More from India… 0
I have been in India for just over a week now and have found that it continues to surprise me. Every morning, the drive into work is exciting and new. I watch the coordinated chaos of the auto rickshaws, helmet-less motorbike riders, overladen trucks, and the Ambassador white taxis along with the common car driver. Every now and then someone might hoon past us (going, say… 70km an hour!) but everyone generally putters along around 50/60 km/hour. The motorbikes are the most fascinating of all with a minimum of 2 riders, and a max of 4 seen so far! Women in their colourful saris sit side saddle on the bikes, complete with sari guard to prevent any extraneous fabric from getting tangled in the wheels.
The place we are staying at is called ‘The Taj’. It’s a very nice resort that is across the road from the Arabian sea. The sunsets are just gorgeous but don’t last very long unfortunately and everywhere are the coconut palms. I have heard all about the uses of this hardy plant! The husks of the coconut are used for rope while the sap from a new shoot is collected, it then ferments and becomes an alcoholic drink called ‘toddy’. Usually I am all for trying local ‘delicacies’ but in this instance I might give it a miss. Apparently the locals sometimes mix the toddy with other substances to speed up fermentation – in which case the drinker can get quite sick. I, instead, have tried my first gin and tonic, complete with Bombay gin! It was quite refreshing.
Shopping here has been so much fun too! Admittedly we have found an Indian department-type store and have spent much time in air conditioned comfort. I have bought some traditional Indian outfits including a sari and a salwar. While I had seen people wearing these outfits before, I never took much notice until now. The sari consists of about 5m of material that is wrapped around your body a couple of times (with some pleated folds) before being draped over your shoulder. Underneath you wear a small blouse and an underskirt. The vibrancy of the colours are just amazing! All the women look beautiful and graceful. A salwar, meanwhile, consists of some pants as well as a long dress/tunic style top. This is topped off with a long scarf that is draped across the front of the shoulders or else over one shoulder. This was very easy to wear, apart from the draping of the scarf part. The most difficult thing was going to the bathroom! Over here, every toilet is outfitted with a large bucket of water and a small pitcher. This is usually placed within the relatively small confines of a toilet, which can make it quite difficult to keep from getting wet when dealing with voluminous fabric!
We have been lucky at the hotel since the water is all filtered but I am still brushing my teeth with bottled water. The food has been amazing! We have been eating buffet everything (breakfast at the hotel, lunch at work – it is provided, and dinner at the hotel) so we have had a chance to try the local food. I love paneer! It’s this cheese dish that is cooked with anything and everything. Also, for some reason, the ice cream here is so much creamier and fluffier than back home. I haven’t even had the chance to try Baskin Robbins yet either!
The lifestyles over here are so far removed from anything I have ever seen. On the drive to work, we go past people that sit on the side of the road and break up large pieces of rock into gravel – men and women alike. Apparently India does have some machines to do this too but this is what these people do to make a living. What is nice to see is Muslims, Christians and Hindus living peacefully together. There is no road rage (even though they would have plenty of reason to have it!), very little crime and no violence (in Kerala anyway).
Photos to come soon
