Christmas in Goa

Goa is a bubble. Much more than I thought it would be.

First things first: the food. Every restaurant here has foreign food as their main meals, indian is secondary. Also, most serve BEEF and PORK! I had a beefburger the other day! Then bacon! (I realize this doesn't sound too crazy, but for Hindus, the cow is holy, and there is a big Muslim population here too so usually no pork). There are also supermarkets here (!) with only foreigners inside, and where you can find pretty much everything from back home.

The beaches are an endless succession of bars, clubs, and restaurants pumping out psy-trance and techno all day and night. And there are thousands and thousands of foreing tourists (not just backpackers: honeymooners, families, many hippies, groups of friends here for the party...) sunbathing, drinking, and tripping. A lot of Russians and English. It's really like coastal Spain, a mini Ibiza, and this is the biggest culture shock I've had so far.

I'm staying in Anjuna, which has a lot of foreigners, but just down the coast to Baga there are more Indian tourists: Groups of hunky guys in wife-beaters with their ray bans and cigarettes, drinking on the beach. Light-skinned girls dressed like westerners, and speaking in English, while ordering the priciest items on the menu. The crowds here are so different to the people I've met on my travels, it's like another country.

I was really looking forward to a break from India, some westernness, but this is too much.

The towns of Panjim and Old Goa are nice, with many remnants of Portuguese colonialism: huge white churches, colourful villas, and Portuguese shops and street names.

The train ride down here was delayed 13 hours, but ended up being really nice. Met some good people on the train that I jammed with at night, and spent most of the day watching the amazing views; the people and food would change as well at each station we stopped at. Christmas was spent with my friend Dustin (met in Mumbai) and a few other guys just chilling and playing cards, it was nice.

2 days later I was hitch-hiking to see Dustin at his hotel and got a ride from a foreigner who had just rented a scooter. 20 seconds from leaving, and as we pick up speed, another bike approaches from the other side. My ride (an Englishman) doesn't seem to want to/be able to move to the other side of the road. Before I can say anything, we collide head-on, and we're all on the ground! No one was hurt but both bikes were pretty messed up.

Other than, not much else has happened. The days are mostly spent lazing on the beach. It's nice, but I'm looking forward to moving on. Hampi next!

Here's a picture of my hotel:

Soundtrack to my trip at the moment: Noel Gallagher's High Flying Birds.

Tansen Music Festival

The Tansen Music Festival's stage in Gwalior was set at the center of a lake, with a small area in front for people to sit and watch, and more seating on the sides of the lake. The artists played on a slightly elevated platform, all sitting on the floor.

Every performance began with the drone of the tempuras, and during the whole festival, the air was thick with this heavy, hypnotising sound that seemed like something from outer space. Most vocalists sang in the dhrupad style, with a backdrop of tempura, drums and one other instrument, and mostly sang sounds or notes rather than words.

Savita Devi, a famous classical singer performed the first night, but this was my first time really listening to Indian classical music, and much of it sounded out of tune/too high pitched/annoying.

The most amazing performance of the festival was, for me, Venkatesh. His chemistry with the tabla player and 3 other musicians was incredible, all five of them nodding and smiling and communicating throughout the show. The audience too was swept in, some people gasping or cheering at certain climatic points of the performance. Venkatesh used his hands and body to channel his voice, and often closed his eyes, seemingly in deep meditation. It seemed to me much of the singing was improvised, but then every musician would come in at the perfect moment and a repetitive melody would emerge. It was really mesmerising, unlike anything I've ever seen or heard. He played 3 "songs" each about 10-15 minutes long.

The next performer was in even more of a trance, and his vocal improvisations were sometimes too strange to grasp hold of. One sound he crafted was a very deep bass, similar to a burping sound or the sub bass notes in dubstep. He could go in and out of these as he pleased and his ability to use his voice as an instrument was impressive.

Main instruments I saw:

Tabla: twin drums, capable of producing many sounds, one of them a deep "boiing", very cool.

Saringi: Like a violin but even sadder sounding.

Harmonium: Looks like an accordion but played on the ground, sounds a lot like a jazz organ.

Western Violin: Played in Indian manner style, very interesting.

The whole event was pretty magical and was a great introduction to Indian classical music. It's easy to hear the spiritual, and psychedelic element which influenced the Beatles and others in the 60s. It also uses a different system to our do re mi, which is apparently more complicated, so I'm keen to find out more. I've filmed quite a few performances and hopefully will create a film showcasing some of these sounds.

Madhya Pradesh and the Taj

I want to write about music, but these places deserve some words, so I'll get online tomorrow to talk about the Tansen Music Festival.

