THERE'S NO PLACE LIKE HOME

"Like all great travelers, I have seen more than I remember, and remember more than I have seen." Benjamin Disraeli

I've been back for almost 3 weeks now, and have been doing a bit of reflecting. These four months of traveling have been great, and I do not regret my decision at all for taking time off to go off on this adventure, before I buckled down into the 9 to 5 routine. I loved traveling, but more than anything, it made me realize how much I really miss home and my family and friends. I guess you can say that I had to go to the other end of the world just to realize how much I miss home.


Things I've missed:
*family
*friends
*mom's cooking
*not having to use a squatting toilet
*not having to bring toilet paper to the bathroom
*my own bed
*fresh air
*all-u-can-eat sushi buffet
*not having to live out of a suitcase
*not having to sanitize my hands 10 times a day, minimum
*drinking water out of the tap
*my hockey
*playing volleyball


Things that have changed while I was away:
* the tax is suddenly 13%
* Family Day (stat holiday) have been added in February
* massive amount of snow fall (2nd worst in history?)
* the interest incurring on my OSAP loan =(
* Brampton Civic Hospital getting negative publicity =(


Rather than being shortened, this trip just made my "Places to visit" list longer. Future trips (shorter trips, of course):

* East and west coast (Canada)
* the States (NYC, California, Florida)
* Japan
* Korea
* Taiwan
* Bali
* Australia (Tasmania, Great Barrier Reef, & New Zealand although it's not in Australia)
* Europe
* Egypt
* Mauritius
* Tibet
* Peru

But it'll probably be a while till I embark on another adventure. But that's alright. I'm content with being home. In the words of Dorothy, "There's no place like home".

Backpacking across the Golden Arrow

Late entry for Feb 22nd-27th


The Golden Triangle (formed by Delhi, Agra and Jaipur) is a very popular destination for many tourists heading to India. So naturally, I was interested in checking these places out. My sister Margaret, who was also in India in December, suggested checking out Udaipur, which is south of the triangle. I decided to call this trip, The Golden Arrow (although, it doesn't really look like an arrow. love the photoshop skills, huh?).

After spending the first two weeks in Calcutta for Chinese New Years, where it was busy and bustling, I was surprised at how quiet things got after the Holidays. A lot of visitors had already started heading home, and my cousins were all busy with exams, so I had a hard time finding a travel companion. Fortunately, my grand aunt or So Pho, volunteered to venture off to the Golden Arrow with me. It was all very last minute. We booked a train ticket to and from Delhi, and headed out the next day, after my Birthday. I bought a "Lonely Planet's India" guide, as suggested by Mags, and packed a backpack for the trip. We hadn't planned the trip out yet... I just knew that I wanted to visit all four cities, but had no idea how to do so in 6 days.

Just to give you a background, I've been to the Golden Traingle, with my So Pho who helped raised me, twenty years ago. So it was really nice to re-visit these cities again, years later, with her, although I don't remember much about the trip from when I was a child. Thank god for the Lonely Planet, or else we would have been so lost.

Delhi

After an 18hr ride on a sleeper train, we reached Delhi around noon (7,200 Rs. for return trip to and from Calcutta for two people). (Our train arrived late, which is not uncommon). We decided to drive down to Agra since it was only 5 hours away, and check out the Taj Mahal and Agra Fort first. So we jumped on an unmarked Taxi and bargained with the driver to take us to Agra and visit these two sites for 2,500 Rupees (again, 40 rupees = 1 USD). Oh yea, I forgot to mention that I don't know much Hindi, but my So Pho is quite fluent in both Hindi and Bengali. The driver wanted a 1,000 rupees deposit, supposedly for gas, but we refused, and gave him 500 instead. By the time we reached Agra Fort, our first stop, we were pretty tired. I barely slept during the drive since I was worried that we haven't been able to get in touch with anyone to let them know that we've reached Delhi, and that we're heading off to Agra in an unmarked taxi. Our cell phones were pretty useless outside of Calcutta. Now, that I look back on the whole trip, we were really lucky we didn't get mugged or kidnapped.

