaucoup regarder par tout le monde et parfois aborder par les jeunes qui veulent savoir d'où l'on vient. Personne n'essaye de nous vendre quoi que ce soit, ni un ballon de plage, ni un collier, ni une chemise.
Nasik est aussi une ville totalement hindoue. C'est ici qu'on retrouve les vaches qui se promènent tranquillement, même au marché. (On les avaient perdues de vue à Goa.) Imaginez un peu le marché Jean-Talon un samedi matin, mais sans les tables. Chaque marchand est installé par terre (littéralement sur la terre), avec ses légumes empilés joliment en pyramides colorées, et des vaches qui déambulent paisiblement au milieu de la foule.
A quelques pas du marché, au coeur de la ville, coule l'une des rivières les plus sacrées de l'Inde. L'eau est noire, visqueuse, et charrie son lot de déchets, de fleurs et de lampions, ces derniers offerts pour obtenir les bonnes grâces des dieux. Et au milieu de tout cela, des femmes, dans l'eau jusqu'au genoux, lavent les vêtements de leur mari et de leurs enfants. Un peu plus loin, des hommes élégants assis sur un tapis vous proposent de lire les lignes de votre main dans le concert des klaxons des rickshaws. Mais, je me répète, pas pour les touristes. Les hindous ont des croyances très anciennes et très profondément ancrées.
Non, il n'y a rien à voir à Nasik sinon les Indiens dans leur univers. C'est un musée ethnologique vivant. C'est une chose de savoir que les vaches sont sacrées en Inde. C'en est une autre de voir les Indiens, qui par ailleurs mettent des satellites en orbite autour de la lune, vivre quotidiennement avec leurs croyances. Mais est-ce si différent que d'allumer un lampion a l'église, de prier Saint-Etienne, de baiser la bague de monseigneur?

Hitting the Beach

Just a brief note about our last stop in Rajasthan: In Jaipur we met up with Jean-Francois' parents who are currently on a tour through India, Nepal and Tibet. Their itinerary was tight so we could only spend one and a half days together. It was a bit strange to see them for such a short time, on the other side of the world, and then for them to disappear just as they had appeared. We did, however, find the time to use the five star swimming pool at their hotel (that was my once in a lifetime chance!) and the "supplies" they brought for us were greatly appreciated: books in French, a frisbee, nutella, and, the biggest hit, home-made brownies!! What a treat. Merci Nicole! Quelle mamie incroyable!
From Jaipur we took two night trains down to Goa, with a day in Mumbai, spent walking around, mostly looking for shade. It was soooo hot! Needless to say, we were thrilled to hit the beach, and we lucked out once again, ending up in super cheap beach shacks just two minutes from the ocean. Our beach is called Benaulim: the sand is soft, the water is incredibly warm (even Jean-Francois admits this, and he's not from Nova Scotia!) and the waves are great. In fact, the only reason to get out of the water is if you've swallowed too much salt water or your feet are getting shrivelled! There are people of all ages (i.e. we are not the oldest or the youngest, and all the women wear bikinis, no matter what shape or size, so I fit right in) The food is also amazing and incredibly inexpensive. There are small restaurants all along the beach, serving just about everything (Indian curry, Goan specialties, fish, seafood, pasta, even beef, very rare in India). I havn't cooked a meal in months now and, to my own surprise, I'm getting quite used to it.
Soon after we arrived, a nice Swedish couple gave us their "boogie board" (you actually can't buy one here, or flip-flops or a bathing suit you'd want to wear) and this has been our main entertainment along with reading, journal writing and home-work! Indeed, one of the great pleasures of this trip is that I actually have time to read (not as much as I thought though). My absolute favourite book so far is The Poisonwood Bible by Barbara Kingsolver, which takes place in Africa. If any English teachers are reading this, I would suggest it as a possible sec five novel, especially since it's written from the point of view of five women.
After 3 weeks of moving around, it is great to just be in one spot, although we did spend one day visiting Panjim (the capital of Goa, very interesting architecture with remnants of the Portugese colonial times), several 16th century churches (many people in Goa are Christian) and a Spice Farm where I learned that most spices like pepper, nutmeg and cloves actually grow in trees. Nothing to do with herbs!
So, today is November 12th, and I am finally caught up, since we are still at the beach!!
Spicy kisses to everyone!

Rajasthan in a (Big) Nutshell

Un gros bisou a tous de l'Inde, je pense a vous, mes amis, mes collegues, ma famille... j'espere que vous allez bien. Donnez-nous de vos nouvelles, ca nous fait vraiment plaisir. And let me know if my rambling is comprehensible, J.F. thinks I give too much detail, but I can't help it!

In Delhi, we were picked up by our driver! (probably the first and last time I'll ever have one.) Indeed, it is pretty inexpensive to hire a car with a driver, and besides, you would be risking your life if you ever tried to rent a car and drive yourself. You can take trains but they don't go everywhere and they take much longer. In all, we spent about three weeks travelling around Rajasthan, doing the "tourist circuit", staying only two or three nights in each place. Just in case anyone in interested, in order, we visited Agra (Taj Mahal), Ranthambore National Park (where we were "supposed" to see tigers but saw a leopard instead), Bundi, Udaipur, Ranakpur, Jodhpur, Jaisalmer, Kuri (for a short camel expedition into Desert National Park),Pushkar and Jaipur. Here we overloaded on forts, palaces and temples: Rajasthan is all about history and architecture, and truly, they are incredible. Fresques (sp?), mosaics made with imported Belgian ceramic and glass), sculpted marble, fountains, fancy gardens, nothing was too good for the Marharajahs. Yep! They had it pretty good, living the life of luxury, with at least three "official" wives, if not more. All of this in stark contrast to the shacks that most people still live in today. So, without too much detail :), here are the highlights of this whirlwind tour.

