well, here we are. welcome to my last day & post on "next stop: india". in roughly two hours, a driver will pick me up at 'rolling hills apartments, phase-2' and take me to mumbai airport (chhatrapati shivaji intl airport, to be precise).
I am looking back at three wonderful months in incredible india. not only did I explore the city of pune extensively but also did I get to go to new delhi twice, went on a night hike in maharashtra's mountains,... and this all on top of 13 exciting and sometimes challenging weeks of controlling ground work at our development centre.
how do I best close this blog? perhaps the following list of positives and negatives will do. in fact I do not really think I could turn last weeks' experiences and impressions into a few paragraphs. if you followed this blog closely since the begin of march, then you will have gotten the best overall impression anyway.
things I will not miss
- day temperatures peaking at around 45°c
- the air conditioner in my room
- the attendant's daily question before I take off to work: "dinner?!"
- the mostly dusty streets in pune
- the often prevailing 'principle: chaos' nobody bothers tackling (drives you nuts sometimes)
things I will certainly miss
- the indian food
- the people I got to know and friends I have made
- an incredibly positive working atmosphere
- those crazy rickshaw rides (except for the "add a premium for the white nose" ones)
- the colourful daily life, e.g. manifested in those beautiful traditional clothes
- the indian smile
- indianised english
- the often prevailing 'principle: chaos' nobody bothers tackling (does have something refreshing to it at times)
thank you, india. you are definitely different but certainly not as awful as often perceived in other parts of the world. I will come back, be it as tourist or on a company's assignment.
ti-bob
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Saturday, May 23, 2009
farewell feelings
I had intended to complete my this-time-around sightseeing activities with someone who constituted my first conscious encounter with the country india many years ago: mahatma gandhi. during the "quit india" movement in the 1940ies, gandhi was imprisoned in the "aga khan palace" in pune for almost two years from '42 to '44. interned along with him were his wife kasturba and his secretary and aide mahadev, who both were to die during the 'house arrest'.
would have been a nice finish, wouldn't it? unfortunately, the palace was closed when my rickshaw pulled up at the main gate (no, I have not bought a three-wheeler of my own; the ride belonged to the driver and still does). this way, with the palace being located on the other side of town, I got a full 300-rupees round trip of pune. of course, these events are not mere bad luck. one the one hand, pune just wanted to retain something rendering itslef worthwhile for me to come back for sightseeing. on the other hand, the city simply said goodbye by showing me around one last time.
yesterday night could also be depicted as 'premature farewell activity'. my favourite indians and I went to "yana sizzlers"; one of the rare places offering tasty "non-veg" dishes. being early birds, we were able to secure a table with perfect view on the sole tv in the entire restaurant. the reason was not that we did not have any topics justifying extensive chatting, mind you. rather, the first semi-final of this year's ipl (yes, the indian cricket tournament shifted to south africa) was on. with the help of nikhil, rajnikant, and louis, I was able to enhance my knowledge of the (twenty20) cricket rules further. "no ball", "fielding restrictions", and "leg before wicket" do not raise question marks with me anymore.
alongside providing an abundance of qualified comments on the match delhi daredevils vs. deccan chargers, we enjoyed a tasty soup-sizzler-desert sequence. I had to promise to explicitly mention the indian desert kulfi on my blog; try it if you get a chance at your preferred indian restaurant. and as for my companions: I have had fun with you guys, friday night as well as during the last twelve weeks!
otherwise, subsequently to both the tonsilitis and the 'stomach mayhem', I am trying to get rid of my first regular indian cold. with the only symptom being a congested and/or running nose, I am confident that I will not become the second confirmed case of swine flu in india. no antibiotics or any other medication this time, just sleep and water!
alright then, so I have my last week in pune ahead of me. since I will have to go to our dhankot plant again for one day, it will will fly by just as the past twelve did. german summer, get ready for my return!
ti-bob
would have been a nice finish, wouldn't it? unfortunately, the palace was closed when my rickshaw pulled up at the main gate (no, I have not bought a three-wheeler of my own; the ride belonged to the driver and still does). this way, with the palace being located on the other side of town, I got a full 300-rupees round trip of pune. of course, these events are not mere bad luck. one the one hand, pune just wanted to retain something rendering itslef worthwhile for me to come back for sightseeing. on the other hand, the city simply said goodbye by showing me around one last time.