Agra Fort was our first stop. It was pretty big, and red. What I remember most about this place was how there was so many little small bugs that were EVERYWHERE. It was hard to enjoy this place, while you waved your hands frantically infront of your face to prevent eating or sniffing one of these bugs. I put my scarf from Gaya to good use around my face, but by the time we left Agra Fort, it was covered with souvenir bugs. I remember thinking to myself when I left that place, "I hope the Taj Mahal is insect free".

F.Y.I. Agra Fort is also known as the Red Fort of Agra and is one of the most important forts in India.

Taj Mahal

"Arguably the most perfect building on Earth, the Taj Mahal is an Indian ruler's timeless memorial to his lost, lamented love. This white marble pearl of architecture was once described by poet Rabindranath Tagore as 'a teardrop on the cheek of eternity.' Like love and tears, it cannot be captured in mere words" - How Stuff Works. How romantic, huh?

Our driver took us to Taj Mahal next, where, I'm happy to say, was bug free. Unfortunately, The Taj Mahal has changed over the years. Because of the air polluiton, the marble is no longer white, but rather yellow. A ban on driving near the Taj Mahal has been placed to try to preserve this monument. In addition, they built two new red buildings on each side of the monument (red is really popular in India, for some reason). We took a rick shaw to reach the Taj Mahal. I'll add my two cents about rickshaws later.

When we arrived, we had a little difficulties at the entrance. F.Y.I. Only water in transparent bottles, small video cameras, still cameras, mobile phones and small ladies purse are allowed inside the Taj Mahal. In India, most tourist places have different entrance fees- one for Indian citizens and another for foreigners (way inflated!!!). Just to demonstrate how inflated, at the Taj Mahal, the Indian rate is 20 Rs. while its 970 Rs. for foreigners (check this article out, http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/south_asia/7098370.stm)! Just to put it in more perspective for you, it cost us 500 Rs./night to stay at a hotel! I anticipated this price inflation, so I got my So Pho to bring her Indian I.D. (although she's Swedish), and I borrowed my 17 year old cousin's school ID. It has a photo of her from 5 years ago, which clearly did not look like me at all. So naturally, when we went to buy the tickets, my aunt was questioned about her Indian status (although she was born and lived in India for a good chunk of her life and can speak Hindi fluently). The ticket attendant apologized for the misunderstanding after my aunt showed off her Indian citizen document, and allowed us to purchase our 'Indian' tickets. We had more difficulty at the entrance though. Although we had Indian tickets, the guard wanted to see our ID's again. This guy was a bit more brighter, and argued that the student ID wasn't mine. My So Pho is someone who u didn't wanna mess with. U should have heard her go on and on about how the photo was obviously taken when "I" was younger, and how I've changed over the years. (We had a good laugh after). The guard didn't buy the story, but he let us in anyways. I was quite happy to have the extra 950 rupees in my pocket.

To be honest, I was a bit disappointed with the Taj Mahal. I found it way too touristy and crowded. Again, we had to face another long line up just to get inside to have a peak. It's pretty dark in there by the way and shoes are not allowed to be worn inside. So you can either leave your shoes outside or opt to buy a pair of booties which you could wear over your shoes for 5 rupees. I did the ultimate touristy thing, and got a photo taken, holding the Taj Mahal; which we were really proud of by the way, as it took us three tries to get it right.

On our way out from the Taj Mahal, we were swarmed by individuals selling souvenirs, ready to rip us off. My favourite was this one young guy, who approached me while we're walking, trying to convince me to buy 3 Taj Mahal water globed keychains for 300 rupees. I replied to him, in the very little Hindi that I knew, 10 rupees. He then offered it to me for 10 dollars (USD), which I clearly refused, especially since I wasn't that interested in the item in the first place. Frustrated that he wasn't going to get any USD out of me, he settled to selling me one for 10 rupees. This just goes to show you how they really try to rip you off. I know I should put it in perspective that when you convert it to Canadian dollars, it's not that much, but it bothers me how they try to take advantage of tourists, especially poor students such as myself. I can proudly say that I've refined my bargaining skills over the past four months.

