I have to apologise for telling a few porkies in my past few posts.... I'm no longer in India. I'm at home in Dublin now! In fact, I had no intention of spending Christmas in India and had planned to fly home just for a for a few weeks (a little holiday as such) over Chrimbo. But I wanted to surprise my family and hence the 'white lies' when alluding to my plans for the festive season.
So on Thursday afternoon, I jumped on a long-haul back from Mumbai to the durty ol' town via heathrow and I arrived back here... Thursday afternoon...
I'm flying back to Mumbai on the 5th of January so I have just less than three weeks of festive cheer and banter before the odyssey continues.
I'm pretty sure I ain't gonna be updating this from Ireland so I'll speak to you again in a few weeks. I'm bringing my laptop back to India with me, so the quality of my blog should improve marginally in the New Year.
To keep you ticking over, I've posted some photos below of the last week on the beach before coming home. I was on a beach called Om Beach in Gokarna, Karnataka, where I spent the days spitroasting and the evenings bonfiring on the beach... It was lovely altogether...
Have a good Chrimbo and New Years and I'll update again when I get back to Mumbai.
Sunday, December 21, 2008
Friday, December 12, 2008
Where's wally?
This is the exact spot where I am at the moment... I do my yoga in the mornings at that point where the beach juts out into a headland...
View Larger Map
View Larger Map
Tuesday, December 9, 2008
Back to Beach
Although the ashram and the yoga and the veganism and the chanting and the meditation and the early rises and the relaxation (you get the idea) were all really good things... the place was starting to wreck my nutz, so I upped and legged it. This post is coming to you from a mind-numbingly unspiritual beach called Gokarna on the coast of Karnataka state (south of Goa, north of Mangalore). I left the ashram yesterday morning and arrived here after a 24 hour train journey, during which I ate meat and didn't meditate... I've also just had a beer so you'll excuse the verbal vomit that follows.
I did enjoy the ashram and would have stayed there longer had I had more time (I.e. Had I been immortal I probably would have given it another day or two). I really found myself getting into the physical side of things and enjoyed each yoga class more than the last one. However, on the spirtual side of things, I just couldn't get down and jiggy with the meditation and found many of the practices and rituals strongly religious, which has never really sat well with me. I tried to keep my mind as open as possible, and in fairness, the experience has awakaned an interest in a variety of topics ranging from energy flows & shakras to buddhist and hindu concepts of enlightenment and oneness. Not being a big fan of religions to begin with, these philosophically based beliefs of mental betterment and eradication of ego go a lot further with me than what I consider the fairytales of the book-based Abrahamic religions.
On a slightly more serious note, my bowels have begun to move again... All the lentils, beans, semolina and chickpeas that they rammed down my throat weren't really in a rush to go anywhere and I've got to confess that I went for only one poo during my week with the yoga nuts. Literally as soon as I set foot outside the door of the place, I started to feel a 'motion in the ocean' if you know what I mean and things have since become more healthy. I think I must be the only person who has ever suffered from constipation in the Subcontinent!
The really great thing about the ashram (as in life in general) was the people I met. I fell in with a group of mildly piss-taking and marginally cynical folks from France, the UK and Oz and we had a good bit of banter poking fun at the die-hard lentil eaters. Although our days were pretty full, we managed to chill out swimming in the crocodile infested lake or else chatting over some fruit juices in the 'Health Hut' (the ashram equivalant to the local boozer)...
I saw my time in the ashram as a little present from me to my body... a lump of flesh and bones that I don't generally think about enough. I felt like I should have stayed there a little longer but I was in dire need of sun and sand, so I compromised and promised myself that I would do some yoga at least for the first few days of the beach, so as to get used to doing it independantly. So today I spread out my yoga mat on the beach and, feeling like a pretencious c*nt (sorry, but there's no other word to describe it), I proceed to do my sun salutations and stretches on the beach. Hopefully I can (a) keep it up for another few days and (b) find a more secret place to do it so that I don't feel like such a wanker.
I've finally managed to upload some photos. Below you can find three albums.