yesterday night could also be depicted as 'premature farewell activity'. my favourite indians and I went to "yana sizzlers"; one of the rare places offering tasty "non-veg" dishes. being early birds, we were able to secure a table with perfect view on the sole tv in the entire restaurant. the reason was not that we did not have any topics justifying extensive chatting, mind you. rather, the first semi-final of this year's ipl (yes, the indian cricket tournament shifted to south africa) was on. with the help of nikhil, rajnikant, and louis, I was able to enhance my knowledge of the (twenty20) cricket rules further. "no ball", "fielding restrictions", and "leg before wicket" do not raise question marks with me anymore.
alongside providing an abundance of qualified comments on the match delhi daredevils vs. deccan chargers, we enjoyed a tasty soup-sizzler-desert sequence. I had to promise to explicitly mention the indian desert kulfi on my blog; try it if you get a chance at your preferred indian restaurant. and as for my companions: I have had fun with you guys, friday night as well as during the last twelve weeks!
otherwise, subsequently to both the tonsilitis and the 'stomach mayhem', I am trying to get rid of my first regular indian cold. with the only symptom being a congested and/or running nose, I am confident that I will not become the second confirmed case of swine flu in india. no antibiotics or any other medication this time, just sleep and water!
alright then, so I have my last week in pune ahead of me. since I will have to go to our dhankot plant again for one day, it will will fly by just as the past twelve did. german summer, get ready for my return!
ti-bob
Monday, May 11, 2009
w/o
god, those malaria pills do cause some commotion in my head. what else could give me the most vivid and weirdest dreams almost every sunday night? nothing to worry about though. and nothing filthy either, for that matter.
and I yet have to figure out why I have been reminiscing about that san-francisco-to-phoenix trip a lot recently. maybe because I went on it exactly two years ago. alternatively, because some of the images from those long&lonely drives have scorched a part of my visual memory forever. in a positive way, that is.
how time flies by, does it not?
p.s.: seemingly, indian children are much more prepared to give you a smile when you smile at them than the average german child. I cannot prove this claim, of course, but I am nevertheless confident there is some truth to it...
and I yet have to figure out why I have been reminiscing about that san-francisco-to-phoenix trip a lot recently. maybe because I went on it exactly two years ago. alternatively, because some of the images from those long&lonely drives have scorched a part of my visual memory forever. in a positive way, that is.
how time flies by, does it not?
p.s.: seemingly, indian children are much more prepared to give you a smile when you smile at them than the average german child. I cannot prove this claim, of course, but I am nevertheless confident there is some truth to it...
Sunday, May 10, 2009
night hike to rajgad fort
hi there!
before I go into detail here, let me say one thing: friday night did not just add another set of amazing impressions I will retain from the three months in india. in fact, if the taj surprised me in an aesthetic way, this hiking trip introduced me to a entirely unknown kind of atmospheric perceptions altogether.
nikhil picked me up at my apartment at 8 p.m. with his motorbike. we went straight to one of his friend's place where three college friends of his joined us. it took us about two hours to get to our starting point: a little tiny village in the middle of nowhere. we parked the bikes in front of a "hotel", leaving the helmets on the roof of the same, and took off.
the ascent to the fort really deserves the description "backcountry" - nothing but pure nature. we were lucky to have a full moon, which enabled us to complete the major part without the use of torches. unsurprisingly, the way up became steeper by the meter. the last part resembled rock climbing; you really had to make sure your foot did not slip only an inch. the climbing ended at a small hole in the rock - we had reached the outskirts of the fort.
these surrounding fortifications actually span three different mountain ridges with the fort itself being located at their centre. the fort consists mainly of huge walls, a few small buildings (or what is left of them), some small ponds used for collecting rain water, and many staircases connecting the different parts of the fort.
