From mainland to sea to mountains! My second week in South India is through and it was more crazy than the last. This involved some hard travelling with only single nights in hotels, sandwiched with overnight trains. In my life I have seen a good proportion of countries offering variety and excitement to my life, but I would never call myself a hardcore backpacker. I usually stay in a base for long periods of time, and use my weekends to see new sights in the country which I am staying, and use the week to learn more of the locals way, and observe how children learn and adults work, always experiences I cherish.That said I have also backpacked moving from hostel or hotel, trying to get in as much of the sites as I can. This takes a toll on the system and before I started to write my new blog post I needed to give myself some time. Focus myself away from the exhaustion and find the positives in why I chose to do what I did. Take a breath and sit back appreciate what just happened learned the the negativity from an experience or a place i came across which is only a chance to understand the differences, and prevent the comparison of places I know or things I've seen before.
Since the Tiger and Elephant reserve in Perrier we went from Madurai, Mysore, Hampii and North Goa. Part of me wonders if my exhaustion comes from the over simulation and drastic change from place to place. It was like being in different worlds and the nervous system couldn't adapt quick enough.
In Madurai we visited the Gandhi museum and then a pretty large temple ( and when I say large I mean 2-3 hours to look around). This was the main site in Madurai. It can also be known as the city which doesn't sleep, and if you know of the North American city with the same nickname, imagine New Yorks Manhatten with cows, garbage everywhere, stray dogs, autorickshaws, motor bikes, extreme heat and lots of unorganized roads junctions, you have your Indian version. This gave a chance to simply wonder the streets, look around in some shops, get drawn in to look at the beautiful silks hanging in shop windows and have some man convince us to buy saree's. The weather was so hot and sticky so plenty of time was spent in our air conditioned hotel to recompose before heading out again. This was a time we ventured out into town to find our own meals, local style. Usually we were having our guide take us to pretty respectable tourist places, with the price for food being between $5-7 dollars but he would claim that he had to take us to places he knew of with good reputations for the sensitive travellers stomach. We were very stoked to actually find 2 places, one for breakfast and one for dinner and our stomachs stayed in tact and we thankfully avoided a bout of the famous Delhi belly. The food was amazing and was less than a dollar for 2 courses. We were able to eat off of the given banana leaf but some people still needed a spoon, versus full out eating with fingers. Of course the biggest concern was being the local entertainment. I swear men came in from the street to watch a group of five young white women eat so much food. Fact is you get pretty used to people staring at you everywhere, and even laughing for time to time. You end up giving 5-10 minutes a day having your picture taken with people, but having people crowd around you, and take time out of their own day to watch some people eat, is slightly weird.
On to Mysore, a place I was very excited for. Mysore is where Ashtanga yoga originates from and this is were many of my teachers go for training. I actually practice Mysore yoga in Toronto where I go to self practice. I follow through the sequence myself in my own pace and a teacher is there to assist me or guide me as I need. Mysore is then famous globally for its yoga connections and a place I hear many people talk about. Originally I had planned to come to Mysore to train for the whole month in the main shala. Here you must apply exactly four months before arrival. A deadline I missed as my plans to leave we're not even final. Therefore I was not able to go through with the program. With research I decided to go somewhere else for my yoga retreat, however when I came across a tour going through Mysore, I wanted to go. Mysore was the most modern city I visited by miles. The shops were cool, there were colleges and universities everywhere, the men wore jeans instead of sarongs and there seemed to be some sort of order to the roads (for Indian standard anyway). We walked and wondered and found a place to get some henna. I had actually bought henna for someone else to do, but I fascinated how this guy could create and do a beautifully intrinsic design so quickly. Since I've had plenty of compliments for my henna foot, and I'm sad already that it has started to fade. We visited the Mysore palace which was frustratingly busy as it was a public holiday, it was beautifully full with so many colours and decor. Unfortunately pictures were banned and I didn't want to risk taking any to share with you as we had already had to deal with a security guard on a power strike when my friend made the mistake of taking one.
Of course being in Mysore I had to do a yoga class. I did some research before I arrived and sent a few Emails as I didn't want to waste any time while travelling trying to research then find I missed my opportunity. I woke bright and early to get an auto-rickshaw to the opposite side of the city to head to Mystic School Mysore. A beautiful little shala, in a lovely peaceful area of town. It was obviously the hood for yoga studios and students. The place itself was very very well kept, with accommodation and a hot tub, sauna and cafe upstairs. It runs an intensive program and teacher training but I was obviously there out of season as there was only 3 people in the class. I did my self practice which felt good as it had been a few days since I had chance to practice ( as I had been sharing hotel rooms and on overnight trains). There was a few times the teacher called at me from the other side of the room, something that never is easy to comprehend, or not feel embarrassed about. First was for my 3 Surynamasker B. Usually I practice 5 of A version,and 3 of B. Without questioning I did as he said and boy I felt exhausted already. I never did question it at the end why, but went off to do my own research afterwards. Throughout the practice I felt nervous at points as I feared the teacher may try to push me too deep into any pose as he didn't know my practice or my body at all. But he was reasonable and at times I thought maybe I could have gone a it further, but didn't suggest anything as it had been such a while since a full practice was done.