This one is general pics of Helen and me coming down the SouthEast coast from Kolkata to Pondicherry. (Helen didn't come to the ashram, she stayed on the beach but I'm due to meet her here in the next day or two).
This one is a few pics of Kerala, specifically Munnar the hill-station where I went wandering around the tea plantations with a great group of Canadians and Brits.
And finally, ye ol' Ashram... yoga and general paddiwhackery.
I did enjoy the ashram and would have stayed there longer had I had more time (I.e. Had I been immortal I probably would have given it another day or two). I really found myself getting into the physical side of things and enjoyed each yoga class more than the last one. However, on the spirtual side of things, I just couldn't get down and jiggy with the meditation and found many of the practices and rituals strongly religious, which has never really sat well with me. I tried to keep my mind as open as possible, and in fairness, the experience has awakaned an interest in a variety of topics ranging from energy flows & shakras to buddhist and hindu concepts of enlightenment and oneness. Not being a big fan of religions to begin with, these philosophically based beliefs of mental betterment and eradication of ego go a lot further with me than what I consider the fairytales of the book-based Abrahamic religions.
On a slightly more serious note, my bowels have begun to move again... All the lentils, beans, semolina and chickpeas that they rammed down my throat weren't really in a rush to go anywhere and I've got to confess that I went for only one poo during my week with the yoga nuts. Literally as soon as I set foot outside the door of the place, I started to feel a 'motion in the ocean' if you know what I mean and things have since become more healthy. I think I must be the only person who has ever suffered from constipation in the Subcontinent!
The really great thing about the ashram (as in life in general) was the people I met. I fell in with a group of mildly piss-taking and marginally cynical folks from France, the UK and Oz and we had a good bit of banter poking fun at the die-hard lentil eaters. Although our days were pretty full, we managed to chill out swimming in the crocodile infested lake or else chatting over some fruit juices in the 'Health Hut' (the ashram equivalant to the local boozer)...
I saw my time in the ashram as a little present from me to my body... a lump of flesh and bones that I don't generally think about enough. I felt like I should have stayed there a little longer but I was in dire need of sun and sand, so I compromised and promised myself that I would do some yoga at least for the first few days of the beach, so as to get used to doing it independantly. So today I spread out my yoga mat on the beach and, feeling like a pretencious c*nt (sorry, but there's no other word to describe it), I proceed to do my sun salutations and stretches on the beach. Hopefully I can (a) keep it up for another few days and (b) find a more secret place to do it so that I don't feel like such a wanker.
I've finally managed to upload some photos. Below you can find three albums.
This one is general pics of Helen and me coming down the SouthEast coast from Kolkata to Pondicherry. (Helen didn't come to the ashram, she stayed on the beach but I'm due to meet her here in the next day or two).
This one is a few pics of Kerala, specifically Munnar the hill-station where I went wandering around the tea plantations with a great group of Canadians and Brits.
And finally, ye ol' Ashram... yoga and general paddiwhackery.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Sun Howaryah's
OK, so this is an example of some of the mad shite that goes in this place. Both videos are pilfered from the net, but show the kind of craziness that occurs here. The first one is a yoga position called the sun salutation which we have to do a quadrillion times a day and the second one is some of the (slightly manic and culty) chanting that we engage at cockcrow and again before bedtime every day.
I've booked my train outta here... Sunday is my last full day and then it's off to Gokarna, a beach town in the state of Karnataka (between Kerala and Goa) for a break from relaxation. I'll try to stick some photos up then.
I've booked my train outta here... Sunday is my last full day and then it's off to Gokarna, a beach town in the state of Karnataka (between Kerala and Goa) for a break from relaxation. I'll try to stick some photos up then.
Wednesday, December 3, 2008
Ohmmmmmm
Right, sorry it’s been a while… First of all, I wasn’t anywhere near Mumbai for the incidents a few weeks ago. I was far away from all that and I’m alive and very well indeed.
Can’t remember last time I updated but in brief I’ve been messing around the South of India, particularly in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for the past while. I had a great week on a beach called Varkala, lots of boozing and debauchery. I met a few heads there and decided to make a trip to Munnar, a hill-station in the mountains. So I had three great days walking through tea plantations and the likes by day and drinking bad rum by night. Definitely a place that I’ll return to in the New Year.
