Day 53 (29 July): Transiting through Dehli again

In the morning, Umung’s mother and I picked up take-away from a very well-known Indian breakfast place. We then drove to her house, which up to this point I had not seen yet, in a small village outside of Dehra Dun surrounded by rice paddies, mango & lychee orchards, a national forest and mountains ranges in view on both sides. After eating breakfast, a tour of the house, and a long conversation over tea about the history of Dehra Dun among other things, we headed to the airport for a mid-day flight back to Dehli. Just as has happened elsewhere in India thus far, it began raining on the way to the airport.

Arriving in Dehli, I checked into a hotel again and this time ventured out to explore Dehli’s Main Bazzar which was near the hotel. I headed back to bed fairly early as I had a 6 am flight to Jaipur the next morning.

Observations:
1) India is becoming more of a tightly knit country or at least people from different regions that have traditionally held on to their own unique cultures have begun embracing other regions cultures as well. One place this is evidenced is in restaurants, since you can now find restaurants that serve North Indian, South Indian, and Begali food all on the same menu. Umung’s mother told me that several years ago you would only find each of these different types of cuisines at separate restaurants. Maybe further integration of cultures will allow the country to integrate better politically at a national level, since they currently have a hard time making national laws, given strong state’s rights in their federalist government.
2) Sikhs. They are integral to the history of Dehra Dun. Despite popular conception that its an old religion, its in fact less than 20 years old and the habit of wearing tubins and having the last name Singh is even newer. Thanks to Sikh migration from Punjab, many people in Dehra Dun speak Punjabi in addition to Hindi.
3) If you start a business, people will come. The airport in Dehra Dun is tiny with only one flight each way, each day, yet for some reason a home near the airport recently was converted into a ‘hotel’ or the owners decided to put up a sign and be open to renting an extra room.
4) Men holding hands. This is common is India, so is rather affectionate looking hugging, but neither is considered ‘gay.’ Women and men hugging or holding hands in public is actually probably more rare than men holding hands with other men.
5) Gypsies. These are actually people whom made a ‘religious’ decision not to hold material possessions and become nomadic in response to a growing merchant class. Their perception in Hungary (where they migrated or so I was told when I was there) was quite different to their perception in India. In India they are considered good, smart people, whereas in Hungary they are looked down on and often suspected of being thieves.
6) Hand out to cross the street. In Dehli, like many other places in India, when people want to cross the street they simply start walking across it putting their palm towards cars. This of course adds to the already incessant honking and doesn’t help them that much, but hurts traffic.
7) Pilgrimages can be very long. Taking a cab in from the Dehli airport, I noticed a number of the Pilgrims I saw in Rishikesh with the Ganges river water jugs, making their way down the road. That means these people have been walking for what is a one hour flight or six hour drive. That’s a long distance and pretty impressive; no wonder many of them look like they are limping.

Day 51 (28 July): Above the Clouds

I took a bus this morning to Mussoorie, which is a town about 4000 feet higher up the Himalayan foothills than Dehra Dun and the first one to be above the clouds. Mussoorie is also the town that surveyors of the Himlayans based themselves at before going on survey missions; George Everest, after whom Mt. Everest is named, lived here. I ate lunch at a Tibetan restaurant there since there is also a substantial Tibetan community located there. I then went to the highest point called ‘Gun Hill’ by cable car from which you are supposed to be able to see the tops of the snow-capped Himalayan peaks, but unfortunately was unable to due to some yet higher clouds. After that, I went on a hike along the roads out of town, eventually coming to the Woodstock School which is another boarding school; this one started by British Missionaries even before the East India Company was established, marking the first presence of the British in India.

Observations:
1) Skilled bus drivers. To drive a bus up to Mussoorie takes real skill and to drive it down the same. The clouds thickened on the way down and I could not longer see the edges of the road out the bus windows, but somehow the bus driver made it safely down despite winding turns where a mistake would mean plunging off a several hundred foot drop.
2) Porters. In Mussoorie, there are a number of porters. They will carry heavy bags around all day for just over one US dollar. They carry things by strapping them with a rope behind their back and then putting the rope across their foreheads and walking which looks quite odd, seems painful, and certainly seems like it should be worth more money.
3) Missionary schools. For some reason there are several missionary schools in Mussoorie and all of the kids in the town seemed to be dressed in school uniforms. They were very friendly and seemed to want to talk as they all said ‘hello’ to me. When I responded with the same, they’d giggle, but couldn’t take the conversation much further.
4) Tailor talk. I ended up speaking with a tailor in town for about half-an-hour while he was working. He flagged me down because I was white and he likes speaking to people from other countries. He spoke about how he wants his kids to get education, but can’t pay for it since he can’t get loans since they are hard to come by in India particularly if you’re in his line of work. He told me that maybe instead, he’d buy his son who he though was good at learning things a laptop, so he could figure out computers on his own, but nonetheless was having a hard time saving up for one. He also told me about the history of his business that was started by his great-grandfather and had stayed in his family.