It was quite dark by the time we finished Taj Mahal, so we didn't end up checking out Fatehpur Sikri , another popular tourist attraction, which is just outside of Agra. Our driver tried to convince us to stay at this dingy hotel, where he was clearly going to make a nice commision off of us, but I refused. He was getting a bit impatient at this point, and refused to drive us to Hotel Sakura (recommended by my trusty bible, Lonely Planet), where I wanted to stay. So I told him (my so pho translated, of course) we'd find our own way there, and to get us our bags. He lifted the trunk, and when my So Pho went to get her bag, he didn't hold the trunk open, and it fell and hit her on her forehead, and then her nose. She was bleeding at this point, and I was scared that she was going to lose consciousness or go blind or something. Boy, did she tell that driver off! She later translated to me that she told him, "So just because I don't wanna go to the hotel you recommend, you wanna kill me?" The guy felt so bad, he just took his money and took off. My so pho was fine by the way...nope, she did not black out or anything, just ended up with a black eye instead as the days progressed. U can sorta see the progression in photos.

We jumped on an auto rickshaw and found Hotel Sakura, but it was full (with tons of other foreigners, all with their own copy of L.P.). Luckily, there was vacancy at the hotel next door, Hotel Bawa Palace (cheap - 550 Rs., but did not have hot water) so we stayed there for the night before heading out to Jaipur early the next morning (8:30am) on an RSTC bus (350 Rs, for two tickets). The bus ride was long (5.5 hrs) and extremely uncomfortable. I remember my left foot going numb half way through the trip. Another F.Y.I. go with government operated buses. they're a lot safer and reliable.

Jaipur

We reached the bus station at Jaipur late in the afternoon, left our bags there, and bought a sleeper bus ticket to Udaipur for later that evening. We jumped on another auto-rickshaw (cheaper then a taxi -400 Rs. for the day) and were on our way to check out the attractions in this "Pink city". Attractions included the City Palace, Nahargarh Fort, and Amber Palace/Amber Fort. I wanted to go for an elephant ride up to Amber Palace, but our auto rickshaw driver informed us, it was too late in the evenings for that. We ended up getting suckered into riding a Jeep up to Amber Palace for 200 Rs. This was a rip off, as you could walk up to the palace in 10 mins. I would recommend getting a tour guide for Amber Palace though, as this place is like a maze, and its very hard to find your way out. We had dinner at Natraj Restaurant (also recommended by L.P.) and the dosas here were delicious (only 60 Rs.).

After dinner, we caught a rickshaw, and headed back to the bus station to catch our deluxe sleeper bus for Udaipur.

Rickshaws: "are a mode of human-powered transport: a runner draws a two-wheeled cart which seats one or two persons" - Wikipedia. I've read City of Joy (how appropriate huh), during my stay in Calcutta, and became empathetic towards rickshaw drivers. I remember the book describing them as human horses, and all the harships they had to endure. Aside from having to endure the heat and pollution that is so common in India, they make very little money for the amount of work they have to do. Our rickshaw driver was a really old man, who was so skinny, I had no idea how he managed to pull us both. A part of me felt guilty for sitting on that rickshaw, while the other felt good for atleast giving him business. We made it a habit of tipping rickshaw drivers, especially older ones. As for auto-rickshaw drivers, some of them own nicer cell phones than me.

Udaipur

Udaipur, also known as the "City of Lakes" or the "Venice of the East", was influenced by the Mohguls, and has a very relaxed atmosphere to it. According to my sister, the famous Mahrana who built the Taj Mahal came from this place too.

This was my favourite city in India despite the horrible sleeper bus ride here. I would definitely advise taking a train or a plane here instead, as the bus ride was very bumpy and windy.

We were so tired, and sleep deprived from all the travelling, that when we reached Udaipur early the next morning, the first thing we did was check into a hotel and took a nap. We stayed at a small hotel called, Hotel Sakura for 500 Rs. only and the owner was very helpful. He advised us to relax during the morning, while he arranged us an auto-rickshaw that will take us around for the day (350 Rs.), as well as a sleeper train ticket back to Delhi (626 Rs.) for later that evening.

Our auto-rickshaw driver was great... very informative, nice, and didn't waste our time by taking us to antique stores where drivers make a hefty commision off tourists. We managed to squeeze in Pichola Lake, City Palace, Jagdish Temple, the zoo, Fateh Sagar, and Nehru Garden. I got to ride a camel for 50 Rs., and I went on a couple of boat rides, one to check out Nehru Garden (40 Rs.), another boat ride to see some of the 5 and 7 star hotels (they had two. 100 Rs.).

