I am truly sorry for my lack of updates recently. There were a combination of thing that made it either uninteresting or impossible to write or post. One problem is the already mentioned lack of computer (posting from the phone isnt all that awesome), then there was the whole broken foot thing which meant a lot of reprioritizing, a lack of reliable internet access haunted us since Goa and now here in Delhi, and in addition I have been having "issues" after I ran into some bad food on Saturday, taking a lot of time and energy I would rather have spent elsewhere... did get around to read several books at least. Kindle ftw.
Our flight back to Frankfurt is scheduled for a ~13:30 departure with a 9 hour flight time giving us an ETA of ca. 18:00 in Germany. A taxi should be here around 9 in the morning so we get to the airport in good time.
A tourist information/travel agency employee came by a short while ago to pay back some of our outlays on transport that never came to be, out of the ca. Rs4200 we paid out we got 2000 in cash from his own pocket, the rest the company will reimburse us via bank transfer. It seems that most of our problems were due to rotten eggs in the basket, the Kochi driver was fired for ignoring several customers and the leader of the office here in Delhi (whom we dealt with initially) ran away with Rs700,000 a couple of weeks ago and caused them all sorts of problems... if what they told us was indeed true, I found it commendable of them to show up at our hotel in the middle of the night to settle the issues. Susanne remains less impressed. Still, even with the minor bumps in the road, we have had an awesome experience here and we are already looking for new areas of this little dirtball to explore.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Monday, January 24, 2011
The good life
As of writing this, I am comfortably seated in a rocking chair on our "beach" hut's veranda. On the table next to me there is an almost empty 200ml glass bottle of coke - icey cold as it spent the night in the minibar - and my Desire Z running Spotify. Not a cloud in sight, and I'd guestimate mid 30's as far as the temperature is concerned. There is a hint of wind, just enough to make it nicer to sit outside than inside under the roof-mounted fan running at max. Mentioning that, I should also note that this is the first of these we've dared running flat out, the others seem about to obliterate themselves at half speed already as they are neither fastened or balanced. Makes for an interesting thrill at least.
The day started quite differently though; the first alarm went off at 0600. At that time of day there is no sun nor heat; if anything it was rather cold getting out of bed. By 0730 our preordered autorikshaw was standing outside, ready to drive us down to the beach. It is but 300 meters away, but with Susanne's bad foot it was worth the Rs100 (seems to be the default price for any kind of tuktuk/taxi ride around here). Once at the beach we headed for the south end, met up with a friend we met at a party a couple of nights ago and soon after an outrigger boat came crawling onto the sand. Carrying Sue aboard so as not to get her support bandage wet, we were soon headed out of the shallows and searching for dolphins. Meeting up with a couple of similar boats a kilometre or so out, we soon spotted several of them. They were illusive though, and only allowed us short glimpses every now and then. I guess they were just tired of tourists and wanted to have their breakfast in peace. We then went north to "Butterfly Beach" which looks like a butterfly from above, then further north to Honeymoon Beach. They are both very small beaches, literally only a stone-throw wide. Making a lazy curve back towards our beach the short journey came to an end roughly 1 hour 10 minutes after we departed. A really nice way to start the morning, and as always, the fresh ocean air makes for a great appetite.
We found ourselves at the bottom of the rickety walkway leading up to the cliffside restaurant we visited on Saturday for a sunset drink, and our newfound friend joined us for breakfast. She went for a curd(yoghurt)/fruit/müsli-bowl while Susanne and I went for the special breakfast of the establishment; grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, baked beans, eggs to order, toast, butter, marmelade, fresh juice and tea or coffee. I opted out of the tomatoes and Sue skipped the butter and the eggs - mine were scrambled. Black tea for both of us (I really have to get around to write about the whole tea-thing) and orange juice all 'round. I'm starting to feel better after my run-in with some bad food on Saturday (probably the "lasagne" at the same place, or the wraps at the party) and food tasted great after a complete lack of interest in food for a day.
Our friend, on a break from her involvement with MSF, headed off to change place of residence to a beach further south - we are invited to have dinner with her there later - and we slowly made our way up the beach again, looking into some of the shops along the palmline.
[*soaks a cloth with cold water for Susanne, who is quite occupied with melting in the heat, and brings another Coke from the minibar before sitting down again. Leatherman Wave bottle-opener ftw!]
Not finding anything interesting in the shops - they really should branch out and specialize a little, they all sell exactly the same stuff - we ended at a beachfront bar for refreshments. Susanne got herself some water and a pastaplatter, while I got a "coke" (pepsi) and a pancake. I was getting a little restless as I had promised to bring the dishes from last night back across the street "in the morning" as well as paying for the food, and although everything here is running on Goa time, I'd still like having my ends covered and maintain a good standing with the local waterholes.
[* War - Lowrider on the phone's speaker, with a nice added sound effect of empty coke bottle adding to the experience. Next up: Moby - Flower. Just noticed that the power (and internet) is gone again. It will be back at some point. And gone again a little later.]
Once back "home" again, after delivering the dishes, picking up new supplies of Coke for the minibar and delivering a photocopy of my passport for the reception, I sank back into the nice rocking chair I mentioned earlier and the end of this little blog entry becomes the beginning.
[ Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy train played through coke bottle is clearly a step up]
Oh, right. Tea. I never liked tea until we were seated for a showing of various cloth items in Mandawa. I was served a home-brewed black tea with sugar. I've been hooked since, although none have come close so far as all the rest were disappointingly teabag-based. I will have to inspect my mothers collection of exotic teas when I get home - or perhaps rather our gourmet-store's offerings of the same.
The day started quite differently though; the first alarm went off at 0600. At that time of day there is no sun nor heat; if anything it was rather cold getting out of bed. By 0730 our preordered autorikshaw was standing outside, ready to drive us down to the beach. It is but 300 meters away, but with Susanne's bad foot it was worth the Rs100 (seems to be the default price for any kind of tuktuk/taxi ride around here). Once at the beach we headed for the south end, met up with a friend we met at a party a couple of nights ago and soon after an outrigger boat came crawling onto the sand. Carrying Sue aboard so as not to get her support bandage wet, we were soon headed out of the shallows and searching for dolphins. Meeting up with a couple of similar boats a kilometre or so out, we soon spotted several of them. They were illusive though, and only allowed us short glimpses every now and then. I guess they were just tired of tourists and wanted to have their breakfast in peace. We then went north to "Butterfly Beach" which looks like a butterfly from above, then further north to Honeymoon Beach. They are both very small beaches, literally only a stone-throw wide. Making a lazy curve back towards our beach the short journey came to an end roughly 1 hour 10 minutes after we departed. A really nice way to start the morning, and as always, the fresh ocean air makes for a great appetite.
We found ourselves at the bottom of the rickety walkway leading up to the cliffside restaurant we visited on Saturday for a sunset drink, and our newfound friend joined us for breakfast. She went for a curd(yoghurt)/fruit/müsli-bowl while Susanne and I went for the special breakfast of the establishment; grilled mushrooms and tomatoes, baked beans, eggs to order, toast, butter, marmelade, fresh juice and tea or coffee. I opted out of the tomatoes and Sue skipped the butter and the eggs - mine were scrambled. Black tea for both of us (I really have to get around to write about the whole tea-thing) and orange juice all 'round. I'm starting to feel better after my run-in with some bad food on Saturday (probably the "lasagne" at the same place, or the wraps at the party) and food tasted great after a complete lack of interest in food for a day.
Our friend, on a break from her involvement with MSF, headed off to change place of residence to a beach further south - we are invited to have dinner with her there later - and we slowly made our way up the beach again, looking into some of the shops along the palmline.
[*soaks a cloth with cold water for Susanne, who is quite occupied with melting in the heat, and brings another Coke from the minibar before sitting down again. Leatherman Wave bottle-opener ftw!]
Not finding anything interesting in the shops - they really should branch out and specialize a little, they all sell exactly the same stuff - we ended at a beachfront bar for refreshments. Susanne got herself some water and a pastaplatter, while I got a "coke" (pepsi) and a pancake. I was getting a little restless as I had promised to bring the dishes from last night back across the street "in the morning" as well as paying for the food, and although everything here is running on Goa time, I'd still like having my ends covered and maintain a good standing with the local waterholes.
[* War - Lowrider on the phone's speaker, with a nice added sound effect of empty coke bottle adding to the experience. Next up: Moby - Flower. Just noticed that the power (and internet) is gone again. It will be back at some point. And gone again a little later.]
Once back "home" again, after delivering the dishes, picking up new supplies of Coke for the minibar and delivering a photocopy of my passport for the reception, I sank back into the nice rocking chair I mentioned earlier and the end of this little blog entry becomes the beginning.
[ Ozzy Osbourne - Crazy train played through coke bottle is clearly a step up]
Oh, right. Tea. I never liked tea until we were seated for a showing of various cloth items in Mandawa. I was served a home-brewed black tea with sugar. I've been hooked since, although none have come close so far as all the rest were disappointingly teabag-based. I will have to inspect my mothers collection of exotic teas when I get home - or perhaps rather our gourmet-store's offerings of the same.
Friday, January 21, 2011
Top Dog
After having finished up at the cybercafe, we slowly made our way back home. After having parked Susanne in a chair on our veranda I went over to the restaurant next door. Once I had explained our predicament I was sent off with a menu so Sue could have a look at it. Soon I was back in the restaurant and gave my order. A green salad washed in bottled water and a few toast for her, chicken tikka masala, rice and garlic naan bread for me. A platter of veg. spring rolls would form our dessert and a nice cold bottle of mineral water would keep us hydrated. It was not overly warm anymore as the sun set by the time I was getting the Eee in my last entry, but we still need a lot of water/liquids. A short while later our food started arriving on our veranda - luxury! A beach hut with room service...
I was happy I had specified my masala as "mild" - I wouldn't want to try "medium". Still, with the right mixture of rice and naan it became just perfect. Om nom. Lady had taken her place by our feet and scored some naan and the rest of the rice. Neither her nor Schnautze (he has a funny snout, Lady's black friend) or Oliver as Susanne calls him, wanted salad. I've heard that beggars cant be choosers, it does not seem to apply here. The dogs here are infinitely more well behaved than the average European family dog though, they either lay down or loiter around in the background until something eatable comes their way. Then they eat, then they vanish into the shadows again. No beady eyes, no sounds. Schnautze once "paw"'ed Sue, but that was to get cuddled, not to get food.
Once we had eaten it was quite late and we were getting tired. I walked back to the restaurant with the dishes. They had opened a tab for me, seeing as we would probably use them quite a bit the next days, which I found nice of them. After relaxing a bit outside with a book I just bought via the Kindle, I joined Sue in bed and were asleep a few breaking waves later.
