The Real India Part 2: What Are You Lookin' At?

I can understand that the white man is somewhat of a novelty in certain parts of rural India and the occasional look of surprise is to be expected, but the Inidan people just love to stare. More so in the North than the South you will quite often get groups of (usually male) people coming right up just to stand and stare unblinking at you. In a normal situation it's not to bad as you can usually make a quick getaway, but when you are sitting at a bus or train station semi-circled by a group of people no more than 4 feet away staring open mouthed at you, it can be a little discomforting. Even more amusing is when a person on a bus sitting in front of you turns around to stare and won't look away.

I think that the whole of India has never been taught that it's rude to stare and in fairness they only do it out of curiosity and not malice. Usually you can get away with saying 'Hi!' and waving at them (especially when it's just one person) and they will look away, sometimes with big groups they just wave back and keep staring. The words 'monkey in a zoo' come to mind.

Backwaters To The Beach

Crusing down the backwaters of Kerala in the far South of India while the sun sets and lazy fishing boats cruise past while locals wash their clothes and bathe in the shallows is pretty magical.

Unable to afford the beautiful houseboats that can be rented for the night (complete with cook and boatman) we took a (far cheaper) public ferry down the main river channels to the sleepy town of Kollam where we rented a narrow punting boat (complete with boatman) and cruised down the narrow canals into small Keralan villages to observe their way of life.

Our final stop in south India just had to be another idillic beach near the town of Varkala nesteled at the foot of a red sandstone cliff lined with fantastic restaurants with their daily catch on display. There's just about enough time here to recover before the mammouth train journey (around 60 hours in total) up through Muumbai to Varanasi.

The Real Inida Pt. 1 - The Indian Head Wobble

After being emmersed in the Inidan culture for 2 and a half months now it's about time I shared a few insights into the way a way of life that could only be Indian.

The 'Indian head wobble' is a classic example. Instead of nodding for 'yes' or shaking the head side to side for 'no' the Inidan people have a universal body language sign that involves them relaxing the neck muscles and wobbling their heads in a random manner. The confusing part is that this gesture can mean 'yes', 'no', 'maybe'.... or even 'I don't really care'.

As far as I can work out, the Indian head wobble can also be used to show someone that you mean no harm on a first meeting. For example, if you're forcing your way onto a crowed bus with backpack banging into everyone, a simple smile and head wobble can go a long way. The trouble is that it's near impossible to get right (unless you are Indian of course), and more often than not you might end up looking like a forigner with neck problems.

Out Of The Frying Pan

As the temperature starts to rise above 30C, so we rise up to the relative coolness of another colonial hill station known for it's tea plantations and tranquil setting (making it another Indian holiday hotspot). The bizarre mix of British style architecture and general Indian sprawl of 'concrete box architecture' makes Ooty township somewhat of an oddity. The surrounding countryside is covered with tea plantations, dotted with colourful sari's disappearing and re-appearing as tea leaves are collected and cared for all before a backdrop of gentle mist hanging on the horizon. An organised trek took us through small villages (some with huge satelite dishes.... for the cricket maybe?) and up to several vantage points overlooking the magical landscape.

After a hellish bus ride back down the mountain with it's 30 or so hairpin bends, we've arrived in fort cochin on the Keralan coast. It's another tourist mecca here, with nothing much to do but wander round the uncrowded streets and indulge in the fantastic restaruants that line the alleyways. The temperature difference between here and Ooty is phenominal, it's 35C here during the day and about 28C at night (bring on the air-con!) compared to 24C and a lovely 5C at night in Ooty.... phew! Photo below shows the Chinese fishing nets used to catch our supper, they are lowered into the water by 4 men at a time.... haven't seen them catch anything yet though!

The Hills Are Alive With The Sound Of... Nothing!

In order to ease our re-integration back into everyday Indian city life we dragged ourselves away from the beach into the beautiful scenery of the Coorg region of South India. Staying in the middle of the forest at a homestay with a Canadian homestay was more like being in Canada (or New Zealand) than anywhere in Inida.

With a couple of nights just spent camping out in a two man tent under the stars and full moon, the peace and quiet was a welcome relief after the constant noise and pollution that hovers around most of India. The hiking was made easy as our base in the forest was central to most of the popular hikes in the area. I think it's got to be one of the only places in Inida where you can go off for a day without seeing another person..... sheer bliss!