We had lunch at this restaurant (I forget the name) where all they serve is veggie thali. It was pretty much an all u can eat veggie thali joint. I liked it a lot here. After a full day of sight seeing, we jumped on our sleeper train and headed for Delhi, our last stop.

Tip: when taking the train, always go for the more expensive class, as they are more comfortable, have better climate control, and are a lot cleaner, quieter and less smellier than the cheaper ones.

Delhi

We reached Delhi early in the morning, and spent a good two hours, trying to find a relative that lived there. After wandering around on a rickshaw with no luck of finding their place, we gave up and decided to find a hotel instead. We stayed at Hotel UK (590 Rs.) where I learned that if you're an Indian citizen, they wave the 10% service charge that most hotels charge. The owner of the hotel didn't buy my Indian ID neither, and even quizzed me on how old I was. This was the first hotel where we had warm water (not hot, but definitely better than the cold showers we've been taking).

The hotel arranged a taxi tour for us (700 Rs.) and we spent the day traveling. Highlights include India Gate, Qutab Minar, the Bahai Lotus Temple, and the Indira Gandhi Memorial. We didn't get a chance to check out the Red Fort though. We were pretty tired from all the traveling by this point in the trip, so we decided to take it easy on our last day in Delhi instead, and spent the day shopping at Connaught Place, Delhi's commercial hub. I picked up some pretty nice souvenirs from the bazaars they had there. I remember being sick of eating dosas and veggie thali's also at this point and was so relieved to find a McDonald's. I had a paneer wrap there (I wanted to be adventurous), but my stomach didn't take it too well.

We were exhausted by the time we got back to Calcutta. It was so good to be home finally! You become very appreciative of the little things you take for granted, such as seated toilets, toilet paper, a hot shower, and a clean, comfortable bed.

If I got a chance to do it all over again, I would fly to each places instead, spend more time in each city, and stay at nice 5 star hotels.













































































Random Thoughts:


Camera Fees - most tourist attractions have a separate camera fee on top of the entrance fee. Don't get the extra camera ticket. No one ever checks.

Street Dentists - I stumbled upon a box on the street, with all these dental instruments such as forceps, mouth mirrors, tweezers and even chisels, all sprawled out on top of it. It is apparently quite common to find street dentists who can pull out an aching tooth or fit your denture in for you, at a very cheap price. It really puts into perspective how lucky we are to live in a country where you don't have to worry about getting an infection from unsanitary conditions. I regret not taking a photo of this, but I found a pretty good website that captures it so well. http://fungeeks.blogspot.com/2008/03/street-dentist-in-india.html

Made In India

After a 7 hour stopover in Bangkok, I finally reached Calcutta, exhausted from the long day of travelling. It didn't kick in that I was finally home, until I set foot on the tarmack at the old Calcutta airport. After clearing through customs without any difficulty, I was greeted by my So Pho and So Kung (grand aunt & grand uncle) who was sweet enough to wait around so late in the night for my arrival (my flight reached Calcutta at 1:oo am in the morning). The roads were quite empty that late in the night, nevertheless, I quickly became accustomed to the Calcutta driving where honking your horn, and high beaming is quite the norm. Furthermore, you're in luck, if you're able to find seatbelts that actually function in the back seat. It's quite ironic that Calcuttans do not wear seat belts at all, considering the chaotic driving I've witnessed over the past month. When our driver brought me to my old home where I spent the first 8 years of my life, I did not recognize it initially. It took me a few minutes to remember, but slowly, I was able to recall where our kitchen was, where my parent's room used to be as well as locate our "baby room" where my sisters and I all slept every night with our Ayah (nanny). Our home has changed quite a bit since we've left it 17 years ago, and stepping foot in it again, immediately made me feel nostalgic. I have many fond memories of growing up in this house, during my childhood. My siblings and I grew up with many of our cousins who lived just next door and we used to get into a lot of mischief together. We were all very close, and I really missed them over the years, but didn't realize how much, until I came back home. Many of my cousins have moved away also, just like my family, but there were traces of our past that still remains throughout my neighbourhood. Our favourite holiday while growing up in Tangra, Calcutta was Chinese New Years. Despite the excitement and anticipation for all the festivities that will take place over the next few days, the only thing I kept thinking to myself was, "oh how I wish my siblings and parents were there to share it with me". I spent the next few days trying to live it all up, soaking in all the lion dancing and delicious food, meanwhile trying to document it all on camera so I could share it with my siblings. My hope is that the next time I'm back, it'll be with my whole family. Will blog ?soon? hopefully about the rest of my trip in India, including: Chinese New Year, Pilgrimage to Gaya, and visiting the Golden Arrow. Internet is really hard to come by these days and time sure flies!