Day 51 (27 July): Indian versions of Eton and Tibet

This morning, Umung’s mother took me to the Doon School and gave me a full tour of the place. The Doon School is India’s premier boarding school and many Indian families choose to send their children to school there rather than abroad for high school although most of the kids go on to colleges in the UK or in the US. My friend Umung went to school there and his mother helped establish their computer science department. The thing that made it most uniquely Indian was that each of the dormitories there was donated by a different Maharaja and accordingly named. During the tour, we were invited into one of the current teachers of economics or ‘masters’ houses for a cup of tea.

Early in the day, we also stopped at a well-known Indian Sweets shop, where we sat for about an hour and must have sampled at least 10 different Indian desserts, most of which were very sugary and delicious, although a few were supposed to taste both sweet-and-sour or made of pulses and did not suit my tastes in the least.

From the Doon School we went on to Clement Town that is one of the areas in India where Tibetan refugees have fled to, to avoid the Chinese government’s rule of their homeland. There is a large Tibetan Buddhist monetary there as well as several temples and a giant standing outdoor Buddha. It is also supposed to be home to the Panchen Lama (who ranks second to the Dali Lama), however, the current Panchen Lama is allegedly being held as a political prisoner by the Chinese government. The Dali Lam is in another town in India to the Northwest of Clement Town and the Doon Valley area.

From Clement Town, we went to a dinner party with an eclectic group of people, many of whom were retired Professors, another of which had been active in the Indian Communist party in her youth, a journalist, and a current teacher at the Doon School. With the exception of the current teacher at Doon, everyone must have been more than 30 years my senior.

Observations:
1) There seems to be something about private schools with lots of tradition that makes them very tight knit communities because I saw a lot of things about the Doon School that reminded me of my own high school experience at St. Albans.
2) Child labor is something that cannot be avoided in India. When we were touring the Doon School there were a number of workers keeping the place up since it was between terms. Umung’s mother pointed out a bunch of young kids working and explained that nothing can be done to prevent it. If parents are told that their kids can’t work, even if it is helping on a project the parent took on, and they respond by explaining if they don’t the whole family can’t eat. This keeps kids from getting proper education and perpetuates the cycle.
3) Displaced people and cultures have to start anew. It is interesting to see what was happening in Clement Town because the whole community there had been displaced from Tibet and now had to learn the Hindi language and assimilate more into Indian culture to get by. In another generation, it is likely that the uniquely Tibetan culture they have may begin to fade as no one will have actually lived in Tibet.
4) Retired people in India seem to take on a great deal of charity work to help the poor in their own country. I had a number of conversations with people at the dinner party who were doing so and interested in talking about development economics.
5) Apparently somewhere near Dehra Dun, there is a whole town where all of its electricity come from diesel generators; the government has not gotten around to wiring the town yet and some of the shops decided that they would use generators so that they could have lights and refrigerators, etc. to get ahead. As such a whole shopping mall run on generators developed. If such things happen, it seems like it reduces the incentives for the government to come in and wire the place, since its functioning even if its in a way that causes massive pollution.
6) My Mumbai versus Umung’s Mumbai. So far in India and probably in any of my travels, I think Mumbai was one of my worst experiences although I’m still glad I went. My friend Umung, however, considers Mumbai one of his favorite places in India. Other Indians at the dinner party also thought it was a nice city because it’s a place where people will supposedly leave you alone. I think these things may be true there if your Indian, but not if you’re a foreigner which is unfortunate. It also would be interesting to head back to Mumbai at this point, now that I’m acclimatized to India

Day 50 (26 July): Yogis and Pilgrims

I took a flight this morning to Dhera Dun (which is about 280 km NE of Dehli at the foothills of the Himalayas) and where my friend (and roomate in DC), Umung's mother lives. She met me at the airport where stepping off the plane it was instantly obvious that the place would be much more relaxing than elsewhere in India and the weather much nicer although still humid.

