INDIA

I just got back on the ship, after five mind-blowing days in India. It is one of the most indescribable places on the face of the earth. India is absolutely different, in every aspect of life. The culture shock kicked in about five minutes after leaving the ship. On the very first day, I had no trip planned, so our intention was to see the sights of Chennai. Stephanie knew about a place called the Burma Bazaar, which supposedly had everything you could possibly want to buy. Once we left the port gate, we were instantly surrounded by rickshaw drivers. We got them to take us to the bazaar, but had to take two rickshaws, and we never saw Becky or Diana the rest of the day. The Burma Bazaar turned out to be nothing but bootleg DVDs and electronics. We decided to have a rickshaw driver take us around, and they all know most of the things to see. When we told him the girls wanted to do some shopping, he took us to one of the government sponsored craft houses that the ship had informed us about. You have to bargain less here, but the price is still negotiable. After that stop, we went to a restaurant to eat lunch. When we walked in, the place was fairly crowded, but they led us to a side room, which was fancier. No one knew anything about Indian food, so I just picked some things and ordered them. It turned out to be a spicy rice dish that was pretty good. The room began to fill up, with business people and nicer dressed Indian men and women. It seems that many restaurants and other businesses separate higher and lower classes. Nothing was ever mentioned about the caste system, but I wonder if that is part of the reasoning. After eating, we told our driver to take us to a Hindu temple. He turned down a side alley that looked pretty suspicious, but we turned a corner and there was a temple right in front of us. We saw the artificial lake that these temples have, for Hindus to wash every morning. In the middle of this lake is a small, brightly colored ornate temple. During festivals, boats circle around this island temple, and then people go to it. The main temple was to the left of the lake. It was several stories high, with the entire outside covered in statues. Temples do not open until four in the afternoon, so we could not go inside at that time. Our driver took us to China town, which, like many things in India, was incorrectly named. I never saw a single Chinese person or establishment. It was a street exactly like every other street I saw in India, filled with lots of things I had no intention of ever buying. From there we went to back to the ship. On the way back, we experienced one of the negative parts of India that they warned us about. Our rickshaw driver stopped far from the port, and demanded more money than we initially agreed upon. Once back inside the port, we found Becky and Diana, that we had not seen since getting into two rickshaws. Becky and I had no plans for the rest of that day, so we got on the SAS trip to a food market at the last minute. The bus ride was guided by an older woman, who pointed out some important sights in Chennai along the way. When we got close to the food market, the street was being blocked by a political rally that was about to happen. Elections in India are coming up in May, and campaigning is in full swing. The bus stopped on a side street, and we got out and walked to the market. Their idea of a market was just a side street lined with women selling mainly fruits and vegetable. Our guide explained everything that we saw, but we did not get to eat anything. Our walk ended by going down another side street, where we passed another of the artificial ponds associated with a Hindu temple. This pond was filled with catfish, and people were selling and throwing bread and rice balls into the water, where the fish would go crazy to get them. We were given a few minutes to walk around before getting back on the bus, and I went to a pastry shop and just asked what was good. They gave me a bright orange, fried thing that was very syrupy and tasted like pure sugar, but was very good. The bus took us back to port, and we began to get back on the ship. I had planned on going to dinner, and then packing and going to sleep since my flight left the next day very early. However, I saw Katie and Andrea getting back on the ship, and they wanted me to go out to eat with them. I ate a small dinner on the ship, and then met them by the purser’s desk on the ship at seven. They were dressed up more than I planned, so I ran back, grabbed a button down shirt, and we headed out. We wanted to take a large van taxi to hold all of us, and had got them down to a price we thought was reasonable, when more people were getting off of the ship. Another driver got a higher price from these people, so they took the van. We ended up walking to the port gate to get rickshaws, took two of them, and went to our restaurant. I ordered a chicken dish, and then to go all out I ordered sheep brains. When they brought out the food, they said that they ran out of brains, so I missed this chance to eat something bizarre, but the chicken dish was pretty good. We went back to the ship, and I packed for our early departure the next morning.