After Jaipur, I headed to Agra. I coughed up the 750 Rupees entrance fee (and almost cried when I saw the Indian Price: 20 Rs.) and walked into this seventh wonder. The story goes that Emperor Shah Jahan was so heartbroken by the death of his wife that he decided to make the world's most beautiful tomb for her. Years later, his son overthrew him and he was confined to Agra Fort, condemned to watch this beauty from his cell. So it's an incredible symbol of love, but also one of tragic hate. Ok, it's pretty amazing, pale white and looming against the blue sky. But still, overated. Anyway, I had to draw it:

Much more fun where the sexy (and, at times, downright wrong) carvings at the Khajuraho temples, my next destination, and a Unesco World Heritage Site.

These temples were also some of the most amazing I've seen in India, really incredible to try to imagine (I can't) how much work and time went into these. Next up I headed for Orchha, a small town on my way North, where I met this baba, smoking ganja and chatting to friends in front of his wooden hut.

Now, I'm in Delhi, the chaotic capital. A 30 minute walk around the center will leave you exhausted. For me, it's crazier than Mumbai, really insane crowds and markets, bazaars, traffic... but so far I really like it. It's so fun and has so much personality, from the Hindu Temples to the churches and mosques, the colourful and delicious street food, the businessmen, holy men, touts, gangsters, street kids, cows, goats, dogs, rats, cockroaches (one fell on my head this morning) all sharing the same streets. It's breathtaking and exhausting and sad and exciting and dirty and smelly and loud and annoying and fun: it's INDIA.

I've decided to head South to Goa for Christmas, Delhi was so cold at night, I don't think I could handle the North. In Bhopal now, and I'm waitlisted for a train in two days so hopefully I will get a ticket!

Too much, too much

SO much has happened since last post! First: Jaisalmer... So I decided to couchsurf there and found someone to host me fairly easily. However, when I arrived at their place, and noticed it was a guesthouse, I was a bit suspicious. The whole turned out to be a scam to sell me a camel safari with the hotel's company, worth much more than the room they were offering me for free. Anyway, I booked with a different company and left early the next morning with a group of 8 foreigners and our guides into the desert on camelback. The first day, we rode for 4 hours in total, the camels trotting along at their lazy pace, causually pooing and farting as they went. It was fun, but ooooow I can still feel the pain! We watched the sun set on sand dunes, started a fire, cooked up a meal, and sang some songs into the night. There was no moon that night so we could see so many stars, it was pretty magical, until the VERY PAINFUL camel ride back next morning.

It was also really nice for me to talk to foreigners and exchange travel stories. After Gujarat, which had very few tourists, I was losing it a bit and really needed that!

I ended up travelling with three of the guys to Jodhpur, visited the fort, chilled out in the blue city.

I next headed to Bundi, a really small town in southern Rajasthan. There's mountains around the city but a strong breeze flows through, and all the little kids rush to the rooftops to fly their kites and battle it out in the air. The more daring ones will write messages to their rivals, or love letters to girls and maneuver their kites to their terraces.

I also took some art classes, here is my first attempt at Rajasthani Miniature painting on an old Indian postcard:

At this point in my trip, having visited so much of Rajasthan, one of the most touristy states, I was a bit tired of the endless calls to visit people's shops, the insane prices for westerners, and people who you thought were being friendly, but really were just after your money. When I arrived in Jaipur, I was pissed off and tired, and the touts and rickshaw drivers didn't help. Then I met Amir and his friends Jeff and Faris, who saw I was a bit lost and invited me to stay at Jeff's place. They bought me food, drove me round town (through tiny backstreets and alleys) on motorbike, and were just genereally amazing. We played cards and smoked beedies into the night, and there was a rule of no saying "thank you" or "sorry", which I've heard before amongst dost (friends) here.

Next day Jeff and I headed to a mall to get some coffee, and this "cool" guy started chattin to me. He was dressed in very western styles, mid 30s, and speaking loudly in English. Once he had studied me a little he called his friend Ricky, who came over, sporting expensive rings and clothes, and then suggested we go to somewhere quieter to chat. Me and Jeff tought "free drink, why not" and we headed up. Next, Ricky outlined a business opportunity for me: to purchase (on paper, not for real) his collection of gems and jewels (they own a business in this field) and fly them over to Australia. Once in Sydney, my job would be to deliver the goods to his contacts there. They were willing to pay for my flights, hotels, a minimum 4000 USD pay, and change my Visa status so that I could come back to India. They assured me they found a loophole in the law, but it sounds like smuggling to me, some mafia shiz.

Anyway I've booked my flights to Sydney for next Monday. JOKING I'm planning on going to Agra tonight, have a quick peek at the Taj Mahal tomorrow, then head into Maddya Pradesh, and hopefully I will be writing about Music next time, as I'll be visiting the Tansen Music Festival in Gwalior.

Soundtrack to my trip at the moment: Patti Smith - Horses.

