Safari, Beef and beer!

After a long and adventurous week, the following day after my short time in Mysore, I used the morning to take some much needed rest. And to wash my clothes too; a menial task of using shampoo (a cheaper and lighter alternative of using washing detergent) and a bucket of water. Hey, it does the job.

Sam picked me up in the afternoon as we had planned to go on a safari which I was quite looking forward to as I had never been on one before. It was quite a long drive so we stopped to have ourselves some sugar cane juice. Once we arrived, we paid our tickets and waited for the transportation to come. I was expecting a jeep like the ones I have seen on television, but instead we had a minibus with cages attached to the windows that obscured our view somewhat, and also hindered me taking any good snaps. So it wasn't as enjoyable as I had anticipated. But I still managed to get some snaps of bears and white tigers - or rather an employee did for me as he had a better view than I! Afterwards, Sam dropped me off back at the lodge.

Sam came back to meet me in the evening and we went up to M.G road for a walk. He took me to a commercialised and a heavy populated area. Again, there were many western shops and restaurants. Eventually he took me to a restaurant called The Only Place. It's menu consists of a wide variety of western food including beef! As it turns out, there are plenty of Indian people who do eat beef. Sam told me that a lot of people in India no longer deem cows to be sacred and so are fine with eating them. I guess the people of these more modern areas of India really are letting go of old traditions.  A lot of Muslims like to eat it here anyway though. Although, you still won't find beef in the more rural towns and villages where people are still very traditional.

Seeing as beef is my favourite meat, I opted to try a cheese beef burger, and holy cow it was delicious! Genuinely one of the best burgers I have had in a while. And very cheap too! For the burger and chips only costed me 180rs; that's a couple of quid less than a Mcdonalds burger meal!

After the enjoyable meal, I told Sam I fancied a beer (it was a Friday night afterall), so we headed to a pub called Guzzlers Inn. The interior looks like very much like a British pub, so it felt good to sit in there and have a pint of strong lager, and to have had great company too. Sam is like my own chauffeur and my personal knowledgeable tour guide; but more than that, he is becoming a good friend whose friendship, kindness, generousity and company I shall always appreciate and cherish. It seems we have already come a long way from just being two strangers on a train. We only had had one drink in there before we decided to call it a night.

Indian Toilets and Mysore Palace

Not long after Sam left me at the train station, the train to take me to Bangalore Cantonment arrived. It was only about a 5 minute journey. That train station was crammed full of people! It was hard to navigate through the platforms, but I finally managed to find some space and just sat on the floor. I had to wait a couple of hours before my train finally showed up. It had gone midnight by this point and I was very tired.

I found my carriage OK and also my reserved seat/bed. I couldn't manage to sleep though despite feeling tired. I started reading a book I had purchased in Katpadi - Lolita, hoping that perhaps reading would make me drift off. It did a little, but I kept waking up. Time had soon flown and half asleep, I had consciously known that this stop would be the last stop - Mysore. At half 4 in the morning.

Out of all the days and time I had been in India, eating a variety of food from a variety of places, now I get a dodgy stomach. It was very dark and Mysore station was practically desolate (most people were probably asleep in a comfortable bed - the lucky enviable sods!), and I could not find a toilet. I decided to venture out of the station and luckily found a pay and use toilet just up the road. God knows what the money they obtain go towards, but it certainly doesn't go towards maintenance or cleanliness. Yep, I just found myself a dirty, horrid, shittiest of all shitters. But man I needed to go! I don't think I have mentioned Indian toilets before; it's a very different experience than using western toilets. Ha! And some Japanese friends of mine think UK toilets are primitive! In India, the toilet is practically a hole in the floor so you have to squat to go and once you're done, you don't wipe with a tissue, instead you have a tap and a jug; just think of a bidet, but replace a jet of water with your left hand. I can sense some faces grimacing with disgust. What was also revolting was that I couldn't help but think many a sex-depraved man had masturbated in there, due to the crude, nude and badly drawn depictations of women on the walls complete with writings, "Fuck my pussy" and, creepily "I love you, fuck me", with some numbers to dial. At least my stomach felt better after though!

After that horrid ordeal, I headed back to the station as it was still very dark and still very early. I bought myself a cup of coffee and just sat on a chair, bored, tired and just wanting time to hurry up. Once it got light outside, I ventured out in to the unknown with no idea to where I was going. I walked down a long a main road and saw Mysore Palace directed on a sign and thought I would try and follow the signs to it. The signs soon stopped but luckliy a traffic officer pointed me in the right direction, and I had to walk down a long, wide and desolate road (still early). Eventually I saw the palace on the horizon, and from then it was easy to get to. Of course, once I was at the gates, it was closed. Well, it was about half 7am. I asked a man if he knew what time it opened and he told me half 10. Great. More waiting around.