Here are photos I managed to dig up of our childhood here in Tangra with my extended family.

When we were young...

Kung Hei Fat Choi / Gong Xi Fa Cai / Happy Chinese New Year!

I spent my first day in Calcutta with my cousins, Janet, Selena, Stephanie, James, and my So Pho (grand aunt) shopping at South City Mall, which is one of the biggest mall in Eastern India. It wasn't really spectacular, as most of the stores were still being built, and the prices were waaaay marked up, compared to North America. I definitely did not find my dirt cheap bargains at that mall. We had lunch at Haldiram, an Indian fastfood chain, that serves a lot cleaner snacks than the ones I was craving for on the street. My favourite dishes have to be the Masala Dosa and the Raj Kachori (an Indian chaat with yoghurt and potatoes ---mmmmm...delicious!).

Later that night, we all went to Pei Moi Chinese school (my old elementary school) for the Lion Dancing show. They had a stage set up, and different groups of lion dancers were supposed to perform one after another on stage. I was so excited to see the lion dancing, as I haven't seen any in Canada, except for the ones on TV. Yup, it's pretty sad. My family never bother to go to Pacific Mall, where it's over crowded, more than usual, on Chinese New Years. Lion dancing was my favourite part of Chinese New Years while growing up. We used to have our own paper mache'd lion head and we used to take turns being the lion head, and ass, as well as playing the drums, cymbals and gong, making all the racket in our neighbourhood. So naturally, I was all ready with my camera and three 2 GB SD cards to document it all for my siblings. Of course, I forgot to bring my extra battery, and I ended up missing recording the end which is called "tsai chang", where the lion dancers arrange themselves into pyramids to try to grab some lettuce and red packets which are filled with Indian Rupees. Doh! Pei Moi was packed with tons of people, and aside from Mei Xian, I haven't seen so many Hakka people all located in one spot, for a long time. The lion dancing show lasted a good 2 hours, and I thought it was over, but my cousin Janet informed me how it was only the beginning. And boy, was she right.

The next day was Chinese New Years Eve (CNY), also known as "Nian Sam Soep" in Hakka. During the morning, many families worship the spring gods in anticipation for the upcoming new year. There was a strike in Calcutta (which is quite common, I am told) and we were restricted from entering the city, as we feared possible riots. Nevertheless, this didn't prevent us from enjoying the CNY. In the evening, we all went to the market for some more fire crackers, and lion dancing. The market was PACKED with many spectators and even some reporters. At one point, we were surrounded all over by photographers, and we were quite a bit camera shy, and tried to hide from them. Despite our efforts, according to my parents, apparently, our faces ended up on the news in Toronto! We managed to get back home right before midnight for "chap sen" which is a tradition where we light incense to receive the fortune gods and light fire crackers to scare the evil spirits away. It surely scared the hibby jibbys out of me! Then we patiently waited for the lion dance groups to start arriving. Groups of enthusiasts, young and old, would form different lion dancing clubs or groups, and will visit all homes in Tangra (our community). These groups would approach each house beating on drums, gongs and cymbals, and they would light fire crackers outside the front door, before the lion dancers enter the house and bless the home by circling the table with offerings, and bowing down three times. In exchange for the blessings, each house would give them lucky red packets or "fung pao" filled with Indian Rupees. My cousin Janet, James and I was fortunate enough to manage to find some Fitness Club T-shirts, which allowed us to join their group as they paraded around the town. This was so much fun!!! It was quite an experience following this group around, visiting strangers homes. It reminded me a bit of Halloween back at home, but no cavities involved. I think I might have gone from slightly hearing impaired to hard of hearing that evening. We ended up coming home a little before 3 am, but we were told that many stayed up till 7 in the morning. Kudos to them! My feet were killing by the time I got home. Thank god I brought some Advil from back home.

