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We had lots of diverse options, lets go through them:
- Bus: no direct buses! Too many hassles - Train: 40 hours minimum. Well forget it… - Blablacar (carsharing): people will charge you between 5000 (70€) and 10000 (140€) roupees. How will they manage 30 or 40 hours drive? It is not safe! - Flight: direct-2h45- 15kg allowed. The best solution! 95€ per person. no hassle! Leaving Chennai was a relief: no mosquito, no humidy and heat! We had to fight against the mosquitos in the middle of the living room, we did not get much sleep. Anyway we were delighted to go to the airport and have a place to rest: we will be away from the crowd, the bad smells, the honks and the oppressive heat! What a luxury here in India. We really appreciated the flight, the food, the quietness, not burbing, no spitting! We wanted to stay at the airport for the next two months. We arrived on time in Delhi. We were mentally ready … but not that ready!!!! The day before arriving, we checked with our couchsurfer whether the google itinary we will take was ok or not. Unfortunately he replied too late and we followed google instructions. That particular day two main roads were closed (for whatever reasons), it took us 4 hours, we were stuck in a traffic jam for 3, and everyone was irritated… While travelling via the metro the next day we found out that we could have taken the tube, it would have taken two hours only!!! Our first impressions: chaotic but clean, structured, very Western! nothing to do with the rest of India... Welcome to the capital! We heart of Mamallapuram, 50 km South of Chennai. We made up our mind and planed a trip for Saturday 21st. One of our host (Mahes) told us that he was supposed to go there but at the last minute the trip was cancelled. We suggested him to join and spent the day with us. We had to find the hour of departure. We are not early birds as most of Indian we proposed to leave around 9am but Mahes was to leave the house at 5am to watch the sunrise. Ok no problem. Let´s go at 5am. We managed it even after a short night and arrived after the sunrise. Anyway we felt good and fresh, no heat! We stopped at a German bakery hold by Nepalese. We had nice croissants and cinnamon rolls with a tea. Manesh managed us two black teas without sugar and milk. After a quick snack, we went to the beach where fishermen came back from work. That day, we did not feel like to have guide to show around, information of our books were enough, we just enjoyed the carvings and the temples. I was tempted to buy a book about the history and the temples (available even in French) but I already carried three. Stop to this nonsense! Around noon, we were through with the visit and the heat was so unbearable so we decided to go back to Chennai. Enjoy the pics! That day we had few incidences and saw few accidents:
First it started in the morning when a guy who misconducted. I shouted at him, but he left as if nothing happened. Önder and Manesh were already in the temple and did not see the scene. I explained the situation and Manesh recommended me to provoke an emotional shock so that the guy might prevent to misbehave again. While recuperating, we sat down for a while at Krishna temple when out of the sudden a bug bite me on my finger, ohhh… it burned first and then it swollen to finally be numb. We cooled it down with water, asked a shop to give us some termaric (use in the Indian cuisine as well as a medicinal product). Manesh wanted us to go to the hospital, which was nearby. We just went there for a while and the finger was recovering so we left without consulting a doctor. We already had enough of emotions but then again in Chennai - A woman had her hand smash by car. - A goat which wanted desesperately to cross a high speed road got roll over, result: a broken leg! - A two wheeler was about to make a U-turn and also got hit. Welcome to incredible India where human beings and animals are not worth a penny! Chennai is located 150 km North of Pondichery, but it took us 4 hours to reach the city… and another two to arrive at our final destination. Our host could have spared two hours travel if he had given us this information. The bus we were in, just passed few roads away from their home!!! Never mind, we were in Tamil Nadu, a very special culture, people are hard to handle. It was very different from what we experienced so far. Chatting with an Indian friend, he told me the same.
