Kanyakumari

Kanyakumari is located at the southern most tip of India. It has a totally different feel than both Chennai and Pondicherry because it seems to be much calmer. This city is known for the fact that the Indian Ocean, Bay of Bengal, Arabian Sea meet. The beach and water are very key focal points of the city and there is a huge bazaar (market) that is set up all around the water.

We followed the beach bazaar to the Ghandi memorial, which was where Ghandi's ashes were kept. As we walked into the memorial, the curator of the museum greeted us and immediately led us to the middle of the memorial where he made us hold hands and he sang a very beautiful song. He then went on to tell us the story of Ghandi's life and the significance of the memorial as we were led through the memorial. There were many other Indian tourists visiting the memorial but this man decided to give us a special tour (obviously because we were western and have money). He did a very good job and we definitely got a lot more from the memorial. He made us pose for pictures at about every significant point in the memorial in a very formal pose. It became very humorous because it felt like the tour that never ends. The man would disregard the other people in the memorial and get them out of our way the whole time. He would yell at them and shoo them away and at one point he blew his whistle at a boy who was sitting on the second floor because he was in the background of our picture. At the end of the tour we paid him for his expertise and he insisted that we come back at sunset. We were not able to leave the memorial until we agreed that we would come back later that night (which we unfortunately could not).

In the afternoon, while visiting a fort on a bus tour of the city, I met a group of Indian girls about my age who were studying at collage to be teachers. They wore beautiful matching yellow saris as their uniform and were very excited to see foreigners. They tried to teach me a little bit of Tamil and they would laugh each time I tried to pronounce the words then cheer when I was very close. Their English was very good and we were able to have a conversation about where they are from and where I am from. All of the girls were wearing beautiful gold jewelry and they asked me why I didn't even have any earrings on. I asked the girls if any of them had any henna and they showed me the inside of their hands.

In the evening we went to sunset point to see the sunset at 6:15. As we arrived at the point there were already many Indian families and groups of men on the rocks and the beach getting ready. There were also stands set up selling ice cream, chai tea, and some sort of Indian rice dish. As the time drew near more and more people arrived to see the sunset. The sunset itself was very nice but at the same time I was thinking that it was just like any sunset that I have seen at home. It was amazing to think that even on the other side of the world, at the southern most tip of India, I am still looking at the same sunset.

Overall Impressions of India

First of all, I am becoming used to be treated as some kind of celebrity here in India. Everywhere that I go Indians like to take pictures of me. Often they will pull out their cell phone and take pictures of me without asking. I find it very funny to smile or wave at them when I see this happen because to acknowledge that I see them taking my picture. When this happens they often smile and may be a little embarrassed that they were not being more subtle. They often smile back and it is really funny. There are also many people who will come up to me and ask for "one picture" or "snaps". I really don't mind being in these pictures because I am a guest in their country and I am taking pictures of them as well.

                The driving style is another thing that stands out to me here.Everyone drives very aggressively and heavily uses their horn. Also on the streets there will be trucks, buses, cars, auto-rickshaws, motor cycles, bikes, and tons of pedestrians.  I do not understand how more accidents do not happen here on the roads because there seems to be no traffic rules. Driving in an auto-rickshaw or walking on the street it is unbelievable how close cars and bikes come to hitting each other or pedestrians on the street at high speeds without actually making contact. You learn very quickly to respond to the sound of a horn to get out of the way when walking on the street because pedestrians are not given the right of way. Crossing the street in the bigger cities is a huge challenge that I must get better at. I have yet so see any crosswalks so whenever you have to get to the other side of the street you must jay walk through crazy traffic that doesn't seem to have a break. When I watch the Indians cross the street they slowly weave their way through and find the gaps easily, while we wait for a long time before starting to cross then dash across. It is definitely a skill that you must grow up learning.

                The next thing that has stood out to me is their head bobble. Basically it is a way of acknowledging something that you have said and it neither means yes nor no. It is very confusing for us Canadians to understand and there is no way to clarify it. It literally looks like one of those bobble head toys and it is used in various situations. If I were to say thank you in a store as I left then then the store owner would do the head bobble instead of saying thank you. Also I was trying to buy an Internet stick and was asking if it would work as I travel to the north and the man responded with a head bobble. I am really trying to understand the true meaning and proper use of the head bobble.

                Finally, I have learned that Indian people so not have the same business attitude as Canadians do. When you go into a store and you want to buy something you have to almost fight to get it. I will tell them what I want and they will tell "yes we have that here". It gets complicated when I ask to have it. Also, I learned that you can not trust a sign for a store because often they do not even exist. I am getting used to the fact that things work very differently here. As an example, I am unable to attach pictures to my blog at the moment because the internet connection on my internet stick is very poor in the area that I am in and I have to use an internet caffe.  I will try my best to attach photos in the future.

