Intrepid Travel-starting with Ooty: Hill Station

For the second time in my life of travel.....I took a tour. (first was for Bhutan; they require it for entry) It's just not my style.....i like to linger.... and looking beneath the veneer of a place.  But, I had trepidation with India (see: original post) and this seemed like a solution.  I booked with Australian travel group, Intrepid because it offers a lot of free time, small groups (12 max), uses only local guides , creates " mingling" opportunities and is Really Really Cheap. (about $100-125@day)  The great part about this tour is that it came with CHARLES, our truly intrepid leader.  Born in Madurai, Charles is your India of NOW.  So smart, industrious, (his first year of college he started a business for widows (his mom) sewing these Terrific over the shoulder bags.  They are made So well and are so comfy......i use it daily.  He is attempting to study in Perugia in May so that he is the "go to" guy for the Italians.  He will learn the barrista biz and open up a cafe in Madurai....... and he will then open a hotel in Periyar....... a tourist mecca for Indians as well as foreigners.  Is this pie in the SKY?  Nope..... not what I witnessed.  His people skills are extraordinary. He is a very quick learner...... and boy can he manage tough stuff (later on I will discuss the Damn Dam.......... political machinations that closed borders/demonstrations....but Charles got us through....and helped every other tour guide ( including those not Intrepid.)
And this guy knows how to party.  Every night.  Yes he is only 25.....and very very Ambitious!  It was Charles that helped each and every one of us through our travails.  Everyone got really really sick (*except me)..... but I had my own problems....... as in my Mastercard was rejected for 5 days in all ATM machines. Late each night I was on the phone (SKYPE) with my bank........... it took five grueling days.

the marketplace in Ooty (Ootacamund formally)

Don't Smell the Flowers....... they believe the power is then removed from them!

garlands for puja.....i wore one in my hair in Chennai when I prayed

come for a taste of Smiles..... look at all the different kind of aubergine (eggplants)

the famous train in Ooty.....beautiful views

the rest of the Intrepid crew

endless tea plantations...... the tree is a silver oak that is the companion plant.  it holds and releases water for the tea "shrub" (actually a tree constantly pruned)

views from the train

colorful village houses

love the Sanskrit script...... influences my  drawing

went on a tour of a plantation....... Yummy Masala Chai (filled with cardamom and cloves)......but they use tons of chemicals here to grow!

Animist Hindu temple for indigenous hill tribe

in native garb

The not -so- wonderful part of the 2 week tour..... it's a Fu$%#(*****$?>>>>)(!!!!!!!king tour. OMG! So much travel.......in Huge India...... on public transportation... (EEEEEKS the Toilets on the trains)...great distances.....
each day moving..........with the Billion +.  It all worked out well.....incredible FOOD (Charles would take us out for "street food".....and he knew where it would be safe....and you have not LIVED until you eat Indian street food.  Crispy , tandoor cauliflower, Vada : chickpea flour small donuts, with savory onion,garlic + broccoli mixed into dough.... then eaten with coconut chutney and chili pepper sambar.  Yes, I got my maximum amount of Vitamin G (Grease) in India.  I ate more fried food in those 5 weeks than i have eaten my entire life. The stuffed parathas with potato, the dosas dipped in soupy lentils  (sambar) +turnip.     There is a world of Indian sweets..... but they are Way Too Sugary. ..... for me (more diabetes in India than any other country).

So I digressed into culinary wonders..... does anyone mind?
Why not dig out your favorite Indian cookbook this evening and make some Dhal?  With some nice brown rice...... buy a little Major Grey's mango chutney....... and it will be a nice reminder of why India never took over the world.  They were too busy creating some of the most layered and nuanced food.....as well as attending to pujas.... and temple ceremonies....their 8 incarnations of deities..... their dance, music, yoga,meditation and painting......not to mention all those Kama Sutra poses!
But................... India is changing...... and the White Tiger is Loose. (call your mastercard toll free #....... it's Mumbai at your service)



travelin' woman

preparations for Upacara

I woke up to the sounds of "chop chop chop". The men were preparing the LAWAR... a ceremonial concoction made out of coconut, meat and BLOOD , (from the rooster that was croaking mournfully yesterday)

