So I know we are behind in documenting previous trips, but thought I'd share the weather forecasts I just checked. We leave Tuesday night : 12:30 AM!!
Bangkok, Thailand ... Low of 79, High of 94 - Dewpoints in the 70's
Sydney, Australia ... Low of 55, High of 67 - It's going to be COLD! :)
Taveuni, ??? :) ... Low of 78, High of 84
Flights are 4 hours, 9 hours, then 4 hours.
Just had to add this from a travel guide on the web:
Near Wairiki some two hundred years ago, Taveuni warriors turned back thousands of invading Tongans, (Polynesian origins) in a battle that was fought in canoes just off the beach. It was this particular battle that turned the tide in a war that had seen the Tongans take over much of ???. The locals celebrated by cooking their enemies and eating them with breadfruit.
Sunday, April 27, 2008
Saturday, April 19, 2008
The drive to Pondicherry
(This was on January 12, 2007)
Having returned from the Hassan region, just a couple weeks earlier, we decided it was time to resume our travels within India and see as much as possible. This time, the destination would be Pondicherry, a 6-7 hour drive east, through the Eastern Ghats. Pondicherry is a former French colony, and we were hoping for some good French food once we got there.
Heading east from Palm Meadows is definitely nicer than going west. We didn't have to contend with an hour of driving through the city before reaching the open road. After leaving at 8AM, in about minutes, we had passed the girls school and officially entered Tamil Nadu. There we got on a toll-road and I could hardly believe we were still in India. Wide and fast, with just the occasional person/goat/cow walking on the road. Now that was traveling! Murthy seemed to enjoy the 'open road' as well, and I think we determined the top speed of an Innova with 3 adults, 3 kids, and too much luggage to be just over 140 kmh!
Unfortunately, that road went to Chennai, and we had to turn off to get to Pondy. This new road was definitely not as nice. I think some of the potholes could have swallowed the Innova whole! The drive through small villages was definitely more exciting however, and the passing sights kept us entertained.
About halfway there (at noon), we stopped in a town called Thiruvanamallai, home to a very large Hindu temple and a pilgrimage point for many Hindus. In fact, back in December, our maid and driver's wife had come here for the Shiva festival. With Murthy as our tour guide, we first went and were blessed by an elephant. Zach was a bit concerned!
Then after walking through some of the buildings, the girls attracted a crowd, which proved to be a great opportunity for Heather to take pictures. Here's a cute little girl!
Pilgrims come dressed in red sarees. There were some families, but it seemed to be mostly women who came. After a couple hundred pictures, it was time to get back in the car and head further east, through the mountains. For those of you keeping track, it is now 1:30 pm.
If you were expecting snow covered peaks, then these 'mountains' would have disappointed you. We mainly saw granite hills, many with forts on top, as pictured below.
Finally, at 4:15pm, we and checked into the hotel/resort called the Kailash. It was run by a nice Frenchman and looked to be rather relaxing, but dinner didn't start until 7:30pm. After getting settled in our room (ocean view means further away from the ocean - up the hill) we went down the path to see the Bay of Bengal, and let the kids RUN!
This coast was devastated by the December 26, 2004 tsunami. According to an article, over 30000 people were homeless in the territory of Pondicherry.
The shores are filled with local fisherman, and their families will come to the ocean to dig clams, and play. Here's a picture of their big smiles.
Finally, at the end of the day, our family on the coast. We had survived the drive and got to walk in the ocean. Tomorrow we were heading into Pondicherry itself.
Having returned from the Hassan region, just a couple weeks earlier, we decided it was time to resume our travels within India and see as much as possible. This time, the destination would be Pondicherry, a 6-7 hour drive east, through the Eastern Ghats. Pondicherry is a former French colony, and we were hoping for some good French food once we got there.
Heading east from Palm Meadows is definitely nicer than going west. We didn't have to contend with an hour of driving through the city before reaching the open road. After leaving at 8AM, in about minutes, we had passed the girls school and officially entered Tamil Nadu. There we got on a toll-road and I could hardly believe we were still in India. Wide and fast, with just the occasional person/goat/cow walking on the road. Now that was traveling! Murthy seemed to enjoy the 'open road' as well, and I think we determined the top speed of an Innova with 3 adults, 3 kids, and too much luggage to be just over 140 kmh!
Unfortunately, that road went to Chennai, and we had to turn off to get to Pondy. This new road was definitely not as nice. I think some of the potholes could have swallowed the Innova whole! The drive through small villages was definitely more exciting however, and the passing sights kept us entertained.