Today started like any other day here; slow. I have no idea what time it was, but the sun was lazily poking through all the gaps in our hut. I would guess around noon, as our hut is roughly facing west into the Arabian sea and the sun was hitting our southern wall straight on. Slowly leaving bed I made my way outside to the veranda and sat down with the new book. Again by Clive Cussler, this one is the second in the Dirk Pitt/NUMA files series. Can't remember the title now though. It did start off in a great way, having an amphibian WWII PBY Catalina patrol/bomber doing a loop within a few pages, dogfighting an A-3 Albatross WWI figther bi-plane. Books like that are hard to put down. Oliver was dozing off in the shadow close by since I got up until far into the afternoon.
Susanne joined me outside at some point and we figured it was time for breakfast. She opted for the same green salad again with a few toast on the side, I would find something there I thought. Once in the restaurant I briefly explained our situation to the new guy in the bar and sure enough, he had been informed. I chose an English breakfast with orange juice and black tea - but no fried tomatoes. A chapter later the food arrived, my tomatoes being replaced by some sort of sausage. The baked beans were a hint better than those I know from our side of the globe, the egg was nice and firm and the sausage completed the meal. Sue's toast never arrived though, so I raided the kitchen for some. Once back I thought I heard a faint bark of something small under the hut next to ours, I had already been assuming that Lady had recently given birth, and she was usually coming out from the side of that cabin. It would make her tired appearance make more sense, and her breasts seemed unusually swollen. She made off with a larger ration of food than before. I delivered the dishes and went back into my book until Susanne set her mind on cakes. We had seen a German bakery the other day, so she sent me off to find out what they had. I took pictures of their selection and brought a choko croissant and a cinnamon roll for myself. Once I was back, Sue examined my photodocumentation and ordered some cake I cannot remember right now. Off I went again, getting said cake, two bottles of water and a little further down the road a cocoa nut with its top cut off and a straw inserted - Susanne had seen it earlier and wanted one since. Back at our cabin I once again returned to my book while Sue enjoyed cake and nut - though the latter had a somewhat woody taste she said.
The day slowly passed like this, I was mostly reading my book while trying not to get sunburned, Susanne was snoozing or peoplewatching
It was getting a little warm for Susanne, sitting directly in the sun, so she retreated to the shadowy confines of the bed. I joined her shortly for a mid-day snooze. I was woken up by fierce barking and shouting. As anyone who have spent any amount of time with dogs will know, their bark is as distinct as the voice of a human - something or somehow had upset Lady. Moments later I was standing out in the sand in my socks and hastily put on clothes and realised we would have a problem.
The hut sheltering the puppies had been occupied until yesterday. Now the new guests had arrived. The problem was that the third guest was a male Spaniel. This did NOT sit well with the extremely protective mother (not that ANY of the beach dogs here would take lightly to a strange dog invading their territory, they are fiercely territorial even without puppies). Oliver was also adding his opinion to the matter, and the Spaniel and its humans were not very amused. The two Dutch ladies that care for Lady was also coming around to see what was up. I managed to wrangle the frothing furry fourlegged mother a few meters away from the cabin, blocking her access to the new dog but not her puppies. She trusts me and the ladies so handling her was just a matter of making sure teeth did not meet flesh unintentionally. She is a medium sized dog, but again the lack of energy was apparent as she was nowhere near as strong as Solo, the dog I live with in Norway. It became glaringly apparent that this would not work out however, as she would come in for an attack run ever time the poor confused Spaniel would as much as look outside. The ladies and I decided that the only thing that might help was to move the puppies, and once I had my sandals on we found a nice place further down the row of huts and made it just right for a little furry family. Again, as Lady trusts us, moving the puppies was no problem. She just followed us as we carried the little furballs over to their new hive. It did take some time for her to settle in, but with enough biscuits and comfort it seemed that our shelter was accepted.
While it lessened her aggression temporarily it did not make it any safer for the Spaniel to venture out of the hut. I was still on my way back to our hut as she dived for the brown intruder. The Spaniel on his side had no sense of survival what so ever and was just seeking refuge in the arms of the human male - not quite out of reach of Lady. Again I had to handle the very much upset dog, but again with great care and no problems. The temporary solution was a big stick so that the newcomers could keep Lady at a safe distance, she stays a good few meters away from it. Once they were out of her territory it was no longer a problem.
I could go back to bed and back to my book. Sue was feeling a little down from her sudden decrease in mobility, her arms are aching from having to carry her weight, same with the other leg. After getting a little sleep things were looking up though, and we walked down the beach to a nice restaurant for a light snack. Susanne got a vegeburger and I finally got around to try a "Sizzler" - a dish that's served so hot that its sizzling as it arrives. We were both full long before our plates were empty. I also had a roughly mixed but still nice Long Island to the food - no Fenny though, so I was still fine. As I was eating, a smaller dog came and laid down under my chair. It was the softest and cutest and warmest little dog ever! Jackal, the restaurant people called her. As we asked for the bill I ordered a plain roti, a form of bread. As it arrived, Jackal got a bite. Apparently, that's all it takes to buy a friend here. He duly followed us all the way home. The jungle drums here have quite the broadband connection, and suddenly there were 3 more dogs following us, in addition to Oliver who had been lurking around the restaurant since before we arrived. The other dogs vanished before we got home, however. Parking Jackal and Susanne at the beach hut, I went over to Lady's new nest and delivered the bread. She was quite happy about it!
I am not sure what is wrong with Jackal, but her "fight or flight" instincts are not turned on. As I was on my way back Lady zoomed past me, with Oliver flanking her off in the shadow. They converged on Jackal just outside the door of the hut with the Spaniel in it and made quite the raucous stating their territorial sovereignty. Not accepting their claim, however, the outsized and outteethed little Jackal just got the two frenzied dogs even more annoyed and I had to bail her out of there. She decided that she was safe behind me, and I had a little work fending off two dogs hellbent on making sure this impostor was summarily expelled from their land or executed on the spot. I would have nothing of either and shooed them off in a calm but firm manner. Accepting defeat for the time being they retreated. Lady would still come around every so often to see if she could get between me and Jackal, but he was quite safe under my chair. It became apparent that this would not work out over the night however, as Susanne had banned any dogs from entering the hut. I decided to stay outside with Jackal for some time (reading my book) to see if things calmed down, but either Lady or Oliver would keep coming back to see if Jackal was out in the open.
Getting tired, I waited for the two to chase off after another beach dog going north and took Jackal for a walk south across the beach. Taking the scenic route, I waited until I could no longer see I'm behind me, before I turned up a backalley and took the street home. Agonda is the first place I would even contemplate going outside alone at night here in India, much less cross through dark back alleys. Here, however, it is hardly worth a second thought. I did have my trusty MagLite 3D hanging from my belt just in case, anyway. It looks imposing enough to scare away most people, and I guess it could be used both defensively and offensively if needed - though I'd much rather not find out. I met but one person on my walk and we exchanged a pleasant "good night" before wandering off in different directions. I joined up with a large cow walking my way and we had a nice conversation before I had to turn off for our huts. By the time I was back it was already well past midnight and I got ready and beded as fast as I could before firing up my Eee to write a little.
Dogs and cows are not the only animals we encounter here, though. We have house pets too. First one we saw in here was a small cockroach, a cute one at that. Then there was the spider, a larger one covered in brown fluff. Not large enough to be a grown tarantula or anything though. While normally not arachnophobic, I do not know which spiders here are poisonous or not, so I decided to keep a healthy distance as I tried to catch and evict it. It proved to be an exercises in futility as spiders here are far faster and smarter than the Norwegian ones. In the end it simply ran over the wall and vanished out under the ceiling. Then there was the mouse. Susanne was in the bathroom as the told me she had seen one, and just as I turned around I saw it sneak around the corner. It's brown and about medium mouse size I guess. I am also guessing/hoping that it is this little creature that playing "tug" with me as I write this. Every now and then there will be a tug in the mosquito netting and it vanishes down between the wall and the bed. I pull it back up again. A few minutes later, and it is pulled down again. It is getting slightly unnerving, and I think Ill turn on the roof lights before going to bed. I will also check out the undefinable sounds coming from the bathroom first.
Still, even with all the strange animals here, I really like this place. While the rest of India has been an amazing journey both historically and culturally, Agonda is the first place I could have easily called "home" for a few months. Even if I would have like a hut with less holes then. Now off to find my MagLite before I fall asleep...
I was happy I had specified my masala as "mild" - I wouldn't want to try "medium". Still, with the right mixture of rice and naan it became just perfect. Om nom. Lady had taken her place by our feet and scored some naan and the rest of the rice. Neither her nor Schnautze (he has a funny snout, Lady's black friend) or Oliver as Susanne calls him, wanted salad. I've heard that beggars cant be choosers, it does not seem to apply here. The dogs here are infinitely more well behaved than the average European family dog though, they either lay down or loiter around in the background until something eatable comes their way. Then they eat, then they vanish into the shadows again. No beady eyes, no sounds. Schnautze once "paw"'ed Sue, but that was to get cuddled, not to get food.
Once we had eaten it was quite late and we were getting tired. I walked back to the restaurant with the dishes. They had opened a tab for me, seeing as we would probably use them quite a bit the next days, which I found nice of them. After relaxing a bit outside with a book I just bought via the Kindle, I joined Sue in bed and were asleep a few breaking waves later.
Today started like any other day here; slow. I have no idea what time it was, but the sun was lazily poking through all the gaps in our hut. I would guess around noon, as our hut is roughly facing west into the Arabian sea and the sun was hitting our southern wall straight on. Slowly leaving bed I made my way outside to the veranda and sat down with the new book. Again by Clive Cussler, this one is the second in the Dirk Pitt/NUMA files series. Can't remember the title now though. It did start off in a great way, having an amphibian WWII PBY Catalina patrol/bomber doing a loop within a few pages, dogfighting an A-3 Albatross WWI figther bi-plane. Books like that are hard to put down. Oliver was dozing off in the shadow close by since I got up until far into the afternoon.
Susanne joined me outside at some point and we figured it was time for breakfast. She opted for the same green salad again with a few toast on the side, I would find something there I thought. Once in the restaurant I briefly explained our situation to the new guy in the bar and sure enough, he had been informed. I chose an English breakfast with orange juice and black tea - but no fried tomatoes. A chapter later the food arrived, my tomatoes being replaced by some sort of sausage. The baked beans were a hint better than those I know from our side of the globe, the egg was nice and firm and the sausage completed the meal. Sue's toast never arrived though, so I raided the kitchen for some. Once back I thought I heard a faint bark of something small under the hut next to ours, I had already been assuming that Lady had recently given birth, and she was usually coming out from the side of that cabin. It would make her tired appearance make more sense, and her breasts seemed unusually swollen. She made off with a larger ration of food than before. I delivered the dishes and went back into my book until Susanne set her mind on cakes. We had seen a German bakery the other day, so she sent me off to find out what they had. I took pictures of their selection and brought a choko croissant and a cinnamon roll for myself. Once I was back, Sue examined my photodocumentation and ordered some cake I cannot remember right now. Off I went again, getting said cake, two bottles of water and a little further down the road a cocoa nut with its top cut off and a straw inserted - Susanne had seen it earlier and wanted one since. Back at our cabin I once again returned to my book while Sue enjoyed cake and nut - though the latter had a somewhat woody taste she said.