looking at the pictures, some of you might find the atmosphere a little dodgy or frightening. it surely is something special to explore the top of a mountain with ancient ruins by full moon but I did not feel unsafe whatsoever. strange feeling though to be up there at the pinnacle, somewhere in the mountains in south india, with just four other guys and two stray dogs accompanying you while otherwise you cannot hear anything but the wind blow.
towards 2 a.m. we lay down just where we stood to take a quick nap. that is how it must have been in the past when you were travelling; you simply slept under the open sky. I did not get a wink of sleep there because of the glaring moonlight; quite an experience for a city boy like me.
before dawn, we were back at our starting point dozing for hardly an hour. however, seeing the sun rise from up there compensated for the sleepless night. only now could I visually measure how high up we had actually climbed. spectactular sights. you might want to turn off the light when you look at the pictures:
shortly thereafter, we started descending back to the village in an attempt to avoid the indian midday heat. we arrived at the village just when its residents got up and began their day. we headed back to pune and I was back at the apartment, safe and sound, at 8:30 a.m., where I indulged in an extended shower session and went straight to bed. finally.
what an awesome trip!
before I go into detail here, let me say one thing: friday night did not just add another set of amazing impressions I will retain from the three months in india. in fact, if the taj surprised me in an aesthetic way, this hiking trip introduced me to a entirely unknown kind of atmospheric perceptions altogether.
nikhil picked me up at my apartment at 8 p.m. with his motorbike. we went straight to one of his friend's place where three college friends of his joined us. it took us about two hours to get to our starting point: a little tiny village in the middle of nowhere. we parked the bikes in front of a "hotel", leaving the helmets on the roof of the same, and took off.
the ascent to the fort really deserves the description "backcountry" - nothing but pure nature. we were lucky to have a full moon, which enabled us to complete the major part without the use of torches. unsurprisingly, the way up became steeper by the meter. the last part resembled rock climbing; you really had to make sure your foot did not slip only an inch. the climbing ended at a small hole in the rock - we had reached the outskirts of the fort.
these surrounding fortifications actually span three different mountain ridges with the fort itself being located at their centre. the fort consists mainly of huge walls, a few small buildings (or what is left of them), some small ponds used for collecting rain water, and many staircases connecting the different parts of the fort.
looking at the pictures, some of you might find the atmosphere a little dodgy or frightening. it surely is something special to explore the top of a mountain with ancient ruins by full moon but I did not feel unsafe whatsoever. strange feeling though to be up there at the pinnacle, somewhere in the mountains in south india, with just four other guys and two stray dogs accompanying you while otherwise you cannot hear anything but the wind blow.
towards 2 a.m. we lay down just where we stood to take a quick nap. that is how it must have been in the past when you were travelling; you simply slept under the open sky. I did not get a wink of sleep there because of the glaring moonlight; quite an experience for a city boy like me.
before dawn, we were back at our starting point dozing for hardly an hour. however, seeing the sun rise from up there compensated for the sleepless night. only now could I visually measure how high up we had actually climbed. spectactular sights. you might want to turn off the light when you look at the pictures:
shortly thereafter, we started descending back to the village in an attempt to avoid the indian midday heat. we arrived at the village just when its residents got up and began their day. we headed back to pune and I was back at the apartment, safe and sound, at 8:30 a.m., where I indulged in an extended shower session and went straight to bed. finally.
what an awesome trip!
Thursday, May 7, 2009
gurgaon
I just realized that I had forgotten to finish off my travel coverage on delhi...I missed to introduce you to gurgaon!
gurgaon is a place packed with office buildings and huge residental sky scrapers. a totally artificial and planned city near new delhi. this is where the business is being done. driving through those ravines of glass and steel, you cannot think of any company whose name you have not seen. they are all here.
more than just a hand full of malls entertain the large expatriate community and the wealthy indian families living here. you find everything from cinemas to a german restaurant there (steffen and I were the only obvious foreigners in there!). strange place, this gurgaon.
here are a few pics of gurgaon plus a glimpse of what expatriate life in india can resemble when it comes to housing (I stayed in one of the two guest houses our company maintains there):
otherwise, I am doing fine. my intestinal bacteria - the good ones - seem to be back at work. tomorrow night, I will join nikhil and some college friends of his for a night hiking trip. we will head to rajgad which is, reportedly, one of the most impressive forts in maharashtra. we will climb to the pinnacle at night, rest up there and wait for dawn to arrive, and then come back to pune in the morning. all that on motorbikes (I insisted on wearing a helmet - I will certainly be the only one who bothers).