Nyoman  preparing festive offerings for the family temple

Ina and a host of friends and family preparing LAWAR

Since I have arrived, there has been an air of Industriousness that has actually worked its way into FERVOR. My family is having an Upacara (ceremony) in their family temple to bless their house.  It is not just this house..... but the 10 houses that comprise the Sudiana family ,(Janet deNeefe et al + all Honeymoon properties)  It's a huge family and I didn't realize that Everyone was involved into 3 nights ago when I was buying my nightly water and observed in the store that Jero (the proprietess) was also doing a lot of preparations (next to her sleeping daughter). I said, "Apa  kabar?"  and she responded by telling me that she was preparing for an upacara. I said so was My family....and then it all became clear that she was a cousin (Ina's father had three wives) and that everyone was In On This.

this offering cabang was created just like i paint.......... keep layering on the pieces

notice the Rice Gunung (mountains) very sacred

 

every generation gets in on the work: all Very SOCIAL- cousin Komang

CHop Chop Chop (her father- Ibu's brother)

Balinese food processor (coconut)it's actually electric

Pak Ina

yep , it's the first of the roosters to give its life for a higher purpose (I am trying to be Balinese)

I actually attempted to help yesterday.  Nyoman tried to instruct me how to do the very complicated cutting, twisting, pinning and creation of the bamboo ........ i was a complete Failure.  (I am an abstract painter).  very embarrassing........ but i should have been learning at her feet by age 3.  I gave up and documented..... and of course hung out with the women and made jokes!

 Little Ayu flitted from place to place..... making it all very exciting.....she is absorbing all of the traditions.......and interacting and amusing us ALL!  
Off to the beach today with Dee and friends.........
tomorrow morning at 7am..... the priest Will Arrive.  I'll be in the family temple with my kabaya,sarong and sash on............ready to bless this house temple and family






travelin' woman

ELEPHANTS!!!!!!!!!!!

wild elephants!!!!!

Babar Lives!!!!!!!  Who doesn't love elephants?
I am so out  of sequence now.... I will just continue my own stream of thoughts....and hopefully form will eventually emerge.
We're back in India again (on the blog).  It's in the Nelgiri Hills, the Western Ghats (where many of the British Hill Stations were built, ie: the places where the British womenfolk  lived as their husbands worked in the lowlands, in intense heat , and playing tennis and drinking gin and tonics)  Yes, colonial India is Always very evident.... the detritus of an empire (hmmmmm....... what will America's legacy be??????? a lot of bad bad music and fast food restaurants.EEEEK!) 
There is the most beautiful spine of mountains (7K ft height) in southern India- The Western Ghats.  Filled with wildlife and fauna........and incredible mists on  the slopes.....for tea and coffee plantations.  During my trip with Intrepid (more later) we would ascend the Ghats stay a day or two and then plunge down into the lowlands of the coast or a city.  I was actually FREEZING up in the mountains.
Back to ELEPHANTS!  In India, the god Ganesh is a most worshipped  deity.  He is the remover of obstacles, therefore there is often an elephant present in the temples.  Unfortunately, the elephants are often MISTREATED , and therefore they go beserk and maim and kill.  Can you blame them? (I hate when animals are made to conform to human's wants/desires for entertainment sake)  They are kept in very very small spaces and must perform puja (offerings) all day long, perhaps not fed enough and prodded with a hook.
Well, on our way to a tiger sanctuary  (Madumalai Park- and we were seeing trucks and trucks of elephants being transported to the park and for a 48 day "holiday" .)  They were headed for the same place as we were. O Joy! 

Mahout taking his elephant for a nice bath!

this is another wild elephant we saw in the reserve..... notice the shape of his ear: a map of India!

Langur in the tree O! the monkeys are a treat!

elephants are bathed twice a day and they love it!

this boy is about 25 (notice beige speckling on trunk and face)

black faced Langur

this 3 year old elephant is orphaned. (wild) the boy's mother takes care of the elephant.  I got to stroke and play with this elephant; their skin is so rough and coarse hair in on top of their head.  So playful..... what STRONG trunks.....he would wrap it around my hair and PULL!!!!!