Every time, we went out we struggled with the traffic and to find our way. One afternoon, we looked for an Internet café for hours…We took the bus, the train and finally we found one thanks to our guide. But we were not allowed, we forgot our ID: Welcome to incredible and impossible India! In some places, they accept without ID and in other people follow the rules. That day we were unfortunate! We continued our city tour and decided to go to the beach: Chennai Beach! We imagined drinking a fruit cocktail and chilling on the beach! It was just in a dream! Instead of that, the beach station is actually a commercial harbour!!!! The longest beach of South Asia is another 2 km! We were fed up and got on the train, went back home and eat some chocolate! A part from visiting Chennai that afternoon, we stayed in Mandanan and discovered the neighbourhood. (A mix of Nikon and Mobile pics) We spent the week end at the orphanage and on Monday we hit the street of Pondi. The city is quite small and it is very easy to go around. Pondicherry was a French Union Territory given back to India in 1954. From the French colonial period, nothing really remained only few buildings and the gendarmes wearing kepis. The city has a mixed atmosphere and what is surprising is the two parks and the trees in the streets as well, some streets are cleaner, quieter and better structured.!!! History: in a Nutshell! The main question is why and how French had acquired territories in India? In 1664, the French founded the French Indies Companies to compete with the British and Dutch. First, the French Cappucins stettled followed in 1674 by the French Jesuits expelled from Siam (now Thailand) as protests started there. It was thought for a short term. However, the situation in Siam make them stay forever. The colonial powers such as Portuguese, Dutch and British always fought against the French. Pondicherry always returned to French. In India, the French had 7 territories where Pondicherry was the capital. After the independence in 1947, an agreement between France and India stipulated that the inhabitants of France´s Indian possessions would choose their political future. It took 7 years to unite Pondicherry to India.
The purpose to come here is basically to eat some French food!!! 2 km away from where we lived, there is a French bakery called Baker Street… It is a French food paradise :)… Have look at the fridge: camenbert, ham etc. We had a delicious breakfast (tea, coffee, croissants, pain au chocolat etc) while we were eating we reflected on a saying from Buddha wroten on the wall which says:
A man asked Lord Buddha: “I want happiness!” Lord Buddha said: first remove “I” that´s ego then remove “want” that´s desire. See now you are left only with “happiness”. We paid the bill (500 RS) and started to walk out of the bakery while next to the building a poor man was begging for food and asked us to eat something. Our first reaction is always no and but right after refusing, we had bad conscious and we remained speechless for a moment. It was another hard time. The very next day, the man was not there. On CS, Ammoud accepted our request but we arrived two days earlier. As he was away, he arranged another accommodation. We stayed at a NGO called JANANI, it is an orphanage 8 girls live permantly there, aged between 4 and 14 years old. We had lot of fun to play with the kids at the playground and we also helped them to do their homework. We also had the opportunity to assist a group of blind students during an English lesson. Thanks for your help! It was a different CS, we really enjoyed it! There is a shadow at the nice picture…
What stroke us, volunteers who come here donated lots of books, teddy bears, painting stuff and toys, but they are in a closed cupboard. We have never seen the kids to play with anything although they would have like to. I asked for the key to open it and tried to make the staff and the kids understand that the whole lot does not belong a cupboard… After one hour, all the toys I took out when back in and the cupboard was closed again. :( On Monday eve, we went downstair a couple of time and try to interact more with the children. It was difficult to find our landmarks within few days. At 6 pm they had to accomplish some duties (folding the washed clothes, watering the street) and do their homework. At 7 pm, it was eating time and after that chilling out meaning watching TV. The youngest one who is 4 years old was bored and tried to play with a clothes peg. One of the children (7 years old) toolk it away from her and even slapped her on her back. The 4 years old took it back and started playing again but the same situation occurred. She was so sad and could not understand the reasons why. We stay there until they went to bed. They gather to pray and finally around 9pm they went to bed, sleeping in their clothes (no pyjama) and no brushing teeth. 4 of them slept in a bed and 4 other on the floor although there are enough bed for everyone. It is a hard reality. (pics: mobile) Sankar (the owner of the farm in Panpoli) invited us to use his facilities (2min away from the bus stand and 7km from the city center) in Madurai where we stayed three days. We enjoyed the city as it was kind of clean, we could say no plastic flying around, no animals (no cows, no goats) but sometimes the smell of urine!! The city was better structured and we had a good feeling when walking down the streets. Madurai is considered to be the temple city. He has a 2000 years old history when Madurai was a Pandian capital. Meenakshi temple is one of the oldest temple in India constructed during the Nayak period (16th and 18th Century). Sri Meenakshi is triplebreasted and is fish-eyed goddess Meenakshi Amman. (‘fish-eyed’ is an adjective for perfect eyes in classical Tamil poetry). Her third breast melt away once she saw Shiva and got married to him. Each night, the pair are placed in Sundareshwarar’s bedchamber together, but not before Meenakshi’s nose ring is carefully removed so that it won’t cut her husband in the heat of passion. The temple is just a beauty, it looks like a maze as you have lots of shrines. Madurai is quite small compared to any other Indian cities, we went to the palace and then to the Gandhi Memorial museum. It starts with: ”When the white came (1692)” and finished with the Independence of India (15th August 1947). We learned a lot about the Portuguese, Dutch, French and British in India and about how Indians struggled to be independent.