The day slowly passed like this, I was mostly reading my book while trying not to get sunburned, Susanne was snoozing or peoplewatching
It was getting a little warm for Susanne, sitting directly in the sun, so she retreated to the shadowy confines of the bed. I joined her shortly for a mid-day snooze. I was woken up by fierce barking and shouting. As anyone who have spent any amount of time with dogs will know, their bark is as distinct as the voice of a human - something or somehow had upset Lady. Moments later I was standing out in the sand in my socks and hastily put on clothes and realised we would have a problem.
The hut sheltering the puppies had been occupied until yesterday. Now the new guests had arrived. The problem was that the third guest was a male Spaniel. This did NOT sit well with the extremely protective mother (not that ANY of the beach dogs here would take lightly to a strange dog invading their territory, they are fiercely territorial even without puppies). Oliver was also adding his opinion to the matter, and the Spaniel and its humans were not very amused. The two Dutch ladies that care for Lady was also coming around to see what was up. I managed to wrangle the frothing furry fourlegged mother a few meters away from the cabin, blocking her access to the new dog but not her puppies. She trusts me and the ladies so handling her was just a matter of making sure teeth did not meet flesh unintentionally. She is a medium sized dog, but again the lack of energy was apparent as she was nowhere near as strong as Solo, the dog I live with in Norway. It became glaringly apparent that this would not work out however, as she would come in for an attack run ever time the poor confused Spaniel would as much as look outside. The ladies and I decided that the only thing that might help was to move the puppies, and once I had my sandals on we found a nice place further down the row of huts and made it just right for a little furry family. Again, as Lady trusts us, moving the puppies was no problem. She just followed us as we carried the little furballs over to their new hive. It did take some time for her to settle in, but with enough biscuits and comfort it seemed that our shelter was accepted.
While it lessened her aggression temporarily it did not make it any safer for the Spaniel to venture out of the hut. I was still on my way back to our hut as she dived for the brown intruder. The Spaniel on his side had no sense of survival what so ever and was just seeking refuge in the arms of the human male - not quite out of reach of Lady. Again I had to handle the very much upset dog, but again with great care and no problems. The temporary solution was a big stick so that the newcomers could keep Lady at a safe distance, she stays a good few meters away from it. Once they were out of her territory it was no longer a problem.
I could go back to bed and back to my book. Sue was feeling a little down from her sudden decrease in mobility, her arms are aching from having to carry her weight, same with the other leg. After getting a little sleep things were looking up though, and we walked down the beach to a nice restaurant for a light snack. Susanne got a vegeburger and I finally got around to try a "Sizzler" - a dish that's served so hot that its sizzling as it arrives. We were both full long before our plates were empty. I also had a roughly mixed but still nice Long Island to the food - no Fenny though, so I was still fine. As I was eating, a smaller dog came and laid down under my chair. It was the softest and cutest and warmest little dog ever! Jackal, the restaurant people called her. As we asked for the bill I ordered a plain roti, a form of bread. As it arrived, Jackal got a bite. Apparently, that's all it takes to buy a friend here. He duly followed us all the way home. The jungle drums here have quite the broadband connection, and suddenly there were 3 more dogs following us, in addition to Oliver who had been lurking around the restaurant since before we arrived. The other dogs vanished before we got home, however. Parking Jackal and Susanne at the beach hut, I went over to Lady's new nest and delivered the bread. She was quite happy about it!
I am not sure what is wrong with Jackal, but her "fight or flight" instincts are not turned on. As I was on my way back Lady zoomed past me, with Oliver flanking her off in the shadow. They converged on Jackal just outside the door of the hut with the Spaniel in it and made quite the raucous stating their territorial sovereignty. Not accepting their claim, however, the outsized and outteethed little Jackal just got the two frenzied dogs even more annoyed and I had to bail her out of there. She decided that she was safe behind me, and I had a little work fending off two dogs hellbent on making sure this impostor was summarily expelled from their land or executed on the spot. I would have nothing of either and shooed them off in a calm but firm manner. Accepting defeat for the time being they retreated. Lady would still come around every so often to see if she could get between me and Jackal, but he was quite safe under my chair. It became apparent that this would not work out over the night however, as Susanne had banned any dogs from entering the hut. I decided to stay outside with Jackal for some time (reading my book) to see if things calmed down, but either Lady or Oliver would keep coming back to see if Jackal was out in the open.
Getting tired, I waited for the two to chase off after another beach dog going north and took Jackal for a walk south across the beach. Taking the scenic route, I waited until I could no longer see I'm behind me, before I turned up a backalley and took the street home. Agonda is the first place I would even contemplate going outside alone at night here in India, much less cross through dark back alleys. Here, however, it is hardly worth a second thought. I did have my trusty MagLite 3D hanging from my belt just in case, anyway. It looks imposing enough to scare away most people, and I guess it could be used both defensively and offensively if needed - though I'd much rather not find out. I met but one person on my walk and we exchanged a pleasant "good night" before wandering off in different directions. I joined up with a large cow walking my way and we had a nice conversation before I had to turn off for our huts. By the time I was back it was already well past midnight and I got ready and beded as fast as I could before firing up my Eee to write a little.
Dogs and cows are not the only animals we encounter here, though. We have house pets too. First one we saw in here was a small cockroach, a cute one at that. Then there was the spider, a larger one covered in brown fluff. Not large enough to be a grown tarantula or anything though. While normally not arachnophobic, I do not know which spiders here are poisonous or not, so I decided to keep a healthy distance as I tried to catch and evict it. It proved to be an exercises in futility as spiders here are far faster and smarter than the Norwegian ones. In the end it simply ran over the wall and vanished out under the ceiling. Then there was the mouse. Susanne was in the bathroom as the told me she had seen one, and just as I turned around I saw it sneak around the corner. It's brown and about medium mouse size I guess. I am also guessing/hoping that it is this little creature that playing "tug" with me as I write this. Every now and then there will be a tug in the mosquito netting and it vanishes down between the wall and the bed. I pull it back up again. A few minutes later, and it is pulled down again. It is getting slightly unnerving, and I think Ill turn on the roof lights before going to bed. I will also check out the undefinable sounds coming from the bathroom first.
Still, even with all the strange animals here, I really like this place. While the rest of India has been an amazing journey both historically and culturally, Agonda is the first place I could have easily called "home" for a few months. Even if I would have like a hut with less holes then. Now off to find my MagLite before I fall asleep...
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
Somebody call 9-1-1!!
I actually woke up from a painful stomach, far too early for my liking. That pizza really wasn't good for anything. I did find a rather somber Susanne though, her foot not any better at all. Doctor it was. Where does one find a doctor here? I mean, where does one find a good doctor?
I was readied and out of the door around 9 some time, and was pretty much alone walking down the street. No one else here are crazy enough to set foot outdoor for at least another hour. Before leaving I had used my Indian phone as a modem for my netbook and found the 24-hour emergency number of my travel insurance. They play heavily on their ability to recommend good places to go for medical consultation in their commercials, so I decided to test them. I found a half-opened cybercafe/callpoint and after a little waiting their phone was linked up and a few rings later I was on the phone with a nice Norwegian lady. It is strange speaking a language again after not using it for a month. We did find a nice hospital relatively close and I got the address. Going a little further down the road I came upon a sleeping taxi driver who gave me his number. The return trip would be about Rs1000 + some for the time he was waiting there. On my way back I almost commandeered a Jeep from a lifeguard so Susanne would not have to walk the 30 meters or so of loose sand from the hut to the road. Good thing I did not, as that would have been embarrassing, apparently. What could possibly be embarrassing with having a shiny red life guard jeep standing outside?! NT's!!
Doing it the harder way, we made it up to the road and our taxi arrived shortly thereafter. The drive to the hospital took about an hour, giving us a nice overview of the surroundings. Almost like being back on the road with Sanji! The hotel was located in the heart of Margao, a rather large city with all the things that come with it. Somehow managing to find the hospital we were let off at the main entrance. After having positioned Susanne on a bench, I got in line for registration. After a little wait (most of which was caused by the totally nonexistent queueing culture here), I got a patient registration scheme that Susanne had to fill out. Once that was done, I handed it back and had to pay a total of Rs250 for registration and consultation with a doctor.
We had been assigned Room 3, which we found further up the hallway. I was unable to find any wheel chairs to rent or borrow, but Susanne hopped along bravely. Again a little wait as the doctor was elsewhere - and then a little wait because of the said lack of queueing culture - and we were seated in a nice examination room. After bending and prodding her foot a little, the doctor sent Susanne for an x-ray. Now a nurse came with a wheelchair and Sue was trollied away while I sorted more paperwork. First I had to go to the x-ray radiology reception to get a form approved, then I had to go back to the main reception (but another section) to pay for it, then I had to go back to the radiology reception with the receipt and once that was done the x-ray room was ready and Susanne rolled in. I decided to stay outside as soon as I saw the machines. Chernobyl was still alive!
5 minutes later or so, after her doctor had stopped by to check up on her, Susanne came back out again. Sadly, not glowing or anything. We went back to the doctors office, and just during the walk there he had gotten a report from the x-ray office that nothing was broken. She has torn a ligament though, and he recommended having her foot immobilised so it could grow properly. She could still use her foot but only with 50% load or so.
We were then taken down to the emergency/casualty ward and seated in a fairly nice ER examination room. Stuff appeared quite clean compared to the rest of the country so far, even though Susanne was still happy she did not have an open wound of any kind. After a few minutes her doctor appeared again and taped up her food with a strong tape so it would stay still. She has to keep it dry however, so no more normal showering and no bathing.
She is such a sport with these things though, taking it all in stride. Getting my travel insurance to transport us home (like they had offered) was not an option in her book - she was on vacation! Besides, where could she possibly have a better place to be immobilized than at her beach hut?
Once done in the ER, we paid another Rs680 or so and continued on to the pharmacy. Here she got some pills against the swelling and a crutch to steady herself against. Not the most modern kind though, something like a Y with a T. Still better than nothing I guess, even if two might have been better. Maybe we find something here tomorrow.
I had sent our taxi driver away to get himself some lunch while waiting, and he arrived 15 minutes after we were done. I was asleep most of the drive home, only waking up as we stopped outside the beach hut. While I had agreed with the driver on Rs1000, there was still that "something" for the wait, and I wanted to treat him to his lunch. And of course the 10% tip. As always he refused to say how much extra he would like, but I think another Rs1000 was more than he had expected. Susanne later said it was too much, and she is usually right. Still, for the wait, parking, food and not least my gratitude for helping me get my best friend to the hospital and back, I did not find it that much. It is hardly a long combined lunch/dinner in the shadow of a beach restaurant for two here, perhaps he will take his special one out for a nice day at the beach instead of being couped up in a warm car.
