Mumbai under the monsoon

I am writing inside the taxi. Traffic!
The rain is pounding Mumbai no wonder the British came here!
We are a bit wet but it is quite an experience. We spent the day mostly walking downtown.
I like the mix of colonial style buildings with tropical vegetation.
No monkeys here though, nor cows nor sewer smells. This is Mumbai downtown, not India.

We visited a beautiful museum and Gandhi's place. Lots of emotions going on when viewing the pictures and the reconstitution of his life. He was a man!

Had to stop for fruits before arriving home. Papayas, pineapple, bananas, mangoes and watermelon. All of them ripe and have not traveled 2 million miles! Just had a ball cutting them all and sucking the mangoes' pit!

Out of the woods

Feeling much better since Sunday morning. We flew back to Mumbay.

We are much more adapted to India now.
Smells of open sewers in the hot and humid weather, traffic, constant flow of people and vehicles, all these things not as terrifying as they were when we arrived. I have to say I'm kind of loving it.
I don't know, maybe it's because my stomach feels better.
Anyway, last night I was thinking about the whole India trip thing. Thanks to my stomach I kept meeting travelers at the hotel and some discussions were very interesting. Here are some thoughts 'bout the whole thing:
- Several travelers have this fantasy/romantic idea about Hinduism. They end up by quickly changing their minds after some time here.
- Religion here looks very different (lots of gods, colorful, etc.) but at the end it really feels people are slaves of their religion; here more than in many other places. It also keeps them in an uneducated state. How can they drink water from the Ganga?
Anyway, let's move on.

We're driving to Mumbay downtown again today. Thanks to our friends Sudanshu and Meenal we get 5 star service: their driver takes us there and drives us back. We are probably spending more time on the traffic jams than on the places we want to see though!

Jodhpur Hospital

We were wrong.

Anti malaria medicine side effects never get one sick this much.

I woke up with diarrhea again. I was so weak we went to the hospital.
Emergency room was empty, so I went through quickly and got the IVs.
Ciprofloxacin for bacteria nuclear bombing and Metrogyl for the very possible amiba (I'm not sure how to spell it).

It's 8pm now. Just starting to feel better.
Muriel took such a good care of me. She went back and forth to the hotel. We plan on flying back to our friends house in Mumbai tomorrow afternoon. We cancelled our flight to Cochin. We'll plan according to my health!

After some discussion with the doctor we agreed on food poisoning. As soon as he heard train meal he pointed to it. It is true it was our only meal we don't know how, where and when it was cooked. And the timing is right, the first symptoms started 12h after that meal.

I didn't know the lack of fever and the coming and going of diarrhea is a characteristic of amiba. I could have treated the whole thing with Cipro and Metrogyl from the beginning... Tough lesson.

Jodhpur - part 2

For the ones following my medical condition here goes the good news: no diarrhea today.

Other than that not much to say, I am just getting better slowly. Stopping the malaria medicine seems to do the trick. But I lost so much energy that it will take some time to be fully functional again.

Muriel did go see the Maharadja palace yesterday. From the pictures she brought it looks beautiful. I hope I'll go tomorrow.

We also met several travelers. This place is really very welcoming. The open space at the first floor is a restaurant / cafe with nice floor mats and low tables. It gathers people all day long for eating, drinking or just chatting. That's how I've spent the last 3 days including this one. Either here or in my bedroom.

My world has switched from tourist visiting India to a guy living sick in a hotel watching and chatting with tourists coming and going. I will soon join them back.

Lots of French, British and some Spanish, Italian. Just one American, from San Francisco.

There's also this French guy that has been living in Goa for the past 8 years, Michel. He cracks me up with his big motorcycle he uses to go to his plant here in Jodhpur. His plant makes wooden frames out of recycled wood. Check the pictures of him and his frames, I feel I have seen these frames in the past! He really is something. He's been in the French special units (Somalia,...) , speed parachuting (that's when you dive head first to get maximum speed, before you open the 'chute, never heard of it before...) and now he runs this business with 50 employees, shipping a couple of containers per month all over the world.