We drove from the airport to Rishikesh which is a nearby town full of Yogis, Gurus, and Ashrams (halls where they preach). In fact the Beatles spent time here in 1968 with a famous Guru and it since beame a part of the 'hippie trail' through India. We also crossed the Lakshmanjulah there which is a 'swinging bridge' over the Ganges which begins its decent into the plains here. Given the serene nature of the mountains in the area it is obvious why the place originally became a 'mecca' of sorts for people starting up new religions or new twists on old ones since the air of the place is very spiritual given the mountain and river setting. Unfortuately, the spot was very crowed due to tourist (like myself and her) being ther but more so because of a particular type of Hindu pilgrim who take over the town during the Monsoon every year. These pilgrims who wear orange will walk from wherever they are from (perhaps over 1000 km away to the mouth of the Ganges) where they are supposed to fill two bottles with water that they are not allowed to put down for the whole trek back home. Also in the place we saw a number of monkeys swinging around in the forests and running across the roads in addition to some wild boars.

Returning to Dhera Dun we had dinner at the hotel Umung's mother checked me into since she couldn't host me at her house due to some recent renovations. We also had dinner in their excellent restaurant.

Observations:
1) Rickshaws continue to be a constant negotiation. This morning I had to convince the driver to actually take me directly to the aiport instead of stopping for what he said would only be 20 minutes to get some gas.
2) Butter Chicken also know as Chicken Tikka Masala. This was originally served as a dish of leftovers but has become a favorite among men in India and also very popular at Inidan restaurants in the US. Apparently the original recipie required scraps of tandoori chicken and the leftover 'gravies' from other curries and they were simply all scrapped into one pot and eaten that way.
2) Eating with your hands. Umung's mother convinced me it was OK and how food is meant to be eaten. (Arnab's parents didn't try to do so really, but asked me if it was OK if they did.) The problem I see with it is that with Indian food, curries, breads, and rices your hands get quite messy doing so. Umung's mother made a good point though, so I'd do it with the chicken at least, but not the mutton (which is usually lamb in US Indian restaurants.) That point was that if you look at a chicken it is not meant to be eaten with a fork and a knife because you cannot possibly get all of the meat off that way. With mutton she ackownledge that maybe that wasn't the case. Another arguement she made was that you get a lot more out of your food by being able to feel it as well as eating it. This was also part of a conversation about how when you get older you need to unlearn some things that you have learned to enjoy life.
3) Borders in Northern Indian have not been historically very well defined, but people have somehow up until recently managed to get along well and respect each other's laws.
4) Pilgrims can have fun even if it cost a lot. Apparently the average cost of the pilgrimage to the mouth of the Ganges is very costly given most people's low incomes, but they do it anyway. Many of them for part of the trip would ride around, pileing 20 in a rickshaw or on 30 on a truck to which they'd attach big speakers and dance to the music at time hanging on only with one arm and no feet on their vehicles while they wound around treacherous mountain roads.
5) We came across a temple today that had 1800 rooms, each with different idol in it. Umung's mother couldn't understand why someone would do that and thought it was a huge waste, especially since everywhere in India has become so over crowed since her youth. I understand why you'd want the serenity of being up in the hills, but I wonder if this crowded temple with 1800 rooms (each with an orange garage door) was just a reflection of modern times? Maybe people want religion to feel comfortable and mirror their lives so they crowd it all into one tiny space which is like how they live?
6) I seem to continue to avoid bad events on this trip. Apparently, about 10 days since I was there, Mumbai is having the worst floods in its history as they received over 3 feet of monsoon rains in one day, predicted to shut down the city for several days. Also over 300 people are suspected dead in the city as a result.

Day 49 (25 July): The Taj Mahal & Beyond

Early this morning, I got up to watch the sun rise over the Taj Mahal and to actually tour its grounds. The building is certainly impressive and probably more impressive than it comes out in pictures. For those of you who don't know the story of it, it was built by one of the Mughli emperors for his wife. He was to have one built in Black across the river and larger in scale, but ended up running out of money to do so.

From there I went to Agra Fort which also took several hours to see. Since the Mughli were also Islamic, it had a number of the same features in its internal palaces as those found at the Tokapi Palace in Istambul including a large harems.

In the afternoon my rickshaw driver took me to some minor sights, exhausting Agra's sights. I also agreed to go with him to some shops so he could make commissions. Since my train didn't depart until later and I'd befriended him enough, he took me to one of his friends houses to drink a beer, talk, and watch a Bollywood movie to pass the time while I was waiting.