After refreshing in the hut, we hopped back to the road and over to the restaurant where we had booked our hut from as it was among the closest. Food was nice, and we met another friendly dog. There seems to be one or more attached to every restaurant or beach chair here. After food I sent Susanne off to a cybercafe so she could get some writing done and I went off to get the Eee for my prewritten blogs and maybe getting some pictures uploaded. Sadly, it is quite slow (as is the connection here..) so only 25% or so of the pictures will be uploaded tonight. Oh well, the rest tomorrow. On the way back to the cybercafe I tried finding something like a trolley or wagon I could haul Susanne around in (its especially bad for her in the loose sand), but I had no luck. I did find a tuktuk driver that gave me his phone number so she would not have to walk back to the huts. Perhaps I will have to rent a jeep...
I was readied and out of the door around 9 some time, and was pretty much alone walking down the street. No one else here are crazy enough to set foot outdoor for at least another hour. Before leaving I had used my Indian phone as a modem for my netbook and found the 24-hour emergency number of my travel insurance. They play heavily on their ability to recommend good places to go for medical consultation in their commercials, so I decided to test them. I found a half-opened cybercafe/callpoint and after a little waiting their phone was linked up and a few rings later I was on the phone with a nice Norwegian lady. It is strange speaking a language again after not using it for a month. We did find a nice hospital relatively close and I got the address. Going a little further down the road I came upon a sleeping taxi driver who gave me his number. The return trip would be about Rs1000 + some for the time he was waiting there. On my way back I almost commandeered a Jeep from a lifeguard so Susanne would not have to walk the 30 meters or so of loose sand from the hut to the road. Good thing I did not, as that would have been embarrassing, apparently. What could possibly be embarrassing with having a shiny red life guard jeep standing outside?! NT's!!
Doing it the harder way, we made it up to the road and our taxi arrived shortly thereafter. The drive to the hospital took about an hour, giving us a nice overview of the surroundings. Almost like being back on the road with Sanji! The hotel was located in the heart of Margao, a rather large city with all the things that come with it. Somehow managing to find the hospital we were let off at the main entrance. After having positioned Susanne on a bench, I got in line for registration. After a little wait (most of which was caused by the totally nonexistent queueing culture here), I got a patient registration scheme that Susanne had to fill out. Once that was done, I handed it back and had to pay a total of Rs250 for registration and consultation with a doctor.
We had been assigned Room 3, which we found further up the hallway. I was unable to find any wheel chairs to rent or borrow, but Susanne hopped along bravely. Again a little wait as the doctor was elsewhere - and then a little wait because of the said lack of queueing culture - and we were seated in a nice examination room. After bending and prodding her foot a little, the doctor sent Susanne for an x-ray. Now a nurse came with a wheelchair and Sue was trollied away while I sorted more paperwork. First I had to go to the x-ray radiology reception to get a form approved, then I had to go back to the main reception (but another section) to pay for it, then I had to go back to the radiology reception with the receipt and once that was done the x-ray room was ready and Susanne rolled in. I decided to stay outside as soon as I saw the machines. Chernobyl was still alive!
5 minutes later or so, after her doctor had stopped by to check up on her, Susanne came back out again. Sadly, not glowing or anything. We went back to the doctors office, and just during the walk there he had gotten a report from the x-ray office that nothing was broken. She has torn a ligament though, and he recommended having her foot immobilised so it could grow properly. She could still use her foot but only with 50% load or so.
We were then taken down to the emergency/casualty ward and seated in a fairly nice ER examination room. Stuff appeared quite clean compared to the rest of the country so far, even though Susanne was still happy she did not have an open wound of any kind. After a few minutes her doctor appeared again and taped up her food with a strong tape so it would stay still. She has to keep it dry however, so no more normal showering and no bathing.
She is such a sport with these things though, taking it all in stride. Getting my travel insurance to transport us home (like they had offered) was not an option in her book - she was on vacation! Besides, where could she possibly have a better place to be immobilized than at her beach hut?
Once done in the ER, we paid another Rs680 or so and continued on to the pharmacy. Here she got some pills against the swelling and a crutch to steady herself against. Not the most modern kind though, something like a Y with a T. Still better than nothing I guess, even if two might have been better. Maybe we find something here tomorrow.
I had sent our taxi driver away to get himself some lunch while waiting, and he arrived 15 minutes after we were done. I was asleep most of the drive home, only waking up as we stopped outside the beach hut. While I had agreed with the driver on Rs1000, there was still that "something" for the wait, and I wanted to treat him to his lunch. And of course the 10% tip. As always he refused to say how much extra he would like, but I think another Rs1000 was more than he had expected. Susanne later said it was too much, and she is usually right. Still, for the wait, parking, food and not least my gratitude for helping me get my best friend to the hospital and back, I did not find it that much. It is hardly a long combined lunch/dinner in the shadow of a beach restaurant for two here, perhaps he will take his special one out for a nice day at the beach instead of being couped up in a warm car.
After refreshing in the hut, we hopped back to the road and over to the restaurant where we had booked our hut from as it was among the closest. Food was nice, and we met another friendly dog. There seems to be one or more attached to every restaurant or beach chair here. After food I sent Susanne off to a cybercafe so she could get some writing done and I went off to get the Eee for my prewritten blogs and maybe getting some pictures uploaded. Sadly, it is quite slow (as is the connection here..) so only 25% or so of the pictures will be uploaded tonight. Oh well, the rest tomorrow. On the way back to the cybercafe I tried finding something like a trolley or wagon I could haul Susanne around in (its especially bad for her in the loose sand), but I had no luck. I did find a tuktuk driver that gave me his phone number so she would not have to walk back to the huts. Perhaps I will have to rent a jeep...
Beach huts!
So much has happened today that writing about yesterday will mostly be based on my short notes.
Yesterday we woke up late, neither of us had been up for setting an alarm. Fully in style with the rest of the place here, I think. Nothing opens before 11 anyway. Not that we were in any kind of hurry, our first appointment was at noon. This morning Susanne had some stomach pains though, probably too many acids in the fruit drinks the night before. We just made it to the cabins in time and met up with one of the employees who showed us the hut we would get. It was still occupied and he was about to evict the current inhabitants, but I intervened and said that it would be no real use to use before the evening anyway as the hotel was paid for the day anyway. Did get to peek inside though and it looked really roomy and airy compared to our current room. Deal!
Afterwards we went to an Italian restaurant we had seen earlier, hungry for pizza. So much for that! Pizza was the one thing they did not serve that early. I ended up with a Bolognese, sadly not of the kind I know. The majority of the dish consisted of minced meat fried in spices and a little spaghetti. No sauce. The pancake I had for dessert was nice though!
As we were sitting there, Susanne got into a conversation with our travel agency via phone. After a good 15 minutes we had some new things to think about. As I very much expected, they would not pay for our beach huts. That was still OK, Susanne wanted beach huts and she got beach huts. I must say I much prefer them too. The interesting thing was rather our flight from Goa to Delhi. We had booked the trip so that we would have 3 full days in Delhi at the end of our journey. Now we were informed that our original flight would leave Goa airport on the 22nd instead. I am most definitely not up for a week in Delhi, it is far too large and noisy and smelly, especially after Goa. But that would actually not be a problem anyway, as the travel agency was about to book us on a flight on the 27th instead! It seems like there was some doubts whether the midnight flight we were booked on for the 22nd would actually work out or would end up cancelled, and the flight on the 27th is some time in the afternoon. Also, they had booked us into beach huts now - even though the message yesterday was "no beach huts" because of "safety issues" and "all booked out".
These huts would be on another beach though, Palolam. A far more touristy beach with a much more active nightlife. We were starting to enjoy our little off-track beach though, and didn't want to leave just yet. As we had booked the beach huts here until the 22nd, I came up with the idea of staying here until sometime on the 22nd and then move over to the other beach and the company beach huts until the 27th. That way we would still have some time here, and we would also see another beach. One day in Delhi is perhaps a little short, but rather that, than a week. We got a web address for the huts at Palolam, and after checking it out at a cybercafe Susanne called the travel agency back and arranged it like that.
We then ventured back to our 'untel'room to pick up bathing outfits. As we had walked all the way south the day before, we decided going all the way north. Towards the northern end there was a river flowing into the ocean, creating the setting of a nice lagoon. We never got around to bathe (just got a little wet from wading through the stream) as we would have to be back at the beach hut by 6pm to accept the cabin. We agreed on taking a break at the first restaurant we passed going south and found a quiet little place next to a set of beached fishing boats. A sweet little girl ran off to wake her father, and soon we were served a nice meal of mixed vegetables and rice. Neither of us were too hungry, so we shared it.
We made it to the cabins just in time, but the cabin was still not empty. The previous inhabitants were also on Goa time! No problem for us though, we just crashed at the closest beach restaurant and had a nice meal as as the sun slowly set in the horizon. We also made a new friend there, Lady. A nice golden shorthaired lady in her best years, she is a permanent resident of the huts in the area together with her friend, a black and yellow specimen that was a little more shy. Lady on the other hand was not shy, and she was laying across my feet under the table even before the food arrived.
Once they had finally managed to get everything packed, the previous inhabitants of our hut came over to us and let us know it was all ready and clean now, they were off to another beach with a late night bus. We got the key from the cabin and set a course for out untel. We also had a lot to pack and it took a lot of time before we were suddenly standing in the reception ready to check out... our untel-manager was less amused, even though he this way would still get money for the room and also the ability to rent it out again making it a double win for him. Oh well, can't please them all.
Just dropping our luggage at the hut we headed south along the road. In Susannes book there was a mention of a restaurant with a great chocolate pudding and I had to try it of course. It was quite a walk and it was dark, and on the way there Susanne failed to see where the edge of the road made a little curve and she stepped over on her left ankle. Poor her. She still made it to the restaurant though, it would probably be fine once she had rested it a little. It was an Italian place and the menu was quite disappointing. Perhaps 10 pizzas and 5 pasta dishes as well as some soups and a few other things. I went for a pizza margarita. I think I prefer American style pan pizza, the dough on the pizza I got was so hard I had problem cutting it with a beef knife. The filling was bland at tasteless as well. Meh. And chocolate pudding? Nope.
Not wanting to wait around for a taxi at night we walked home, Susannes foot still hurting but perhaps getting a little better. Halfway home we came across a taxi, and we were driven the last Lady greeted us as we came through the back gate. The foot was still uncomfortable as she went to bed though, and we agreed that she should see a doctor if it was still as bad in the morning.
