Rice paddies
Removing rice from the stalks
Familhy about to travel
Banyon Tree
Muthu, Larry, Barb, Kumaaran, and Muthu's friend (left to right)
Auto RickshawThursday, November 5, 2009
Other Observations Photos
Removing rice from the stalksFamilhy about to travelBanyon TreeMuthu, Larry, Barb, Kumaaran, and Muthu's friend (left to right)Auto Rickshaw
The dam at the Cauvery River - Families having fun in an overflow tank for swimming
Rockfort Temple in Trichy
Wednesday, November 4, 2009
Some Photos While Traveling to Karaikal
The first photo is the school building, the next are the huts the children live in, then photos of the students performing and in classrooms, and the meditation chamber at Auroville.
Kochi and Back to Chennai
After we left the Chinnar Wildlife Reserve, we headed towards Munnar. We drove through the Western Ghats mountains on very curvy narrow lane roads. We reached about 7,000 feet. The mountains are exceptionally beautiful as we drove through tea farms. Tea grows on low shrubs. The very steep mountain slopes were completely covered with them. The women pick the tea with large baskets strapped on their backs, using both hands to pluck the leaves and put them in the basket. These women appear to be exploited as they are housed in very minimal facilities on the tea farms and probably not paid much. Kumaaran said this is an unfortunate part of the tea business.
We stopped briefly in Munnar to buy some tea, cashews and spices. The tea is sold differently here. It is largely in powdered or crystal form and is boiled in water. It tastes very good.
Early that evening we arrived in Ernakulum. We stayed at the Le Royal guest house owned by Jenny, Jose and their staff. They are the most welcoming, friendly people with the most amazing service and meals. Each dinner consisted of four courses: soup, vegetable and meat curries (Kerala style with coconut milk), a main course (usually seafood), and dessert. Barb felt like her stomach was going to split after each meal. Sure was good though. We will really miss staying here!!
We both spent the next day shopping. Larry got some shirts (for cheap so he is happy!). Barb got some Chirudars (tunic and pants that Indian woman wear with a scarf). It is interesting. You pick out the tunic, then go to the pants/scarf counter where they pull out lots of options to match the tunic. We also bought a few examples of local artwork. We walked for about 6 hours, wandering through streets of the city. We had some wonderful pastries and fruit juice drinks (we stopped twice for those). We had different kinds of mixed fruit (not really sure what was in them) and this yummy lime drink.
We met Liat this evening. She just arrived for her first day in India. She is travelling alone for 6 weeks. She is delightful . She is an actress, and her husband creates sets for opera all around the world. We went with her the next day to Fort Cochin to visit the 1500’s Portugese Palace, a synagogue, 2 churches, and the ancient Chinese fishing nets. We bought a few more spices here as well. We went back to Ernakulum and went to a Kathakali performance that evening. What an amazing art. No words are ever spoken. Very intricate face paint and costumes that weigh 60 pounds. They use facial movements, body muscle contractions, dancing, drumming and other music are used to tell stories that are based on everyday life not any religious belief. Each story is based on a particular moral it is trying to highlight. Normally these would start at 6-8 pm and continue until early the next morning at temples.
Today, November 4th, we flew back to Chennai on Kingfisher Airlines. Very nice. Even for a 1 hour 20 minute flight we got a sandwich and drinks. The flight attendant was very nice and asked us lots of questions about the US and Switzerland (which is her dream place to visit because of the snow and mountains.)
We have two more days. Right now, we are having some down time. Barb and Larry have been trading being sick the last few days. First Larry, now it is Barbara’s turn, so we are catching up on some needed sleep.
We stopped briefly in Munnar to buy some tea, cashews and spices. The tea is sold differently here. It is largely in powdered or crystal form and is boiled in water. It tastes very good.
Early that evening we arrived in Ernakulum. We stayed at the Le Royal guest house owned by Jenny, Jose and their staff. They are the most welcoming, friendly people with the most amazing service and meals. Each dinner consisted of four courses: soup, vegetable and meat curries (Kerala style with coconut milk), a main course (usually seafood), and dessert. Barb felt like her stomach was going to split after each meal. Sure was good though. We will really miss staying here!!
We both spent the next day shopping. Larry got some shirts (for cheap so he is happy!). Barb got some Chirudars (tunic and pants that Indian woman wear with a scarf). It is interesting. You pick out the tunic, then go to the pants/scarf counter where they pull out lots of options to match the tunic. We also bought a few examples of local artwork. We walked for about 6 hours, wandering through streets of the city. We had some wonderful pastries and fruit juice drinks (we stopped twice for those). We had different kinds of mixed fruit (not really sure what was in them) and this yummy lime drink.
