Adam and Tina

Sunrise at 6:20am, Feb 14, 2008. Alleppy, Kerala.

Awoken by the sound of roosters and black birds, I crawled out of the mosquito net to meditate and to catch the sunrise in one of the most beautiful places in the world: Alleppy in Kerala, India. I am now sitting on the front porch of the simple palm tree hut where we’re staying. I can see in front of me: serene alleyways of calm rivers, rows and rows of palm trees, birds flying in schools into the horizon and hues of pinks and blues and yellows out in the sky. Occasionally, groups of two or three men will pass gracefully along the calming river in a traditional Indian gondola on their way to the morning market.

I am in love. Not just because it’s valentine’s day and we’re supposed to feel so, but because I have witnessed a slice of heaven here in South India.

When we arrived, I said to Adam, “If I were to ever write a book, I’m coming back here to write it. This is so beautiful and peaceful.”

The following are summaries of lessons learned during our first two weeks roaming around in India. These are specifically targeted at traveling in India, but many are applicable to traveling in general.

Accommodation

(This section turned out to be extremely long. Will specify details in a separate post.)

Conveniences

Adam at the airport with his hi-tech conveniences. The small device attached to the laptop is the Reliance modem.

• Laptop - We brought the MacBook on our trip, so we could keep up with friends, for storage of photos and so I could continue my writing. We got a sac cover for Adam’s backpack and we put the laptop in there to be locked before we leave our rooms. If you need to lock a bag, make sure to lock all bags left at the hotel, not just the ones with valuables in it.
• Mobile Internet - Mobile internet costs around $43/month (1500 Rs) for unlimited usage, and the mobile modem costs $62 (2500 Rs) on the Reliance network and $250 (10,000 Rs) on the AirTel network. The AirTel modem is slightly faster at 244Kbps than the Reliance modem at 144Kbps. However, the coverage for the Reliance network is better. We took the Reliance option. Both options are painfully slow if you’re used to broadband access, but extremely convenient. Basically, anywhere there was cell phone access, we had internet. Imagine having internet in the most remote spots, on trains, at airports, while riding a house boat, late at night in a small town. It has come extremely handy for last minute hotel bookings for us. Note: there are low coverage in rural area away from the big cities, this means exceedingly slow (i.e.. several minutes to load an email in gmail). We had this problem in Alleppy, Kerala.
• Cell phone - Definitely worth getting a cellphone, even for a couple of weeks stay. It’s very reasonably priced and super convenient. We got our phone (the cheapest model: Nokia 1200) for $30, $5 to activate the phone with a number, $2.5 for 100 minutes. We activated our phone on the Vodophone network.
• Getting a Cell Phone or Internet - For cell phone and internet access, you need the help of a local with local mailing address and photo. Security is taken seriously here and the networks will not activate an account unless the applicant’s address has been verified by an actual person visiting that address (this was our experience getting mobile internet in Delhi). Expect several days of waiting. Note: It is possible that they will disconnect your service if the address is not verified properly after several days. This also happened to us with internet access.
• Credit Cards - Almost all hotels and shopping centers accepts credit cards. We found the fees to be lower than taking money out from ATMs. ATM has an upper daily withdraw of $375.
• On a Mac - Finding software for a Mac is extremely difficult in India. If you are traveling with your MacBook, unless your a techie-mac-specialist, it will be in your best interested to have a Windows partition installed. It will make life easier. If you run into problems and needs help servicing your Mac, you can find a servicing center at the Mac store at Ansel Plaza in Delhi.

Health

• Eating - For your health: avoid anything uncooked, this includes salads, fruit juices, yoghurt/lassies, un-bottled water at restaurants. In extremely clean restaurants and homes of people you trust, you can loosen up on the lassie and juice rule. Note: After two weeks, we started eating salads at several trust worthy places.
• Bring or Buy a Scarf - Having a scarf is useful for wrapping around your mouth and nose when walking around the streets and riding in auto rickshaws. After my first day, I felt like small chunks of dirt were stuck in my throat. Adam bought his along the main bazaar in Delhi for $2.5
• Sterilizing Options - If cost is not a big issue, we recommend getting a UV sterilizing device for traveling. There are two types, one for purifying drinking water from tap water (we got the SteriPen from REI for $80 + $10 for additional filters) and one for sterilizing things like cutlery, door handles, etc.
• Mosquitos - Bring lots and lots of mosquito repellent. We recommend bringing both the cream and spray form. You’ll only need these in South India or summers in the North in certain places. I didn’t use mosquito repellent during my first day in Kerala and resulted with 27 mosquito bites on my right arm alone (but then again, Adam got none, so go figure.). Yikes.
• Drink Lots of Water - I started to feel sick after arriving in South India. This was mainly due to my body unused to the heat and not drinking enough water. Make a conscious effort to drink lots of water (3 liters minimum in hot areas). Take lots of little sips here and there.
• Mosquito Bites - Bring AfterBite. You’ll be glad you did. If not, you can pick up a local alternative at any pharmacy stall in town.
• Protection From the Sun - Sunscreens are must, we recommend getting sunscreens for babies at a high protection rate (i.e.. 50+). Hats with a visor is a wise thing to bring, for long walks in the sun and other unshaded areas. Even with sunscreens, we both had minor sun burns. Having Aloe Vera around would have been helpful. If you didn’t bring any for burns, you can rub lotion instead.
• Bring Food - We brought lots of granola bars, fruit bars, health food drinks (E.Excel’s Nutrifresh). These came extremely handy as little snacks when we didn’t have much alternatives in areas lacking food options.