It was so nice going to sleep in our hut, the waves slowly taking us into the land of dreams, and fresh air being circulated through all the openings in the rather basically built hut. It keeps cool during the day and gets borderline cold at night, just perfect for sleeping. I did find use for my Leatherman, the locking loop for the deadbolt being a cm too high too lock. Now it locks. Not that it actually matters too much as the bathroom s only separated from the main room by a 2 meter high wall and the roof is almost 4 meters up at its peak.. but still, it needed sorting and it got sorted. Like the clock on the air condition remote in Kochi, it was all wrong. Now it is not.
Yesterday we woke up late, neither of us had been up for setting an alarm. Fully in style with the rest of the place here, I think. Nothing opens before 11 anyway. Not that we were in any kind of hurry, our first appointment was at noon. This morning Susanne had some stomach pains though, probably too many acids in the fruit drinks the night before. We just made it to the cabins in time and met up with one of the employees who showed us the hut we would get. It was still occupied and he was about to evict the current inhabitants, but I intervened and said that it would be no real use to use before the evening anyway as the hotel was paid for the day anyway. Did get to peek inside though and it looked really roomy and airy compared to our current room. Deal!
Afterwards we went to an Italian restaurant we had seen earlier, hungry for pizza. So much for that! Pizza was the one thing they did not serve that early. I ended up with a Bolognese, sadly not of the kind I know. The majority of the dish consisted of minced meat fried in spices and a little spaghetti. No sauce. The pancake I had for dessert was nice though!
As we were sitting there, Susanne got into a conversation with our travel agency via phone. After a good 15 minutes we had some new things to think about. As I very much expected, they would not pay for our beach huts. That was still OK, Susanne wanted beach huts and she got beach huts. I must say I much prefer them too. The interesting thing was rather our flight from Goa to Delhi. We had booked the trip so that we would have 3 full days in Delhi at the end of our journey. Now we were informed that our original flight would leave Goa airport on the 22nd instead. I am most definitely not up for a week in Delhi, it is far too large and noisy and smelly, especially after Goa. But that would actually not be a problem anyway, as the travel agency was about to book us on a flight on the 27th instead! It seems like there was some doubts whether the midnight flight we were booked on for the 22nd would actually work out or would end up cancelled, and the flight on the 27th is some time in the afternoon. Also, they had booked us into beach huts now - even though the message yesterday was "no beach huts" because of "safety issues" and "all booked out".
These huts would be on another beach though, Palolam. A far more touristy beach with a much more active nightlife. We were starting to enjoy our little off-track beach though, and didn't want to leave just yet. As we had booked the beach huts here until the 22nd, I came up with the idea of staying here until sometime on the 22nd and then move over to the other beach and the company beach huts until the 27th. That way we would still have some time here, and we would also see another beach. One day in Delhi is perhaps a little short, but rather that, than a week. We got a web address for the huts at Palolam, and after checking it out at a cybercafe Susanne called the travel agency back and arranged it like that.
We then ventured back to our 'untel'room to pick up bathing outfits. As we had walked all the way south the day before, we decided going all the way north. Towards the northern end there was a river flowing into the ocean, creating the setting of a nice lagoon. We never got around to bathe (just got a little wet from wading through the stream) as we would have to be back at the beach hut by 6pm to accept the cabin. We agreed on taking a break at the first restaurant we passed going south and found a quiet little place next to a set of beached fishing boats. A sweet little girl ran off to wake her father, and soon we were served a nice meal of mixed vegetables and rice. Neither of us were too hungry, so we shared it.
We made it to the cabins just in time, but the cabin was still not empty. The previous inhabitants were also on Goa time! No problem for us though, we just crashed at the closest beach restaurant and had a nice meal as as the sun slowly set in the horizon. We also made a new friend there, Lady. A nice golden shorthaired lady in her best years, she is a permanent resident of the huts in the area together with her friend, a black and yellow specimen that was a little more shy. Lady on the other hand was not shy, and she was laying across my feet under the table even before the food arrived.
Once they had finally managed to get everything packed, the previous inhabitants of our hut came over to us and let us know it was all ready and clean now, they were off to another beach with a late night bus. We got the key from the cabin and set a course for out untel. We also had a lot to pack and it took a lot of time before we were suddenly standing in the reception ready to check out... our untel-manager was less amused, even though he this way would still get money for the room and also the ability to rent it out again making it a double win for him. Oh well, can't please them all.
Just dropping our luggage at the hut we headed south along the road. In Susannes book there was a mention of a restaurant with a great chocolate pudding and I had to try it of course. It was quite a walk and it was dark, and on the way there Susanne failed to see where the edge of the road made a little curve and she stepped over on her left ankle. Poor her. She still made it to the restaurant though, it would probably be fine once she had rested it a little. It was an Italian place and the menu was quite disappointing. Perhaps 10 pizzas and 5 pasta dishes as well as some soups and a few other things. I went for a pizza margarita. I think I prefer American style pan pizza, the dough on the pizza I got was so hard I had problem cutting it with a beef knife. The filling was bland at tasteless as well. Meh. And chocolate pudding? Nope.
Not wanting to wait around for a taxi at night we walked home, Susannes foot still hurting but perhaps getting a little better. Halfway home we came across a taxi, and we were driven the last Lady greeted us as we came through the back gate. The foot was still uncomfortable as she went to bed though, and we agreed that she should see a doctor if it was still as bad in the morning.
It was so nice going to sleep in our hut, the waves slowly taking us into the land of dreams, and fresh air being circulated through all the openings in the rather basically built hut. It keeps cool during the day and gets borderline cold at night, just perfect for sleeping. I did find use for my Leatherman, the locking loop for the deadbolt being a cm too high too lock. Now it locks. Not that it actually matters too much as the bathroom s only separated from the main room by a 2 meter high wall and the roof is almost 4 meters up at its peak.. but still, it needed sorting and it got sorted. Like the clock on the air condition remote in Kochi, it was all wrong. Now it is not.
...hic!
I am, quite honestly, drunk. Now that's a first. It's clearly the fault of the nice barman at a bar/restaurant down at the beach, I have no idea what the name of either was but tomorrow I hope Ill be able to find it again. There is a local flavor of alcohol here called fenny. The spirit is quite nice, a little schnappsy but with a unique flair that somehow manages to engage every single taste bud on the tongue. The barman also makes a truly mean Long Island Ice Tea. It tastes far better than any I've had before, and the aftertaste is as round as polished lemon we agreed. Tomorrow he will make an even better one just for me. I will skip the local brew then, I think. Now, I am not completely smashed or anything, but far deeper under the influence of alcohol than I have ever been before. Walking in a straight line is a little tricky without my germanian guardian angel at my side and hand/eye coordination is less than optimal. I was still able to evict a rather large creepycrawly from our room and also able to find the master crane for the toilet when it started running over. Guess it could be worse, though I am staying completely our of traffic.
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. Yesterday I woke up by the rumbling of the engine coming to life. Well, I was awoken by my alarm quite a few times before that, but it is hardly the same. A quick tour of the bathroom later and we were seated in the forward dining lounge. Yesterday had somehow ended with Susanne ordering Indian breakfast (veg, not spicy) and I more or less chose "continental" (English) breakfast with egg. While northern Indian breakfast was nice, the southern food didn't sit right with me that early in the morning. The British one, generally consisting of toast and marmalade (and tea) always went down smoothly on the other hand. So, there I was, expecting a load of warm toast and some marmalade. And maybe some butter. And a boiled egg or two.
What I got, was bar none the best meal I have ever had the joy of experiencing in my entire life. While there was little to note about the decrusted, slightly soggy toasts in the tupperware box or the nondescript butter served with it, the omelet was exquisite. A few millimeters thick and containing pieces of paprika and onion, it could easily have been confused with just any other omelet. This one, on the other hand, was pure pleasure. The magic was clearly in the spices. I have no idea what it might have been, and I have little hope of experiencing it again - or sharing it. The cook was hardly able to speak even basic English, although he clearly understood my praise of the food.
After my unexpected encounter with the omelet we went up to the observation deck to enjoy the cruise back towards the dock. Taking a far shorter route this time, I would guesstimate that we were under way for about an hour before arriving. It is amazing how these people are able to navigate these mazes of canals and waterways without any form of radio or navigational equipment aboard. As we were about to disembark I noticed the engine control panel in the "kitchen" (pentry, I guess it should be referred to as, but in all honesty, the superstructure was internally built like a house, not a boat). The small panel consisted of an ampere-meter steam gauge, an ignition key and a few warning/information lights without any description. Arriving after many of the others, they wedged our floating hut in between some other slugs laying tied up already and we walked through another boat and then onto dry land. The end of a journey.
We were unsurprised to find that there were no driver or car waiting for us, but the owner of the house boat quickly arranged transport for us back to Kochi and to the train station were were scheduled to depart from. Shortly after, a Mahindra-produced Renault sedan was packed up with our things and we were on our way. It was the first time we had been installed in a turbo-powered car on our trip so far, but as I finally had a working seat belt available to me I took it all in stride. Still, the general public here should not have access to turbos. I must say the license built frenchie handled more like a European car than anything I've been in so far, and the drive was quite pleasant.
At the train station we had a bit of a wait ahead of us, seeing as we were there roughly two hours early, but time passed somehow. I was mostly engaged with my latest book, Crescent Dawn, the latest in the Dirk Pitt/NUMA line (think I mentioned it earlier). The train arrived on time and we found our widely separated seats, one in each of the two cabins in the train wagon. The trains here are as wide as the typical west/north European train, but here they manage to fit two times three seats in the width. And people say that Ryanair seats are cramped.. While I had been assigned an aisle seat the couple sitting next to me diverted me to the window seat, it turned out that they were moving around a lot, not sure why.
I was still full from my Omelet far into the afternoon, when I finally decided to get some more to eat. Two alufoil
During the entire train trip - when not eating, anyway - I was completely lost in my book. I finished the last page of the 100th and final chapter just in time to pack up and prepare for disembarking. There were a few unscheduled stations before ours, Magdoan or so, came into view. I got the honor of unlocking the door as I was a little in the way where I stood with backpack, shoulder pack and Sues bag, and hit the platform just as the train came to a stop.
We were positively surprised to find someone standing there with a poster saying "shafer vom stein" on it and we were soon on our way. This time in a Tata sedan of sorts, also this one turbocharged. It was the first car I have found to have its various states on the ignition key lock brightly back lit, a cool feature. Nature here was, during the drive anyway, quite similar to Norway. Large green trees and little traffic. The only major difference, other than the traffic still coming from the wrong side, was the yellow sand covering the ditches and the brightly colored reflective tapes everywhere guiding us through each corner like a projected flight path on a holographic heads up display in a science fiction movie. The drive itself generally reminded me of "Getaway in Stockholm", while never actually eliciting any sounds from the tires as we went into each corner at an invigorating pace. Some of the sense of speed must have been coming from the construction of the vehicle, as we never actually passed 120, one of the highest velocity markings on the speedometer. I must admit that I was a little nervous about the "beach huts" they had booked us in at as we turned into a road hardly better than a logging path for quite some time. Then, suddenly, we were out on a normal road again.
