In December when trip planning began, I was supposed to head to India for a little over four weeks and Manila for two. After arriving in India, plans got changed and the trip was shorted to three weeks and I began my whirlwind tour of Delhi (Gurgaon too), Mumbai, Pune and Bangalore. This change in the India schedule meant that my trip to the Philippines was being lengthened to three weeks.

Last night, my Manila trip was shorted to a week and I was supposed to be heading home.

This morning I woke up to discover that Manila is still a shorter trip (in Sunday, out Friday), but now I’m returning to B’lore for a week before catching a flight back to Canada.

Working 14 hours days and trying to do as much touring of the cities I visit (I still need to post the B’lore stuff, I know) means that I barely know what day it is – here or back home. What’s running through my head right now you ask? Why, it’s that old Spirit of the West song “Home for a Rest”.

You’ll have to excuse me,
I’m not at my best
I’ve been gone for a month
I’ve been drunk since I left
These so called vacations will soon be my death
I’m so sick from the drink I need home for a rest

Ok, I haven’t been drunk at all since I got here, but a breakfast of beer at Dencios is really sounding good right now.

Technorati Tags: India, Philippines, Dencios, travel, Spirit of the West

I think I have food poisoning.

After weeks in India with no stomach troubles, I’m suffering horrific abdominal pain – coming and going in waves – since late Saturday night. No fever to date, so I’m at least feeling somewhat relieved about that.

I ate some chicken tikka at a restaurant recommended by a friend and think this may have been the culprit. Since then, I haven’t been able to keep anything other than water down and the pain isn’t subsiding.

Now I remember why I typically stick to vegetarian fare while in India.

If this doesn’t let up, I’ll be visiting a co-worker’s doctor tomorrow to verify my suspicions.

Technorati Tags: sick, abdominal pain, India

To save us some hassle, we hired the same driver on Sunday as we’d used on Saturday. Ted had made his decision as to where he wanted to go, and we headed off to the Gateway of India (aka India Gate) once again so we could make the trip to Elephanta Island.

As with the day previously, our driver went a little off route to show off his city. He drove us to the Ferozeshah Mehta Gardens, also known as the Hanging Gardens. The area is comprised of terraced gardens perched at the top of Malabar Hill.

It was a beautiful area, tranquil and quiet at 9am. A few locals were walking and jogging on the paths but tourists didn’t start arriving in the area until we were preparing to leave at 10am.

After visiting the gardens we headed back to the Gateway of India to get tickets for the boat to Elephanta Island.

The Elephanta Caves have been declared an UNESCO World Heritage site, making it the forth such site we’ve visited in India. Elephanta island is located 10 km away from the Gateway of India at Mumbai. The caves house rock cut temples dating back to the 5th century CE. Elephanta island was named by the Portuguese, after the statue of an elephant near the landing area of the island. These rock cut temples dedicated to Shiva are amazing, although our photographs do not do them justice.

While purchasing our tickets for the boats, we met up with an Indian gentleman also heading to Elephanta for the day. Ted has a knack for making new friends and we quickly had a partner in our journey. Amresh was living and working in Mumbai while his family lived in a small village a number of hours away. He was thrilled to meet foreigners who were interested in learning more about his country and his culture.

The boat ride to Elephanta was approximately an hour in length and the rocking of the boat nearly put me to sleep. Amresh recommended that upon arrival on the island, we all take the mini train to the ticket purchasing area, but the train wasn’t working when we arrived. 2.5 kms later – mostly uphill on knee killing steps, we reached the caves.

Along the way we were continually asked to stop and purchase items by villagers posted beside stalls overladen with goods. I had a feeling I’d be stopping their on the way down.

Amresh told us he mainly visits the main caves, but since we wanted to see more, he made the trek to the other, less visited ones.

One of the entrances to the caves

Shiva, carved from solid rock walls.

Ted had read that there was an old British cannon on the island – left over from WWII – and so we continued our trek up the hill. Few tourists make this part of the journey and I can understand why. The sheer pathways are full of monkeys and Ted quickly gave up his snack of bananas when they growled at him.

Everyone who knows my issues with heights will understand when I say it was no simple feat for me to make it to the top of the hill and view the cannons. It was like climbing Whistler’s mountain all over again – except this time I didn’t have to turn back to take children to the bathroom!

On the way back down the mountain, we encountered a man making Paan. Both Ted and I had tried paan on previous visits to India. While I’m not fond of it, Ted quite enjoys chewing paan so we stopped to get him some.

Ted’s original plan was to spend only a half day on the island, but that would not have done it justice. Instead, we ended up staying until almost 5pm. I’m sure a lot of that was due to not wanting to end the excellent conversation we’d been having with our new friend.

Leaving Elephanta.

Taj Mahal Hotel and India Gate from the boat.

All in all, it was a fun, educational, and exhausting day. After returning from Elephanta, both Ted and I were beat and dreaming of heading back to the hotel for some sleep.

If you’re going to visit Elephanta, make it a day trip and carry lots of water. If you don’t have a hat, buy one from the vendors selling them at India Gate – you’ll be glad you did.

Technorati Tags: Mumbai, India, hanging gardens, Elephanta Island, paan

I know this post is a week late, but I had to wait until I had some free time and reliable access to the Internet to post pictures.

We started the morning with grand plans that evaporated in the reality of the number of hours you can do and see things in a single day. We left the hotel at 11am in search of a way to the Gateway of India. After negotiating with a taxi driver for the day’s rates, we hopped in a car and started on our merry way.

