Periya Mudaliarchavadi or village by Auroville turnoff

I have been too busy to update anything the last week. I will make a quick summary of the main events. Before I went up to Kodaikanal we spendt one night in Madurai, where we saw the temple. Next morning we took the bus up to Kodai. Stayed there only 2 nights, because it was raining so heavily all the time that on the third day I was bored out of my mind and also all my clothes was wet and it was pretty freezing, so I asked Ravin if he agreed that we should leave and I didn't have to convince him. I think he was a it bored too. It was bad luck that we had such a crappie weather, because there are supposed to be some lovely trekking there.

We caught an early morning local bus down to some obscure town where all buses apparently connected (don't remember the name of it). From there we caught another bus to Trichy. We were hoping to catch a train from there to Pondecherry, but there were no places and we couldn't face another 4-5 hours on a bus after already spending around 7 hours to reach Trichy. So we got rooms in a quite nice place "Ashby Hotel". Trichy is also a temple town, but I didn't feel like seeing more temples at the time and Ravin had already seen enough previous times I think:)

One funny episode from the bus: I really really had to pee when it was still at least 3 hours to Tricy and the bus had no planned stops. In the end I was desperate and Ravin managed to beg the ticket guy to again beg the driver to stop the bus. It took quite some convincing to get him to do that. After a while he did though and I was allowed out. It was in the middle of a road strech with only bushes on the sides. So I had to stoop down behing a small bush to do my busness. I felt a bit silly, the whole bus looking at me. Ha ha, but luckily some more people needed to pee, so I was not all alone.

The next morning we had to catch a bus again. This time it was about 5 hours to Pondecherry!
We reached in the early afternoon. It was a bit difficult finding any rooms, but after a while we settled for some prison like rooms in 'New Palace Hotel' (hehe..even though they were prison like, they were totally ok and very cheap)

We celebrated Christmas with a budget blowing meal in a nice restaurant close to the sea. Didn't do too much else, just walked around for a while in the market area. The next day we rented a scooter and Ravin took me to Auroville and to see the Matrimandir (the soul of Auroville). From the visitor centre I got some info on different kind of accommodation in Auroville. We went and looked at a few of the beach places and found a nice hut which I booked for the next day.

Next morning Ravin left to go back to Chennai and I took an auto to the beach hut. Today is my second day here:) It is very nice. Yesterday I rented myself a bikecycle (hm...some old relic from the 50's), but it does get me around!! I went for a ride into Auroville, but it was so incredibly hot, so after a while I turned back and went to the beach. I was a bit scared of the waves and current since I was totally on my own there, so I didn't dare go very far into the water, however I talked to some Indian guy who lives next door and he said it was completely ok. So this morning I splashed about in the sea as much as I could:)

Its very relaxing here by the way, it is soooooooo nice after all the hassle one usually gets exposed to in most Indian cities. I even have a hammock on a small porch in front of my hut, which is perfect for reading during the midday when the sun is too hot to do much else.
Well that is all in a very brief summary, now I will go and have myself a lassi (very good yoghurt drink - for those who don't know !)

Kodaikanal - Little England ?

Got here this afternoon. It is VERY much like England. Even the climate (fog and rain...hehe). This used to be where a lot of British people went during the summers while India were under British rule and the remains are still very evident. You can find a lot of Christianity and British architecture, stone churches around here.

Anyway, the Internet here is SO expensive so I will write more later and one more thing...the view from the hostel we are staying at (The Green Land Hostel) is fantastic!!!

Chennai

I Arrived at about 7.30 this morning after spending about 34 hours onboard the train, but it was very comfy since I splurged a bit and travelled 2.class AC (first and last time that will happen, but it was definitely worth it). When I got here, Ravin (a person I met through a travelsite), met me on the station, he was very helpful. He had even booked me a room in a cheap hotel, so I went there and relaxed for a bit and had a showe. It is quite a change from Delhi to come here, both the people, the landscape and the climate is totally different and the cars don't honk the horn so much, which is a big relief.

