Pune
I didn't do much
more than travel through it, so I don’t have much to say. What I can say is
that traffic in Mumbai has nothing on Pune at seven in the evening (aka Rush
Hour). Unlike other big cities of Western India, this city is spread out which
makes travel by walking out of the equation. Also unlike the other cities, a
TON of people own vehicles for reasons that should now be obvious. So
travelling to Pune without a car isn't as much fun as it means the Rickshaws
know you’re from out of town, add in that an American is present (me!) &
it’s suddenly hard to bargain for a decent fare. Pune reminds me a lot of Fort
Wayne…… minus the road signs, stop signs, and traffic lights…
This is the only picture I grabbed of Pune. I just found a government approved abortion clinic to be neat.
Mumbai
I went by bus and
will likely do so again. Trains are great, but when you don’t know how to read
the language nor recognize your stops by looking outside… travelling in the
gents compartment, packed to the gills, isn't the smartest choice out there.
I’m more likely to miss my stop by either not recognizing it, or simply by not
getting to the door two stops early to make it OUT of the train. I rode on the
subway of Chicago, and while it can be nuts getting on and off, the trains of
India are of another difficulty altogether. For instance when getting on a
train (or state bus to get around town), it isn't so much about you stepping on
as it is that you’re in front of someone else who is getting on and you just
sorta get pushed on by being in his way. (It’s) Minimal effort so long as
you’re in a good position. Oh and if you've got big feet like me (10.5 might
not be anything special in America, but it’s a bit larger than the average
here), then good luck finding space for your feet. I almost think not tripping
over people once I got ON the train was harder than actually getting in it.
Mumbai train station entrance. This is but one of the many old structures still standing in Mumbai.
On the ride there
in the bus, I noticed that the highways are pretty much the same level of
insanity. Seriously, Americans can’t drive. I think I could handle it here
except for two things. One, I’m used to automatic cars and everyone drives stick
here. Two, I think I might be a little TOO aggressive… only the Americans
reading this (that have been to India) can fully grasp the term, because normal
driving here in India is chaotic, but organized, so being a little aggressive
is just that. But to Americans, the “norm” is already an aggressive form, so
when I say I’d get too aggressive… It’s what you call Lunatics in the States.
Oh three things actually. You drive on the other side of the road here, and I
think I would completely mess up on a round-a-bout. There are a lot of them and
they’re clockwise, pretty positive they’re counter-clockwise in America. Either
that or I’m just a really really bad round-a-bout driver. They’re my weakness,
I can admit to that. :P When I got
between Thane and Mumbai, I saw grass! Green Grass! Stuff was Green! No really,
it was amazing. There are trees in Thane and there are Trees in Mumbai, grass…
not so much. To see a field of grass took me by surprise as big city-scapes are
pretty much concrete, everywhere. I’m sure this sounds funny to everyone
though, seeing how it’s very grassy and green once you’re out of a city, and
there’s a lot of India (for the most part) concrete-free.
Taj Hotel, the original in all it’s glory.
Mumbai was pretty cool. In its history, it
was a British outpost/city. There are a lot of structures from that time period
that are still standing today. Not only are they still here and still being
used, but the city goes to great length to carefully shave off the very
outermost layer so as to make the buildings look like they were just
built even though they were actually built one to two hundred years ago! It is
a lot busier than Thane, but in my opinion it’s harder to notice as the roads
are a lot bigger and wider, allowing people to use more space. One thing I did recognize fairly quickly was
that in Mumbai… I’m not the only white guy. Lots of white people, even some are
Americans. I didn't feel like I stood out quite as much as I do elsewhere. I
saw what I was told was the tourist area, museums and such. Neat place. You
could go inside and see art on display (though what I saw that day wasn't
really art, and one lady retouched all of her photos digitally and turned them
into shit, some were amazing if they would have been left the hell alone), then
step outside and peddling artists were selling their works on the street. It
was fun to walk past all the varied art forms. Also, I drank Sugar Cane juice.
That’s pretty damn tasty. I was told that the stand I got it from was the best
stand in Mumbai, and quite possibly of India. When the owner heard that he was
delighted and showed us a newspaper from America talking about how great his
juice was! Having had his and others? I agree. He also put more work in, his
sugar cane juicer looks like a mulcher, compared to everyone else’s where you
can see the gears visibly. It makes a difference in quality. Either way… new
flavor and it was really good.
Konkan. (Rural.)
Blue. Brown. Green. Red. Random Cows.
In a word?
Beautiful. Blue in the Sky, Brown in the Wood, Green in the Leaves &
various Plant-life, & Red in the Iron-Enriched Soil. Plus Black/Brown/White
when a cow passes by, heh. Because this is far from a city, nor is one, the
night sky is impressive. With no lights surrounding you, you’ll find stars in
the sky that you have NEVER seen before. Sadly for you, dear reader, my camera
on my phone wasn't capable of capturing this. If you want to have an
understanding of what I mean, I have a solution for you. Go to a planetarium
and see their version of the night sky. Then think to yourself, “Wow, I wish I
could see it like this for real.” Bamf! There I am. That’s what I saw. I saw
the night sky as intended by nature. It was magnificent.
All of the plants
are different. In a car or bus, it looks like a pretty forest or nice
countryside. On foot? I’m able to take in what I see & hear. It gets
obvious quick that I haven’t seen these trees before. One in particular is very
interesting. It has no leaves, none! Instead, flowers bud and grow plentiful on
its branches. I’m told they can be harvested to make dyes. The other cool part
is how hard the tree must be to climb. ALL of the bark (trunk, branches, twigs)
are covered with spikes and they’re tight enough that it leaves no room to grab
anything without attacking your hands. I saw coconut trees, LOTS of coconut
trees. Each tree grows a large bushel of fruit every three months. No wonder
people cultivate them… people love coconuts, the trees provide a lot of fruit
year round, and every part of the tree is useful so that nothing goes to waste.
Also, I recognized pineapples once I got past the pink color of it.
Spiny, prickly, tree of beautiful flowers.
Trees are tall so I have trouble seeing
the birds. For a few days I kept hearing what sounded like an electronic beep
every second… high up. I couldn't figure it out. Once power went out (which by
the way it does from time to time) and the beeping continued, I suddenly
realized it wasn't electronic. What was it? A Woodpecker! How Bizarre! Not only
is the repetition vastly different, but the sound is unlike anything I could
have ever guessed. It sounded so familiar and yet, I had never heard it before.
Oh, and apparently there’s a bird that chirps at night that I got told was
actually a Lizard!
Pineapple. In all it’s Golden Yellow glory… wait. Pink. I meant Pink. Yes really.
For ‘countryside’, this place feels populated.
I’m at a village, sure, but it still feels as busy as a small city. There is a
lack of cars (No pun intended. Ha. Ha. Ha. Indian Joke. Someone will probably
hit me for that.) so that means people (like most places here) walk everywhere.
Though a return to Thane and yes, this area is empty! Out here, hotels don’t
exist. I stayed with a gracious & nice family. Through them I continued to
have new, incredibly delicious food.
Man, I seriously love Indian food….
-- GakFace
Oh yeah. There was a spider that
stayed in my suite. Turns out he was a huntsman spider, so he eats all the bugs
that would REALLY freak me out while I slept. Thing is, he’s still creepy and can
scurry along the wall that really is more of a sprint. But I just thought I’d
let you all see what I had to do so I could try to identify him safely far away
from him… which meant getting him a red carpet photo. Up close and personal.
Well.. up close anyway, I didn't want things to get personal.
Spiders creep me out. This one was the size of my hand. I was okay until he moved…