First stop, the Taj Mahal (= Crown Palace) built by Emperor Shah Jahan in the mid 17th century as a memorial for his second wife, who died giving birth to their fourteenth child! He must have felt guilty, because it is pretty incredible both outside and even more inside, where the marble-inlay (pietra dura) just boggles your mind - one small flower could have more than 40 semi-precious stone pieces, and the walls and tomb are covered. 20,000 people worked on the building. Believe it or not, we actually got up at 5:30 in the morning to see "the Taj" at sunrise (see, I can get up early when I really want to!)

In Bundi, we met a lovely family when we had supper in a small guesthouse. There were only two tables, so it felt pretty much like we were in their dining room, and the two daughters, 10 and 13 years old, who spoke English very well, chatted with us throughout the whole meal. They even invited us to come back the next day to watch a special ceremony called Karwa Chauth, celebrated by women for the well-being and long life of their husbands! The mother, and several family members and neighbors (only women) went up onto the roof-top terrace, where they gave offerings and prayers to the moon, while we sat quietly in a corner, trying to be discreet. What a treat to be able to witness this private ceremony which you would never see from the street!

In Udaipur, we went on a French tour of the City Palace, and at the end of the tour our guide invited to his house for supper to meet his wife and ten year-old daughter! Once again, we were thrilled to have the chance to meet "real people". He came to pick us up at our hotel with his brother-in-law... on their motorcycles! In typical Indian fashion, the whole family piled onto two motorcycles for the best fifteen minutes of Julien's trip to India. Their house was modest but more spacious than those we has seen in Africa, but of course, the grandfather and a brother were also living with them. When supper was ready (prepared spontaneously by his wife who had no advance notice), they sat us on the floor in the hallway on a folded tablecloth, all in row, served us a wonderful vegetarian meal, and watched us eat! They said they would eat afterwards. It was a bit strange, but what an honour to receive so much attention.
Another night, we ate on a roof-top terrace with beautiful views all over the city, while watching an old James Bond movie called Octopussy, filmed largely in Udaipur. (another hightlight for Julien, and once again, my television principals go out the window if you're watching T.V. outside!!)
Rather than give you more details, we'll try and post some pictures soon, which should give you a pretty good idea of what we saw.
Oh yes, one more detail: our driver. We called him Mr. Bean as he was quite the character, singing non-stop, or blasting his Indian pop music while snapping his fingers (with both hands!), or trying to communicate in very broken English. (Excuse me Madam, camel in your to country?) He was like a big kid, constantly asking Julien for one of the balls we bought to practice juggling on the beach. We didn't give him one, for fear he would play with it while driving!!Although it is funny in retrospect, we are quite happy to be taking the train again.

Gurus, Ganges and Great Fireworks!

In my desire to relate everything chronologically (it's the teacher in me, sorry) I will backtrack back to Dharamsala. After hanging out with the Dalai Lama, we took a night train to Rishikesh, in itself an adventure. We were in a 3AC coach, which means 3rd class sleeper with air conditioning. In this set-up there are six beds in every "cubicle", I wouldn't call it a compartment since there are no curtains or doors. It's pretty much like a moving dormitory: you just never know who will be sleeping beside you! Since this is on the "luxury end" of the options, most of the travellers in these coaches are foreigners, Indian businessmen or well-off families. The average person certainly can't afford the air conditioning, or even a bed, so they mostly travel in seats, squashed like sardines. I think we need to try this at least once.
Rishikesh is on the shores of the Ganges (Ganga in Hindi) and this is where the Beatles hung out for a while in 1968, at Swarg Ashram, closed now, to write many of the songs on The White Album.This is a small town with lots of ashrams, although we didn't stay in one, or do any yoga, since anything under a week is not considered very serious, and we only stayed for three days!Evelyne and I did however climb the thirteen stories of the Swarg Niwas temple (the Lonely Planet describes it as a 'wedding cake temple), each floor lined with dozens of cubicles containing shrines to Hindu deities.We were also lucky enough to arrive the day before a major celebration, Dussehra, which celebrates the victory of the Hindu God Rama over the demon-king Ravana and the triumph of good over evil (taken from Lonely Planet, p.1137, no plagiarism!!).This involved a whole series of fireworks (with teenagers lighting them any which way, no security whatsoever!), we kept our distance, then a re-enactment done by lots of costumed children, and finally the burning of a huge, 10 meter high effigie of Ravana on the beach, with more, very loud fireworks!
The highlight of this portion (if you ask Julien) is most certainly our rafting adventure on the Ganges. Now, I've never been rafting before, so I can't really compare it to anything, but I figure you have to start somewhere, right?The river is generally pretty calm with rapids (up to level? 4) here and there, bumpy enough for me to scream and holler, much to my kid's embarassment!I even jumped into the river off a 15 foot rock, quite the feat for me. And no, we didn't get sick, we were upstream where the water seemed a bit cleaner.
After this, another night train to Delhi, 2AC this time, only 4 bunks to a cubicle, and curtains!
True luxury. In all trains there are employees who circulate selling meals (rice and vegetable curry, of course) and chai (indian spiced tea), starting at 6:30 in the morning. You can get omelets (with peas!) and dry toast for breakfast, or more curry, if you prefer. I loved taking the train, there's no shortage of stuff to watch, both inside and outside, especially as we arrived in Delhi around eight o'clock in the morning. Many people live in shacks a few feet away from the tracks: It's a pretty horrendous thing to see, kids wandering around and garbage everywhere. Every minute of this trip is a reminder of how 'lucky' we are to be witnesses, only having to observe from behind a window.