Observations:
1) Bomb-sniffing dogs. While I was at the Taj Mahal, I ended up talking to two guys who had dogs with them. They explained to me that they were in the Indian Army and that the dogs were actually bomb-sniffing dogs. Their assignment is to make sure that there are no terrorist attacks on the Taj Mahal. They seemed to think if one happened, all tourists would stop coming to India and the economy would collapse; I doubt it since tourism can't be that big a part of the economy, but it probably lets them think their important to beleive that.
2) Power outages. These were very common in Agra and happened at least four times while I was there. Most places had back-up generators to keep some of the lights going.
3) Taj prices seem very unfair. They cost way more than any hotel I have stayed in so far in India at 750 Rupees (about 18 USD) for foreigners and only 20 Rupees (about .5 USD) for Indians.
4) From my conversation with a guy in one of the stores who was a Muslim Indian or more of his rant, rather:
a) There is currently a law suit in the high court over the unfair pricing of Foreign entry fees vs. domestic entry fees at many places based on the skewed prices at the Taj
b) In India there is a huge link between education and poverty that he thinks is near and endless cycle unless more people volunter time to teach kids which he does. This is because many families believe that women don't need education and because they need money immediately so they can't pay for education and their kids don't have the time for it. He sees teaching English as a first way out in Agra at least where kids who know English can learn a lot by talking to foreign visitors.
c) The problem with Islam and terror is a lack of education due to poverty.
d) People who are Islamic and live in other country can like George Bush. This guy was a huge fan. I think much of his enthusiam had to do with the recent Bush-Singh meetings which he was convinced would give India an edge over China.
5) Rickshaw driver conversations/comments:
a) The rickshaw driver earned commissions from taking me to certain stores, restaurants, or hotels. He was very open about this so I asked him lots of questions and helped him earn money in ways where it didn't cost me anything. At some stores, mostly the nicer ones he earned about 10 Rupees for just taking me there; for these stores he took me in a car rather than a rickshaw, since they wouldn't give him commissions unless I seemed like a bigger spender. For other stores, I had to buy something for him to get a commission; these tended to be smaller with cheaper items for sale.
b) He thought it was funny that I described myself as being from the US or as American when people asked me where I was from. He said most Americans just say the state or the city when saying where there from assuming people in India would know exactly where those places are, leaving many Indians asking what country. This seems pretty arrogant on most Americans parts...
c) Indians generally distrust their politicans, especially those in Agra; I heard many comments to this effect today.
d) Even Indians have to be on gaurd when they travel or are out of the house as people are constantly trying to rip them off too; the only place where they feel comfortable is around family.
6) Rickshaw tussle in Delhi. When I got out of the train in Delhi, I went through yet another rickshaw price negotiation and eventually settled on something that I knew was about 10 Rupees (25 cents) too high because at 11 pm it didn't seem worth arguing for another 15 minutes over that amount. The rickshaw driver threw my backpack into the back of the rickshaw and lodged it firmly against his back window. On the way to the hotel his back window broke with the weight of my bag over a pothole. Once we got to the hotel, I he raised the price he demanded by about 200 Rupees which he said was necessary since I broke his window. Since breaking the window was not my fault I refused to pay which led to a staring match in the hotel as he followed me in and watched me through the check-in process and tried to convince the people at the check-in counter to force me to pay. They let him stay for about 15 minutes but eventually kicked him out. I really did feel bad, since I know he'd have to pay to fix it, but I also know that he was trying to rip me off when I suggested he show get the police involved if he was sure I owed him the money, but refused to do so. The principle of getting ripped of partially because I am white, but also because I am traveling makes me angry. Nonetheless, it makes me feel like stingy and generally bad to try to hold my ground.

Day 48 (24 July): More Transport in India

I took an early flight today from Calcutta to Dehli, where I hopped in a cab to the train station, waited about 2 hours and then got on a train stopping in Agra where I would spend the night.

Of the quick glimpse I had of Delhi’s streets I was very impressed as the 40 minute ride from the airport to the train station didn’t involved crossing a single pothole and I saw very little poverty and relative cleanliness.

Arriving in Agra, I checked into a hotel and then headed out to a couple of sights with a rickshaw driver who agreed to drive me around for two full days for less than 5 USD. This afternoon we went to the east bank of the river in Agra and saw the Itamid-ud-Daulah tomb which is a Mughli tomb that predates the Taj Mahal, which we view from the east side of the river, watching the sun set over it. Since I had a good conversation with him then, he took me to his ‘aunts’ house in a little village on the east side of the river for some tea and broken English conversation with her.