About halfway there (at noon), we stopped in a town called Thiruvanamallai, home to a very large Hindu temple and a pilgrimage point for many Hindus. In fact, back in December, our maid and driver's wife had come here for the Shiva festival. With Murthy as our tour guide, we first went and were blessed by an elephant. Zach was a bit concerned!
Then after walking through some of the buildings, the girls attracted a crowd, which proved to be a great opportunity for Heather to take pictures. Here's a cute little girl!
Pilgrims come dressed in red sarees. There were some families, but it seemed to be mostly women who came. After a couple hundred pictures, it was time to get back in the car and head further east, through the mountains. For those of you keeping track, it is now 1:30 pm.
If you were expecting snow covered peaks, then these 'mountains' would have disappointed you. We mainly saw granite hills, many with forts on top, as pictured below.
Finally, at 4:15pm, we and checked into the hotel/resort called the Kailash. It was run by a nice Frenchman and looked to be rather relaxing, but dinner didn't start until 7:30pm. After getting settled in our room (ocean view means further away from the ocean - up the hill) we went down the path to see the Bay of Bengal, and let the kids RUN!
This coast was devastated by the December 26, 2004 tsunami. According to an article, over 30000 people were homeless in the territory of Pondicherry.
The shores are filled with local fisherman, and their families will come to the ocean to dig clams, and play. Here's a picture of their big smiles.
Finally, at the end of the day, our family on the coast. We had survived the drive and got to walk in the ocean. Tomorrow we were heading into Pondicherry itself.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
6 yards of fabric - One size fits ALL!
Heather and our nanny Menaka in sarees. Heather had Menaka's help putting in on properly. Even so, somehow the end seemed shorter than usual!
The first of the travel updates - Just after Christmas - Temples and Bumpy Roads
After our trip to Mauritius, we really hadn't traveled much. I guess the experience of spending two nights in the Mumbai airport was just too much fun. At least it was the international terminal one night, and the domestic on the way back.
Anyway, since we didn't come back to Minnesota for Christmas, we spent a week at home, relaxing and trying to figure out where to go. Our friends the Fischers (wherearethefischers.blogspot.com) also wanted to do a bit of traveling, so we decided to check out some 1000 year old temples west of Bangalore.
There is a brand of 'luxury' resorts in southern India called Orange County, and they had a moderately priced resort in the town of Hassan, with a swimming pool and lots of 'India' to see nearby. After a tumultuous experience booking the rooms (drive into Bangalore because the online payment doesn't work - and payment doesn't work at their office - so finally just pay at the resort) we set off at our planned 6:30 am to beat the Bangalore traffic. Actually, 6:30 was closer to 7:30, plus both of us forgetting a few things at home and needing to double back.
Future vacations are focused on sites to the east of Bangalore :) After spending ~90 minutes getting through Bangalore, it was time for the open road. I'm glad Murthy knew were he was going. Now we could proceed our our 2-4 hour drive out to Hassan. After a bit of kid swapping between Innovas... (we were really tempted to put all kids in one, and the adults in the other - but figured all the kids would wind up in the front seat) ... and some regurgitated carrots, we finally arrived around 2pm, just in time for lunch.
Since we had been driving all day, why not continue it with a little more driving to see the first of the 1000 year old temples, with the added bonus of some cheek pinching for the kids? Sounds like the thing to do, so we set of for Halebidu, just 30 minutes away.
Lots of fantastic carvings in the stone, and many very friendly Indian tourists. Usually the kids were the highlight of the photos, but periodically the adults were the focus of the picture. As you can tell: the kids became a bit tired
of posing for yet another picture. Fantastic opportunity for Heather and I to get pictures of them however.
Retreating back to the resort, we had a nice south-Indian meal, with cold Fosters, and the kids were asleep soon. The plan for the next day was a short drive to Belur to see the temple there, then return back to the pool in the afternoon. However, I got an urgent text message from my driver saying he needs to talk to us. Thinking a truck tipped over on our Innova, I call him and he is excited about tour plans for the next day. He has been talking with friends, and we just have to see another temple that is an easy 3-4 hour drive, and after that we can drive to an overlook and watch the sun set over the west coast of India. Not a pool for the kids, but sounds pretty good, so we make that the new plan.
The following day, we go see the temples in Belur. A little bigger complex, a bit more graphic carving, many more Indian tourists and cheek pinching. (Fortunately, little blonde kids in India can get away with quite a bit of mischief), then we set off for this temple in the mountains and our sunset.
Maybe passing the goats should have been a clue that this was not going to be as seamless as advertised. After driving an hour or two, the road was getting bumpier and bumpier, with
Innova sized potholes. The recent monsoons (in July - this was December) had damaged the road, making the top speed about 40 kmH.