There is a small park right next to that entrance though, and so I went there to kill some time by drawing. And thinking of big warm beds. My perception of time was dragging, so after a couple of hours I decided to go for a walk and exlpore the vicinity. After walking around for some time, I headed back to the gate only to be told by a rickshaw driver that I was at the wrong gate. He offered to take me to the right side for 20rs. Wearily, I asked what the catch was ready to shout profanities at him. No catch he said, just 20rs and he will take me there. Huh? I thought. An actual reasonable auto driver stood right before me. Perhaps a pig flew somewhere. True to his word, he took me to the right gate for the price stated. He did offer to take me on a sightseeing tour of Mysore but I declined and he was fine with that. He gave me advice to be aware of people who will try and sell me things and rip me off, and told me a hindu word (I've forgotten it now), which is the English equivalent of telling someone to sod off.

I had to pay the tourist fee of 200rs to get in (locals pay, I think it is 70rs). I was quite blown away by the grand architecture of the place and walked around it to take some snaps. Eventually, I walked up to the shoe counter as people have to remove their footware when entering and proceeded to enter. There was some security measures upon entrance and one particular security officer was a corrupt one; you see, I had put my camera in my bag knowing that I'm not allowed to take snaps inside the palace, and the security officer had known the camera was in my bag so tried to intimidate me in to paying a bribe of 100rs for "allowing" me to go in with it. Angrily, I told him no. There was a bit of an argument between us and I soon rudely told him that I've already paid so I'm going in. As I walked off, he said, "No sir, no sir," but I ignored him. He didn't pursue me luckily.

This minor conflict really dampered my already grouchy mood, so I didn't take my time to marvel at the intricately detailed decor and furniture of which I wasn't allowed to take snaps off; what's with India and its photography prohibitions anyway? This place also made me think of the unfairness of wealth distribution; not even a kilometer up the road from this grand palace are some derelict buildings in which the poor reside in. Lovely isn't it? A palace nicely juxtapositioned with slum areas to rub it in the faces of the poor.

So I didn't get my moneys worth of the and soon rushed to pick up my shoes. Yet again, I get asked for more money, this time from the shoe counter guy. I think I was rude to him  as well. Street beggars I can understand asking for money, people employed, however, I can't. I'm not their employer and I do not owe them a living. As far as I'm concerned, people who do the bare minimum of what is required of their job role - which they already get paid for, do not deserve a tip (Yeah yeah, i'm a tight arsehole. But i'm an unemployed tight arsehole). I don't mind giving a tip to employees who unexpectedly go the extra mile and does something really helpful and kind, but this guy just gave me my shoes. That's it. It hardly warrants me giving him money for it, does it? Bah, he caught me in a bad mood!

Anyway, I took a long trek back to the train station, stopping for lunch on the way. Once again, I had to wait around a while for my train to come. I was relieved when it did to find that the carriage was practically empty, so I had a nice and peaceful journey back to Bangalore where Sam came and met me again.
He drove me to get dinner and gave me back my stuff he looked after. After eating, he took me back to Central Lodging where I stayed in the same room again. It was nice to finally lay in bed.

Planetarium and Musical Fountain

Sam had made some plans for me to go and visit places outside of Bangalore, so sometime late in the morning he drove me to Bangalore East railway station so that I could get a reserve ticket to Mysore; seeing as it was going to be an overnight journey, I had to make sure to get a seat in what's called a sleeper carriage. And it was going to be for this evening too. Luckily they had spaces left, so I handed over my passport photocopy (mandatory for tourists), a form which Sam already filled out for me and money (100 and something rupees). Sorted.

He dropped me off so I could grab some lunch and said he would come and pick me back up in the afternoon so we can go to the planetarium. I've never been to one before and since i'm intetested in space, I was looking forward to going. Sam came and got me and drove us the short distance to where it's located; we had only just arrived in time for the next showing!

For those that don't know what a planetarium is, it's a circular theatre where a large dome projector sits in the centre of it, projecting stars, planets and other imagery on to the ceiling simulating the night sky, constellations and, in our case, the solar system; a narrator will educate you on astromony as it's being shown too. It was a very enjoyable and educational 45 minutes. 

After the show was over, we visited a science park just outside it and grabbed ourselves a drink. We then crossed over the road where there was another park and where the musical fountain is located. It doesn't start until around 7pm so we killed some time wondering around the park; it's military or was military owned so there's some tanks and other armoured vehicles used for death and destruction which, as an anti-military person, I didn't care about at all.

Eventually we sat down on large concrete steps just opposite the musical fountain. The place slowly got a bit busy and even stray dogs (they're not racist here) came and layed on the steps. By time it got dark out, it finally started. It was mesmerising to watch the water jets synchronise with the lighting and music - which was local music so I didn't understand most of the lyrics. Was catchy none the less though! A load of school children seemed to enjpy it too as they clapped and sang a long to the music. I think it lasted for about half an hour, give or take, before the show was finally over. After an enjoyable evening, it was time to brace myself for the long journey to Mysore, which I must admit I was not looking forward to.

Sam offered to look after my ukulele and my rucksack while i'm in Mysore, so we picked them up from my hotel. We made a stop at KFC so I could have dinner before we heading to the station. He waited with me for a while but as my train didn't come till late, he eventually headed home telling me he would come and pick me up the following day.

Lalbagh Park and Technology Museum

The following morning of my arrival in Bangalore, Sam came and picked me up and we stopped at Cubbon park and went for a walk. He had bought me some breakfast - a veg puff and a cream roll, so I ate as I ventured off in to the unknown with my friend.
I saw an old disused steam train and plane and started taking pictures, not initially realising we were pretty much outside a technology museum. Sam, noticing my interest in old modes of transportation, suggested we go in the museum as there will be many more things to pictures of inside. So in we went for a mere 30 rupees.