Since Ravin seems like a good person, we decided to travel together for a few days (depending on how it goes). This afternoon we went to the cinema and saw a Hindi film (a new release) Kabhi Kushi, Kabhi Ghame. It was 4 hours loooong. But kind of hilarious, it just takes completely off in certain scenes. I think I had my dose of Hindi film with this one tho'.
By the way, after the train journey I felt sick, Delhi Belly or something, but we got some Ayervedic medicine and now it feels like I am already cured.
Tomorrow we will go to Madurai and Kodaikanal (most likely spend the Christmas there) then I will head to Pondecherry and Auroville (a bit of a backtrack, but nevermind. No further plans than this at the moment!

Oh, I forgot to tell that on Sunday I went to a book marked in Old Delhi (Darya Ganj) with Pallavi (a girl I met on a drawing workshop last weekend). It was really good, all these people spreading all kinds of books and magazines on the pavement. I even saw a Norwegian weekly magazine (Hjemmet, for those who know)
We took the local bus there, something that was an experience in itself! There is one cool rule though and that is that woman have reserved seats, so we could just ask any men to get up and they would have to give us the seat. They were so clingy anyway, so it serves them right!

Terrorist attack!

Earlier today there was a terrorist attack in the Parliament building. A little scary since I often pass that place when I go into the centre. It is also scary to think about the consequenses this will have. People seem to think it might be the Kashmiri militia or some kind of Muslim fundamentalists. Im glad that I am going south soon!

I forgot to tell about an interesting experience the other day. I had to get this shirt ironed and the iron in the house was broken. Sonal told me to go down on the street corner?!? I haven't really noticed them before, but they are all over, the iron men. They stand (live) on the roadside or in peoples back garden and they do ironing for anyone who needs it. The iron they use is ancient, like the ones we use for decoration at home. They fill it with burning coal and the result is actually amazing! Well, I gotto run, so this was a very brief entry;)

Crazy cow?

Hmm....what to write? You know, last night I was standing next to the main road just outside the place I live, waiting for some friends to pick me up.

I was just watching all the people and the mad traffic when suddenly I noticed a cow walking across the road as calmly as if it was walking across a peaceful meadow, while 5 lines of cars, trucks, buses and bikes where screaming past. I had actually been watching the cow get half way across the wide road before it hit me that I really didn't take any specific notice of the cow. I mean if this had happened anywhere else I would definitely reacted as soon as I saw the cow, but now it was just part of the complete chaos. Its a bit weird how fast one gets used to things?!?!

Anyway, the friends came and picked me up and we went back to their flat. There was quite a few people there, so we had some drinks and just talked for a while. Since Delhi is such a dodgy place to get around at night most people stayed over in the house, so we spendt a loong time trying to figure how how to fit everyone with enough blankets etc.. It is winter time here now and actually getting a bit cold at night. have to wear a jumper.

Today some of us slept in for a bit, then eventually I got a ride back to South Extension. There I had a shower, then went with Jessies sister, Nikki and her boyfriend for a little drive/shopping in the center.

I will probably leave for Madras on Sunday night. A 34 hour train ride....ugh....that is really looong!!!

Scary scary bus trip!

It looks like Im going to settle in Delhi soon. I have been spending a LOT of time here, but it is good to have a place where I know some people and can relax a bit. India can be very hectic to travel in, especially as a girl on my own.

Anyway, I was supposed to stay much longer in Dharamshala, but it just got too cold for me, I mean I normally live in a really cold country, so why put myself through another winter if I don't have to. However Dharamshala is a great place and I am very glad I went up there. I stayed there for about a week, did the cooking class that I mentioned, so now I can make Samosa, Pakora and Malai Kofta!

