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Indian Airlines is a government owned airline and fairly efficient. Security is very tight in Indian Airports. Our taxi driver did not know which terminal was for Indian Airlines. It turns out that they have their very own, I guess the taxi driver had never been to the airport. It was a short walk for us but it was still raining. A rickshaw driver came over and asked if we wanted a ride to the Indian Airline terminal. Scooter asked how much and the gentleman responded what ever we wanted to give him. We tossed in our bags and 45 seconds later we were at the terminal. It turned out to be just around the corner. Scooter handed the guy what amounted to 50 cents in Rupees. The cost of living is very low and we knew what was a good wage for a minutes work. The guy barked back that he wanted what would translate to $10 US. Scooter lost it for the first time and told the guy to get lost. The guy argued back, "You are from America, etc. etc." We informed the guy we had been in India for a week and if he did not get out of our face we would drag him over to the police. When Scooter dropped his bag to begin dragging, the guy left with his 50 cents. We entered the airport and boarded our airplane to Bangalore.
Bangalore is the Silicon Valley of India and gets a lot of press in the United States. It is reputed to be a very wealthy town and Scooter wants to check out the technology scene. India turns out some very good engineers and they work at a fraction of the wage of an American engineer. This makes India an attractive labor market for technology development. The airport arrival in Bangalore was routine, check out the tourist desk and figure out where to stay. They are pushing hard two hotels and we figure they are paying the highest commission. We agree to look but they turned out to be dirty and shabby. The Lake Palace in Jaipur had thrown us off budget so we wanted good low-cost accommodations. We had however, just traveled for 24 hours without a shower, so we headed for a familiar American hotel chain, The Quality Inn. By India standards it was an Eight Star hotel and we negotiated a rate of $55 a night. They even gave us a 10 percent discount for using American Express. For the last four months we had been paying a 5-10 percent surcharge for using a credit card. Bangalore was looking much better.
Our first impression of Banglore was one of amazement, sidewalks without people living on them, modern buildings and not a cow to be found. Bangalore is at a high elevation which provides cooler temperatures. Bangalore does not have much to offer tourists in the way of attractions but I was glad we came to experience another side of India. We explored Mahatma Ghandi Rd. better known as M.G. Rd. the main drag of the town with shopping, markets, and of course an Internet Cafe located in a coffee shop. Our guidebook referred to Bangalore as "BARgalore" but in India that means a street with more than three bars on it. We ended up at the Black Cadillac, a disco, sports bar combination crowded with a good mix of locals and western ex-pats. We went for a quick drink and closed the place watching the ever present World Cup Finals.
After two days in the city our batteries were recharged and our next destination was Goa and the beach. Before you get to excited it is the middle of Monsoon season and Goa is shutdown for low-season. We actually were going for a brief visit of Goa but we wanted to experience a Monsoon. As Florida natives we know all about Hurricanes and thunderstorms but what the hell is a Monsoon. The flight is an hour long and just our luck it is rainy when we get there, a good sign for Monsoon hunting. Goa is not at it her best during Monsoon season. Goa has the distinction of being the first European colony in India and the last. It was a Portuguese trade port and the religion of choice was Catholic. It was not until the 1960's that Portugal returned Goa to Indian rule. It became a popular hangout for the drug crazed hippy style foreigner. Even today most people we met that love India had spent three months in Goa for a couple of dollars a day. We did not have a place to stay but our coastal destination was an hour drive by taxi. We agreed to share a taxi with Martina a native of France, but currently living in Tampa, Florida with her American husband. She had an interesting story to tell and she is currently engaged in writing a book of her life story. I won't spoil it for her but if you come across her book it is a must read.
Our taxi driver was a nice fellow and the first thing I noticed was the abundance of Christian crosses in the car. Everywhere you look a cross or picture of Jesus was in view. During our drive each close call with oncoming traffic was followed by our taxi driver crossing himself followed by a small prayer. This was the first time it struck me how easily religion is willed onto the people by those in charge. This was a former European colony and the Catholic religion was in full force and Hinduism was nowhere to be found. Goa is also the final resting place of St. Frances. He is considered to be one of the major Saints and apparently died in mission work in Asia. Upon his death he was buried in limestone rock tomb. The Pope did not believe that St. Frances had died and demanded that his right arm been sent to the Vatican. St. Frances was dug up and the right arm removed for Papal viewing. The limestone had the unique properties of removing all water from the corpse and the result was a perfectly preserved Saint. St. Frances is currently on display at a Church in Goa. Every ten years the body is paraded through town during a major religious festival and it becomes a major Catholic pilgrimage.