We met Liat this evening. She just arrived for her first day in India. She is travelling alone for 6 weeks. She is delightful . She is an actress, and her husband creates sets for opera all around the world. We went with her the next day to Fort Cochin to visit the 1500’s Portugese Palace, a synagogue, 2 churches, and the ancient Chinese fishing nets. We bought a few more spices here as well. We went back to Ernakulum and went to a Kathakali performance that evening. What an amazing art. No words are ever spoken. Very intricate face paint and costumes that weigh 60 pounds. They use facial movements, body muscle contractions, dancing, drumming and other music are used to tell stories that are based on everyday life not any religious belief. Each story is based on a particular moral it is trying to highlight. Normally these would start at 6-8 pm and continue until early the next morning at temples.
Today, November 4th, we flew back to Chennai on Kingfisher Airlines. Very nice. Even for a 1 hour 20 minute flight we got a sandwich and drinks. The flight attendant was very nice and asked us lots of questions about the US and Switzerland (which is her dream place to visit because of the snow and mountains.)
We have two more days. Right now, we are having some down time. Barb and Larry have been trading being sick the last few days. First Larry, now it is Barbara’s turn, so we are catching up on some needed sleep.
Monday, November 2, 2009
Chinnar Reserve
No internet for a few days again so we are doing some catch-up at an internet cafe.
Well the photo on the top of our blog turned out to be true. We were very lucky on our overnight trek and saw a group of 10 elephants. 2 male tuskers, 3 small ones, and 5 females. Most likely two groups that came down to the river at the same time at dusk.
We hiked into a cabin with our two guides. They are native tribal people from the area. They spoke a little English and we all used sign language to the best of our ability. They were very kind and helpful. They had an amazing ability to spot animals even in the distance. Mohanan was constantly listening and looking for tracks and signs of animals. The first faint noise by the river and he said elephants and there they were.
He went to check it out first, and then came back to have us come too. We stayed on the other side of the river on a ledge higher up. The guides did not want us to get any closer -- they made a comment about getting legs crushed. We saw them sucking water up in their trunks, drinking it and spraying themselves. With one quick yank, tree branches were ripped off and eaten. At one point the guide moved closer and the elephants shifted to the side quickly surrounding the little ones.
That evening we could hear the elephants as they passed our hut. Sounded like larger trees snapping and brush being trampled with their foot steps. It is a booming sound that you certainly have respect for. Hiking in these forests takes on a whole new meaning when you share the trails with wild elephants.
The next morning we hiked out by the river and saw evidence from a few days earlier of a leopard eating a deer. We saw foot prints too, but not actual leopard sightings.
The monkeys there were very frisky (cheeky as the British and New Zealand travelers called them). One was starting to help himself to Larry's camera when he went to the bathroom but luckily other people grabbed it away.
We have not met another American yet on our travels. German, British, French, Australian, and New Zealand. But many, many times, we have been the only white people in sight. And of course, Larry looks a bit over sized much of the time, but not always. It was a problem finding shirts in some of the small shops for him -- they just don't carry larges and beyond.
Well the photo on the top of our blog turned out to be true. We were very lucky on our overnight trek and saw a group of 10 elephants. 2 male tuskers, 3 small ones, and 5 females. Most likely two groups that came down to the river at the same time at dusk.
We hiked into a cabin with our two guides. They are native tribal people from the area. They spoke a little English and we all used sign language to the best of our ability. They were very kind and helpful. They had an amazing ability to spot animals even in the distance. Mohanan was constantly listening and looking for tracks and signs of animals. The first faint noise by the river and he said elephants and there they were.
He went to check it out first, and then came back to have us come too. We stayed on the other side of the river on a ledge higher up. The guides did not want us to get any closer -- they made a comment about getting legs crushed. We saw them sucking water up in their trunks, drinking it and spraying themselves. With one quick yank, tree branches were ripped off and eaten. At one point the guide moved closer and the elephants shifted to the side quickly surrounding the little ones.
That evening we could hear the elephants as they passed our hut. Sounded like larger trees snapping and brush being trampled with their foot steps. It is a booming sound that you certainly have respect for. Hiking in these forests takes on a whole new meaning when you share the trails with wild elephants.
The next morning we hiked out by the river and saw evidence from a few days earlier of a leopard eating a deer. We saw foot prints too, but not actual leopard sightings.
The monkeys there were very frisky (cheeky as the British and New Zealand travelers called them). One was starting to help himself to Larry's camera when he went to the bathroom but luckily other people grabbed it away.