Kanyakumari: the southest point of India (86hours by train to go to the Himalayas) ... To cut a story short: we failed twice to go there. It would have been a tidious journey. at least 6 hours for 240 km! The other problems we had to face was the accommodation, the food and water supply. We had a big guest house with bathroom and kitchen but it was filthy. We cleaned as much as we can every day but still at night ants, mice, lezards invaded the room! As far as the food is concerned, we were under fed, the lady who cooked did not have much ingredients (rice and some watery soup). For breakfast the manager fed us some idly (typical food). As I had some stomach problems (again) so I just need plain food and no spices. We went every two day to Sengottai to buy some potatoes, fruits, biscuits. We shared our food with the workers, every one was happy to have different types of food. We went to a restaurant (AVM) in Sengottai clean, they served delicious meals, the first days they adapted to our order: Chappathi and dosai with butter. Tamils might find it strange but when foreigners have an upset tommy, this is the best remedy. To go to the next city to take the bus (3 km), we took the longest route walking until one guy from the farm showed us a short cut. It was on the 10th day. We could not believe that no one talked about it before. It takes 15 minutes to catch the bus… It helped us a lot but we were frustrated. Every evening we had the same question: water or no water??? The tank is too small for 7-8 people, sometimes we did not have water at all sometimes only rain water! We do not mention the countless power cut supply. We managed to stay... The nature saved usJ. A world tour has nothing to do with holidays! We stayed two weeks at the farm, the farm is located in an idyllic place in a middle of coconut trees, mangos and cashew nuts, lemon grass and paddy fields (rice). Early mornings we went for a walk around the farm and late afternoons we went to the top of the hill to relax, to have a tea and to enjoy the landscape.
The first five days we faced some problems to be integrated into the farm life. The only reason was that the manager at the farm just ignored us. Then only when Sankar visited us, the owner who comes regularly on Sundays, we could understand the farm better. Even after, the manager did not make it easier for us as he did not speak to us only to give us some food. The so called manager just sat on his chair or go to the field with his motorcycle (never walked) and do nothing the all day except eating, farting and burping. Every evening, he has a ritual: put some bodylotion and painted his face. Unfortunately there is no much work except when it is coconut harvest. We had the chance to help during three days and we had lots of fun collection the coconuts with the workers. It takes place every two months. The next one will be around Mai 2015 and there will be mangos and cashew nuts harvest too. A part from that we cleaned twice the fields and helped once to install the water supply to irrigate the coconut trees. A chill out place located on a red cliff where Westerners meet Indian on the beach ! it is quite funny to see ! Westerners in bikinis and swim costumes whereas Indians go for a swim with their clothes and sometimes with their shoes ! As a world travellers, we tried to avoid as much as possible touristic places… It took us few days to acclimate to the Varkala style of holidays where everything is Western customised even the Ayuverdic massages and yoga classes ! Tourists who come here and go back will think that Varkala is India!? We also had the chance to do couchsurfing at Ali ´s place after staying 3 days in a hostel. Ali and his mates has got a jewellery shop on the cliff, named „van Hart“, One god. The necklaces and rings are hand made with stones! Marvellous! It was really tempting ! Ali and his wife Lisa also have a business in Ireland, where Lisa is orginally. Ali and his 6 mates are from Jaipur, Rasjathan We enjoyed the time there, discovering South India in a Northern and muslim community! At Ali´s place, we had some very delicious food even chicken and beef! A special thank to Ali, Lisa and his mates! We also had the chance to meet Surya and his friend Rutu in Varkala. Surya hosted us when we arrived in Mumbay. Since a couple of weeks, they were cycling about 100 km per day from Goa to Tamil Nadu (Kanyakumari : the Southest point of India). Finally we succeeded to meet in Varkala. It was like a cat and mouse game. After watching the sun set, we went to have a drink and then diner. Rutu chose the place to eat. At the first sight, it should have been good. The diner turned from good to bad and then from bad to worse. Thank god we did not choose the restaurant! Our friends felt like foreigners and tourists in their own country. No service, no food and at the end no tips!