By the end of all that, my body was well and thoroughly fucked. I’d consumed more rum, vodka, beer etc. in a space of two weeks than most countries would go through in a year. I’d smoked enough cigarettes to smoke all the salmon in Scotland. I had eaten my way through most of southern India and had a variety of dietary problems (sometimes too much movement, sometimes too little). I had been stung by jellyfish and was nursing a quadrillion mosquito bites on my legs and arms. I was also graced with the attention of a large quantity of leeches while walking through the tea plantations and was plugging and covering the resultant holes in my legs.
So you get the message… I was seriously fuck-arooed and decided that immediate action was necessary. I had been toying with the idea of checking myself into an ashram for a two week yoga course and I decided to take the plunge. I arrived on the steps of Sivananda Ashram last Sunday night. After horsing the last cigarette into my bleeding lungs I passed through the gates and have been living a life of health-freak since then. My daily schedule is as follows:
5.20 Get up outta bed
6.00 – 8.00 Chanting and Meditation
8.00 – 10.00 Yoga Classes
10.00 – 11.00 First Meal
11.00 – 12.30 Chores
12.30 – 2.00 Yoga Personal Coaching
2.00 – 3.00 Yoga Theory Lecture
3.30 – 5.00 Yoga Classes
6.00 – 7.00 Second Meal
8.00 – 10.00 Chanting and Meditation
10.30 Lights Out
We have two vegan meals a day… the only break from veganism is a glass of buttermilk that’s offered to those who want some dairy… Believe it or not, I actually fall into this category.
We have four hours of yoga exercises a day and I can now touch my toes (hadn’t been the case since I was about nine years old). I also haven’t smoked or drank in four days.
So that’s why I haven’t updated… phones and internet are considered not good for karma and are banned. I had to bail on my chores and sneak out to the local town today to update this… I hope you realize that I’m risking my life for you guys…
I’m off now to do some more yoga… I have loads of photos but I don’t think that I’ll find a connection fast enough to upload them for the next week or two…
Until then…. Wish me enlightenment!
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Can’t remember last time I updated but in brief I’ve been messing around the South of India, particularly in the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala for the past while. I had a great week on a beach called Varkala, lots of boozing and debauchery. I met a few heads there and decided to make a trip to Munnar, a hill-station in the mountains. So I had three great days walking through tea plantations and the likes by day and drinking bad rum by night. Definitely a place that I’ll return to in the New Year.
By the end of all that, my body was well and thoroughly fucked. I’d consumed more rum, vodka, beer etc. in a space of two weeks than most countries would go through in a year. I’d smoked enough cigarettes to smoke all the salmon in Scotland. I had eaten my way through most of southern India and had a variety of dietary problems (sometimes too much movement, sometimes too little). I had been stung by jellyfish and was nursing a quadrillion mosquito bites on my legs and arms. I was also graced with the attention of a large quantity of leeches while walking through the tea plantations and was plugging and covering the resultant holes in my legs.
So you get the message… I was seriously fuck-arooed and decided that immediate action was necessary. I had been toying with the idea of checking myself into an ashram for a two week yoga course and I decided to take the plunge. I arrived on the steps of Sivananda Ashram last Sunday night. After horsing the last cigarette into my bleeding lungs I passed through the gates and have been living a life of health-freak since then. My daily schedule is as follows:
5.20 Get up outta bed
6.00 – 8.00 Chanting and Meditation
8.00 – 10.00 Yoga Classes
10.00 – 11.00 First Meal
11.00 – 12.30 Chores
12.30 – 2.00 Yoga Personal Coaching
2.00 – 3.00 Yoga Theory Lecture
3.30 – 5.00 Yoga Classes
6.00 – 7.00 Second Meal
8.00 – 10.00 Chanting and Meditation
10.30 Lights Out
We have two vegan meals a day… the only break from veganism is a glass of buttermilk that’s offered to those who want some dairy… Believe it or not, I actually fall into this category.