Shortly after, we arrived into a tiny village. It was quite like the other industrialised Indian roadside settlements we had seen so far except that it was all closed and dark. No wonder, as the clock was fast approaching 3 at night. We were both looking forward to dropping out baggage in our little hut on the beach and catch as much shut-eye as possible.
The car stopped outside a small building with the name "Cupid's Heaven" painted outside and we were given a tiny room with a 'romantic' red light bulb, a window into the reception and a wet bathroom not large enough to change opinions; why it had not yet gotten a vibrating bed installed remains a mystery. Neither of us were amused. While I was too tired to make any fuzz out of it until the morning, Susanne let them know that this was not a beach hut, and she wanted a beach hut. We were told that they did not have any, and got something about security concerns. We did fall asleep in our "romantic little love-nest" (that should be read with sarcasm seeping out of it like fat out of a cheap hamburger at a truck stop) and were quite awake and ready for action around 10 the next morning.
First we reopened the issue of the lacking beach-huttyness of our current lodgings. Calls to the travel agency and words with the manager did not get us any closer to a beach hut, but we were explained that there had been some security issues on some other beach earlier and therefore we had been booked in at a hotel (or, as I refer to it, untel) without anyone asking us. We were promised the best room they had come night though. We then sorted laundry, finally. Once that was done, we headed towards the beach which turned out to be just 50 meters or so from the back of our untel. Oh, by the way, while quickly exploring the untel before we left, we found that the room opposite of ours was actually a tattoo parlor.
The beach was nice. The deserted emptyness I experienced when arriving here last night was gone, and there was a bar or a collection of beach huts as far as the eye could see along the beach in each direction. There were some tourists here, but the beach was not packed. There are also cows and dogs roaming the beaches here. First time there we turned right and after walking a bit we ended up in a bar/restaurant under a nice palm-leaf roof. I ended up trying the Chicken Masala, while Susanne went for, I think, an Aloo Kofta. I also killed a few glass bottles of 7UP, 200ml each. Once breakfast was done, we had heard word that the bar owner would have a beach hut available from tomorrow that we could have, so we walked to take a look at it. It was on the beachfront and looked cozy from the outside, tomorrow at 12 we will check out the interior and it just might be that we get our Goan beach hut holiday after all.
Back in our untel we were told that we couldn't switch rooms yet, as the person supposed to be checking out today was drunk and still asleep. We changed for more beachweary outfits and I broke out my Source Gobi trekking sandals. Susanne nearly had a fit when I explained to her my intentions of wearing them with socks, I just cannot wear them barefoot for several reasons. Must be an NT thing, socks and sandals...
We then hit the streets again, walking south until we ran out of village and shops (Susanne trying on various pants and other clothes along the way, myself picking up the entire stock of Orbit chewing gum as I was out again). We also passed a nice church, but were hardly dressed for entering it. We then turned towards the beach and followed it south as far as it went. It ended in a rather rocky area that demanded a little active jumping and climbing before finally reaching a halt at a series of very large boulders stacked into the sea. Susanne sat down to soak up some sun while I went on a more advanced freeclimbing excursion to reach the stone furthest out. The sandals turned out to be quite good for climbing, but my cozy/pyjama pants are not barnacle proof and had a few extra holes by the time I was back with Susanne.
We walked north until we saw the first and best restaurant. Before the restaurants and beach-huts started, there were several expedition-grade vehicles parked and rigged for camping, among them a very nice 6x6 MAN military-style carrier with all kinds of kit mounted to it.
The restaurant, Cuba ("Where...time takes a break!"), was a welcome haven from the sun and we could rehydrate a little again. Simple rehydration turned to relaxation pur and after several hours, multiple glass bottles of coke, various fruit juices, and a bottle of mineral water; a very nice Mexican dish, yummy fries and a vanilla ice cream (made using packaged drinking water) with chocolate sauce for me and a vegeburger and salad for Susanne we finally managed to break free of the senseless gluttony and lazying around in the shadow of our roofed and raised little terrace and slowly move back home to the untel. While sitting there, it was interesting to note that the cows had learned from the dogs and were begging at the food tables standing down at the beach. One cow got a little too enthusiastic and pushed the patron clean off of his sunbed while requesting the remains of his food. Cows are too big to do dog-things.
First we passed by the beach hut we might take tomorrow to see how the front looked as well. Still looking good to us!
Back at our untel we claimed our laundry (less than Rs400) and were informed that we could not have the better room tonight as the drunk person was STILL sleeping, but after a few to-and-froms they managed to dig up a better room than the one we had. Now it is next door to the tattoo parlor and the window is facing out to the roofed bar(could order drinks directly through the window); the bathroom again wet. It is still a huge upgrade from what we had. The music from the bar was also a bonus here, playing western pop music. Cleaning up a little (I am still trying to get used to the lack of warm water) and getting into new clothes, and rigging up a clothes line for my still we clothes as Susanne jumped into the street to secure some thread so we could rig our mosquito netting later, we were ready for town again.
Susanne still wanted some comfortable loose-fitting pants, and coming past one shop she saw something that piqued her interest. As always, the store owner was quickly with us ready to explain everything we might need to know to choose his establishment as the place to leave a few rupees. To my great surprise, when Susanne declined his offers, he merely said "Sorry for the interruption" and vanished back into the shop. Amazing, completely unexpected after 2 weeks in Rajasthan. We also ventured inside the shop as Susanne was scouring it for legwear without interruption by the shopkeeper. I was treated to a chair and was soon in conversation with the man. Making a long clothes-trying-session short, we talked about anything from Kashmiri houseboats to world religions. He was a Muslim, but first of all a human being as he said, and he was saddened by all the hate and conflict among the various people and their religions. If more people were like him, I think the world would definitely be a much more peaceful place to live. Having myself had little contact with Islam, it was very nice to meet a non-extremist side of the faith. Susanne ended on two loose and cozy pants and we both left the shop quite spirited. We again headed down towards the beach for dinner and a few drinks and quickly found a nice place with good music and lights in many colors. Taking a seat as close to the water as possible (not that we could see much, the sun had set while we were getting ready earlier), a very friendly waiter took our orders.
Starting off with coke and mineral water for me and a lemon soda for Susanne, we took our time deciding on what to eat. I ended up with ordering a "special steak" with red wine sauce and mushrooms served with boiled vegetables and fried onions, and Susanne went with an Indian dish that was new to her and vegan. I cannot remember the name though. Food arrived after some time. It was truly well made, both hers and mine. After eating I was not full, but satisfied. Susanne being tired from her food and too full, opted not to get anything more to drink. I had to try the local spirit of course, and as they had my long time favorite drink - LIIT - I had to try that as well. That pretty much leads to the beginning of this entry. By now any disabling effects of the alcohol is gone and I am looking forward to getting some sleep. Hoping Ill be able to get up around 9, I should still be able to get almost 8 hours of sleep tonight. Maybe we get beach-hutted tomorrow?
Anyway, I am getting ahead of myself. Yesterday I woke up by the rumbling of the engine coming to life. Well, I was awoken by my alarm quite a few times before that, but it is hardly the same. A quick tour of the bathroom later and we were seated in the forward dining lounge. Yesterday had somehow ended with Susanne ordering Indian breakfast (veg, not spicy) and I more or less chose "continental" (English) breakfast with egg. While northern Indian breakfast was nice, the southern food didn't sit right with me that early in the morning. The British one, generally consisting of toast and marmalade (and tea) always went down smoothly on the other hand. So, there I was, expecting a load of warm toast and some marmalade. And maybe some butter. And a boiled egg or two.
What I got, was bar none the best meal I have ever had the joy of experiencing in my entire life. While there was little to note about the decrusted, slightly soggy toasts in the tupperware box or the nondescript butter served with it, the omelet was exquisite. A few millimeters thick and containing pieces of paprika and onion, it could easily have been confused with just any other omelet. This one, on the other hand, was pure pleasure. The magic was clearly in the spices. I have no idea what it might have been, and I have little hope of experiencing it again - or sharing it. The cook was hardly able to speak even basic English, although he clearly understood my praise of the food.
After my unexpected encounter with the omelet we went up to the observation deck to enjoy the cruise back towards the dock. Taking a far shorter route this time, I would guesstimate that we were under way for about an hour before arriving. It is amazing how these people are able to navigate these mazes of canals and waterways without any form of radio or navigational equipment aboard. As we were about to disembark I noticed the engine control panel in the "kitchen" (pentry, I guess it should be referred to as, but in all honesty, the superstructure was internally built like a house, not a boat). The small panel consisted of an ampere-meter steam gauge, an ignition key and a few warning/information lights without any description. Arriving after many of the others, they wedged our floating hut in between some other slugs laying tied up already and we walked through another boat and then onto dry land. The end of a journey.
We were unsurprised to find that there were no driver or car waiting for us, but the owner of the house boat quickly arranged transport for us back to Kochi and to the train station were were scheduled to depart from. Shortly after, a Mahindra-produced Renault sedan was packed up with our things and we were on our way. It was the first time we had been installed in a turbo-powered car on our trip so far, but as I finally had a working seat belt available to me I took it all in stride. Still, the general public here should not have access to turbos. I must say the license built frenchie handled more like a European car than anything I've been in so far, and the drive was quite pleasant.
At the train station we had a bit of a wait ahead of us, seeing as we were there roughly two hours early, but time passed somehow. I was mostly engaged with my latest book, Crescent Dawn, the latest in the Dirk Pitt/NUMA line (think I mentioned it earlier). The train arrived on time and we found our widely separated seats, one in each of the two cabins in the train wagon. The trains here are as wide as the typical west/north European train, but here they manage to fit two times three seats in the width. And people say that Ryanair seats are cramped.. While I had been assigned an aisle seat the couple sitting next to me diverted me to the window seat, it turned out that they were moving around a lot, not sure why.
I was still full from my Omelet far into the afternoon, when I finally decided to get some more to eat. Two alufoil
During the entire train trip - when not eating, anyway - I was completely lost in my book. I finished the last page of the 100th and final chapter just in time to pack up and prepare for disembarking. There were a few unscheduled stations before ours, Magdoan or so, came into view. I got the honor of unlocking the door as I was a little in the way where I stood with backpack, shoulder pack and Sues bag, and hit the platform just as the train came to a stop.
We were positively surprised to find someone standing there with a poster saying "shafer vom stein" on it and we were soon on our way. This time in a Tata sedan of sorts, also this one turbocharged. It was the first car I have found to have its various states on the ignition key lock brightly back lit, a cool feature. Nature here was, during the drive anyway, quite similar to Norway. Large green trees and little traffic. The only major difference, other than the traffic still coming from the wrong side, was the yellow sand covering the ditches and the brightly colored reflective tapes everywhere guiding us through each corner like a projected flight path on a holographic heads up display in a science fiction movie. The drive itself generally reminded me of "Getaway in Stockholm", while never actually eliciting any sounds from the tires as we went into each corner at an invigorating pace. Some of the sense of speed must have been coming from the construction of the vehicle, as we never actually passed 120, one of the highest velocity markings on the speedometer. I must admit that I was a little nervous about the "beach huts" they had booked us in at as we turned into a road hardly better than a logging path for quite some time. Then, suddenly, we were out on a normal road again.