Ok. Enough writing. Let's see if I can get out by myself. Muriel is out in the desert for a camel ride!

Jodhpur day 1

Temperature outside: 40 degrees

This town is beautiful and it looks like we are on another planet. It reminds me some towns in Star Wars. Doesn't it? Look at the pic.

Not feeling great again. I know, this blog is starting to be more about my digestive track disorders than about India! >:)

Anyway, we think we found the culprit: the anti malaria medicine. I got a link with my uncle back in France, he's a doctor and he suggests it could be that. Talking to some people around the hotel confirmed that taking this medicine will give you a good chance to get sick. What the heck ???!!! Am I going to let it dehydrate me to the bones just to prevent malaria? No way! That's it. I am stopping it.
Anyway there are no mosquitoes over here! We might find some on the south but not here.

Well, we had to cancel our desert safari. We were supposed to go and spend two nights in some villages about 90km from Jodhpur. And then ride camels. Her... I am writing a complaint to the pharmaceutical companies!... I know, this last sentence sounds totally useless and nonsense...

To Jodhpur

Early departure from Agra to Jodhpur by train. Very smooth ride all along.

The great majority of the Indian travelers ride on wagons with open windows and no AC. We would have died! Thanks to the AC we enjoyed very much the sightseeing; specially the transition from green pastures to orange sandy fields. There are trees also but quite trimmed by the goats! From far they look like cactus!

For the first time I yelled at the youngsters that swamped us as soon as we exited the train. Not only were they extremely insistent but they tried to take us away from the main exit! One of them even called someone else as he kept following up, probably a scheme? That got to me and I quickly bursted. It kept them away. Till we met the next ones by the prepaid taxi booth... Herr... Several tuc-tuc drivers swamped us again but the lady at the booth stayed firm and we set things right with the only driver left. What a pain there transfers!

But it was worth it. This is the nicest hotel we have been so far. And we got the best suite! Check out the picture.

Agra

Overall the train ride worked well. Muriel and I had taken a night train from Lyon to Bordeaux once and we already knew one can barely sleep on. Sure we lay flat but the shaking makes it almost impossible to fall asleep. Same thing in India!

We arrived on time in Agra, at 6am approximately. The heat was already noticeable and we were tired but we also knew this was the best time to go see the Taj Mahal.
It is indeed a remarkable piece of architecture made of marble. We toured it and pictured it like all the many other tourists; mostly Indian by the way.
And the heat kept going up. By 9am I started to understand that we were going to suffer from the heat. And yes we suffered. This place is like Arizona with humidity as an extra! And there is no AC! By 10:30 we crawled to our hotel, checked in, took a cold shower and simply lay down on the bed under the ceiling fan. Some rooms have AC but the power they need stays off most of the day. Our room has an evap cooler, useless when it's this humid but its powerful fan helps cooling, unless it's powered off like the AC... Only ceiling fans and some lights stay on, thanks to a generator belonging to the hotel.

Then I got sick.
Herr...
Was it the scorching heat? The Ganga revenge? A meal? Or the side effect of our malaria prevention medicine? Or all together??!!
Anyway, my digestive system was not holding anything and I only stayed focused on preventing dehydration.
We still made it to a rooftop restaurant to admire the sunset over the Taj Mahal.

This morning I felt much better. We woke up early to go see Agra Fort. It's another beautiful building, mostly made of red sandstone. Some areas are made of marble with precious stones engraved on it. Amazing art work. A huge falcon kept flying above our heads, quite close sometimes. My stomach was better so I was happy! To the point where I asked my tricycle biker to switch seats on our way back to the hotel! I made it! I drove some Indian traffic by myself! Sure it wasn't Varanassi traffic but still! I was proud.

Herr... Diarrhea came back this afternoon. Just a little bit after I took the malaria medicine! Why do I get the side effect they mention?!
So, now here I am stuck between the ceiling fan and the toilet while Muriel went to visit a palace with some newly met travelers.