It was a memorable time! Thanks Surya to take the time to meet us! Ashram: Going around India, we saw people who pretended to be yogis and hippies…They might go to Ashrams. Traditionally, an ashram is a spiritual hermitage or a monastery. Additionally, today the term ashram often denotes a locus of Hindu cultural activity such as yoga, music study or religious instruction. Near Varkala, you have Amma Ashram. People will come from all over India to get a hug. Put that way it does not mean really anything but if you go there you will have an amazing experience, what I have been told. But We are skeptical about it so we did not go... More info on : http://www.amritapuri.org/ To sum up Kerala in ten days and ten characteristics :
Cochin is a very touristic place but worth it to visit for its history!
From the early 1500, Fort Cochin was a Portuguese, Dutch and finally a British colony! They controlled the port and the lucrative spice trade! Vasco da Gama discovered Cochin and was buried in St Francis church, the eldest church in India ! It was with the Portuguese ruler a catholic church then was reformed by the Dutch and under the British era it was Anglican. One of the attraction in Cochin along with the European houses and forts is the iconic Chinese fishing nets. As we stayed in Ernakulam, at the other side of the seashore, we had to take a boat to reach Cochin. Once we decided to go to the Jew town in Mattanchery but the ferry did not stop there that day. We did not understand why but for us it was a hassle to go Cochin and then to the Jew town even it is only 4 km away. Travelling around India requires lot of energy and patience. At that time, we did not have either ones. We stayed and discovered Ernakulam, a less touristic place where we had nice veg Beriani, a Southern rice dish and dosa. Kalarippayattu is a typical martial art practiced in Kerala. We looked for a particular school that locals recommended us but unfortunately, it was closed at that time. The school was attending some shows outside the state! Our next destination was either Munnar (The Western Ghats, a moutain area) or Varkala (beach). After looking up in Internet, we chose to relax at the beach! 2 days of research to take that decision! Meanwhile, we had a positive answer from Sanskar to take part in a farming project in Tamil Nadu! Kerala in 2 weeks where we were supposed to travel one month. We were back on tracks… we just needed some times to recharge our battery, to go to the beach was more than welcome! When it comes to Kerala, you can ask any Indians and they will tell you that Kerala is a great place to stay and visit. Kerala is famous for Ayuverda, Tiger reserves, green vegetations (coconut palm trees, tea and cardammon plantations, quiet areas and Kalaripayat (a martial art). As a tourist coming for two weeks, it is true you can enjoy everything for an expensive price. But as a world traveller, we cannot afford this high class tourism and we are not even interested to watch an elephant having a bath for i.e or go where every Westerner go (Back waters…)
Therefore we travel a bit differently and try to work as volunteers, meet local and stay at people places. It defenitely lowers our cost but also we gain unforgettable experiences. So far, so good until we arrived at RASTA organisation. RASTA stands for: Rural Agency for Social Technological Advancement). Ende of November, we applied to work for this NGO as volunteers for a month. For long term involvement (one month and +) you will get free food and accommodation. The association was ok for us to come in Feb. Sortly before we arrived, we contacted it again and set up our day of arrival: 13th FEB. We were looking forward to working there and regenerating our energy level. As you might know, travelling in India is tireing and Wayanad should be quiet and green enough. The journey to get there was long and bouncy but it was an occasion to travel through Wayanad reserve. We saw elephants, a big buffalo, deers and birds, we had our safary! A day after our arrival, we had a meeting with the 4 volunteers and the staff. What stroke us is that RASTA´s manager spoke about projets in the past, we heart nothing about the present and the future. A new employee took over and mentionned that due to a lack of fundings, RASTA could not afford to have long term volunteers and give them free accommodation and free food. We had to pay 200 RS per day and per person (about 3€). The new projects were business orientated! We were shocked as for us volunteering is just based on exchanging work against accommodation and food. We exchanged about 11 emails with RASTA since November 2014 and any time it mentionned the financial situation. Its profile on HELPX was not even updated, it was done only after our argument. We tried to make our point but the organisation is so desperate for money. It saw in us only the money: to pay 200 RS per day and also to do fundraisings or make new business concepts. We were not given even the choice: we could hand over our ideas within the next hour and then it would consider either we could stay for „free“ or not. At that point, there was a breach of confidence and we just told that we will reconsider our stay. Even the day before, we were offered to stay in the guest house for 500 RS per person and work on the same time !!! As soon as we decided to leave within two days, RASTA tried to save the situation and make us stay for free for 10 days and not a month. We could have worked very well and benefit from: Hamal yoga classes, Wayanad´s nature and culture (RASTA could could have benefit from two experienced people. As far as we are concerned, it was a waste of time and energy… Breaking News: in the reserve three days before our arrival, a tiger killed two people, the tiger was also killed. No comment on that. The last and not the least to go is a Tibetan refugee camp where monks and Tibetan families settled down. It is 4 hours ride by bus (one way) although it is about 70 km away from Mysore.
