Moment of Silence

Our destination for last weekend was Kochi (Cochin), a port city on the south-west of India. My professional deformation couldn’t stand aside for a long time, so I ended up as the organizer of the trip, at least the technical part of it – booking the rooms in hotel and buying the tickets for the bus. It was a sleeper bus, and we succeeded to get 9 sleeping beds and only one non-sleeper seat. If your curiosity ever makes you want to know how the hell smells, the easiest way to find out is to enter one of the Indian sleeper buses. I tell you, and you better believe me, it smells like hell. Actually, it smells like one of those homeless persons that enter in the non AC bus, right next to you, on a warm summer day. And that’s not the worst thing - the worst thing is when you discover that the smell comes out of the seats and beds, which leads you to the conclusion that you will pick up that smell and become one with it. I wish I could tell you that I got used to it after few hours, but I didn’t. It was just too bad to be true! 

Anyway, after a 14 hours ride, with few short breaks, one meeting with a giant rat (it was big as a Coca-Cola bottle of 2l, I swear – I would lie if I say that I didn’t scream) and countless number of attempts to fall asleep while jumping up and down because of the Indian number one product – bumps*, we finally made it to Cochin around 8am. Hotel was a bit expensive for India – around 6.5 euro for a night per person, but it was quite comfortable, with mixed water shower, huge beds, towels and normal toilette seat. One of the best things was the terrace on the roof, on which we had our breakfast, and which offered us beautiful view on the city.

*with around 3.75 bumps per head, India is one of the bump-richest countries in the world, which is quite a lot when you realize that the nation has 1 billion people

As soon as we finished our breakfast, we went on a tour around the city. First thing on our way was Santa Cruz Basilica, one of the oldest churches in India. It was really interesting because it looked like a regular church that we all know, but with few add-ons which were vital for this type of climate – fans! I can’t explain how cute that was – whole church crowded with fans, and colorful like none of the churches I saw before. The sound of fans gave a special atmosphere to the place - it felt warmer than usual.

Visit to church was followed by the visit to Fish market and Chinese Fishing nets, which are the main attractions in Kochi. There you could see all kinds of fish, prawns, crabs, squids and bunch of other sea creatures - some of them still alive. Two kinds of Indian businessmen were present there – fish sellers, that were trying to convince us to buy fish from them, and restaurant guys, that were trying to convince us to come to their restaurant so they could prepare us the fish we bought. They were really obstinate, so we decided to run away, and come back later to enjoy this interesting meal.

Next stop was spice market, which was half an hour walk away from the fish market. I expected a big market with piles of spices all around, all colorful and full of life, but we didn’t find one. All we found was a street full of small shops selling different types of hardware, spices in bags and small packages etc. Although it wasn’t too colorful, large number of details in the street made the journey really interesting. 

We spent around hour and a half walking, so we became a bit hungry. As we wanted to try something local we searched for a typical Indian canteen. They usually don’t look really nice or clean, and the smell isn’t the best, but if there’s lot of people, it means that the food is fresh, and that’s the most important thing here in India. We found one that had one meal on the menu – lunch. You could choose between chicken, fish and meat. As Cochin is fishing town, I decided to try fish. Although the food was really tasteful, nothing in the canteen looked like it was really hygienic. While eating with my hands, like all other Indian people, I was constantly repeating one sentence in my mind: “If this meal doesn’t give me stomach problems, nothing will”.

 After the lunch, we took a ferry boat to the nearby island. We didn’t find anything too interesting there, so we satisfied ourselves with a group photo in front of an Indian truck.

Actually, one thing was interesting – being on a ferry boat full of people and motorcycles, with few cars somewhere in between. It was so crowded that we could barely stand. Funniest moment was the arriving on the other side and watching the motorcyclists struggling to get out of the ferry, as they were all turned backwards, and of course they were all being in a hurry. It was a complete mess!

Ferry boat dropped us next to the fish market, so we decided to buy some prawns, squids and fish, take a photo with it, and then eat it in the closest restaurant. Because of the atmosphere, unforgettable taste and the whole ritual of choosing and buying the fish, it was one of the highlights of the trip!

Next day, early in the morning, we went on a boat cruise to the Backwaters, some kind of a lake with bunch of small islands and canals in between (for better understanding check the map: http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/f4/Backwaters.png). Some people had problems with getting up, because of the last night hangover, caused by the amount of “old monk” drunk on the roof terrace after the dinner. I had no problem like that (smile + fingers crossed) :D

After an hour long bus ride, we jumped into a handmade Indian boat parked under a bridge. When we took our seats, two Indian guys started moving the boat with huge bamboo sticks, and we quietly begun our three hours long floating trough canals and jungle. We were all sitting in silence, just watching around and listening to the sound of nature. It was so quiet and relaxing. I would just close my eyes and listen to the birds and insects speaking to leafs which were moving on the wind. What music!

We had few stops during which we saw how locals make sea shell powder and coconut ropes. Also, we saw their little houses, hidden in the middle of nowhere. Such a peaceful and quiet way of life! It gave me inspiration to draw few sketches, just for remembering the moment.