I actually recognised them at our hotel's restaurant so we sat and chat together. It was the same Peruvian American couple that I had met in Varanassi! Back there she looked desperate as her husband had lost his temper with the very poor service we were all having. She then had asked me for some help but there was very little I could do since their kitchen was totally overwhelmed by a big group!

Well, they came back earlier from the palace. Too hot. I'm glad I didn't go. My tummy feels better also. Immodium was the answer not Ercefluryl. I didn't get food poisoning, I'm simply adjusting!

Night train

Here we are on the train linking Varanassi and Agra.
I'm on the top bunk bed and Muriel right below. We are on the corridor, the window is not well placed for sightseeing and the glass is tainted and dirty. We feel like we're on a 2nd world war submarine!
Plus it shakes a lot!
It's 9:20pm and we will arrive in Agra at 6am. I got plenty of time.

The excursion from the hotel to the train station in Varanassi was an epic. Short, but still an epic. It was our first ride on a motorized tricycle, nicely called tuc-tuc (or rickshaw). We have used those tuc-tucs in Peru but let me tell you, this has nothing to do with it! There is so much honking, sudden starts followed by screeching stops plus all the sharp turns to pass everything you can, that after only a few minutes you get sick. And then the driver stops and says "it's there". You look at the direction and you see the building indeed. The problem is that you have to cross a road with 10 plus lanes.
The roads are totally choked. All vehicles drive probably no more than 35mph but they are very close to each other, almost bumper to bumper. And then there's the difference of speed between each other. The fastest are the motorbikes, they literally flow between all obstacles at an amazing pace. Then you have the tuc-tucs. They are not the fastest but they still have an engine! The cars and the bicycles go probably at the same speed and they go slightly faster than the tricycles. Did you get the picture? Now add the horse carriages. They're romantic but totally out of place! And to finish, the people. They are the slowest but they make the most dangerous change of directions! Oh! And of course no vehicle has a single passenger, carpooling is taken very seriously over here: 3 adults are commonly seen on a single motorbike, 7(??!!) on a tuc-tuc, etc.
So here we are, Muriel and I, looking at the above described traffic, both ways also.
I think Muriel really got scared. Well, I felt a little bit like at the start of a scary climb: if you think too much you never start it. So I just started walking my direction. I think Muriel grabbed my backpack and just followed.
Of course we made it. And we're proud of it!

The train station is another experience to remember. So many people on the floor waiting for their train: sleeping, eating, resting, kids, families, monks, all kind of people! We kept looking for our train on the big screen but it didn't show up. Luckily we found the Tourist desk which helped us. The train was on time.

An easy morning

The mouse won. It escaped from the room I don't know how.
But my stomach won yesterday's night battle too.
That makes us even.

Now we're just relaxing on the beautiful balconies above the Ganga river. Much hotter day today, less clouds. Thankfully there's a refreshing breeze.

We are riding a night train this afternoon to Agra. It's going to be our first train ride in India. Looking forward to it!

Varanassi day 2

Beautiful day. We walked all the Ghats, meaning the docks, all along the Ganga river. Amazing colors and scents except for the cow dung and many other "dungs" (dog, goat, monkey and yes even human...)

Passed by sacred cremation spots also. I had never seen a bloody foot sticking out of a bon fire, well, now I have! The bodies are covered with nice silk and flowers and then set atop a big wood fire - several hundreds a day. Young children bodies and other categories are not burnt but thrown out of a boat with a heavy rock instead.

Then we adventured by ourselves into downtown. Yesterday we had a guide and it seemed impossible to find our way without him. Well, today we managed to find the Post Office and a small eatery we were looking for. Trust me, not a small feat!
Food wise we also decided to go on our own and avoid the waiting at the hotel. I have to say I love it. But I probably went a bit too far tonight; I saw those green leaves and the stuff they put in, then they fold it and chew it. Well, I didn't know it was mostly for chewing... So now my stomach is trying to figure out what to do with what I swallowed. Wait and see.