On the second day, I woke up at two-thirty in the morning, after only about three hours sleep. We met at three, and left the ship. While at the first security checkpoint, two men were talking with the guards. They told us that we had to pay one hundred rupees each to leave the port, because it was early. The guards themselves weren’t asking for bribes, but they also weren’t stopping these guys from trying. We refused to pay, left, and got some rickshaws to the airport. Finding our gate was somewhat confusing, but we got on the flight without many problems, and were on our way to Mumbai. Most people on the ship, professors and administration included, thought we were crazy to go there. With the terrorist attacks only about three months in the past, they thought it would be a very dangerous place to go. One girl ended up not going with us, but the other six of us still wanted to go. The plane took off, and we had a view of the horrible pollution that Chennai is known for. We passed what looked like a solid dark cloud layer, but this was just the smog, and then higher up we passed the actual clouds. Upon arriving in Mumbai, there were free computers to use the internet, so we quickly looked up some hotel options. We wanted to stay in South Mumbai, were most of the things to see are located. A lot of places seemed sold out, so our plan was to get to the area, and then look for a hotel. The taxi ride took more than an hour, but we got to see a lot of the city. They dropped us off at the Gateway of India, a monument built by the British in 1911. It is the landmark of Mumbai. Across the street is the Taj Hotel, one of the major sites of the terrorist attacks in November. There are still boarded up windows and fire damage from that event. Down the street is another hotel that was attacked. Most of the eighth floor windows are covered there. They are still riddled with bullet holes from when terrorists were shooting down from the eighth floor, and cops were shooting up at them. The most interesting part of all this was how the local people thought about the event. Our guide for a city tour never used the word terrorist, and he never said Pakistani terrorists, or terrorists from Pakistan. He pointed out the buildings and said “This is where Pakistan attacked us.” The hatred between these two nations is all too clear.
The rest of that afternoon was spent on our tour of the city. We saw the world’s largest hand washing laundry facility. This place was surprisingly small, about the size of a small city block. I wonder if they measure by volume of laundry done, or if like many things in India they will tell you whatever they feel like. Then we went down Marina Drive, the principal road in Mumbai that surrounds the natural harbor on three sides. Gandhi’s house was one of the best stops of the day. I still know far too little about him, but it was very interesting. From there we saw the public gardens, a nearby Parsi Cemetery, Malabar hill, the Victoria Terminus, and a Jain Temple. While near the Gateway of India, a Hindu holy man came up to us, tied a band around everyone’s wrist, and said some sort of prayer. He had blessed us, and then expected some money, but the smallest bill I had at the time was five hundred rupees. He then muttered something else, and someone that spoke Hindi and English said that he was putting a curse on us. Then again, I don’t believe either one did anything. After going back to the hotel for a short time, some of us went to an internet café. They had no available computers, but they took us to another one. There was no way anyone would have found this second café. We had to go through a pharmacy, up a flight of stairs, past several apartments, and then up a second set of the steepest stairs I’ve ever seen, to get to a tiny room with five computers jammed into it. Yet that is completely typical for India. When we went back to the hotel, we gathered everyone up and wanted to go out for dinner. The six of us started walking, found a street that was more tourist oriented, it was lined with people selling everything imaginable. After a long walk, everyone was pretty hungry, and we went in one of the first restaurants we found, and quite the adventure ensued. The menu was strange, with a mix of Indian food, and their take on American food. We ordered, and while waiting more than an hour, things in that restaurant were pretty suspicious. Looking back in the kitchen, there was absolutely no kitchen equipment. The entire staff of the restaurant stared at us the entire time. No one else came into eat, but every so often a pretty cracked out looking person would come in with a bag of loose coins, go to a separate cash register, and leave again. I’m almost certain this place was a front for drugs. Our food came, and it was probably the worst meal I have ever had. I think the “chef” had no idea what he was doing, and the waiter looked at us with an expression on his face, as if he thought we were crazy for actually eating it. No one could finish their meal, and once we left we found the nearest pastry shop. I got a bunch of plain croissants to make up for my dinner, and then some pastries. That night, since we had been up since two in the morning, we just hung out in our hotel and made plans for the next day.
