They're from Mngalor, Goa and Om Beach.
Dad, looks like you're having fun, aren'tcha.
J.B.
Thursday, December 28, 2006
Pictures!?
Arie has sent some pictures. The captions aren't very detailed, so I've dismissed them.
They're from Mngalor, Goa and Om Beach.
Dad, looks like you're having fun, aren'tcha.
J.B.
They're from Mngalor, Goa and Om Beach.
Dad, looks like you're having fun, aren'tcha.
J.B.
Om Beach to Cochin
God am I sorry I left Om beach (mind you Im not completely sure because Ronit told me that all the garass has dried up - which of course I dont believe) the beach was great and the living was easy. but I did leave Om Beach and now, after 6 days on the road I am in Cochin.
The first day from Om beach to mangalore was easy, good road and not too much traffic, using my trusty "lonely Planet " I ended up in a truly middle class hotel in the an obviously middle class town - from Mangalore to here I began to see the presence of an Indian middle class. After checking into the hotel I decided to go outside and check out the town and ran smack bang into the middle of some sort of fancy dress parade, very coulorful and musical and photogenic though I have no idea what it was in aid of.
What struck me most about Mangalore was the fact that for the first time since arriving in India I did not have to worry about stepping in cow shit, it seems to me that that makes a hell of a difference, I find it difficult to move into the 21st century if I am forced to manouvre around cow shit and have to stop on the highway, literal and figurative to wait for the cows to move. I dont wait for them to decide to move because they are cows and dont make decisions, they just move or dont.
Mangalore is biggish with many modern 'conveniences' such as a mall and.......oops, thats about it but still more madern than most. I did manage to get little boxes for my bike rack made by hand from scratch - perfect 18th centuary hi-tech. But beautiful work and fascinating to watch in the creating.
From Mangalore to Calicut where I spent christmas and ate shwarma, beefr shwarma, not up to israeli standards but beef shwarma nevertheless. Nothing to add about another large coeless city.
From Calicut to Thrussir, on the way, almost blocking the road i came upon a huge cattle market. I stopped the bike to take pictures and all around friendly farmers made way to let me through to get the best view. I esked whether the market was for racing bulls, due to the huge crowd, excited interest and good looks of the beast. But no, they were all going to be eaten! And indeed im many places in Kerala beef is on the menu though not always available. Thrissur itself nothing special (okay there is a chapter on culture in the town in the Lonely Planet but that is a bullshit book anyway) except for a beautiful church and an important temple off limits to forigners (shit, how do you spell that?).
from Thrissur to Cochin - Of course I looked it up in my trusty (ha!) lonely and they say that Fort Cochi is the coolest place in this city more than 1.3 miilion but only give the names of about 3 budget level guest houses and warn about the narrow winding streets etc.. So of course i took a room outside the fort. Then I went to the main area and was stunned, a roomy friendly town with guesthouses and homestays at reasonable prices all over town. I also bumped into Gali (from Hampi) who told me that Efrat and Yitzhaki (also from Hampi) were in town and I then took a room in there guest house/homestay and we are planning a new years eve BBQ (I have offered to make mashed potatoes - surprise!).
Cochin, for those who dont know was home to several tens of thousands of Jews who all emigrated to Israel in the 50s and 60s and they can now be found there playing cricket every weekend. There is a "Jew Town" here and a few synagogues so I am doing the jewish connection thing.
As soon asIi arrived here a young guy with a baby in his arms struck up a conversation with me and 20 minutes later I had grass in my pocket and a smile on my lips. I like Cochin and will spend a few days here waiting for my sister who arrives on the first for a 2 week holiday with me. Thank goodness she is bringing me de-caffe and shoresh sandals.
The first day from Om beach to mangalore was easy, good road and not too much traffic, using my trusty "lonely Planet " I ended up in a truly middle class hotel in the an obviously middle class town - from Mangalore to here I began to see the presence of an Indian middle class. After checking into the hotel I decided to go outside and check out the town and ran smack bang into the middle of some sort of fancy dress parade, very coulorful and musical and photogenic though I have no idea what it was in aid of.
What struck me most about Mangalore was the fact that for the first time since arriving in India I did not have to worry about stepping in cow shit, it seems to me that that makes a hell of a difference, I find it difficult to move into the 21st century if I am forced to manouvre around cow shit and have to stop on the highway, literal and figurative to wait for the cows to move. I dont wait for them to decide to move because they are cows and dont make decisions, they just move or dont.