Welcome to Tibet! An entire area within India is Tibetan: you have Tibetan temples, restaurants, hospital and schools etc. We also attended a ceremony. We just arrived at the Sera Mey Monastory when monks served rice and a drink to everyone. We also had some and we were welcomed as part of the Tibetans. The young monk who served me was so impressed or shy that half oft the rice fell down! People (from kids to grandparends) were very friendly and not obtrusive!!! We stayed one hour and found it very interesting. It began with gongs and musi followed with a short ceremony for a couple of monks and it continued with a long speech in Tibetan. We had the chance to be part of it but it is very unfortunate as well. One girl had a bag and it was written: TIBET WILL BE FREE After a long bus journey, 14hours (door to door), we arrived at our new couchsurfer place : Prateek and his flatmate. Couchsurfing is always a new experience! This time it was the North meeting South India as Prateek and his flatmate are from Northern India. For the first time we had Northern Indian food, it was delicious and very creamy! Thanks guys to cook for us and take us out for dinner!
We took some times to relax and visit the city: the palace is worth it. We thought we were in 1001 nights fairy tale! Beautiful! We learned more in 90 minutes than 5 hours in Hampi with a local guide! We were satisfied!!! To finish a 1001 nights day, we went for a pizza at Papa Johns´. It was very good!! We sometimes need some Western food! It is just a pleasure! The bill was a European one ! 820 RS ! for once in the while … it does not matter. The very next day we walked all around Hampi to visit the remaining temple and sites. We felt good to be out of the crowd and walked at our own pace. We had a map and we knew the road but not the short cut!
We went to royal enclosure where we bought one ticket for two as a second visit were included in the price. I went to the stables and the lotus mahal and Önder Vithala temple, 7kms north from the stables. Prices for the locals 10RS, for foreigners 250RS. Considering that Indians who travelled are the upper class! We agree to pay more but that much! We enjoyed the visit and the long walk at the hottest hour of the day! Before arriving at the Vithala temple, astonishly people were gathering. It was Sunday, a special event was taking place. We asked a couple of guys and they were there to assist a Bollywood film shooting. Videos or pictures of the scene were allowed only before the shooting! Once the actors appeared, the crowd started shouting until Silence was required ! We rented a room for few days but unlike anywhere else we did not have WIFI. Therefore, we had to go to restaurants to get connected. Our selected place was a Tibetan restaurant hold by Malaysians. You could have any type of food from Chinese noodles, to Pizza and even some Western Indian food ! No spices and no chili ! We were definitelly in a touristic place ! We had delicious meals twice to three times a day ! WIFI was not always on as monkeys around were constantly damaging the lines ! It was funny to observe them : we saw some intruding a restaurant and stealing and drinking a bottle of Fanta! Beware of monkeys they can take away your belongings forever! :=) A must to see but it is hard to handle as there are so many tourists and the locals who tried to rip you off as soon as you ask for a service. We were there to visit the city of victory so we changed our chip and behaved as typical tourists. We went to the tourist office and the tourist guide sold us a great tour mixed with history, geology and culture. After a walk in the temple next to the tourist office, we booked a bike tour, we paid 1000 RS, due 500 RS the very next day. We were looking forward to it ! Full of hope to learn about the Vijayanar history we went to the tour at 8:30.
The guide was there and the participants as well. Let ´s get started ! After few minutes, the guide, who appeared a bit annoyed, just said that a colleague will take over. We would have been fine with that! We had problems to understand his accent and his explanations were not accurate at all. He could not answer our questions. At some points he just left 10 minutes when we had a short break. We found out that the guide was a local guide ! Not surprising but we felt cheated so we decided not to pay the amount due. At the end of the tour, Önder mentionned that we missed the visit to the archeological museum. The guide could not bother to go there and replied that it was not worth it seeing it! After that, he said goodbye and showed us the way to return to Hampi! We all said good bye and were about to go to the Queen bath, our last monunent to visit. At that second, the guide turned to us and asked for monney! OH OH OH ! It started to be complicated and we had an argument with him and the licensed guide but over the phone. Half an hour later, we were at the tourist office arguing why we did not want to pay. We had to write a statement and the facts about the tour. Our efforts paid… well we would have preferred to have a professional tour … We were offered to take the tour the very next morning … we just declined the offer. A UNESCO heritage site where 2000 temples were built, now 120 are still in use for ceremonies.