We have not met another American yet on our travels. German, British, French, Australian, and New Zealand. But many, many times, we have been the only white people in sight. And of course, Larry looks a bit over sized much of the time, but not always. It was a problem finding shirts in some of the small shops for him -- they just don't carry larges and beyond.
More Adventures
We drove to the Western Ghats. They are very beautiful mountains. So amszing with sheer walls of rock but then beautiful tropical vegetation all around -- some even clinging to the rock way up high. We went to Monkey Falls. It is a large waterfall that cascades down to an area where you can stand under smaller falls which flow into 2 smaller ponds where people swim.
Barb stood partly under one of the waterfalls (Larry said to write that he was a chicken and waded in the ponds). It is an experience being fully clothed in a long skirt soaking wet. The Indian women look so graceful. I felt like I could not move my legs at first, but then you get used to it.
We met a group of Masters Degree Engineering students who were very excited to meet us. They are all hoping for jobs in the US some day. They had lots of questions for us and wanted to pose for pictures with us. Photos will be coming later when we have internet for our laptop.
Barb stood partly under one of the waterfalls (Larry said to write that he was a chicken and waded in the ponds). It is an experience being fully clothed in a long skirt soaking wet. The Indian women look so graceful. I felt like I could not move my legs at first, but then you get used to it.
We met a group of Masters Degree Engineering students who were very excited to meet us. They are all hoping for jobs in the US some day. They had lots of questions for us and wanted to pose for pictures with us. Photos will be coming later when we have internet for our laptop.
Orphanage at Podanur
Families for Children is a non-profit run by three women from Canada. Sandra directs the housing, Susan the education and Sarah the health care. The orphanage is quite large and has about 150 high needs special children -- cerebral palsy, club feet never treated, and other serious physical ailments. There are also 300 other children that live there that go off to school each day. Everyone seems content, well taken care of, but the tri-management system means things are not always coordinated. They do have a computer lab that is much older and most of the machines do not work for a wide variety of reasons.
There is a lot of excitement among the teens for us visiting in February. We spent some time talking with them -- showing them on a map where we are from and they really liked practicing their English.
They have two people from Nebraska -- a brother and sister -- John and Katie that have been volunteering there for 2 years and are continuing to do so for another two years. They work with the older teens so they will be a good resource with the computer lab. Luckily, Kumaaran lives close by the orphanage and is very technologically savvy too.
We stayed in the guest house which will work perfect. There is a kitchen, 3 bedrooms with bathrooms and a very large living area. They also have a cnnteen that can cook meals for us. Very yummy food. A new type of omelet -- it is fried into a thin crepe like pancake.
We had a very lovely evening with AGK's sister/Kumaaran's niece, Kumaaran's sister, and their families. They have two girls age 8 and 12, The 12 year old was away at an overnight camp. The 8 year old is adorable and highly accomplished. She has won numerous first prizes for a wide range of things: sports, backwards walking, math, science, reading, and many more. The food was delicious and the hospitality amazing. She packed some chapati for our lunch the next day at the preserve. They also gave us a package of sweets. And Kumaaran's sister and the neices in-laws both gave us oil lamps used by Hindus for good fortune and prayer. They were extremelty kind and generous to Larry and I, We were very well taken care of!!
There is a lot of excitement among the teens for us visiting in February. We spent some time talking with them -- showing them on a map where we are from and they really liked practicing their English.
They have two people from Nebraska -- a brother and sister -- John and Katie that have been volunteering there for 2 years and are continuing to do so for another two years. They work with the older teens so they will be a good resource with the computer lab. Luckily, Kumaaran lives close by the orphanage and is very technologically savvy too.
We stayed in the guest house which will work perfect. There is a kitchen, 3 bedrooms with bathrooms and a very large living area. They also have a cnnteen that can cook meals for us. Very yummy food. A new type of omelet -- it is fried into a thin crepe like pancake.
We had a very lovely evening with AGK's sister/Kumaaran's niece, Kumaaran's sister, and their families. They have two girls age 8 and 12, The 12 year old was away at an overnight camp. The 8 year old is adorable and highly accomplished. She has won numerous first prizes for a wide range of things: sports, backwards walking, math, science, reading, and many more. The food was delicious and the hospitality amazing. She packed some chapati for our lunch the next day at the preserve. They also gave us a package of sweets. And Kumaaran's sister and the neices in-laws both gave us oil lamps used by Hindus for good fortune and prayer. They were extremelty kind and generous to Larry and I, We were very well taken care of!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)