Our second day in Mumbai, and third overall in India, we went to Elephanta Island. It is named after a giant rock carving of an elephant, that has since been removed a put in a museum. The boat ride took about an hour, and then we climbed a short path up to the entrance gate. Throughout India, we knew we were getting ripped off because we were tourists, but here at the island it was glaringly obvious. There is a sign that says “Indian Price – 10 rupees” and next to it “Foreign Price – 250 rupees.” That turns out to be around five dollars, and this was definitely worth it. Elephanta Island is a World Heritage Site, known for its caves that have been carved into Hindu Temples. Cave 1 is the most famous, with a giant carved triple-head of Shiva. Throughout the cave are more giant statues and ornate columns. There are also four other caves open to visitors. They are of varying sizes, but all smaller than the first. Some are more finished than others, and some have no carvings left in them. The last cave was most like a cave in the natural sense. It was a rough opening, with only a small carved pedestal inside. After leaving the caves, there was a small museum about the site, and a map showing all of the other World Heritage Sites in India.
We took the boat back to Mumbai, and then went to the restaurant in our hotel for lunch. This was probably the best meal I had while in India. I ordered Chicken Biryani. Biryani is a rice dish that comes with your choice of chicken, lamb, fish, egg, or vegetable. You eat it with a side of beans, and nan, the bread of India. Later that afternoon, we took a walk through the city, with the final goal of going to the Hard Rock Café. We walked past the Victoria Terminus again, and behind it, found a large public park. At least a dozen games of cricket were going on. Most of them overlapped with each other, and it was hard to tell what was going on. Someone standing near one set of wickets might actually have been playing outfield for the next game. We watched for a while, and then walked towards the downtown area. The streets in this area are nicer kept up, with less beggars and street vendors. We passed by the Parliament building, and on that side of the street, no one is allowed to walk. Everyone has to cross the street and walk on the opposite side of the road. We passed through street food vendors, and then found the only beggar that we actually gave money to, because this kid had a monkey that he trained to dance. We walked along the waterfront as it got dark, and after a while, realized that the Hard Rock Café was much farther away than we imagined. There was a horse drawn carriage attempting to get us to go for a ride, and Connor thought it would be hilarious to roll up to the restaurant in that, so we got in. The guy wouldn’t take us all of the way, since they like to stay in predominantly tourist areas. When he wouldn’t go any farther, we walked for a little ways, and then got in an actual cab. Cab drivers in India generally tell you that they’ll take you anywhere, but then getting them to do it can be a problem. Our driver had to stop several times to get directions to the restaurant. I wondered why a cab driver from the tourist sector would not know where the Hard Rock Café was. We eventually got there, a little after our agreed upon time of eight. Surprisingly, the menu was the same as it was anywhere else. I had heard that going to chain restaurants would be different in foreign countries, for example, McDonalds doesn’t have hamburgers in India. But, we got beef hamburgers here. The bouncer came over and talked to us for a while. He lived in the U.S. for thirteen years, and then told us all about Mumbai. He was a Lady Vols basketball fan, and said he really liked Pat Summit. I loved going there, just to hear some good music for the first time in several months. We went out that night, but nightlife in India is completely different. Mumbai, being liberal by Indian standards, is one of the few cities that actually have bars and clubs. However, most of them require you to have a date, or pay a very high cover. A club that was recommended to us by our waiter was a two thousand rupee, or about forty dollar, cover charge. We ended up going back to our hotel, and going to the club that was attached to the hotel. They new us, from being at the hotel, and we did not have to pay any stag fee. Sheila attracted the attention of an Indian with the greatest moustache ever, and we aren’t letting her forget that.