New Years Day or "tse yit"!!! We woke up early and went to the Buddhist temple to worship the gods, asking for good fortune for the new year. According to traditions, we weren't allowed to eat any meat that day. The food was still yummy! If it wasn't for all the energy I expended, following around Fitness Club with the Lion Dancing, I would have gained a few kgs over this holiday. All we did was eat eat eat! Our mouths were not the only thing that was being filled, our pockets were expanding also from all the red packets we would receive from all our relatives. Nothing like receiving a few thousand rupee notes...sounds so much bigger than hundred of dollars! *1 dollar = 40 rupees

"Tse Nye" or the Second day after CNY. Can you guess what we did this day? Yup, you guessed it! I thought Lion Dancing was all finished, but apparently on this day, all the different clubs visited the houses again for "tsai chang". Again, we followed Fitness Club, but this time it was waaaay longer. I think we were with them from 10:30am to 7pm. By this time, I was a pro at knowing when to run for cover in anticipation for the fire crackers. I also learned that I lack any rhythm, as I struggled with the cymbal. Luckily, the club was so nice and encouraging and they let me practice, and eventually I managed to figure out how to play that instrument. It was interesting how we managed to get around from one house to another. The children would jump on the carts that carried the lion heads and the drums (I felt bad for the poor fella who had to steer and pedal all that load), while everyone else would jump on scooters/motorcycles. I swear, there were 12 year olds who were riding scooters with 2 other kids hanging off the vehicle. I don't know how they managed not to tip the scooter over despite all the pot holes. I had so much fun being a part of the lion dancing group. No one was too young or too old to participate in this event. I felt like an 8 year old all over again! I made a lot of new friends that day. By the end of the evening, I was exhausted. Luckily, the next day was going to be more low key.

"Tse Sam" the Third day after CNY. Over the past few years, the South Tangra Chinese Youth Club woudl organize a fair/carnival or "fete" in the Pei Moi Chinese School on the 3rd and 4th day after CNY. Everyone would go to the fete to enjoy all the different food stalls, the carnival games and the entertainment, which included Karaoke, of course, and MORE lion dancing!!!! Yup, it never ends. I think I was all lion danced out by the end of this fete. We planned on going to the fete this evening after a CNY dinner at a neighbour's place but we didn't quite make it, as I was unaware that dinner started at "India Time", which was 2 hours later than I expected.

"Tse See" the Fourth day after CNY. My grandparents threw a huge lunch for all our relatives and friends. I got to meet some more cousins and even my new neice. We ate so much that day. My favourite has to be the fish "chap" (cakes). I ended up spending some time with my Aunty Sandy, Uncle Ben, my cousin Allan and his wife, and their daughter, Ayin that afternoon. She IS SO ADORABLE!!!! My cousin Allan is a rock star in Calcutta, and Ayin grew up listening to him play. She loves to dance! I've never met a 1.5 year old who knows how to head bang! All my family ended up going to the Fete that evening and I finally got a chance to eat my Puchka/pani puri (an Indian street snack which consists of a round, hollow "puri", fried crisp and its filled with potatoes, cucumbers, onions and spices, and drizzled with tamirind water). D-E-L-I-C-I-O-U-S! My cousin Janet and I were invited to attend a party at Fusion, thrown by the Fitness Club. It was at the Golden Park hotel, and they served an Indian buffet followed by dancing at the club. Let's just say, I've never seen so many Chinese people dancing to bhangra (punjabi dance music). Half way through the night, I was already all "bhangra-ed out". All in all, it was good times.

The Chinese New Year celebration actually lasts for 15 days, but in Tangra, this was pretty much it, except most families went to "Thong Yan Pak Kung" the following Sunday (which of course, included more lion dancing, as well as visits to the temple).

Many families also went on pilgrimages to Gaya, the city where Buddha found enlightenment. When I get a chance, I'll blog next about this pilgrimage as well as my trip to the "Golden Arrow".