Observations:
1) Trains in India. Having been in India for 10 days its rather unusual that this was my first train trip since its how most people get around. (I got a good deal, however, with unlimited flights for 15 days for 620 USD which explains why I have been flying; that and the long time-consuming distances involved.)
2) 1st class. I was in a first class car on the train which was nice and had air-conditioning that mattered little when getting out in Agra where it was very humid and over 100 degrees. The 1st class car also had a family of mice in it running around something you usual don’t expect when your traveling in supposed style.
3) Train stations in India. These aren’t places that you particularly want to hang out. In Delhi, the deck of the train station was filled with people who were lying down or sleeping or half-dead with flies buzzing all over them. Because I had a first class ticket, I could wait in the 1st class lounge which didn’t have nearly enough seating.
4) Train booking efficiency. Its impressive to me that I booked my train ticket in another city and that when I arrive at the train station in Delhi there is a piece of paper posted to the outside of my train with my seat assignment on it.
5) Taxi scam number 1. The taxi meters in most cities in India, the taxi meters count up, but don’t actually count the cost because of inflation. The taxi drivers are supposed to use a table to match the old values and the new values of fares. In Calcutta this morning the cabbie tried to manipulate the chart in addition to charging me for getting lost. I didn’t take it and paid him less and left.
6) Taxi scam number 2. At the Delhi airport there are prepaid taxis to specific destinations. I paid the amount at the Delhi airport counter and the guy was trying to charge me on top of that an extra luggage fee which I had already paid at the counter. These taxi drivers are relentless on demanding extra money. In generally you have to negotiate a fare before getting in, but invariably at the end they will demand more than you agreed to.
7) People in Delhi, in general, seem a lot more aggressive and pushy than elsewhere in India for my brief stay there.
8) Sanitation in Agra. There were more flies buzzing around people, food, and everything else in this city than elsewhere in India which is saying a lot, since flies are everywhere.
9) I think I’m finally getting used to the general dirtiness of the country and how pushy people are with me, which is starting to allow me to enjoy it more.

Day 47 (23 July): The Oneness of Everything

Today marks the halfway point of my trip which is hard to believe since it feels like I have been traveling for such a long time already.

Today, I drove with Arnab’s father to some temples north of the city. The first one we went to was a Ramakrishna one. Ramakrishna was a guy who believed in the oneness and similarity of all religions. The building had Islamic, Christian, Hindu, and Buddhist features to reflect this. Meditation is the main way of showing faith. The other temple we saw is where Lord Ramakrishna first practiced, but is a Hindu temple that celebrates Kali (the wife of Shiva) whom Calcutta is named after. It had to be the busiest religious site I have ever seen with three hour lines to get to the main alter and to put down a donation. Both temples were right next to the Ganges (considered a holy river by Hindus) which spills out into the Bay of Bengal just south of Calcutta. This means that at both locations people were ‘bathing’ in one of the most polluted rivers I have ever seen.

From there we had lunch at a Chinese restaurant on Park Street and went to the Marble Palace. The Marble Palace belonged to a former Raj and is built completely with Marble and had a huge collection of European style marble statues and paintings. It is interesting to see how British or European the Rajs would try to act despite being Indians. It was actually a far more impressive interior to a Palace than anything I've seen in Europe.

Upon returning to Arnab’s house we had a great dinner that Arnab’s mother made including my favorite dish in India so far that is a Bengali specialty: mustard-coconut prawns. Afterwards, a sampled another couple of Bengali sweets since the region is known for its deserts.

After that we went out to see the city under lights at night, including a stroll through a recently built park with fountains that light up different colors at night.

Observations:
1) Ramakrishna’s teachings in the US are know as the Self Realization Fellowship. So now I know where the Self-Realization Fellowship Complex in Cardiff, California nearby where I lived in San Diego comes from. I also know why the nearby surf-break is called Swami’s.
2) Lenin alive and well. We drove past a statue of Lenin today that was still in tip-top shape. This is a reflection of West Bengal being run by a Communist government.
3) Chinese presence in West Bengal. This seems to be higher than elsewhere that I’ve been in India and Chinese food seems to be a local favorite.
4) Border issues. Apparently, Calcutta has a lot of migrant, illegal workers who come over from Bangladesh everyday, illegally crossing the border to work for lower wages than local Indians will, particularly in service industries. This seems much like the San Diego-Tijuana relationship, although its probably much easier to slip across the India-Bangladesh border.
5) According to Arnab’s mother, the few slums that there are in Calcutta relative to other places in India are actually quite classy and most people even have TVs in their ramshackle, metal siding and plastic tarp homes.
6) For some reason, holy places tend to be equated with dirty surroundings in India.
7) The Indian reaction to the London bombings is an interesting one. Having tenuous relations with Pakistan to begin with, they act unsurprised that Pakistanis are the suspected culprits.
8) I seem to have done quite well on this trip so far at avoiding both rain and terrorist attacks. Everywhere that I have been in India it has stopped raining just before I arrived and started raining near my departure time. Since I am leaving tomorrow, it started raining this evening. Also, I was in London on the Tube several weeks before those attacks and in Kusadasi, Turkey on a mini-bus several weeks before those attacks. Lets hope this trend of avoiding problems perpetuates.