For the first time, I copied and pasted the Vijayanagar („City of Victory“) History from „The Rough guide to India“ p1305. „The rise of the Vijayanagar empire seems to have been a direct response, in the first half of the fourteenth century, to the expansionist aims of Muslims from the north, most notably Malik Kafur and Mohammed-bin-Tughluq. Two Hindu brothers from Andhra Pradesh, Harihara and Bukka, who had been employed as treasury officers in Kampila, 19km east of Hampi, were captured by the Tughluqs and taken to Delhi, where they supposedly converted to Islam. Assuming them to be suitably tamed, the Delhi sultan despatched them to quell civil disorder in Kampila, which they duly did, only to abandon both Islam and allegiance to Delhi shortly afterwards, preferring to establish their own independent Hindu kingdom. Within a few years they controlled vast tracts of land from coast to coast. In 1343 their new capital, Vijayanagar, was founded on the southern banks of the River Tungabhadra, a location long considered sacred by Hindus. The city’s most glorious period was under the reign of Krishna Deva Raya (1509–29), when it enjoyed a near monopoly of the lucrative trade in Arabian horses and Indian spices passing through the coastal ports and was the most powerful Hindu capital in the Deccan. Travellers such as the Portuguese chronicler Domingo Paez, who stayed for two years after 1520, were astonished by its size and wealth, telling tales of markets full of silk and precious gems, beautiful, bejewelled courtesans, ornate palaces and fantastical festivities. Thanks to its natural features and massive fortifications, Vijayanagar was virtually impregnable. In 1565, however, following his interference in the affairs of local Muslim sultanates, the regent Rama Raya was drawn into a battle with a confederacy of Muslim forces, 100km away to the north, which left the city undefended. At first, fortune appeared to be on the side of the Hindu army, but there were as many as ten thousand Muslims in their number, and loyalties may well have been divided. When two Vijayanagar Muslim generals suddenly deserted, the army fell into disarray. Defeat came swiftly; although members of his family fled with untold hoards of gold and jewels, Rama Raya was captured and suffered a grisly death at the hands of the sultan of Ahmadnagar. Vijayanagar then fell victim to a series of destructive raids, and its days of splendour were brought to an abrupt end.“ Why Malkapur? Our journey is made of surprises and things are roughly planed that leave us some flexibily. When we stayed at Hashmukh´s ranch, we met Sudhir and his wife Asha. They invited us to their organic farm, which is about 45 km away from Kolhapur. As they were going there on 2nd Feb, they picked us up at Varun´s place.
Back to a remote area, nature gives us so much energy. Everyone had a rest, it was two days of! No work only sleeping, eating and talking! Sudhir and Asha took us to the nearest village and cooked nice Masala chickens with veg! Like in Mandangad, it was an eating experience! The owners are 4 friends who decided to buy a land where water supplies would not be an issue therefore it took them 2 years to find the right spot. It is a little paradise on earth. They employed one farmer and his wife who managed the land. mo The farm, 110 hectares has a diversity of trees (mango, chicoo, coconut) and the owners cultivate differents types of vegetables. They also have chickens, 6 cows, 1 goat, 1 cat and 1 dog (Tiger)! The downsides are the animals (peakcoks, wild pigs, crows etc) which damage the plantations. When it came to choose where to sleep, we decided to stay in our tent. The first and second night were great, we were really into the nature. When we woke up, we had a bad surprise. We had new mates in the tent and big ones: red ants!!! How come??? Everyone told me that sleeping in a tent is safe!!! Well I have the proof of the contrary. The big red ants intruded the tent by eating it at several places that lead to a colonisation of our sleeping area!!!!! They were concentrated at the entry of the tent but even they trepassed our property without asking ! In the morning we fixed up the damage. The third night we put the tent on two beds and slept tight again. What a story! We enjoyed the time, the nature and the food! On our way back to Kolhapur, Sudhir took us to Panhala. From there, we reached Kolhapur to go to Hampi. Panhala is an historical place where Shivaji fought against the Muslims and won the fort back! Shivaji was a powerful king in 17th century, kids at school still learned about him! (Pics: mobile and camera) Special thanks to Sudhir and Asha ! Asha, the host´s mother, took us to some places where we could not have gone on our own: an organic farm, a cow farm, an Ayuverda hospital and a village where gurus and Indian life style where represented. At relative high speed pace, we managed it in 5 hours!
