Week 20:  A Problem I Wish I Knew How to Solve.

 

Hello Everyone,

 

I’m writing from Udaipur having left the intoxicating madness of Mumbai firmly in the rearview.  Everyone told me to get out of there fast, although now I feel regretful to be gone.  The city was insane, dirty, exhausting, dangerous, and full of painful to witness poverty, and yet, in many ways it felt like paradise, and definitely was one of the most interesting places I have had the chance to visit on this winding journey.

 

Reading Shantaram, a book set in Bombay, is serving as the perfect compliment to my Indian adventure, which has been nothing if not unexpected.  Let me explain.  I spent the last month in Nepal hearing from countless people how terrible India is, yet how much they love it.  I haven’t found that yet, I just love it.  I haven’t found it terrible at all, in fact I’ve found it’s people among some of the most welcoming and friendly I’ve met in all my travels, and only very rarely is it because their tying to get money.  Now I know I’m not in Dehli yet, or Varanasi, but in terms of navigating India and immersing myself into local culture.  So far so good.

 

The week began back in the crowded paradise of Mumbai, but I felt settled by this time.  Tuesday I went and proudly sorted out my first Indian train ticket, a twenty hour, two train journey north, to Udaipur.  I’d heard horror stories of the people manning the tourist ticket windows but both women there were incredibly friendly with me, very helpful, and awesomely patient, despite spending their whole day around pushy, uncomfortable tourists who very often have no clue what their doing.  My spirits billowing like wind filled sails from that success I found myself another amazing lunch.  Perhaps that’s one reason I so love Mumbai, I think it’s been my favourite city for eating on this whole trip.  That says something, keep in mind I’ve been through Italy, The Balkans, and Greece already on this trip.

 

After a delicious lunch of butter chicken and Garlic Naan (I just can’t bring myself to be a person who regularly pulls out the camera in restaurants)  I headed back to my hotel and moved dorm rooms as was required.  I spent a few hours on the internet and then a few hours struggling to write a bit.  After that I headed out for a little walk through the sea side part of Mumbai.

 

The walk was uneventful but still incredible to look at.   It was the clearest view of the English influence on the city, huge old buildings, and parking lots filled with expensive cars.  Audi’s, Benzes, and BMW’s, then you round a corner and see a beggar who looks a few inches from death lying on the street as people in business suits walk by talking on their Iphones.  It’s a baffling place, and I’m not really judging those in the business suits, at least not entirely, since I’m more or less one of them.

 

Nepal was incredibly poor in many places, but there wasn’t the same juxtaposition available all over the place, and I’m finding it incredibly eye opening, frustrating and depressing.  In another way though it’s inspirational, as I saw later that night, after a lovely dinner with my friend the Canadian and two awesome Italians who’d been living in Germany, and a nice British girl at the end of her trip.  Anyway we ordered too much food so we took out our leftovers and a tiny girl of maybe 4 years old approached us with a small smile and nervous eyes that couldn’t fail to melt even the hardest of hearts.  We gave her the food and suddenly a few other kids were out there with her, and she was happily sharing, and they were talking, and laughing and smiling, as they opened up the different bags wondering what kind of food might be inside.  I think the way these people survive, and work together in crowded and difficult circumstances is absolutely remarkable.

 

Reading Shantaram only reinforces this respect I’m finding.  Life is hard for them, in a way I’ve never really fully imagined, and I’m sure I still don’t entirely understand, but they are continuing through the struggles and honestly, smile and laugh more than most people I know back in the west.  I don’t know whether it’s honest laughter, or outright defiance to the things life throws at them, or a mixture of both, but either way I respect it, and want to figure out a meaningful way to help someday.

 

The next day we all woke up early and hopped in a taxi on our way to Sanjay Ghandi National Park.

 

We climbed out of the taxi after 90 long but fascinating minutes and entered the national park.  We quickly headed to the bus for the Tiger and Lion safari, which was a massive  disappointment.  It was billed as watching animals in large areas, but really they were all enclosed in small cages that we could see, they let one lion out but he seemed more interest in seeing his friend in the other cage.  It lasted maybe half an hour and was pretty depressing, if nowhere near as bad as the Belgrade Zoo was.

 

The day was saved when we  got on another internal minibus towards some ancient Buddhist caves.  We ended up meeting three Indian teenagers who came from Mumbai and showed us the whole area.  The caves were beautiful, as was the view from up above this natural oasis found in the middle of a 20 million strong city, and the monkey weren’t bad either, but what really made the day was talking about India and the problems it’s facing.  These kids were 15 to 18 but they all spoke English pretty well and they were all decidedly upper class.  They were studying engineering in college and all had one wish, to get out of India by University.  One wanted to go to quote “Manchester United.”  He quickly became my favourite.  Another boy wanted to go to Waterloo University, which surprised both Canadians as it seemed an oddly

specific choice.