Day 46 (22 July): Imperial Legacy?

I explored Calcutta on my own this day. I was pleasantly surprised by the lack of cows and goats in the streets like I have found in other cities so far. That is not to say that Calcutta has the greatest infrastructure though as its roads are still pothole ridden as they have been elsewhere.

Calcutta was the first headquarters of the British East India Company and the largest, most powerful city in India until the Suez Canal opened in 1869 and Bombay began to rise in strength. Calcutta further lost out when the British moved their government to Delhi in 1911. Nonetheless, Calcutta clearly has more impressive signs of the imperial hold over India.

Some of the sights I saw today showed that, particularly the Victoria Memorial which is a large marble building (build with the same marble as the Taj Mahal) in the center of Calcutta’s big park, built as a tribute to Queen Victoria. Today it houses a rather good history of the city of Calcutta. Another area that shows the imperial legacy is the downtown business district (Dalhoise Square) where the city hall was the former head of the British East India Company and the General Post Office was built in similarly grand form.

Other places I saw showed a mix of British legacy and modern day Calcutta, these included the Hogg Market (a farmer’s type market which was housed in a British built Market Hall) and the Park Street Area which is the main upscale shopping area.

Observations:
1) Lack of tourist infrastructure actually makes Calcutta a more pleasant place to visit, especially because it means that the beggars have less people to prey on and are less skilled at hunting down white people like me. It did mean, however, that I didn’t see a single other white person all day and that a lot of the locals spent a decent bit of time staring at me. (Arnab’s dad thinks that has more to do with my height than being white though.)
2) Public transportation that works. There actually is some in Calcutta unlike Mumbai. I took the Metro (Subway) from near there apartment into the center of Calcutta and it was relatively painless, it also cost less than 12 cents for a half hour ride.
3) Respect for women. On the subway, the whole middle section of the car is reserved for women. This probably helps avoid problems women tend to find on Tokyo subways.
4) Pollution. Despite the rather pollution friendly subway system, I have never been to a place with worse air pollution than Calcutta. It makes the concept of calling LA smoggy a joke. It probably also related to the much, much higher humidity in Calcutta (around 95%). Their other form of public transportation, large diesel buses, doubtless contributes to the pollution.
5) Mother Teresa. Her missionary work was based out of Calcutta; I wonder if that has anything to do with why poverty or at least outright despair are much, much less obvious here than they were in Mumbai.
6) Card games are really popular on the street here. Its almost reminds of what you see on the street in China (perhaps because its geographically near by?)
7) Efficient use of resources. In the cab I rode in today the driver turned the car off at lights, presumably to save gas. Many other cars seemed to be doing the same.
8) Labor versus China. Arnab’s mother was telling me that India no longer seems to be able to compete with China in textiles. She said a similar (but slightly lower quality) Sari made in China costs only 150 Rupees (about 3.5 USD) while one made in India cost nearly 2000 Rupees (or around 50 USD)
9) Good that the India museum is lacking? Arnab’s mother seemed to think it was actually good that the India Museum is somewhat lacking because she thinks that India artifacts are probably better preserved and cared for in museums abroad with more money and resources.
10) Communism. The government of the state of West Bengal where Calcutta is located has been controlled by the Indian Communist Party for over 25 years. Somehow, I’ve never heard of this before.

Day 45 (21 July): Travel in India

Today was mostly a travel day, as I ventured from Kerala, the Southwestern-most state (that goes down to the tip of India) to one of the Eastern-most states, West Bengal which borders Bangledesh to the East. This meant getting on an early morning flight from Cochin to Mumbai and waiting in the airport in Mumbai for four-and-a-half hours to get on a flight to Calcutta. The total flying time was nearly four hours, since India is a very large country.

When I arrived in Calcutta, I was greeted by my friend Arnab's father. We then got in a car and headed South to their apartment in Tollygunge which is the neighborhood in the southern part of the city. He described their apartment as being in a typical middle class neighborhood which seemed quite nice to me compared to what I've seen elsewhere in India. I then had dinner with Arnab's parents that they had made--my first home-cooked meal in India. (It turns out they tonned down the spices though since they were unsure I could handle them; tomorrow they are going to cook it as they would normally though.