It's a pretty big place in which as we advance through the floor levels, so does the technology advance too. So in the first room, being showcased were old steam engines through to our current ones; we could also interact with them slightly to see how they work. It's been nearly a decade since I left school so it's all interesting information that I've long forgotten about!

There are also rooms which showcase biological advancement, space exploration and rockets (my favourite topic) and also electricity and various inventions. It was enjoyable to to play around and interact with various stuff; I particularly liked the infra-red musical pipes in which I hovered my hand over pipes to play a note. After re-learning a lot of stuff, we headed to a nearby Mcdonalds for lunch. It was a first time trying Mcdonalds here and it went down well. Since they don't do beef, I opted for a chicken burger which was pretty nice. Afterwards, he dropped me off back at the hotel to rest for a couple of hours.

Sam came and picked me mid afternoon time, and drove me to Lalbagh park; what a beautiful place it is! They have a botanic garden with different variety of flowers (particularly roses though) of various different colours. I enjoyed taking many a good picture of them with my camera! We walked a long distance through the massive vivid greenery and forestry, stopping a couple of times to quench my thirst with some cool, freshly made grape juices. At one point, a young couple to be wed stopped me and wanted some pre-wedding photos with me playing my uke. I was happy to oblige them. In some decades to come, they will get out their wedding photos and there I shall be; forever a part of their marriage.

Eventually, we stopped by a big lake and admired the view for some time before climbing on top of a rock formation with a small shrine on it. There's a lovely view of some of the trees in the park against the backdrop of a modern city with big skyscrapers. Just as I was admiring and taking pictures of the view, a young photographer, also called Sam, confronted us and said if it was OK to take some pictures of me, as he likes to visit the park and take photos of interesting people. Once again, I was happy to oblige and posed and played my uke as he snapped away. He then told me he has a blog which he will put the photos on to and he also took my e-mail. He is actually a food photographer (he showed me some pretty good snaps of his work) and goes to the park to take pics as a hobby. We said our farewells and then me and Sam left. It really is a blissful place; I would love to take a lady there sometime for a romantic walk through the gardens.

We stopped by Lakeview Milk Bar again to grab some ice-cream. The next plan of action was to go and meet his friend Bindu. It was a fairly long drive through the city and we eventually stopped a Cafe Coffee Day where we waited for Bindu to arrive. Once she arrived, we got a table and some hot beverages (chai for me!). I had an interesting conversation with Bindu as she too is fond of travelling and has had quite the experience it seems; it's extraordinary how the few females I have spoken to here previously in India are all traditional girls who aren't allowed much independence, can't stray too far from home, don't seem to have many choices or say in things etc..., and then there I was, conversing with a city girl who has traveled far, works till late and enjoys a drink!  She also sings and invited me to a jamming session along with her friends on Saturday of which happily accepted.

Bindu soon had to go to work so Sam then drove me back to my hotel. It was a very informative, productive and enjoyable day! Only on day two in Bangalore and already I much prefer this city than Chennai!

Arrival in Bangalore

About two weeks ago I was on a train heading back to Chennai from Katpadi. Once the train got fairly close to Chennai, a young man called Sam started conversing with me. He told me that he lives in Bangalore, which I then told him that I plan to visit the city very soon. So we exchanged phone numbers and he told me to get in touch when I come to Bangalore. So the day before I left Chittoor, we spoke over the phone and he also messaged me train details and off I went to meet him.

Frustratingly, I just missed the Brindavan Express - a train that would have got me there in a few hours - thanks to the very long que at Katpadi Junction; typical that it would depart as soon as I get my ticket handed to me. But another train going to Bangalore arrived 5 minutes later so I hopped on that one and felt relieved to at least get a seat. I didn't feel relieved after a few hours though when it was becoming apparent that I had got on a slow passenger train. After 6 hours, many long stops and a sore arse, I finally made it. Although most of my day was now wasted!

Keeping to his word, Sam soon came to meet me at the station. Although we had only met in person for about 20 minutes, I felt happy to see his friendly face again. We got on his bike and he took me to get something to eat. He bought me a delicious paneer wrap and also a refreshing cool orange soda (who loves orange soda? I do). Next plan of action was to find me a reasonably priced accommodation; he drove me around parts of the city, giving tidbits of information about certain buildings and the city - quite the knowledgeable man! Traversing through the busy chaotic roads of the well lit city, I had noticed that this city was very modern and very western looking; shops, restaurants, pubs, bars, plazas and most of the people wearing trendy western clothes; it almost felt like I was in a city in England. Well, Sam did inform me that British people had built a lot of this city so it's not surprising really.

After some time, we found a hotel that is situated pretty much in the centre of everything - aptly named Central Lodging. It's not a bad place for 650 rupees a night. After I unloaded my stuff, Sam took me out for another ride. We eventually stopped off at Mahatma Gandhi Road and walked for a bit. Sam showed me where some shops and restaurants are - all nearby to my hotel, then asked me if I would like some ice cream as he knows a good place. I am never one to turn down ice cream and told him, in fact, that I had been craving it for some time! So off we went to an ice cream parlour called Lakeview Milk Bar.