Transportation

Auto-rickshaw aka three-wheelers in Delhi.

• Taxi - Taxi drivers have a mind of their own. Make sure you know exactly where you want to go, and double check they are taking you there. They may take extra long routes or go to the wrong place on purpose.
• Cost of Taxi - Ask locals (people working in the hotels, friends) how much taxis should be between certain distances. When you ask a taxi driver the cost before you get on, you will always get a foreigner’s prices (30-50% higher), so bargain.
  • Example of Bargaining - in Cochin, Kerala, a ride from Fort Cochin to Manttan-Cheery costs 18 R.s for locals, 20 if you’re good at bargaining and 30-40 for foreigners who don’t bargain. When you ask for the price (and you always should before getting in the car), they’ll likely say 30 or 35 rupees, offer them 15, they’ll laugh and say no, wait a second, offer 18, they may say 25, then offer them 20. (If they appear to say no and move away immediately after you offer 15, then say 20). They might say no or pause in silence, just slowly walk away gesturing that you won’t pay more than 20. This has worked for us, every time.
• Domestic Airports - The domestic airport in Delhi feels like a waiting room (and we hear it’s worst in other cities like Bangalore). Most flights are delayed and there are more people than the small airport can handle. If you are flying within the country, bring a book with you to the airport, you’ll need it. It’s also a good idea to bring food.
• Airline Suggestions - From our observation, SpiceJet and IndiGo are airlines that are extremely prone to delays and frustrations. Jet Airways, King Fisher and Air Deccan are better airlines with better service, better organization, less people and less delays. We only fly SpiceJet if it’s the only option or is significantly cheaper (i.e.. $100 lower), and even then, we bring laptops and thick books to accompany us.
• Tips - Keep small changes around (5 and 10 rupees). Especially on auto rickshaws, the driver will magically not have any or have enough change. We sometimes ask to see his change after settling on a price, before we get in the car.

Food

Dinner in candle light outdoors at the Malayalam Resort in Alleppy, Kerala.

• Consistency & Expectations - Food & food quality will be largely inconsistent, even within the same restaurant. For example, ordering Tea within the same hotel on different days resulted in drastically different teas and serving sizes.
• Get the Soup - Tomato Soups are amazing. Every restaurant we went to had it on the menu. We’ve been getting soups with almost every meal.
• McDonald’s - Try the McVeggie burger or the AlooTikka burger at McDonalds. Very popular among locals and is very different from the standard beef patties we see in North America and Europe.
• Salads - I’ve never seen a salad in India containing lettuce. So when you order salads (at reliable places only), expect to see sliced vegetables. Oh, and there are no such thing as salad dressing. It’s quite good with a sprinkle of lime juice and salt.
• Getting your Veggies - Most restaurants will do steamed or boiled vegetables for you, even though it is not listed on the menu. This is a good way to get your vegetables, since it’s hard to get them otherwise with local dishes.
• Break from Curries - The local food are fantastic, but I found it difficult to eat curries everyday. You’ll notice Chinese food listed on most menus, but expect sauce-like dishes similar to curries. On the same Chinese menu, I recommend Vegetable Noodles (Nothing fancier) as a nice break away from curries. Ask for vinegar along with your noodles. The fried rice is quite good in many places.

Extra Tips

• Professional Beggars - Be ware of small groups of children asking money. They will pat you down with their little hands, looking for change and money in your pockets. When riding auto-rickshaws, always have an arm (or leg) around your belongings, you’ll find these street children at stop lights asking for money and they’re not shy to stick their hands into your cart.
• Hagglers and Touts - Avoid eye contact with hagglers looking to give your tours, take you to their shops, etc. The moment you give them any attention, they’ll be haggling you even more.
• Getting Friendly - Having a friend in the city is invaluable. If you have a friend or a friend’s family in town, definitely ask for help, you have no idea how much happier you’ll be as a result.
• Money Budgeting - You will always end up spending more than you expect. So budget for extra costs.
• Break Away From Noise - When you need a break from the hectic street scenes of downtown Delhi or the hustle and bustle of the many tourist traps, consider a break at one of the modern shopping malls in South or East Delhi. We suggest: Ansel Plaza, Khan Market.
• Children in Tourist Towns - You may encounter small local children approaching you with courteous English. They may ask, “one pen?”, followed with “sweets?”. Do not give in to this for obvious reasons. I like to reply with, “Do you have a pen to give me?” instead of no.