Shortly after, we arrived into a tiny village. It was quite like the other industrialised Indian roadside settlements we had seen so far except that it was all closed and dark. No wonder, as the clock was fast approaching 3 at night. We were both looking forward to dropping out baggage in our little hut on the beach and catch as much shut-eye as possible.
The car stopped outside a small building with the name "Cupid's Heaven" painted outside and we were given a tiny room with a 'romantic' red light bulb, a window into the reception and a wet bathroom not large enough to change opinions; why it had not yet gotten a vibrating bed installed remains a mystery. Neither of us were amused. While I was too tired to make any fuzz out of it until the morning, Susanne let them know that this was not a beach hut, and she wanted a beach hut. We were told that they did not have any, and got something about security concerns. We did fall asleep in our "romantic little love-nest" (that should be read with sarcasm seeping out of it like fat out of a cheap hamburger at a truck stop) and were quite awake and ready for action around 10 the next morning.
First we reopened the issue of the lacking beach-huttyness of our current lodgings. Calls to the travel agency and words with the manager did not get us any closer to a beach hut, but we were explained that there had been some security issues on some other beach earlier and therefore we had been booked in at a hotel (or, as I refer to it, untel) without anyone asking us. We were promised the best room they had come night though. We then sorted laundry, finally. Once that was done, we headed towards the beach which turned out to be just 50 meters or so from the back of our untel. Oh, by the way, while quickly exploring the untel before we left, we found that the room opposite of ours was actually a tattoo parlor.
The beach was nice. The deserted emptyness I experienced when arriving here last night was gone, and there was a bar or a collection of beach huts as far as the eye could see along the beach in each direction. There were some tourists here, but the beach was not packed. There are also cows and dogs roaming the beaches here. First time there we turned right and after walking a bit we ended up in a bar/restaurant under a nice palm-leaf roof. I ended up trying the Chicken Masala, while Susanne went for, I think, an Aloo Kofta. I also killed a few glass bottles of 7UP, 200ml each. Once breakfast was done, we had heard word that the bar owner would have a beach hut available from tomorrow that we could have, so we walked to take a look at it. It was on the beachfront and looked cozy from the outside, tomorrow at 12 we will check out the interior and it just might be that we get our Goan beach hut holiday after all.
Back in our untel we were told that we couldn't switch rooms yet, as the person supposed to be checking out today was drunk and still asleep. We changed for more beachweary outfits and I broke out my Source Gobi trekking sandals. Susanne nearly had a fit when I explained to her my intentions of wearing them with socks, I just cannot wear them barefoot for several reasons. Must be an NT thing, socks and sandals...
We then hit the streets again, walking south until we ran out of village and shops (Susanne trying on various pants and other clothes along the way, myself picking up the entire stock of Orbit chewing gum as I was out again). We also passed a nice church, but were hardly dressed for entering it. We then turned towards the beach and followed it south as far as it went. It ended in a rather rocky area that demanded a little active jumping and climbing before finally reaching a halt at a series of very large boulders stacked into the sea. Susanne sat down to soak up some sun while I went on a more advanced freeclimbing excursion to reach the stone furthest out. The sandals turned out to be quite good for climbing, but my cozy/pyjama pants are not barnacle proof and had a few extra holes by the time I was back with Susanne.
We walked north until we saw the first and best restaurant. Before the restaurants and beach-huts started, there were several expedition-grade vehicles parked and rigged for camping, among them a very nice 6x6 MAN military-style carrier with all kinds of kit mounted to it.
The restaurant, Cuba ("Where...time takes a break!"), was a welcome haven from the sun and we could rehydrate a little again. Simple rehydration turned to relaxation pur and after several hours, multiple glass bottles of coke, various fruit juices, and a bottle of mineral water; a very nice Mexican dish, yummy fries and a vanilla ice cream (made using packaged drinking water) with chocolate sauce for me and a vegeburger and salad for Susanne we finally managed to break free of the senseless gluttony and lazying around in the shadow of our roofed and raised little terrace and slowly move back home to the untel. While sitting there, it was interesting to note that the cows had learned from the dogs and were begging at the food tables standing down at the beach. One cow got a little too enthusiastic and pushed the patron clean off of his sunbed while requesting the remains of his food. Cows are too big to do dog-things.
First we passed by the beach hut we might take tomorrow to see how the front looked as well. Still looking good to us!
Back at our untel we claimed our laundry (less than Rs400) and were informed that we could not have the better room tonight as the drunk person was STILL sleeping, but after a few to-and-froms they managed to dig up a better room than the one we had. Now it is next door to the tattoo parlor and the window is facing out to the roofed bar(could order drinks directly through the window); the bathroom again wet. It is still a huge upgrade from what we had. The music from the bar was also a bonus here, playing western pop music. Cleaning up a little (I am still trying to get used to the lack of warm water) and getting into new clothes, and rigging up a clothes line for my still we clothes as Susanne jumped into the street to secure some thread so we could rig our mosquito netting later, we were ready for town again.
Susanne still wanted some comfortable loose-fitting pants, and coming past one shop she saw something that piqued her interest. As always, the store owner was quickly with us ready to explain everything we might need to know to choose his establishment as the place to leave a few rupees. To my great surprise, when Susanne declined his offers, he merely said "Sorry for the interruption" and vanished back into the shop. Amazing, completely unexpected after 2 weeks in Rajasthan. We also ventured inside the shop as Susanne was scouring it for legwear without interruption by the shopkeeper. I was treated to a chair and was soon in conversation with the man. Making a long clothes-trying-session short, we talked about anything from Kashmiri houseboats to world religions. He was a Muslim, but first of all a human being as he said, and he was saddened by all the hate and conflict among the various people and their religions. If more people were like him, I think the world would definitely be a much more peaceful place to live. Having myself had little contact with Islam, it was very nice to meet a non-extremist side of the faith. Susanne ended on two loose and cozy pants and we both left the shop quite spirited. We again headed down towards the beach for dinner and a few drinks and quickly found a nice place with good music and lights in many colors. Taking a seat as close to the water as possible (not that we could see much, the sun had set while we were getting ready earlier), a very friendly waiter took our orders.
Starting off with coke and mineral water for me and a lemon soda for Susanne, we took our time deciding on what to eat. I ended up with ordering a "special steak" with red wine sauce and mushrooms served with boiled vegetables and fried onions, and Susanne went with an Indian dish that was new to her and vegan. I cannot remember the name though. Food arrived after some time. It was truly well made, both hers and mine. After eating I was not full, but satisfied. Susanne being tired from her food and too full, opted not to get anything more to drink. I had to try the local spirit of course, and as they had my long time favorite drink - LIIT - I had to try that as well. That pretty much leads to the beginning of this entry. By now any disabling effects of the alcohol is gone and I am looking forward to getting some sleep. Hoping Ill be able to get up around 9, I should still be able to get almost 8 hours of sleep tonight. Maybe we get beach-hutted tomorrow?
Afloat
I never noticed our primary alarm today. The backup did its job 8:45 and we had just enough time to pack everything before being in the lobby at 10:00. The driver that was supposed to drive us to the houseboat had not yet arrived so we decided on a quick breakfast as it was standing ready in the restaurant. Food was OK, but I must admit that northern Indian food fits me a lot better. 10 minutes later I was back in the lobby to look out for our driver while Susanne could have a second plate of food. 5 minutes later she appeared as well. 10:30 we made our first phone call to the travel agency. Just 5 minutes and he would be there...
Shortly before 13:00 our hotel had found the address of the house boat we were booked in at, and they arranged an A/C taxi to take us there. This driver had none of the smoothness or skills shown by Sanji, and the ride was more of a tuktuk'ey experience than a nice drive. I fell asleep quite fast anyway and don't remember most of it. Susanne was sitting in the front (with seat belt, as law demands here) and I was in the back, where there was no seat belt again. Well, the seat belt was there, but the thick decorative carpet over the rear seats made it impossible to access the lock. I was not impressed.
Anyway, our not-so-elegant driver had more almost during the 1,5 hours drive than our entire Rajasthan trip, and I remember once waking up mid air on my way towards Susanne's seat as a white Tata Indica with yellow tourist plates (amazing what one notices while airborne) being "parked" not far in front of us, waiting for something else to move before it could continue. Towards this temporary roadblock we were heading at normal highway speeds on locked wheels (how I got airborne) with out driver mumbling something that I registered as prayers. Following the Indian automotive spirit, the white Tata we were about to plow through got a free lane and moved out of our ballistic path of impending destruction. Wheels were unlocked and I fell back into my seat and was sleeping moments later. It was all a lot less dramatic than it sounds, I should add. Everything happened in a very short time frame and I had no way to judge speed or distance properly where I was sort of gliding into the seat in front of me. One also becomes rather jaded after a few minutes in the traffic here, it is all far too chaotic to consider in any realistic way when it comes to risk potential and safety. London during the rush hours truly seems like a sedate suburb at noon compared to this.
We were dropped off at the boat and paid Rs1800 for the ride, we were told by our original driver that never showed that we will get this refunded by the owner of the boat (why from him, I am not sure. We were already so late that we didn't stop to ask about it then). Before we boarded our floating hotel we made sure that the boat owner arranged a taxi for us from the dock back to the train station so we wont miss our train in case our driver fails to shop up once more. We were also told by the boat owner that the travel agency had just that morning booked the boat ride, and that he had not even been paid, but that should be sorted soon anyway as he had just called them and they would have it sorted in 5 minutes...
After balancing up a single plank (loudly protesting against the combined weight of me, my backpack and my shoulder bag) to get to the bow I was finally starting to relax. Boats are nice. The boats here are quite different from the ones I am used to in Norway/Europe/western hemisphere. A wooden hull that's usually.. uhm, sharp? in each end lays quite low in the water, the superstructure is also made of wood but in a rather houseish-way for comfort and covered with bamboo on the outside for style. The interior is also quite housey, with our bedroom being built like a hotel room and not like a room in a vessel floating about. As a result, our two doors wont close properly, none of the locks match up, and the bathroom is missing a few tiles that have fallen off due to vibration - while the front of the boat is more or less vibration free, it is impossible to stay in our bedroom or bathroom for any amount of time while the engine is rumbling - its like a continuous earthquake. Our boat also had a nice upper deck towards the bow where we had an excellent panoramic view. The rudder is located on the bow with a little wooden box with a pillow on as chair and two levers are mounted close by for force and direction of thrust. Engines remind me of my dads old busses soundwise. While the boats here seem rather sluggish (or, as I thought of them, swimming Hutt's) they are surprisingly maneuverable. They have to be, as they are as uninterested in following any form of rules or regulations on the water as they are on land. I have no idea if traffic here is righthanded or lefthanded
We went up to our observation deck again and were served tea an hour or so later. It was so nice and peaceful sitting up there floating away with all the other slugs through the maze of waterways that Backwaters turns out to be. After some time there were only a handful of boats left and the channels got smaller. Every now and then there was a small settlement along the banks consisting of 2-5 buildings and a ferry jetty. Loud single deck ferried roamed the water at high speeds throwing huge waves over the man made sides of the canals and into the gardens. When approaching a jetty they would keep the engines firewalled until the bow was about to reach the jetty and then they would thrown them full astern. This was the boat was stopped in less than a ships length and resting peacefully along the jetty with people jumping in and out like a city bus.