I had myself a chocolate sundae and Sam was absolutely right in saying that place does really good ice cream! Sam, the ever so knowledgeable man, told me that a British man had originally opened it up in 1930, then handed it to 19 year old Indian lad some years later. I also got myself a banana milkshake and once I finished it, he dropped me off back at my hotel. He said he would come by in the morning and take me out for the day. And with that, after a long journey and a bloated stomach, I soon fell asleep.

Farewell Friends of Andhra Pradesh

Sunil asked me to come and stay in Chittoor for the weekend, and, since I had no plans to do anything in Vellore now, I thought sod it and left Katpadi a couple days earlier than planned to do so; the benefits of travelling independently.

So I checked out of the hotel and caught the bus to Chittoor bus stand where Sunil waited for me. As usual he got me a small cup of tea from a tea stall. He had some things he needed to quickly get done so I just sat and waited for him. I saw a shop opposite advertising toy guns and got lost in a train of thought: It is somewhat disturbing giving kids a chance to reenact violence and murder with toy gun, isn't it? What is bizarre is that they are not allowed to play violent video games or watch gory films, but they can pretend to kill eachother with toys - which I suppose could inadvertently lead to injury thinking about it. Now don't get me wrong, I don't think kids should be banned from imitating a solider in a war or whatever. I just saw this advert whilst sitting and sipping tea and thought the hypocrisy amusing is all.

Anyway, so I sat and thought about trivial shit waiting for Sunil to come back. Once he did, we set off to find a place to drink beer. He drove quite far from the town and stopped at a liqueur store and got me a bottle of Knock Out beer - aptly named seeing as it is 8%. We sat down by a table, chatted and I also had another beer called Kingfisher which is just as strong. I guess the people here in India don't do weak shit eh? I had about the equivalent of four pints before we set off back to Chittoor, feeling slightly tipsy of course.

Sunil took me along to a cricket game he and his friends played. As a non-sports person, frankly, I found my time at the playing field boring. I did try and keep myself entertained by playing my uke, but then people wouldn't leave me alone. Suffice to say people were more interested in me than their cricket match; can't say I blame them since cricket is so boring.

After about two hours of boredom, we finally left. We visited his aunties tailor shop and then drove to her house with her and her daughter to meet more of their family. They were very pleasant people. His aunt gave us some tasty milk ice-cream and told me about her time spent working in Saudi Arabia. She also showed me her daughters English school work which I must say is very good! She can spell and punctuate better than a lot of the illiterate people on my Facebook (ironic since a lot of them spout the old "you're in England so speak English" retort when being xenophobic pricks. They would do well to heed their own words!)and she's only 10 or 11 years old! After spending some time there conversing with his family, we headed off and I got booked in to the same hotel I stayed at last time I was in Chittoor. I had initially planned to attend Sunil's friend's function, but by time he came back to pick me up, unfortunately, I felt too tired and wanted to sleep instead. So he said he would come by in the morning and we would do something.

Sunil did indeed drop by in the morning (later than the time stated of course), but only to inform me that he was going to Tirupathi and wouldn't be back until the evening. So, left alone, I decided to go for a very long walk and explore Chittoor. I walked down some busy narrow streets where there were shops and stalls galore; street vendors trying to shift me their cheap wares, women selling a variety of fruits, and food stalls filling the air with a nice smell of different food being cooked. I also walked along a quieter main road where there were mountains in the backdrop, lakes and some temples. After some time, I decided to head back in to town and find myself a bar.

There was a bar just around the corner from my hotel, so I went in and got myself a big bottle of Knock Out. I stood alone for a little while when a friend of Sunil's came in - Vinoth(?). He said he had recognised me one time with Sunil, but I couldn't remember him; I have met many of his friends briefly, after all. He joined me for a drink and then more people started chatting with me.

A lady who worked as a glass collector/waitress took a liking to me and kept shaking my hand as she "wanted some of my white skin," as Vinoth put it; a lot of women in England think a more tanned skin is attractive and in India, a lot of women think a more pale complexion is attractive. Perhaps these women should swap countries! I recall Aruna saying to me that she wishes she had white skin as she feels ugly. Ugly?! I hate that there are people who feel that way about themselves. I think all skin colour is attractive and can't for the life of me understand why people obsess over how they look. Well, I suppose the media has a lot of input actually. In India, you'll see all beauty products being advertised by pale Indian women stating that other women can be beautiful too if they buy whatever miraculous product they are advertising - much like the brainwashing adverts in the UK then! So I just told this lady at the bar that the colour of our skin is not important; we are all beautiful and we are all equal. She's a damn hardworker and deserves respect too, so I kissed her hand and she smiled and done that head bop that Indian people do (it's common for people not familiar with this Indian gesture to mistaken them for nodding no, when actually they are agreeing).

We had another drink and shortly a clique of transgender females came in. They too took a liking to me and all wanted a picture taken with me. They were quite the laugh and livened the place up a bit but left after a short time. It was then that Vinoth wanted to take me to his village, so we got on his motorbike and rode off.