Yes, my next life will be as a Mahout (read "The Glass Palace" by Amitav Ghosh)

another young one, see the tusks forming (small for female)

friend, Riyaz with a young friend

aaaaah, the sweet aggressions of a young elephant

with Mahout

in the wild

another  malabar langur

Happy trails.....with tails........the Elephant is a Sacred and beautiful creature...... and I loved being up close.....it's just the beginning
and by the way we stayed in the most extraordinary jungle retreat in Masinagudi.............. built in a most sustainable way........we were met by small herd of deer.....even the goats drank from the swimming pool.....nature and people intertwined in the most natural way.

had a great swim here

after roaming the huge property, I ended up in this tree house; birding.... this area is filled with exotic birds that i'd never heard of.....a colourful hunt for the eyes!

travelin' woman

Return to the paradise that is BALI

the view off the temple at Uluwatu (southern most tip of Bali)

Uluwatu

Arriving back in Bali (after a grueling 36 hour trip from India- Note to ALL: stay away from the worst airport in the WORLD:  Bengalaru (Bangalore).  Really. The World is not Flat......not the first time Thomas Friedman has been WRONG (remember him banging the drums for war in Iraq ????)
But as usual I digress (i can also transgress; but at least i apologize for this).  AHHHHHHHHHHHHHH Bali. I relaxed with the biggest smile EVER as Jantuk greeted me.  Yes, the 90% humidity felt just like home,as did the offerings scattered all around.  What didn't feel so great was THe Extreme Traffic.

 

Oh well...... onto Uluwatu...... where the view  is Magnificent and the temple juts out from the high bluff.  I had to hide my sunglasses and earrings as the monkeys are really cheeky little buggers! Then we drove to Pedang-Pedang Beach to swim in the Hot water......ah my kind of entry: temple then swimming.  Julia Roberts' film (Eat PrayLove) was filmed at this Tiny tiny beach.

Hey ! a guy's gotta eat!

Diandra at her homestay on Jalan Goutama

 And then back to the airport to pick up Doodle who was flying in from Australia.  She was visiting her Uncle John, Aunt Sal, cousin Tom and newest member of the family, Elenna.  She has a very special relationship with Tom and had a terrific visit (not to mention , Jewish girl having Christmas).
Unfortunately, she wasn't feeling great.... a bug picked up in Australia......but we still had a good reunion.
(she'll write guest blogging.......)
The Trickle Down Theory...... is alive and well thanks to yours truly.

Jantuk arrived in a spacious new SUV..... he had a compact last year.  it had "essence of newness" a phrase my dad used to tell me as a child......that wonderful perfume (it took me years to actually figure this out).
Ina Inn- Jantuk casually informed me that there was now a "SPA" at Ina Inn.  Well, what greeted me was "the open-aired new pavilion " announcing yoga and spa treatments, complete with two new Buddhas (hey they kind of resembled me..... belly and all) and new koi ponds.
Glad I could be of SERVICE!!!!!!!!!!!!
Tidak apa-apa!  It's Good to be Back!
So many reunions................
On New Year's Eve , Dee volunteered for the Michael Franti Benefit concert for Bumi Sehat.  Really Big Deal.  She manned the "beer" + alcohol tent (good call) as opposed to the medic tent.  I purchased a ticket and proceeded to again reunite with friends..... especially Ibu Robin (CNN Hero of the Year) and Dr. Bobby (my famed acupuncture  Dr.....where I "lit" people up).  It's all to raise the money for the new clinic.
Unfortunately, Dee still wasn't feeling well...... and I met a healer and we rubbed things on her..... but she still felt like she wanted to barf.......so I took her home to my place at 10:30 where i nursed her and she said the firecrackers sounded like the soundtrack of WAR.  it was pretty intense.
We are Grateful!  then..... it all calmed down and I went to sleep with the frogs singing their Bisma symphony, the geckos burping out their Kecak percussion ....... only to wake up to the persistent Honks of Quack -Quack........ Ahh it's good to be HOME!








travelin' woman