Observations:
1) In the airport there was a vending machine for magazines. I think that's a cool concept and there should be more of them. I'm unsure how economically this makes sense though given how cheap it is to employ people in Inida.
2) Math games in newspapers. I read a lot of different newspapers today since there must be at least 20 English-language papers in India. In a couple of them I noticed a math games section. I also noticed a math game that came with my food on one of my flights. Here's another sign that education matters and might even be cool in India.
3) Lack of connecting flights. In India, apparently the idea of connecting flights in fairly unheard of. None of the airlines operate direct connecting flgihts and the concept seems to confuse people. When I arrived in Mumbai I had to pick up my bag from baggage claim and re-check it in, as well as going through all the other airport procedures.
4) Foreigners versus Indians. At the airport, walking to the car, a little boy followed me to the car asking for money over-and-over again. This disturbed Arnab's father. It seemed pretty normal for me considering, the whole time I've been in India this has happened. He said, I think correctly that it would not have happened if I looked Inidan.
5) A similar story but about foreign-Indians relayed by Arnab's mother concerned their son-in-law who moved to the US before he was a teenager. Before the wedding with their daughter they went to a Hindu temple for some blessings. After the ritual was done, the Hindu priest apparently could sense that their son-in-law wasn't a true Indian and asked him for dollars which they found embarassing.
6) Renaming things. Calcutta is now officially Kolkatta to rename the city in a more traditional Inida name rather than the British one. A number of the streets in the city have also been renamed to have more Indian names as have other cities (e.g. Bombay and Mumbai.) I had a discussion with Arnab's father about this; he basically thought doing so was silly because 1) you cannot change history, and 2) it confuses people especially since over a decade since many of the renamings both names have to be used in tandem to communciate a location.

Day 44 (20 July): Backwaters

Today I took a boat trip through Kerala's backwaters through coconut groves.

In the morning, I was on a larger, motor-powered boat that went past various islands and men diving for clam shells from smaller boats that they push with sticks/poles to move. We stopped on an island where the clam shells were being ground into a calcium-based chemical component used by many large drug manufactuers. On the same island we also stopped at and went on a tour of a spice farm.

In the afternoon, we went in a smaller boat that was powered by the crew push sticks/poles into the bottom of the waterways. This allowed us to get down some of the smaller canals and see villages that are more remote. We stopped at two places on this trip as well. One where they were making twine from the 'hair' of coconuts and another where are boat's naviagtor climbed a palm tree, knocked some coconuts out and preceded to chop them open and stick straws in them as drinks. On the way back from this, I got another taste of monsoon rains which were actually quite pleasant to be outside in.

Observations.
1) Local food advice again. An Indian family on vacation from Mumbai was on the boat with me. They also suggested to be very careful with food in India and said they are themselves. The father in the family said he frequently drinks sodas because you know they are clean and offer clean calories.
2) Spices. This may seem silly, but curry always comes in powder form in the US, so I did not really know what it was made from. I learned on the spice farm that it is a ground and dried leaf from a plant. The plants even smell like curry and the leaves taste like it if you bite into them. Other spices they were growing included cardamon, cinnamon, and some others I had never heard of before.
3) The church and business. After talking with the man who runs the hotel I was staying in in Kochin, I learned that the hotel was actual run by the local Catholic Church. In Kerala, only about 15% of people are Christian so they generally don't like to advertise the affiliation he said because sometimes it makes people upset that the church is involved in business. He told me that all the earnings from the hotel get plowed into local Catholic schools and other charities. This just shows that every organization no matter what its main focus has to keep a business orientation to prosper.
4) Island economy. Some of the villages on these islands were pretty amazing since they were mostly self-sufficient with local food growing despite taking a couple of hours to get to and that they were only reachable by man-powered push-boats.

Day 43 (19 July): Southern Indian Fort Town

I took a flight this morning to Cochin which is about another 800 km further South of Goa along the West Coast of Inida; its in a state called Kerala where they speak yet another language. Kerala is very green and the most tropical part of India. It is know for its backwater canals and villages on them. The landscape is full of palm trees and rice patties. Jorge went back to Bombay to continue his trip there.

Cochin itself was created as an island in a natural harbor as a result of some serious flooding that never receeded in the 13th century. It was succesively a Fort town under control of the Portugese, the Dutch, and then the British.

