2/11/14 Ahmedabad (pronounced
A-Hem-me-Da-Ba-D by the tour guide)
Today was the most interesting day
since I arrived in country. Visited a rather dilapidated museum
designed by renown architect Le Corbusier, the Sanskar Kendra. I
don't believe the building itself was completed, as it looks half
built. It made for interesting exploration, as I made my way around
the insides of the building. It is actually and active museum, though
some of the exhibits are in terrible condition. I even made my way up
to the roof, something I find unlikely to happen in a museum in any
Western country. Fun.
Our next stop was the Adalaj Stepwell,
which I thought was the single most fascinating structure I've ever
step foot in. A 5 story underground structure used to collect rain
during seasonal monsoons, it featured intricate carvings and pillars
and all kinds of fascinating cultural historical references. I had
enormous fun within it, but I could have done without the bats. (I'm
not scared of bats themselves, but I am wary of rabies.)
Last stop was a long one. A walk
through the local market, stopping for pictures at a pair of mosques.
I got an up close view of the life of the average Indian. It was
enjoyable but for the beggar children. Just because you're cute
doesn't mean I won't smack you if you grab me.
2/10/14 New Delhi Airport
I am about to board a flight to
Ahmedabad. The flight is slightly delayed, but this won't be a repeat
of my Brisbane debacle. I visited two sights today, and came to a
surprising conclusion. Agra Fort is quite old, built in the later
1500's. It only took eight years to build, and considering it's size
and complexity, I found that more than a little surprising. (I was
comparing it to European cathedrals, which are relatively much
smaller and equally complex structures, but somehow take scores if
not hundreds of years to complete...how Indian efficiency has
fallen.) Constructed mostly of red sandstone, within its walls lie
many palaces and structures. There is lots of history in this place.
Interestingly, one ruler had a harem of 5000 women(maids included)
living in underground “apartments” beneath the fort. Sounds like
my kind of man.
Second stop of the day was the Taj
Mahal, the Wonder. Ironically, it's fascinating and wondrous from a
distance, but really not that interesting up close, and even more
boring inside. It's basically just a giant tombstone. I was rather
disappointed.
Boarding announcements. I hope to make
it to a hotel at a decent hour tonight.
2/9/14 Highway between Jaipur and Agra
India is a country with a wide variety
of car horns. About the only one I have yet to hear is “La
Cucaracha,” and that's only because Mexicans don't immigrate to
countries that are worse than Mexico. The same can be said for the
Chinese and China. Which also answers the question of why there
doesn't seem to be any restaurants of any other kind of cuisine other
than Indian cuisine in India. But back to the topic of horns.
In India, you need three things to
drive. First, you need a loud, working horn. Second, you need good
breaks for sudden stops. Third, you need luck. It is the standard
policy of drivers to turn a three lane street into a six lane-er. It
is also required that you honk your horn constantly while passing
other cars or mobile or non-mobile entities on the road. This is
explained when one realizes that many do not have mirrors of any
sort. The result is a constant cacophony of horns, each trying to be
louder than the other.
It is late evening now, and I'm writing
this on the bus to Agra. Normally, I would not do such a thing, but I
make an exception because this bus has not moved in some time. I
expect somewhere far ahead of us, something has decided to break down
and could not be moved out of this two/four lane highway. My neighbor
has joked that perhaps a cow decided to take a nap in the road, but I
find this doubtful. I've already seen several examples of cow
traffic, and those at least move. So now I take the opportunity to
write.
This morning, we visited the City
Palace for some daylight pictures. I took the opportunity to purchase
a half dozen scarves for $15 dollars, fulfilling my gift obligations.
We then visited the Amber Palace in the hills over Jaipur. As part of
the tour package, we rode elephants up said hills. I would not
recommend such for people with back issues. It is not comfortable at
all, and I commend those archers in ancient times for being able to
ride these things to war. Now moving, will continue.
-
Traffic was caused by an intersection
with no traffic lights or traffic police. Once one side had a
dominating flow, it would not relinquish it, causing an hour's delay.
Only the arrival of armed military of some kind allowed us some
relief. I suspect there was some kind of military officer stuck
behind us, who was unhappy about being stuck behind us.
Anyhow, Amber Palace was something of a
huge maze, but worth a look see, despite all the peddlers hawking
their wares. After finishing up in Jaipur, we set of on our 7 hour
journey to Agra, where nothing much happened.
Dinner, a bit of online shopping, then
bed.
2/8/14 Jaipur
This country has too many people, and
the vast majority of them are poor as shit. The contrast between the
economic classes is extremely stark, considering residential
neighborhoods do not seem to be segregated; the rich build their
shiny apartment buildings on lots right next to shanty towns.
I woke up to a passable breakfast at
the Raddisson, after which I jumped on the bus for a six hour journey
to Jaipur. This first leg of the Golden Triangle of India was made on
the Freeway. And by Freeway, I don't mean a Highway or Expressway
that's toll free. No, there are still tolls, but it's called Freeway
because anyone can use it. This includes buses, cars, and motorbikes.
This also includes rickshaws, scooters, bicycles, horses, camels,
sheep, and cows. And pedestrians. We had plenty of opportunity to
take in the scenery, or rather, the poor as shit masses of humanity
on the wayside.
I will describe it simply: It looks
like they fought a war, and didn't bother to rebuild.
When we reached Jaipur, I explored the
“Pink City,” including the palace “Hawa Mahal” and what I
think was the downtown area on foot. Much better than we saw on the
bus ride over, as they had something approximating sidewalks here,
and most buildings were in passable condition, possibly due to their
historical and architectural value. I've discovered that goods are
cheap here. A fine scarf would cost some three dollars here, and
that's without bargaining. I didn't really have the heart to bargain
for a dollar.
Returned to our hotel after sundown for
a dinner that looks suspiciously like what I had for lunch, along
with what turned out to be a rather poor excuse for beer.
(Kingfisher, may you never pass through these lips again.)
2/7/14 New Delhi
A day of long flights. Woke up this
morning with a head cold. I had forgotten to bring the Advil and
ended up buying acetaminophen during my layover in Hong Kong. I will
say that said layover did not endear me to the Cantonese language at
all. Even hearing from the mouths of rather attractive flight
attendants and retail staff did not help any. Such a harsh sounding
language.
My first impression from my two hours
in India is that Indians take their sweet time with everything.
Efficiency is not something they are concerned with, from what I can
tell. Luggage and people must go through screening when entering
hotels, due to terrorism concerns.
I learned a new acronym from the tour
guide: INDIA: I'll Never Do It Again. Lets hope it doesn't turn out
to be accurate.
2/5/14 Taipei
I leave for India in two day. Taiwan
has been uneventful, but that was to be expected. We(my cousins and
I) have watched the new Tom Clancy film(which, disappointingly, had
nothing to do with the old films except for character name) and the
Robocop reboot. Both were disappointing. Rain has made working out
difficult. I will instead go pick up a kettlebell today. (Ended up
lugging a 24kg kettlebell through the metro system back home. That
was itself a workout. I need to weigh the thing though, it doesn't
seem to be as heavy as it states it is.)
2/2/14 Taipei
My first Chinese New Year in Asia was a
peaceful war zone. Firecrackers and fireworks bursting all through the
night echo like small arms and artillery fire in my dreams for three
nights running.
As for my own activities, I went to many
different shrines, had two different dinners, and was bored the rest
of the time. It was pretty much as I expected it to be.
Went to a Monet exhibition at a museum.
They say that towards the end, the man had terrible cataracts, and
let me tell you: it showed. Going to start working out at the little
exercise yard behind the house.
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