Mangalore is biggish with many modern 'conveniences' such as a mall and.......oops, thats about it but still more madern than most. I did manage to get little boxes for my bike rack made by hand from scratch - perfect 18th centuary hi-tech. But beautiful work and fascinating to watch in the creating.
From Mangalore to Calicut where I spent christmas and ate shwarma, beefr shwarma, not up to israeli standards but beef shwarma nevertheless. Nothing to add about another large coeless city.
From Calicut to Thrussir, on the way, almost blocking the road i came upon a huge cattle market. I stopped the bike to take pictures and all around friendly farmers made way to let me through to get the best view. I esked whether the market was for racing bulls, due to the huge crowd, excited interest and good looks of the beast. But no, they were all going to be eaten! And indeed im many places in Kerala beef is on the menu though not always available. Thrissur itself nothing special (okay there is a chapter on culture in the town in the Lonely Planet but that is a bullshit book anyway) except for a beautiful church and an important temple off limits to forigners (shit, how do you spell that?).
from Thrissur to Cochin - Of course I looked it up in my trusty (ha!) lonely and they say that Fort Cochi is the coolest place in this city more than 1.3 miilion but only give the names of about 3 budget level guest houses and warn about the narrow winding streets etc.. So of course i took a room outside the fort. Then I went to the main area and was stunned, a roomy friendly town with guesthouses and homestays at reasonable prices all over town. I also bumped into Gali (from Hampi) who told me that Efrat and Yitzhaki (also from Hampi) were in town and I then took a room in there guest house/homestay and we are planning a new years eve BBQ (I have offered to make mashed potatoes - surprise!).
Cochin, for those who dont know was home to several tens of thousands of Jews who all emigrated to Israel in the 50s and 60s and they can now be found there playing cricket every weekend. There is a "Jew Town" here and a few synagogues so I am doing the jewish connection thing.
As soon asIi arrived here a young guy with a baby in his arms struck up a conversation with me and 20 minutes later I had grass in my pocket and a smile on my lips. I like Cochin and will spend a few days here waiting for my sister who arrives on the first for a 2 week holiday with me. Thank goodness she is bringing me de-caffe and shoresh sandals.
Tuesday, December 12, 2006
Hampi
I have just spent 8 days in Hampi. How I got there and away to where I now am (Om Beach) is irrelavant. Hampi was amazing, a tiny village nested up in the eastern plateau of Karnataka is one of the most beautiful sceneries (can I write that?) I have ever seen. The village, actually there are two but they are usually lumped together, sit on the two banks of a large, filthy river which has to be crossed by a dirty leaking about to die and sink motorboat which is about 3 meters long and can carry 20 people, 3 goats and 2 motorcycles (and of course the fervent prayers of all the occupants, including the goats (and they know they're going to be eaten that evening). The boatman is silent but his assistant, a boy of about 12 is loud enough for both and totally obnoxious, he has a squeaky voice and whines for money and in a couple of years will be squeezing the T and A of the girls crossing in the boat. You can also get across in coracles (look that up if you need to know) but they are out of the way - though they charge less for motorbikes.
Because of the scenery Hampi is full of tourists, in Hampi proper you will find tavellers and tourists from all over the world but no Israelis, on the other side, in you will find travellers and tourists from all over Israel but very few, and those only the very brave, from anywher else. The Israeli side is, like Arambol, geared for Israelis, all the guest houses and restaurants serve Israeli favourites, the computers are all geared for Hebrew and many of the locals have adopted Hebrew names to make us feel more at home (and thus willing to part more easily with our untold riches (all tourists are by definition millionaires!). Little Israel, just like "The Valley" in LA. And for a while it worked, every day I ate 'shipuddim" (Shishlik) or Israeli breakfast or borekkas at a different place but after 5 days it all blurred into one and I had to leave (Thats why I'm in Om Beach now). Also because of the neverending satla brought on by what I personally consider Primo grass. If you do get to Hampi dont pay more than 500 rhupees for a 10 gram packet!
In Hampi ther are the ruins (huge) of an old temple site and I did the right thing and walked around the complex for about 2 hours and was then "templed out". There is also another temple which has an elephent which blesses you, by patting your head with its trunk for a rhupee, and 50 more to take a picture. Of course I did that.
On the Israeli side you can rent a bike or motorbike and ride through magnificent rock formations to visit the nearby lake, which may or may not have crocodiles in it, whatever, when I was there a numbe of tourists (Okay, Israelis) were swimming despite the rumours. there is also the Hanoman (or Monkey) temple to which I had to climb 600 steps (Thanks Jeremy, for getting me into shape). The view from the top is amazing and the Baba who lives there has a sattelite dish and a chillum. You can see forever in every direction and the ground is covered with huge piles of cacked rocks that look like they were put ther by a 5 year old playing with blocks. And all around green fields and palm trees and little hovels for the locals.