The tour ended up on the peak of one island, with a magnificent view on the surrounding. There, we had our lunch, served on a banana leaf by Indian family that lives nearby.

I was really relaxed after this, so I took a short nap during the bus ride to another boat. Second boat was a bit smaller than first one, operated with only one guy with bamboo stick. This time we went deeply into the jungle. During the boat ride we saw some local people doing their everyday jobs or just chilling around. Again, the whole group stayed completely silent and that gave a special flavor to this seven hours long adventure that I will never forget!

Hardworking

Just a short entry about my work, which makes me laught for last couple of days. Currently, I am working on analysing drawings of local people from city of Barkur, which was, somewhere in the past, one of the most important cities in the region. The task that these people had was to draw the map of the city, which will have most important buildings, roads, squares or what ever they think that is important. The goal is to discover and understand mental maps that are made within a persons mind when they are dealing with space. It's a really funny task, especially when you recieve drawing like this! :)

Coast sweet coast!

After visiting Malpe beach last weekend, I wasn’t so sure that I will ever again feel like going close to the Indian coast just for relaxing or having fun. It was just to dirty, with shit-load  of plastic bottles and other rubbish all around. Waves were high, and tide was strong. Also, it was hard to relax and enjoy the moment, as Indians were constantly taking photos of us, or just standing in groups and starring at us, without any intention of leaving. I couldn’t blame them, as they were very friendly and their behaviour was just a result of their curiosity. So what could I do? If you can’t beat them – join them!

  

Anyway,  next weekend was approaching, and most of the people decided to go to Gokarna beach, which is few hours away from Manipal (by train). Because I was to lazy to organize something on my own, I decided to give a second chance to Indian beaches and I joined them.

Indian trains are “always almost” on time, with no more than few hours delay. Our train was only 1.5h late, which is not that much, if you consider the fact that he had to cross 55km long distance from Mangalore to Udupi (the place where our train station is). Whole crew was there, anxiously waiting for the train to come, altogether 17 of us (16ppl on photo, excluding me – guess what I was doing?).

  

Of course, when the train arrived it was full of people, but we managed to get in and find few free seats among Indian people. It wasn’t cleanest place in the world, regarding all cockroaches and garbage, but we didn’t care about it. Indians were very hostile, so I got the opportunity to meet Indian version of Serbian actor Srdjan Todorovic and his friend, manufacturer of herbal medicament for healing everything -  from teeth pain to stomack problems. Also, they went crazy when they saw my sketchbook, so I spent half of the ride making quick portraits of them! It was quite fun and a promising beginning of the journey! 

One of the things I like the most in India, is that the people are really open for communication. It's easy to start a conversation with anyone. Language barriere barely exists, because English is widely used. I already know that I am gonna miss that when I come home.

Anyway, when we came to Gokarna train station, we had to take a mini-van taxi, as our accommodation was 20min ride away. When we arrived, we were surprised by the look of the entrance. To me, it didn't look too good...

After entering the gate of Namaste guest house, we had to go down the stairs, straight to the bar/restaurant. From there, an astonishing view of the bay overwhelmed our view. Light breeze was there, supported by the beautiful melodies of John Mayer in the back. It brought back some beautiful memories back to my head, it was just perfect!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N5EnGwXV_Pg&ob=av2e

After the lunch we went to the beach, to swim and relax. Water was warm, around 25°c, with not so big waves plashing the shore. Good company and nice atmosphere, few cold beers on the beach and beautiful view on the surrounding kept us there till the sunset.

We spent the night on the beach, with full moon over our heads, and sound of the waves crushing down on the rocks. We were alone with the nature. It felt really good.

Next morning, we decided to visit the beach located a bit further from the one that we were staying. Journey started with short walk alogn the coast, followed by half an hour adventure of going trought the jungle and walking on the edge of a cliff. Along the way, our crew got one more member – an Indian dog who stayed with us whole day. He was really funny, first he was leading the way, and then, when we arrived, he jumped into the water and than started rolling on the sand. He reminded me of my best friend in the world – my dog iuna!

We were on the beach for about one hour, when it suddenly started to rain. Some of the people ran out of the water and then straight into the closest fishermans house. Few of us stayed and enjoyed cold drops falling on our heads while we were swimming!

When the rain stopped, it was about time to start going back, as we had a train to catch. Along the way, we saw few houses, which were really nicely merged into the surrounding, so I didn’t miss the chance to take a photo of them. Architects enjoy!

Also, on our way back, we saw couple of fishermans, who were on their way to work. We also succeded to get lost in the jungle, because our guide, the Indian dog, wasn’t really sure about the way back. Or maybe he just didn’t care. We didn’t really mind that, because we were surrounded with an amazing panorama of the shore, and its beautiful colors. I have to repeat myself, but it was just perfect!

Back on the beach, we saw bunch of dogs and cows, who were freely walking around. Cows on the beach? That was new for me!

Guys who didn’t join our little adventure were in the restaurant having a lunch before going home, so the others joined them. I stayed on top of one rock to draw some sketches and say goodbye to this amazing place! On our way back, we had one last chance to see the panorama of Gokarna, the place that made me wish to go to Indian beach again!