After the class I felt wonderful and the air outside was still cool enough for me to take a stroll, get some bananas and chai before getting a tuctuc home. It was actually one of my most expensive mornings in India with the class cost being $10, and the transport taking me so far, but very well worth it.
Afterwards we went to Mysore mountain, where we walked up 1000 steps, with 50% being deep and hard. It had wonderful views of the city, and half way up there was a small temple in a cave where a man sat and chanted with a soft singing voice and we were welcomed in to sit and just listen. There was no pressure and he gave us some welcoming food (hard candy like grits). He spoke with me bout yoga and wished me happy travels. Sometimes it's these little peaceful moments that makes me understand why so many people love India. There was a huge Bull monument and then onwards some more to the top for even more views and another temple, which didn't take us long to walk around. It was a windy tuctuc ride down, but made to be every authentic with some fun Hindi music in the background.
After another night train we moved onto Hampii. I was looking forward to Hampii more than anything as I had had a couple of friends recommend it to me. It's ancient ruins amongst some amazing bouldering hills. The scenery was like something out of the dry Jurassic era. Unfortunately I came down very sick in Hampii and was bed bound for 20 hours of it. I'll save you the details but a dark room and lying horizontal was all I could do, while everyone else, visited a temple on a hill for an amazing sunset :-( Knowing I needed some more rest I was determined to do some sight seeing so couldn't keep myself still any longer. We crossed the river, on a very small rickety boat and hired a driver to take us to the sights. As magical as it was we did as much as we could, but the weather was 43 degrees and there was little shade to find so I took pictures and would sit in shade as soon as possible instead of taking time to read up on anything. Although feeling gross I'm glad I did get out, it's amazing to see just all the effort that was put in thousands of years ago, and that everything was built with so much meaning.
By the time the night train for Goa came around. I had managed to get by ok, I tried eating but a few mouthfuls of plain rice was all I could manage. The night train was great as I slept well and we were the last stop so had no rush on arrival. I woke ready for breakfast and feeling refreshed at last. Driving to our location in North Goa our guide told us North Goa is a famous destination location for party goers! Although a party is what the other girls were after and please don't get me wrong I'm inclined to attend many myself, it was the complete opposite of what I was looking for anyhow. The rest of the girls by this point were now sick, leaving only two of us to hit the beach, and unfortunately I was pretty disappointed. I had heard Goa was wonderful, but these descriptions were more than likely of South Goa. All I can say, the atmosphere was the same as a cheap holiday in Spain or Greece, the beach was extremely dirty and I was scared I would tred on a broken bottle, and we couldn't get more than 3 minutes without trying to be sold something. Feeling no where near relaxed we headed back to the hotel for a swim and with the others still sick, a quiet dinner for me and some clothes washing in the bedroom. So disappointed with my first day I managed to get on a boat tour the second day to Monkey Island which provided the opportunity to snorkel. I love snorkelling and could do for several hours if given the chance. It was an early start and luckily we saw several dolphins swimming close to shore for feeding. Yes, I was happy, nature again, although somewhat disappointed with the driver trying to get way too close in their territory. When we snorkelled I was in my element and would have stayed much longer but was rushed back to the boat. I was upset to found they rushed me, as they wanted to start fishing. Everyone sat around the boat with their fishing wires waiting for the beautiful innocent fish I was just enjoying to latch on and pull up for the trophy photo. I of course didn't participate and spent time taking pictures of the scenery. I'll admit I'm no vegetarian, but I stopped eating fish after Mauritius as I just can't bare to think of the suffering a fish experiences when it is caught. I know and appreciate that fishing is also a staple part of some cultures diet, but for me it was a choice a made a few years ago, and never preach to anyone and explain why I don't eat fish unless they ask.
I finished up in Goa having a meal with some traditional music and dancing in a hotel. I was pulled up to have a dance and tried my best at moving my hips so quickly to the beat. I don't think I did too bad, but would have felt better in some fancy jingling outfit to swish around next to the professional dancer.