ti-bob
gurgaon is a place packed with office buildings and huge residental sky scrapers. a totally artificial and planned city near new delhi. this is where the business is being done. driving through those ravines of glass and steel, you cannot think of any company whose name you have not seen. they are all here.
more than just a hand full of malls entertain the large expatriate community and the wealthy indian families living here. you find everything from cinemas to a german restaurant there (steffen and I were the only obvious foreigners in there!). strange place, this gurgaon.
here are a few pics of gurgaon plus a glimpse of what expatriate life in india can resemble when it comes to housing (I stayed in one of the two guest houses our company maintains there):
otherwise, I am doing fine. my intestinal bacteria - the good ones - seem to be back at work. tomorrow night, I will join nikhil and some college friends of his for a night hiking trip. we will head to rajgad which is, reportedly, one of the most impressive forts in maharashtra. we will climb to the pinnacle at night, rest up there and wait for dawn to arrive, and then come back to pune in the morning. all that on motorbikes (I insisted on wearing a helmet - I will certainly be the only one who bothers).
ti-bob
Sunday, May 3, 2009
india
...the often misconceived and misunderstood country. I just started reading "white tiger" by aravind adiga. provides many truths about this country - I feel confident to possess this kind of judgement after nine weeks here - from a driver's perspective. a true page-turner in my opinion (and I usually fail to finish more than two books per year).
apparently, there remains ample room for an improved understanding of the subcontinent in germany, too:
:-) thanks, giulz, for the picture!
ti-bob
apparently, there remains ample room for an improved understanding of the subcontinent in germany, too:
:-) thanks, giulz, for the picture!
ti-bob
on strike
long weekends are a nice thing. if you can take advantage of them by doing some sightseeing, for instance.
if you are to find out saturday morning, however, that the 50-some-thousand rickshaw drivers in the pune area went on an unheralded & indefinite strike, the long weekend is literally gone.
the drivers protest against the fact that the city reduced the statuatory fare prices (nine rupees for the first, seven for every additional kilometer). reason for the reduction: fuel prices went down considerably during the last months. argument of the drivers: their financial stability has not improved with the fuel prices falling (higher prices for spare parts etc.)
how is the average puneit affected? you can hardly get anywhere since regular taxis are close to non-existent and the public transportation system is rather 'underdeveloped'. walking does not represent an alternative either; I have explained why in earlier posts.
however, I did manage to go to the hair saloon yesterday. 3mm - when and where if not during summer in india? this time, I did not forget to take pictures! again, I paid 30 rupees, that is what I call 'value for money'.
if you are to find out saturday morning, however, that the 50-some-thousand rickshaw drivers in the pune area went on an unheralded & indefinite strike, the long weekend is literally gone.
the drivers protest against the fact that the city reduced the statuatory fare prices (nine rupees for the first, seven for every additional kilometer). reason for the reduction: fuel prices went down considerably during the last months. argument of the drivers: their financial stability has not improved with the fuel prices falling (higher prices for spare parts etc.)
how is the average puneit affected? you can hardly get anywhere since regular taxis are close to non-existent and the public transportation system is rather 'underdeveloped'. walking does not represent an alternative either; I have explained why in earlier posts.
however, I did manage to go to the hair saloon yesterday. 3mm - when and where if not during summer in india? this time, I did not forget to take pictures! again, I paid 30 rupees, that is what I call 'value for money'.