Once we got on to the quiet roads, he let me drive the bike. I've never driven a geared motorbike before but quickly got the hang of it and I loved it! I definitely want to get my own bike now sometime. It really is bliss driving one on the country roads. Eventually we stopped at a village I was familiar with; we were close to Malla Kunta so I thought I would use this opportunity to say a final farewell to Aruna. Sunil came and picked me up and we headed to his village.

It was good to see Aruna and her home one last time. I asked her how marriage life felt and she replied nothing has changed; she still lives at her parent's home and Sunil his. I then asked her if she was going to look for a job in the city (as she wanted to do), now that she didn't need to have her fathers permission, but she said Suman doesn't want her to. Well, I guess she will always have a leash around her neck, tied by Indian traditions and held tight by the man who supposedly loves her. I don't think much more was said. She told me to take care and be careful and I just said goodbye and hopped on the back of Vinoth's bike and, sadly, didn't look back.

Eventually we arrived at Vinoth's village. I was feeling a bit too melancholic to be chatty with anyone so called Sunil so he could take me back to Chittoor with him so I could have a drink. Once we arrived, he took me to a bar where we sat, ate and drunk for about an hour. He took me to my hotel and we said our goodbyes and I soon passed out. I will miss Sunil. Sure, it's hard to converse with him due to the language barrier, but he is a generous, kind and caring man. If you ever read this mate, you're a good man. Thank you.
And that was it. Sadly, it was time to leave familiar surroundings and my good friends. Next stop: Bangalore.

An Indian Marriage

Because I was intrigued by what an Indian wedding entails, I messaged Aruna asking if it was still OK for me to attend hers. She said it was fine and told me to get a hotel in Chittoor as her marriage would commence at 5am the following morning. Why so early? Damned if I know.

So I quickly packed some overnight clothes and got on the bus to Chittoor. Aruna had informed me that her friend, and the man she is going to marry - Suman, would come and meet me and help book me in to a hotel. Now punctuality does not seem to be a trait of anybody here in India; in fact, we volunteers last year often joked about "Indian time" referring to how notoriously unpunctual our friends were. So I wasn't too surprised that after half an hour of waiting for Suman to come and meet me, he still hadn't arrived, living up to the expectations of Indian punctuality. By then I was getting very impatient though, so decided to go off and look for a hotel myself.

After some walking down narrow and busy streets, I finally found a hotel. It was only 350  rupees a night, so I asked to see the room first knowing full well it was probably going to be a shithole. But suprisingly, it wasn't too bad. I was fairly happy with it anyway so said I would take it for the night. Suman managed to get a hold of me so I informed him of where I was staying and he soon came to meet me. Finally.

By this time, it was early afternoon so I agreed to come to Suman's shop for sometime. It was a nice chilled afternoon really. Didn't do anything other than ate some of Suman's packed lunch (chicken curry and rice) and drawed a manga girl. Since I was in a clothes shop, I decided to buy Aruna a saree as a gift. I got her a pretty looking orange one as I remembered her saying that orange is her favourite colour. By about 7pm, Suman dropped me off at my hotel room and I decided to have an early night.

Well, that was what I intended to happen. It took me for what seemed like many hours to fall asleep, and I woke up at 2am. Great. A very cold bucket wash soon woke me and freshened me up though and then I just patiently waited for Suman to come and get me.
Coincidently, my hotel was just opposite the small temple they were getting married, so it only took 5 seconds to get there, where Aruna was sitting and waiting; she was wearing a very nice saree and looked beautiful in it. She had said that it was only going to be a small wedding, but I had least expected her immediate family to be there - especially her father! But no, only her brother Sunil came. None of Suman's family attended either.
We waited for a little while whilst the hindu preist made some preparations. When everything was ready, some drums started to bang and bells began to ring. What happened next was amazing but also confusing and bizarre for me at the same time; I didn't have any idea what was going on and why. I just got my camera out and snapped away at the rather elaborate ceremony; they put flowers over one another several times, prayed, bowed down to the priest and prayed, prayed to some bananas and rupee notes that they handed to the priest, we put our hands over a flame and some red powder (kumkuma) on our foreheads and prayed, and we also poured some seeds(?) over their heads. They then walked around the shrine a few times holding hands. So yeah, it was very confusing for me, but none the less I had enjoyed my experience of witnessing a marriage, even if I don't agree with the reasons for it.

After the ceremony finished, we said our goodbyes and I walked off pondering Indian marriage; I've noticed that on the billboards with wedding photos on them, seldom do I see the bride and groom smile and I wonder if it is because they have married somebody they don't love? Aruna didn't smile much at all and I know she doesn't love Suman. I'm probably wrong about the reasons for people not smiling in their wedding photos (supposedly the happiest day of anybodys life), but it was just a thought that occured to me. Very sad if I'm correct though.

Anyway, my morning in Chittoor wasn't quite over as Sunil found me and said I could ride with him and I'll catch the bus to Katpadi later on. It was very pleasant riding down the country roads on the back of his scooter at 7am. This is the first time I've seen morning mist and also the first time I have been shivering cold here! He took me far out in the sticks to where his aunty lives where we walked around some fields. We didn't stop there for too long and soon hit the road. Once again, he said I could drive so I did much to my enjoyment. We just spent the remainder of the morning driving around Chittoor and having chai (tea). Eventually, I said my farewells to him and got on a bus back to Katpadi.