Groovy India

Walking around India makes me realize why the West was so obsessed by the East in the sixties. Some of the fashions here haven't changed:

The trucks and rickshaws are my favourite though, how cool are these?

Rajkot, Jamnagar, Bhuj, and Mount Abu

Rajkot was both and adventure and a failure. I arrived around midnight and soon met Sadiq and his 2 friends who owned a rickshaw. They told me how every night they hang out and drive around town, sometimes pick people up. They were too friendly and dropped me off at every hotel in town, only to get the same answer each time: "house full". It was fun though, I discovered the town that way, and we had to dodge the cops because the driver had no license. In the end, they left me the poshest hotel in town, which had a 24 hour restaurant, and I chilled there till about 4am, getting some dodgy vibes. I left not really knowing where to go, and was greeted by a pack of dogs barking and some cows mooing, so I flipped and caught a rickshaw to the station! The station was a colourful sea of people sleeping on the ground, much more welcoming.

I quickly headed off to Jamnagar, which was pretty uneventful, and so was Bhuj, both nice places. The latter was partially destoryed by an earthquake in 2001, and the damages are still visible. I also went down to Mandvi, where they build ships for other gulf countries.

Here's a confusing itinerary of my trip so far, for the curious.

At the moment I'm in Mt Abu, a chill little town on a mountain. Jaisalmer next!

Gujarat

After Pushkar, Dustin went North and I backtracked South to Gujarat, to get off the tourist trail a little and explore the state. Ahmadabad was my first destination. After deciding I didn't like the city much, I met a guy called Ali, who took me around town on his motorbike, showing me different sights and night markets, and I explored the Manek Chowk Area, where shops and stalls overflow onto the streets, on which people park their scooters, leaving only a thin slice of road for rickshaws and motorbikes to pass through, it's a really crazy place. Ali told me about the unrest between Hindus and Muslims in the area, saying there were riots about once a month. A few days ago, some Muslims attacked a cow in the street, fueling anger from the Hindu community.

Needless to say the kindness of people here has made me appreciate the places more, and I've hardly felt lonely in my time alone.

I left Ahmedabad for Palitana and at early morning the next day I climbed the +3000 steps to Shatrunjaya, where there are more than 1000 Jain temples on top of the mountain. Really extraordinary place, very peaceful.

On the bus to Diu, the next day, I chatted to Vikram, a 27 year old, who repeated many times he isn't married, and that his family will soon find him a bride. Most Indians seem to marry at a younger age. Although castes do not restrict friendship, he explained that he must marry a girl of the same caste. He lives in a big house with his grandparents, parents, brothers, brothers' wives, and their wives' siblings! Family bonds are extremely important here.

Diu is a small ex-Portuguese colony where alcohol is legal (and not in Gujarat) so there are a lot of drunk men stumbling about, even in the early afternoon! It's so quiet and chill, with really lovely villas and a Portuguese speaking community, it hardly feels like India. The beaches are nice too, here is sunset beach:

Next up: Rajkot!

Pushkar Pics

No photos allowed in the Ghats, so this is what I was seeing.

How cool is this guy?!

Pushkar

Pushkar is insane.

I arrived here just as the camel fair and its events were at their best, with camel races, best cattle competitions, wrestling, dances, music, and everything from snake charming to tightrope walking. I even participated in the locals vs foreigners tug of war (they won).

People have come from all over Rajasthan and India to join the festivities. Mostly though, people have come to bathe in the ghats (lakes or pools with stairs leading down to holy water) as a religious pilgrimage. Today is an important Hindu Festival (Kartik Purnima) and there have been ceremonies all over town. This means that the town is full of pilgrims, mostly men in turbans and robes with massive moustaches and beards. Some are real characters, and have colourful and funky accessories or jewelry or dreadlocks. Some priests will lie down and pray in the middle of the street, others will offer you flowers or bracelets (usually for some cash). The women are all dressed in fiery saris that match the desert colours, and travel in groups. As for the foreigners, there's a lot of hippies!

The streets are packed with stalls and there's an amusement park full of people too. The fair itself is not so popular, and mostly consists of camels and their owners, and traders selling camel-associated goods.

This place is so full of people and smells and colours and animals it's a bit exhausting. I'm staying with Dustin at the Pink Floyd Hotel (room: Animals) so we've got a pretty good place to chill.

The city is alive from above as well. Right now I'm on the rooftop terrace of the hotel, and I can hear chanting coming from the lake, and religious speeches that sound like rallying calls to battle coming from all over the place. There are fires sprouting everywhere too, from burning rubbish, incense, or firecrackers. Monkeys jump from building to building. The view is amazing, the mountains and their temples in the distance, and the ghat full of candles in the town. The full moon hovers above.