Friday, May 1, 2009
delhi
on sunday, I went to see india's capital along with steffen, who works at our plant in the village of dhankot until the end of june. since the april heat scored record highs in delhi (highest temperatures recorded since 1890!), we decided not to set off until 2 p.m. a taxi picked us up at the guest house in gurgaon and drove us to the first sight, humayun's tomb (app. one-hour drive, 500 rupees).
in terms of motivation for building, humayun's tomb constitutes the exact opposite of the taj mahal: humanyun's widow had the tomb built after his death. as far as architecture (and timing: 16th century) goes, the tomb is actually considered a precursor to the taj mahal. just like the taj, humayun's tomb belongs to a legacy of mughal monuments in india. humayun in particular was known for importing persian ideas and style into northern india.
the visit to the tomb also generated my favourite picture of this weekend; maybe you are able to tell without referring to the picture descriptions.
after the tomb, we went to the old part of delhi, successfully fending off the rickshaw driver's attempts to take us to "very good shopping" places. our goal was the 'jama masjid of delhi', the largest and most important mosque in india. and guess what, we are herewith coming back to the taj again since this mosque was also built by the mughal emperor shah jahan. we were right in time for the evening prayer and, therefore, denied access. we were to come back one hour later though.
the mosque surely is a place worth seeing when you are in delhi. however, do not expect the silence and peace of other sights. jama masjid is a publicly accessible building at no entrance fee (just as any church in germany). therefore, especially as a foreigner, you will find many people begging here. and if you stroll - as we did - around the area surrounding the mosque, you understand why.
this is 'old delhi', often offering perceptions from the middle ages: children wash themselves in the streets, workers take a nap on the sidewalk, and dirt and bad odors are ubiquitous. walking through the streets there I was to realize once more that I cannot just point my camera at everybody and everything. looking at the few pictures I took in old delhi, simply keep in mind that I did not take pictures of the worst things. this is not a 'vacation'; a sightseeing tour to old delhi is not a walk in the park from a mental point of view, at least, not for the average and maybe new-to-india tourist.
at the same time, I do not want to leave you with a biased impression about old delhi. you can explore this very interesting part of delhi without having to fear any harm; I would even claim that it is a much safer place than the subway system in paris, for instance. moreover, the world-famous and reportedly best non-vegetarian restaurant of delhi hides itself in these alleys ('karim's'). we had perfectly seasoned chicken and lamb there. I will definitely go back next time; to both old delhi and 'karim's'.
for the last part of our visit to delhi, we went to the commercial centre of delhi, the 'new' new delhi: connaught place. steffen knew a nice rooftop bar where we sealed up the day's experiences with a descent pint of tiger beer.
ti-bob
in terms of motivation for building, humayun's tomb constitutes the exact opposite of the taj mahal: humanyun's widow had the tomb built after his death. as far as architecture (and timing: 16th century) goes, the tomb is actually considered a precursor to the taj mahal. just like the taj, humayun's tomb belongs to a legacy of mughal monuments in india. humayun in particular was known for importing persian ideas and style into northern india.
the visit to the tomb also generated my favourite picture of this weekend; maybe you are able to tell without referring to the picture descriptions.
after the tomb, we went to the old part of delhi, successfully fending off the rickshaw driver's attempts to take us to "very good shopping" places. our goal was the 'jama masjid of delhi', the largest and most important mosque in india. and guess what, we are herewith coming back to the taj again since this mosque was also built by the mughal emperor shah jahan. we were right in time for the evening prayer and, therefore, denied access. we were to come back one hour later though.
the mosque surely is a place worth seeing when you are in delhi. however, do not expect the silence and peace of other sights. jama masjid is a publicly accessible building at no entrance fee (just as any church in germany). therefore, especially as a foreigner, you will find many people begging here. and if you stroll - as we did - around the area surrounding the mosque, you understand why.
this is 'old delhi', often offering perceptions from the middle ages: children wash themselves in the streets, workers take a nap on the sidewalk, and dirt and bad odors are ubiquitous. walking through the streets there I was to realize once more that I cannot just point my camera at everybody and everything. looking at the few pictures I took in old delhi, simply keep in mind that I did not take pictures of the worst things. this is not a 'vacation'; a sightseeing tour to old delhi is not a walk in the park from a mental point of view, at least, not for the average and maybe new-to-india tourist.
at the same time, I do not want to leave you with a biased impression about old delhi. you can explore this very interesting part of delhi without having to fear any harm; I would even claim that it is a much safer place than the subway system in paris, for instance. moreover, the world-famous and reportedly best non-vegetarian restaurant of delhi hides itself in these alleys ('karim's'). we had perfectly seasoned chicken and lamb there. I will definitely go back next time; to both old delhi and 'karim's'.