Our last day in Mumbai, we had planned on going to a national park within the city, that is known for being one of the few green spots in Mumbai. It also has panthers living in it. That morning at breakfast, we saw an ad in the paper for horse races that day, and decided to go. We took a cab to the race course, but when we got there, the races did not start for almost two hours. This area had no major tourist spots, but we wanted to kill some time, so we walked around for a while. Only a block or two from the stadium, some kids were playing cricket, and they waved to us, so we went over, and ended up playing cricket for almost an hour, in a slum, in Mumbai. Cricket is much harder than it looks, but we didn’t do badly for our first time. The Indian kids absolutely loved that we even tried to play, and they told us to come play next time we were in Mumbai. That afternoon, we spent at the horse track. We just picked our horses based on the best names, and wanted to put down one hundred rupees on each of the first five races. The prize amongst us was a round of beer. Whoever did the best out of us had to buy. On the very first race I placed, and then did not win anything else until the fourth race. The Indian men around us kept trying to give advice on what they thought was a good bet. Ben took their advice a few times, and he did end up doing the best. No one actually came out ahead; he just lost the least, and so had to pay at the bar. I ended up winning about three hundred rupees after putting down five hundred. After getting dinner from the food vendors, we ate in the bar, and then went to watch one last race, but put down no bets. It was then after six, so we went through the arguments with cab drivers, took cabs to the airport, and then flew back to Chennai that evening. On the way back to the ship from the Chennai airport, was the only incident in India where we did not feel safe. The cab driver took us to the wrong port gate by mistake, and the cab was surrounded by rickshaw drivers who wanted us to get out and go with them instead. One of them opened up my door and tried to pull me out, but I slammed the door and we drove off. Our cab driver was apologetic, and got us to the right place eventually.
My last day in India, I was on a Semester at Sea trip, to Kancheepuram and Mamallapuram. First we went to Kancheepuram, one of the holiest cities in Hinduism, and went to the Sri Ekambareswara Temple. It is a typical Hindu temple, with a large tower above the gate, and then the temple itself within the enclosure. The day after we were there was a holiday associated with this particular temple, so the priests were doing a “practice” of the ceremony. Believers still think that the actions are holy, so some people were there. If we had been the next day, it would have been absolutely packed. After going on a tour of the temple with our guide, it was time for the ceremony to begin. Hindus treat the statues of their gods the same as the gods themselves, and we got to see that aspect. The priests dress the statues of two gods in robes, and adorn them with flowers. The entire icon is hoisted up on a platform, and men carry them around on their shoulders. Another priest lights a torch, and does a short ritual. The entire company then goes on a parade, accompanied with torches, drummers, and horn players. The Hindu faithful throw flowers at the statues as they pass by. In the actual ceremony, the statues are carried around the temple grounds nine times. They only did one today. After this temple, we drove a very short way to Kailasanatha Temple, a much older temple built out of sandstone. It has been named a national archaeological site in India, and much of it has been restored. As part of this designation, all parts of the temple are open to everyone. The inner sanctum is normally not open to non-Hindus, so we could go into this one. However, this upsets the Hindu population, who no longer visit this temple for religious ceremonies. A priest is still present, and was doing the noon service when we were there, but he had to audience. His chanting was an incredible sound as it resonated throughout the rock chamber. We left this temple and got back on our bus for the drive to Mamallapuram. We passed through rural areas, and saw rice fields. This was the first expansive area of vegetation I had seen in India. After an hour and a half, we stopped for lunch at a fairly nice hotel complex in Mamallapuram. It evidently is a prime vacation destination. From the beach at the hotel, we could see a temple on the shore, which we would later see again from far off. The plan was to see the famous shore temple, a giant edifice right on the ocean. There used to be seven huge temples, but the coast is eroding here, and now only one remains above the waves. At certain times, parts of the other seven can be seen in the water. However, there was a different religious festival going on here, and most of the streets were completely blocked. We went to see the other old temples instead. Our first stop was Aruja’s Penance, the largest bas-relief carving in the world. It depicts an epic battle between the forces of the earth, the heavens, and the underworld on a huge boulder. Other nearby boulders have been carved into the cave temples, similar to what I saw on Elephanta Island in Mumbai. We then saw a series of five temples that represent the development of the traditional south Indian temple. The earliest were the carved caves, and then these boulders were completely carved, leaving a solid stone temple. These are not nearly as big as the later temples made from blocks of stone. I blew the last of my rupees on some souvenirs, and then we took the bus back to the ship and had to leave India.
While on this trip, I had never been all that excited for India. I was more thrilled to go to Spain, or Japan. Lots of people were wondering why I didn’t care about India. But now that I’ve gone there, it is absolutely one of the most incredible places on the earth. Pick any adjective, and it can truly be used to describe India. It is fabulously magnificent, and yet contains the most shocking environmental pollution and human suffering. Somehow, everything combines to create the majesty that is India. Despite my doubts beforehand, India was possibly my favorite port, and one that I will probably return to at some point.