I spendt quite a lot of my time in McLeod with Caroline and Matthew (the Canadians). They were really nice. We even travelled back to Delhi on the same bus, which by the way was a complete disaster. We asked specifically to NOT get the back seats when we booked the tickets and guess what? We got the back seats.

It is the worse place, because it leaves you flying up in the air at every tiny bump and if this wasn't enough the seats were broken and tilted slightly downwards, so to prevent sliding down on the floor we had to press our legs towards to footrests constantly. (Very comfortable...not).

Halfway down the steep and windy road from McLeod in a very sharp and steep turn a big truck had broken down and the bus almost rammed into the truck. Then it tried to back up many times, but it was too steep and it just didn't move an inch. It was quite scary being onboard the bus while it tried to back up, because it felt like it would just fall more towards the truck and the edge of the road for every failed attempt. After a while a lot of us in the bus started to suggest that maybe it would be a good idea if we got out of the bus??? (a pretty obvious idea if you ask me?!)

So eventually they let us off and after a lot of hustle and bustle by a lot of people they managed to reverse the bus and get it through the turn. I didn't really feel like continuing the journey after this, but what choice did I have? Somehow I am glad it was dark outside so I couldn't see all the crazy overtakings and steep roadsides. Thankfully after about 12 hours we did reach Delhi and I made a promise to myself that unless completely necessary I will not ever take a bus in India again!

(phew)....ok enough about that trip. Im planning to head down to Madras in some days and I will write more then, not much eventful things happening here in Delhi. Im mostly just meeting my friends and doing pretty everyday stuff; like reading, watching some TV, going to Cafes etc...

Oh, actually I went and saw a new Indian film the other day : "Monsoon Wedding", it was shot in Delhi. It's about a traditional middle-class Punjabi wedding. A very good film, very contemporary too. If it comes out anywhere else you should go see it.

It is actually the wedding season in India now, according to the way the stars are located this month it is a very auspicious time for weddings, so everywhere you go, you can see people decorating for weddings. Most Indian weddings lasts for many days!! They seem quite fun :)

Dharamshala

I came here Thursday morning after taking the sleeper from Delhi to Patangkhot (10h), then a 3-4 hour bus ride up to McLeod Ganj. The road from Dharamshala and up here is the steepest, most windy and narrow road I have ever been on. Every 100 meters there were signs on the road saying things like: "Better late than never", "Go slow, save a life, it could be your own", "Dangerous turn, go deadly slow" etc...












I was pretty relieved when we finally got to the top! However it was really worth it. The views here are beautiful and the people here seem so much friendlier than elsewhere in India.There is a lot of Tibetan people here too, as this is the residence of the Dalai Lama (however he is not here now, apparently he is travelling in Europe). Anyway, this is where the Tibetan Headquarters is and where most refugees come if they run from Tibet. There are lot of refugee schools and projects for Tibetan's as well.



The first day and night here I was a little miserable, it was damn cold and I felt lonely after having left Delhi and my friends there. However the next day things got much better again. I went for a walk to find somewhere to have breakfast, when I ran into Caroline and Matthew from Canada (Quebec), they had been on the bus with me the day before. So we had breakfast together, then went for a walk around the Tibetan Monastery. Later we had lunch and also signed up for an Indian cooking class that we will be doing later today.

In the afternoon I went to see Harry Potter in the video hall, I went on my own since Matthew were still reading the book. The quality of the video was very bad, but I got most of it and the film was a good enough. Later in the evening I was looking for somewhere to have dinner (from this entry it seems like all I do is looking for places to eat...hehe)



I wasn't sure where to go, so I strolled around for a while. I then met Dan from Canada and Amy from the US (Washington) they were also searching for a place to eat and invited me along. Great people by the way, they had been travelling for about 7-8 months, first in Europe and soon they are heading over to Thailand/South East Asia.

This morning I also moved Guesthouse to somewhere nicer and cheaper:) Not sure what my plans are for today, but at 3 pm I will be doing the cooking course.