 

We sat in these ancient caves and had a candid discussion about the government corruption and the struggles they face, not even touching on the struggles of this countries poor.  We learned that none of them yet had passports, even though their parents worked in government.  Apparently to get a passport costs anywhere between 100,000 and 500,000 rupees and perhaps even more frustratingly, usually takes about three years to process.  That’s not visa’s to get into another country, that’s just a passport.  Obviously this problem is minor compared to the starving poor, but it still shocked me.

 

I emerged from that talk immensely frustrated and baffled.  The world clearly has a lot of problems, and India is not the best off country.  An ever growing population, hugely corrupt government, and lack of vital infrastructures in small villages makes the problems India is facing and will continue to face seem insurmountable.  I don’t like problems that I can’t solve, and ones that I don’t even know where to start are even worse.  I wish I had some clue how to help in a truly meaningful way, for now I’ll have to settle for the small things, but its something I plan to spend a lot of time thinking about, and reading about.  Oh, and I really want to learn Hindi one day, making that a life goal for sure.

 

We caught the taxi back to the center of Mumbai, still having not eaten, which tuned into a mistake as the ride took close to two and a half hours, and while still fascinating, the last hour of it really dragged.  I do find it awesome how Indian taxi drivers always assure you they know exactly where their going, then stop and ask for directions a few dozen times along the way.  At any rate we made it back and all enjoyed a much needed delicious meal.

 

That evening I started packing in my dorm and better got to know an older british man in my dorm.  He is a writer musician and showed me the anti-pilot he’d produced for a tv show he’d written and scored about three prostitutes with varying levels of experience.  It was interesting, though occasionally seemed odd, and it certainly bordered on soft core pornography which was strange to watch in silence on my laptop as he was watching me.  Still it was interesting.

 

The packing didn’t get finished until the next morning.  It’s frustrating my expensive and well reviewed bag seems to be ripping, meaning I had to throw out a bunch of stuff to avoid overloading it.  Oh well to quote Homer Simpson, “Possessions are fleeting.”

 

Thursday morning I grabbed one last delicious lunch and then headed to the train station for what was sure to be a long trip.  Luckily I had a long book to lose myself n and the first half off the train ride passed quickly in the air conditioned car which I somewhat needlessly paid extra for.

 

I got off and hopped onto the non air conditioned night train.  3 dollars for a sleeper on an 11 hour journey.  It wasn’t luxurious, but I had a bottom berth and it was comfortable enough.  I managed to get a few hours of interrupted sleep and also met still more friendly locals who stopped to chat for a few hours of the journey.  The one thing Id not expected, it got freezing cold.  I had to pull my sweatshirt out and even then I was shivering until the sun came up.

 

I spent the last hour of the ride standing by the open door watching the countryside and eventually the city go by.  The children in India are, much like those in Nepal, incredibly photogenic.  Sadly I did not have my camera out, but one moment stuck in my mind, two young boys sitting in a field covered in litter started waving at the train in general, when they noticed me standing there waving back, their motions turned frantic and I watched grins blossom on their faces.  People here seem to love me, my white skin, tall frame and disappointingly large stomach.  I’m still getting stopped for pictures of me on a daily basis.  Some people seem to get frustrated by it, I’m an attention whore and love it.

 

I reached Udaipur tired out and happily hopped in a Tuk Tuk and was lucky enough to be able to check in to my room and grab a few hours of res before heading out into the noticeably smaller city of Udaipur.

 

The city itself is set on a lovely lake and has a very different feel from Mumbai.  Down by the lake is very touristy, though not without it’s charm, but I’ve had more fun over the past few days wandering through the non touristy neighbourhoods of the city.  Crowded marketplaces where women sell fresh vegetables, soaps, and hand woven wicker baskets, while the men peddle their wares in jewelry, leather and clothing shops.

 

I find I do get stopped and asked to buy things every now and then, but just responding with a smile on your face and spending a minute or so talking to the shop owners and their happy to shake your hand and let you keep going. After the stories I’d heard in Nepal about India,  was expecting much more aggressive hustling.  This is downright pleasant and just makes you feel like your becoming a part of the city.

 

The past three days have passed largely uneventfully. I’ve done some writing, enjoyed some meals over the lake, visited the crowded city palace, and discovered the joy of the banana peanut butter pancake offered at my guesthouse.  Monkeys parade over the buildings in the city by night, which is fascinating to watch too.  And the temples here are pretty awesome.  Here’s some pictures.

 

I’m really starting to study the differences and similarities between places based on mixtures of their history, their geographical location and their level of isolation.  It’s fantastic for world building, and while the writing on Home has been slow, I’m excited about it, and the world it’s in.  I’m feeling so lucky that I get to take these three years to travel, t be inspired and to create.  Create as much as I possibly can.

 

 

Life is good.

 

Song of the week:  Damnit  Blink 182

 

 

I’m feeling like Middleschool right now and blink is just timeless.  I may or may not have watched an hour long live set of them tonight on youtube.

 

Reading Log:  Shantaram.  This is one of the most enjoyable books I’ve read in a long time outside of the fantasy genre.  It’s fantastic, the story and the writing are both engaging, lush, and real.  I’m sure the fact that I’m in India helps, but still I recommend everyone check it out.  Thanks to the countless travellers who recommended it to me.