General Strike called...

We flew to Trivandrum this morning and as we landed, all you could see were coconut palms.  They use every part of the coconut in their daily lives for wood, thatch, cooking, hair products, milk, etc plus it is the biggest export of the region. We were met by Barbara and J-Raj our tour directors. Unfortunately, the state of Kerala called a general strike for the day to protest three significant cost increases on oil in the past six months; it is now over $7.00 a gallon!

J-Raj gave us lots of information on the bus ride so we would have some perspective about the area.  The state of Kerala has the only Socialist Government in India and trade unions are very strong.  Therefore the wages and living standard is higher.  The city has 1.5 million people and is considered a small city by India standards. It is spread out with lots of green spaces and we passed by four colleges or universities.   

The good news is there was no traffic on the way to the hotel (Taj Vivanta) but the bad news was we could not do anything in the city that day.  The hotel is beautiful with a British influence. Several of us took advantage of the free time to enjoy treatments in the Ayurveda spa.  I had a 60 minute Relaxing Message for about $30 including tip and it was just what I needed after the move, long flights and jet lag.

At dinner, we met the 12 Whole Foods Team members who just returned from the Sunrise Children’s home about four hours north of here (by train).  They spent last week building a playground as their volunteer project.  We played two truths and a lie so we could bond and ended the evening with a slide show of their time with the children.

View outside my hotel window

Reflection

Violence preceded my visit and in the past two days there has been another terrorist attack and a Natural disaster at two of my destinations.  In the last 11 days, there has been a:

·         Terrorist  bombing at the Delhi High court killing 11 and injuring 70

·         Terrorist bombing in Agra hospital injuring 6 people

·         6.8 Earthquake in Northern India and Nepal killing 18 and over 100 injuries  

I have always felt safe in my sleepy town of Capitola and although I travel extensively in the US, I have never experienced the fear that grips so many people every day.  Yesterday the security at all the places I visited was enhanced and it was no longer a minor inconvenience, but a necessity.

I have experienced many earthquakes in CA and even one in Burlington, VT and know there is nothing one can do when a natural disaster hits but be as prepared as possible.

Selfishly, I pray that we are safe during our journey but it will take actions and prayers from all of us to make this world a safer place from the man-made violence that plagues it.

Mumbai...a world unto itself

A little history, Mumbai originally consisted of seven marshy islands but land reclamation joined the seven small ones into one big one.  They say it is different than the rest of India because its pulse beats more quickly and is considered the city of opportunity.   It is tropical with palm trees and warm salty breezes off the Arabian Sea.  It is home to 20 million people with mind-blowing contrasts of affluence and poverty.  You have luxury hotels next to a row of shacks.  I spent more money for scarves as gifts than 90% of the people earn in a month.  The slums and the number of beggars were comparable to what I experienced in Nairobi.

I had to end the tour early (only 7 hours) because I was exhausted but the high points were:

Gandhi Museum: It was his home while in Bombay

Chor Market (thieves Bazaar) in the heart of Muslim Mumbai: About 35% of the city is Muslim
Chatrapate Shuvaji Terminus: The world’s busiest train station built by the British and it used to be called Victoria Terminus.
Flora Fountain and area around it with lots of Book stalls
Gateway of India: 85 foot stone archway that was built to welcome Queen Mary and King George in 1911. About 25 years later, the British troops departed through the same ceremonial arch.
Prince of Wales Museum: It is a Victorian Building with Moorish domes and it only took an hour to see everything.
Babulnath and Mumbadevi Temples: Very different in size and structure and I made an offering at each and walked away with a red rope bracelet and bindi (red dot on my forehead)
Chowpatty Beach and Marine Drive: The beautiful seaside area and amazing bazaar
The Taj Mahal Hotel

I had lunch at Leopold Café, a Bombay institution since 1871run by Iranian’s since it opened. It had about 300 items on the menu so I was sure to find something I liked. 

Nader, my driver illustrated great driving skill and much patience when I asked to stop and shop. I am glad I came a day early to see this vibrant city.