Train Rides

Last night we took our first Indian train ride. The train from Pondicherry to Kannyakumari (the southern most tip of India) was was about 10 hours overnight, from about 8:00pm to 6:00am. We are traveling third class, in the sleeping class, which is a real Indian experience. First of all, the train compartments are all open and each small section contains 6 beds. When you come onto the train there is a bench and a top bunk. The back part of the bench folds up to form the third bunk so you are literally stacked on top of each other. I was lucky enough to get a top bunk so I was close to the fan and felt like I had a little more of my own space. With my bags on the bunk there was not too much space for me to stretch out on the bed without hanging across the aisle. I was able to fall asleep then woke up multiple times during the night when the Indian men in the bottom bunks below me turned on the lights and were playing cards and sharing a meal.

                In the early morning we had the most amazing view of during the sunset. We were passing rice patties and small rural villages with amazing mountains in the background. It was very interesting to see the contrast of such natural beauty immediately after being in busy cities.

Pondicherry (Puducherry)

During our first day in Pondicherry we went to a commune called Auroville, which is about a 20 minute auto-rickshaw ride outside of the city. It was very peaceful- a nice break from the loud, busy city. It had a really cool hippy vibe that I liked. The idea of the commune was about reaching divinity in life and not in religion. The communal meals are cooked by a solar powered kitchen and they practise meditation in a beautiful golden globe building. We also rented bicycles and toured around the commune to a small village.

                On the second day that we spent in Pondichery we went to a huge market, which sold fruit, tons of flowers, vegetables, and some decorative dyes and powder. I loaded up on lots of fruit (the safe kind) including red bananas.  I did not feel overwhelmed by people trying to sell me something as I have when traveling to other countries. The Indian people seem very passive and polite. They will try to make you feel guilty before they will pester you into buying something.

                After the market we found our way to the French district of the city, which was unlike what I would expect to see in India. The streets were very clean and made of cobble stone and there were beautiful, colourful buildings that I would expect to see in Europe. The french district is located just at the beach and there are plenty of open cafes overlooking the water. We took a quick visit into an ashram in the french quarter. There are no shoes or photos allowed in the ashram and in order to enter you had to be silent. The entrance was a beautiful garden and as you enter, the staff quietly guide you through to a courtyard in the middle where it seemed as though some people were making a kind of offering or praying/meditating at a pond with decorative flowers. We were guided to sit along the outside of the courtyard silently in the shade. It was very calm and it was nice to take some time to take in the beauty of the ashram. There was a huge tree in the middle of the courtyard and several small gardens and ponds.

Chennai

Today was the first full day in India after about 24 hours in transit and multiple time changes. The time difference between Canada and India is 11.5 hours so I am starting to feel jet lag. We started the day with breakfast in the hotel then ventured out to explore Chennai. During the first 15 minutes in Chennai I immediately felt overwhelmed and out of my element. There are no real sidewalks and the traffic here is nothing like it is at home. I was totally disoriented and felt as though everyone was trying to take advantage of the fact that I was a tourist, clearly out of her element. Although there are lanes marked on the road, the common way to drive in India is to go wherever you have room and assume that people will get out of your way. The entire road is used to get to where you want to go, even where there is oncoming traffic! Horns are used extremely frequently here, not like most polite Canadians. The message sent by honking your horn is "watch out, I am coming".

                We spoke to a few locals who were very helpful and directed us to an ATM to change money. I took out 9,000 rupees, which is the equivalent of $200 Canadian. It was really funny to see my bank balance at the end of the transaction because it was shown in rupees and it made me feel very wealthy.

                I spent the majority of the day with 6 other girls taking a tour of the city on 2 auto-rickshaws. That was definitely an experience! At first it was really scary and I thought that we were going to hit something with every crazy lane change and swerve that we made but then I realized that there was a system to all of the chaos of the traffic. The drivers of the auto-rickshaws were family (nephew and uncle). Our driver was named Rafi and did not speak understandable English but still wanted to point out things along the way.

                We stoped the Egmore and Central Chennai Government Museam, the second longest beach in the world-Marina Beach, a mall, The San Thome Cathedral. The beach was definitely a highlight of the day for me. At the end of the tour we got dropped off at a good indian, vegetarian restaurant for lunch. We ended up bartering with the auto-rickshaw drivers and agreeing to pay more than we originally agreed, which turned out to be just under $10 each person. After our auto-rickshaw tour of Chennai I feel way more comfortable with India.

Here We Gooooo!!

It is finally time to depart for India and I could not be more excited! I have been getting ready for this trip for months now and it is finally starting to seem real. At this point I am more excited than nervous, which I think is a very good thing. There is only so much that I can prepare because India is so different than Canada. I am ready to experience all that India has to offer and am going to try and approach everything with an open mind. I am excited to experience the diverse culture; however, I am a little apprehensive about experiencing certain aspects of the culture as a woman.

Live as if you were to die tomorrow. Learn as if you were to live forever.
- Mahatma Gandhi

Six days until I leave