Because of the scenery Hampi is full of tourists, in Hampi proper you will find tavellers and tourists from all over the world but no Israelis, on the other side, in you will find travellers and tourists from all over Israel but very few, and those only the very brave, from anywher else. The Israeli side is, like Arambol, geared for Israelis, all the guest houses and restaurants serve Israeli favourites, the computers are all geared for Hebrew and many of the locals have adopted Hebrew names to make us feel more at home (and thus willing to part more easily with our untold riches (all tourists are by definition millionaires!). Little Israel, just like "The Valley" in LA. And for a while it worked, every day I ate 'shipuddim" (Shishlik) or Israeli breakfast or borekkas at a different place but after 5 days it all blurred into one and I had to leave (Thats why I'm in Om Beach now). Also because of the neverending satla brought on by what I personally consider Primo grass. If you do get to Hampi dont pay more than 500 rhupees for a 10 gram packet!
In Hampi ther are the ruins (huge) of an old temple site and I did the right thing and walked around the complex for about 2 hours and was then "templed out". There is also another temple which has an elephent which blesses you, by patting your head with its trunk for a rhupee, and 50 more to take a picture. Of course I did that.
On the Israeli side you can rent a bike or motorbike and ride through magnificent rock formations to visit the nearby lake, which may or may not have crocodiles in it, whatever, when I was there a numbe of tourists (Okay, Israelis) were swimming despite the rumours. there is also the Hanoman (or Monkey) temple to which I had to climb 600 steps (Thanks Jeremy, for getting me into shape). The view from the top is amazing and the Baba who lives there has a sattelite dish and a chillum. You can see forever in every direction and the ground is covered with huge piles of cacked rocks that look like they were put ther by a 5 year old playing with blocks. And all around green fields and palm trees and little hovels for the locals.
Monday, December 11, 2006
Moving around
Hi Guys. I have left Hampi (which I havent yet written about) and am now on the coast again at a beautiful place called Om Beach in Karnataka (if you are looking at a map of India, which I'm sure you not).
Still doing good and riding my bike - mind you with all the crappy roads, and yu cannt imagine just how crappy they can be - I am now , right now, at this moment putting i into a garage for servicing and tomorrow I'll get it back so I can move on to my next stop which will be Mysore for major book aquisitions, I'm running out of reading material and the book shops here are awesome.
Still doing good and riding my bike - mind you with all the crappy roads, and yu cannt imagine just how crappy they can be - I am now , right now, at this moment putting i into a garage for servicing and tomorrow I'll get it back so I can move on to my next stop which will be Mysore for major book aquisitions, I'm running out of reading material and the book shops here are awesome.
Friday, December 01, 2006
Planet Arambol
Last night, my last night in Arambol, yes, I have escaped from "The Land Of The Lotus Eaters" and I am now somewhere else.
Anyway, last night i was invited to a party that some people were having at a house that some of them had rented, many people who plan to spend a long time in Arambol rent houses, its cheaper over time and you have extra amenities like TV and kitchen, so there I was at this party.
There were about 25 people there and I have no idea who most of them were or who lived there or whatever but in that room was the biggest collection of drug smoking parephernalia I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few rooms in my time, there were bongs and chillums and joints and a pitero (I think thats what its called). And the various instruments were in all shapes and colours and sizes and some had names and special cases and whatever and WAS I impressed! And they all knew exactly what to do and how to prepare the different implements and they all shared the work and the bongs and chillum and piteros and joints went marching endlessly around the room. Then the hosts brought out the 'piece de resistance' - 'space cookies' and after about an hour everybody was totally stoned. People were either sitting down nodding to the loud techno(?) music or wandering aimlessly about and I looked around at these 23 - 24 - 25 year olds and thought to myself what great kids they are, real salt of the earth. Done their time, paid their dues and now they want to go out and taste as much of life as they can till the mortgage hangs heavy round their necks.
they worked hard to get here and they upped and left their safe secure homes to spend 40 hours on the train with 30000 wild Indians to get from Delhi to Goa and they didnt moan or complain. they planned and worked out and bargained and priced and made friendships and developed caring and trust - Awesome young people.