Tradition vs Modern and Katpadi

India is starting to go through a dramatic change. In England, attire - or rather what ever happens to be this years fashion trend, tends to be the same which ever part of the country you may be in. In India, there's a clash of the traditional attire (sarees and kurtis for example) and western clothing (jeans and t-shirts), which only becomes apparent after spending some time in an urban city.

You won't really observe the change out in the rural areas; Indian culture and tradition is still going strong out in the sticks. But I noticed that Chennai is gradually becoming "westernised". There are western fast food chain restaurants and clothing shops, that play god awful western pop music popping up everywhere. I noticed that a lot of younger generation females are swapping their sarees for tight jeans and a branded tee. And they'll even have their hair down.

Thanks to films and music video, what is socially acceptable is also changing. Now in England, it is common to see lovers showing affection towards eachother - usually through kissing and/or hand holding. In India, showing affection has not been allowed, or at least it is not acceptable anyway. If you see two males or two females holding hands, it is not because they are lovers, but because they are friends. But now, in the city at least, you'll see lovers holding hands too. I think this is due to debauche films focusing on romantic storied, and also the provocative and sexy performances in song videos, which all could well have been inspired by the western media. The younger generation are absorbing it all in and imitate what they see, so it is now becoming the norm. I think in some decades time, India will be a changed place that will start to lose its culture and make way for the modern era at this rate. I remember having this discussion with Arun last year, after he showed me some music videos and I pointed out the hypocrisies. He even said the same thing more or less.

This is what my final thoughts were as I left Chennai, train bound for Katpadi. Once I got there, I met up with Kalai who took me to her office and gave me some of her lunch. After some time, Sidhu arrived to help me find a hotel. It was great to finally see him again!

He and a couple of other guys managed to find me one called Milliniium Plaza. So I hopped on Sidhu's bike and after a very short distance, we arrived. My room here is a lot nicer than Raj Residencey, but is slightly more expensive. It's worth the price though as the bed is comfortable and comes with a blanket and no bed bugs; there's hot water to have a bucket wash with and it came with complimentary towels and soap. Must always keep the windows closed though as when I went for a piss, I looked out of the window to see a couple of monkeys just chilling on the sill. If my window were to have been open, some stuff could have potentially been stolen. You have to watch out for the theiving bastards! Even from the third floor.

I haven't done much here other than eaten at some nice restaurants and gone for long walks. I'll only be staying here till Saturday.

Driving to and Staying at Malla Kunta

After spending a few days alone in Chennai, I was happy to receive a text from Aruna inviting me to come and stay at her home again on Saturday.

I had an unpleasant sleep during the night thanks to bed bugs. I was generally pleased with my hotel room until I had to kill the bloody blood sucking parasites. Oh well. There was no use in asking for another room as I would be only spending one more night there. Perhaps I'll write a negative review on trip adviser to be amongst the other negative reviews on there. Anyway, I was up, ready and itching to go by half 6 in the morning.

I got the usual 7:50 train to Katpadi Junction, then the bus to Chittoor. This time, Aruna's brother Sunil met me at the bus stand. He took me to a tea stall and then some small restaurant for a milk-like-beverage. God knows what is was and what was in it, but it sure was nice! He then took me to meet a friend of his. I'll be damned if I can remember his name or what he looked like now. I know it sounds a bit callous of me, but people here are always wanting to show me off/introduce me to their friends and family, that I have had to digest so many names and personal information in such short time, it's impossible for my brain to retain it all.

So after meeting another friend of his, we finally started to head to his village - Malla Kunta. Once we reached the more quiet roads, he pulled over and said I could drive the scooter for the remainder of the journey. I was well up for it and since I had a moped when I was 16, I was already familiar with driving one. Well, it doesn't take a genius to drive a twist and go anyway.

But these were Indian roads and as I have mentioned before, they are extremely chaotic compared to the roads that I'm used to driving on. Oh, and health and safety does not exist here which I think is great! It's nice to ride a two wheeler without having to wear a helmet. Hell, it was just an exciting experience driving on seemingly lawless roads. I even passed by a police station; whoops, I do not have an Indian licence. But fuck it, who cares? No one does here. It's a breath of fresh free air since I come from a country that seems to becoming more authoritative by the year. 

So yeah, I was lapping up the fact that I was the one beeping the horn, rather than the one being beeped at. In India, horns are going off all the time; when they overtake, when they turn, when they're about to run you over if you don't move the fuck out of their way.
It was a fairly long journey; must've taken nearly an hour to finally get to Malla Kunta. We did stop for a quick cup of tea though. Once we arrived, I met Aruna and her cousin at her aunt and uncle's home. I went with them, quite far out in the sticks, to get some fruit from trees (no idea what they're called). I didn't like them myself as found them to taste a bit too bitter for my liking. There's also a massive, deep well there which they used to swim in as kids, but due to there not being enough rainfall now, it has all dried up and nature has claimed it. Possibly the effects of global warming?