More pictures coming soon!

Udaipur

Udaipur and Lake Pichola.

Udaipur again. I wanted to draw this to show the mess of cables hanging just above my head!

Dharavi, Aurangabad, Udaipur

My last few days in Mumbai were spent walking around the suburbs of the city. I participated in a slum tour, which I was a bit skeptic about doing, but ended up being fascinating. We visited Dharavi Slum, one of the biggest in Asia, and saw the working quarters (mostly dealing with recycling metal and plastic) and living quarters of the slum dwellers. While some of the living and hygiene conditions were really horrible (kids swimming in the swampy black river fishing for garbage) the slum is a very organized place, with its own hierarchy of people and businesses. It generates over 600 million us dollars a year. The people dont see much money though, its the ones who own the workshops and industries (and dont live in the slum) who profit.
After Mumbai I headed with a friendly canadian, Dustin to Aurangabad, a lazy dusty town not too far into Maharashtra, to visit the Hindu, Buddhist, and Jain caves of Ellora, carved into the mountains over generations, and the fort of Dalautabad.
We finally made it to Udaipur a few days later after many buses and trains and rickshaws. Udaipur is really gorgeous, built on hilly terrain, and surrounded by hazy mountains, with lots of Rajhastani architecture. It's also benefitted hugely from tourism, and the people here seem very relaxed, friendly, and happy. While there's a few temples around, and cows and goats roam the streets, this doesn't seem like the real India, and reminds me of those generic tourist towns found in Asia, a bit like Dali in China. The best thing about here is really chilling on the rooftop terraces and admiring the view.
Heading to Pushkar for the camel fair today, should be a good time. More sketches coming soon!

First Sketches

Flying over the Austrian Alps...

Gateway of India (1911, Built by the British)

Ambewadi St. (Near Kotachi Wadi, Mumbai)

Mumbai

So I've been in Mumbai less than week and I've found the cheapest, grimiest hostel in town, learnt a bit of hindi, celebrated Diwali, bought a guitar, seen the sights, and acted in a bollywood movie!

I was pretty nervous before and during the flight, but managed to get some sleep just after seeing the Austrian Alps (incredible) and woke up over the Iraninan deserts. India was, from the moment I got off the plane, an assault on the senses. Even the neighborhood just outside the airport had slums, and I quickly forgot some of my pre-India worries and got lost in a sea of smells, noises, and colours.

I've met a few foreigners staying in the same place as me (Salvation Army Hostel) and also a few Indians, who have been very friendly and easy to talk to. Walking down the street you get a bit harassed by people trying to sell you things, but as soon as you step out of the tourist areas its okay.

In some ways, I didn't think India would be as messed up as it is. Leaving Leopold's after a beer, right in the city centre, the most touristy bar in town, there are people sleeping on the streets with their babies. Its a bit hard to handle. The next day I went to a flashy new mall with all the Western brands, almost empty, and situated right next to a very poor area. It's like stepping into another world.

Diwali was a beautiful chaos of fireworks exploding above, around, and on us! Little kids lighting firecrackers everywhere on Marine Drive, just by the sea. Mumbai sounded like a war zone, and it was the biggest thrill just walking down the street.

So one day a casting agent came to our hostel and recruited some foreigners to be extras in House Full 2, out probably early next year. We got paid 500 rupees (not much) and drove out to Film City, on the outskirts, in a big warehouse where the producers had recreated a London bar, and neded to fill it with some white faces. Needless to say it looked nothing like the UK, chandeliers and drapes all over the place, and we were all given costumes. I got the part of the bartender! Hopefully the scene will be included in the movie.

Mumbai is quite impressive, there are many remnants of English colonialism and many massive, Victorian and Art-Deco style buildings. The little market streets are the most fun though, and I think I'll stay here a bit longer.

Off to explore some more, Happy Diwali to everyone!

Mumbai in 2 Days!

So here's a new blog for a new crazy trip. After a few weeks of planning, I finally received my visa on Wednesday, rushed back to book my flights, and now am just sorting out a few last minute details. I'll have been from Geneva, to Bristol, London, Brighton, and Mumbai in a week!

As I soak in the last western cooking (courtesy of the Gordons) and look up as much as I can about India, I'm aware everything is going to be a massive culture shock, even after my Chinese adventure (www.jonoinchina.blogspot.com). This time there won't be a government firewall, so I should be able to post pictures, and maybe blog more frequently.

I've booked my return for mid-April and bought a big backpack, so I'm expecting to see a fair bit of the country, and come back with a few stories to tell. Hopefully I'll find a few places to settle down for a bit, maybe do some volunteering, so that I'm not moving the whole time. I'm also going to try and do a drawing a day (we'll see).

Ok, next post should be more interesting... so, stay in touch through email... Namaste!