And most of them dont drink or smoke cigerettes and before India they didnt smoke drugs either and when they go home they either will or they wont but they will - to paraphrase Bogie "Always have India" So Adi and Yakov and Ariel and Yafit and Ronit and Omri and Shpitz and Chen and Adi, just go on having fun till you decide its time.
Anyway, last night i was invited to a party that some people were having at a house that some of them had rented, many people who plan to spend a long time in Arambol rent houses, its cheaper over time and you have extra amenities like TV and kitchen, so there I was at this party.
There were about 25 people there and I have no idea who most of them were or who lived there or whatever but in that room was the biggest collection of drug smoking parephernalia I have ever seen and I have seen quite a few rooms in my time, there were bongs and chillums and joints and a pitero (I think thats what its called). And the various instruments were in all shapes and colours and sizes and some had names and special cases and whatever and WAS I impressed! And they all knew exactly what to do and how to prepare the different implements and they all shared the work and the bongs and chillum and piteros and joints went marching endlessly around the room. Then the hosts brought out the 'piece de resistance' - 'space cookies' and after about an hour everybody was totally stoned. People were either sitting down nodding to the loud techno(?) music or wandering aimlessly about and I looked around at these 23 - 24 - 25 year olds and thought to myself what great kids they are, real salt of the earth. Done their time, paid their dues and now they want to go out and taste as much of life as they can till the mortgage hangs heavy round their necks.
they worked hard to get here and they upped and left their safe secure homes to spend 40 hours on the train with 30000 wild Indians to get from Delhi to Goa and they didnt moan or complain. they planned and worked out and bargained and priced and made friendships and developed caring and trust - Awesome young people.
And most of them dont drink or smoke cigerettes and before India they didnt smoke drugs either and when they go home they either will or they wont but they will - to paraphrase Bogie "Always have India" So Adi and Yakov and Ariel and Yafit and Ronit and Omri and Shpitz and Chen and Adi, just go on having fun till you decide its time.
Monday, November 20, 2006
Getting to Goa is easy, but getting out is another story.
So I arrived in Goa last Saturday, or was it the Saturday before that, or the one before that. It seems like I have been here for years or at least forever.
The journey from Kalhapur was horrific, one part of the road was so unroad that it took me 4 hours to cover 40kms and in fact I didnt stop or get off the bike for five bloody hours! And the dust and the huge trucks aimed directly at little me! But they all love seeing a mad white guy on a motorcycle in the middle of nowhere and try their best not to hit me! Sorry about all the exclamation marks (!) but everything causes me to exclaim!
And trhen as the song says "The bear came over the mountain" and there were waves of bright green mountains floating away into the distance and scattered clouds scattered lightly and birds singing and I was in Goa and it was a different India, like Israel before 1967. So I toddled off to find my cousin Ariel and Tali You see, I do have a cousin everywhere! And when I found him they welcomed me and I spent the night there and most important, I had a shower there.
The next day I set off to find Arambol and I did and now I am stuck. And the fucking place is not even marked on the map!!! I was going along this green winding jungle road and suddenly I was in Arambol and it was like all the othe villages I'd been through on my way here but this one did look different, well there were lots of white faces for one thing. So anyway I met a girl and she needed petrol but wasnt sure how to ride the moped and asked me, in English to go with her to the petrol station which I did but they didnt have any petrol, I told you this is all about India. At that she spat out a Kus Emak so we continued in Hebrew and she showed me the center af town where I was kidnapped by an enterprising young Indian gentleman who showed me a great room where I have happily settled in. That evening my upstairs Israeli neighbours introduced me to the joys of "Garras" and I am totally happy and content.
This is Homers" Land of the Lotus Eaters from The Odyssy" - for those who dont know what I am talking about read the Odyssy or ask me. Any way in the Land of the Lotus Eaters, if you eat of the lotus flower you lose all desire to ever move again and this is what happens here, in the little town of Arambol. You take a hit or a puff and you are lost, you become an Archi-Satlan, a high priest of garrras, a rabbi of bongs. And you never want to leave.
Of course there are many important decisions to be made each day. First of course is do we have enough garras, then where do we eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and what do we eat and whose going to be there and...Take another hit..and just one more before we leave ..and one more!!
And I love the cows. Its not like the big city where you see a cow here or there, here they share the roads and narrow lanes wiyh you and sometimes walk into the restaurant where you are just starting your steak. They fight in the streets and send the basta (stall) owners into hysterics and they poke the bulls with sticks to chase them away from their basta. And they crap all over and they stink up everything and I love them. In Denver I visited a mall that had a display of cow statues but these are the real macoy, not painted.