We have four hours of yoga exercises a day and I can now touch my toes (hadn’t been the case since I was about nine years old). I also haven’t smoked or drank in four days.
So that’s why I haven’t updated… phones and internet are considered not good for karma and are banned. I had to bail on my chores and sneak out to the local town today to update this… I hope you realize that I’m risking my life for you guys…
I’m off now to do some more yoga… I have loads of photos but I don’t think that I’ll find a connection fast enough to upload them for the next week or two…
Until then…. Wish me enlightenment!
Ohmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmm
Friday, November 21, 2008
Struttin' in me shalwar
I decided yesterday to throw on the ol' shalwar kameez, which some of you might remember is the pyjama-like clothing that I got in Pakistan. So there I was strutting along the beach front with my tails flowing in the afternoon breeze... you should have seen the respect I was getting. "Hey man, cool shalwar", "nice clothes buddy"... and no-one tried to flog me anything (this is unheard of) as I was clearly a soul brother just goin' for a walk! There were a couple of Muslims boppin' around as well, and they were chuffed to pieces when they saw me. It was Friday afternoon and they were all done up in their shalwars as well for prayers. One of them saw me coming and tried to trick me to see if I was the 'real deal'... He mumbled asalaam aleikum as I passed (the arabic greeting common to all Muslim countries) and I rolled back at him with the response ma aleikum a-salaam.... he broke out in an ear to ear grin, it was deadly!
So apart from getting down and jiggy with my Muslim brothers, there ain't too much else goin' on. I'm in a beautiful beach resort called Varkala, halfway between Trivandurum and Quillon in the state of Kerala on the West Coast of India by the Arabian Sea. The village is set up along a cliff edge here with a nice beach about a hundred feet below us. It's pretty touristy and there are lots of heads here, but it's nice and relaxed.
We had a nice few days in Pondicherry, but Helen was sick so we didn't get up to too much. Spent most of the time reading my book and walking around the French quarter. Then we jumped on a sleeper crossing the Southern tip of the country to the West coast. The trains here are pretty good. It's far from the chaos and mayhem that used to reign (as portrayed in films like Ghandi) with people hangin' out of the rafters and sitting on the roof etc. There are a plethora of different classes, starting with first class (two berth private compartments with AC), to second class two-tiered compartments with AC, to second class three tiered compartments with AC, to second class three-tiered compartments without AC to third class wooden seats.
I've always gone for the second class three tiered compartments without AC, this is sleeper class and it's what the vast majority of people travel in. You have open carriages with eight 'compartments' (all open, no doors or anything). Each compartment has seating for nine people, three facing backwards, three facing forwards and three facing across the train on the other side of the walkway. At night time, you can pull down beds so that there are three beds on each wall, lower, middle and upper berths. I always try to go for the upper berth, because it doesn't get folded away so you can always just lie down on it (it's also quite comfy to sit on), you're higher up and therefore more out of the action and you've got the fans right above you so you tend to be cooler. For some reason, Indian's don't really like this berth so it's quite easy to get one. The downside is that you have to look at cockroaches crawling across the ceiling as you prepare for sleep.
The journey's have always been very pleasant as well. Usually you get a night train so that you can spend the vast majority of the journey sleeping. You have to bail on to the train pretty quickly to make sure that you get to store your bags under the seats or else they're just knockin' around the aisles. But once you're installed, everyone's always really friendly, happy to chat away with you and inviting you for teas from one of the hundreds of chai sellers who roll through the carraiges.
It's been raining heavily here this morning, but it's stopping now and the sun is coming out so I'm off down the beach. Peace out.
C.
View Larger Map
So apart from getting down and jiggy with my Muslim brothers, there ain't too much else goin' on. I'm in a beautiful beach resort called Varkala, halfway between Trivandurum and Quillon in the state of Kerala on the West Coast of India by the Arabian Sea. The village is set up along a cliff edge here with a nice beach about a hundred feet below us. It's pretty touristy and there are lots of heads here, but it's nice and relaxed.