Yes I got a bit adventurous today. We took a rowing boat in the evening and asked to go to the sandy beach on the other side of Ganga river. There I overcame my fear of bacteria and dived into the river.
Well, you know, all the shit I was talking about previously ends in Ganga river...
Ha! It felt so good! It was a great pleasure to swim, the water was warm but still very refreshing. I could have stayed in this side of the Ganga for a long time, the water is cleaner, it is very quiet and peaceful. Well, finally we continued our romantic rowing trip back to the Ghats. But as soon as I started to row we saw a dead cow floating on the river. I am taking a good scrubbing shower tonight!

We finished the day admiring the religious ceremonies along the river. This place is a highly religious place, there are many Indians coming from all Indian States.
It is very crowded and all day long there are youngsters asking you to hire them for guiding, boating, picture taking, taxi and you name it. Most are not too insistent but I have to say that during the whole day only once I haven't been solicited to be sold something. And we have been solicited tens of times. It was an older person just happy to chat with French people. But all the talk still needs to be in English! Going far away from the main Ghats really helps to find peace.

Voila. That was our day.
Now, if you excuse me, I need to chase that mouse that entered our room a few minutes ago...

Arrival at Varanassi

Now in Varanassi. 1200km from Bombay. Very humid. The trip from the airport beats anything we've seen so far. People, vehicles of all kinds, crowd, cows, goats, everything.
Bombay seems clean and futuristic compared to Varanassi...

Monsoon in Mumbay

Monsoon experience yesterday evening.
The heavy rains didn't stop and we just walked back to the apartment getting totally soaked! Many people in the street were getting soaked too and enjoying it.
It's a hot shower actually; one just needs to have clothes that dry fast...

Le premier jour en Inde

Nous voilà à Bombay!

La pluie nous attendais comme il se doit avec la mousson, mais elle n'a pas duré bien longtemps.
Meenal nous a accueilli royalement en nous envoyant son chauffeur. Le trajet depuis l'aéroport nous a mis dans l'ambiance: Traffic incroyable, klaxon permanent, mais à l'arrivée quel accueil! Un appartement sur tout un étage, avec vue sur la mer il n'y a que des sociétés pour louer un  immeuble comme ça!! vous avez dit crise???!!!!)
Heureusement les petits plats indiens de Meenal nous font digérer ces chiffres...

Meenal nous a raconté tous ses projets ici. Depuis quelques années elle travaille sur des micro-financements. En regroupant plusieurs projets similaires de villageois (acheter une chèvre par exemple) elle trouve des investisseurs, et ça marche! Le chiffre des investissements est passée de 40 000 à 4 millions d'€ en deux ans.
Ça fait beaucoup de chèvres!
Maintenant elle se lance dans un projet qui lui tient à coeur: l'éducation. Elle va dans les bidonvilles et propose une éducation à ceux qui la veulent avec une garantie d'embauche à la clé. Sacré Meenal!

Sudanshu lui continue son job avec le corporate america. Il se bat avec le système Indien corrompu en essayant d'y mettre de l'éthique. C'est pas gagné...

J'ai profité pour lire le journal de Bombay aussi. On y parle de l'eau insalubre, du manque d'urbanisme, des cas recensés de maladies dues à la mousson, d'un nouveau site internet pour informer les noms des dernières victimes du rail (10 morts par jours!!!! trouvés sur les rails!!), de ces enfants ignorés qui meurent encore dans les mines de charbon, mais aussi des promenades à faire dans la jungle environnante, et l'interdiction de la cigarette sur les plages de Goa à partir d'Octobre!

Nous nous reposons cette après midi. On ne dort pas très bien dans les avions.

Entretemps au pied de l'immeuble d'à côté une petite foule s'est agglutinée, avec télévision, police et tout le tintouin. Une star de Bolliwood se meurt à ce qu'il semblerait.