The organic farm is a great concept: 130 crops in 300 hectares. Unfortunately, we did not learn much out of it as the owner did not speach much English. At the cow farm, we could have a better discussion. 800 cows and differents type of breeds. When we arrived, the cows had a rest so no visit were allowed. In the evening, cows can listen to relaxing music. There were a temple with 8 different cows, with different colours. if you go around 106 times, it gives you positive energy and as pregnant woman, you will give birth naturally. We went only once! Visiting an hospital is unusual, but an Ayuverda is also wired! The doctor in charge of the hospital took his time to explain the Ayuverda concept, an ancient holistic system. It is usually practiced in Kerala but is more expensive and is most of the time monney driven. For a therapy, a patient will stay 10 days. He will start with a diagnostic and then 4 days of desintoxication. After that, the patient will have specific treatments from massages to relaxation and includes herbal medicines. It will cost 22000 RS about 330€ including meals, treatment, rooms. An Ayuverda therapy would be required one every two days. The waiting list is quite long and we dont know whether we will have time to come back! Our third journey in India, it was not different to the first two! We were supposed to take the bus at 6:30 but it left half an hour before! Luckily the next bus was leaving at 8am. Let s wait 1:30 at Mandangad ´s bus station!! It should have been a 5 hours trip but the bus (and at some point we) had a break down ! 245 km in 8 hours.
4 generations under one roof. 450 sqm- 5 people from 90 years to 7 month old- 6 maids- 1 driver The family runs a fundery : 250 employees. 90% of the wealth belongs to 5% of Indian population. We stayed as couchsurfers at their place. After 3,5 weeks in a remote area, we were back to the civilisation! Friday night we went out for a couple of beers and dinner. In India, you drink first and then you have diner, we had diner at 1:30 am. Tasty food especially the chicken! Yummi! The very next day, we had a rest and slept and eat a lot J Sunday, unlike in Europe, people go to work: 6 days and have one day rest on Monday as the power suply shut down. In Marasthra, the government imposed one day and cut the current to balance the suply in the state. We went to visit the fundery first and then the driver took us to town. What a luxury in our trip?! Last evening at Sapna Ranch after spending 3.5 weeks there. We had a fantastic time: meeting nice people, building a water tank, a wash dish area, a part of a compost toilet, a foundation for a geometric dome, digging, gardening, cooking even indian dhal, making chappathi, taking care of the cat and dogs, painting, making some bamboos treatment, taking part in the 5th anniversary celebrAtion etc... and the last but not the least:watching for the stars!!! Thanks for hosting us Hasmukh and for the learning enviromnent! Amongst a lots of activities (movies, documentaries, dicussions and presentations), we had a hobby star watcher who came and introduced us to the milky way and the stars!
I particularly had an amazing time watching constellations, planets such as Venus, Jupiter, the Moon, the ISS and Saturn very early in the morning. J Workshop We came to Haskmush’s ranch for ten days without knowing that a workshop will beginn on 18th Jan. We decided to stay and see how it will go. The workshop is open to anyone interested in alternative way of life, the participants are pre selected and interviewed. The 2 weeks workshop is based on donation, one person costs 300 RS. We were 15 people coming from: Europe and Maharastra mostly from Mumbai and Pune. Working with people coming from different background is sometimes not easy, it can only go well only once when everyone is tuned and understand what are the goals! The concept of working at Sapna Ranch is based on « forgiving design ». What does it mean?
We do not look for perfection but fonctionality. We had to put aside our Western way of thinking and also worked with basic tools ! We took part in different type of projects: building a water tank, a wash dish area, a reciprocal geometric dome model and the real one. Before starting any of these projects, we had to dig, collect and carry heavy stones and mud! We also did some wood painting, mix some bamboos treatment, learn to cook Indian dal, lentils, rice, make chapatis and some different Indian dishes. By learning practical and physical work we also learned on ourselves! (mobile pictures) |
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