Cabbie's taking a little down time


Small section of slums

Price of Wales Museum

Kashmir salesmen who I bargained with for scarves 

Gateway of India


Muslims on way to prayer

Muslim Mosque with 1000's on the walkway to prayer

Communal Washing

Busiest Train Terminal in the world

Susan at Flora fountain

Early Sunday Morning

Woke up at 4:00 went to the gym and got cleaned up for the day.  Had an amazing breakfast and a new favorite is stir fried noodles with veggies.  They also had the most amazing mini homemade donuts with cinnamon (heaven).  I headed over to Church, about 6 blocks from the hotel.  In the daylight, I was able to see more of what is outside the gate.  This is the apartment building directly across from the hotel.  The beautifully decorated trucks are part of a construction site.  I only took one photo of the garbage because a women a dog and birds were sharing the spoils.  There were many more piles of garbage during my short walk.

I arrived at Holy Family Church and the mass was in the local language; the sing-song cadence was mesmerizing.  I was the only Anglo so everyone was curious and came up to me after mass and asked me to stay for the Harvest celebration.  I did and again did not understand any of it but they explained it is an important ritual especially this year due to the extreme monsoons.

All is arranged with Ravi and my 8 hour tour begins at 9:00 AM.  I will be dragging by the time it is over but I doubt I will even return to Mumbai so I should experience as much as possible.

 

Tired Traveler

I made it to Mumbai but way too many hours in the air…SFO to Newark was no problem but a four year old in the middle seat made the 13.5 hour trip from Newark to Mumbai a nightmare.  After I collected my luggage, I looked for the sign with my name on it and waited 20 minutes but they never arrived.  Luckily the Courtyard had a representative meeting the flight and he arranged transportation to the hotel.  I was overwhelmed by the olfactory sensations from the minute I walked out of the terminal.  Too bad I can’t do a scratch and sniff of the scents of India because they are indescribable. 

It was after 9:00 PM and we passed by a teeming fruit, vegetable and fish market.  Also lots of street vendors with everything from prepared foods on their braziers, sweets, jewelry, clothes etc. and  a few American fast food places like Subway and Domino’s. 

I was amazed at the number of pedestrians walking in the streets, no sidewalks in this part of the city.  They shared the road with buses, cars, tuk tuks, and scooters; lots of traffic, diesel fumes and very aggressive drivers.  It reminded me of Egypt.  My driver was very knowledgeable and I heard all about the new airport construction and port expansion; I did not understand all of it because he spoke so fast.  He offered to be my driver tomorrow for 4000 rupees about $100 for an eight hour tour of Mumbai.   

When we arrived at the hotel (behind security gates) I counted ten guards.  The car was searched by men and dogs and I needed to go through security and secondary wanding before I could enter the lobby.  It is a beautiful modern hotel about a year old and the staff made up for the long day and hassles.  They could not do enough for me to make my trip enjoyable.

It’s about 10:30 PM Indian time and I have been up for over 24 hour hours so I will share more tomorrow from my tour of Mumbai and will include pics. 

7 days and counting

Next Friday I leave for a trip of a lifetime to India and Nepal.  But before I leave, I must move into a  2 bedroom apartment plus complete numerous work projects.   I was not planning on my house selling so quickly and thought if it did sell I would move after the trip.  God had other plans and the good news is I sold it in less than a week for the asking price.

Due to the downsizing I had a moving sale last weekend and it was an eye-opening experience.  My sister Linda is an expert and I could not have survived without her efforts.  We made some cash that will fund the move and selected souvenirs.  It was so interesting to watch people buying my "stuff" and the last thing I want to do is bring more "stuff" home but I want a piece of art or a rug that will not be discarded.

I thought I would provide an overview of the trip sponsored by the Whole Planet Foundation (previous trips included Kenya, Peru and Costa Rica) befroe I leave.  I arrive in Mumbai for two days before we fly south to Trivandrum and meet with the Grameen Trust and several clients of the microlending program. We will also visit an orphanage run by the Miracle Foundation.  I am really looking forward to this because it is one of the areas I will pursue after retirement.    From there we will fly to Delhi and drive to Agra.  We will visit the Fort and have a Taj Mahal Sunrise Tour on Saturday. After our tour we return to Delhi.  At that point we will all head in different directions, some home but most of us on personal quests.  Mine is to the Kathmandu Valley in Nepal.  I have a guide for a four day visit but will be travelling alone.  The guide books have many suggestions for single women and they recommend you wear a wedding ring and tell everyone your husband could not join you at the last minute or that he is meeting you at the next location.  Apparently we are singled out (no pun intended) for scams, rip-offs and criminal activities.  I will be vigilant and the guide comes highly recommended.
I am very grateful to Seventh Generation for allowing me to participate in this program and to be able to use vacation time while in Asia.