Fortunately, it was road construction season, with construction workers to break the large
granite rocks into smaller rocks with hammers, then fill in the potholes, and have other workers carry molten tar from the barrels heating over wood fires. Shouldn't take too long to fix the road :)
We took a short break at a small roadside store to have a few chips and fresh coconuts.
Zach wasn't quite sure about it.
Afterwards, the journey continued on into the hills/mountains. As the altitude increased, we did enter coffee and tea country. Coffee plants growing on the side, and women in sarees harvesting tea leaves. Just a couple weeks earlier, Heather and I had been watching a show on Discovery Channnel about tea harvesting in India and this was directly out of that show. Fortunately, we didn't see the other topic of that show: the cobras lounging under the tea plants.
After driving, we became increasingly aware that there would be no bathrooms to stop for. So every so often, we were on the lookout for any good location to use the facilities... a few secluded bushes should do! As a bladder can attest to, in that part of the country, they were hard to come by!
We did FINALLY reach this temple and got the VIP treatment, being escorted directly to the front. Since the sunset place was 'only 2 hours' further away, and it was already 3pm, we gave up on the sunset and decided to try and get back to the resort as quickly as possible.
Any idea which way to go?
After a thankfully uneventful but exciting drive back through the hills in the dark (Don't drive in rural India after dark) we made it back with only a few screaming kids. Parents took turns eating in shifts, so one could always be back with the respective sleeping kids.
Heather and I thought it would be a quiet night.. the kids were tired out, but at 1am we heard cats fighting on the roof... for hours! We called the front desk and it did quiet down... for a bit. The 'memorable' part is when all of a sudden the end of the bed got wet due to a sudden deluge from the ceiling - and there was no rain that night!
The next day, we were ready to head home. We first stopped at
an abandoned church (flooded when the river rose) and then had another stop to climb a granite mountain (611 steps) to see the large Jain monolith at
the top. You could hire some people to carry you up, but that would be too easy. Instead Sacia and Owen took off and reached the top first. Then the climb down and back into Bangalore.
It is worth mentioning something about traffic rules in India. You will see all sorts of vehicles on the road, with families of 6 (I've seen 5) on a motorcycle (or even a scooter). You will also see incredibly overloaded trucks, such as this oversized rickshaw carrying coconut husks.
We did have the unfortunate experience to see the other part of the rules that pedestrians/motorcycles don't have any rights on the road, unless a bigger vehicle hits them. Then the bigger vehicle is at fault - even if the motorcycle enters a busy blacktopped road from a side gravel road without stopping and was incredibly lucky to not have major injuries.
We were fortunate to have an experienced driver to help diffuse the situation, but it did quell my interest in driving for a bit.
Anyway, since we didn't come back to Minnesota for Christmas, we spent a week at home, relaxing and trying to figure out where to go. Our friends the Fischers (wherearethefischers.blogspot.com) also wanted to do a bit of traveling, so we decided to check out some 1000 year old temples west of Bangalore.
There is a brand of 'luxury' resorts in southern India called Orange County, and they had a moderately priced resort in the town of Hassan, with a swimming pool and lots of 'India' to see nearby. After a tumultuous experience booking the rooms (drive into Bangalore because the online payment doesn't work - and payment doesn't work at their office - so finally just pay at the resort) we set off at our planned 6:30 am to beat the Bangalore traffic. Actually, 6:30 was closer to 7:30, plus both of us forgetting a few things at home and needing to double back.
Future vacations are focused on sites to the east of Bangalore :) After spending ~90 minutes getting through Bangalore, it was time for the open road. I'm glad Murthy knew were he was going. Now we could proceed our our 2-4 hour drive out to Hassan. After a bit of kid swapping between Innovas... (we were really tempted to put all kids in one, and the adults in the other - but figured all the kids would wind up in the front seat) ... and some regurgitated carrots, we finally arrived around 2pm, just in time for lunch.
Since we had been driving all day, why not continue it with a little more driving to see the first of the 1000 year old temples, with the added bonus of some cheek pinching for the kids? Sounds like the thing to do, so we set of for Halebidu, just 30 minutes away.
Lots of fantastic carvings in the stone, and many very friendly Indian tourists. Usually the kids were the highlight of the photos, but periodically the adults were the focus of the picture. As you can tell: the kids became a bit tired
of posing for yet another picture. Fantastic opportunity for Heather and I to get pictures of them however.Retreating back to the resort, we had a nice south-Indian meal, with cold Fosters, and the kids were asleep soon. The plan for the next day was a short drive to Belur to see the temple there, then return back to the pool in the afternoon. However, I got an urgent text message from my driver saying he needs to talk to us. Thinking a truck tipped over on our Innova, I call him and he is excited about tour plans for the next day. He has been talking with friends, and we just have to see another temple that is an easy 3-4 hour drive, and after that we can drive to an overlook and watch the sun set over the west coast of India. Not a pool for the kids, but sounds pretty good, so we make that the new plan.
