The Times We Live In - Housebound

In the developing world, you never know what is going to happen. Although India usually isn't making the headlines for major upheavals or social unrest, it just so happens that this week we're caught in the middle of an interesting dispute. The Gujjar, an ethnic group and caste in India, are currently demanding "Scheduled Tribe" (ST) status from the government in order to have protected land throughout the country. As their demands are not being met, they are taking action with a number of protests. These protests mostly consist of blocking major highways, and this is spreading into the National Capital Region (NCR) here in Delhi since yesterday. Incidents between police and protestors have left more than 40 dead up until this point.

That being said, everyone from the office was sent home early yesterday as a precautionary measure and to make sure no one would get stranded at the office if the traffic and/or violence spread. We were again sent home early today, and the office will be closed tomorrow due to the Gujjar's threats to protest in and around Delhi tomorrow.

Everyone is safe and sound, staying put in their homes. The threat is not so serious that many people are threatened, but again these are the times we're living and we don't really know what to expect. For the most part it's just roadblocks and paralysis of transportation which is creating headaches throughout the region.

If you're interested in learning more about the current situation, check out Google News. Here's one brief article on Gujjar tension - Gujjar agitation: Capital on alert.

Pilgrims to the Holy City - Amritsar

The pilgrimage to the Holy City of Amritsar in the state of Punjab became our little aventure this past weekend. Mollie flew up from Hyderabad to accompany both Louise and I on the Shatabdi Express train out of New Delhi. Amritsar is known best for its Golden Temple, which attracts Sikhs from all over India and the world. Although our pilgrimage was for different reasons, we traveled alongside many people coming to the temple for religious reasons and to gain a better understanding of the Sikh past. Amritsar is a beautiful place with many temples, and a great theatrical/cultural experience can be had at the Pakistan-India Wagah border.

Our journey started on the Shatabdi Express, one of the nicer express trains in all of India. I'd say that half of our ticket went to food costs, well not that much, but it seemed like every 10 minutes they'd come around with another course of food. Arriving in Amritsar late at night, the three of us made our way to a hotel which was recommended by others. After a failed attempt to get some food at the hotel restaurant, we immediately took to the streets to find something to fill our stomachs. We came across Crystal's, serving Indian and Chinese food. We ordered veggie chow mein - two gelatos and five minutes later, two huge plastic bags full of noodes came out of the kitchen. We emptied the bags onto plates we got in the hotel lobby and there before us was enough food to feed an army. It was awesome.

Amritsar is an amazing city. Tucked up against the Pakistani border, there is a different feeling and mix of cultures with Punjab and India. The sites in town are amazing, of course highlighted by the Golden Temple. Pilgrims from all over come to bathe in its waters (for men only), pray, and see the temple where so many things have happened. Mollie and I saw almost every temple in town and had a good time eating a lot and some shopping (Louise wasn't feeling well for most of the weekend and got to know the hotel room very, very well). All in all, a spiritual, mystifying, educational, hot, and exciting weekend in Amritsar.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Amritsar in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).

"God's Own Country" - Kerala

Kerala is one of India's great gems. Famous for its culture, spices, beaches, and backwaters, it's tucked alongside the Arabian Sea in India's southwest. One of the most prosperous states in the country, there is a green everywhere - some of the most beautiful scenes I've seen in India were in Kerala. Interestingly enough, Kerala is one of the few places in India that was never under British rule. This trip was a quick weekend excursion (like most of them) with some of the Hyderabad folks - John, Mollie, and Julia.

We met up in the Kochin airport and made our way to the beautiful Cherai Beach Resort. Nestled in between the Arabian Sea and backwaters, it was gorgeous. Playing around in the beach and relaxing with a Kingfisher were some of the highlights, along with slowing down the pace of life. The beach was jam packed at sunset and we were splashing around in the water as the sun set over the ocean. The next morning, Mollie, Julia, and I went to get ayurvedic massages - quite the interesting massage. The photo here is what is displayed on the hotel's website to advertise (read: not me), but you get the picture. It's a type of massage that uses a lot of oil and quick movement - I'll spare you the details since, but Kerala is known for it's ayurvedic medicine and massage, especially during the monsoon season apparently. We had decided the night before that we wanted to stay on the a houseboat the second night, so we took to Alleppey to board our houseboat right after our massages.

The houseboat was amazing. Gliding through the canals and lush backdrop was so relaxing, but at the same time energizing. We went towards Kollam and were treated to some great Keralan food and even tiger prawns (which we bought live from some riverside merchant). The houseboat docked for sleeping, but we covered quite a bit of ground and even went for a little swim in the backwaters. One of the houseboat crew kept asking us "You experience?" after I asked if it was safe to swim in the water. Mollie and I took down the lifesaver donuts from the dock and as we took the plunge, he asked John "Umm...are they experience?". I think he thought we were going to drown, but we made it out alright and were treated with our tiger prawns fresh off the grill.

We made our way back to the dock the next morning and took a car to explore Fort Cochin. They still use the tried and trusted Chinese fishing nets there, and it was cool to see 10 men 'reel' in the net, even if there were only three small fish. We made a quick dash to the Kochin airport afterwards to head to Hyderabad. The airport scene turned out to be one of those chaotic situations where the line through security which zig-zagged many times, collapsed in an instant and become a massive crowd of over 100 people trying to wedge themselves through a small door. Despite this small scene, I understand why Kerala refers to itself as "God's own Country".

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Kerala in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).

Roadtrip and Rafting - Rishikesh

Essel Towers went on a road trip this weekend up north to Rishikesh. Known for its whitewater rafting, beautiful mountains, Ganges river, and yoga ashrams, we were ready to escape Delhi for some peace and quiet. First things first, a five hour car ride together in the equivalent of a minivan. Megan, Heather, Elliot, Louise, and I revisited our youth playing car games and switching iPods for the perfect tunes. We made our way into Rishikesh in the evening and got all of our plans ready for our upcoming rafting trip the next day.

Fast forward 12 hours - after swimming in the pool, wandering into town to buy some assorted items, we waited for pickup at the top of our hotel's huge hill. About 20 miscommunications and 20 kilometers on windy roads later, we were without a raft and without the Ganges. Apparently we had been literally chasing our own raft, when they might have just been 2km behind us. We're not really sure, but we drove up and down the river (backwards then forwards then backwards again), and got to know our car very well.

Defeated, we chowed down at the Choti Walla restaurant across from our hotel and got a good laugh out of Louise's cheese mashed potatoes and Elliot's mac & cheese. Who orders mashed potatoes and mac & cheese at an Indian restaurant? Well apparently Elliot and Louise do. We lined up another rafting trip for the following morning, early at 7am. Luckily, our ride was there the next morning and we went 26km up the river for our Marine Drive launching site. The Ganges was awesome - rapids were probably Class 2+/3-, and it was really beautiful. We all got to swim and float downstream for awhile, and even do some 'cliff diving'. Thank you Rishikesh.

Blog Photos - Here's a link to my photos of Rishikesh in Google Photos (also links from the slide show below).

Venice in India? - Udaipur

Known to some as the Venice of India, Louise and I decided to make the weekend trip to Udaipur in Rajasthan (the neighboring state of Haryana). Udaipur is most famous for its lakes, especially the Lake Palace which is a hotel which seems to float on water in the middle of the lake. It was also where the James Bond 'Octopussy' movie was shot, so people often go there to see the scene and have weddings in the same courtyards used to film the movie.