Cricket, chiseled rock for stumps.
Cricket bat manufacture and sales beside the road.
Gol Gumbaz.... beautiful in form and acoustics.
Tuesday, 26 February 2013
Photo's: Hampi
Hampi is beautiful and interesting
A view of the countryside.
Cycling for the day with my French friend.
Sunset through the Frangipani from the Hanuman Temple.
Looking across the rice paddy fields to where I stayed.
Love it!
Crowd surfing on Mumbai trains
I might be traumatised by this. Certainly when I saw a crowded train the next day I said 'Louise, can you go without me?' , but then the women's compartment wasn't anywhere near full so I got in...
On Saturday when Louise and I were out sightseeing (Mumbai) we caught a busy suburban train. As is often the way here we had to push our way into the carriage as it really was full already.
But, being that it was full, I got in but not really very far in. At the next stop almost everybody is departing. Indian trains don't wait (I guess they can't, the Indians just keep coming so they'd never get away), so everybody rushes and pushes to get off. I'm in the middle, holding on up the top, trying desperately to hold my ground and not be forced off. It was scary. They keep coming like I'm not there and they can walk through me. My feet even come off the floor, but I'm still hanging on up top ! Somehow I managed to hold on and stay on the train.
Taxi's are cheap enough, unless I have company I don't think I will do another suburban train.
Mumbai, though, has been a nice experience. (5 nights, 1 in horrible cheap hotel, 4 with friends, 21-26 Feb).
Most interesting was the visit to the Dharavi slum... That's a lot of people and industry in one small area (I read different reports but its something like 175 hectares, over 1 million people). We went on a tour that gives back 80% of profits to a NGO. The polluted creek brought tears to my eyes. It smelt terrible and the water was a strange blue.
Notes: The tour was with Reality Tours. Lots of other operators pretend to be them, but when we couldn't find them we called them and booked directly. It was worth it.
On Saturday when Louise and I were out sightseeing (Mumbai) we caught a busy suburban train. As is often the way here we had to push our way into the carriage as it really was full already.
But, being that it was full, I got in but not really very far in. At the next stop almost everybody is departing. Indian trains don't wait (I guess they can't, the Indians just keep coming so they'd never get away), so everybody rushes and pushes to get off. I'm in the middle, holding on up the top, trying desperately to hold my ground and not be forced off. It was scary. They keep coming like I'm not there and they can walk through me. My feet even come off the floor, but I'm still hanging on up top ! Somehow I managed to hold on and stay on the train.
Taxi's are cheap enough, unless I have company I don't think I will do another suburban train.
Mumbai, though, has been a nice experience. (5 nights, 1 in horrible cheap hotel, 4 with friends, 21-26 Feb).
Most interesting was the visit to the Dharavi slum... That's a lot of people and industry in one small area (I read different reports but its something like 175 hectares, over 1 million people). We went on a tour that gives back 80% of profits to a NGO. The polluted creek brought tears to my eyes. It smelt terrible and the water was a strange blue.
Notes: The tour was with Reality Tours. Lots of other operators pretend to be them, but when we couldn't find them we called them and booked directly. It was worth it.
Monday, 25 February 2013
Transport strike
Aye aye aye aye...
It is 20 Feb and I am in a town called Bijapur, and there is a bus strike. I saw it on the news last night but since I had been at the bus station at 6pm making enquiries and the news report was only referencing it to the cities I figured my intended bus would still be running.
So I got ready early, got to the bus station and found nothing happening. Just a lot of staff hanging around. One was kind enough to tell me that it was about fuel prices and so the trains would still be running. So I have come to the train station.
My destination is Mumbai. I need to be there tomorrow to meet Louise, so although I had thought of stopping on the way, with the transport strike I have decided to go the whole way.
The direct train was sold out. So now I will change 3 times to get there. But at least I have a solution.
I have a 2 hour wait for the first train... But at least the train is quicker than the bus. So I leave 2.5 hrs later and arrive just 1 hour later.
Btw, Bijapur is well worth stopping in, people are really pleasant and the main sight Gul Gumbaz is awesome, particular if you can get there before the noisy Indians (it opens 6am, I got there at 8, and with just me, a man singing, and another man the whispering gallery sounds were splendid. Then a crowd of noisy Indians arrived.)
It is 20 Feb and I am in a town called Bijapur, and there is a bus strike. I saw it on the news last night but since I had been at the bus station at 6pm making enquiries and the news report was only referencing it to the cities I figured my intended bus would still be running.
So I got ready early, got to the bus station and found nothing happening. Just a lot of staff hanging around. One was kind enough to tell me that it was about fuel prices and so the trains would still be running. So I have come to the train station.
My destination is Mumbai. I need to be there tomorrow to meet Louise, so although I had thought of stopping on the way, with the transport strike I have decided to go the whole way.
The direct train was sold out. So now I will change 3 times to get there. But at least I have a solution.
I have a 2 hour wait for the first train... But at least the train is quicker than the bus. So I leave 2.5 hrs later and arrive just 1 hour later.
Btw, Bijapur is well worth stopping in, people are really pleasant and the main sight Gul Gumbaz is awesome, particular if you can get there before the noisy Indians (it opens 6am, I got there at 8, and with just me, a man singing, and another man the whispering gallery sounds were splendid. Then a crowd of noisy Indians arrived.)
Saturday, 23 February 2013
Tattooing at 6
Yesterday, in Hampi, I met a fruit seller. I had been admiring the simple work of a young woman as she decorated the dirt floor of the gateway of a guesthouse by making a design on the ground with white powder (as described in a previous post, called Colom).
The fruit seller had simple English, "my daughter" she said with a smile.
This turned my attention to the fruit seller. She had tattoos on her face, faded teardrop shapes going sideways from the outer edge of both eyes and more of these on her chin. I understand these were done when she was about 6. Her forearms and hands were also covered in designs, similar to those done in henna tattooing, but real tattoos, faded grey. She said she got these at 10. She said it with sadness.
I asked her if the tattoos on her arms were for marriage. I will never know if we fully understood each other, but she said yes. Selling fruit in the tourist part of Hampi meant she could speak some English.
Her oldest child was the one doing the decorations, she is 15. Her youngest is a baby that she breastfed while we were there. She has 7 children. Although she looked older, she said she is 32. Selling fruit in the sun and having 7 children could make a person look older.
I hope her daughters have a better life. I think they will.
I didn't take any photos as I didn't want to make a spectacle of this. But I did buy some fruit.
The fruit seller had simple English, "my daughter" she said with a smile.
This turned my attention to the fruit seller. She had tattoos on her face, faded teardrop shapes going sideways from the outer edge of both eyes and more of these on her chin. I understand these were done when she was about 6. Her forearms and hands were also covered in designs, similar to those done in henna tattooing, but real tattoos, faded grey. She said she got these at 10. She said it with sadness.
I asked her if the tattoos on her arms were for marriage. I will never know if we fully understood each other, but she said yes. Selling fruit in the tourist part of Hampi meant she could speak some English.
Her oldest child was the one doing the decorations, she is 15. Her youngest is a baby that she breastfed while we were there. She has 7 children. Although she looked older, she said she is 32. Selling fruit in the sun and having 7 children could make a person look older.
I hope her daughters have a better life. I think they will.
I didn't take any photos as I didn't want to make a spectacle of this. But I did buy some fruit.
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