Delhi

• Shopping - Shopping along the Main Bazaar is quite good for foreigners. It’s a bit of a tourist trap, but great for souvenirs.
• Food - Haldiram in Chandi-Chowk (old Delhi) is a fantastic and clean Indian fast-food restaurant. The Special Thali (North Indian) and Vegetable Noodles are amazing.

Odds & Ends

• Cell phones knows where we are. As we are sitting in the hotel restaurants within Main Bazaar, the phone knew where we were (listing out the hotel name), and it will periodically send advertising in the form of text-message.
• No matter what happens, there is no need to panic.

Adam relieved at finally arriving (Express 66, Room 205)

A week has passed since we left Seattle, on our way to Delhi. Our two flights were quite long, and slightly delayed, but we landed safely. Our first few days in Delhi were entirely spent getting settled and adjusted.

We left a very cramped and uncomfortable plane, only to be greeted by a very bright, smiling face. Puneet, cousin of a good friend from home, was waiting for us at the airport, despite our arrival 3 hours tardy. This was only the beginning of his warm personality. I have found that most Indians are very kind, polite, appreciative and thoughtful, despite their surface-buried passion for growing their bank accounts. Puneet, however, was not interested in money, or our very appreciative thank-you’s for everything he did. Our time in Delhi could not have been more welcome, and I know that his friendship is the reason.

With some very kind help, we are now well prepared for our mini-retirement in India, with a local cellphone, and wireless modem that operates over Reliance India’s very extensive CDMA network. These technologies have already made our journey very convenient in booking hotels, flights, taxis, locations and directions, not to mention keeping in contact with friends and family.

Along the streets of Chandi Chowk, Old Delhi.

The older regions of New Delhi are filled with poverty, the likes of which I was not prepared for, despite warnings from friends. It took me several days just to accept the notion that people actually live in some of the places that they do. The pollution makes asthmatics out of the healthiest of us, making a scarves a necessity when traveling by auto-rickshaw, to cover your nose and mouth.

You will quickly notice that nearly everyone in Delhi wears a scarf, however it is not just a popular fashion trend. A scarf is a barrier from all the environment has to throw at you; the hot sun, the cold nights, the sand in the breeze, the mosquitos at dusk and the pollution on the roads.

Tina’s things all in ziplock bags, ready to be packed.

The day we leave for India has finally arrived. It feels so ominous, but we’re glad we finally get to leave.

We’ve passed being heavily stressed, then quietly nervous, and finally excited. The last week has been lived entirely in anticipation of this day. From trips in and out of our doctor’s offices, to strategically packing the apartment, to planning, to shopping, there have been few moments we haven’t been thinking about this trip. The last three days have been the busiest, as we packed the apartment, move to a friend’s house, and helped our subletter move in. We’ve packed, and packed, and double checked all our bags. It feels great to be fully prepared, and have a few spare moments to sit in relaxed anticipation of our first trek; to the airport.

I’ve put together a loose itinerary of our plans, in the form of places we’re going to visit over the next ten weeks. We are planning this trip with flexibility and a slow tempo in mind. Rather than buzzing around spending on flights and transportation, we have decided to take our mini retirement at a more humanly pace. We have booked few flights, trains or hotels before we leave, with the expectation that it will be easy to seek out and negotiate when we arrive. We know that we’re going to meet people, and entertain suggestions as we go, so we want to be as flexible as possible. As we do flight price searches and decide which festivals are really important, our schedule has been changing. We have paid for a couple nights stay in a hotel in Delhi, and a couple of flights to southern India. Otherwise, we’re going to take it moment by moment.

Here is our city list, in the order we hope to follow. Being the nerd I am, I’ve plotted these locations on a Google Map (which you can download to Google Earth!).

• Delhi
• Cochin
• Trivandrum
• Mumbai
• Aurangabad
• Jodhpur
• Jaisalmer
• Pushkar
• Jaipur
• Udaipur
• Agra
• Khajurcho
• Varanasi
• Port Blair, Andaman Islands
• Leh
• Delhi

The next post will be delivered from the other side of the planet. India, here we come!

After purchasing our tickets nearly a month ago, in the wee hours of New Year’s Day, we are finally realizing that we are leaving. We begun getting in gear with a trip to REI to collect some much needed supplies. We are now the proud owners of:

1. an airporter backpack duffle to keep our packs safe on flights and in hotel
2. an ultraviolet water purifier
3. the same bug repellent used by the US military

Now, if only the apartment would pack itself!