At the end of the road our hotel was situated on, we saw the following mess:

On the way to the Gateway of India, our driver stopped at Mahalaxmi ghat, the central location for all dobi-wallah’s. This is where most laundry is washed and visiting is a near surreal experience. You can watch the people at work, pounding clothes against the cement and then hanging them to dry.

Tour buses stop to allow their passengers a chance to view the chaos and wander amongst the dobi-wallah’s at work.

Just about any driver in India will attempt to bring you shopping in order to gain commissions from the stores. Since I know exactly where I wanted to do my shopping – and with whom – I’ve been very adamant that I won’t go into a shop a driver attempts to take me to. Aside from taking up way too much time, I dislike the pressured sales techniques. We’re very upfront with the drivers – informing them that we’ll tip them if they don’t take us to a shop and won’t tip them if they try – but still each driver makes at least one attempt. For a culture that has difficulty saying no, they certainly have no difficulty ignoring the word when I use it…

And so, on our way to the Gateway of India, our driver stopped outside a shop and tried to get us to go into it and buy a few things. After flat out refusing to do so, he finally took the hint and drove the rest of the way to our destination.

The Gateway of India was built to commemorate the visit of King George V and Queen Mary to Bombay, prior to the Darbar in Delhi in December 1911. It’s a popular tourist destination not only due to it’s historical significance but also because all boats leaving for Elephanta Island (a World Heritage site) leave from the docs behind it.

The last British troops to leave India, the First Battalion of the Somerset Light Infantry, passed through the gate in a ceremony on February 28, 1948.

According to Ted’s Rough Guide book, the Taj Mahal Hotel was built in 1903 by the Parsi industrialist JN Tata, supposedly after he was refused entry to one of the city’s European hotels because he was “a native”.

Our new friend, Amresh, tells us that in those days, it wasn’t uncommon to see signs posted in European establishments indicating that “dogs and Indians are not allowed on the premises.”

It was already past 2 in the afternoon when we left the Gateway area and trekked to the Chhtrapati Shivaji Maharaj Vastu Sanghalaya (formerly the Prince of Wales museum). The walk from the Gateway to the museum was an adventure all on it’s own. The map in the guide book wasn’t very clear and everyone we talked to told us we needed to go to the “backside” of the road or building. It wasn’t until we stumbled into another gallery situated directly behind the museum that we received clear directions as to where we needed to go.

Ted had wanted to head out to Elephanta island after visiting the museum, but with the last boat leaving the island at 5:30pm and the trip taking nearly an hour each way, I suggested we wouldn’t have time to do everything in one day. The museum was small and aside from the religious icons, focused mainly on items from the 19th century onwards. However, we still managed to fill up 3 hours of our day wandering it’s galleries.

After leaving the museum we headed back to our taxi and drove along the river way until we reached Chowpatti Beach. Guidebooks recommend you head down to the area in the evening and it’s easy to understand why. During the day it’s a typical sandy beach but at night when the lights are turned on, it takes on the atmosphere of a small carnival.

Chowpatti Beach at dusk.

Food vendors at Chowpatti Beach

Carnival rides

All of the carnival rides, like this pirate ship one, are operated by hand and have no safety equipment.

Along with Elephanta Island, Ted had also wanted to see the national park. Our driver said both couldn’t be done properly in a single day and I left the decision as to where we’d head on Sunday up to Ted. I didn’t have a plan for what to do in Mumbai and either option would be fine with me.

Technorati Tags: Mumbai, Gateway of India, Taj Mahal Hotel, Chowpatti Beach

I’ve safely arrived in Bangalore and have, what seems, a reliable Internet connection. My cell phone issues are finally worked out and for the first time since I arrived I have been able to speak to the hubby.

I’ve somehow managed to get bitten by an unknown insect and my wrist has started swelling. Based on the reaction I’m seeing, I’m leaning towards an ant bite. I had this exact reaction when I was bitten by an ant in Manila last spring. My wrist is puffy and red and itches like the devil. It’s a good thing I travel with my own small pharmacy – since I’ve been able to disinfect the area quite nicely.

At this point, I’m not too worried about Malaria since I’ve been taking my anti-malarial pills religiously. I will be loading myself up with a lot more bug dope on any future outings though. Odd, I didn’t get bitten in the north, where more diseases are prevalent…

When I get home, I really need to see an allergist. These reactions to insect bites are starting to worry me a little.

We’re staying in a service apartment for this leg of the trip. It’s rooms in a Condo development where business travellers can stay. Unlike the service apartment in Delhi (Gurgaon to be specific), this one’s bathroom is fully functioning.

When I woke up this morning I found a small lizard – like a baby gecko – perched on my laptop. He was a quick little bugger and I didn’t have time to snap a picture of him as I was too busy chasing him around my desk with an empty water bottle so I could catch him and release him outside on the balcony.

I’m hoping the little lizard in my room is a sign of good luck – since I could really use some right about now!

There is some sort of strike occurring in the city. Since I don’t speak Kanada or Hindi, I’m not able to get many details of the strike and reasons behind it from the news channels on TV. We’re working from our rooms for the moment and will head into the office later in the day. The strike means that the city seems abandoned. Few, if any, shops are open and we’re sticking to our rooms until after 6pm today.

Technorati Tags: Bangalore, insect bites, lizard