The following day, we go see the temples in Belur. A little bigger complex, a bit more graphic carving, many more Indian tourists and cheek pinching. (Fortunately, little blonde kids in India can get away with quite a bit of mischief), then we set off for this temple in the mountains and our sunset.
Maybe passing the goats should have been a clue that this was not going to be as seamless as advertised. After driving an hour or two, the road was getting bumpier and bumpier, with
Innova sized potholes. The recent monsoons (in July - this was December) had damaged the road, making the top speed about 40 kmH.Fortunately, it was road construction season, with construction workers to break the large
granite rocks into smaller rocks with hammers, then fill in the potholes, and have other workers carry molten tar from the barrels heating over wood fires. Shouldn't take too long to fix the road :)We took a short break at a small roadside store to have a few chips and fresh coconuts.
Zach wasn't quite sure about it.Afterwards, the journey continued on into the hills/mountains. As the altitude increased, we did enter coffee and tea country. Coffee plants growing on the side, and women in sarees harvesting tea leaves. Just a couple weeks earlier, Heather and I had been watching a show on Discovery Channnel about tea harvesting in India and this was directly out of that show. Fortunately, we didn't see the other topic of that show: the cobras lounging under the tea plants.
After driving, we became increasingly aware that there would be no bathrooms to stop for. So every so often, we were on the lookout for any good location to use the facilities... a few secluded bushes should do! As a bladder can attest to, in that part of the country, they were hard to come by!
We did FINALLY reach this temple and got the VIP treatment, being escorted directly to the front. Since the sunset place was 'only 2 hours' further away, and it was already 3pm, we gave up on the sunset and decided to try and get back to the resort as quickly as possible.
Any idea which way to go?
After a thankfully uneventful but exciting drive back through the hills in the dark (Don't drive in rural India after dark) we made it back with only a few screaming kids. Parents took turns eating in shifts, so one could always be back with the respective sleeping kids.
Heather and I thought it would be a quiet night.. the kids were tired out, but at 1am we heard cats fighting on the roof... for hours! We called the front desk and it did quiet down... for a bit. The 'memorable' part is when all of a sudden the end of the bed got wet due to a sudden deluge from the ceiling - and there was no rain that night!
The next day, we were ready to head home. We first stopped at
an abandoned church (flooded when the river rose) and then had another stop to climb a granite mountain (611 steps) to see the large Jain monolith at
the top. You could hire some people to carry you up, but that would be too easy. Instead Sacia and Owen took off and reached the top first. Then the climb down and back into Bangalore. It is worth mentioning something about traffic rules in India. You will see all sorts of vehicles on the road, with families of 6 (I've seen 5) on a motorcycle (or even a scooter). You will also see incredibly overloaded trucks, such as this oversized rickshaw carrying coconut husks.
We did have the unfortunate experience to see the other part of the rules that pedestrians/motorcycles don't have any rights on the road, unless a bigger vehicle hits them. Then the bigger vehicle is at fault - even if the motorcycle enters a busy blacktopped road from a side gravel road without stopping and was incredibly lucky to not have major injuries.
We were fortunate to have an experienced driver to help diffuse the situation, but it did quell my interest in driving for a bit.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
Ah... Friday
Heather and I have started a bit of a tradition. On Friday, she comes into town for a bit of shopping, then picks me up from work and we go to the TGI Fridays in Bangalore.
This last Friday, we were sitting near the window, watching traffic flow on Airport Road, and just paused to think how *strange* it would be to see back in Rochester, but is completely normal here. This included:
- A steady stream of auto rickshaws flowing back and forth
- 2 guys in Dodi's (sort of a male skirt - achieved with a wraparound cloth) scraping a poster off a tree in the median
- An empty cart pulled by a bullock with painted blue horns and bells on the tip of the horns
- A cart pulled by a John Deere tractor
- groups of people linked together at the elbow crossing the road. This appears to be so you build a critical mass and the cars will finally stop, or at least slow down
- The TGIF sign, written in both English and Kannada
- The background being a 'modern' office building
Then after spending an hour or two at Friday's, we are driven home (45-60 minutes of stop and go traffic), where the kids are bathed and ready for bed.
We are a bit behind on the travel blog postings. This weekend I hope to make a few entries for Hassan/Halebid/Belur, Pondicherry, the Golden Triangle, Mysore, and the Maldives. Keep tuned.
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