Afterwards, we headed back to Aruna's home and I met her family once again. Although I can't understand Telugu (the official language of Andhra Pradesh. Every state in India has a different language in case you didn't know), and they can't speak English, her mother and grandmother often speak to me anyway, often using hand gestures to help convey what they are saying. They seem like really nice people and regardless of the language barrier, I still felt really welcome at their home. It's a wonderful cultural experience spending time with a rural Indian family, I must say.

Sunil took me to their plot of land out in the fields where they have some mango and coconut trees. He bashed down some coconuts from the tree and used his sickle to cut open the shell of the coconuts to get to the milk, of which we then drank. I genuinely love eating and drinking from the land, which I had never experienced before. It just feels...right. And very tasty too!

When we returned back to their home, I met more of Aruna's friends and family. I went with a few lads back to their home where their mother made me some hot milk. I chilled there only for a little while before meeting his father - who is the local tailor, and a few more family members. By time I returned back to Aruna's home, she had pretty much cooked dinner, so it wasn't too long before I starting tucking in to some chicken curry. Not long after I finished, I turned in for the night.

The following morning, Aruna made me some tea and also cooked some sambar rice for breakfast. I then got on Sunil's scooter with him and Aruna and they took me to chittoor where I then made my way back to Chennai. All in all, another lovely time spent in Malla Kunta. It may just be a small rural village, but I do enjoy it there and find the people to be very friendly and pleasant.

It's good to just get away from the modern era and away from people fixated to their technology; people in England are so dependent on it that on the rare occurrence a power cut happens, people start to panic and melodromatically whine how bored they are. Oh boohoo. No television to keep them lobotomised for a whole half hour or so. It's an everyday occurrence here and people just get on with work, or sip some tea, or cook; perhaps they will socialise with one another! Anyway, you get the gist. So yeah, it's just good to get away from the trivial melodrama of first world problems.

Lonely in Chennai, Child Beggars and Zoos

So far I have been informing you guys of my more exciting days here, outside of the city I am staying in. But what about the days in between? And what of my adventures in the metropolis of Tamil Nadu - Chennai? Well, I'll tell you.

In hindsight, I kinda wished that I hadn't bothered staying in Chennai. I saw a lot of it with friends when I came to Tamil Nadu last year. I just figured the place is a central hub to where my friends live. And it helps that I am a little experienced and familiar with Chennai Central train station - which luckily I was only a 20 minute walk from. But I soon learnt that it is not a good place to stay for a fortnight if you are alone.

Fortunately, I was staying very close to a bus stand so I didn't have a hard time getting to where I wanted to go. Seeing as I was very close to Marina Beach, I decided to go there. The beach strectches for miles and it takes about 10 minutes before you reach the ocean. I stopped by a sugar cane stall (not sure if that's what they're officially called), and the vendor used his contraption to squeeze the juice from the sugar canes, filtered it to rid of any dirt and stalk, and then mixed it with cool water - all for the price of 10 rupees (about 10p). It's a nice sweet beverage, although I do prefer to chew on the canes themselves to extract the sweet, sweet juice from them.

I wanted to relax by the ocean so took a long, slow stroll to it. There are many stalls lined up along the beach; it's like a market place! I didn't purchase anything but it's nice to browse at the wares as I passed by. I did stop to eat some Pani Poori though. It's a delicious snack that I can only describe it as tasting a bit like yorkshire puddings, only with a lot of spicy sauce to go with them instead of gravy. Once I finally got to the ocean, I just sat and relaxed in the scorching heat, wanting to go for a dip to cool down but put off by the amount of litter washing up on the shore.

Boys were stripping off and going for a swim in the ocean, while the girls stayed dressed in their kurtis and saris and went for a paddle - except for a volleyball team who were playing, singing and dancing in the ocean, much to the amusement of onlookers including myself. Men were offering rides on their horses for some rupees and others were selling what looked like candy floss. Suffice to say, there's a lot going on this beach compared to the desolate and dull beach in Great Yarmouth.

My realxing enjoyment of people watching was over when I inadvertently drew attention to myself for, well, erm, for having white skin I guess. Then came the child beggars with their pet monkeys - who were only a one trick pony. One baby monkey climbed all over me and tried to steal my bottle of water while a young girl begged me to give her some money. It's very sad to see children living in poverty, but you have to be weary when giving them money for I recall being told that adults often "employ" them to beg, as people tend to show a lot more sympathy to child beggars than adults. Still, it's very disheartening but I carry very little money on me and there's nothing I can do to help. It's times like that, that I wish I was a very wealthy man so I could. The world really does revolve around money and as long as distribution of wealth remains unfair, it'll be hard to eradicate poverty.

Anyway, I started to get bothered by the unwarranted attention and the heat so went for a walk along, I guess, what is the equivalent of an English seaside promenade, only without arcades and pubs. I sat in a green area, leaned against a tree and started playing on my uke. This time the attention I was getting was warranted so I didn't mind; I'm always happy for people to hear me play some music.

