Unity in Diversity
If there is one thing I learned about this trip it is that there is no "real india", only many faces.
Ten Days of Travel Official Schedule
"If you want to make God laugh, tell him your plans"- Woody Allen
Friday, October 4: Mangalore to Pondicherry
A/C Bus to Mangalore 2:00 and then overnight train to Pondicherry from Mangalore Train Station.
Saturday, October 5: Pondicherry
Stay in Pondicherry at Gratitude Guest House
Tour of French Quarters "White Town"
Visit Heritage Sites
Sunday, October 6: Pondicherry
Visit Sunday Market
Visit Aeroville Ashram
Heritage walk of Pondicherry's Tamil Quarter
Monday, October 7: Mahabalipuram
(Take bus about 2 hours to Mahabalipuram)
Visit Krishna's Butter Ball, Arjuna's Pennance, Mahishasuramarthini Cave, Five Rahas, and Shore Temple (all near each other)
Tuesday, October 8: Travel Day from Mahabalipuram to Bangalore w/ stop in Vellore
(Take bus 3 hours to Vellore)
Visit the Golden Temple
(continue 5 hours to Bangalore by bus, arrive 8:00 pm)
Dinner @ Hard Rock Cafe
Wednesday, October 9: Bangalore
Tour of AOL India Huffington Post Office (Coolage!)
Visit Lalbagh Botanical gardens
Shopping in City Market
(Sleeper Class Night train to Coimbatore leaves bangalore 11:45 pm (7 hours) then bus to Ooty (3 hours))
Thursday, October 10: Ooty
Arrive and check into Kings Cliff HotelVisit Kota Village
Friday, October 11:
Walking tour of Tea Plantation
Visit Second Highest Peak in Southern India
Tour Tea Factory (Nilgiri Tea)
Saturday, October 12:
(Travel Day from Ooty to Mysore- Public A/C Bus 4 hours to Mysore)
Check into Sandesh the Prince Hotel
Visit the Mysore Palace at night and Devaraja Market
Sunday, October 13:
Visit Chamundi Temple
Tour Mysore Palace
(Night train to Udupi, arrive at 10:18 AM Monday)
Monday, October 14:
Arrive Manipal 11:00am
Sleep...
Each day we were allotted free time to do whatever we wanted. My friends and I spent a lot of time exploring our surroundings, shopping, and enjoying good food!
I learned that it best to travel with no expectations because then I am never disappointed.
Pondicherry (Puducherry)
Pondicherry is a small city colonized by the French which retains much of its French influence due to the work of the historical society in the area. There are two sections to Pondicherry divided by what is now a sewage channel; White Town and the Tamil District. White town (the actual name since colonization), is well organized, quaint, and historic. It has well planned streets and many French flares such as architecture and cuisine. There is a historical society that works with the home owners in the area to plan renovations in order to maintain the historic feel of the city. The Tamil District is a bit more like some of the other cities that we have visited in India. The streets are filled with vendors, rickshaws, and cows all accompanied by the noise and smells of a city. This part of the city has not been maintained in the same way as White Town but it does have its own charm.
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| Heritage Site Buildings in the French Quarters of Pondicherry |
During the evening the street next to the board walk along the coast is shut down and there are festivities including dance acts and talent shows. The board walk is similar to one that you would find in the US with vendors selling food, balloon animals, and trinkets. This was the first festivity of the sort we had seen since being in India and it was fun to see the crowds of people out and about enjoying the warm night and cool ocean breeze.
Our guest house in Pondicherry was my favorite location that we stayed in. The
guest house was two stories with a veranda on the roof and an open court
yard in the middle. Each of the rooms was styled differently and decorated with antique furniture and beautiful linens from FabIndia, one of our favorite stores. Each room smelt like lemon grass and was kept air-conditioned. The hotel was a wonderful place to return to after a hot day of walking around the city. Each morning we had a continental breakfast with curd (yogurt), granola, fruit, fresh croissants, omelets, and a few traditional indian dishes. We ate and slept like kings!