It was an early start to Goa airport and I was totally wiped and had to just focus on getting myself to Rishikesh knowing everything would be ok. It was a few hours travelling, flying in to Mumbai and waiting a few hours before getting to Dehradun. Rishikesh is a famous holy city many people in India travel to for pilgrimage but also famous for the travelling yogi. It is set in the base of the Himalayan mountains, and the moment I stepped off the plane and started to talk with my taxi driver and look at the surroundings I knew Rishikesh will be my favourite place in India so far.
Watch this space to see if that is true.
Since the Tiger and Elephant reserve in Perrier we went from Madurai, Mysore, Hampii and North Goa. Part of me wonders if my exhaustion comes from the over simulation and drastic change from place to place. It was like being in different worlds and the nervous system couldn't adapt quick enough.
In Madurai we visited the Gandhi museum and then a pretty large temple ( and when I say large I mean 2-3 hours to look around). This was the main site in Madurai. It can also be known as the city which doesn't sleep, and if you know of the North American city with the same nickname, imagine New Yorks Manhatten with cows, garbage everywhere, stray dogs, autorickshaws, motor bikes, extreme heat and lots of unorganized roads junctions, you have your Indian version. This gave a chance to simply wonder the streets, look around in some shops, get drawn in to look at the beautiful silks hanging in shop windows and have some man convince us to buy saree's. The weather was so hot and sticky so plenty of time was spent in our air conditioned hotel to recompose before heading out again. This was a time we ventured out into town to find our own meals, local style. Usually we were having our guide take us to pretty respectable tourist places, with the price for food being between $5-7 dollars but he would claim that he had to take us to places he knew of with good reputations for the sensitive travellers stomach. We were very stoked to actually find 2 places, one for breakfast and one for dinner and our stomachs stayed in tact and we thankfully avoided a bout of the famous Delhi belly. The food was amazing and was less than a dollar for 2 courses. We were able to eat off of the given banana leaf but some people still needed a spoon, versus full out eating with fingers. Of course the biggest concern was being the local entertainment. I swear men came in from the street to watch a group of five young white women eat so much food. Fact is you get pretty used to people staring at you everywhere, and even laughing for time to time. You end up giving 5-10 minutes a day having your picture taken with people, but having people crowd around you, and take time out of their own day to watch some people eat, is slightly weird.
On to Mysore, a place I was very excited for. Mysore is where Ashtanga yoga originates from and this is were many of my teachers go for training. I actually practice Mysore yoga in Toronto where I go to self practice. I follow through the sequence myself in my own pace and a teacher is there to assist me or guide me as I need. Mysore is then famous globally for its yoga connections and a place I hear many people talk about. Originally I had planned to come to Mysore to train for the whole month in the main shala. Here you must apply exactly four months before arrival. A deadline I missed as my plans to leave we're not even final. Therefore I was not able to go through with the program. With research I decided to go somewhere else for my yoga retreat, however when I came across a tour going through Mysore, I wanted to go. Mysore was the most modern city I visited by miles. The shops were cool, there were colleges and universities everywhere, the men wore jeans instead of sarongs and there seemed to be some sort of order to the roads (for Indian standard anyway). We walked and wondered and found a place to get some henna. I had actually bought henna for someone else to do, but I fascinated how this guy could create and do a beautifully intrinsic design so quickly. Since I've had plenty of compliments for my henna foot, and I'm sad already that it has started to fade. We visited the Mysore palace which was frustratingly busy as it was a public holiday, it was beautifully full with so many colours and decor. Unfortunately pictures were banned and I didn't want to risk taking any to share with you as we had already had to deal with a security guard on a power strike when my friend made the mistake of taking one.
Of course being in Mysore I had to do a yoga class. I did some research before I arrived and sent a few Emails as I didn't want to waste any time while travelling trying to research then find I missed my opportunity. I woke bright and early to get an auto-rickshaw to the opposite side of the city to head to Mystic School Mysore. A beautiful little shala, in a lovely peaceful area of town. It was obviously the hood for yoga studios and students. The place itself was very very well kept, with accommodation and a hot tub, sauna and cafe upstairs. It runs an intensive program and teacher training but I was obviously there out of season as there was only 3 people in the class. I did my self practice which felt good as it had been a few days since I had chance to practice ( as I had been sharing hotel rooms and on overnight trains). There was a few times the teacher called at me from the other side of the room, something that never is easy to comprehend, or not feel embarrassed about. First was for my 3 Surynamasker B. Usually I practice 5 of A version,and 3 of B. Without questioning I did as he said and boy I felt exhausted already. I never did question it at the end why, but went off to do my own research afterwards. Throughout the practice I felt nervous at points as I feared the teacher may try to push me too deep into any pose as he didn't know my practice or my body at all. But he was reasonable and at times I thought maybe I could have gone a it further, but didn't suggest anything as it had been such a while since a full practice was done.