Anyway, under the circumstances it has not been easy actually sitting down and writing this thing but this is all I could manage (need another hit!) . I will eventually escape from here but if you dont hear from me for a couple of weeks, dont worry, just take another toke or hit or whatever.
The journey from Kalhapur was horrific, one part of the road was so unroad that it took me 4 hours to cover 40kms and in fact I didnt stop or get off the bike for five bloody hours! And the dust and the huge trucks aimed directly at little me! But they all love seeing a mad white guy on a motorcycle in the middle of nowhere and try their best not to hit me! Sorry about all the exclamation marks (!) but everything causes me to exclaim!
And trhen as the song says "The bear came over the mountain" and there were waves of bright green mountains floating away into the distance and scattered clouds scattered lightly and birds singing and I was in Goa and it was a different India, like Israel before 1967. So I toddled off to find my cousin Ariel and Tali You see, I do have a cousin everywhere! And when I found him they welcomed me and I spent the night there and most important, I had a shower there.
The next day I set off to find Arambol and I did and now I am stuck. And the fucking place is not even marked on the map!!! I was going along this green winding jungle road and suddenly I was in Arambol and it was like all the othe villages I'd been through on my way here but this one did look different, well there were lots of white faces for one thing. So anyway I met a girl and she needed petrol but wasnt sure how to ride the moped and asked me, in English to go with her to the petrol station which I did but they didnt have any petrol, I told you this is all about India. At that she spat out a Kus Emak so we continued in Hebrew and she showed me the center af town where I was kidnapped by an enterprising young Indian gentleman who showed me a great room where I have happily settled in. That evening my upstairs Israeli neighbours introduced me to the joys of "Garras" and I am totally happy and content.
This is Homers" Land of the Lotus Eaters from The Odyssy" - for those who dont know what I am talking about read the Odyssy or ask me. Any way in the Land of the Lotus Eaters, if you eat of the lotus flower you lose all desire to ever move again and this is what happens here, in the little town of Arambol. You take a hit or a puff and you are lost, you become an Archi-Satlan, a high priest of garrras, a rabbi of bongs. And you never want to leave.
Of course there are many important decisions to be made each day. First of course is do we have enough garras, then where do we eat breakfast, lunch, dinner and what do we eat and whose going to be there and...Take another hit..and just one more before we leave ..and one more!!
And I love the cows. Its not like the big city where you see a cow here or there, here they share the roads and narrow lanes wiyh you and sometimes walk into the restaurant where you are just starting your steak. They fight in the streets and send the basta (stall) owners into hysterics and they poke the bulls with sticks to chase them away from their basta. And they crap all over and they stink up everything and I love them. In Denver I visited a mall that had a display of cow statues but these are the real macoy, not painted.
Anyway, under the circumstances it has not been easy actually sitting down and writing this thing but this is all I could manage (need another hit!) . I will eventually escape from here but if you dont hear from me for a couple of weeks, dont worry, just take another toke or hit or whatever.
Sunday, November 12, 2006
Pensive Moment
Hi guys, here i am safely esconced in Arambol, nothern Goa and except for the "barchashim" this is what I imagine paradise lost was like. blue skies, blus seas, white sands, beachside cafes and restaurants, beautiful people and cheap. Not to even mention the "jarash".
I have lost several kilos and now no longer look like ganesh the elephant god, I still have a paunch and love handles (oops, no love at the moment so I will call them "spare tyres"). I think I told you that I have hardly been eating and I feel great, even my right shoulder which has been giving me terrible pauin for the last 15 months has eased up and much more usable.
Also I walk a helluva lot, I try to avoid riding the bike in the big cities, too scary.
There was just a commotion in the street, two bulls were fighting and everyone was hystereical with woryy that they would knock there stall over! great excitement and I took several photos. I love all the cows in the streets, I have even seen them walk into retaurants. Yhats a little slice of India.
I have lost several kilos and now no longer look like ganesh the elephant god, I still have a paunch and love handles (oops, no love at the moment so I will call them "spare tyres"). I think I told you that I have hardly been eating and I feel great, even my right shoulder which has been giving me terrible pauin for the last 15 months has eased up and much more usable.
Also I walk a helluva lot, I try to avoid riding the bike in the big cities, too scary.
There was just a commotion in the street, two bulls were fighting and everyone was hystereical with woryy that they would knock there stall over! great excitement and I took several photos. I love all the cows in the streets, I have even seen them walk into retaurants. Yhats a little slice of India.
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