We had a nice few days in Pondicherry, but Helen was sick so we didn't get up to too much. Spent most of the time reading my book and walking around the French quarter. Then we jumped on a sleeper crossing the Southern tip of the country to the West coast. The trains here are pretty good. It's far from the chaos and mayhem that used to reign (as portrayed in films like Ghandi) with people hangin' out of the rafters and sitting on the roof etc. There are a plethora of different classes, starting with first class (two berth private compartments with AC), to second class two-tiered compartments with AC, to second class three tiered compartments with AC, to second class three-tiered compartments without AC to third class wooden seats.
I've always gone for the second class three tiered compartments without AC, this is sleeper class and it's what the vast majority of people travel in. You have open carriages with eight 'compartments' (all open, no doors or anything). Each compartment has seating for nine people, three facing backwards, three facing forwards and three facing across the train on the other side of the walkway. At night time, you can pull down beds so that there are three beds on each wall, lower, middle and upper berths. I always try to go for the upper berth, because it doesn't get folded away so you can always just lie down on it (it's also quite comfy to sit on), you're higher up and therefore more out of the action and you've got the fans right above you so you tend to be cooler. For some reason, Indian's don't really like this berth so it's quite easy to get one. The downside is that you have to look at cockroaches crawling across the ceiling as you prepare for sleep.
The journey's have always been very pleasant as well. Usually you get a night train so that you can spend the vast majority of the journey sleeping. You have to bail on to the train pretty quickly to make sure that you get to store your bags under the seats or else they're just knockin' around the aisles. But once you're installed, everyone's always really friendly, happy to chat away with you and inviting you for teas from one of the hundreds of chai sellers who roll through the carraiges.
It's been raining heavily here this morning, but it's stopping now and the sun is coming out so I'm off down the beach. Peace out.
C.
View Larger Map
Sunday, November 16, 2008
Sleepers Galore
I finished a book today called "Three Cups of Tea"... It's a lovely read about an American guy who founds girls schools in Pakistan. Inspiring stuff. Now I've moved on to "Shantaram" about an Aussie ex-con who makes a new live for himself in Mumbai. I'm only into Chapter 2, but it's good reading so far...
I sat out in the sun this morning, starting the first few chapters of the new book and got sunburned on my shoulders. First time I've got sunburned since i came away. It's not too bad but I've lathered myself up in Aloe Vera hoping to ward off any nasty developments. Apart from that my body is holding up well. I've got occasional bouts of stomach problems, but I'm taking probiotic supplements and keeping it in play.
The food is good here in India... I mean really really good. There's a snowball's chance in hell of me losing any weight here. Everyone was telling me before I came out that the weight would 'fall off me' in India, but jesus, I'm eating rings around me. And it's all so rich! I'm a big fan of masala with chicken or fish tikka, samosa's by the bucketful, aloo gobi (cauliflower and spud), chaat (a kind of indian salad with chickpeas, coriander, spring onions, chillis and a million billion other things), raita (cucumber and veg mixed with yoghurt)... the list goes on. Since hitting the Eastern coast, I've been horsing into the seafood, huge grilled tuna's with lemon rice, kingfisher curry etc.
So I think that the last time I did a decent post would have been Amritsar, in the northwest of the country, after crossing the Pakistani border. I have since traversed the whole of india, passed down the Eastern coast and am almost at the southern tip of the Subcontinent.
After staying a night with the pilgrims in Amritsar, I hopped on an overnight train to Delhi and met up with Helen, a friend of mine I'll be traveling with until Christmas. Six hours after my arrival in Delhi, I was straight back onto the Rajastani Express, an 18 hour sleeper to Kolkata (Calcutta), the city of Joy in West Bengal, where we met up with Emily, a good friend of Helen's from back home. Emily is volunteering for the Hope Foundation, a very professional and efficient Irish charity working with Kolkata's street children, and Helen had previously helped to organise fundraising for an affiliated charity back in Ireland. So we were given some really interesting tours of Kolkata's slums and shown projects ranging from slum schools, orphanages, addiction centres to women's vocational centres. Emily and her friend Niamh also introduced us to Kolkata's groovy social scene. Far from being the cesspool that we are led to believe from abroad (the black hole et al.). Kolkata is actually India's cultural and chill-out hub. We went to Bengali music nights, had a few slap up Bengali meals (de-fuckin'-licious), had a few nights out on the booze and even went to a local party. Basically we had an absolute ball of a week and I can't wait to make it back there in the New Year. It was a fantastic introduction to India and Emily and Niamh did a sterling job of giving us the 360.