I spent the day touring the city, seeing a bunch of churches, places where people were fishing, a spice trading center (as in a real, live commodities trading center with brokers naming prices, etc.) and the Mattancherry Palace. The Mattancherry Palace is a former Raj Palace that had a great museum in it with some cool portraits and Raj-era artifacts.

After all of that I went to see a Katahakali cultural show, which is a form of Keralan theatre. It emphasizes use of eyes movement and sharp body movements. The actors wear bright color outfits.

For dinner I went to one of the nicest hotel's in Kerala's restaurant called the Boghaty Boatyard, housed in a former palace.

Observations:
1) Service at the nice hotel's restaurant was a little over the top. The waiters, wouldn't even let me scoop my own rice on to my plate. I think part of it was that they wanted to talk to me.
2) Cost of food versus lodging. This seems to be off in India, relative to what I would expect, at least at the levels that I am willing to bear since cheap food seems to make me sick. Tonight was an extreme case (but the food was amazing), nonetheless it cost 5x what my cheap hotel room did.
3) Multipupose clothes. A lot of the fishermen in Kerala wear skirt like clothes that can be folded up and down. When its folded up it creates a natural pocket for carrying things. Plus the inside is usually clean, so it also provides a cloth to wipe dirty things onto without making the outside look dirty. This is just one of many efficiencies I've seen in daily life in India. It seems that since money is hard to come by for most people, that there way of life has to be a lot more resourceful and that they are a lot more creative with being able to do several things for the cost of one or for a low price. 4) Non-resident Inidan banking. I saw a lot of signs advertising this at the Kerala airport. Its interesting to see these since the accounts are primarily designed so that Indians working abroad can send remittances back to their families in India. I didn't realize the market was big enough to have active advertisements for it. Making it even more interesting is that when I was working at the SF Fed, I got to know a little bit about some of the Indian banks advertising, since my group was responsible for regulating the ones with a US presence.

Dy 42 (18 July): Is this really India?

In the morning we went to Panji which is the capital of Goa has been the capital of Goa since the 18th century and in the afternoon we went to Old Goa which was the 16th and 17th century capital.

In Panji, we took in a lot of the old administrative buildings, churches and the Portugesse styel architechture. Jorge used his Portugesse language skills to convince an older woman to give us a tour of her Portugesse style house in town; we sat down and spoke with her for a while about the town, etc.

In Old Goa, we saw a bunch more churches. These ones being a little more historically significant including Asia's largest.

We had dinner at a restaurant in Old Panji suggested by the older woman who's house Jorge managed to get us into. It was excellent. (Also for those interested in Indian food, Vindaloo dishes are a Goan specialty originally made with Port wine.)

Observations:
1) Language. I've been pretty surprised how generally useless English is India considering its the official language of the government. It seems like somewhere around 50% of people know a few words, whereas less than 25% can get close to holding a conversation in it. Its even more surprising when you realize that English is the language used to talk to people from other states since the language is different between Maharashta (where Bombay is) and Goa.
2) Portugese citizenship. A man we met today while in Old Goa told us that Goans are eligible for Portugese passports if they were born before 1961 and their kids are eligble by lineage.
3) Goans abroad. We also learned from the man who told us about the Portugese citizenship that there are more Goans abroad than any other Indians, partially because they can travel easier with EU citizenship. He actually lived in Dubai and was only going sightseeing in Goa for the benefit of his children who never lived in Goa. The older woman who's house we saw had a daughter who lived in Dubai as well. A big motivation for Goans doing so is money, since many of them, understanably would rather live in a tropical paradise on a beach where everything is very cheap for them when they come back.
4) Even locals watch the food they eat. The older lady (who was clearly upper caste or at least well to do) told us that particularly during the Monsoon she is careful with which restaurants she goes to and only drinks not only mineral water, but name-brand mineral water.
5) In India, you can file law suits for an amount of only 5 Rs (or less than 12 cents in USD), but the administrative fee when doing so is 1 Rs (or about 2 cents in USD). I can hardly imagine its worth anyone's time to do so, but that's what the computer at the Goa Branch of the High Court of Bombay said on it. It was in English, so unless there was something else that we missed, its ture.
6) Body language. Body language in India is differnet than what is used in most English speaking countries. For 'yes' instead of nodding up and down, you tilt your head at a diagonal moving your chin in a 'J'; this looks a lot like a combo of what I'm used to for 'yes' and for 'no' (side-to-side shaking of the head.) For no, you put up your right hand with fingers extended and turn it. Figure out these body language cues has actually been really helpful in communicating with people.