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| On the board walk in Pondicherry |
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| Chillin at Gratitude |
Mahabalipuram
Our visit to Mahabalipuram was quite a learning experience. Although it was cool to see the rock carvings we did not have much luck with the tour guides and wound up getting scammed. In addition our hotel was not a very pleasant experience. Despite the less than ideal conditions my friend and I managed to make the best of it and I have fond memories of staying up late playing cards and chatting. |
| Krishna's Butter Ball |
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| The Cat Story |
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| Arjuna's Penance |
Bangalore
As we drove into the big city it was as if we were in New York. It is a wonder how cities all over the world are so similar. The one morning in Bangalore I decided to go for a run. I left the hotel at about 7:30 and was told to just ask directions if I got lost then preceded to do exactly that. Running through a city is a novelty that I do not wish to become accostumb to. As a country girl I was unprepared for the amount of weaving and stopping necessary to navigate the busy streets and found it rather challenging to keep myself oriented. Although I didn't know where I was most of the time I did enjoy seeing a bit more of the city and exploring roads off of the beaten path.Ooty
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| The Second Highest Point in Southern India |
Ooty was may favorite town that we visited. In order to get there we took an overnight sleeper class train from Bangalore to a city about 3 hours away from Ooty then took a bus into the hills where the Western and Eastern Ghats meet. The drive into the mountains was one of the most eerie drives I have ever taken as each hairpin turn on the narrow road seemed almost impossible to make with our large bus and oncoming traffic.
The town of Ooty is settled in the hilltops of the Nilgiri District. most of the economy is dependent on the vast tea plantations that are spread across the high elevation peaks. While staying in Ooty we had to opportunity to spend one morning walking through a plantation and the surrounding area. This morning was my favorite of the trip as we got to trek through the hillside at leisure enjoying the crisp mountain air. I have discovered that in India it is rare to find a place where the air feels clean and there aren't crowds of people and I greatly appreciated this literal breath of fresh air.
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| Tea Plantation |
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| On our walk through town |
That afternoon we toured a tea factory where they processed the tea leaves grown in the region. The factory was extremely interesting. I was amazed by the simple process used to make tea and the quick turnover rate from plantation to package.
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| The Second Highest Point in Southern India |
Tea Production Process:
Harvesting
Withering
Rolling
Fermentation
Cut, Tear, and Curl
Fermentation
Drying
Green tea: The manufacturing of green tea is similar to manufacturing of black tea except the leaves are dried in pans over high heat of steamed in vats instead of being withered. These two alternate processing methods destroy the enzymes which cause fermentation.
White Tea: Is not machine processed or treated. It is simply fermented, hand rolled and sun-dried. Only the most delicate and newly formed buds are used to make white tea.
The Kota Tribe
We also spent a day in a Kota Tribal village. We ended up in this particular village through a retired Manipal professor who has been working with the village for a number of years. While in the village we played with the kids, were taught how to spin pottery on the traditional pottery wheel, saw the local temple, and listened to a traditional music performance and danced with the musicians. It was a great day and was, as always, wonderful to be on the ground interacting with people. Of course, as an anthropologist I cant help but question the consequence such visits have for members of the village. I only hope that they enjoy our company as much as we enjoy theirs.We stayed at the Kings Cliff Hotel in Ooty. The hotel has maintained its British inspired decor and atmosphere and was absolutely charming. We had every amenity including fire places in our rooms that were lit each evening. In addition, the restaurant at the hotel has been rated the best restaurant in Ooty (aren't we lucky)! Being in the chilly weather made me nostalgic for New England autumns and made me think about all of my friends and family back home! I hope everyone is enjoying the colorful leaves, apples, and golden 5:00 sun. :) Although it only lasted a couple of days, it was a wonderful respite from the heat and humidity of the lower elevations in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu.
Mysore
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| Silk Shop! |
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| The Mysore Palace |
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| In the Market Place |
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| Bangles on Bangles on Bangles! |
I really enjoyed the first night we were in Mysore as we had time to walk around the palace lit up at night and explore the market, bargaining and testing our hands at haggling.
The Many Faces of India
One of the biggest "AHA" moments I have had thus far occurred during our travel week...After seeing so many parts of India it became apparent to me that contrary to common belief, India is made up of many states that each have a unique culture, people, and economy. On our trip we experienced the French Colony of Pondicherry with its planned city, french food, central park, and restored buildings. Mahabalipurham, a classic ocean side beach town complete with fishing boats and easy going "townies". Bangalore, a typical city and Ooty, a beautiful hill camp. Each place or 'face of India' was a different perspective of Indian life. Unlike the stereotyped portrayal of India, I learned that you don't have to be in a small tribal village to experience the 'real india'. With this revelation I realized that my experience at Manipal is just as 'real' as any other. I truly appreciated the opportunity to see the many faces of India on this travel week and enjoyed each of the places that we visited for the educational and social aspects they offered.