In a recent parade a spectator was reported to have gone to body of St. Frances and bit off his right big toe. We could not find any facts to support this display of affection but it is reported that St. Frances is missing a right arm and a big toe. What did the Pope do with the right arm? When we get to the Vatican we will look for the answer to such important questions and let you know. As for the missing big toe the next parade is due in a few years so if you decided to make the trip ask around I am sure someone will have an answer. It is reported that over one million Catholics from around-the-world will be at the next parade.
The first hotel which was recommended by the tourist desk at the airport was closed. Our taxi driver took us to a couple of other spots which simply would not do. According to our guide book the five star Fort Aguarda Resort was just around the corner. Our taxi driver told us it was to expensive and that all the movie stars stayed there. Of course these were Indian movie stars so we figured it was worth a look. Our new friend Martina had been traveling in India for twenty years and was still fascinated by the place. This gets back to waiting for the book followed by the movie of Martina's adventures. She was on a budget and asked if she could negotiate for us. We hate negotiating and had no problem stepping out of the bargaining. Here we are at another five star resort, it is Monsoon season which should entitle us to a discount. We were quoted $70 by the very nice lady behind the counter. Scooter and I felt this was a good rate and were ready to jump. Martina the experienced negotiator was not happy and demanded $50. The very nice lady said, "That was impossible" and Martina asked her to go and check. The very nice lady returned and said $50 would be fine. Scooter and I looked at each other in disbelief, how could it be so easy. It would almost be worth it to hire Martina as our personal negotiator on our trip. Then to top it off when Martina got to her room she noticed that she did not have her complimentary bottle of wine and fruit basket. The very nice lady at the front desk sent one immediately. Maybe they thought Martina was a producer or some famous actress. Or maybe Scooter and I are just big dumb tourists. Once again when Martina's book comes out don't hesitate to pick it up.
A Monsoon turns out to be a very strong wind that just keeps on blowing. This is combined with a constant but light rain. The Monsoon is a fundamental part of Asian life because it supplies the water for the rice fields and food for the rest of the year. We spent the next two days escaping India from the confines of a five star hotel. We felt a little guilty but the clean bathrooms, Hot water and clean sheets quickly made us forget our guilt. We couldn't even find the strength to go and see St. Frances.
Our departure day had arrived and it turned out that our train tickets purchased by our friends in Delhi was another disaster. The train station was a four hour drive from Goa and a sixteen hour train ride. Goa was a Portuguese colony and the British never bothered to put in railroad tracks. We decided to fly back to Bombay and put India behind us. We of course wanted a refund on our train tickets which cost $9 even though we paid $32 each for them. We inquired at the hotel about a taxi to a train office and we were quoted an outrageous price. We argued with the bell man and he just kept telling us the price per kilometer and we would have to pay for the return of the car even though we would not be in it.
An Indian family was on vacation and overheard our conversation. They had already hired the car and agreed to drop us off. They were on vacation and lived outside of Delhi. They were traveling with their two kids and they told us how difficult for them it was to travel in India. The food is different, customs are different and you can't understand a word anyone says. They were preach'n to the choir, sister. We thanked them for the ride and we arrived at the train office at 1:01 PM. It closed at 1:00 PM, no refund for you. They told us to try Bombay. It no longer mattered we just wanted out.
We jumped in a taxi for the airport and discovered another Monsoon phenomenon. During Monsoon almost all flights get canceled. We arrived at an airport filled with three days of passengers who all had their flights canceled. Today's departure board did not read well with lots of the words "Canceled" posted for display. We had no plane ticket and no hope of going standby. Our International flight to Frankfurt was leaving in 8 hours from Bombay and a bus would take 18 hours. We grabbed a seat and decided to do nothing because we had nothing to do. Standing in line with 300 pissed off Indians is a lost cause. Then a little angel saved us. A gentleman from Bombay saw that we were stuck and told us about a flight to a small town called Pune about five hours by car from Bombay. The plane was an eighteen seater beachcraft and it was able to take off and land in Monsoon weather. It turns out a bunch of people had International flights that night and the plane filled up with people actually trying to go to Bombay. We arrived in Pune and hired a van for four to Bombay. The five hour ride turned into a seven hour ride of pain but we got to the airport around 1:00 AM with forty-five minutes to spare. We would soon be joining Delta and our next stop was Frankfurt, Germany.
India was as hard as we could of imagined. It does not have the comforts that tourist want but that may be the reason why so many travelers love India. It does not cater to the tourist. The tourist industry that does exist is more than ready to take as much money as they can out of your pocket. Almost everyone we met was incredibly nice and happy just to sit and talk. India is a proud country with a lot of problems that are not easily solved. Scooter came up with an Indian travel prayer that works well.
Thank you Lord for giving me the strength to go to India
Thank you Lord for giving me the strength to see India
Thank you Lord for giving me the strength to never return
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| This page last changed on 22-May-2006 20:30:49 EDT by 70.171.24.221. |
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