Time Travel ... Further Back

Having left India a month ago now, I'm beginning to appreciate what a truly unique country it is. I think I can summarize our experience with a few variations of one all too common conversation.

"Hello! Rickshaw!"
"No."

Or when in Varanasi ...
"Hello! Boat!"
"No."

Or outside the urban chaos, where there's time to make a quick friend ...
"Hello! Where are you coming from?"
"USA."
"How long in India?"
"One month."
"I have nice shop ... silk ... saris ..."
"No thank you." (Begin to walk away.)
"Good price just for you!"
"No."
"Come in!"
"No!"
"Just look!"
"No!!"

This may give the misleading impression that our experience in India was a negative one. In fact, the period I've failed to blog about now holds some of my most wonderful memories of the country. Starting with ...

Munnar
Upon recommendation from a fabulous couple we met in Nepal, we spent several days in the intriguing hill station of Munnar, Kerala. Set amidst rolling hills covered in tea fields intermingled with vibrant flowers and the occasional palm tree, the town felt like a hybrid of Darjeeling and the tropics. I never knew green could be so green until Munnar. As the town is a hot tourist destination for Indians but few westerners, we caused much confusion by our habits of lazily wandering through the hills and gardens and seeking out restaurants in which to sip chai and read. Why weren't we rushing between tours of tea plantations, and didn't we need a guided tour of the town? The charming but slightly bizarre spirit of Munnar is perfectly captured in our encounter with a local family. Having witnessed Russell snapping photos of some children, they rushed out of their nearby home and ushered us ecstatically into their house. We exchanged questions about family and work, they chatted and giggled incessantly, and we drank fresh brewed chai and awkwardly looked at family photo albums. This was followed by an extensive family portrait session (which they insisted we join) and culminated in some crying children and a mother irritated at my reluctance to play dress-up in saris and gold bangles. Moving on, one day-long bus ride south to ...

Varkala
Supposedly a happening place in the dry season, this small beach town perched on a rocky cliff became rapidly deserted as the monsoons were just around the corner. All the more space for us to enjoy the phenomenal sunsets and surreal cloud formations. Luckily the beach police hadn't yet abandoned, keeping bikini-clad tourists protected from prowling local boys. Now for the finale ...

Mumbai
I wouldn't exactly say we partied Bollywood style, but we indulged as extravagantly as our scrubby bodies and frazzled brains could take. The trigger to abandon our stingy ways came after our first morning spent battling the touts, scams, heat and crowds of Mumbai. After being greeted by a "lost" and money-hungry cab driver, we began a long, unsuccessful search for some reasonably priced lodging. To top things off, the obnoxiously friendly "guide" who had been following us from hotel to hotel exploded with raging hatred after he failed to scam his commission from us. Apparently, we had come to India with the evil intent to betray all Indians and accordingly deserved to be cursed out. Exhausted and disheartened, we agreed it was time to see the less ugly side of Mumbai. What a hilarious sight we must have been, lugging our backpacks into the lobby of a five-star waterfront resort, covered in filth and sweat, desperately asking for a room. Safe in our room, we were suddenly surrounded by all the comforts we could want and it made me - literally - sick to my stomach. It had been ages since we had seen such luxuries, but in all reality we could easily afford them. In contrast, the majority of the Indians living in poverty outside our hotel walls would never experience such extravagance in their lifetimes. Nevertheless, the shock soon gave way to appreciation and finally to giddy excitement. And that giddiness persisted through every moment of our final 2 days in India, while we smoked hookahs and drank overpriced beer at Mocha cafe, checked out work by local artists at the Jehangir gallery and even while the first rains of the monsoon thoroughly drenched us.