After the class I felt wonderful and the air outside was still cool enough for me to take a stroll, get some bananas and chai before getting a tuctuc home. It was actually one of my most expensive mornings in India with the class cost being $10, and the transport taking me so far, but very well worth it.
Afterwards we went to Mysore mountain, where we walked up 1000 steps, with 50% being deep and hard. It had wonderful views of the city, and half way up there was a small temple in a cave where a man sat and chanted with a soft singing voice and we were welcomed in to sit and just listen. There was no pressure and he gave us some welcoming food (hard candy like grits). He spoke with me bout yoga and wished me happy travels. Sometimes it's these little peaceful moments that makes me understand why so many people love India. There was a huge Bull monument and then onwards some more to the top for even more views and another temple, which didn't take us long to walk around. It was a windy tuctuc ride down, but made to be every authentic with some fun Hindi music in the background.
After another night train we moved onto Hampii. I was looking forward to Hampii more than anything as I had had a couple of friends recommend it to me. It's ancient ruins amongst some amazing bouldering hills. The scenery was like something out of the dry Jurassic era. Unfortunately I came down very sick in Hampii and was bed bound for 20 hours of it. I'll save you the details but a dark room and lying horizontal was all I could do, while everyone else, visited a temple on a hill for an amazing sunset :-( Knowing I needed some more rest I was determined to do some sight seeing so couldn't keep myself still any longer. We crossed the river, on a very small rickety boat and hired a driver to take us to the sights. As magical as it was we did as much as we could, but the weather was 43 degrees and there was little shade to find so I took pictures and would sit in shade as soon as possible instead of taking time to read up on anything. Although feeling gross I'm glad I did get out, it's amazing to see just all the effort that was put in thousands of years ago, and that everything was built with so much meaning.
By the time the night train for Goa came around. I had managed to get by ok, I tried eating but a few mouthfuls of plain rice was all I could manage. The night train was great as I slept well and we were the last stop so had no rush on arrival. I woke ready for breakfast and feeling refreshed at last. Driving to our location in North Goa our guide told us North Goa is a famous destination location for party goers! Although a party is what the other girls were after and please don't get me wrong I'm inclined to attend many myself, it was the complete opposite of what I was looking for anyhow. The rest of the girls by this point were now sick, leaving only two of us to hit the beach, and unfortunately I was pretty disappointed. I had heard Goa was wonderful, but these descriptions were more than likely of South Goa. All I can say, the atmosphere was the same as a cheap holiday in Spain or Greece, the beach was extremely dirty and I was scared I would tred on a broken bottle, and we couldn't get more than 3 minutes without trying to be sold something. Feeling no where near relaxed we headed back to the hotel for a swim and with the others still sick, a quiet dinner for me and some clothes washing in the bedroom. So disappointed with my first day I managed to get on a boat tour the second day to Monkey Island which provided the opportunity to snorkel. I love snorkelling and could do for several hours if given the chance. It was an early start and luckily we saw several dolphins swimming close to shore for feeding. Yes, I was happy, nature again, although somewhat disappointed with the driver trying to get way too close in their territory. When we snorkelled I was in my element and would have stayed much longer but was rushed back to the boat. I was upset to found they rushed me, as they wanted to start fishing. Everyone sat around the boat with their fishing wires waiting for the beautiful innocent fish I was just enjoying to latch on and pull up for the trophy photo. I of course didn't participate and spent time taking pictures of the scenery. I'll admit I'm no vegetarian, but I stopped eating fish after Mauritius as I just can't bare to think of the suffering a fish experiences when it is caught. I know and appreciate that fishing is also a staple part of some cultures diet, but for me it was a choice a made a few years ago, and never preach to anyone and explain why I don't eat fish unless they ask.
I finished up in Goa having a meal with some traditional music and dancing in a hotel. I was pulled up to have a dance and tried my best at moving my hips so quickly to the beat. I don't think I did too bad, but would have felt better in some fancy jingling outfit to swish around next to the professional dancer.
It was an early start to Goa airport and I was totally wiped and had to just focus on getting myself to Rishikesh knowing everything would be ok. It was a few hours travelling, flying in to Mumbai and waiting a few hours before getting to Dehradun. Rishikesh is a famous holy city many people in India travel to for pilgrimage but also famous for the travelling yogi. It is set in the base of the Himalayan mountains, and the moment I stepped off the plane and started to talk with my taxi driver and look at the surroundings I knew Rishikesh will be my favourite place in India so far.
Watch this space to see if that is true.
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