iDallas!

After three nights in Hampi, we will be boarding a train destined for Goa and then Gokarna this afternoon. Our original plans to go to Udupi may be changed due to traveling logistics and my need to fly back in a few days. Hampi is filled with travelers, most of which seem to be very nice people. We have met 4 or 5 different groups now. We have not yet had a chance to check out the local ruins much but will be doing that in the next couple of hours before we begin our trek out. I came down with some sort of stomach bug and was sick in bed for a good portion of yesterday, unfortunately. I am still a little weird but feeling ok now.

We have explored a few different areas of interest here in Pune and will be moving on tonight. I have started to pick up some souvenirs. They are more expensive in larger cities but there’s more variety to choose from. Even the expensive prices are pretty low compared to the US, though.

We will be taking an overnight 13 hour train ride tonight. We will get off in Guntakal at around 8am and figure out how best to get to Hospet. From Hospet we will take a half hour bus ride to the village of Hampi. I am excited to get to Hampi. It is promise to be relaxing and relatively undeveloped compared to the big cities we have been in so far (Pune has about 3.5M people and Mumbai about 11M). Hampi is also a little off of the beaten path for tourists so that should give it a different feel. So far most everyone has been quite nice to us but we have encountered several people trying to rip off the obvious tourists.

There’s not much use in us trying to ‘fit in’. We have seen other travelers but most of the time we are the only non-Indians wherever we go. We get a lot of attention no matter where we are. I’m not sure if it’s a cultural difference or not, but people here stare for quite long periods of time… as much as 10 minutes sometimes! Easily 90% of the people passing us by on the streets give us a look to see what we’re up to and what we look like.

We have seen families cooking dinner on the sidewalk while a teenager dressed in new Western-style (as in Western Europe and the US, not cowboy) clothes walks by talking happily on a cell phone. There is a very wide spectrum of wealth and education among the people. Imported DVDs at the Borders look-alike bookstore were priced equivalently to US prices (1,999 Rupees for Lost Season 1) and we were able to fill both our bellies with tasty street food and some extravagant fancy sweets for 56 Rupees (about $1.20).

JPM and I are now in Pune (pronounced Poona) after spending yesterday in Mumbai (formerly Bombay). A four hour train ride brought us here. We had the best meal so far earlier today and we got a bit of a view of the mystery that is the Osho International Meditation Center. Do some quick research on that if you’re interested. It’s the most foreigners we’ve seen in one place by far, and they all wear the same maroon robes while wandering around near the place. Strange mix of east and west, third world and first.

We plan to spend a few days here, but may leave sooner if we run out of things we want to do. India’s major cities are severely polluted with difficult to breathe air and undrinkable water. Beggars are everywhere and extreme poverty is never very far from view. There is also a growing middle class of Indians that dress and act much like someone from Europe might. It’s a clash of worlds unlike anything I’ve seen before.

From here we will be moving on to a village called Hampi near some supposedly very impressive ruins of a city that was destroyed after being a major capital for several hundred years. I’ve never been good with specifics but you can look it up on Google or ask me when I get back. Until next time…

In a few days I’m headed to India for a couple weeks of fun and adventure. I’ve been wanting to visit India for a long time now and I’m really excited about it. I’ve had my arsenal of vaccinations and am taking along a small medicine cabinet’s worth of first aid supplies and medicine. I also have bug spray that will kill mosquitoes anywhere in the world at any time. The wearer merely has to think about the bug for the effect to happen. It’s amazing stuff.

I’ll be taking gobs of photos and jotting down my travel thoughts in my new moleskin journal. I still haven’t uploaded pictures from my Europe trip a year ago so only time will tell how long it takes me to tell this story in a public fashion. Keep North America warm for me!

Some stupid spammers hit our servers hard today and some of our defenses pretty much crumbled. We spent a good portion of the day shoring up the walls and trying to keep as much spam off the Internet as possible.

This evening made up for it, though. We went to a performance of the touring Cirque du Soleil show, Corteo and our tickets included pre-show and intermission access to a VIP area called Tapis Rouge with yummy treats and an open bar. It was a great time!

Happy winter time celebration days to everyone who cares! I hope no one is offended by my offerings of winter cheer and they are not contrary to your spiritual, philosophical, or scientific beliefs. I was greeted to a dead water heater over Christmas and it had to be replaced. We also have a new bed with an actual head board and foot board. It’s so grown up!

Having a new puppy has taught me something about myself. I’m not as patient as I thought I was. In fact, I don’t think I would even classify myself as a patient person. I’m not an impatient person either, but I definitely have limited patience at times. I think it’s important to recognize things like this about yourself because it empowers you to manage resulting behaviors you would prefer not to exhibit. That only means it becomes possible. It doesn’t mean I’ll be able to do it.