for the last part of our visit to delhi, we went to the commercial centre of delhi, the 'new' new delhi: connaught place. steffen knew a nice rooftop bar where we sealed up the day's experiences with a descent pint of tiger beer.
ti-bob
Wednesday, April 29, 2009
the taj
"why am I doing this again?" was flashing in big letters above my bed when I got up at 4:30 a.m. saturday morning. since agra lies at least a three-hours drive away from new delhi and given the high summer temperatures, you are well advised to be an early bird here.
when I arrived at the taj's east gate, the sun stood somewhere between dawn and half way up in the sky, administering just the right light to unveil the taj's full beauty. I had seen pictures of the taj mahal before, I knew it appears in some of the "wonders of the world" lists, and I was sure it would be beautiful. but this sight exceeded all my expectations. simply mind-boggling, exhilarating,...but see for yourself:
I surely have not seen much of the world yet. then again, I have visited sights such as the colosseum in rome, the tour eiffel in paris, or the grand canyon in arizona. although the pictures may not convince everybody, the taj mahal represents the most beautiful destination I have travelled to.
ok, let us get back to the educational side of this blog. the mughal emperor shah jahan had the taj built as a mausoleum in honour of his third - and most favourite - wife in the 17th century. I wonder what the first two got. anyway, myths about the taj are abundant. for instance, shah jahan planned to build an exact reproduction of the taj on the opposite side of yamuna river - in black. another one offers the cruel story that all important craftsmen got their hands cut off to prevent them from ever rebuilding anything remotely close to the taj. it seems to be a fact though that one of jahan's sons put him under house arrest in the nearby fort agra soon after the taj's completion until his dead (fort and view from the fort in the second part of the above slide show). jahan was, however, buried next to his wife in the taj.
I hope I was able to convey my admiration at least to some extent.
ti-bob
when I arrived at the taj's east gate, the sun stood somewhere between dawn and half way up in the sky, administering just the right light to unveil the taj's full beauty. I had seen pictures of the taj mahal before, I knew it appears in some of the "wonders of the world" lists, and I was sure it would be beautiful. but this sight exceeded all my expectations. simply mind-boggling, exhilarating,...but see for yourself:
I surely have not seen much of the world yet. then again, I have visited sights such as the colosseum in rome, the tour eiffel in paris, or the grand canyon in arizona. although the pictures may not convince everybody, the taj mahal represents the most beautiful destination I have travelled to.
ok, let us get back to the educational side of this blog. the mughal emperor shah jahan had the taj built as a mausoleum in honour of his third - and most favourite - wife in the 17th century. I wonder what the first two got. anyway, myths about the taj are abundant. for instance, shah jahan planned to build an exact reproduction of the taj on the opposite side of yamuna river - in black. another one offers the cruel story that all important craftsmen got their hands cut off to prevent them from ever rebuilding anything remotely close to the taj. it seems to be a fact though that one of jahan's sons put him under house arrest in the nearby fort agra soon after the taj's completion until his dead (fort and view from the fort in the second part of the above slide show). jahan was, however, buried next to his wife in the taj.
I hope I was able to convey my admiration at least to some extent.
ti-bob
Monday, April 27, 2009
sick
I might have succeeded in (a) coming back from delhi without any harm and (b) avoiding to catch whatever caused serious stomach conditions for some of the expatriates.
last night's dinner, however, obviously could not agree on the common digestion process, taking the 'upper exit' more than once.
nothing serious though, I might just stay home today and if nothing changes, take on a second encounter with the indian health care system.
oh, and for everybody who might wonder: neither does vomiting feel any different in incredible india nor does it - as one might expect - come in fancier colours.
ti-bob
last night's dinner, however, obviously could not agree on the common digestion process, taking the 'upper exit' more than once.
nothing serious though, I might just stay home today and if nothing changes, take on a second encounter with the indian health care system.
oh, and for everybody who might wonder: neither does vomiting feel any different in incredible india nor does it - as one might expect - come in fancier colours.
ti-bob
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