As I said on a previous blog post, I was kinda getting fed up with rice and was craving some western food. One day I remembered that there were fast food restaurants in Spencer Plaza shopping mall, and since I was close by, made it my mission to go and treat myself to some KFC. Not a great choice for some western food I know, but my mouth was salivating at the thought of some chicken and chips. Not long after stepping in to the mall, I had shop merchants trying to persuade me to go in to their shops and purchase something. They all sell the same shit and none of it I want; scarves, jewellery, ornaments and meditation bowls are not things I need on my travels at all. I was there to eat some chicken and that was all, so I just ignored them. I stood outside to have cigarette at one point and ended up conversing with a devout muslim man. He was a pleasant chap and didn't mind me being an atheist who does not want to convert to islam. He didn't go all jihad on me, which is what the UK media and a lot of EDL members would like everybody to believe would happen in such a scenerio. Go figure. In fact, every muslim I have ever spoke to have all been kind people. But who wants to hear nice, pleasant things in the news? He soon left me alone when I told him I wasn't interested in purchasing anything from his shop though.

I had passed a park on my way back from the plaza and decided to have a relaxing day there the following day. Of course, I brought along my ukulele to practice. I also went long walks around the vacinity of where my hotel was, sat in cafes for some tea or coffee, or just grabbed a small and cheap cup from the many stalls on the streets.
I'm a member on a website called couchserfing - a site for travellers to meet and for people to host travellers, so another reason for me staying in Chennai was to meet up with some fellow couchserfers. One guy I had been speaking to surprised me by waiting outside my hotel room; I had told him where I was staying, but weren't sure when he was wanting to meet. He is a nice chap by the name of Jeba, but unfortunetly he did not stay long. He only dropped by to give me some recommendations on places to visit in Chennai - most of which I had been to already. I was quite interested in visiting the national park, though, so after we said our goodbyes I headed there by bus.

I paid 20 rupees entry fee and soon observed that it was actually more of a zoo. Not a particularly good one at that. I was mildly interested watching emus getting fed some biscuits by a couple but that was about it. I'm not particularly fond of zoos anyway; staring at animals in cages, all of which can be observed in the wild if people weren't so damn lazy. I mean some of the animals they had there you can see everyday in India! Monkeys for one and also a wild dog. India's streets are full of fucking dogs! Why on earth would I want see one locked up in a cage?! Indian logic strikes again (it's just occurred to me that I don't think I have mentioned the great phenomenon that is Indian logic before. I will soon enough). After about an hour of walking and uninterestingly observing animals sleeping, shitting and eating, I disappointingly headed back to my hotel.

And that's all that I got up to Chennai. For the most part I was alone and bored. Suffice to say I much prefer my time spent in rural places with company. I do like to be left alone, sure. But I don't think a city is the right place for it. Not Chennai anyway. Maybe Bangalore and Dehli will be different?

Rice, Love and Marriage

Last Tuesday, I caught the 7:50am Brindavan Express train to Katpadi where I then got on a bus to Chittoor to meet up with Aruna.

We met up with her friends and I went with them to the college that they studied at. They went there to pick up their certificates. Aruna introduced me to a few of her old teachers and told me about the place. Afterwards, we got some lunch; we all had some Biriyani. As usual, I couldn't eat it all. In India, small and little are two words that I'm sure does not exist in their vocabulary. I'm a small guy and I have a small stomach so I can only eat small portions!

By this point, I am already starting to get fed up with rice. I'm not overly keen on the stuff. Sure, I can eat a little but as I said, small portions just seem alien to the people here so I always get large portions! And then more because everyone wants to make sure I'm well fed. The people here are just too hospitable sometimes. Anyway, I would hate to eat rice two or three times a day. How they do not get fed up with eating the same food all the time, I'll never know. Especially with something as bland as rice.

I digressed. Where was I? So we had lunch and I left half of it. Afterwards, Aruna's friends all went home and we went to a park. In England, parks (the swings and roundabouts type ones) are for kids. Here, you see more adults use the swings! It was a nostalgic feeling as I haven't "played" on a swing for many years so it felt great to feel like a kid once again! Same for when we sat on the roundabout.

But our conversation then got very adult; we started to talk about love and marriage and also our personal lives. Aruna is getting married on the 6th February. You may not be aware, but arranged marriages are very common in India which can be quite problematic as you could imagine; let's just say that such arrangements have caused many a suicide. I'll just go ahead and honestly say, as a liberal person, that I hate it. I can never agree with such a system that oppresses free will; in this case, the will to love and marry who you desire not whom you parents desire.

Aruna, as far as I know, is not being forced to marry this guy, but her father really wants her too, and she wants to respect her fathers wishes. Oh, and Suman (the friend she is marrying) is also guilting her in to marrying him by threatening suicide if she does not. What a man, eh. If you love someone and it is unrequited love, you just let that person go. For if you truly loved that person, then you would just wish for him/her to be happy. Suffice to say, I think this path will probably cause her misery in the future. Hell, it makes me feel sad just thinking about it.

I know it's easy coming from me - someone who was brought up in a country where we have the freedom to be in a consensual relationship with whom we desire, to tell her that she can be a free and independent person if she so wishes, but at the end of the day, as she also simply said to me, it's the way things are in India. I'm no great person who is going to cause a great social change in India, so I just have to tolerate the fact that this is the way things are here. As I said, you just got to let go...