There were also lots of smaller boats around, little fishing boats, canoes, slightly larger affairs either powered by man or machine with a little roof over them for sightseeing in the smaller channels, various working boats for all kinds of purposes and little cargo barges.
We made a short stop at a kiosk along the water, one of our three crew members had to buy something that looked like food. The boat was just slowly drifting along the bank until he caught up with us a dozen meters further down and jumped aboard.
I have no idea what time it was, but we turned around and headed back the way we had come. I laid down on a bed at the back of our observation platform to relax a little. I was barely asleep before I was brashly awoken by the strangest of sounds. We had hit land, but not with out hull. Docking next to a village they had misjudged their stopping distance and had rammed the plastic tarp covered bamboo roof I was sleeping under into the branches of a palm tree. That was a new experience.
They backed up and got us positioned properly before making the ship fast to said palm tree. I joined Susanne for a walk around the village. Slightly larger than most others we had seen, this one had maybe 10-15 houses along the bank and on what turned out to be a little "island" that we had docked with. It was separated from the main bank with a little canal about 3 meters wide we had to cross balancing on a tree trunk. The entire village was so located along the bank with only 50cm or so to walk on between fences and the murky overgrown water a little below. There were also several goats, one of which had made it its mission to push anyone that didn't feed it into the water. It was a very small goat however and it had not yet realised that it would have to gain some speed to build up momentum so I ended up just petting it as I walked by. It seemed confused. People here seemed nice too, a little reserved until you greet them but then they light up and want to tell you everything about their village - in Hindi and beyond. There were also a few children here. One girl asked very nicely for a coin which she got (we then got her name, got to see her mom and were shown the outside of her house), and a couple of boys and a very little girl that could barely walk got their picture taken. Again, a Polaroid camera here would be great. The English level among the kids seem a lot better than in Rajasthan. There are a lot of schools along the banks here, guess that helps.
Many here have TVs as well, that might also have something to do with it. Every house (almost, anyway) have a satellite dish and as we were floating past we could hear broadcast music and TV shows from most of them.
After our walk we went back to our boat and took positions up in our observation lounge again. It was slowly getting dark and we enjoyed the sunset. Food was to be served at 8 so we had well over an hour left - not that we were overly hungry after the lunch yet.
As the sun set, torches were lit along the other bank. Music was being played in several places, and we noticed processions with torches along the bank. Fireworks were audible and at times visible as a distant flash somewhere in the area. There was more music and singing and the procession came back into view heading the other way. This time "our" procession also launched some fireworks and had some sort of show with fire. Ending their show there they marched back and as they met up with a similar procession coming from the other direction they went into the jungle. As we went downstairs for dinner we could still hear them singing and playing. Just as we were done eating there was a huge fireworks display and the show hit its climax. It was gone as suddenly as it had started.
They turned off the lights on the ship after food and Susanne and I spent the next hour relaxing and chatting on our top deck. It was getting late so we retired to our cabin. The generator was awoken and the air-condition came to life. If it wasn't for all the mosquitoes and whatever else there is out there we would both have slept in the bed out on deck, but a nice air-conditioned room is almost as good - especially when it is free of bugs.
Shortly before 13:00 our hotel had found the address of the house boat we were booked in at, and they arranged an A/C taxi to take us there. This driver had none of the smoothness or skills shown by Sanji, and the ride was more of a tuktuk'ey experience than a nice drive. I fell asleep quite fast anyway and don't remember most of it. Susanne was sitting in the front (with seat belt, as law demands here) and I was in the back, where there was no seat belt again. Well, the seat belt was there, but the thick decorative carpet over the rear seats made it impossible to access the lock. I was not impressed.
Anyway, our not-so-elegant driver had more almost during the 1,5 hours drive than our entire Rajasthan trip, and I remember once waking up mid air on my way towards Susanne's seat as a white Tata Indica with yellow tourist plates (amazing what one notices while airborne) being "parked" not far in front of us, waiting for something else to move before it could continue. Towards this temporary roadblock we were heading at normal highway speeds on locked wheels (how I got airborne) with out driver mumbling something that I registered as prayers. Following the Indian automotive spirit, the white Tata we were about to plow through got a free lane and moved out of our ballistic path of impending destruction. Wheels were unlocked and I fell back into my seat and was sleeping moments later. It was all a lot less dramatic than it sounds, I should add. Everything happened in a very short time frame and I had no way to judge speed or distance properly where I was sort of gliding into the seat in front of me. One also becomes rather jaded after a few minutes in the traffic here, it is all far too chaotic to consider in any realistic way when it comes to risk potential and safety. London during the rush hours truly seems like a sedate suburb at noon compared to this.
We were dropped off at the boat and paid Rs1800 for the ride, we were told by our original driver that never showed that we will get this refunded by the owner of the boat (why from him, I am not sure. We were already so late that we didn't stop to ask about it then). Before we boarded our floating hotel we made sure that the boat owner arranged a taxi for us from the dock back to the train station so we wont miss our train in case our driver fails to shop up once more. We were also told by the boat owner that the travel agency had just that morning booked the boat ride, and that he had not even been paid, but that should be sorted soon anyway as he had just called them and they would have it sorted in 5 minutes...
After balancing up a single plank (loudly protesting against the combined weight of me, my backpack and my shoulder bag) to get to the bow I was finally starting to relax. Boats are nice. The boats here are quite different from the ones I am used to in Norway/Europe/western hemisphere. A wooden hull that's usually.. uhm, sharp? in each end lays quite low in the water, the superstructure is also made of wood but in a rather houseish-way for comfort and covered with bamboo on the outside for style. The interior is also quite housey, with our bedroom being built like a hotel room and not like a room in a vessel floating about. As a result, our two doors wont close properly, none of the locks match up, and the bathroom is missing a few tiles that have fallen off due to vibration - while the front of the boat is more or less vibration free, it is impossible to stay in our bedroom or bathroom for any amount of time while the engine is rumbling - its like a continuous earthquake. Our boat also had a nice upper deck towards the bow where we had an excellent panoramic view. The rudder is located on the bow with a little wooden box with a pillow on as chair and two levers are mounted close by for force and direction of thrust. Engines remind me of my dads old busses soundwise. While the boats here seem rather sluggish (or, as I thought of them, swimming Hutt's) they are surprisingly maneuverable. They have to be, as they are as uninterested in following any form of rules or regulations on the water as they are on land. I have no idea if traffic here is righthanded or lefthanded
We went up to our observation deck again and were served tea an hour or so later. It was so nice and peaceful sitting up there floating away with all the other slugs through the maze of waterways that Backwaters turns out to be. After some time there were only a handful of boats left and the channels got smaller. Every now and then there was a small settlement along the banks consisting of 2-5 buildings and a ferry jetty. Loud single deck ferried roamed the water at high speeds throwing huge waves over the man made sides of the canals and into the gardens. When approaching a jetty they would keep the engines firewalled until the bow was about to reach the jetty and then they would thrown them full astern. This was the boat was stopped in less than a ships length and resting peacefully along the jetty with people jumping in and out like a city bus.
There were also lots of smaller boats around, little fishing boats, canoes, slightly larger affairs either powered by man or machine with a little roof over them for sightseeing in the smaller channels, various working boats for all kinds of purposes and little cargo barges.
We made a short stop at a kiosk along the water, one of our three crew members had to buy something that looked like food. The boat was just slowly drifting along the bank until he caught up with us a dozen meters further down and jumped aboard.
I have no idea what time it was, but we turned around and headed back the way we had come. I laid down on a bed at the back of our observation platform to relax a little. I was barely asleep before I was brashly awoken by the strangest of sounds. We had hit land, but not with out hull. Docking next to a village they had misjudged their stopping distance and had rammed the plastic tarp covered bamboo roof I was sleeping under into the branches of a palm tree. That was a new experience.
They backed up and got us positioned properly before making the ship fast to said palm tree. I joined Susanne for a walk around the village. Slightly larger than most others we had seen, this one had maybe 10-15 houses along the bank and on what turned out to be a little "island" that we had docked with. It was separated from the main bank with a little canal about 3 meters wide we had to cross balancing on a tree trunk. The entire village was so located along the bank with only 50cm or so to walk on between fences and the murky overgrown water a little below. There were also several goats, one of which had made it its mission to push anyone that didn't feed it into the water. It was a very small goat however and it had not yet realised that it would have to gain some speed to build up momentum so I ended up just petting it as I walked by. It seemed confused. People here seemed nice too, a little reserved until you greet them but then they light up and want to tell you everything about their village - in Hindi and beyond. There were also a few children here. One girl asked very nicely for a coin which she got (we then got her name, got to see her mom and were shown the outside of her house), and a couple of boys and a very little girl that could barely walk got their picture taken. Again, a Polaroid camera here would be great. The English level among the kids seem a lot better than in Rajasthan. There are a lot of schools along the banks here, guess that helps.
Many here have TVs as well, that might also have something to do with it. Every house (almost, anyway) have a satellite dish and as we were floating past we could hear broadcast music and TV shows from most of them.
After our walk we went back to our boat and took positions up in our observation lounge again. It was slowly getting dark and we enjoyed the sunset. Food was to be served at 8 so we had well over an hour left - not that we were overly hungry after the lunch yet.
As the sun set, torches were lit along the other bank. Music was being played in several places, and we noticed processions with torches along the bank. Fireworks were audible and at times visible as a distant flash somewhere in the area. There was more music and singing and the procession came back into view heading the other way. This time "our" procession also launched some fireworks and had some sort of show with fire. Ending their show there they marched back and as they met up with a similar procession coming from the other direction they went into the jungle. As we went downstairs for dinner we could still hear them singing and playing. Just as we were done eating there was a huge fireworks display and the show hit its climax. It was gone as suddenly as it had started.
They turned off the lights on the ship after food and Susanne and I spent the next hour relaxing and chatting on our top deck. It was getting late so we retired to our cabin. The generator was awoken and the air-condition came to life. If it wasn't for all the mosquitoes and whatever else there is out there we would both have slept in the bed out on deck, but a nice air-conditioned room is almost as good - especially when it is free of bugs.
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