Since then we hopped on another sleeper train down to Puri, a seaside city in the state of Odissa, where we spent a few nights in the beautiful Z Hotel, and saw some slick temples (it's all about the temples in India). Then another sleeper to Chennai, for a quick night on the booze in a big city, and finally a bus to Malalapuram, where we are now, a sleepy little village between Pondi and Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu.
And hey presto, it's time for me to fill my gut with some fine seafood (we're thinking of splashing out on a lobster one of these nights, although at ten euros, I'm not sure we can afford it)... so I'll be smelling you all later.
Peace out from Tamil Nadu...
C.
PS: Pics from Kolkata and a map of India below
View Larger Map
I sat out in the sun this morning, starting the first few chapters of the new book and got sunburned on my shoulders. First time I've got sunburned since i came away. It's not too bad but I've lathered myself up in Aloe Vera hoping to ward off any nasty developments. Apart from that my body is holding up well. I've got occasional bouts of stomach problems, but I'm taking probiotic supplements and keeping it in play.
The food is good here in India... I mean really really good. There's a snowball's chance in hell of me losing any weight here. Everyone was telling me before I came out that the weight would 'fall off me' in India, but jesus, I'm eating rings around me. And it's all so rich! I'm a big fan of masala with chicken or fish tikka, samosa's by the bucketful, aloo gobi (cauliflower and spud), chaat (a kind of indian salad with chickpeas, coriander, spring onions, chillis and a million billion other things), raita (cucumber and veg mixed with yoghurt)... the list goes on. Since hitting the Eastern coast, I've been horsing into the seafood, huge grilled tuna's with lemon rice, kingfisher curry etc.
So I think that the last time I did a decent post would have been Amritsar, in the northwest of the country, after crossing the Pakistani border. I have since traversed the whole of india, passed down the Eastern coast and am almost at the southern tip of the Subcontinent.
After staying a night with the pilgrims in Amritsar, I hopped on an overnight train to Delhi and met up with Helen, a friend of mine I'll be traveling with until Christmas. Six hours after my arrival in Delhi, I was straight back onto the Rajastani Express, an 18 hour sleeper to Kolkata (Calcutta), the city of Joy in West Bengal, where we met up with Emily, a good friend of Helen's from back home. Emily is volunteering for the Hope Foundation, a very professional and efficient Irish charity working with Kolkata's street children, and Helen had previously helped to organise fundraising for an affiliated charity back in Ireland. So we were given some really interesting tours of Kolkata's slums and shown projects ranging from slum schools, orphanages, addiction centres to women's vocational centres. Emily and her friend Niamh also introduced us to Kolkata's groovy social scene. Far from being the cesspool that we are led to believe from abroad (the black hole et al.). Kolkata is actually India's cultural and chill-out hub. We went to Bengali music nights, had a few slap up Bengali meals (de-fuckin'-licious), had a few nights out on the booze and even went to a local party. Basically we had an absolute ball of a week and I can't wait to make it back there in the New Year. It was a fantastic introduction to India and Emily and Niamh did a sterling job of giving us the 360.
Since then we hopped on another sleeper train down to Puri, a seaside city in the state of Odissa, where we spent a few nights in the beautiful Z Hotel, and saw some slick temples (it's all about the temples in India). Then another sleeper to Chennai, for a quick night on the booze in a big city, and finally a bus to Malalapuram, where we are now, a sleepy little village between Pondi and Chennai, in the state of Tamil Nadu.
And hey presto, it's time for me to fill my gut with some fine seafood (we're thinking of splashing out on a lobster one of these nights, although at ten euros, I'm not sure we can afford it)... so I'll be smelling you all later.
Peace out from Tamil Nadu...
C.
PS: Pics from Kolkata and a map of India below
View Larger Map
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